Daly Focus Blog
Solo parenting is one of the toughest jobs in the world.
I’ve seen firsthand just how tough. I was from a single-parent home. After my parents divorced, my mom took care of five kids. Jean and I have also worked with a young man who lost his wife and has been struggling to raise his kids. It’s been eye-opening to see the world through his eyes as closely as we have over the last few months.
I wonder if you’ve ever thought of raising your children as an act of worship to the Lord.
Author Gary Thomas calls that “sacred parenting.” That term isn’t meant to drum up imagery of a mom and dad who have “arrived” spiritually and emotionally and are pulling their kids up to their level of perfection. It’s more the idea that we’re guiding our children along the same journey that we’re on. We’re all experiencing victory and stumbling from time to time, all the while seeking forgiveness, redemption, and growth in God’s grace.
There’s a reason that Jesus talked so much about money: Our relationship with God and our stewardship over money are inextricably connected. He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, ESV).
God wants to help us align the desires of our hearts – what we love, what we’re passionate about – with the stewardship of our resources. Stewardship isn’t about building our own kingdoms. It’s about using money in a way that brings God glory and furthers His kingdom.
For over 40 years, our society has promoted the idea that abortion is as simple as a woman’s choice. Abortion affects her and no one else.
Pro-abortion activists never mention the babies, the men, and the families who are impacted forever by an abortion.
They also never talk about children like Melissa. Her 19-year-old mother was in her third trimester when she was given a saline abortion. The procedure injects a toxic salt solution into the amniotic fluid surrounding the womb.
Headlines about social media privacy concerns with Facebook are in the news as CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on Tuesday.
But there’s another story that caught my eye – and this one involves your kids.
Earlier this week, consumer advocacy groups filed a complaint and asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate YouTube for collecting and profiting off of data collected from children under the age 13, which would be a violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. The statistics are heartbreaking: One in 4 girls will be sexually abused before her eighteenth birthday. For boys, the number is 1 in 6.
Sexual abuse isn’t an easy conversation, but the information we have to share with parents on our broadcast “Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse” can help your children avoid becoming part of the disturbing statistics.
An overwhelming percentage of abuse – close to 90 percent – comes from someone the child knows and trusts, like a family friend or someone from within the family itself.
Christian philosopher Dallas Willard described intimacy as “shared experience.”
He meant that our lives are more than flesh and blood. They’re a series of experiences. The birth of a child. A great conversation. A hike up a mountain trail. A great piece of music. Intimacy is simply inviting someone to share in the experience that you’re having.
We do that with God and with other people every day. But some days it doesn’t seem so simple, does it?
Week ending April 3rd:
Triggers (by Amber Lia & Wendy Speake)
I Am: A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is (by Michele Cushatt)
I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me (by John Ortberg)
Happy, Happy, Happy (by Phil Robertson)
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (by Ben Carson)
How We Love (by Milan Yerkovich)
The Freedom from Depression Workbook (by Les Carter)
The Holy Spirit (by Billy Graham)
The Mom Project (by Kathi Lipp)
I Can Only Imagine (by Bart Millard)
Love & Respect (by Emerson Eggerichs)
Blessed, Blessed .
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.
Doesn’t it seem like connecting with your children ought to come naturally? So what do you do when it doesn’t?
Author Kathi Lipp says the “problem” is often a difference in personality. Our children have a unique way of seeing the world. Instead of hindering our relationship, what if their uniqueness became the very foundation upon which a strong connection was built?
Kathi says your child’s personality is a window into his or her soul. Although God doesn’t create children with cookie cutter personalities, there are a lot of commonalities:
Expressive.
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.
