marriage Archives

Glorifying God Through the Obstacles in Marriage

All marriages will face challenges. It’s not a matter of if you and your spouse will encounter hardship – it’s a matter of what type of situation you’ll have to walk through.

Mike and Reneé Bondi entered their marriage knowing exactly what type of obstacles they would encounter. Reneé had suffered a horrible accident that left her a quadriplegic while she was still engaged to Mike. Despite the fact Reneé tried to “release” Mike from his commitment to her, he knew in his heart that she was the woman God had set apart for him.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, husband, marriage, wife January 23, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Marriage Still the Best Hope to Combat Poverty

Focus on the Family has long promoted an important truth: men, women and children do better when they are part of a family knit together by marriage. There’s a mountain of research that helps prove this claim, showing that marriage does more than any other single factor to protect families against poverty and financial hardships.

Well, new research is seemingly debunking this assertion. Last week, NBC News ran a provocatively-titled article, “Marriage may not be the silver bullet for poverty, study says.” It cites a study suggesting marriage is an “ineffective weapon in the War on Poverty.” Meanwhile, the article also quotes the professor who wrote the paper, Dr.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, marriage, news, parenting January 20, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

3 Thoughts About Submission in Marriage

I was working in my office with the TV on this past Friday when I heard an anchor passionately raising her voice.

It turned out the all-women panel was discussing actress Candace Cameron Bure’s recent comments on HuffPost Live about her decision to live out biblical submission in her 17-year marriage to NHL hockey player Valeri Bure.

In her interview, Bure defined biblical submission as “meekness, not weakness” and “strength under control; bridled strength.” And while in her interview Bure assured she makes her opinions “very clear” to her husband, the anchor wasn’t convinced.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, marriage, pop culture, wife January 13, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Sexual Purity in Men

Fred Stoeker was in the fifth grade when he saw his mom try to kill his dad. She stood behind him, scissors raised, ready to stab her husband – a serial adulterer – in the back.

Fred’s dad was also addicted to pornography.

And although Fred swore he’d never treat women the way his own father treated them … he eventually did.

It’s hard to shake free from the clutches of the bad examples you’ve grown up seeing.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, intimacy, marriage, sex January 9, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

You Can’t “Unfriend” Family

It’s pretty easy to avoid dealing with conflict nowadays.

Do your former college roommate’s views on parenting irritate you? Hide her posts from your Facebook news feed.

Annoyed by the neighbor’s political signs on the front lawn? Sadly, it doesn’t take much effort to avoid interacting with neighbors these days.

Things start to get a little more complicated, however, when conflict exists within the immediate family. Real life doesn’t give you the option to “unfriend” or ignore your spouse, son or daughter, even when there’s something about the family dynamic that can easily bring anger to the surface.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, parenting January 7, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Singleness During the Christmas Season

Being single during the holidays is the stuff movies, blog posts and TV show plot lines are made of. While they’re usually making light of how “awkward” things are for singles during Christmas, others try to look on the bright side of things.

I’m not belittling the importance of the topic. Our own outreach for single adults, Boundless, has a plethora of resources addressing the issue – and for good reason. God created us for community and companionship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage, parenting, relationships December 17, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Reaching the World Online Through Our Digital Engagement Center

Focus on the Family’s perennial calling to help families thrive recently received a huge boost when we unveiled our “Digital Engagement Center.”

This newly constructed, state-of-the-art social media command center uses cutting-edge technology to help our family-help specialists directly reach families searching online for advice to life’s challenges. In the past, we were only able to help people who came to us for help. And while hundreds of thousands of people do come to us for help every month, we’re also very excited about being able to proactively seeking out people who may not know Focus offers this kind of support.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: faith, marriage, parenting, technology December 16, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

“Will You Marry Me, Mommy?”

It’s an innocent question many moms have heard from their young sons: “Will you marry me, Mommy?”

It’s a question that usually inspires an “aww” and maybe a hidden smile. The mom’s heart swells with gratitude. She is loved by her son.

However, that question also underscores a fact – little boys are born knowing nothing about marriage. Rather, it’s up to their moms and dads to teach them everything about that sacred institution – including what God’s plan for marriage is.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, parenting December 12, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Click Here for the Best Programs of the Year

If you’re a regular listener to our daily radio program, you know that each December we re-air some of our most popular broadcasts of the year.

Simply put, it’s the “best of the best,” and I want to share the schedule with you below, complete with links for easy access.

Wherever you are, you can catch the broadcast on the radio, online or even via our mobile app.

If you want to find out what local stations carry the Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast, you can access it at this link.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage, parenting, relationships December 10, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Give the Gift of Family this Christmas

Everything we do at Focus on the Family is made possible by friends like you – and we want you to know just how your contributions make a difference in the lives of so many.

The infographic at right details how many people – real families, marriages, children – are impacted by our resources, websites and counselors.

From marriages saved, to families strengthening their faith, to saving babies from abortion… God is doing great things through His ministry called Focus on the Family.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: marriage, parenting, pro-life December 6, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura