Family & Parenting

The late Steve Farrar believed Psalm 23 was the most dangerous Psalm in the Bible – dangerous because we know it so well that it loses its deep meaning and significance. The Psalm is only six verses long, but each one is potent and pregnant with meaning. David, who wrote Psalm 23, could have written […]

One of the most common questions people ask is, “Where is God when we suffer?” I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I would say this: God doesn’t abandon us in our pain; He’s with us in it. Hardship makes us feel isolated. From God. From everyone. But we don’t have to search

German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer once called praying together the heartbeat of the Christian community. It’s true for marriage, too. Married couples are designed for intimacy. Yet, like Adam and Eve in the garden, they often hide from God and each other. Some couples avoid intimacy because it feels safer than risking exposure and shame. But

Trust. It’s a crucial part of the human experience because it’s the foundation of intimacy and well-being in relationships – from marriage to parenting to friendships to business partners. While trust often begins with emotion, it is more than just good feelings. It’s rooted in solid, observable qualities that assure us we can rely on

Author Aaron Sharp says every new dad is like Peter Parker, the mild-mannered character in the Marvel comic series who becomes Spider-Man. A pivotal moment in Peter’s story comes when he’s bitten by a radioactive spider, and his life changes forever. Only, he doesn’t immediately realize it. For men, life changes in mysterious ways the

As you’ll hear on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, Paul and Melody Westbrook’s marriage suffered in ways familiar to many couples. He was a driven man who found his worth and identity in his work. He felt comfortable in a room full of people, but not alone with his wife. Time with Melody

Success isn’t always a measurement of personal achievement. It’s often determined by the influence we have on others. The tallest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest, is named after Sir George Everest, a geographer from the 1800’s, but not because Sir George was the first to summit the mountain. That was Sir Edmund Hillary in

How do you help a loved one who is “deconstructing”? Authors Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett, who have researched the deconstruction movement and engaged in conversations with friends and family about it, describe deconstruction as “a postmodern process of rethinking your faith without regarding Scripture as a standard.” The Bible itself encourages us to evaluate

Do you want your kids to be happy with their marriages, with their families, and with their careers? Of course, you do. I want the same for my boys. But I also know that happiness can be fleeting. Life can be unpredictable and circumstances could turn their world upside-down in a heartbeat. Which is why

When the movie Straight Outta Compton debuted at the top of the box almost a decade ago, our media discernment ministry, Plugged In, gave the film a half “plug” (out of five) for family friendliness in its review. It’s no wonder. Life in Compton, California is anything but family-friendly. I should know – I lived in Compton for