family Archives

This Obituary Will Make You Smile

There’s something beautiful about a life well-lived. When someone consistently lives out their values in a million (sometimes quiet) ways, others notice – and are blessed by the legacy.

That’s the case with Mary Agnes Mullaney, a wife, mother and grandmother who recently passed away at age 85. The family she left behind honored her memory with an obituary filled with life lessons that gave colorful and heartwarming glimpses into Mullaney’s person and character.

“Pink,” as she was called, was the type of person who lived for others.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, news September 17, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: “Will You Spin Me, Daddy?”

Like most young ladies anticipating their wedding day, Rachel Wolf had looked forward to her father/daughter dance since she was a little girl. Recently, that long-awaited dream came true for her. And, as you’ll see in the video below, it was a beautiful moment.

But this dance was far different than most of its kind. You see, Rachel wasn’t really getting married. In fact, she wasn’t even engaged. No, this was a unique wedding dance she and her family had planned so Rachel and her father, James, could share that special moment together before he passed away from pancreatic cancer.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, family, husband, marriage, wife September 13, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Five Ways to Help Your Student Finish the School Year Strong

Have your children been infected with a case of spring fever? Many school kids are already focused on one thing: summer vacation!

But wait. Not just yet. There’s still over a month to go in the classroom, even though in many homes the natives are growing restless. My wife, Jean, calls this stretch of time the “craziest” of the academic year. I think she’s right.

What’s a parent to do? How can you help your distracted student finish the school year strong?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids April 1, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Climb to Calvary – Part V

THE CLIMB TO CALVARY
Meditations on The Seven Last Words of Christ

The Fifth Words

“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, ‘I thirst’” (John 19:28).

Of all seven cries from the cross, Jesus’ fifth statement is the shortest. Christ has now turned from the emotional and mental pain of abandonment (Mark 15:34) to the physical pain of His torture. But in doing so, He is accomplishing far more than trying to quench a physical thirst.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, family March 28, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

For Those Married and Unmarried

A colleague recently shared with me about a medical situation her father once encountered. He suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) – commonly known as a mini-stroke. Her parents live far away, and she was on a video call with her dad when it happened.

All of a sudden, Dad kept asking me what day and what year it was. He kept asking when my children were born. “Wait a second,” he’d say… “I’m confused.”

After a couple of minutes of this, I asked Dad to put Mom (who was in the other room) on the phone.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, sex, wife February 19, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Power of Our Words

I love reading stories about how people came to their faith in the Lord. It’s humbling to see, time and time again, how God lovingly pursues us, calls us to repentance through the Holy Spirit and gives us the gift of His Son.

I want to share one such story with you.

In My Train Wreck Conversion, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield (photo courtesy of CT) shares her story of being a woman who, in her own words, was a “leftist lesbian professor” who “despised Christians.” Steeped in her postmodern intellectual worldview, she was convinced that Christians hated her – and she was going to attack.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family February 12, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Don’t Do This to Your Family

Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other.

Words were exchanged.

Challenges were made.

And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.

One boat began falling behind.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, kids, wife February 7, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Do Traditional Husband Chores Lead to More Frequent Intimacy?

I just came across a story about a controversial study that was featured on NBC’s Today Show.

Here is an excerpt:

Heterosexual married men who spend their time doing yard work, paying bills and changing the oil have more sex than husbands who spend their time cooking, cleaning and shopping, according to a new study on the subject of housework and sex.

From the study:

“Households with a more traditional gender division of labor report higher sexual frequency than households with less traditional gender divisions of labor,” says Sabino Kornrich, lead author of a study that appears in the February issue of the American Sociological Review.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband February 6, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Video: Why I Will Risk My Reputation

I had the pleasure of sitting down recently with my friend and colleague, Kim Trobee, to discuss the general principles that I wrote about in my latest book, REFOCUS: Living a Life that Reflects God’s Heart. That chat was actually broadcast live on our website. We fielded questions from Focus on the Family’s Facebook audience.

The entire interview, which lasted about 30 minutes, can be viewed here:

In the course of the conversation I mentioned to Kim that I was willing to risk my reputation in exchange for something very precious to me.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, staff January 28, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Short Video About Life, Love and the Gospel

Have you seen this new video from Cru?

I welcome your thoughts. Please pass this on, won’t you?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, family January 17, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura