“Last week’s passage of the misnamed “Respect for Marriage Act” in the House of Representatives represents a tipping point in the American story, and a grave turn that should concern all those who cherish and value religious freedom. 

“Enshrining into law a destructive definition of marriage that undermines and expresses hostility towards God’s sacred design of a multi-millennia old institution invites the inevitability of unintended consequences. It also threatens to criminalize people of faith and jeopardize organizations that have done so much good for so long. 

“History has demonstrated that empires end when attributes like virtue, honor and honesty are no longer valued.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 9, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

News broke yesterday that an amendment designed to protect religious freedom in the deceptively titled “Respect for Marriage Act” currently pending a vote in the House of Representatives was blocked by House Democrats.

This is one more example why Christians should vote their convictions. Elections have consequences.

Apparently, there’s also discussions about the possibility of folding the legislation into the defense authorization bill in order to garner more votes.

Nevertheless, your voice matters. Please consider calling or contacting your House Representative and ask them to Vote “NO” on HR 8404, the “Respect for Marriage Act.” 

You can either call their House offices directly through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or you can use the House website directory found here. 

Here is some additional information put out by Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen about the troubling legislation:

HR 8404 is extreme and poses a substantial threat to religious freedom nationwide. 

The bill: 

Further embeds a false definition of marriage into American law. 

Opens the door to federal recognition of polygamous relationships. 

Jeopardizes the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that affirm that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. 

Endangers faith-based social service organizations by threatening litigation and liability risk if they follow their views on marriage when working with the government. 

The U.S.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 7, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The wear and tear of everyday life can take a toll on your marriage. On any given day you may face challenges in your faith, church, extended family relationships, recreation, sexual intimacy, friendships, household responsibilities, finances, hectic schedules, and a never-ending stream of parenting decisions.

Whew!

Is it any wonder that most relationships could use a little maintenance? The question is, how do you fill your marriage with good things without it all becoming just more things to juggle?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 7, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

I remember a few years ago when my family and I were about to hit the road for a vacation. The night before we were to leave, I double-checked our van to make sure it was road worthy. Everything looked ready to go … until I started the engine, and an indicator light came on. I tried to troubleshoot the issue, but there were no obvious problems. The worst part was I had to tell my family that we couldn’t leave for vacation until we got the van to a mechanic.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 2, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What kind of “sex-pectations” do you and your spouse have?

In the book Married Sex: A Christian Couple’s Guide to Reimagining Your Love Life, co-authors Gary Thomas and Debra Fileta define “sex-pectations” as beliefs about sex that couples have going into marriage.

Those expectations are often unhealthy. Aligning them with reality can be challenging. A great place to start is adopting a biblical perspective of sex, which will promote a healthy sex life in your relationship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 1, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Do you have a “barely enough” marriage?

If so, would you like to have one that is “filled to the brim”?

Those metaphors come to life in John 2:1-11, which tells the story of Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana. A man who was hosting a marriage celebration ran out of wine. At the urging of his mother, Jesus instructed the servants to fill six stone jars with water, each holding 20 to 30 gallons.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage November 18, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Marriages everywhere are at risk because of one of the most powerful drugs known to man – called infatuation.

Maybe you don’t think of infatuation as a drug. But Dave Carder, who has spent the past 30 years studying the causes of infidelity, says infatuation is as powerful as any substance out there.

If you think that’s overstated, consider this: when someone walks away from their family for an affair, you probably ask yourself: “What were they thinking?”

According to Dave, they weren’t thinking.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage November 17, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Is happiness in marriage attainable?

A lot of couples don’t think so.

Author Kevin Thompson says, “Absolutely!”

The catch is that couples can’t make happiness the goal. Happiness is the byproduct of an even greater objective. Connecting at a soul level. “And the two shall become one flesh” (Matthew 19:5).

How?

By working through challenges together.

Kevin’s grandparents were happily married for 70 years. People often suggested that they were “lucky” to achieve that success.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage October 31, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura