faith Archives

Discovering God Is Enough

Humorist Erma Bombeck once said, “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain.”

Chonda Pierce has been tip-toeing that line for a long time. She’s been doing stand-up comedy for 30 years and has received more Gold and Platinum awards than any female comic in history. She has a unique ability to describe life’s most challenging moments all while making you laugh out loud with her humor.

Focus on the Family was privileged to have Chonda as a guest speaker at a chapel service here at the ministry.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 21, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Bringing Your Kids Back to Christ

So many young people are wrestling with their faith that there’s a term for it in the culture: deconstruction. Deconstruction basically means you strip your faith to the bone and see what – if anything – survives.

That process can be scary to watch if it’s your adult child who’s questioning every value they’ve been taught. It can also lead to confusing questions. What are the boundaries with someone who’s deconstructing? How do you come alongside your child while allowing him or her to struggle?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids June 20, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Inner Qualities of a Mate

If you’re dating, I’d like to share a few important qualities to look for in a mate. Whatever else you may hope to find in a person, these three qualities are a must if you want a marriage that lasts a lifetime.

First, you want a person who respects boundaries. When you ask them not to call late at night, do they honor that request, or do they call anyway? Do they act possessive when you spend time with other people, like family and friends?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage June 11, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Chimes of Freedom on Foreign Shores

I had the privilege of being in France yesterday as the country observed the 80th anniversary of the Normandy invasion on D-Day. It was a sobering and inspiring experience.

If you’ve seen the coverage on TV, you know that many world leaders were on hand, represented at ceremonies at Normandy and elsewhere: President Biden, French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain’s King Charles III, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky among them.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith June 7, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Absolute Zero

People who aren’t religious typically share a common belief: They only trust in tangible things that can be physically detected. That sounds reasonable until you realize how much of reality exists outside our ability to perceive it.

Let me give you an example. Scientists talk about a thing called Absolute Zero. That’s the temperature at which all heat in a system is completely gone – so cold that even atoms become fully motionless. Absolute Zero is a whopping 460 degrees below zero.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 5, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

For Those in the Background

Here’s a trivia question for you: Which team has the worst win-loss record in all of sports?

The answer is a basketball team called the Washington Generals. They’ve been losing nonstop to the Harlem Globetrotters since 1926 – a mind-bending 16,000 times. Obviously, the Washington Generals are a spoof, but they illustrate the importance of people who make an organization successful even though they never get the spotlight – which is most of us.

The Generals are supposed to lose.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family May 28, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Honoring the Fallen

One million.

That’s a big number. But on today of all days, that number takes on even greater value and significance.

That’s because today is Memorial Day, the day we remember over one million Americans who have died in war on behalf of us all.

That figure is astounding by itself. But it’s even more sobering when you reflect on this: every one of those one million has a name, and behind every name is a family whose entire world changed forever because that soldier didn’t come home alive.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith May 27, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Gaining a New Perspective in Life

Author and speaker Canon J. John tells this story:

A factory employee headed home at the end of a long day, pushing a wheelbarrow. Inside the wheelbarrow was a small box.

At the security gate, the guard stopped him and asked, “What’s in the box?”

The worker replied, “The sawdust from the floor. At the end of the day, it’s swept up and thrown away. I need some, so I put it in a box to take home.”

The guard looked inside the box and, sure enough, it was filled with sawdust.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith May 24, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

True of Every Person

What is human life worth?

Does every person deserve to be treated with dignity?

What about the elderly, the unborn, or the disabled?

One of the most important ideals America has pursued for 250 years is the belief that all people are equally valuable. Yet, throughout that time our nation has struggled to agree on exactly how to define human equality. After all, we don’t all have equal ability, talent, or intelligence. We’re not all equally healthy or ambitious.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith May 23, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Examining Your Part in a Difficult Marriage

Darryl Strawberry had it all. Talent. Money. Success. Fame. He had been a power-hitting, eight-time Major League All-Star who earned four World Series championships in 17 seasons with teams like the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. Then his career and his life were derailed by substance abuse and prison time. He lost two marriages, was estranged from his children, and was $3,000,000 in debt.

When Darryl met Tracy – in recovery – she was also in a bad place.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage May 22, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura