Steve Kroening is a staff writer for the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. He has been a professional writer for 35 years and is the author of Make Mama Happy: Timeless Wisdom for Men Who Want an Extraordinary Marriage, and the blog TrueFantasy.org. He has written thousands of articles for various publications and worked in an addiction ministry for 12 years. He and his wife, Beth, also serve as domestic missionaries in Jasper, Georgia.
Intimacy is best grown in an atmosphere of honor. Strong marriages aren’t built on a running list of expectations. They’re built on a decision to treat each other with deep respect. When you stop keeping score and start showing honor, the tone of your relationship changes. That shift may be one of the most important lessons you will ever learn in your marriage.
If you are single, you are not unusual, forgotten, or behind schedule. You’re living in a chapter that millions of other adults are experiencing right now.
One of the greatest tools God has given you is prayer. Some prayers are answered within minutes or weeks. Others take forty years. When you feel helpless, confused, or heartbroken, you can still express your needs to Him. Conversing with the Lord is not a last resort for desperate people. It is the first and lasting response of faithful believers.
Your son was created to lead with integrity, to love a wife sacrificially (if marriage is God’s plan for him), to labor with diligence, and to walk with the Lord humbly and faithfully. When you focus on preparing him for that calling, you’re not pushing him too hard. You’re training him for the life God designed for him.
Dr. James Dobson long reminded moms and dads that while none of us lead our homes perfectly, millions sincerely strive to raise their children according to biblical principles. Many of those mothers and fathers are now facing an unexpected reality: their grown children are walking away—not only from their faith, but from them.
Marriage is a beautiful gift. Through a close walk with Jesus and steady commitment to growth, becoming a godly husband is not only something to admire from a distance. You can attain it, by His grace, as you learn to do your job well.
Dr. James Dobson was keenly aware of the spiritual battles that occur in marriage. He also taught about the benefits of this sacred institution when both husband and wife remain aligned with biblical teaching. Dr. Dobson said, “When a husband and wife are deeply committed to Jesus Christ, they enjoy enormous advantages over a family with no spiritual dimension.”
Prayer is not a last resort for the powerless; it’s an appeal to the One who holds power over all things. For twenty-five years, Shirley Dobson faithfully served as chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, helping to expand and strengthen this nationwide movement. Her leadership reminded millions that communing with our Savior is not symbolic—it is transformational.
Some days might seem as if you’ve entered a race you never were meant to run. The alarm goes off in the morning, and you already feel behind. There are lunches to pack, clothes to fold, texts to answer, errands to run, and little hearts to guide. By noon, stress can start to flare up. By nighttime, you may wonder if you did any of your tasks well.
On what would have been his 90th birthday, we don’t just remember a broadcaster or an author. We remember a man who helped parents love better, live braver, and aim higher—a man who impacted generations.
