James Dobson Quotations

I'm certain that most couples expect to find intimacy in marriage, but it somehow eludes them.

Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without.

Children are not casual guests in our home. They have been loaned to us temporarily for the purpose of loving them and instilling a foundation of values on which their future lives will be built.

God has called us to be His representatives in our nation and in our world. Select candidates who represent your views and work for their election.

Sometimes we're so concerned about giving our children what we never had growing up, we neglect to give them what we did have growing up.

My observation is that women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership.

What is the biggest obstacle facing the family right now? It is over-commitment; time pressure. There is nothing that will destroy family life more insidiously than hectic schedules and busy lives, where spouses are too exhausted to communicate, too worn out to have sex, too fatigued to talk to the kids. That frantic lifestyle is just as destructive as one involving outbroken sin. If Satan can't make you sin, he'll make you busy, and that's just about the same thing.

There is nothing more important than parents passing on a generational legacy of faith and values to their children.

If homes are going to survive, it will be because husbands and fathers again place their families at the highest level on their system of priorities.

One of the most important responsibilities in the Christian life is to care about others, smile at them, and be a friend to the friendless.

A child identifies his parents with God, whether or not the adults want that role. Most children 'see' God the way they perceive their earthly fathers.

Those who control what young people are taught, and what they experience - what they see, hear, think, and believe - will determine the future course for the nation.

Morality and immorality are not defined by man's changing attitudes and social customs. They are determined by the God of the universe, whose timeless standards cannot be ignored with impunity.

Marriage succeeds only as lifetime commitment with no escape clauses.

Don't throw away your friendship with your teenager over behavior that has no great moral significance. There will be plenty of real issues that require you to stand like a rock. Save your big guns for those crucial confrontations.

Love is not simply a feeling of romantic excitement; it is more than a desire to marry a potential partner; it goes beyond intense sexual attraction; it exceeds the thrill at having "captured" a highly desirable social prize. Real love is an expression of the deepest appreciation for another human being; it is awareness of his or her needs and longings- past, present and future. It is unselfish, giving and caring.

My legacy doesn't matter. It isn't important that I be remembered. It's important that when I stand before the Lord, he says, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' I want to finish strong.

A boy or girl who knows that love abounds at home will not resent well-deserved punishment. One who is unloved or ignored will hate any form of discipline.

By learning to yield to the loving authority... of his parents, a child learns to submit to other forms of authority which will confront him later in his life — his teachers, school principal, police, neighbors and employers.

Can't you see the Creator of the universe, who understands every secret, every mystery, sitting patiently and listening to a four-year-old talk to Him? That's a beautiful image of a father.

One of the first things you and your fiance need to develop is a meaningful prayer life even before the wedding. My wife, Shirley, and I did that, and the time we have spent on our knees has been the stabilizing factor throughout nearly forty years of marriage.

It is my view that our society can be no more stable than the foundation of individual family units upon which it rests. Our government, our institutions, our schools...indeed, our way of life are dependent on healthy marriages and loyalty to the vulnerable little children around our feet.

We are so busy giving our children what we never had that we forget to give them what we did have.

Show me a husband who keeps his thoughts to himself, and I will show you a frustrated wife.

Extreme independence is as destructive to a relationship as total dependence.

We Americans are living a lifestyle of exhaustion. We don't have time for ourselves, much less for each other and our children.

Traditional Judeo-Christian values literally hang in the balance in America. They can be 'forgotten' in a single generation if they are not taught to children and teenagers... It could happen here if we don't defend what we believe.

Real crying usually lasts two minutes or less, but may continue for five. After that point, the child is merely complaining... I would require him to stop the protest crying, usually by offering him a little more of whatever caused the original tears.

It is our uniqueness that gives freshness and vitality to a relationship.

We human beings can survive the most difficult of circumstances if we are not forced to stand alone.

Faith in God - life can never take you by surprise again.

Trust involves letting go and knowing God will catch you.

If two men or two women can marry, then there is no way a court could deny three men and two women or any combination thereof.

The right to criticize must be earned, even if the advice is constructive in nature.

Conceit is a weird disease - it makes everybody sick except the guy who has it.

Joy comes form knowing God loves me, knows who I am and where I'm going ... that my future is secure as I rest in Him.

The footsteps a child follows are most likely to be the ones his parents thought they covered up.

There are very few certainties that touch us all in this mortal experience, but one of the absolutes is that we will experience hardship and stress at some point.

'Dare to Discipline' was published in 1970 in the midst of the Vietnam War and a culture of rebellion. The book was written in that context, but the principles of child rearing have not changed.

The final heartbeat for the Christian is not the mysterious conclusion to a meaningless existence. It is, rather, the grand beginning to a life that will never end.

My dad and I hunted and fished together. How could I get angry at this man who took the time to be with me?

It is very important to understand that pluralism is part of our system. We don't all think the same thing and part of our strength is that we come from different perspectives. We have to respect one another even when we disagree with each other. There has to be a spirit of tolerance for the views of others, while also being deeply committed to the positions we hold. If we do that, I think we can coexist and learn to love each other better.

Respect is intended to operate on a two-way street.

Clearly, unless the Lord chooses to explain Himself to us, which often He does not, His motivation and purposes are beyond the reach of mortal man. What this means in practical terms is that many of our questions - especially those that begin with the word 'why' - will have to remain unanswered for the time being.

