parenting Archives

Fly to Jesus – #2

It was supposed to be a routine checkup for an ear infection of their first child. But last month, when Joel and Jess McClenahan took their precious 11-month-old baby girl, Cora Paige, to the pediatrician, they discovered Cora had stage-four cancer. Two weeks after the diagnosis, Cora died, leaving the McClenahan’s with a mind-numbing grief and a host of unanswered questions.

And yet, Joel and Jess clung to their faith in Jesus to sustain them. On their blog, which they created the day Cora was born for the benefit of friends and family, Jess wrote: “Joel and I can’t make it through this on our own, but we know we can with the Lord walking with us each step of the way, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,’ Psalm 46:1.”

When they began to blog about Cora’s diagnosis and treatment, Cora’s story went “viral” on the web and, almost overnight, the events surrounding little Cora’s life and death was followed by concerned visitors from around the world.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, parenting March 23, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Cheaper By The Dozen?

Much has been said about Nadya Suleman, the unmarried California mother-of-six who, at age 33, through a process known as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), gave birth to octuplets. Now, with fourteen children and no visible means of support, some have compared her predicament to the popular nursery poem, “There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe.”

According to the rhyme, “She had so many children she didn’t know what to do. She gave them some broth, without any bread, she whipped them all soundly, and sent them to bed.” These critics say Nadya, being a single parent, has been irresponsible, unwise, selfish to expand her already large family, and condemn her as being just another of those “unfit welfare recipients” who take advantage of the system–although Nadya denies ever receiving welfare benefits.

Topics: Current Events Tags: kids, parenting February 25, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Don’t Take It Out On Your Kids

I arrived over the weekend in Sydney, Australia for a series of meetings. Moments after landing, I learned about a tragic, mind-numbing event during rush hour in Melbourne yesterday. According to eye-witnesses, Arthur Phillip Freeman, 35, was driving his vehicle over the West Gate Bridge when he stopped in the middle of traffic, carried his four-year-old daughter, Darcey, in his arms and then dropped this defenseless child 190 feet into the river water below.

Freeman’s actions took place in plain view of a host of stunned motorists who jammed emergency hotlines with frantic calls for help.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, finances, kids, news, parenting February 2, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Quantity vs. Quality Time

In Dr. Dobson’s original film series Where’s Dad? he made a point that struck a chord with me all of these years, probably because I’m a father of two young boys. Specifically, Dr. Dobson described the difference between spending quantity time and quality time with our children. More often than not, Dr. Dobson heard parents make the comment that they just want to give their son or daughter quality time–when in reality our kids want quantity time.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting January 3, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Most Popular Posts of 2008

As the clock runs out on 2008, just about everyone is assembling a Top Ten list featuring the most popular movies, CDs, books, restaurants, and news stories of the year. You name it, there seems to be a list for it. I figured it might be fun to put together a list of my Top Ten blog posts of the year, based upon the number of comments they generated. Here’s what I found, with No. 1 being the most popular post of 2008:

1) Barbie Doll Controversy

2) Not In My Shower

3) Planned Parenthood Takes Aim at Teens

4) Fireproof is Red Hot in Theaters

5) Is Your Baby a Racist?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage, parenting December 31, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Mailbag Fun

I love hearing from constituents like you. Today, I thought I’d invite you to read three playful letters that brightened my day. This first gem is from a mother whose son was in kindergarten where he was just learning to read. Here’s what happened:

“I remember picking-up my son from school one day. I had been reading one of Dr. Dobson’s books at the time and had it on the car seat next to me. My precocious youngster carefully sounded out the title.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting December 20, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Our Awesome, Dazzling God

Author, speaker, and parenting coach, Tedd Tripp, is perhaps best known for his book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart. In chapter eight of his latest book, Instructing a Child’s Heart, I love the emphasis that Tedd places on helping our children to be dazzled by God. He believes all of us have been uniquely created for worship, and worship of God occurs almost as a reflex whenever we’re dazzled by His glory.

Personally, I’m dazzled whenever I witness an awesome sunset, one of God’s colorful creatures, or when I’m standing in the presence of a massive waterfall.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, parenting November 14, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Watching What We Watch

You don’t need me to tell you that the temperatures are dropping and the sun setting earlier now that Daylight Savings time has kicked in. And, I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that with colder temps and darkness settling much earlier, our kids have less incentive to remain outdoors to play. Which, of course, means they’re now spending more time in the house.

Why, then, am I stating the obvious?

Because as we head into the winter, house-bound kids will spend more time watching television than engaging in outdoor activities.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, kids, parenting November 13, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Crash Landing

October 14, 1978 is a date forever etched upon my mind. I was seventeen at the time living in Yucca Valley, California. The Village People had just burst onto the music scene with their hit single “Y.M.C.A.” while the Bee Gees were topping the charts with “Stayin’ Alive.” That, of course, is not why this date stands out in my memory after thirty years.

This particular morning I was relaxing at home watching a major league playoff game on television when a loud racket outside of the window caught my attention.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage, parenting, relationships October 30, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Fighting For Dear Life: Part 1

Ever since Sarah Palin was picked as John McCain’s running mate, babies with “special needs” suddenly took center stage in the headlines. Much has been written about her decision not to abort a baby with Down syndrome. Some believe she shouldn’t have brought a special needs child into the world. Others believe she and husband Todd made the right choice. Regardless of your political leanings, I thought I’d add some perspective on the value of every human life.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pro-life September 30, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura