marriage Archives

GUEST POST: The 77 Qualities I Thought My Future Husband Had to Have

He’s tall, dark and handsome. Witty. Intellectual. Smart. Well-read. Spontaneous. Motivated. Masculine. Good hair, good dresser. Musically talented. Organized. Creative. Responsible. Strong handshake.

He also hates cats, but loves chocolate and talking about feelings. He spends most Saturdays volunteering at the homeless shelter or rescuing stray kittens. He’s working toward his MBA.

And when he isn’t fishing, hunting or running a marathon, he’s playing his guitar and writing songs. He doesn’t eat McDonalds.

He makes loafers look good.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: humor, husband, marriage, relationships, wife July 16, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Wisdom for Marriages After the Rice is Thrown

Isn’t summer great? It’s the season for family vacations, blooming flowers, patriotic celebrations, and best of all – weddings. June, July, and August continue to be the most popular months to get married.

Maybe you’re like me in that whenever I have the privilege of witnessing a man and a woman exchange vows, I can’t help but wonder what their future holds. Will their love gradually deepen? What challenges will they face? Where will they be in five, ten, or fifty years?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, husband, marriage, wife July 14, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Balance a Busy Family Life

Life just keeps moving faster and faster for all of us.

With jobs and kids and all that goes into running a household, daily life can be difficult to balance.

Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to make that task a little easier.

The first idea comes from my friend and former Focus board member, Al Mohler. Like most of us, he leads a busy life. And it was busy in the early years of his family as well.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, marriage July 8, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Keep Your Priorities in Order

I often hear from folks who want to reprioritize their lives. They just don’t know how.

I get it.

The world is moving faster and growing more hectic for all of us. It’s easy to feel pressured to do it all. From our jobs and the bills to school plays and soccer practice, everything seems important. But all that busyness leaves us with crumbs of time to scrape together for family and friends, and, yes, even God.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, marriage July 7, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Testifying to the Gospel of God’s Grace

Our family is visiting Mt. Rushmore this 4th of July weekend. In the visitor center Tom Brokaw narrates a film about Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who carved the four Presidents’ images—Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln—into the granite. Brokaw says of those who worked on the mountain, “… these were ordinary men accomplishing extraordinary things.”

It made me think of our Christian faith. Yes, we are ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things through Christ. In fact, this testimony came to us this week.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, faith, finances, marriage, parenting July 3, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Three Most Common Regrets of the Dying

Every so often it’s good to get little reminders that serve as something of a reset button for what’s truly important in life.

I recently experienced that when a colleague of mine shared some thoughts he found online from a palliative care nurse.

As you can imagine, when each work day is spent caring for folks in the final weeks of their lives, the subject matter tends to dip below the surface to what’s truly meaningful.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, friendship, kids, marriage July 2, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Lifetime Commitment: Would You Marry Your Spouse Again?

Many weddings take place in the month of June. It’s a happy time of starry-eyed couples pledging each other a lifetime of love and commitment. It’s a beautiful phase of a romantic relationship – one full of promise and hope.

And marriage is great. There is great joy in living life with your best friend. But as husbands and wives know, there are also challenges to being married. Sometimes that shiny and new marriage gets some dings and dents as the years go by.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: husband, marriage, wife June 27, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Is There a Right Time to Start a Family?

The headline certainly draws you in: “Don’t Call Me Grandma: Births to ‘Older’ Moms on the Rise.” The report from NBC News highlights the growing trend of women over age 35 who are having their first baby.

Delaying pregnancy has become the new normal, and there are many reasons why this is so. First of all, men and women are both marrying at an older age. Another reason is many people – most markedly, women – are pursuing college or advanced degrees that pressure them to dedicate time to developing their careers instead of starting a family.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, marriage, news June 18, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Ultimatum that Saved a Marriage

His marriage was dead. It was past acrimony and fighting. Comedian Jeff Allen and his wife, Tami, were at a stage of apathy.

After years of his alcoholism and fits of rage, it got to the point where Tami always had her back to Jeff.

Finally, one night, Jeff and Tami were in bed when he tried to talk with her – except she refused to turn around.

“No, please,” she said.

“What’s the problem?” Jeff inquired.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: divorce, family, marriage, news, promos June 4, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Focus Joins with National Institute of Marriage to Help Couples in Crisis

We’ve all seen a marriage in crisis.

We all know people who have struggled (or are struggling) within their marital relationship.

Maybe that someone is you.

Or perhaps it’s someone you love, like a son or daughter or your best friend from high school.

You can’t stand to see the marriage falling apart. You feel helpless.

When you ask, you’re told that everything that can be thought of has been tried.

Traditional counseling. A visit with the pastor.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: faith, husband, marriage, news, wife June 3, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura