family Archives

Balancing Work and Family Life While Staying at Home

I’m happy
to say that Focus on the Family has been ahead of the technology curve, which
has allowed most of our staff to work from home and continue to minister to
families. But just like you, our staff has had to navigate the uncertain waters
of balancing work and home.

That’s why
we invited popular guest Arlene Pellicane to join us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Balancing Work and Family Life While Staying
at Home.” She’s got some
great ideas for dealing with what she calls a “blurred environment.” The
boundaries between work and family blur, which makes it harder to keep all the
plates spinning – to be a good spouse, a good parent, perhaps even a good son
or daughter to elderly parents.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family April 27, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

If You Died, What Would Your Spouse Find on Your Phone?

This is a sad story – with a sweet and poignant twist.

As most of us slept peacefully on Tuesday night, Jon Coelho of Danbury, Connecticut, passed away from cardiac arrest, a condition attributed to the coronavirus.

He was just 32 years-old and left behind his wife, Katie, and 2 small children.

There’s a common saying that death always comes like a thief in the night, and never more so than when a younger person unexpectedly meets the end of their earthly life.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage April 24, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Holding on to the Hope of Heaven

John Burke
was an agnostic. He didn’t know if there was a God or if the afterlife was real.
The closest he got to spirituality was believing that Jesus was a good teacher
whose life somehow became the stuff of legend and myth.

Then John’s
dad got cancer, and John began to wonder more deeply about life’s big
questions. During that time, someone gave his father a book of original
research that coined the term “near-death experience.” When John read people’s
stories about bright lights, tunnels, and strange visions, it set him on what
became a 35-year quest to examine those experiences more deeply.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family April 24, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Conversation with My Son I Will Never Forget

The coronavirus pandemic has been very bad for many things – but it has given many parents – myself included – extra time to talk with their children.

Just the other day, I was chatting with one of our sons and a tender subject came up.

It involved the sudden and unexpected death of one of his friends. We’ve talked about it in the past and even prayed and grieved over it as a family, but we’ve probably never discussed it as deeply or as meaningfully as we did this time around.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family April 22, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Navigating eLearning and Screen Time During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Most
Americans have been on virtual lockdown since March. Everything from sports to
restaurants have been shut down for weeks. The one thing we haven’t lost is our
screens. Which means a lot of us have filled our days with video games and
online shopping while we binge on Netflix.

I get it.
This is a stressful time, and a little distraction is good for us. But spending
nearly every waking moment in front of a screen isn’t.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, technology April 17, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Helping Your Marriage Survive the Coronavirus

We’re
several weeks into the coronavirus outbreak, and by now you’ve memorized a
dozen methods for keeping your body’s immune system strong.

But what are
you doing to keep your marriage strong?

When we’re
stressed, we strike out at the people closest to us, namely our spouse and children.
That’s especially true when you’re cooped up together under quarantine. Good
marriages can be strained, and bad marriages can be stressed to their breaking
point.

A couple’s
differences can either serve as triggers for conflict or as points of tension that
can strengthen the relationship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage April 16, 2020 by Megan Klackner

Trusting God When We Don’t Understand His Ways

A
lot of people wonder, “Can God truly be good, even when He allows pain and
suffering in my life?”

That
question deserves a serious, thoughtful answer. To that end, we’ve invited Dr.
Larry Crabb to join us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Trusting God When We Don’t Understand His Ways.”

Dr.
Crabb is author of the book When God’s
Ways Make No Sense. He has some
timely thoughts about how faith can anchor our lives in the midst of uncertainty.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family April 14, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Our New, Free Streaming Service Can Help Your Family Celebrate Easter

Do you and your family find yourselves watching more movies and television these days?

If so, please don’t forget to check out Focus on the Family’s new streaming service, Focus@Home.We’re adding new content every day, including some wonderful special material for Easter from our friend Ray Vander Laan, perhaps best known for his teaching in our rich and meaningful series, That the World May Know.

We’ve also added The Truth Project, our award-winning Christian worldview series from Dr.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: easter, family, focus at home April 8, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

4 Ways to Have Dollars and (Common) Sense During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Although Wall Street’s rout seems to have stabilized in recent days since the first surge of coronavirus cases, the volatility of the financial markets is nevertheless unprecedented in modern times.

Your perspective of this last month may mirror the late President Reagan’s witty observation of long ago:

“Recession is when your neighbor loses his job,” he once remarked. “Depression is when you lose yours.”

Economic experts are working feverishly to stabilize the markets. Part of the emergency relief plan involves stimulus checks for families – funds that should be received in the coming weeks.

Topics: Current Events Tags: Coronavirus, family, finances April 7, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

5 Things Every Family Needs to do Before the Coronavirus Pandemic Ends

If you’re like most people, you’re praying for a quick end to the coronavirus global pandemic. I don’t blame you. So am I. The virulent pathogen has taken over 10,000 lives and upended hundreds of millions more here in the United States alone.

It’s a tragedy unlike we’ve seen in America in over a century.

You’re doing your best to make the most of your time at home, possibly balancing your career with homeschooling kids – all the while trying to maintain your sanity and remain safe and healthy.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: current events, family April 6, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura