Victor Torres understands drug addiction. By the time he was a teenager, he was addicted to heroin as a gang member on the streets of New York City. He’s not alone. Self-medication is common in our culture. Whether it’s compulsive shopping, gambling, an unhealthy desire for sweets, sex, or drugs and alcohol, the number of … Continue reading Helping Your Loved One Find Freedom from Addiction →

Our culture loves to talk about love. It’s a central theme in music, movies, and books. Love is so important to the human experience that we spend most of our lives seeking the love we want or cultivating the love we have. But what is love? A lot of people talk about love in terms … Continue reading Love is Like Fire →

Dad, don’t let your teenage daughter fool you. She needs you. I know her attitude may not always reflect that, but it’s true. She’s caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty, hormones, and confusing messages that skew her sense of identity and self-worth. On top of that, her social world is topsy-turvy, and she’s growing, changing, … Continue reading A Father’s Influence in His Daughter’s Life →

To enjoy victory in life, remember: it doesn’t matter how long you’re in the lead … you have to finish well. The last day of the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships featured an unusual outcome in the women’s 400 meter relay. Duke University held the lead from the start. They were fast. … Continue reading Get to the End →

The decision to marry someone “for better or for worse” isn’t just a choice that you make once on your wedding day – it’s a choice you make every day, several times a day. Researchers say that the average person makes about 35,000 decisions a day. Just one of those choices is the choice to … Continue reading Making Positive Choices for a Stronger Marriage →

The Rubik’s Cube is the best-selling children’s toy in history. It was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, an architectural design professor who used the cube to teach his students how to analyze design problems in three dimensions. But before his students could use the cube, Rubik had to figure out how to solve it … Continue reading Overcoming Impossible Odds →

I’m a well-organized person. I like things neat and tidy. Generally, that quality leads to positive results in my life. But it can also lead to dashed expectations and conflict. Clutter around the house can really bother me, if I let it. So can clutter in my schedule. My leadership team here at Focus on … Continue reading Clearing Out Your Space and Schedule →

I refused to go to kindergarten. On my first day, I dug in my heels and wouldn’t walk to school with my siblings. I told my mom no and meant it. I was so stubborn about it that she personally had to usher me down the block and into the building. I didn’t want to … Continue reading Navigating the Grade School Years →

Most of us have been angry enough to say something spiteful. But a man named Charles Froling got so angry that he built an entire house to express his spite. In 1938, Charles inherited a patch of land from a relative in Alameda, California. He planned to build a home there, but the city refused … Continue reading The Spite House →

Young people in America and Europe are leaving the Christian church at an unprecedented rate. Statistically, this generation is the least religious in history. Teenagers, in particular, are turning toward atheism at a rate double that of the general population. Many struggle to believe claims made by the Bible. Or to reconcile faith in a … Continue reading Reaching the Next Generation for Christ →