Daly Focus Blog
Welcome to Thanksgiving Monday.
Do you ever feel like everyone has more than you?
On today and tomorrow’s Focus on the Family radio program you’ll have a chance to listen in on a conversation I had with one of the wealthiest women in the world.
No, not Oprah Winfrey or an heir to Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Warren Buffet.
Her name is Susie Larson.
There was a time not too long ago when she had more bills than income and more mouths to feed than food.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
First and foremost, a very Happy Veteran’s Day to one and all!
Our hale and hearty thanks to our many veterans and active duty personnel.
May we always remember that freedom is never free.
Turning a corner, I wonder how many of you heard about the new study out this week that suggests teens who text 120 times a day or more are more likely to be sexually promiscuous or use drugs and alcohol than kids who don’t text as often.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, sex, technology by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
This coming Sunday is October 31st, a date of historical significance on several levels, depending upon your faith tradition and cultural upbringing.
To many Christians, October 31st is remembered and revered as “Reformation Day”, a key date in Church history. It was on the last day of October in 1517 when Martin Luther wrote a letter to the Catholic Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting, among other things, the sale of indulgences. He had other complaints, too, and what would become known as the “95 Theses” were nailed to the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenburg, Germany.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, events, faith, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
To even suggest that children help raise their parents sounds like something out of the progressive parenting phase of the 1970s.
But, hold on.
However provocative the premise, yesterday’s and today’s guest on Focus on the Family, Dr. Dan Allender, is about as far from advocating for permissive parenting as you can get. With his Masters of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Michigan State University, Dr. Allender’s advice is biblical and practical, if not somewhat counterintuitive.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
I was reminded yesterday that even when your team loses, you can still enjoy a winning weekend.
My brother-in-law, Jon Kingdon, is a scout for the Oakland Raiders. Our family loves and admires him, but because of our affinity for the hometown Denver Broncos, there’s always been a fair amount of teasing between us. (For non-football fans, the Broncos/Raiders rivalry is legendary and dates back to the 1960s. In fact, the Broncos and Raiders have met on Monday Night Football more often than any other matchup in MNF history.)
As it was, the Raiders came to town this weekend to play the Broncos.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, family, parenting, pop culture by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
I was driving home from the airport the other night when my cell phone rang. It was my sweet wife, Jean, calling, always a welcome occurrence, especially after a day away from home.
“Guess where we are?” she asked with a lilt and bit of play in her voice.
I didn’t want to say it, but I was thinking, I don’t want to guess … please tell me.
My suspicions were quickly confirmed.
“We’re at the emergency room again,” she said, “but this time it’s for Troy.”
I could tell by the tone of her voice that Troy wasn’t in any grave danger, but anytime your child requires professional medical attention there is always cause for concern.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, family, kids, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
I have been traveling a lot lately, too much, really. Over the course of the last ten days, I’ve gone from Colorado to New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, back up to New York City, Texas and all the way across the country to California. It was productive and exhilarating, and I had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of great friends, both new and old.
But the trip was missing a favorite thing – my family! How I hate being away from Jean and the boys.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
Where and how do your children learn best? When it comes to optimal learning environments and personal study habits, most of us have assumed that a concentrated session, in a quiet room, is the most effective way to learn.
Not according to the research: Varying the type of material studied in a single sitting — alternating, for example, among vocabulary, reading and speaking in a new language — seems to leave a deeper impression on the brain than does concentrating on just one skill at a time.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
What parent wants to deliberately hold his or her child back?
According to an essay in this past Friday’s Wall Street Journal, quite a few.
Writing on the Opinion page of the Weekend Journal, Bostonian Jennifer Graham points to a growing trend of parents who are deciding to keep their child back a year or two, for all kinds of reasons. Some do so because they think their children aren’t quite ready, be it academically, emotionally or even athletically.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
The calendar still suggests summer, but in certain parts of the country, there is a touch of fall in the air. Here in Colorado Springs, we had our first 40 degree night in months just yesterday.
There is another sign of the coming change: in our family, the boys have headed back to school. Trent is now in the 4th grade and his younger brother, Troy, started 2nd.
I am grateful, of course, to see our boys grow and mature.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
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.Home
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