Daly Focus Blog
It’s easy to get numbed by numbers, especially when it comes to bad news. We hear so many, and all day long.
But it’s different when the numbers have names, isn’t it?
In their photographs, they’re smiling back at us – images caught from earlier days – cheerleading, basketball games, first communion, a party in the backyard. Kids being kids.
The heartbreak of their parents, loved ones and friends is unfathomable. Depthless. There are the teachers, Eva and Irma.
The idea for Deborah Pegues’ book 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue came to her after she didn’t control her tongue.
Deborah thought she was helping a friend when she told her something that she shouldn’t have. When her “help” backfired, Deborah discovered firsthand what happens when words aren’t used wisely.
In response, Deborah went on a “tongue fast.” For 30 days, she refused to speak negatively about anything – not the traffic, not the weather, nothing that she couldn’t directly and positively influence.
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Finding God’s Healing After a Suicide Loss,” we’re talking with Rita Schulte, a licensed counselor who specializes in the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders as well as grief, loss, and trauma. She’s also a member of Focus on the Family’s Christian Counselors Network.
Rita experienced God’s healing after losing her husband to suicide. My wife, Jean, who is also on our program, overcame the loss of her brother to suicide.
Our hearts break hearing the tragic news of yet another school massacre, this one claiming the lives of 19 children and two teachers in Texas.
As a citizen, I am sickened and saddened. As a father, I am enraged.
Please join us in praying for this horrific situation.
Lord, bring comfort to the grieving families. Please have mercy and bring peace to the chaos of our spiraling culture.
It was Easter Sunday 1972. Raul Ries was in the middle of his living room with a rifle in his arms, waiting for his family to come home so he could kill them.
Raul was no stranger to violence. His alcoholic father abused him, contributing to Raul being in and out of trouble throughout his childhood. At eighteen, he was arrested and given a choice: prison or the military. He chose the Marines and Vietnam. After 11 months of destructive behavior, Raul was bound in shackles and a straitjacket and spent six months in a naval hospital.
American history is at a critical juncture. Critical Race Theory, cultural Marxism, and other troubling ideologies have gained a foothold. Our culture seems more unsettled than ever before.
A lot of people look for solutions in politics. Our civic duty to vote is an important part of influencing the culture for Christ, but our ultimate citizenship and allegiance is to God’s kingdom. We can take hope that God’s light often shines the brightest when circumstances are at their darkest and most bleak.
We Christians often give more time and energy to thinking about our summer vacations than our spiritual formation. Because our salvation is rooted in Christ’s righteousness, not our own, we tend to minimize the many scriptures that call for us to seek righteousness.
Deepening our faith isn’t about gaining heaven but about blessing the lives of the people around us.
Author Gary Thomas is with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Discovering Freedom in Your Faith” to describe the joy that we can find in practicing biblical virtues.
“In sickness and in health” is one of the most important vows a couple can make to one another. Even when we are at our weakest physically, our marriage can be at its strongest if we’ll lean on God and on each other.
Authors Dave and Ashley Willis experienced the beauty that can arise from a crisis after Dave’s father endured serious health challenges. The bonds of his parents’ marriage were tested like never before. Through it all, Dave’s mom acted with tenderness and grace.
Like my world, yours is probably hectic and fast paced. You’re booked solid with work, household responsibilities, and obligations to your church and community. Some days it’s tough to keep up with all of the good that you’re doing.
Overcommitment is an easy mistake to make. Every opportunity seems deserving of a yes. But one yes too many is all it takes to go from “busy” to “overwhelmed.” One day you’re happily doing good things. The next day you can barely keep up with all the good things you’re doing.
Who’s the most interesting and adventurous person you’ve ever known?
My friend Peb Jackson, who died yesterday just 9 days shy of his 78th birthday, would be at the top of my list.
Born at the University of Kansas, Peb’s family migrated west during his childhood, settling in Southern California, where his father completed his Ph.D. at USC and taught history at Azusa Pacific University. As a young boy, his love for adventure found him going on bike rides or swimming with his twin brother.
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.
