Family and Home Archives

Seeing Suffering Through God’s Eyes

Someone once said, “The hardest thing that I’ve ever heard was that my child died. The hardest thing that I’ve ever done is live every day since.”

Levi and Jennie Lusko are the founders and lead pastors of Fresh Life Church, a multi-site ministry located in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and Utah. In December of 2012, five days before Christmas, they were enjoying a weekly date-night while a relative watched their children. When the Luskos arrived to pick up their children, five-year-old Lenya was having a severe asthma attack.

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

Helping Kids Navigate Worry in Healthy Ways

The war in Ukraine.

Starting a new school.

Staying home alone.

Fear of the dark.

Every child worries. It’s normal for children to feel anxious when navigating new experiences or processing difficult news. In fact, fear is a healthy response in some circumstances.

The goal is to teach children discernment and balance. A healthy fear of busy intersections or growling dogs is good. But feeling hindered, even crippled, by worry in everyday life is not.

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Helping Kids Navigate Worry in Healthy Ways,” we’re sharing practical advice for equipping your child to manage his or her fears.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting March 8, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Embracing Your Unique Love Story

Do you remember when you and your spouse first fell in love?

Did your heart start fluttering? Did your hands get cold and clammy? Did simply thinking about that special person make you smile? It was a time in your relationship when everything felt new, fresh, and alive.

But then, it happened. At some point after the splendor of your wedding ceremony, life settled into a daily grind of activity. Careers were chased. Children were born.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage March 3, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Finding God’s Purpose in Adversity

As I’ve shared before, I’ve had to overcome adversity. My dad died an alcoholic, and my stepdad walked out on my siblings and me the day of my mother’s funeral. To be honest, although I usually end up with greater faith after encountering challenge or loss, the journey there isn’t always easy.

Daniel Ritchie has a unique perspective about what it’s like to experience a deeper connection with God through adversity. He was born without arms and struggled to breathe on his own.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith March 2, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Senate & America Reject Abortion on Demand

The Senate’s rejection of the dubiously titled, “Women’s Health Protection Act” – legislation intended to enshrine abortion on-demand into law regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on Dobbs – was much closer than it should have been, but still a promising denunciation of a radical anti-woman and anti-life point-of-view.

Monday’s procedural vote would have required 60 votes to advance in the Senate. It received just 46 votes – all Democrats. Senator Joe Manchin (WV) was the lone Democrat who opposed the bill.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: pro-life March 1, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Establishing Healthy Boundaries with Adult Children

Here at Focus on the Family, we regularly hear from parents with adult children whose lives have hit a snag because of irresponsibility or for reasons beyond their control – they don’t get accepted into college or there’s a slump in the job market. Tragically, some families endure even more serious issues. The young adult becomes a prodigal, suffers from an addiction, or chooses a lifestyle that’s contrary to the way he or she was raised.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting February 28, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Recognizing Your Son’s Need for Respect

Mom, God has wired you to love your son. Your soft, nurturing spirit is critical to his development. But as your son grows into a young man, his primary emotional need from you will become something else: respect.

Respect is what attracts guys to coaches and mentors. A growing boy needs someone who will put an arm around his shoulder and challenge his performance. Someone who will say, “I expect more out of you, and you should expect more out of yourself.” A boy needs to be challenged to rise up and win the game, to conquer the chess tournament, or to master the musical piece.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting February 24, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Big Pharma is Now Challenging Planned Parenthood as Leading Abortion Provider

For over a century, no single organization has been more clearly associated with abortion than Planned Parenthood. Since its founding in 1916, Margaret Sanger’s racist-inspired group has been responsible for tens of millions of deaths.

Lately, though, another entity has emerged as a leading promoter and source of abortion:

Big Pharma.

Due to their easy accessibility, abortion pills are rising rapidly in popularity. Now available by mail, it’s also providing women with a nearly anonymous and stigma-free method to do what previously was only available with a trip to Planned Parenthood or another local abortion clinic.

Numerous websites have been popping up, promoting access and providing information on “medication abortions,” touting them as “safe” and “easy.” They brag that while some places require a prescription, others do not.

Mail order abortifacients go by the term “Plan C” and are either a combination of the drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol or just Misoprostol taken alone.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: pro-life February 23, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Friendship or Flirtation? Danger Signs for Couples

Marriages everywhere are at risk because of one of the most powerful drugs known to man: infatuation.

You may not consider infatuation a drug, but author and psychologist Dave Carder, who has spent 30 years studying the causes of infidelity, says infatuation is as powerful as any substance out there.

Infatuated people do crazy things. They make irrational decisions and ignore how their choices impact everyone else. They behave like they’re under the influence of a mind-altering substance – because they are.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage February 22, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Embracing God’s Truth in a Hostile Culture

I’ve seen government overreach and oppression firsthand. I was in Moscow in August of 1991 when President Mikhail Gorbachev was placed under house arrest. It was a failed coup attempt orchestrated by hardline communists who opposed his ideas for reform. Russian citizens were told that Gorbachev was ill. In reality, he was being held hostage.

I’ve been in other countries who closely monitored the Christian church and limited their freedoms. These governments only tolerated so much before cracking down and silencing any expression of faith.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, pop culture February 17, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura