family Archives

Bringing Good News to Kids in Public School

For more than 45 years, elementary students across America have had a legal right to attend elective offsite Bible classes during their public-school day. “Released time” laws allow students to attend religious training opportunities of their choice.

Bible2School (B2S) is one such program. Located in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Idaho and Texas, B2S isn’t extracurricular; it takes place during the school day and, according to the Supreme Court, is a protected Constitutional right in all 50 states.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: faith, family September 29, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Forming New Habits for Your Marriage

The stress of daily life takes a toll on even the happiest couples – which is why marriage and family counselor Dr. Randy Schroeder says seeking marital happiness is unrealistic. A better approach is to pursue consistent marital satisfaction. How? Good habits.

Dr. Schroeder offers four “daily essentials” for creating good habits in your marriage:

“Goodbye, I love you.” Whoever leaves the house first should initiate this.

“Goodnight, I love you.” Whoever goes to bed first should initiate this.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: family September 9, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Making the Most of Time with Your Grandkids

My two boys are grown and live on their own, but fatherhood is probably still a few years off, which means grandparenting for Jean and me is also a few years off. We’re looking forward to it.

In the meantime, I’m thinking about the kind of grandfather I hope to be and how God might want to use me as a loving and positive influence in my grandkids’ lives. I have some questions. And I bet you do, too.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 8, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Transform Your Parenting with These Eight Powerful Tips

What strategies are most effective for raising kids with good character?

We get that question a lot here at Focus on the Family. Our answer is that there is no one size fits all, but one thing is required: intentionality. Setting our families on “auto pilot” and hoping everything turns out okay is not a fruitful parenting approach.

Every Christian parent wants happy and healthy kids who love the Lord and who have a good relationship with their mom and dad.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 2, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Probability, Not Promise

One of the greatest challenges a parent can face is an adult child who rejects the values they were taught growing up. It’s tough to watch a child turn away from honesty, kindness and good character in favor of lies, selfishness and unwise choices. You may even wonder where you went wrong as a parent. Let me encourage you with a few ideas:

The first is to recognize that your child’s decisions are not your fault, at least not entirely.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: faith, family August 27, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Inviting Strangers into God’s Family

Many Christians say they don’t reach out to strangers in the name of Jesus because they don’t know how to offer that kind of hospitality.

Author Annie McCune can show you how. She says, “Throughout the course of my life, I have had the privilege of loving many strangers through opening the door to my home and my heart. In return, I have been radically loved when I was a stranger in need of hospitality.”

Hospitality is about learning to love strangers with God’s love and grace.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family August 26, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Supporting Your Pre-Teen’s Faith Journey

A common question we get here at Focus on the Family is from parents who ask how to raise children who embrace the Christian faith. Many moms and dads feel unqualified to lead their children along their journey of faith.

The challenges are real. Many teens and preteens consume hours of digital media every day, which unwittingly shapes their view of God, the world, and themselves according to the values of people they don’t even know.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting August 19, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Making Parenting Fun

I love summer. When my boys were younger, that meant camping with my family. We loved getting outdoors and parking our fifth wheel in some remote location where the sounds of nature aren’t drowned out by cars and busyness.

When there was a lake nearby, the first thing my boys would do is grab rocks to throw into the water. The bigger the better. For them, it was all about the splash. Me? I was intrigued by the ripples.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: faith, family July 22, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Dog Days of Marriage

Believe it or not, you can learn a lot about your marriage from a little dog named Tidbit.

He’s the ugliest dog I think I’ve ever seen. He’s a two and a half pound Yorkie Poo – a mix between a Poodle and Yorkshire Terrier. He’s 15 years old and quirky. He’s afraid to walk across tile floors and is too small to get up and down the stairs on his own. He looks bad, too.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family July 16, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How the Christian Worldview Inspires Uncommon Hope for Believers

We live in a broken world. It’s not a matter of if the culture will influence our children, it’s a matter of when and how. As such, it’s wise to teach them discernment from a young age. Fortunately, parents can find incredible guidance in the Christian worldview.

The question is, because the enemy comes to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10), what does living as a Christian in today’s culture look like and how can we live out those principles for our families and neighborhoods?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family July 15, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura