Jim Daly

Signs of Human Trafficking and What You Should – and Shouldn’t – Do to Help

Human trafficking is a part of the seedy underbelly of our society that most of us would rather not have a conversation about. It’s hard to conceive of hundreds of thousands of people, most of them children and women, being either kidnapped or manipulated into psychological enslavement. So we turn our attention to more pleasant topics.

That’s exactly the behavior traffickers count on from us to keep their activities hidden and their operations running smoothly.

Even the lowest estimates suggest that something like 100,000 kids are taken into human trafficking every year in the U.S.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, kids, news, pro-life

How to Win at Family Dinners in the Midst of Crazy Schedules

Over the past couple of decades, more studies than you can count have been done to pinpoint the most crucial factors for raising emotionally strong, well-balanced kids. Almost all of them have arrived at the same conclusion: Eating together as a family is one of the most significant influences in fostering healthy child development.

A mountain of research indicates that the more families eat together the less likely a child will engage in drug use, suffer from depression, develop an eating disorder, or succumb to a host of other behavioral problems.

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

Lift Your Voice to Heaven on the National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer.

If you’re not familiar with it, this annual observance is held on the first Thursday of May and invites people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

I hope you’ll take some time today to pray on your own and perhaps to represent the Christian faith in your community.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith, religious liberty

Ten Commandments for Husbands and Wives

Whether it’s our marriage, parenting or our profession, it’s common for us to get so consumed in our own little world of trouble that we forget that every problem we face has, in some form or fashion, also been a problem for prior generations.

Nowhere is this more true than in marriage. In fact, in doing research for my book, Marriage Done Right, I reviewed plenty of old pamphlets and books that were full of marital advice.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: husband, marriage, relationships, sex, wife

How You Can Change a Child’s Life

A lot of you know my story. My mom died when I was nine years old, and my dad wasn’t around, so I spent a year in foster care.

That time could have been a bright moment in an otherwise dismal period of my life, but things didn’t turn out so well for me. Instead of support and compassion, I mostly remember feeling lonely, afraid, and desperate.

My past is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about God’s call on believers to care for “orphans and widows” (James 1:27).

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

Good Parenting Usually Isn’t Efficient

Does this routine sound familiar? Fold the laundry, change the diaper, buy the things for that science fair project, make dinner, walk the dog. It never seems to end!

When you’re in the middle of a long to-do list it’s easy to fall into the temptation of measuring a day’s success by how many of those items you manage to cross off. That’s why in this post, I’m not going to share tips with you on how to get it all done.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, wife

Sadie Robertson: “Be confident in who God is through you.”

If you haven’t already heard, in just a few days, Focus on the Family is officially re-launching Brio Magazine, our publication for teen girls. It’s a positive, godly alternative to most of the influences out there today for teenage girls.

Our “Brio girl” for the inaugural issue is Sadie Robertson. Many of you know her from the A&E reality show Duck Dynasty and from Dancing with the Stars a few seasons ago.

She’s just 19, but she’s an impressive young lady, and we’ve asked her to join us in the studio today to share how she is fearlessly living out her faith and using her public platform to be an excellent role model for girls.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, entertainment, faith, kids, pop culture

A Pro-Life Analysis of President Trump’s First 100 Days

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will reach the first 100 days milestone of their administration this Saturday, and according to the President’s personal Twitter account, he’ll be celebrating the benchmark with a “BIG rally in Pennsylvania.”

The first 100 days have held special significance in American politics since Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 15 major pieces of legislation early in his presidency. That inspired pundits and the media to use the timeframe to measure the President, because it occurs during the “honeymoon period” when a new administration’s influence is likely at its greatest.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: family, news, policy, pro-life

Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman: Between Heaven and the Real World

I hope you’ll join us for our radio program tomorrow and Thursday when we’ll be talking to Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, about their journey with God and each other.

Through an award-winning career in music and the ups and downs of real life, Steven and Mary Beth say they feel “between heaven and the real world.” That phrase has become something of a caption to their lives. Pointing out God’s grace in the midst of a very troubled world is what Steven has tried to accomplish throughout his music career.

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

Managing Your Emotions During Stressful Moments

Just a few wayward sparks. That’s all it takes to start a fire capable of burning through an entire city.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 is proof of that. It is one of the largest disasters in American history. According to popular accounts from the time, Catherine O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in a humble barn on DeKoven Street. What started as a small fire grew into an inferno that destroyed miles of homes and razed Chicago’s business district.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, relationships