Daly Focus Blog
Today is Friday the 13th, a day some associate with bad luck. Just saying the phrase brings to mind other (imagined) connections with misfortune, like black cats, broken mirrors and an open umbrella indoors.
While as Christians we should steer clear of these “silly myths,” (1 Tim 4:7) the reality is we have a few “superstitions” we believe, too. Ours might not be rooted in magic or chance, but in a misunderstanding of what Scripture truly teaches.
It’s the type of story that makes parents shudder:
Students exchanging nude photos on their phones.
Members of the Cañon City High School football team here in Colorado allegedly exchanged and collected hundreds of nude photographs of more than 100 students. Some of the students photographed were in middle school. And it seems all of this was part of a competition where points were assigned per picture.
As a colleague remarked, if this type of scandal is occurring in a small town like Cañon City, you know it’s happening all over America.
Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas?
Well, it’s not if you hope to get yourself organized, so you can have a smooth December and enjoy a stress-free Christmas season.
A lot of you can relate. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, a time when we reflect on our Savior who came as a baby in a manger and soon took upon Himself the sins of the world.
Instead, we get caught up in all the “stuff” of Christmas: the lights, the decorations, the shopping.
Election night 2015 brought victories for religious freedom and common sense.
Last night we saw many encouraging signs from around the country that voters are concerned with issues ranging from religious freedom to the expansion of recreational drug use to the safety and privacy concerns of women and children.
Here are some of the highlights:
First, Houston voters overwhelmingly rejected a controversial city ordinance that would have allowed men suffering from gender confusion to use women’s bathrooms and locker rooms around the city.
If a couple in your church was headed for divorce, would anyone be able to see it coming before it was too late?
Chances are less likely than you might think, according to a new study that Focus on the Family sponsored through LifeWay Research. The study found that in the three months leading up to divorce, churchgoing couples in troubled marriages show similar levels of involvement as those in healthy marriages in four areas:
Attend church once a week or more
Involvement in a small group
Serve in community ministries
Hold positions of responsibility at church
What’s even more astounding is that nearly one-third of churchgoers who divorced never told anyone in their congregation that they were experiencing marital problems.
If you made a list of all the things in your life you never thought would happen, situations you never could never have imagined yourself being in, what would you write down?
For some of you, picking up the broken pieces of your life and starting over again with a blended family might be at the top of that list.
This new chapter of life may have come about through death or divorce or some other circumstance, but the challenge is the same: how to overcome the difficulties common to blended families and to give this new part of your life its best chance to thrive.
Kids sure come up with a lot of fun questions – like the little boy who asked his mom, “Was everything in black and white in the olden days?” Or the little girl who really wanted to know where the light goes when you turn off the switch.
But sometimes the questions children ask are tough and quite serious, like “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”, “Why do people get sick and die?”, or “Why are there things like war?”
Those kinds of inquiries aren’t easy to answer, and they usually come out of left field when parents least expect them.
Some elementary schools across the nation are banning recess.
Why?
So kids can have more formal instruction time in class.
Limiting recess is just one example of what’s being done in the interest of giving teachers more time to teach. For example, we’re seeing children being introduced to formal academics earlier and earlier.
One teacher described it like this: “Kindergarten is now first grade, and first grade is now second grade.”
Kids are also coming home with more homework than in years past.
When a beloved friend or family member is battling a terminal illness, sometimes the littlest ones can get lost in the shuffle. Yet, even 3-year-olds can experience fear and confusion when it comes to prolonged sickness and death.
That’s why today I want to share with you four points from Focus on the Family counselors to help parents navigate issues associated with the illness and death of a loved one with their preschoolers and children in early elementary school.
It’s Monday.
For a lot of us, that means a new week filled with possibilities for all that we can go out into the world and achieve.
But some people don’t see opportunity for what they can do. Their primary focus is all about what other people can do for them.
They live their lives with a sense of entitlement. They seem to think they deserve something for nothing from the people around them simply because they exist and live on this planet.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