If you're going through difficult times today, hold steady. It will change soon. If you are experiencing smooth sailing and easy times now, brace yourself. It will change soon. The only thing you can be certain of is change.

Prayer and dependence on God has been our history. How unfortunate it is now that an unaccountable and unelected and misguided judge from Wisconsin, Judge Barbara Crabb, has declared National Days of Prayer - established by the Congress - to be unconstitutional.

Children represent God's most generous gift to us.

Barring a miracle, the family that has existed since antiquity will likely crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself. This is a time for concerted prayer, divine wisdom and greater courage than we have ever been called upon to exercise,

One of the problems with sex education... is that it also strips kids - especially girls - of their modesty to have every detail of anatomy, physiology and condom usage made explicit.

A good marriage is not one where perfection reigns: it is a relationship where a healthy perspective overlooks a multitude of "unresolvables."

No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and halfway closed there after.

Behavior runs in deep channels that were cut during early childhood, and it is very difficult to alter them. In order to change a deeply ingrained pattern, you have to build a sturdy dam, dig another canal and reroute the river in the new direction. That effort is rarely successful over the long haul.

God does not need our money. But you and I need the experience of giving it

Touching Hearts, Changing Lives.

Some strong-willed children absolutely demand to be spanked, and their wishes should be granted. . . [T]wo or three stinging strokes on the legs or buttocks with a switch are usually sufficient to emphasize the point, 'You must obey me.'

I don't blame homosexuals for being angry when people say they've made a choice to be gay, because they don't.

Loving discipline encourages a child to respect other people and live as a responsible, constructive citizen.

When you let people put you up on a pedestal, you step one step in any direction, and you're going to go down.

The Lord doesn't always remove the sources of stress in our lives...but He's always there and cares for us. We can feel His arms around us on the darkest night.

Communities do not let prostitutes, pedophiles, voyeurs, adulterers, and those who sexually prefer animals to publicly celebrate their lifestyles, so why should homosexuals get such privileges?

To those who say Ted Bundy should burn forever in eternity I would only say, so should I, so should all of us...

Clearly, the Scripture tells us that we lack the capacity to grasp God's infinite mind or the way He intervenes in our lives. How arrogant of us to think otherwise! Trying to analyze His omnipotence is like an amoeba attempting to comprehend the behavior of man.

God's Heart is especially tender toward the downtrodden and the defeated. He knows your name and He has seen every tear you have shed.

Those who are the happiest are not neccessarily those for whom life has been easiest.

When these parenting years have passed, something precious will have flickered and gone out of my life. Thus, I am resolved to enjoy every day that remains in this fathering era.

The universe and everything in it will someday pass away and be made new by the Creator. Therefore, the events of today that seem so important are not really very significant, except for those matters that will survive the end of the universe.

Tell me why it is that a toddler will gag over a perfectly wonderful breakfast of ham, eggs, biscuits, juice, and jelly. But then he will enthusiastically drink the dog's water and play in the toilet. Truly, he is his mother's greatest challenge...; and her most inexpressible joy.

Great beginnings are not as important as the way one finishes.

Authority is God ordained, but authoritarianism and raw power, in almost all forms, is dangerous.

You have to work to keep love alive; you have to protect it and maintain it, just like you would a delicate flower.

It will always hurt to be laughed at, snubbed, ignored or attacked by others. But I would remind you that the human personality grows through adversity, provided it is not crushed in the process.

Homosexuals can be, you know, committed to each other. And they have freedom to behave in the ways that they do, but they cannot be a family. They cannot be married. I mean, virtually every culture in the history of the world has considered marriage to be between one woman and one man.

If a woman plans to terminate her pregnancy, she commonly refers to the life within her as the 'fetus'. But if she intends to deliver and love and care for the little child, she affectionately calls him 'my baby'.

It is deeply moving, powerful, and disturbing. A film that must be seen.

Ain is a marvelous purifier... It is not necessary to beat the child into submission; a little bit of pain goes a long way for a young child. However, the spanking should be of sufficient magnitude to cause the child to cry genuinely.

The United States has been from the beginning greatly influenced and primarily influenced by the Judeo-Christian system of values.

It is impossible to overstate the need for prayer in the fabric of family life.

Although individual temperaments vary, boys are designed to be more assertive, audacious, and excitable than girls are.

I'm still heard on 1,500 radio stations across North America every day, about 220 million people a day in 150 countries.

If traditional marriage is not the law of the land, the institution of the family will cease to exist.

If you let a child know that you think he is lazy, sloppy, untruthful, unpleasant, and thoughtless, he'll probably prove you are right. Obviously, it is much better to make him stretch to reach a positive image than stoop to match one at ground level.

Here's why I cannot vote for Rudy Giuliani. He's pro-abortion. He's never repudiated gay marriage in New York City or at least the civil unions in New York City. He's called a champion of gay rights. Rudy is opposed to school choice. He's in favor of open borders.

Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for President in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions.

I would like to thank those who spoke boldly against the 'gay marriage float' in the 2014 Rose Parade. Apparently, that vigorous opposition came from perhaps millions of people, and it had a significant influence on how the matter was handled on network and cable television.

A disturbing prospect looms before us as Americans consider the possibility of a second term for President Barack Obama. Millions of conservatives who revere the Constitution, with its guarantees of freedom and limited government, have watched with alarm as the campaign season has unfolded.

I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances.

Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.

I cannot, and will not, vote for Senator John McCain, as a matter of conscience,