family Archives

Ben-Hur: A Great Faith-Based Movie to See This Weekend

By the time the 1800’s came to a close, Lew Wallace’s bestselling novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, was considered by many to be “the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century.” Adapted for film a couple times, most recently in 1959, Ben-Hur became a runaway Hollywood hit, eventually capturing eleven Academy Awards.

Even today, over a half-century later, many critics consider it to be one of America’s greatest movies of all time.

Tomorrow, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are releasing a new version of the classic adventure for the big screen.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, faith, family, pop culture August 18, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Can You Keep Your Family Safe in Public Restrooms?

It was 2008 when my state of Colorado passed what local media dubbed a “bathroom bill.”

In the days and weeks leading up to then Gov. Bill Ritter’s signing of the controversial bill, many people were incredulous when Focus on the Family warned the bill would open bathrooms and locker rooms to the opposite sex.

“The claims that are made in this campaign are not based in fact. They are based in fear,” Gov. Ritter’s spokesperson had said.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, homosexuality, news, policy July 21, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

No More Perfect Parenting

Friends: Three policemen were killed yesterday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You can read my thoughts about this terrible news on my Facebook page. -JD

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Have you ever felt like a trapped monkey?

Neither had I until a friend described to me how other cultures hunt for monkeys.

The hunters hollow out a coconut and fasten it to a tree with a rope. Inside the coconut, they put a small portion of food that can be reached through a small hole.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family July 18, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What’s on Your Summer Playlist?

Music has the power to transport you back in time, doesn’t it?

Listen to an old song, and all the emotions come flooding back … it’s almost like you’re in your childhood home again, or studying for college finals in your dorm, or falling in love with your spouse all over again.

Fast-forward to today. I hope most of us are enjoying the great things about summer – the barbecues, road trips, and visits to the beach or mountains.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: entertainment, events, family, promos June 29, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

We’re Going on a Family Missions Trip. Here’s What I Hope Will Happen

This Friday my family and I will travel to Zambia to participate in Camp Life, a week-long camp for orphaned and vulnerable children in the southern African country.

The need is overwhelming. So many adults have died from HIV/AIDS that half of the country’s 15 million people are under the age of 16. Of the 6.5 million children in Zambia, more than 1 million of them are orphans.

Zambia has the highest per capita orphan rate in the world.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 22, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Six Surprising Ways Marijuana is Hurting Your Family

I first blogged about marijuana back in January 2014, when Colorado became the first state to open its doors to the commercial sale of recreational marijuana. (Since then, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon have followed suit.)

The changes in drug policy came after years of lobbying and campaigning by a group of committed activists who compared marijuana to alcohol. They also promised voters many benefits for our communities, like more efficient use of law enforcement and judicial resources; increased revenue for our schools and infrastructure; and an improvement to public health and safety.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, policy, pop culture June 8, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Many Kids Do You Have… And Why?

Some time ago I blogged about the “ideal” family size – does it matter how many children a couple has? In it, I took a look how many kids Americans think are ideal and why fertility rates are declining.

A recent article from The Washington Post brought that post to mind because it examines why some couples decide to have larger families.

According to Pew Research Center, 15 percent of all U.S. adults have had four or more children – and, as it might be expected, faith seems to play a role in the size of some families.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids June 3, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Doctor Shares His Summer Safety Tips

Memorial Day weekend is hours away and, with it, the unofficial start of summer.

For many families, summer is a time to make memories and spend countless hours having fun together. But with all the activities that come with the longer, sun-drenched days come new opportunities for families to face injuries or hurts.

My friend Dr. Ed Leap, who serves on Focus on the Family’s Physician Resource Council, recently came up with a list of summer safety tips that I thought I would pass along.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, kids May 27, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

My Thoughts on the Obama Administration’s Letter to Schools Concerning Transgender Bathrooms

Here’s what we sent to the media regarding today’s news. I hope to address this topic – and the issues surrounding it – in greater depth next week. –JD

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Focus on the Family President: Obama Administration’s Letter to Public Schools Undermines Parental Rights, Politicizes Education of 50 Million Schoolchildren
““There should be a balanced approach – one that does not ignore privacy concerns”

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Focus on the Family President Jim Daly issued a statement reacting to the Obama Administration’s letter to public schools on bathroom use today.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, parenting, policy May 13, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Finding Joy in Motherhood

Author Arlene Pellicane describes the average mom’s frenzied day like this: “We wake up, and we’re Mary Poppins. ‘Let’s do this thing!’ we say. But by the time we go to bed, we’re Cruella de Vil.”

A lot of moms might describe themselves with words like “busy,” “stressed,” or “tired.”

One word you don’t often hear from moms is “happy.” Maybe that’s because, by and large, mothers have settled into the notion that busyness, work, and falling into bed exhausted are “just the way it is.”

Arlene’s discovery of what a happy mom is began with a personal encounter that illustrated to her what a happy mom isn’t.

Topics: Current Events/ Family and Home Tags: family, kids, marriage, parenting May 6, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura