Daly Focus Blog
His marriage was dead. It was past acrimony and fighting. Comedian Jeff Allen and his wife, Tami, were at a stage of apathy.
After years of his alcoholism and fits of rage, it got to the point where Tami always had her back to Jeff.
Finally, one night, Jeff and Tami were in bed when he tried to talk with her – except she refused to turn around.
“No, please,” she said.
“What’s the problem?” Jeff inquired.
We’ve all seen a marriage in crisis.
We all know people who have struggled (or are struggling) within their marital relationship.
Maybe that someone is you.
Or perhaps it’s someone you love, like a son or daughter or your best friend from high school.
You can’t stand to see the marriage falling apart. You feel helpless.
When you ask, you’re told that everything that can be thought of has been tried.
Traditional counseling. A visit with the pastor.
Focus on the Family Radio Theatre’s production of the Charles Dickens classic “Oliver Twist” won the 2014 Audie Award for Best Audio Drama.
An Audie is a significant achievement for anyone involved in spoken word entertainment. The special recognition is the genre’s equivalent to the Academy Awards given out to exemplary movies and films.
So in a sense, it’s like saying Focus on the Family’s “Oliver Twist” won an Oscar. And it’s our fifth Audie Award from the Audio Publisher’s Association.
For those of us whose pro-life convictions stem from our Christian faith, the New Jersey Star-Ledger’s recent headline was disconcerting: “Why I perform abortions: A Christian obstetrician explains his choice.”
Willie J. Parker, who performs abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy, explains his decision this way:
In listening to a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, I came to a deeper understanding of my spirituality, which places a higher value on compassion.
I consider myself blessed to live at a time where we benefit from so many advances in medical science. In terms of physical health, we’re all much better off today than we were or would have been just a few decades ago.
But what happens when the latest and greatest in medical science comes at the expense of another human life? How would you feel knowing that a human life was created only to be destroyed for your benefit?
It’s an unsettling trend that’s quickly gaining speed: toddlers are increasingly being prescribed drugs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
A recent article from the Today Show cites the number of U.S. 2- and 3-year-olds receiving the medication at 10,000.
Are these drugs necessary?
Let’s be honest: toddlers can be a rowdy bunch. It’s not easy to parent during these years and keep up with the constant running, screaming, climbing, and curiosity that’s characteristic of this age.
But when you think about it, toddlers are active because it’s their “job” to play.
Video games are in the news more and more – and usually, it’s not for good reasons.
Gaming is sometimes blamed in the growing trend where young men are finding it increasingly difficult to achieve major life milestones like moving out of their parents’ house, going to college, getting married and starting a family. Some of these men are stuck in a prolonged adolescence; one stat says 18-to- 34-year-old men spend more time playing video games than 12-to- 17-year-old boys.
Some time ago I found myself in Washington D.C. attending a series of meetings. After spending the entire day and evening inside several buildings, I was eager for some fresh air. What followed would be a night I’d never forget.
With me in Washington that evening was my friend, Roger Sherrard. Roger is a constitutional attorney and a dear man, now serving as principal at Sherrard McGonagle Tizzano, in the state of Washington.
It was 11 P.M.
May is full of graduations – for so many students, it’s a time of transition to a new era looming with possibility.
This year, the University of Texas at Austin welcomed alumnus Admiral William H. McRaven of the U.S. Navy to deliver the keynote address. He is the man who commanded the U.S. Special Operations Command responsible for organizing and carrying out the raid against Osama bin Laden.
During his speech, McRaven reflected back on the lessons he learned during his Navy Seal training.
Today’s children are growing up faster than ever. Thanks to TV, overtly sexual songs on the radio and the Internet, most kids have likely seen, heard and experienced more than their counterparts from previous generations.
And sadly – one trend we’re seeing is that sexually aggressive “tween” girls are now propositioning younger boys, offering them sexual favors.
One unbelievable example
In our two-part broadcast starting today, “Helping Sons Guard Their Purity,” our guest, FamilyLife President Dennis Rainey, shares a story about a boy who had notes in his jeans pocket from a girl who wanted to sit by him at lunch.
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.
