Daly Focus Blog
Here’s an important parenting question:
What if your hands were empty, but I asked you to give me one of the apples you were holding?
That’s not a trick question, a riddle, or some odd math problem from your junior high days. It’s a simple question that makes an equally simple point.
We can’t give away something we don’t have.
How does that concept relate to parenting? In this way: We can’t parent our children with God’s grace if we haven’t embraced it ourselves.
I heard a story not long ago about a young man who didn’t receive the grade he felt he deserved in one of his college courses. Right there in the middle of class, surrounded by nearly 200 fellow students, he dialed his mom and complained to her.
If this was your son, what would you have done?
This mom said, “Put your professor on the phone.”
The young man marched to the front of the room and handed the call over to his professor.
It was the face that launched a thousand… memes?
When cameras caught Giants quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning watching older brother Peyton lead the Broncos to a final touchdown sealing their win in Super Bowl 50, Eli had a seemingly dejected look on his face. The Internet dubbed his expression “Super Bowl face,” and fans shared memes poking fun at Eli’s forlorn countenance while the rest of the family celebrated. Here’s one of the memes:
Eli Manning..
Dr. John Townsend hits a parent’s struggle during the teen years right on the head when he says it’s “because we’re needed the most and wanted the least.”
Our teenagers need us as much as ever in their final years at home before they venture into adulthood, but they don’t exactly want us interfering in their lives.
Remember when your teen was a 10-year-old? They were more likely to say, “Mom and dad, can you help me with this?” Teenagers, on the other hand, say, “I’m a grownup; I don’t need your help.”
The unofficial mantra of teenagers everywhere is “Come close.
I remember my son Trent’s first science project when he was in fourth grade. Jean and I agreed that we needed to let him do the project on his own. After all, the whole point was for him to learn, right?
Well, at the end of the semester, we discovered not every parent shared that view.
The school had an open house, so the parents could see the work the kids had done. It was pretty obvious whose mom and dad had been involved in their child’s schoolwork – like the rocket ship that had been built from scratch by an actual astronaut!
I started my blog a few days ago with this comment: “Every life is precious. Young and old, weak or strong, planned or unplanned.”
It’s true, and I believe every word of it.
But to be perfectly candid, I worry that statements like that get tossed about too easily.
Yes, all life is precious, and we should proclaim that boldly from the rooftops. But the flip side of that boldness is the humility that compels us to roll up our sleeves and come alongside the weak, the elderly, and special needs children and the families who care for them.
Every life is precious. Young and old, weak or strong, planned or unplanned.
Every January here at Focus on the Family, we observe Sanctity of Human Life Month. The idea that God has woven His image into the very fabric of every human life is a fundamental teaching of the Bible and is core to who Focus on the Family is as an organization.
In fact, one of our foundational principles reads: “We believe that human life is created by God in His image.
The SLED Test is a conversation piece, originally developed by Stephen Schwartz in his book, Moral Question of Abortion, that uncovers a few ways to logically discuss the value of human life.
The acronym SLED stands for size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency. From this thought process, we can share the reality that personhood is not defined by any of these four things.
Now, anyone who has talked with an abortion advocate knows that the dynamics of real conversation many times make it impossible to give a four-step argument like the SLED Test.
The middle school years are a critical time in a child’s development, but it can be a difficult time for parents.
Middle schoolers are leaving behind elementary school and entering a larger environment with more classes, more students to rub shoulders with, and more responsibility. They’ll also face pressures they’ve never had to deal with before.
Helping your child through these changes is no easy task, but with a little guidance from our guest on a recent program, Dr.
Have you seen the popular MTV programs “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant”? I’ve never watched a full episode myself, but I’ve managed to catch a random segment or two to keep a pulse on the culture and the messages being sent to our kids.
If you’re not familiar with these shows, they’re so-called “reality” TV programs that follow the lives of young girls between the ages of 13 and 16 who are pregnant, having babies, and involved in intimate relationships.
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.
