family Archives

GUEST POST: Christmas Anticipation

We are in the Advent Season, and the word “anticipation” seems like an appropriate word to describe how I feel about the approach of Christmas. Saints of old, by faith, anticipated the coming of Christ on that first Christmas. Simeon, for example, rested on the promise God had made to him that he would not see death until he had gazed into the eyes of his savior (Luke 2:25-32).

As a child, my parents required that my older brother and I feed and water our horses before starting our celebration of Christmas.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family December 3, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Praying Scripture Over Your Child’s Life

Author Jodie Berndt has heard from hundreds, if not thousands, of parents through the years who struggle with praying for their children, as she did:

They feel inadequate.They believe prayer to be a natural part of the parenting process, but rarely feel like their prayers “pack a punch.”Jodie even worried that her proud or anxious prayers might elbow God out of the picture.

The more familiar Jodie became with the Bible, the more Scripture reshaped her perspective and her desires – and the more her prayers lined up with God’s will

The book of James says that “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, parenting December 1, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Post Pandemic State of Marriage and the Family

Coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you might have missed news last week of a significant study concerning the current state of the American Family.

“The Divided State of Our Unions: Family Formation in (Post) Covid America” confirms much of what we’ve been tracking here at Focus on the Family regarding the rapidly evolving dynamics surrounding attitudes toward marriage and children.

A crisis almost never leaves anyone the same, so a fair question to ask is just how has the global pandemic impacted our relationships?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage, parenting November 30, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Healing Parent and Adult Child Relationships

One of the top calls our counseling team receives is from parents who struggle with feelings of resentment, sadness, or anger because of a fractured relationship with their adult children. It’s heartbreaking.

It’s also common. A 2015 studyby Richard Conti of Kean University found that 43 percent of college students had been estranged from their parents at some point. Twenty-six percent reported extended estrangement.

When a parent/adult child relationship is fractured, the most effective solution is to redefine the boundaries.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting November 23, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Enjoying Mealtime as a Family

Over the past couple of decades, more studies than you can count have been done to pinpoint the most crucial factors in raising emotionally strong, well-balanced kids. Almost all of them have arrived at the same conclusion: Eating together as a family is one of the most significant influences in raising healthy, well-balanced kids.

The more families eat together, the less likely children will engage in drug use, suffer from depression, develop an eating disorder, or succumb to a host of other behavioral problems.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family November 22, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Planting the Seeds of Success in Your Kids

Parents often dream about their children becoming doctors, astronauts, or business executives. They help their children along that path by helping them develop specific talents or academic excellence.

The trouble with that approach, according to parenting expert Dr. Kevin Leman, is that it focuses on what our children will become, rather than who they’ll become.

To correct course, Dr. Leman offers parents eight strategies for raising successful kids:

Start with the end goal in mind.Expect the best, get the best.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, parenting November 18, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Rescuing Your Marriage from Pornography

Pornography destroys marriages.

It breeds disconnection instead of intimacy.It deepens secrecy.It creates distrust.

The data is astonishing. Josh McDowell did a study which revealed that 79 percent of men in the evangelical church use pornography at least once a month. Fifty-five percent of marriages are negatively impacted by pornography.

Many women are in pain because of their husband’s pornography use. They feel isolated, ashamed, hopeless, and helpless. They’ve tried many things to fight for their marriage – like being more sexual with him; being more patient, forgiving, or gracious; or creating a more loving environment.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage November 16, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Going All Out for Your Wife

Men, we’re at war.

Most guys probably don’t think about their roles as husbands or fathers in those terms very often. That could be why so many men succumb to the dangers of pornography and adulterous affairs. They seem oblivious to how the enemy of their soul uses those temptations to ruthlessly plot their destruction.

That’s why author and speaker Dr. Steve Farrar specifically compares a man’s role in his home to point men in military conflict.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, family, marriage November 11, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How You Can Help Support Foster and Adoptive Families

November is National Adoption Month in the United States and Adoption Awareness Month in Canada. These observances highlight a great need.

In the United States, there are more than 400,000 children in foster care. Over 100,000 are waiting to be adopted.

Scripture teaches that each of us is called to care for the vulnerable. Other than a child in the womb, no one is more vulnerable than a child without a family. How can you help?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, parenting November 8, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Election ’21 Confirms – Mothers and Fathers Matter

Don’t mess with moms and dads – that’s the prevailing takeaway coming out of yesterday’s two major electoral races, especially in the state of Virginia.

Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s victory over former Governor Terry McAuliffe culminated a bruising campaign, with much of it focused on a rising backlash against the “woke” policies of the radical left.

At the current time, New Jersey’s gubernatorial race remains too close to call.

Pundits suggest the turning point of the race in Virginia came when Mr.

Topics: Current Events/ Family and Home Tags: events, family, parenting November 3, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura