Family and Home Archives

No Pain, No Gain

You’ve probably heard the mantra “no pain, no gain” before. People usually say it when they’re talking about exercise. But you can apply that phrase to other things, too. Like raising successful kids.

“No pain, no gain” refers to discipline, sticking with something even when it hurts, and success seems impossible. Kids need a lot of discipline in order to take risks and to keep going when things don’t work out very well.

The trouble is we Americans have become quite safety-conscious in recent years.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith December 12, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Understanding the Hot Buttons in Your Marriage

Have you ever felt like disagreements with your spouse end up covering the same ground over and over again?

The reason is that marital conflict is rarely only about the specific issue itself. There’s an iceberg of insecurity, negative assumptions, and hot buttons beneath the surface that are also at work. Hidden issues from your past can sabotage your marriage today.

Dr. Bob Paul and his wife, Jenni, are with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Understanding the Hot Buttons in Your Marriage” to describe what they consider to be a married person’s guide to a “fair fight.”

Dr.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 12, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Get Organized for Christmas -2

In part one, I shared four simple ideas to help you get organized for Christmas. In part two, I have another idea that can make your holiday season as stress-free as possible.

The mom who gave me this idea calls it her Christmas binder. It’s basically a notebook that keeps all of her Christmas needs in one place, so she doesn’t have to recreate her lists every single year. By the time the season gets underway, she already has a head start.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith December 9, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Focus on the Family President Jim Daly’s Statement on Passage of “Respect for Marriage Act”

“Last week’s passage of the misnamed “Respect for Marriage Act” in the House of Representatives represents a tipping point in the American story, and a grave turn that should concern all those who cherish and value religious freedom.

“Enshrining into law a destructive definition of marriage that undermines and expresses hostility towards God’s sacred design of a multi-millennia old institution invites the inevitability of unintended consequences. It also threatens to criminalize people of faith and jeopardize organizations that have done so much good for so long.

“History has demonstrated that empires end when attributes like virtue, honor and honesty are no longer valued.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 9, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Get Organized For Christmas -1

Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy. But all the “stuff” – the lights, the decorations, the shopping – can be overwhelming and stressful. To make this season as stress-free as possible, keep these four tips in mind:

First, find out what’s important to your family. Sometimes we’re committed to long-held traditions that no longer hold the same meaning. Save your energy and resources for activities everyone will enjoy.

Second, figure out what’s important to you.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith December 8, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Godly Thinking Can Transform Your Life

In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

In December of 2012, five days before Christmas, Pastor Levi Lusko was confronted by the horrible truth of that verse when his five-year-old daughter Lenya died after a severe asthma attack. Since then, Levi has wrestled through questions and doubts that arise in painful moments.

He has concluded that the devil, the enemy of your soul, wants to rob you of every good thing associated with your life in Christ.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith December 8, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Please Take Action: Your Voice Matters!

News broke yesterday that an amendment designed to protect religious freedom in the deceptively titled “Respect for Marriage Act” currently pending a vote in the House of Representatives was blocked by House Democrats.

This is one more example why Christians should vote their convictions. Elections have consequences.

Apparently, there’s also discussions about the possibility of folding the legislation into the defense authorization bill in order to garner more votes.

Nevertheless, your voice matters. Please consider calling or contacting your House Representative and ask them to Vote “NO” on HR 8404, the “Respect for Marriage Act.”

You can either call their House offices directly through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or you can use the House website directory found here.

Here is some additional information put out by Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen about the troubling legislation:

HR 8404 is extreme and poses a substantial threat to religious freedom nationwide.

The bill:

Further embeds a false definition of marriage into American law.

Opens the door to federal recognition of polygamous relationships.

Jeopardizes the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that affirm that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.

Endangers faith-based social service organizations by threatening litigation and liability risk if they follow their views on marriage when working with the government.

The U.S.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 7, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Character Like Doris Miller

You never know what you’re made of until you’re tested.

One of the most famous stories of this kind is a man named Doris Miller, who woke up on December 7th, 1941, as a United States Navy cook third class aboard the battleship West Virginia. By noon, he had entered American history as the first black American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest military decoration awarded for valor in combat.

As the first Japanese bombs and torpedoes exploded at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Miller risked his life to carry wounded sailors to safety.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith December 7, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Simple Habits to Embrace in Your Marriage

The wear and tear of everyday life can take a toll on your marriage. On any given day you may face challenges in your faith, church, extended family relationships, recreation, sexual intimacy, friendships, household responsibilities, finances, hectic schedules, and a never-ending stream of parenting decisions.

Whew!

Is it any wonder that most relationships could use a little maintenance? The question is, how do you fill your marriage with good things without it all becoming just more things to juggle?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage December 7, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Plan for the Holidays

Family get-togethers are supposed to be a big part of the reason we experience joy during the holidays. But it often doesn’t work that way. Family dynamics often dredge up old wounds and, before you know it, we’re pulled right back into the roles we played in childhood.

Maybe you know what I mean. One moment the family is all together, and everything is fine. The house is filled with conversation and laughter. And then a family member says or does something that reopens an old emotional wound we’ve never healed.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family December 6, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura