Family & Parenting

Ron and Opal Erickson call themselves “musicianaires.” Ron is an accomplished steel guitarist, and Opal is an accomplished vocalist. They’ve made beautiful music together for over 40 years, not only as musicians but as a couple. But they only achieved that because they’ve rebuilt their marriage out of the rubble of a relationship that seemed […]

Are you “organizationally challenged”? Keeping a house tidy and organized is a challenge for a lot of us, especially those of us who have young children. It’s like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos. When children are older, they can participate in house cleaning and common tasks like laundry and dishes, but what’s the best

Could you use a simple tip to improve your marriage? How about 100 simple tips? Matt and Lisa Jacobson, my guests on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, actually have them for you. After 25 years of marriage, Matt and Lisa looked at each other one day and decided, “Let’s each write down one

The most effective parents are visionaries. Let me tell you about Tom. As a young boy, he developed a hearing problem. It caused him a lot of trouble at school. Tom’s mind constantly wandered, making him disruptive in class, which frustrated his teachers. They considered him “stupid, restless, and a slow learner who asked too

Thanks to the Internet and social media, we’re more connected to each other than ever. At least, we like to think we are. The fact of the matter is quite different. Just a few years ago, only ten percent of Americans said they were lonely. According to recent research, that number has nearly doubled. The

What holds you back from achieving more than you do? Money? Time? How about excuses? If anybody had a reason to make excuses, it was Paul Richard Alexander. As a child, polio paralyzed him and severely damaged his respiratory system. From age six until he died at 78, Paul was confined to a machine called

If you’re unfamiliar with Christianity, or your passion for your faith has cooled, you’ll want to join us for Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. We’re sharing a recorded message by author and British evangelist J.John. With plenty of humor, he explains why he is certain that the teachings of Christianity are absolutely true.

“It’s just like an American to think you invented the family.” That’s what Dr. Lilian Wahomey, a psychologist in Kenya, jokingly said to me years ago. We were exploring ways Focus on the Family could come alongside families in Africa. Since that conversation, I’ve been to more than 70 countries, but at the time I

Every couple experiences transitions in marriage. Believe it or not, most of them are predictable – in some cases unavoidable. You’re no doubt familiar with the “baby makes three” phase and the “empty-nest years.” Between those two are other transitions that will significantly impact your time, energy, and relationship with each other. For a healthy

I loved every stage of raising my two boys, Trent and Troy. I enjoyed them as babies. I enjoyed their energy as little boys. I enjoyed watching them grow up and become young, godly men. My greatest honor and privilege in life has been to be their dad. I’m sure you feel the same way