Daly Focus Blog
Why are we so easily offended?
That’s even a problem for Christians who believe in the fruit of the Spirit. Why do we get so upset about the guy that cuts us off on the highway? Why are we so easily irritated when something doesn’t go our way, or when we feel like we’re not getting what we deserve? And why do we deserve something in the first place?
There are different levels of anger. Sometimes it’s the result of feeling threatened.
My dad had a bad habit of breaking his promises. So when I was 11, and our trip to a Dodgers baseball game almost fell through, I thought for sure it would be just one more disappointment in a long line of them.
We were running late that day, and we just barely missed the bus to the stadium. Honestly, I figured my dad would do what he had always done in circumstances like that: offer a weak apology and take us home.
Kristen Schell discovered the value of community on a summer immersion program in France. She was a stranger in a foreign land, but she had rarely felt so welcomed, loved, and connected – and she didn’t even understand the language.
In a many European countries like France, community takes place around the table. Family and friends join together to celebrate food, life, and each other.
That perspective on life came back to her years later while she and a neighbor were preparing for a backyard barbecue.
Have you ever felt lonely?
Have you ever felt abandoned?
Have you ever felt like it wouldn’t matter to anyone if you lived or died?
That’s how well-known author and speaker Josh McDowell felt when he was just 11 years old. His father, the “town drunk,” was abusive to his wife and created such havoc for the family that Josh became suicidal. He felt God had abandoned him – if God existed at all, that is.
Week ending May 8, 2018
The Marriage Builder (by Larry Crabb)
The Language of Love (by Gary Smalley & John Trent)
A Lifelong Love (by Gary Thomas)
All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know? (by John Ortberg)
Fully Alive (by Larry Crabb)
Fire Road (by Kim Phuc Thi)
The Focus on the Family Guide to Talking with Your Kids about Sex (by J. Thomas Fitch)
Kingdom Marriage (by Tony Evans)
The Power of Prayer and Fasting (by Ronnie Floyd)
Courage for Life (by Ann White)
Sacred Marriage (by Gary L.
It’s been over 46 years since my mother slipped from this life into the next.
I was just 9 years old when she died, and her death disoriented me in ways big and small. In a very practical way, her passing marked the abrupt end of my childhood. Already reeling from the abandonment of my father at 5, it came at the worst possible time, though it’s never a good time for a child to lose a parent.
Ann and Mike’s counselor told them: “I’ve never seen a marriage in as big a mess as yours that’s ever made it.”
How had things gotten so bad? They had ignored the impact that stress, unforeseen hardships, and frustration with each other had made on their relationship. Over time, the cracks between them had grown wider and wider, to the point that even their counselor held out little hope for reconciliation.
Truth be told, no one knew their marriage was so far gone.
Comedian Ken Davis was 65 when he told his audience, “These are some of the best years of my life.”
He wasn’t joking.
He’d been a Christian for years, but it wasn’t until he was older that he’d begun living the truth of Philippians 3:10, where Paul says that he desired “to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.” Christians will experience the fullness of Christ after we die, of course, but Paul reminds us that we can also know the power of God’s resurrection in this life!
Why did you get married?
For yourself? Or for your spouse?
Be honest. It was for you, wasn’t it?
Don’t feel too guilty about that. The rest of us probably did the same thing. Most of us get married because the relationship makes us happy. We thought marriage to this person would make our lives better.
That’s not entirely selfish. God wants us to enjoy our relationships with our spouses, but He also has a larger purpose in mind.
“Who am I?”
Deep down, that’s a question we’re all asking ourselves. Sometimes it’s answered for us by others … and not always in a good way.
Author Michele Cushatt remembers being 19, in college, and overhearing some fellow students talking about her. One of the boys in the group said, “Michele would be beautiful if she wasn’t so fat.”
She was crushed, embarrassed, and humiliated. Worst of all, his comment solidified what she already believed about herself: Beauty was out of reach for her.
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.
