Daly Focus Blog
It’s hard to see around an elephant.
They get in the way when you’re trying to connect with people. They keep you from seeing or hearing each other very well. That’s true literally and figuratively.
When there’s an elephant in the room, relationship is hindered because there’s a problem hiding in plain sight that no one is willing to acknowledge, let alone talk about.
It happens in marriages. It happens in families. It happens in business.
Week ending March 6, 2018:
Raising a Modern-Day Knight (by Robert Lewis)
Family: How to Love Yours (and Help Them Like You Back) (by Jessie Minassian)
10 Ways to Say “I Love You” (by Josh McDowell)
Enjoy!: The Gift of Sexual Pleasure for Women (by Cliff & Joyce Penner)
One More Try (by Gary Chapman)
Raising an Original (by Julie Lyles Carr)
The Married Guy’s Guide to Great Sex (by Cliff & Joyce Penner)
Married But Lonely (by David E.
Mary and Joseph both heard from God about the coming birth of their son, Jesus. But have you ever noticed how differently the Lord communicated that to each of them?
When the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she would bring the Christ child into the world, Mary asked, “How can this be?” (Luke 1:34, ESV). She wanted to know in what way God’s plans could happen.
Gabriel patiently outlined the full plan: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
What is it that God wants out of our marriages?
Do we think about that? We know what we want out of our marriage, and we know what we expect our spouse to provide us. But what does God want?
Well, much of what God wants for you is wired in to you. A woman’s deepest need is to know that her husband loves her. A man’s deepest need is to know that his wife respects him.
Here at Focus on the Family we’re joining with believers around the world in remembering Dr. Billy Graham and his amazing life and legacy. I hope you had a chance to listen to today’s special radio program featuring a message from the famed evangelist. He is considered the most important and influential evangelist of our time, and rightly so.
Although Focus is a ministry centered on marriage and parenting, it’s no secret that evangelism is central to everything we do.
God has given married couples a wedding present.
Sex.
The Lord designed physical intimacy to be enjoyed by both husbands and wives. First Corinthians 7 tells us that sex is rooted in mutuality. Husbands are to be sensitive to their wives’ needs, and wives are to be sensitive to their husbands’ needs. Marriage is about serving one another, not demanding your own rights.
Sadly, we live in a broken world that undermines God’s sacred designs. Secular culture portrays sex as primarily for the man.
Valentine’s Day marks the culmination of National Marriage Week here in the United States. Conceived as a “collaborative campaign to strengthen individual marriages, reduce the divorce rate, and build a culture that fosters strong marriages,” the effort mirrors the ongoing daily work of our ministry.
The traditions surrounding Valentine’s Day may frustrate some, but I’ve always enjoyed them. Jean has been my Valentine for three-plus decades now, and I consider her a gift.
For my fellow male readers, I’m going to assume you’ve already taken care of the cards, the flowers and chocolates.
Marriage is central to what we do here at Focus on the Family.
We believe that marriage is the foundation of the family. We also believe that God’s design for marriage is a relationship where both husband and wife are committed to loving and caring for one another for a lifetime.
The problem is, men and women are selfish creatures, and their selfishness comes out in all kinds of unhealthy ways. One of the most devastating aberrations is an affair.
What’s your favorite song?
The reason it’s your favorite is probably because you enjoy the vocals of the lead singer. But perhaps more than you think about, you also enjoy the song because of a cast of characters who some would say are just as important as the lead: the backing singers.
Their chorus of voices harmonize with the lead and give the song a beauty, richness, and texture the main vocalist could never achieve alone.
Julie and Clay’s first baby was due any time. To celebrate and to enjoy one last date night – at least for a while – Julie planned a romantic dinner at their favorite restaurant.
That evening, Julie arrived before Clay, and waited.
And waited.
He was supposed to come there straight from work, but twenty minutes passed and still no Clay. She called his phone. No answer.
Thirty minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Clay and Julie lost their reservation, and Julie’s expectations for the night were ruined.
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.
