Daly Focus Blog
Can you open your heart to a child who needs a family?
If you answered no, you’re not alone. Many couples wrestle with whether or not they should adopt, or if there’s some other part they should play.
That was how Mike and Kristen Berry’s story began.
Kristen assumed she and Mike would adopt children when they married. Adoption was Kristen’s family legacy. Her grandfather and his brother grew up in the foster care system, but they were never adopted.
Author Jonathan McKee remembers contemplating suicide as a teenager. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, staring all the way to the bottom. One step, and all of his pain would be over.
The pain was caused by incessant bullying. The pinnacle was in eighth grade when a group of classmates started what they called the “Kill John Club.” They made T-shirts with the letters KJC and a caricature of John’s face, complete with enormous buck teeth – a feature braces had fixed, but classmates continued to torment him over – and a gun scope target over his face.
In our Welcome Center here at the Focus on the Family campus, children have the opportunity to leave their prayer requests with us.
One of my favorites is from a 9-year-old boy who wrote, “Please pray for my brother. He wets the bed. And pray for me. I share the bed with my brother.”
Some prayer requests are much more serious, like an 8-year-old boy who asked God to help his dad stop drinking, so he could be healthy again.
I want to introduce you to Erin Hawley, Focus on the Family’s newest author. Erin is a wife, mother to two young boys and also a practicing lawyer and professor of law. This following excerpt comes from her wonderful new book, Living Beloved: Lessons from My Little One About the Heart of God.
If you think of someone who needs this does of perspective, please consider passing it along. I’d also like to encourage you to pick up a copy of her book in our store – and let me know how this message resonate with you by leaving your feedback in the comments section below.
We had Jeramy and Jerusha Clark on our Focus on the Family Broadcast last year to talk about what’s going on in our teens’ brains. It was fascinating.
We learned that teenagers often can’t articulate what they’re feeling. They don’t recognize that they’re lonely and insecure, or that they need more attention from you. Since they can’t ask for specific help, they often express their emotions through behavior.
We have Jeramy and Jerusha back with us again to discuss the way teens think.
There aren’t many things more devastating than losing a child.
Pam Vredevelt and her husband have endured the incredible pain and grief of losing two children.
After nine years of marriage, Pam became pregnant for the first time. The baby was developing right on schedule, but at a routine check-up, Pam’s doctor said, “I’m not seeing any heartbeat. I think the baby is dead.”
They had three more children after that. Their youngest, Nathan, was born with Down Syndrome.
While the national media focused on D.C.-based controversies and character smears last week, at least 650,000 students were busy setting a different kind of example in their schools.
Courageous youth—kindergarten through college age— celebrated Bring Your Bible to School Day, an annual, religious-freedom event for students sponsored by Focus on the Family on Thursday, Oct. 4.
They shared their faith by highlighting its source—the Bible, sharing God’s Word with classmates throughout the day and talking about their experience on social media using the hashtag #BringYourBible.
Being a parent takes wisdom, courage, and heart. And being the parent of a girl often requires an extra measure of love and tenderness.
Our next edition of the Focus on the Family Broadcast will encourage you to trust God with your daughter and equip you to help nurture her relationship with God, with her family, and with the world around her.
We’re airing a special conversation we recorded a few months ago with Jonathan and Wynter Pitts, parents of four girls.
If you’ve followed this blog for a while you probably remember me telling you about Bring Your Bible to School Day, an annual Focus-sponsored event that empowers kids to celebrate religious freedom and share the love of God with their peers by doing one simple thing: bringing their Bibles to school with them! Just a couple of weeks ago, I told you that Sadie Robertson author of the best-selling book Live Fearless and formerly a teen star on Duck Dynasty is serving as this year’s Honorary Chairperson for BYBTS.
We’re grateful that President Trump is recognizing and celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
All individuals with Down syndrome have intrinsic value and worth as beings created in the image of God, and we’re excited that the White House has vowed to continue creating great opportunities so that men, women and children with Down syndrome can reach their full potential.
As an organization dedicated to the sanctity of life, we are also encouraged that the Administration has recognized that often preborn children with Down syndrome are never given a chance at life because of abortion.
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.
