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Dr. Gary Chapman suggests discipline is crucial in saying no to certain things.

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Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Shannon Warden compare family life to renovating a home — you need a good “blueprint” or plan for how you want your family to grow, and a solid foundation of godly character traits like kindness, love, forgiveness, building trust, building connection, and having fun together. Parents and kids need to be “all in” and working as a team to instill these traits into their relationships. Dr. Chapman also talks about the 5 Love Languages, and Dr. Warden shares several stories about parenting her own children.

Receive the book The DIY Guide to Building a Family That Lasts and an audio download of "Tips for Building a Healthy Family" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.

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If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

The Christian race is demanding, grueling, and sometimes agonizing.  It takes a massive effort to finish strong. But many don’t. They may come to church and warm a pew, but their hearts aren’t in the race.

Jesus is the classic example of one who endured, in spite of temptation, accusations, and shame. The devil tempted Jesus nonstop for forty days. Jesus’ own family called him a lunatic. And, on the cross, he bore the collective shame of all humanity. How did he endure?  By focusing on “the joy that God put before him”—that was the prize of heaven. And what he saw gave him strength to finish—and finish strong.

Someday we will be seated, and Christ will christen the meal with these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And in that moment, the race will have been worth it.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Somewhere on your body there is probably some mark or scar from your early days of riding a bicycle. I mean most of us took a pretty good spill somewhere along the way and we've got the marks to prove it. Well, our family was staying in a little cabin in the woods, and our oldest son came cruising down this little dirt path on his bike. He spun out on the gravel, had an unscheduled meeting with the ground. And when he got up he was really bleeding pretty profusely from his mouth.

So we rushed him to the local emergency room. And they cleaned up the mess and found that he had a broken tooth. When they had done all that they could and he was sort of back together again, we came back to our cabin.

Guess what was the first thing I had my son do? Uh-huh. Get back on that bike and ride. He was a little reluctant, but he did it. See, I didn't want the fear of failure and the fear of riding to have a chance to build up inside of him. I knew it was important to get right back on after a fall or he may not get back at all.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Recover From a Fall."

Our word for today from the Word of God we're in Proverbs 24:16 - "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." Do you notice what this verse does not say? It doesn't say a righteous man does not fall. It says, "though he falls, even seven times, he rises again."

You know it was important for our son to return to his bicycle ride that day and to do it right away. I didn't want him to dwell on the fall. Well listen, can't you just imagine him lying there saying, "I fell! That's it! I'll probably always fall. I wasn't cut out for bicycle riding. I give up!" No, "Get right up. Get back on." That's exactly what God wants us to do after a fall.

I know you've experienced it; I have. That voice that nags you after you've messed up spiritually, "You're never going to beat this. Look what you did! Hey, you might as well stay down. You call yourself a Christian?" That's not God. That's the Devil, trying to turn one defeat into many. Like somebody who goes off their diet. Okay, you goof up one time, "Might as well eat everything in sight!" No, the Devil wants to take that one defeat and make it into many. Your job is to contain the damage the same way my son bounced back after that fall.

First, you clean up the damage. Where the Holy Spirit has pointed out steps you need to take to repent, confess it completely, repent of it completely and specifically. You appropriate God's power to not do it again, and you might take a look at the gravel that made you fall in the first place, and you don't ride on that gravel again. It's important to burn the bridges to the sin that you've committed; to the sin that brought you down; to make yourself accountable to be on the line to change.

Secondly, you return immediately to the ride that you were on originally. You accept God's promise. You know what He says? "Your sins I will remember no more." Don't let a fall affect more than that day. Don't stay down!

The only ones who never fall are those who don't try to ride. By God's grace you will ride more carefully this time because you fell, and you probably won't fall that way again. But when you hit the ground with a spiritual fall, oh my friend get right up. Oh, and claim the promise of the book of Jude that "He is able to keep you from falling."

A shocking video has rocked the world. A young black mother celebrating what she called her “abortion party,” a mock gender reveal where she jumps up and down celebrating after taking deadly chemical abortion pills.  

Those around her join in cheering and yell, “kill it, kill it.” During the video a young girl, who looks to be around 3 years old, can be seen celebrating and dancing alongside the adults. The whole event was broadcast live to an audience on Facebook.  

This callus murder of an innocent baby is the sort of evil that we fight against every day. While horrific stories like this remind us of the evil in the world, they should also bolster our resolve to defend life. Join us in standing for those who cannot stand for themselves.