Jason Smith, a middle school principal in Kentucky, met his daughter for the first time when she was in the sixth grade. Her name was Raven. She’d been sent to Jason’s office after getting angry in the cafeteria and throwing food at a fellow student. When Jason sat Raven down, he asked her, “Would you act that way at a restaurant?” Her answer surprised him. She had never eaten in a restaurant, she said, because she’d spent her entire life in the foster care system.
Is freedom the absence of rules and discipline? Or is it submitting to rules and discipline? I believe freedom begins with submission. Let me explain it this way. I like to play golf. But it’s a hard game. The first time I grabbed a club I didn’t whack a ball 300 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. A golf swing takes years of practice to develop and a lifetime to master. And yet, it’s discipline of learning to swing a club properly that offers me freedom.
The world has been suffering ever since. Unfortunately, many young men don’t know their purpose. They are wandering aimlessly and need help discovering God’s plan for their lives.
“Mayday! Mayday!” You recognize that distress call, don’t you? Even children understand what it means. The fact that they do reveals two important ingredients to effective communication. Simplicity and clarity. The “mayday” distress code was created in 1923 by Frederick Mockford, an airport radio officer in London, after his boss challenged him to devise a distress code that could be understood by pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Because much of the air traffic at the time was between London and Paris, Mockford proposed the expression “mayday.” It was easy to say, and it sounded like the French term for “help me.” “Mayday” communicates so well that it’s still used all over the world.
While on vacation in Italy, Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott visited Michelangelo’s famous statue of King David. So did thousands of other people that day. To escape the crowds, the Parrotts explored a nearby hall called “Hall of the Prisoners.” On display were several unfinished statues that Michelangelo labelled “The Captives.” The incomplete works were emblematic of mankind’s struggle to feel integrated with God, with ourselves, and with the people around us. Our relationships can only be as healthy as we are.
Hosted by Jim Daly, President and CEO of Focus on the Family, this half-hour program is the cornerstone of Focus on the Family's home-strengthening outreach. Focus on the Family provides biblically-based advice for marriage and parenting with heart-touching stories and help for families.
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