Family and Home Archives

To Flourish and Thrive

The sexual revolution that began in the 1960s has taught us more about the need for good boundaries than any other time in history.

When the birth control pill first became available, the response was a cultural pendulum swing labelled “free love” where men and women were encouraged to cast off all moral restraint. Boundaries that once governed sexual promiscuity essentially vanished.

The sexual revolution assured us that we could do whatever we wanted with whomever we wanted whenever we wanted with no consequences.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 28, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Cultivating a Healthy Life as a Single

If you thread two keys onto a single key ring, is either key more complete after it is joined with the other?

No.

And neither will you be if you’re single and hoping to be married one day.

“Singlehood” is often synonymous with “incomplete.” But Adam and Eve weren’t created as a couple. God created Adam first, as a single, an individual. He was given a purpose in God’s creation prior to Eve becoming his wife.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 27, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Moms Are Human, Too: Why Self-Care is a Good Thing

I can’t say it enough. Moms have on of the hardest jobs in the world!

I think the Lord created women with maternal instincts that drive them to serve and sacrifice everything they have for the sake of their families. My own mom cared for five children, worked two jobs, and tried to meet everybody’s needs the best way she knew how. We didn’t have much, but we were happy.

Unfortunately, it’s easy for moms to take on too many responsibilities – and neglect themselves in the process.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting June 26, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Growing Your Marriage in Times of Stress

Does your marriage stress you out?

Are you bringing stress into your marriage?

Either way, how do you handle it?

Many couples seek stress relief in non-relational ways that enable them to hide from each other. Drugs and alcohol. Shopping. Gambling. Excessive cleaning. Binge-watching television or social media.

We retreat.

We shut down.

We become silent and non-communicative.

Jesus faced stress. Luke 22:44 says, “Being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Matthew 26:37 says Jesus was “sorrowful and troubled.”

Jesus modeled how to seek stress relief through relationship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage June 22, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Helping Kids See God’s Glory in Nature

Nature has incredible influence over us.

Studies show that plants and flowers help post-surgery patients raise their spirits, experience shorter hospital stays, require less medicine, and recover faster.

An article from the Yale School of Environment reports that spending a cumulative time of two hours in nature each week has significant health benefits.

Nature is also an incredible classroom for teaching children about God’s character. Even young children can perceive God’s hidden attributes through creation (Romans 1:20), connect God’s Word to the natural world, and develop a deep understanding of the rich nature narratives strung throughout Scripture that point to the Creator.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting June 21, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Talking to Your Daughter About Puberty

Do you feel like your daughter is growing up too fast?

Believe it or not, it may be true. In fact, that conversation about puberty you assumed was still a few years off may be needed sooner than you think.

There’s some debate about why it’s happening, but there’s no question that puberty is occurring earlier and earlier in girls. For some, it could be as young as seven or eight! Puberty brings about big changes in a girl’s physical development and body image, and that can be scary if she isn’t prepared for what’s coming.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting June 20, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What to Do When Your Job Is Killing You

Drs. Gary Chapman and Paul White say toxic jobs and dangerous jobs are similar. Each are stressful, take place in difficult environments, and likely include dysfunctional colleagues who undermine you and the organization.

Brutal bosses. Soul-crushing cultures. Poisonous people. If you personally haven’t experienced workplace trauma, you may be surprised by how many of your friends and colleagues have. According to a Gallup report, seven out of ten American workers either “go through the motions” or flat-out hate their jobs.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith June 16, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Believing in the Hope of Heaven

Lee Strobel was an investigative journalist and an atheist who set out to disprove Christianity. Instead, he discovered that the evidence for Christ’s resurrection is “strong, persuasive, powerful, and based on a solid foundation of historical truth.”

In the summer of 2011, Lee woke up in the emergency room after his wife Leslie found him unconscious on the bedroom floor. The doctor told him, “You were one step away from a coma and two steps away from death.” Lee was diagnosed with an unusual medical condition called hyponatremia – a severe drop in blood sodium level that caused his brain to swell.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith June 14, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Something Significant

One of the most significant ministries over the course of Focus on the Family’s nearly 50-year history is Adventures in Odyssey, a radio drama for children (check here for more information). Each episode presents a great moral lesson about family and faith in an entertaining way.

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast, we’re sharing an Odyssey program called “Something Significant,” which features the character Trent DeWhite, who wants to do something big for God.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith June 13, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Finding Financial Freedom Together as a Couple

For many couples, money can be a source of intense confusion and despair. Most of us weren’t taught how to manage money well. We rely on tips we pick up along the way from family, friends, and social media.

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Finding Financial Freedom Together as a Couple,” our guests Bob and Linda Lotich are with us to share wise and godly money management principles that will bless your marriage and put your money to use for the Kingdom of God.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage June 12, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura