Daly Focus Blog
“It started as a normal day…”
Anytime a story begins with that line, you know it’s not going to end well. Katherine’s story begins like that.
April 21, 2008 started as a normal day. Katherine was a 26-year-old wife and new mother. She had been the picture of health. But on that fateful Monday she experienced what she describes as a “funky feeling” she couldn’t shake. Within hours, she was on her hands and knees throwing up, her body slowly going numb.
Sometimes perspective is everything, isn’t it?
Take marriage as an example. It’s easy for husbands and wives to fixate on their differences, maybe because those differences can easily become the source of marital conflict.
From there, it’s only a short leap for a spouse to think that their way of doing things is better, or their thinking is superior.
It’s like a story I heard once of an English professor who wrote a simple sentence on the classroom board for his students to punctuate.
It’s back to work and school for many of us who took some much-needed time off during the Christmas season. Many of you may have even packed up your decorations until next year.
But did you know that the Christmas season traditionally runs through the feast of the Epiphany, which is celebrated on Jan. 6 or on the Sunday between Jan. 2 and 8?
The “Epiphany,” or “Three Kings Day” is especially celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain.
You know how it is when you move into a new home. There’s so much to do at the old house, you just throw everything into boxes and commit to sorting through it all at the new house.
That’s what Jean and I did when we moved into our current home. Once the truck was unloaded, we pulled the lid off each box and looked through every item one by one.
Keep this.
Put that over there.
Bill Butterworth had something of an awakening when his father passed away.
At the funeral, Bill stood behind the lectern as the family representative and told stories about who his father was. Bill didn’t mention his father’s stock portfolio or real estate holdings. He shared about what his father believed, about what he valued, and recounted a few of the meaningful life lessons his father had taught him.
And all the while Bill was thinking, “Someday the funeral will be mine, and one of my kids will be standing behind a lectern.
I don’t know about you, but my wife, Jean, and I have days where our parenting doesn’t go very smoothly. Sometimes we’ll look at each other and wonder, “Is there a secret to all of this that we’re missing?”
A conversation I had with the late Dr. Karyn Purvis before she passed away reminds me of a concept that I wouldn’t exactly consider a secret, but it comes about as close as anything: Good parenting is rooted in the heart of God, which is all about connection.
Isn’t it a wonderful thing to look back on the year and see how faithful God has been?
Here at Focus, we’re looking back – and giving thanks for the past 12 months. It’s been a busy year for the staff, and for me. And through it all, God has been faithful to lead and provide. He’s given our team creativity to develop new resources that will help marriages and families, and He continues to open exciting new doors to share the Good News both in the U.S.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating.
In recent generations, some in the Christian community have seen homosexuality as a bigger sin than every other and homosexuals themselves as virtually beyond redemption.
It seems to me that we too often use the sword of the Spirit to attack other human beings rather than reach out to them.
There is no sin we can name that is bigger than one drop of Christ’s blood. Salvation in Christ is available to everyone.
Marriage is serious business …. unless you’re comedian John Branyan.
Like this astute observation: “Have you ever noticed you’ve got to get your driver’s license renewed every four years, but you don’t have to get your marriage license renewed, ever. You’d think there’d at least be some kind of eye test. You look into the little machine, ‘Alright, Mr. Branyan, can you see your socks on the floor?’”
I think Jean could get on board with an idea like that.
With only two shopping days left until Christmas, a lot of you are scurrying through malls today, searching for those last minute gifts. Others of you are loading up the car for a long drive or preparing to catch a flight to someplace special. Since Focus on the Family is closed today for a long holiday weekend, me and the rest of the staff aren’t in the office, so we can enjoy extra time with our families.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
