One of the ways we support families here at Focus is through our series of original articles, which we publish for free online each month. In case you may have missed them, here are links to a few of our latest articles related to marriage and parenting, as well as to faith and culture.

You didn't marry a mind reader: How to communicate your expectations
Very few married couples don’t struggle with unspoken expectations at some point. We all do it. Every single last one of us. We expect our spouse to know just what we need, and it places an unrealistic burden on him or her and can breed resentment. This notion of mind reading is a bit ridiculous, but by learning to talk about expectations in your relationship, you can begin to establish a more satisfying marriage.
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Guiding your son to respond well to sexual attraction
We need to teach our boys that while they may not have control over their initial attraction to a person or an image, they do have control over how they respond. If you have tween boys, you’ll be interested to read our feature article by Daniel Huerta, director of parenting and youth at Focus on the Family in the U.S., explaining how he approached the topic with his eight-year-old son.
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Anti-heroes of the faith in the book of Judges
Sometimes flawed faith can be as powerful, in its own way, as great faith. Witness the heroes in the Old Testament book of Judges, a record of one of the darkest eras in the history of Israel. With one notable exception, these judges were morally ambiguous figures, hardly models to emulate. And yet, the New Testament letter to the Hebrews includes several of them in a list of heroes of the faith. Perhaps anti-heroes of the faith would be more accurate. Nevertheless, their stories show that God can and does work even through the most flickering faith. Taken together, these heroic tales point to the grace and mercy of God, who will not abandon His people, even when they’re at their worst.
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The God of snow and northern lights
The dead of winter: It’s a poetic phrase that captures something of the love-hate relationship many of us have with the season, particularly here in Canada. It conjures images of brittle cold, bleak snowy landscapes, fleeting days and long, dark nights. It creates a yearning for the rebirth of spring and the bright vitality of summer. For some people, it can lead to feelings so deep and blue that medical aid becomes necessary. At the same time, it’s difficult to deny winter’s craggy, awful beauty: inhospitable perhaps, even dangerous, and yet beauty nonetheless. As believers, how do we reconcile this apparent dichotomy? Is winter an undesirable by-product of a fallen world, or is it a good gift from the Father of lights above?
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