Daly Focus Blog
What comes to mind when you think of pleasure?
How about temptation? Or sin? Or guilt?
Ever notice how the idea of pleasure so easily sends our minds spiraling toward the negative? It’s as if pleasure were a creation of Satan with no other purpose than to distract us from God.
But if we’ll think back through Scripture, we’ll arrive at a different conclusion.
Numerous passages remind us of times when God commanded His people to celebrate with lavish feasts.
Dave Aldridge died unexpectedly just four days before Christmas in 2012. The happy husband and father of three was a strong believer who loved the Lord and poured himself into everything he did, from being a husband and father to going the extra mile for anyone who had a need. The Colorado Springs resident collapsed while running, the victim of a congenital heart defect. He was just 39 years of age.
The obituaries are full of stories of people like Dave, men and women whose lives on earth seem all too brief.
Are you raising a child or raising an adult?
That’s not a trick question. In fact, for many of us, it gets to an idea that may reflect a complete paradigm shift in how we view parenting.
Our job isn’t simply to teach our kids to obey a set of household rules (although learning to follow instructions is important, too). It’s to empower them to use their judgment to make good decisions in life.
How do we do that?
Marriages everywhere are at risk because of one of the most powerful drugs known to man: infatuation.
Maybe you don’t think of infatuation as a drug. But pastor and marriage expert Dave Carder, who has spent the past 30 years studying the causes of infidelity, says infatuation is as powerful as any substance out there.
Do you think that’s overstated?
Consider this: if you’ve ever known someone who walked away from their family for an affair, you probably asked yourself, “What were they thinking?” And that’s the point.
I’m sure you could tell me which of your children are introverts or extroverts, or which are morning people or night owls. Those traits reflect their personality.
It’s how they perceive the world around them and interact with it.
Well, in the same way, financial experts Scott and Bethany Palmer say children have a money personality. It’s essentially the same idea. Their money personality affects how they see money, interact with it, and deal with others who see money differently.
Thomas Edison is famous for saying, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Something similar can be said for God’s blessings.
We’ll readily accept good news as a sign of God’s presence. But when trouble strikes, we’re prone to question why He’s abandoned us.
It’s not unusual for God’s activity in and through our lives to be wrapped in the skin of challenging circumstances. That’s often the case when a child is diagnosed with autism.
This is a fact.
Boys learn to become men in the company of other men as they walk and grow through the challenges of life together.
But in disturbing numbers across our culture, that isn’t happening.
In fact, our video curriculum, The Family Project, reveals the tale of the tape.
Sadly, statistics show that 85 percent of men in prison didn’t have a dad while growing up. Seventy percent of teen suicides occur in homes where there isn’t a dad.
Some adult men and women feel called to singleness. They live alone, but not in isolation. They enjoy deeply connected friendships, and they value the opportunities for service and adventure that being single affords them.
But a lot of adults hope their singleness is only a temporary season of life. They yearn and even pray for marriage. But, for many, the journey to find a mate has not panned out quite the way they expected.
Where do you go to meet quality people?
When you walked down the aisle, what was your vision for you and your spouse? Did you want a “nice” marriage? A “friendly” marriage? A “we get along” marriage?
Probably not.
Most couples are searching for intimacy, connection, romance, and excitement. But years into their marriage, many husbands and wives are bored. Life has settled into a routine – a rut, really – and they’re not connecting like they once did.
If you’ve reached that place in your marriage, you might be thinking, “This isn’t what I had in mind.”
Well, that’s not what the Bible says God has in mind for you, either.
Note: Did you miss out on watching “The Drop Box” last week? Well, tonight more than 400 theaters across the nation are showing a one-time encore presentation of this award-winning documentary film. Check out locations and purchase your tickets online at www.thedropboxfilm.com!
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If you’re a parent of a biological child, you’ll never forget the first moment you saw your little one on an ultrasound image.
It’s the ultimate look within. Today’s expectant parents can see what tens of billions of couples throughout history never did – 3-D images of their preborn baby moving around inside the womb.
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.
