news Archives

Meet Jaxon, a Boy Who Wasn’t Supposed to Live

A television show that never ceases to fascinate me when I’m able to catch an episode is “Antiques Roadshow.” If you’ve never seen it, antique experts travel with the show from city to city and offer appraisals for the collectibles people always seem to have tucked away in their attics.

Here’s the part that gets me: Someone inevitably brings in a painting splashed with bizarre colors or an odd-shaped figurine that makes me wonder, “Why would anyone want something like that in their home?”

Then the appraisal comes, and I discover the item is worth a small fortune.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, news, pro-life January 26, 2017 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Atlantic Denies Science, Says Ultrasounds “Push” Idea Fetus is a Person

It’s pretty incredible how far some people will go to deny the humanity and life inside the womb.

Take yesterday’s article in The Atlantic as an example.

Originally titled, “How the Ultrasound Pushed the Idea That a Fetus Is a Person,” Moira Weigel, the author of the piece, twisted herself into a metaphorical pretzel trying to prove that the ultrasound doesn’t prove a preborn baby isn’t … human? Isn’t alive? The piece was so convoluted I’m still not entirely sure what I read.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, news, pro-life January 25, 2017 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Texas Asks Churches to Help Foster Kids

The foster care system in Texas is tapped out, and it’s causing children to linger “in the system” for years.

The shortage of available homes is putting children at serious risk. One district judge said that “rape, abuse, psychotropic medication and instability are the norm” for the 12,000 foster children who are in Child Protective Services (CPS) custody for at least a year.

Things are so bad that CPS workers are spending the night in offices or motels with dozens of “children without placements” for multiple nights.

Topics: Current Events Tags: adoption, news January 19, 2017 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Will President Trump Deliver on His Pro-Life Promises?

We’re two days away from the presidential inauguration, and Washington, D.C. is gearing up for the big event.

Tim Goeglein, who represents Focus on the Family in Washington and who works from an office located in the heart of our nation’s capitol, reports that the city appears ringed in an iron-clad circle of security.

It’s been interesting to read and watch the media coverage on the transition. I’m sure you’ve caught a sense of sensationalism in the reporting, stemming back from November.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, policy, pro-life January 18, 2017 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Horror of Aleppo: How Can Christians Help?

The news reports coming out of Aleppo, a city in northern Syria, are impossible to ignore.

Syria’s civil war has been waged in this ancient city for the past four years, marking one of the longest sieges in modern warfare. And while the details of the struggle may be difficult to understand, one thing is certain: the residents of Aleppo are paying a horrific price.

There are reports by the United Nations that Aleppo, which contains the country’s largest population of Christians, is seeing many atrocities being committed “against a large number of civilians.”

There are reports of “barrel bombs” being indiscriminately dropped from aircraft.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, pro-life December 20, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

This Was a Terminally Ill Boy’s Final Wish

Are we willing to take a break from our own happiness to minister to broken people, even during the holiday season?

One man did.

His name is Eric Schmitt-Matzen, and chances are you might have caught a bit of his story.

His tale happened several weeks ago, when a terminally ill young boy was nearing the end of his battle. This little 5-year-old knew he was going to miss Christmas. And he wanted to see Santa Claus.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news December 14, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: A 96-Year-Old Man, the Wife He Misses, and a Love Song

Today I want to share some sad news, and to remember a good man.

Fred Stobaugh, the elderly widower whose love song for his wife of 75 years went viral in 2013, passed away on Nov. 23.

“Oh Sweet Lorraine” eventually made Fred the oldest person to appear on the Billboard’s Hot 100 – and even helped save marriages in the process. Truly, the love he had for his wife was inspiring.

I want to honor Fred today, as well as his sweet Lorraine, by re-running the original post I first shared three years ago.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, marriage, news, wife December 13, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Chip Gaines Models These Four Biblical Behaviors in His Recent Tweets

If you’re a fan of home improvement shows, it’s hard not to love Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of the hit HGTV reality program “Fixer Upper.”

The couple has taken the television world by storm since the show first aired in 2013. And while they’re talented home renovators and savvy businesspeople, those aren’t the main reasons for their popularity.

Fans will happily tell you there’s something different about the Gaineses. They’re kind, funny, and devoted to their four young children.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, pop culture, religious liberty December 7, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Four Things Good TV Moms – and Real-Life Moms – Have in Common

By now you may have heard that the actress Florence Henderson died last week on Thanksgiving Day. She was best known as Carol Brady, the “lovely lady … who met this fellow” on the iconic 1970s sitcom “The Brady Bunch.”

The show wasn’t a ratings hit during its initial run, but “The Brady Bunch” found its niche when it first aired in syndication in 1975. It’s been on the air ever since.

Some of that success is undoubtedly due to Henderson’s take on the family matriarch, which made Mrs.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, parenting, pop culture November 30, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Surprising Benefit to Teen Virginity

My colleague Glenn Stanton, who’s a noted author, researcher and family expert, has an interesting article out in The Federalist today.

In it, Glenn takes a look at a new, unique study from the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) that examined a wide array of high school students’ health behaviors in light of their sexual activity (virginal, heterosexual active, and same-sex or bisexually active).

The results are telling.

As Glenn writes, “The virginal students rate significantly and consistently better in nearly all health-related behaviors and measures than their sexually active teens,” and “teens who have sexual contact with the same or both sexes have remarkably lower percentages of healthy behaviors overall than their heterosexually active peers.”

And those behaviors range from binge drinking to illegal drugs, from dating violence to even tanning beds!

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, parenting, sex November 29, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura