husband Archives

Three Ways Marriage Improves Your Health

I want to share with you some scientific findings about the family that were culled from nearly 35 years worth of research. The results were analyzed and compiled by two of my Focus colleagues, Andrew Hess and Glenn Stanton. Following is a condensed version of their full report.

The Health Benefits of Marriage

The pursuit of health has become a cultural phenomenon. Diet, exercise, supplements, relaxation and medications have all been touted as the way to achieve good health.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, marriage, wife September 27, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Five Types of Weekend Warriors

Do you have a home improvement project planned for this weekend?

When it comes to fixing or building things around the house, the late writer, Andy Rooney, once identified five categories of people.

Which one best describes you?

1. The person who knows how to do it, and proceeds quietly and efficiently to get the job done right, alone. This is a rare species.

2. The helpless. This person can’t do it, won’t try to do it, and has no interest in learning how.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, marriage, wife September 21, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

5 Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage

Terri Orbuch is a psychologist and research professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. She recently identified some of the top common regrets of divorced couples.

“Divorced individuals who step back and say, ‘This is what I’ve done wrong and this is what I will change,’ have something powerful to teach others,” she recently told the Wall Street Journal.

Here are five things divorced couples regret not having done more of with a few comments of my own:

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, intimacy, marriage, wife August 28, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Would You Take Friends on Your Honeymoon?

According to a recent article in The New York Times, more and more couples are bringing their friends and even their parents on their honeymoon. In fact, there’s even a newly coined term for the practice:

The Buddymoon.

To borrow Dave Barry’s famous phrase, “No, I’m not making this up.”

Interestingly, though, it’s the newly married couple who are instigating the extended celebration with family and friends.

With cohabitation on the rise, a special romantic getaway for the newlyweds doesn’t quite have the same draw.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, intimacy, marriage, sex, wife August 15, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Three Reflections Every Dad Should Read

Today’s Focus on the Family radio program features some very moving reflections about fathers and fatherhood and the reminder to make the most of your fleeting years as a dad.

I hope you’ll click here to access the entire show. But in the meantime, I wanted to share three poignant quotes from three of our featured guests:

I wasn’t the dad I should’ve been when [the] kids were growing up … And I’ve tried to make up for lost time and lost ground…I’m a crusader on this, because I was so determined in the Marines.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband June 4, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Marrying Yourself?

Straight from the files of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World:

Writing in the American Prospect, Samhita Mukhopadhyay suggests that a growing number of people, especially women, are deciding to marry themselves. Here she quotes an individual named Sasha Cagan about such cases popping up around the country:

The choice to marry yourself takes the coming-of-age ritual to a new level. It’s not just about getting towels or diamond rings or attention. The common theme in most of the stories that I hear is a commitment to take care of oneself as one hopes or imagines that a lover would.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, husband, intimacy, sex, wife May 30, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Husband and Wife Apology Letters

I recently came across these two letters that were exchanged between a husband and a wife. I thought I’d share them with you:

Hi Sweetheart,

I’m sorry about getting into an argument about putting up the Christmas lights. I guess that sometimes I feel like you push me too hard when you want something. I realize that I was wrong, and I am apologizing for being such a hard-headed guy. All I want is for you to be happy and be able to enjoy the holiday season.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, wife May 29, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Is It Possible To Love Your Spouse Too Much?

Would it surprise you if I suggested that one of the greatest risks to your marriage is loving your spouse too much?

It’s true – but with a twist.

Many of us will be attending weddings in the coming months. They’re beautiful affairs where we witness two individuals pledging their love and fidelity to each other. The happy couple leaves the ceremony and reception awash in advice and wise counsel, all centered on the challenge of fulfilling the marriage vows.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, wife May 23, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

This is What Moms Really Want for Mother’s Day

According to the National Retail Federation, nearly $19 billion will be spent on moms this coming weekend. From flowers to cards to candy, a lot of people will dig deep into their wallets to try and express their love and appreciation for their mothers.

But according to a recent survey, it would appear that what many moms really want is something that money can’t buy:

They just want to go to church with the whole family.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, kids, parenting, wife May 11, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Mother’s Day, Every Day

GUEST VOICE:

Finally being a mom on Mother’s Day was completely thrilling. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get there, and was deeply grateful for the grace and good doctors that saw me through tragedies on the way to that distinction.

Let the brunching begin!

But in the years to come I would try to create the ultimate Mom’s Day with fairly high expectations. Would it be a road trip with the kids? A day alone with a book?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, parenting, wife May 10, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura