Daly Focus Blog
Parenting isn’t easy. Moms and dads – the people who wield the most influence over a child’s life – can sometimes feel like they’re flying blind.
And if that’s true for parents who are doing their job in the best of circumstances, can you imagine the challenges families living in at-risk communities face? Not only do they have to deal with the typical homework struggles and behavioral issues, these parents must do it while navigating poverty, neighborhood gang activity and other hardships.
You have to be a creative parent when your child is strong-willed. A headstrong child rarely backs down from even the smallest challenge when it’s a question of who’s in control.
One of our boys is strong-willed, and Jean and I have joked about how we’re raising a lawyer-in-training. He can find a loophole in anything.
Jean once held a women’s tea and set out chocolates in the living room. She later discovered half the bowl was gone.
Several months ago, the Daly household grew by two when we invited foster kids into our home. I’m happy we’re getting a chance to have an impact on these young people.
Well … I am now, at least.
The credit for our involvement belongs to Jean. It was easy for me to rationalize why we couldn’t do it. “We’re too busy. We’ve got two teenagers and have so much going on. How could we possibly do this?”
Jean just looked at me and said, “How can we not do it?”
That’s the dilemma we often face, isn’t it?
The empty nest years can sneak up on a marriage.
I shared my thoughts about this in a post a few weeks ago:
“Well-meaning moms and dads spend so many years completely devoted to the task of raising their children that they often forget to be husband and wife. It’s a situation that may be manageable while the kids are still at home and there’s enough work to ‘float’ the relationship along – but it can become unbearable after the kids move out.
Parents, every day you’re passing on a legacy to your children.
What are you leaving them?
Jean and I have two teenage boys at home, and we think a lot about how we can instill them with the biblical values we know will carry them through their lives.
There are countless ways moms and dads can pass their faith on to their children, a lot of them based on the family’s schedule and each member’s unique personality.
I’ve needed God to give me a second chance to do His will a few times in my life.
Just one example would be my high school football career. I was my team’s starting quarterback and spent long hours honing my performance and pushing myself to be at the top of my game. Several colleges had offered me scholarships and future opportunities seemed wide open for me.
But God started moving me in another direction the night my big brother came to a game.
It’s a problem so big that some experts are calling it a public health concern. It impacts both a person’s emotional and physical wellbeing.
And while it can affect most anyone, this condition especially targets the elderly.
The problem I’m talking about?
Loneliness.
Complicating the issue of loneliness is that there’s a stigma around it. Some people might think loneliness is due to a “social weakness, or an inability to stand on one’s own,” according to a recent New York Times article on the topic.
Here in Colorado, you can tell that winter is right around the corner. The days are getting cooler, and you can feel it in your bones: that first arctic blast isn’t too far off.
The end of summer has me already longing for spring because once the cold, snow, and ice set in around here, they seem to last forever.
It’s no fun being stuck in winter.
That icy chill is even worse to be stuck in when it describes your marriage.
I love sports.
Athletics were always a part of my family growing up. My brothers and I built a solid foundation for life through sports. It’s where qualities like responsibility, discipline, and perseverance were expected of us. Those are skills we’ve honed through the years and carried into adulthood.
But…
As much as I believe in encouraging kids to be active in sports, I think it’s a good idea for families to set reasonable boundaries around their schedule and involvement level.
“Politics is nothing but an expression of culture, so if politics is sick, it’s because the culture is sick.”
That astute observation was from the late Chuck Colson from a broadcast we aired a few weeks ago. President James Garfield shared a similar concern in 1876 when he said, “The people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it’s because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption.”
In a government “of the people, by the people, for the people,” our leadership is ultimately a mirror reflection of the culture that elects them.
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.
