Daly Focus Blog
I asked several of my colleagues here at Focus for their best dose of homespun parenting counsel. It should be a given that we’re to introduce our children to the Lord and disciple them throughout their childhood and beyond. I was mainly asking them for some very practical nuggets of wisdom.
Here is what they told me they regularly tell their children:
It’s never as good as you hear or as bad as you feel.
Learn to remember names.
I often feel like I’m burning the candle at both ends. I imagine the same may be true for you.
No matter how much we get done, there’s always one more thing to do.
And rest? There’s hardly time for that, is there?
I confess I’ve had moments where relaxing seemed like a waste of time. It felt like the absence of something – like an empty space where productivity ought to be – rather than an active and beneficial component to my life.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a day I don’t remember, but a day that’s had an impact on my life, and likely on yours, too.
I’ve been thinking about August 28th, 1963 – exactly fifty-one years ago tomorrow, in fact.
I was just two years old and living in West Covina.
Life is simple for a two-year-old, but 3,000 miles away in Washington D.C., a dramatic moment was underway. There, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
With school back in session in many parts of the country, it might be necessary to tweak our child’s attitude. After all, going from a life of leisure to the rigors of the classroom can be a bit jarring.
According to our counselors here at Focus, a common motivation for a child’s negativity is simply to get attention. If you suspect this is your child’s goal, there are a few ways to teach him or her not to complain.
It’s that time of year when parents are hustling to get the kids ready for the start of another school year, and to talk about a few back-to-school points I am turning to my friend Gaylen Kelton, MD, as my guest blogger today.
Dr. Kelton is a family physician and clinical professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. He is also the chairman of the Physicians Resource Council, a panel of physician experts who generously lend their time and talents to assist Focus on medical and health-related topics.
The following is excerpted from a previous post (which can be found here):
I recently came across an excellent article from Abraham Piper, the son of author and pastor John Piper. For parents who are currently struggling with a child (of any age) who has either strayed from their Christian faith or never professed Jesus as Lord of their life, this will serve as practical guidance to help you manage what is a very difficult reality.
Do you have a teen in high school who’s just beginning to think about and make plans for the future? There are a lot of factors to consider. Their talents, interests, and God’s direction all play a part. Do they have goals or sense of purpose? Will they strike out into the workforce or go to college?
It’s an exciting time. But so many changes looming on the horizon can be scary as well. And most teenagers will need their parents’ guidance to help them sort through their options.
By the time kids enter middle school, their march toward independence is well under way.
But let’s face it – it can be a confusing time for parents.
When a child spreads his wings, it can feel like he’s turning his back on you instead. But that’s not really the case. Your middle schooler needs you as much as he always has.
In some ways, more.
He just needs you in a different way than he did in his formative years.
When people experience tragedy, “Why?” is probably the most common question they ask.
Can you relate?
Maybe that’s because trauma shakes our lives to the core, leaving us so disoriented and confused that nothing seems to make sense. It’s only natural, then, that we wonder, “Why me?” or “Why did this have to happen?”
It was a question Lindsey O’Connor’s family had to wrestle with after she experienced complications post childbirth and slipped into a lengthy coma.
Although he struck many of us as something of a curmudgeon, I enjoyed watching and reading Andy Rooney over the years.
Mr. Rooney lived a long and colorful life before passing away at the age of 92. Many of his newspaper columns were compiled into various books. The following essay that I’m going to excerpt, “What Every Kid Should Have Growing Up,” comes from one of his best-selling works titled Sweet and Sour.
Reading over this list, I have to admit that I wish I had all these things growing up.
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.
