Jim Daly

Offering Hope to Families Experiencing Drug Addiction

More than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017.

Numbers like that are the latest sad statistic from a culture of drug abuse that broke into the open in the 1960s and 1970s. The cost of illegal drugs in terms of crime, lost work productivity, and the impact on the health care system is estimated at $200 billion a year. To that figure, you can add another $80 billion in prescription drugs.

Despite the staggering numbers of traffic deaths, overdoses, and a new generation of “stoners” who would rather get high than pursue productive lives, there’s growing momentum in the United States to legalize drugs.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: addiction, broadcast, faith

Four Important Reasons to Vote in This Year’s Mid-Term Election

The midterm elections are upon us, and once again issues that Christians care about are front and center, reflected in the positions of candidates and their political parties.

Voters of all political persuasions are motivated to vote this year, and polls suggest many races are so close that no one can predict what will happen.

As the experts always note, turnout will be key.

If you haven’t already early-voted yet, I urge you to make sure your voice is heard tomorrow.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: events, government, voting

Adoption: Making a Difference in the Life of a Child

Can you open your heart to a child who needs a family?

If you answered no, you’re not alone. Many couples wrestle with whether or not they should adopt, or if there’s some other part they should play.

That was how Mike and Kristen Berry’s story began.

Kristen assumed she and Mike would adopt children when they married. Adoption was Kristen’s family legacy. Her grandfather and his brother grew up in the foster care system, but they were never adopted.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: adoption, broadcast, faith, family, kids

Combating Bullies in Your Child’s Life

Author Jonathan McKee remembers contemplating suicide as a teenager. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, staring all the way to the bottom. One step, and all of his pain would be over.

The pain was caused by incessant bullying. The pinnacle was in eighth grade when a group of classmates started what they called the “Kill John Club.” They made T-shirts with the letters KJC and a caricature of John’s face, complete with enormous buck teeth – a feature braces had fixed, but classmates continued to torment him over – and a gun scope target over his face.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, kids, parenting

The Ordinary Voter Has Extraordinary Power

Outside of the Bluegrass State, the death of former Kentucky United States Senator Walter D. Huddleston earlier this month didn’t register many headlines. The 92-year-old broadcaster-turned-legislator, ill for several years, passed away quietly in his sleep.

First elected to the United States Senate in 1972, Huddleston, a moderate Democrat, eventually lost his bid for reelection in 1984 when a 44-year-old Republican judge named Mitch McConnell narrowly defeated him in a hotly fought contest.

Narrowly defeated is an understatement.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: events, government, policy, voting

Loving the Story of Your Marriage

Brad Rhoads didn’t think he had a problem with his marriage. He was putting a lot of energy and creativity into building a law practice. His clients and colleagues all thought he was attentive and engaged.

Not his wife, Marilyn. She thought Brad invested so much of his energy into his work that he had nothing left to invest in his marriage.

There was no affair, no huge blow-up. But Brad had taken his eyes off the Lord and his wife, and their relationship was suffering a slow leak.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, marriage

Developing a Love of Prayer in Your Kids

In our Welcome Center here at the Focus on the Family campus, children have the opportunity to leave their prayer requests with us.

One of my favorites is from a 9-year-old boy who wrote, “Please pray for my brother. He wets the bed. And pray for me. I share the bed with my brother.”

Some prayer requests are much more serious, like an 8-year-old boy who asked God to help his dad stop drinking, so he could be healthy again.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, kids, prayer

Halloween Safety Tips for Families

Does your family go trick-or-treating?

It’s one of those issues good Christians can (and sometimes do) disagree on. In previous years, I’ve written about how Christians tend to think about Halloween in one of three ways:

They enjoy it, focusing on the fun and candy part of it.
They amend it, so their children can enjoy activities like a “harvest festival” or “trunk or treating” at church.
They ignore it by not acknowledging the day in order to remain true to their convictions.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: family, parenting

Encouragement for Moms

I want to introduce you to Erin Hawley, Focus on the Family’s newest author. Erin is a wife, mother to two young boys and also a practicing lawyer and professor of law. This following excerpt comes from her wonderful new book, Living Beloved: Lessons from My Little One About the Heart of God.

If you think of someone who needs this does of perspective, please consider passing it along. I’d also like to encourage you to pick up a copy of her book in our store – and let me know how this message resonate with you by leaving your feedback in the comments section below.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, mother, wife

Understanding How Your Teen Thinks

We had Jeramy and Jerusha Clark on our Focus on the Family Broadcast last year to talk about what’s going on in our teens’ brains. It was fascinating.

We learned that teenagers often can’t articulate what they’re feeling. They don’t recognize that they’re lonely and insecure, or that they need more attention from you. Since they can’t ask for specific help, they often express their emotions through behavior.

We have Jeramy and Jerusha back with us again to discuss the way teens think.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, kids, parenting