family Archives

Growing Your Marriage in Times of Stress

Does your marriage stress you out?

Are you bringing stress into your marriage?

Either way, how do you handle it?

Many couples seek stress relief in non-relational ways that enable them to hide from each other. Drugs and alcohol. Shopping. Gambling. Excessive cleaning. Binge-watching television or social media.

We retreat.

We shut down.

We become silent and non-communicative.

Jesus faced stress. Luke 22:44 says, “Being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Matthew 26:37 says Jesus was “sorrowful and troubled.”

Jesus modeled how to seek stress relief through relationship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage June 22, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Talking to Your Daughter About Puberty

Do you feel like your daughter is growing up too fast?

Believe it or not, it may be true. In fact, that conversation about puberty you assumed was still a few years off may be needed sooner than you think.

There’s some debate about why it’s happening, but there’s no question that puberty is occurring earlier and earlier in girls. For some, it could be as young as seven or eight! Puberty brings about big changes in a girl’s physical development and body image, and that can be scary if she isn’t prepared for what’s coming.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting June 20, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Collapse of the Nuclear Family, Not the Ever-Changing Climate, is the Crisis of Our Lifetime

We tend to worry about the wrong things, and nowhere is this more prominent and prevalent than when it comes to identifying and focusing on the most critical problem facing humanity.

Contrary to the elite opinions served up across the nation’s major editorial pages and on television news programs, not to mention subtly and cleverly inserted into everything from children’s television, advertisements to major Hollywood releases, it’s not the climate – and not by a lot.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family May 31, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Remembering Fallen Heroes and Their Families

The cost of freedom is high.

As today is Memorial Day, our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Remembering the Fallen and Their Families” is an expression of gratitude to the brave servicemen and women who have died defending freedom. We honor the fallen and offer a humble and heartfelt “thank you” to every family who has lost a husband or a wife, a mom or a dad, a son or a daughter, or even a friend or a neighbor.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family May 29, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Inviting Your Children into the Easter Story

When Easter comes around every year, many people think of chocolate, colored eggs, and strange looking rabbits carrying baskets.

As Christians, we know there’s a lot more to the story – Jesus’ triumphal parade, His last supper with His disciples, His brutal death on the cross, and His bodily resurrection.

The events surrounding the Easter story can evoke a complicated mix of emotions – sadness and joy, anger and gratitude, fear and trust. These mature themes can be challenging for adults to process.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, parenting March 31, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Overcoming the Betrayal of an Affair

Few things damage a marriage more than adultery.

Nevertheless, it is possible for couples who have experienced the devastation of an affair to find healing, forgiveness, and restoration.

Rick and Tiffany Bulman, founders of Mended Ministries, help conflicted couples strengthen and rebuild their marriages. They can attest to God’s ability to redeem relationships. They’ve seen it happen in countless marriages, including in their own.

Rick and Tiffany’s relationship looked good on the surface. They had four happy teenagers and were actively involved in the church where Rick served as senior pastor.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage February 1, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Be a Selfless Man

Guys, how selflessly do you love your wife? Do you have a bit too much me, myself, and I in the mix?

Here’s a quick test to find out. Imagine that you and your buddies plan a get together at your house to watch the Super Bowl. The night of the big game, everybody shows up with drinks, pretzels, and pizza. You’re just settling in for the kickoff … when the phone rings. Your wife is on the other end.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family January 10, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Applying the Love Languages in Families with Special Needs

Some of the most amazing people I have meet are those with special needs.

I think of Trevor Hendershot. He and his dad visited Focus on the Family a few years ago. Trevor is a vivacious young man with Down Syndrome who serves as a greeter for the Los Angeles Angels and the Anaheim Ducks.

Tyler Sexton is also a friend of our ministry. He has cerebral palsy and works as a physician specializing in pediatrics.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family January 10, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Greatest Joys

The family is under attack.

Two of the more disturbing examples are ideas that have gained acceptance more and more in recent years. The first is that dads don’t matter. The second is that kids get in the way of adult happiness. I’m here to tell you they’re both lies.

First of all, make no mistake, dads do matter. Every day at Focus, we hear from families all over the country. The stories they share confirm to me again and again just how crucial a father’s influence is in the lives of his children.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family January 9, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Plan for the Holidays

Family get-togethers are supposed to be a big part of the reason we experience joy during the holidays. But it often doesn’t work that way. Family dynamics often dredge up old wounds and, before you know it, we’re pulled right back into the roles we played in childhood.

Maybe you know what I mean. One moment the family is all together, and everything is fine. The house is filled with conversation and laughter. And then a family member says or does something that reopens an old emotional wound we’ve never healed.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family December 6, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura