family Archives

The Climb to Calvary – Part V

THE CLIMB TO CALVARY
Meditations on The Seven Last Words of Christ

The Fifth Words

“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, ‘I thirst’” (John 19:28).

Of all seven cries from the cross, Jesus’ fifth statement is the shortest. Christ has now turned from the emotional and mental pain of abandonment (Mark 15:34) to the physical pain of His torture. But in doing so, He is accomplishing far more than trying to quench a physical thirst.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, family March 28, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

For Those Married and Unmarried

A colleague recently shared with me about a medical situation her father once encountered. He suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) – commonly known as a mini-stroke. Her parents live far away, and she was on a video call with her dad when it happened.

All of a sudden, Dad kept asking me what day and what year it was. He kept asking when my children were born. “Wait a second,” he’d say… “I’m confused.”

After a couple of minutes of this, I asked Dad to put Mom (who was in the other room) on the phone.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, sex, wife February 19, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Power of Our Words

I love reading stories about how people came to their faith in the Lord. It’s humbling to see, time and time again, how God lovingly pursues us, calls us to repentance through the Holy Spirit and gives us the gift of His Son.

I want to share one such story with you.

In My Train Wreck Conversion, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield (photo courtesy of CT) shares her story of being a woman who, in her own words, was a “leftist lesbian professor” who “despised Christians.” Steeped in her postmodern intellectual worldview, she was convinced that Christians hated her – and she was going to attack.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family February 12, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Don’t Do This to Your Family

Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other.

Words were exchanged.

Challenges were made.

And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.

One boat began falling behind.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, kids, wife February 7, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Do Traditional Husband Chores Lead to More Frequent Intimacy?

I just came across a story about a controversial study that was featured on NBC’s Today Show.

Here is an excerpt:

Heterosexual married men who spend their time doing yard work, paying bills and changing the oil have more sex than husbands who spend their time cooking, cleaning and shopping, according to a new study on the subject of housework and sex.

From the study:

“Households with a more traditional gender division of labor report higher sexual frequency than households with less traditional gender divisions of labor,” says Sabino Kornrich, lead author of a study that appears in the February issue of the American Sociological Review.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband February 6, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Video: Why I Will Risk My Reputation

I had the pleasure of sitting down recently with my friend and colleague, Kim Trobee, to discuss the general principles that I wrote about in my latest book, REFOCUS: Living a Life that Reflects God’s Heart. That chat was actually broadcast live on our website. We fielded questions from Focus on the Family’s Facebook audience.

The entire interview, which lasted about 30 minutes, can be viewed here:

In the course of the conversation I mentioned to Kim that I was willing to risk my reputation in exchange for something very precious to me.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, staff January 28, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Short Video About Life, Love and the Gospel

Have you seen this new video from Cru?

I welcome your thoughts. Please pass this on, won’t you?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, family January 17, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Five Best Movies for Kids

Parents in search of reliable analysis of entertainment, especially movies and television intended for children, will find no better friends than our terrific team at Plugged In. And since Oscar season is here, they’ve decided to offer their own nominations for best films of the year.

Today, I’d like to share their list of the top five cinematic productions for the youngsters in your family.

BEST MOVIES FOR KIDS*

*Since the word kids is a pretty broad descriptor, we’ll give some context here: Generally speaking, we’re looking at middle school- and elementary-age children, but we’re also aware that different kids have different sensitivities.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, family January 16, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What I have in Common with Armstrong, Bonds and Clemens

People fascinate me.

The next time you’re in an airport or in a large public venue, take a moment to pause and just look around.

When I was a kid the television show Dragnet was a primetime hit. Each week the character Detective Joe Friday would open the show with the following observation:

There’s a million stories in the City of Los Angeles, and when politicians get themselves into trouble, I go to work. My name is Friday and I carry a badge.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, pop culture January 9, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Story of Billy Graham and Ronald Reagan

At the time Dr. Billy Graham and Ronald Reagan first met in 1953, both men were rising stars, one in the pulpit and the other in a pseudo-political role.

Mr. Reagan was on the verge of signing a lucrative deal as a corporate spokesman for General Electric, a move that would not only earn him a good living but also put him in everyone’s living room for the next eight years.

Still, Dr. Graham’s future appeared even brighter.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, news, pop culture, religious liberty January 8, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura