JZ Family Life

In our Welcome Center here at the Focus on the Family campus, children have the opportunity to leave their prayer requests with us.

One of my favorites is from a 9-year-old boy who wrote, “Please pray for my brother. He wets the bed. And pray for me. I share the bed with my brother.”

Some prayer requests are much more serious, like the 8-year-old boy who wanted us to ask God to help his dad stop drinking and be healthy again.

Whatever the request, it’s wonderful to see children in the beginning stages of developing an abiding faith that will carry them through life.

Parents, you play a critical role in nurturing your child’s spiritual life and fostering a prayerful attitude toward the Lord.

I applaud my wife, Jean. She has been so good at encouraging our two boys to pray...

Instead of being dependent on the air conditioner this summer, try a few of our simple approaches and keep cool without air conditioning! Not only will you be teaching your family about sustainable living, but you can trim your energy bills and put those savings back in your vacation fund!  I grew up in a country home without AC so here’s my best tips for how to keep the house cool without air conditioning.

Tips to Keep House Cool Without AC

Reduce The Home’s Solar Heat Gain
One of the best defenses to keeping the body cool is to keep the home cool. Invest in quality awnings to reduce solar heat gain, which is the amount of temperature that rises due to sunshine...

This post was originally published in October of 2016 but it rings especially true today, in face of the protests that are taking place against police violence.  Black Lives Matter.  There should be justice and racial equality.  Reform is needed to bring this about.  Racism is wrong. We all need to be anti racist.  I hope Veronika Obeng’s words about raising kids in a race conscious world help open hearts and minds. I think her words are super helpful for parents to know how to talk with kids about racial equality.

Original Post Below

I recently made the acquaintance of Veronika Obeng and discovered her lovely blog Veronika Obeng, Modern Womanhood. She is a mother of six, television personality and blogger based in Bel Air, CA...

Just a few wayward sparks is all it takes to burn down an entire city. That’s what happened in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, one of the largest disasters in American history.

In popular accounts from the time, Catherine O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in a humble barn on DeKoven Street. A few sparks became a small fire that quickly grew into an inferno that destroyed miles of homes and razed Chicago’s business district.

What a powerful illustration of the destruction of anger. Anger starts small, but if we don’t handle it properly, it can erupt into something much bigger. Anger will come between you and your spouse, you and your children, and you and God.

Many of us don’t handle anger well because we don’t understand it. We confuse feelings of anger with hatred...

May is National Foster Care Awareness Month.

We’re honoring all those who have stepped into the world of adoption and foster care on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “The Complicated, Beautiful Life of a Foster Mom.” Our guest is Jessie Gallaher, who is with us to share her story, a difficult yet rewarding journey of adopting five children from foster care – all at once!

When Jessie and her husband first brought the kids home, a lot of people gave the same advice: “Just love them. Time will heal all of their wounds.” But Jessie and her husband soon discovered – as every adoptive parent does – that love and time aren’t always enough. You can’t anticipate the journey ahead. And things can go sideways quickly.

Jessie and her husband also discovered that when you follow G...

This is such a quick and easy DIY project and it is perfect for this time of year when you want to get outside and enjoy nature. This step-by-step written tutorial with photos will help you turn a used Igloo RECOOL compostable cooler into a cute DIY planter for your deck or front porch. I have also included a quick video tutorial so you can see how it is done.

This post was sponsored by Igloo. All opinions are my own. It was first published on Hometalk.

How To Turn A Igloo Biodegradable Cooler Into A Planter

Igloo is the number one cooler manufacturer in the world and they are introducing a brand new product that is sure to fit nicely into your outdoor plans- the RECOOL cooler, the first cooler made with all biodegradable materials! So you can use it, and then reuse it in a fun, creative...

If it’s true that every cloud has a silver lining, is it possible that virus-related disruptions in divorce filings and court proceedings could possibly buy seemingly incompatible couples more time to work out their differences and save their marriages?

I think so.

Since the virulent pathogen began wreaking havoc in mid-March, courts and local municipalities that process divorce have been upended. From canceled hearings to shuttered county courthouses, it’s become a lot more difficult for couples to untangle or sever the proverbial marital knot.

With minor exceptions, I believe this is a very good thing.

Divorce is a devastating solution and should always be the last option on a long list of potential remedies to domestic strife...

Kids are out of school for the summer and looking for things to do. While there always seem to be a plethora of fun activities to do with kids and camps to sign them up for, they can often be quite expensive. Summer camp, art, music, and dance classes, soccer camp and horseback riding, are all great options but not always affordable. No parent or caregiver wants to hear “I’m bored” twenty times per day, though, either. That is why I’ve created this list of fun summer games kids can play for hours and be entertained, educated, and have fun all for little to no cost!

15 Fun Summer Games For Kids

Check out these great games and fun summer activities kids will love for summer time fun!

1. Sidewalk Chalk Games

Play hopscotch! Or another of my favorite summer games kids enjoy that c...

Are houses of worship an “essential” part of American life? President Trump believes they are, and I couldn’t agree more.

Friday’s announcement from the White House that the Centers for Disease Control will be changing the COVID-19-inspired classification from “nonessential” to “essential” is long overdue. The president will also be calling on governors to allow churches, synagogues and mosques to open “right now.”

Thank you, Mr. President.

I’m not suggesting every church should swing open wide their doors, but as the rest of the country transitions back to a semblance of normalcy, they should have the right to make that determination for themselves.

To be fair, we’ve not endured a global pandemic in the last century, so everybody who’s been making decisions these la...

I look for stuff to play and teach them all the time, like going on walks, teaching them about being thoughtful stewards of the environment, like I said, cooking, or we garden a lot, and I even have them play with Play-Doh and have them make shapes and all that kind of stuff, lots of playing overlapped with learning (US mother, 2018).

With families living in lockdown, play seems more prominent than ever in children’s lives. Some parents may worry that children are just frittering away their time. To the contrary, caregivers may be reassured that numerous studies suggest that learning is a fundamental part of what occurs during play. As children play, they explore, learn and practice new language skills, and increase their social acumen...