Focus on the Family Commentary
In just 90 seconds, get practical marriage and parenting help from Focus on the Family president Jim Daly. The biblical wisdom from this podcast provides bite-sized encouragement that helps busy Christian families thrive together in Christ.
Toys? Or Time?
What’s more important to your child? Toys? Or time with you? Jim Daly says, “Sure, children love exciting toys and trips, but more than anything they just want to spend time with you.”
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The Tingles
Good feelings aren’t enough to sustain a marriage. Jim Daly shares why the tingles of a new relationship may be fun and exciting, but they’re temporary. True marital intimacy takes a lifetime to fully discover.
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Swoop and Save Us
We all take wrong turns that put us in situations from which there’s no escape on our own. Jim Daly shares why, sooner or later, we all need someone to swoop in and save us.
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The Four Horsemen of Divorce
Jim Daly shares how couples can significantly improve their odds for a successful marriage by avoiding what Dr. John Gottman calls the Four Horsemen of Divorce.
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Cookie-Cutter Parenting
Do you think of your children as sugar cookies who all come out the same because you treat parenting like a recipe to follow? Jim Daly shares how to raise each of your children as individuals according to their unique personalities
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Secret Riches
We think one look is all it takes to understand another person. Jim Daly shares a story that illustrates why to fully know someone, we must get beneath the surface.
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Grace to Become One
No matter how much you and your spouse share in common, you won’t mesh in every part of your relationship. Jim Daly explains how to navigate differences, so they bring you and your spouse together instead of driving you apart.
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The Truth We Speak
To communicate truth effectively, we must keep two things in mind: what we speak and how we speak it. Jim Daly explains how to persuade people to consider different perspectives by offering them truth wrapped in kindness.
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Benefits of Raising a Bookworm
Are you worried that your child reads too much? Jim Daly encourages you to understand that bookworms often develop character more deeply than children who don’t read.
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Firmly Flexible
You and your spouse may plan for the future, but how do you respond when life is beyond your control? Jim Daly explains why happy couples stay flexible in their circumstances but firm in their commitment to each other.
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Talk to Yourself
Our words have power. Jim Daly shares how to block out negativity and inspire yourself forward with words of grace, hope, and faith.
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Empty Yourself
Small disagreements can divide a couple. Jim Daly explains why emptying yourself of yourself can turn what drives you apart into something that brings you together instead.
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Success Takes Time to Develop
Whatever you’re after, success takes time. Jim Daly shares why a great marriage, a great career, or kids with great character require patience and the determination never to give up.
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Authoritative Parents
How do you respond when your child makes a mistake? Jim Daly explains why the best parenting approach is discipline that’s firm without being harsh.
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Never Too Late to Say, “I’m Sorry”
If your relationship with one of your children is broken, and you think it’s too late to repair the damage, think again. It’s never too late. But there is a catch. Jim Daly shares the key to mending a broken relationship.
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Beauty to Live
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, released in 1937, broke every rule of filmmaking. So, why did it succeed? Jim Daly says the answer lies in this truth: while our bodies thrive on food and water, our souls thrive on beauty.
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Simple Gifts
Sometimes the best presents are the least expensive. Jim Daly shares why couples say the most cherished items they’ve received from their spouse are those that are simple and heartfelt.
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Pride Before Destruction
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction.” Jim Daly shares a story that demonstrates why pride is dangerous, blinds us to the truth, and makes us ignore signs that trouble lies ahead.
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936 Pennies
Time is fleeting. Your children will grow up in the blink of an eye. Jim Daly encourages parents to do lots of wild activities with their kids, but not to lose sight of the beauty to be found in simple, everyday moments.
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Hispanic Heritage Month
Jim Daly honors Hispanic Heritage Month – observed September 15 through October 15 – which celebrates the contributions of the Hispanic community to American society, including the importance of family.
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What Are the Odds?
Did you know that mathematically it’s impossible for you to exist? And yet you do. Jim Daly shares a remarkable story that explains why you should never question your value as a person.
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Three-Quarters of the Way
How far would you go to build a successful marriage? Former first lady Barbara Bush did whatever it took by going, as she put it, “Three-quarters of the way.” Jim Daly explains.
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Purposefully Pursue
After marriage, the daily grind of life takes over, you get pulled in different directions, and your relationship drifts. Jim Daly explains why the remedy is to be intentional about your relationship by dating all over again.
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Not Smart but Intelligent
Some kids are artists or musicians or understand chemistry. Other kids are good at sports or rebuilding engines. Jim Daly explains why every parent needs to answer the question, “What does intelligence look like in my child?”
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Mom Is Her Son’s First Love
Studies show that boys are much more likely to grow into competent men when their mothers influence them to harness their strength and channel it properly. Jim Daly explains the role mothers play in shaping men of character.
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Impact the World Around You
We all have an opportunity to impact the world around us. Jim Daly explains how we can live our lives in a way that changes thousands of others.
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Spiritual Intimacy
Spiritual intimacy shapes the heart and soul of a marriage. Jim Daly shares why, at its core, spiritual intimacy isn’t about what you do together. It’s about who you are together.
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What’s Your Algorithm?
Life is one big algorithm. We predict how we’ll behave in the future by looking at how we’ve behaved in the past. Jim Daly says that if you change your choices, you’ll re-shape who you become.
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Overreaction in Parenting
Giving children every advantage doesn’t improve their lives in the long run. Jim Daly explains why sheltering children from disappointment, the pain of waiting, or the discipline of hard work isn’t always helpful.
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No Shortcuts
Is there a shortcut to life? Jim Daly shares how a good life is built one day at a time through grit and an unceasing determination to do what’s right.
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More Than Money Can Buy
At its core, work is inherently good and enriches our lives. Jim Daly shares why hard work strengthens our character and shapes us into something more than we were before.
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The Power of a Wife
They say “behind every great man is a great woman.” That was certainly true for popular author Stephen King, whose wife offered the encouragement he needed to succeed when he didn’t believe in himself.
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Me, You, and Us
When two healthy individuals fully give themselves to each other, the result is a couple with strength, intimacy, and unity. Jim Daly explains why healthy marriages require three ingredients: Me, You, and Us.
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Hard Work
Most parents don’t give their children gifts on Labor Day, but Jim Daly has a unique idea that will set your children up for success as adults in the workforce, in their marriage, and in their own parenting.
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Fight for Your Child’s Heart
Kids need to be challenged to achieve more than they believe they’re capable of. But they also need a soft place to fall when life gets tough. Learn the power of unconditional love in a child’s life.
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Beauty in the Storm
Adversity is never fun, but it has the power to reveal the beauty of life if we’re strong enough to see it. Jim Daly explains why faith can help us overcome suffering by reorienting us, so we can see our struggles in a new light.
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Three Qualities of a Healthy Marriage
Every marriage is unique, but every healthy marriage embodies the same three qualities. Jim Daly explains how those three qualities can help you build a marriage that’s deep enough and wide enough to help your family thrive.
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Grace Over Revenge
Jim Daly shares a story about Gavin Stone, a young man who proves that the way to live in a world that operates on love and grace is to become a person of love and grace.
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Clear the Brain Fog
Are you so exhausted that you walk around in a fog? If your nights are short and your days are long, then you might be a parent. Jim Daly explains why even though quiet time isn’t easy to come by as a busy parent, it’s worth pursuing.
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Time to Grieve
Past cultures encouraged people to set aside their normal routines and focus on their grief for weeks, even months. Not so in modern society. Jim Daly shares why facing our grief and allowing our souls to overcome our wounds takes time.
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