family Archives

Would You Sacrifice Your Life for Your Brother or Sister?

A heartbreaking yet beautiful story out of earthquake-ravished central Italy deeply moved me, and I’d like to share it with you.

About 15 hours after last week’s 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck the town of Ascoli Piceno, firefighters were desperately searching for survivors among the ruins. Suddenly, a rescue dog signaled that he smelled something.

Rescuers soon found a doll … and two young sisters caught in a life-saving embrace.

Bishop Giovanni D’Ercole shared the story of Giulia and Giorgia during a funeral Mass for 35 of the 290 people killed in the earthquake.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, parenting August 31, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Need a Laugh? Watch these Tim Hawkins Videos

What’s the difference between a poorly dressed man on a tricycle and a well-dressed man on a bicycle?

Attire.

Get it?

Okay, so I’m not much of a comedian. Which is why you’ll enjoy our broadcast today with Tim Hawkins.

Tim finds humor in everyday circumstances. Like the video below about a time when fixing breakfast for his children didn’t go so well.

https://youtu.be/M41m79VMx2w

I guess that sort of thing happens when you see the world the way Tim does.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, entertainment, faith, family August 31, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Ben-Hur: A Great Faith-Based Movie to See This Weekend

By the time the 1800’s came to a close, Lew Wallace’s bestselling novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, was considered by many to be “the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century.” Adapted for film a couple times, most recently in 1959, Ben-Hur became a runaway Hollywood hit, eventually capturing eleven Academy Awards.

Even today, over a half-century later, many critics consider it to be one of America’s greatest movies of all time.

Tomorrow, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are releasing a new version of the classic adventure for the big screen.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, faith, family, pop culture August 18, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Can You Keep Your Family Safe in Public Restrooms?

It was 2008 when my state of Colorado passed what local media dubbed a “bathroom bill.”

In the days and weeks leading up to then Gov. Bill Ritter’s signing of the controversial bill, many people were incredulous when Focus on the Family warned the bill would open bathrooms and locker rooms to the opposite sex.

“The claims that are made in this campaign are not based in fact. They are based in fear,” Gov. Ritter’s spokesperson had said.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, homosexuality, news, policy July 21, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

No More Perfect Parenting

Friends: Three policemen were killed yesterday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You can read my thoughts about this terrible news on my Facebook page. -JD

***

Have you ever felt like a trapped monkey?

Neither had I until a friend described to me how other cultures hunt for monkeys.

The hunters hollow out a coconut and fasten it to a tree with a rope. Inside the coconut, they put a small portion of food that can be reached through a small hole.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family July 18, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What’s on Your Summer Playlist?

Music has the power to transport you back in time, doesn’t it?

Listen to an old song, and all the emotions come flooding back … it’s almost like you’re in your childhood home again, or studying for college finals in your dorm, or falling in love with your spouse all over again.

Fast-forward to today. I hope most of us are enjoying the great things about summer – the barbecues, road trips, and visits to the beach or mountains.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: entertainment, events, family, promos June 29, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

We’re Going on a Family Missions Trip. Here’s What I Hope Will Happen

This Friday my family and I will travel to Zambia to participate in Camp Life, a week-long camp for orphaned and vulnerable children in the southern African country.

The need is overwhelming. So many adults have died from HIV/AIDS that half of the country’s 15 million people are under the age of 16. Of the 6.5 million children in Zambia, more than 1 million of them are orphans.

Zambia has the highest per capita orphan rate in the world.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 22, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Six Surprising Ways Marijuana is Hurting Your Family

I first blogged about marijuana back in January 2014, when Colorado became the first state to open its doors to the commercial sale of recreational marijuana. (Since then, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon have followed suit.)

The changes in drug policy came after years of lobbying and campaigning by a group of committed activists who compared marijuana to alcohol. They also promised voters many benefits for our communities, like more efficient use of law enforcement and judicial resources; increased revenue for our schools and infrastructure; and an improvement to public health and safety.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, policy, pop culture June 8, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Many Kids Do You Have… And Why?

Some time ago I blogged about the “ideal” family size – does it matter how many children a couple has? In it, I took a look how many kids Americans think are ideal and why fertility rates are declining.

A recent article from The Washington Post brought that post to mind because it examines why some couples decide to have larger families.

According to Pew Research Center, 15 percent of all U.S. adults have had four or more children – and, as it might be expected, faith seems to play a role in the size of some families.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids June 3, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Doctor Shares His Summer Safety Tips

Memorial Day weekend is hours away and, with it, the unofficial start of summer.

For many families, summer is a time to make memories and spend countless hours having fun together. But with all the activities that come with the longer, sun-drenched days come new opportunities for families to face injuries or hurts.

My friend Dr. Ed Leap, who serves on Focus on the Family’s Physician Resource Council, recently came up with a list of summer safety tips that I thought I would pass along.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, kids May 27, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura