family Archives

If You Had One Day to Live Over

The late UCLA basketball legend John Wooden enjoyed incredible success as a coach. He won ten championships in a twelve-year period and finished his career with an astonishing record of 664-162. A man of strong Christian conviction, Coach Wooden received his eternal promotion in 2010 at the age of 99.

He once wrote something that strikes me as a fitting lesson for parents as well as players and coaches.

Can you relate?

If I could go back and pick one single day in my life – in sports – to live over again, my choice might surprise you.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family January 27, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Some Numbers Are More Important Than a Score

There wasn’t a lot of celebrating Saturday night in our home state of Colorado, but there was definitely – as Luke 15:7 promises – “rejoicing in heaven.” Our beloved Denver Broncos lost a heartbreaker to the New England Patriots, but that result is really inconsequential when souls are won for Christ.

And that’s precisely what happened during the AFC Divisional Playoffs. How do we know? Because people told us.

They were responding to a 30-second commercial from Focus on the Family aired during the game.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids January 16, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Cal Thomas: Angel Unaware

Excerpts from a touching and poignant reflection on the dignity of life from columnist Cal Thomas:

My Brother’s Valuable Life

How does one measure whether a life was a success, or a failure?

Some would measure it by recognition, that is, how many knew the person’s name. For others, the measure of a successful life would be the amount of wealth accumulated, or possessions held. Still others would say a life was successful if the person made a major contribution to society — in medicine, sports, politics, or the arts.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family January 12, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Cal Thomas: An Extraordinary Life

Excerpts from a touching and poignant reflection on the dignity of life from columnist Cal Thomas:

My Brother’s Valuable Life

How does one measure whether a life was a success, or a failure?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family January 11, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Six Steps to a Fulfilling Day

More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice the simple ministry of presence.

Still, it is not as simple as it seems.

My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up in meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family January 10, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

This is Why Children Make You Laugh

It’s common to get caught up in the serious side of life, and how can we not? It’s a rare day that we don’t encounter somber circumstances of one sort or another. There’s illness, relationship dysfunction and the struggle to make the mortgage payment on the very day when the car’s transmission goes up in smoke.

A friend of mine refers to the normal vicissitudes of life as “The Tales of the Never Ending.” Indeed, it would seem that if we’re not careful, there is almost always something going on that threatens to suck joy out of an otherwise happy situation.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, humor January 4, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

As we look expectantly and excitedly toward 2012, I’d love to share with you some ministerial highlights from this past year. I am humbled and grateful to report the following:

Focus on the Family helped strengthen or save 1.2 million marriages in 2011. This figure is part of the 90 percent of projects and commitments Focus was able to fulfill in spite of the year’s economic downturn, which significantly impacted the organization.

The ministry, through licensed professional counselors on staff, provided counseling to nearly 52,000 individuals since January.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, pro-life, staff December 30, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Manly Challenge

Speaking on behalf of most men, I can say with confidence that guys love the thrill of a challenge. And although it might pale in comparison to summiting Mount Everest or running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, today’s radio program features a special invitation to all married men to “man up.”

First, some context:

On today’s show we’re talking with authors Bill and Pam Farrel, who have written the bestselling book, Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, marriage, wife December 15, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What Andy Rooney Thought Every Child Needed

Although he struck many of us as something of a curmudgeon, I enjoyed watching and reading Andy Rooney over the years.

Mr. Rooney lived a long and colorful life before passing away at the age of 92 last month. Many of his newspaper columns were compiled into various books. The following essay that I’m going to excerpt, “What Every Kid Should Have Growing Up,” comes from one of his best-selling works titled Sweet and Sour.

Reading over this list, I have to admit that I wish I had all these things growing up.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids December 2, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Should the State Be Allowed to Remove Overweight Children?

By now you’ve probably heard the story of an Ohio mother whose 8-year-old son was taken away from her because of the boy’s weight.

The Cleveland Heights youth tips the scales in excess of 200 pounds. Doctors recommend that a child of that age and height should weigh somewhere between 55 and 60 pounds.

To be fair, I’m not aware of all the facts of the case. I did read that state workers had been monitoring the child’s situation for over a year.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, policy, religious liberty November 30, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura