Daly Focus Blog
Toss a pebble into a lake, and the resulting ripple impacts the entire body. In the same way, you have the ability to positively influence your family by taking small steps that create big impact.
I know I’ve seen this principle in my own life.
My childhood story is not a pretty one. It involves divorce, death, and a lot of dysfunction.
I was only 5 when my father, who was an alcoholic, abandoned the family.
It started in December, when Focus on the Family first began running “Irreplaceable” trailers in cinemas across the nation.
The trailer was benign, a collection of clips with a voiceover of host Tim Sisarich asking what happened to the belief in traditional family. What happened to the view that a man and woman should marry, raise children and remain committed for a lifetime?
During the trailer, Sisarich rightly points out that the culture is now seemingly at odds with that simple and natural design formula.
It’s hard to believe we’re less than a month away from debuting Focus on the Family’s first-ever movie. We’re working hard to be ready for the big one-day event that will take place on May 6 in more than 700 cinemas nationwide – we’re making final edits to the film and spreading the word via media interviews (like this one I gave to Janet Parshall at the 25-minute mark).
As we prepare to launch “Irreplaceable” we’re also looking ahead to “The Family Project” – the small-group DVD-based curriculum to be launched this summer that will continue to explore the themes introduced in our documentary.
Do you ever feel spiritually stuck?
If so, you’re not alone. Research suggests that 80 percent of North American Christians spend three to four months of the year feeling disconnected from God. As a result, they might become frustrated with the church and they might stop growing in their faith.
If we’re being honest, we’d admit that this spiritual malaise can be an easy place to get to. We’re so easily distracted and overwhelmed by our technological gadgets and our busy lives that it’s all too easy to stop reading the Bible.
I’m not that old, but I can remember the days when young men and women who were interested in each other interacted in ways that were pretty low-tech compared to today’s standards. If a guy liked a girl but wasn’t able speak with her in person he picked up the phone and called her. If he couldn’t do that, he wrote her a letter. Remember those?
Today, though, many guys are relying on a communication tool that’s proving to have its downsides in the dating realm – the text message.
Focus on the Family’s first feature-length film, “Irreplaceable” will debut in a one-night theatrical event in more than 700 cinemas nationwide on May 6. I want to share a clip from the movie that really sets up what the documentary is all about.
This clip features author and cultural commentator Eric Metaxas talking about two different views of family – and his words drive deep into the heart of the question, “What is family?”
As “Irreplaceable” host Tim Sisarich explains during the trailer, “Every day in the media, the life choices of my neighbors, even in public policy, I seem to be told that I’ve got it wrong.”
More and more, it seems like vastly different views of family are coming head-to-head in the culture.
Can you be a parent without the hassle of a romantic relationship?
According to some people, you can – and should.
Modamily is a company that helps introduce people with no romantic interests or intentions for the purpose of raising a child together. It’s like a dating website, but instead of looking for love, users are looking for someone they can parent with. Proponents advocate it’s actually a better move for children, because it skips the “divorce nightmare.”
Modamily founder Ivan Fatovic explains: “All a child needs to develop and grow is attention, encouragement and love.
Some weeks ago I shared three thoughts about submission in marriage. Today I want to expand a bit on the third point, “A husband’s authority over his wife is not absolute.” It read:
Just like the husband ultimately submits to God, a wife must make her ultimate allegiance to God, too. This means that whatever leadership her husband extends over the home is limited to what is God-pleasing and good. In other words, if a husband wants his wife to do something that is clearly immoral or unethical, the wife can echo the words of Peter in Acts 5:29 when he said, “We must obey God rather than men.”
So with this, we have certain bases covered: “leadership” does not equal dictatorship, and God is the ultimate authority in the Christian home.
Mary Hunt was cheating on her husband. Her tryst, though, wasn’t with another man – but it had the power to destroy the marriage just the same.
The secret Mary hid from her husband was about her financial infidelity – to the tune of $100,000 in credit card debt.
Money problems are one of the leading causes of divorce in our nation. Granted, most couples don’t carry a credit burden as deep as Mary and her husband’s.
Many people think that learning to compromise is one of the keys to a successful marriage.
Would it surprise you to learn that Focus marriage experts Dr. Greg Smalley and Erin Smalley disagree?
According to the husband-wife team, compromise – an agreement where each person makes concessions – may not be the best way to help ensure long-term satisfaction in a marriage.
“I hate the word ‘compromise,’” explains Greg. “I don’t want to settle. I want to reach for something better.”
That’s why, instead of compromising, the Smalleys have found that it’s best to find a solution that feels great to both of them.
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.