Jim Daly

One of the most popular questions we get here at Focus on the Family is, “How do I pass my values on to my children?”

First and foremost is you, mom and dad. Your presence is the most important influence in your kids’ lives. They’re watching you. Everything you say and do makes a profound impression on what your children say and do. Model the values you hope your children will adopt as their own. If you want them to be loving, then be loving.

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Technology continues to make incredible, often unimaginable, strides. Much of it is well-intended. Communication technology and social media have transformed life, connecting us with people anywhere in the world. And, yet, according to the U.S. Surgeon General, loneliness is an epidemic. Half of all adults feel significantly isolated.

How can the most connected generation in history suffer from isolation? Because God has wired us for face to face, heart to heart connection that nothing digital can replicate.

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As the saying goes, “Laughter is good for the soul.” It’s good for your soul as a parent as well.

Studies show that families who laugh are healthier, happier and more connected to each other. Even little giggles between you and your family play a meaningful part in creating bonds that you’ll share forever.

Laughter is a powerful connector. In fact, at its heart, laughter is mostly about connection, only partially about humor. We laugh more when we’re with other people than when we’re alone.

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You’d think I’d have marriage down pat by now. My wife, Jean, and I have been married almost 40 years. I’ve also spent the majority of my career leading an organization that helps families thrive. Nevertheless, while I believe I’m becoming all that God desires of me, I’ll always be an imperfect work in progress.

But I guess that’s true of all of us. Whether you’ve been married as long as me or you’re a newlywed, all of us can take small steps and grow as a husbands and wives.

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The empty nest years can be a “tight ring season.”

That’s a term coined by Marci Seither and her husband after a customer hired the Seithers’ sawmill in Northern California to remove a huge tree from the spot where their new home would be built. Feeling it a shame to lose such a beautiful tree, the homeowners planned to recycle the lumber by using it in the house’s construction.

But once they cut down the tree, they discovered the wood was too weak to use.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family