family Archives

Fill in the Blank: All I Want for Christmas…

It’s been called the “Paradox of Christmas,” the fact that the Creator of heaven and earth gave up what He had so that we might receive what we need.

It’s in this ultimate selfless act that we find the origin of exchanging gifts between loved ones and friends. We try and find that perfect gift to communicate our affection for each other. In many circles the tradition has been trivialized and commercialized, but this is why we give – to be reminded that God so generously gave us the gift of His Son on that first Christmas.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family December 19, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

In Thy Dark Streets Shineth, The Everlasting Light

As we find and pray our way through this school shooting in Connecticut, it’s helpful to hold tight to traditions and yes, to remember the words of Phillips Brooks:

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by:
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to-night.

At the time he wrote those words, Bishop Brooks was the rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family December 17, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

If You Want Happy Kids, Do This

Forget the luxury vacation or the latest electronic gadget. If you want your child to be happy simply spend time with them, so confirms the Global Kids Happiness Index.

Over 4,000 children between the ages of 6-12 years old in 12 countries were surveyed. Here is what they revealed:

According to TMSW’s research, the most important sources of kids’ happiness, across almost all countries, are family and friends. “Play” consistently ranked third among sources of happiness.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family December 13, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Ten Resolutions for Mental Health

Pastor and author John Piper recently shared notes he took during a 1976 lecture by Clyde Kilby (pictured, left), one of his professors in English literature at Wheaton College. His plea that night, according to Piper, “was that we stop being unamazed by the strange glory of ordinary things.”

Concluding his talk that October evening, Dr. Kilby offered ten suggested resolutions. With thanks to John Piper and the late Clyde Kilby, I am delighted to post them below:

At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family December 5, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Are We Obsessed with Our Pets?

Is it possible to love your dog or cat too much?

A colleague called to my attention a provocative article in World Magazine regarding Americans’ devotion to their pets. The author of the piece told of a veterinarian who likes to ask people if, given the choice between saving the life of a stranger in a burning building or their beloved pet, which one would they save?

“You’d be surprised,” he said, “how many would save their pet.”

Dogs and cats are increasingly becoming more and more part of the family.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, pop culture December 4, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Family Never Left Side of Coma Victim for 42 Years

From NBC News…a story of true love:

A woman who lived in a coma for 42 years, meticulously cared for by her family, died Wednesday in her home in Miami Gardens, Fla., the Miami Herald reported.

Edwarda O’Bara was a 16-year-old high school student in 1970 when she became sick from her diabetes medication and slipped into a diabetic coma.

According to the Herald, just before she lost consciousness, Edwarda asked her mother, Kaye O’Bara, to never leave her side, and her family never did.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, news, pro-life November 29, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Give Back Friday

No, that’s not a typo.

For the past 40 years we’ve been calling today “Black Friday” – a term coined to reflect the date when stores would financially move from red (loss) to black (profit). Back when accounting records were actually kept by hand, the books were tallied with black and red pens.

I am in no position, nor do I have any desire, to criticize retail establishments for hyping today and trying to turn a profit.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, finances November 22, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Thanksgiving

The Desolate Wilderness

A chronicle of the Pilgrims’ arrival at Plymouth, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton.

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof:

So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, family November 22, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: Now Thank We All Our God

This classic, soaring hymn was written in the mid-1600s by a German minister named Martin Rinkart. His ministry began at a church in Eilenburg, just as the Thirty Year War began. The town soon became overpopulated and disease ridden with many taking refuge in the pastor’s house. A deadly plaque swept through the village, killing 8,000 people including Rinkart’s wife. At one point, the beleaguered minister was conducting 50 funerals per day.

Yet, in the midst of it all, Martin Rinkart wrote this hymn, originally designed to be used for grace before dinner.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family November 20, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Ten Things I’m Thankful For

It was the beloved English writer G.K. Chesterton who once observed that the critical thing is whether or not we take the turns of life for granted or with gratitude.

So, in that spirit, I’d like to share with you ten things I’m thankful for this year.

I would love to read your list, too.

1. I’m thankful for the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST … that He died for me – and you (!) and that He represents a power so awesome that its force cannot and will not be stopped on earth.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage, parenting November 20, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura