Daly Focus Blog
Money can be a touchy subject for husbands and wives because most, if not all, of the decisions a couple makes each day involve money.
Do you drink coffee at home or spend extra money at a coffee shop?
What kind of clothing do you buy?
What kind of car do you drive?
Should you pursue a different job?
Should you buy a new house?
Should you spend less or more on groceries?
Even your dreams for the future are impacted by your budget.
When the culture erupts into chaos and violence breaks out in the streets, anger is usually identified as the culprit. We’re told that people get so angry about the economy, about politics, or about injustice that they can’t help but act destructively.
Actually, destructive behavior isn’t the result of angry people, but of people who aren’t in control of their anger. We all get angry, and anger itself can be quite productive. Anger motivated our ancestors to rise up and fight a Revolution for freedom and to put an end to slavery.
The issue of abortion has divided America for decades. Over that time, however, very few of us have heard from the children who have survived an abortion attempt.
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Abortion Survivors Share the Value of Pre-Born Lives,” we’re talking with two guests who experienced abortion firsthand and lived to tell their stories. Their voices deserve to be heard.
Melissa Ohden is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion in 1977.
Have you ever wished you could get away from it all?
Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the city may sound like a refreshing, simpler way of life, but it’s actually a lot of work.
A few years ago, author Kathi Lipp and her husband, Roger, decided to move to a mountain home they’d bought. It was a tough challenge. Kathi was not “ourdoorsy” or resourceful and did not feel equipped to become a homesteader.
Racism is a problem in America. What isn’t so obvious is what to do about it.
I grew up in Compton, California. I’ve seen the ugliness of racism up close. So has Pastor Miles McPherson, who grew up in a black neighborhood but went to school in a white neighborhood. He says he was too dark for white people and too light for black people. He was disrespected and mistreated by both races.
Although race relations have improved over the past few generations, nothing we’ve tried has eradicated it.
A common question Focus on the Family gets from many moms and dads is, “What’s the best way to do family devotions?”
My wife Jean and I did devotions with our boys throughout their upbringing. Along the way, we discovered that “serious” doesn’t have to mean “dull” or “boring.” We also learned that there’s no one way to pass your faith on to your children.
Jean preferred formal times of Scripture reading and devotion. Her degree is in biochemistry, so it fit her personality to whip up a lesson with the skill and creativity of a schoolteacher.
Some people believe scientific truth is the only truth, meaning we should only believe in tangible things that we can see and touch.
But truth is more sophisticated than that. Lots of things are true even though we can’t physically touch or observe them. Like our thoughts and ideas. Or what about truth that is so meaningful we need stories to communicate them? Stories in the Bible, for example, are true in a deeply profound way that apply to everyone everywhere in every generation.
Few things in life are as good as we think they are.
Believe it or not, there’s even a scientific term for that phenomenon. It’s called the Better-Than-Average Effect. In short, our tendency is to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to.
We don’t sing as well as we think we do.
We don’t eat or exercise as healthy as we should.
We minimize our addictions.
We downplay our depression.
We believe that our marriages are healthier than they are.
Dementia is one of the most difficult medical issues that families face today. More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Each year, 16 million people provide nearly 17 billion hours of unpaid care for family and friends with dementia.
If someone you love has received a troubling diagnosis, I’d like to offer some helpful advice for making the journey as smooth and meaningful as possible.
First, seek out sound medical advice. There is no cure for dementia, but medications and treatments can minimize its effects and slow down its progression.
How big is your marriage’s “joy gap”?
Dr. Marcus Warner and Chris Coursey, authors of the book The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages, describe a “joy gap” as the length of time between moments of joy. If you apply that unit of measurement to your marriage, how long has it been? Days? Weeks? Months?
Your joy gap can be especially lengthy if you’re waiting for your circumstances to change on their own, for your spouse to make you joyful, or for God to zap you with joy.
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.
