parenting

Justin Verlander Retires in Emotional Farewell as Daughter Walks Him Off the Mound

Whoever said there’s no crying in baseball never saw a Major League Baseball player break down in tears as his 7-year-old daughter greeted him on the pitcher’s mound with a big hug before walking him off the field and into retirement.

Justin Verlander, 43-year-old pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, wasn’t the only one crying as the scene unfolded last weekend.

It was a touching end to a remarkable career — and a picture of something worth celebrating: a man who achieved tremendous professional success while still recognizing the importance of being a husband and father.

When the team manager came out to remove Verlander in the sixth inning, Genevieve, Verlander’s young daughter, came running out behind him and the surprise brought Verlander to tears. 

He hugged his daughter as fans stood and applauded. 

After 21 seasons of major league baseball, Verlander took Genevieve by the hand and together they walked off the field to Kate Upton, his wife and mother of their children, and their one-year-old son Bellamy. 

It was a perfect ending to an incredible baseball career and a reminder of what Verlander says matters most to him. 

Speaking to reporters after the game, Verlander became emotional as he talked about his family and the sacrifices required to compete at the highest level of professional sports. 

“There’s just a level of commitment it takes to be great at something,” Verlander said at a press conference reflecting on his career and his family. 

He told the press, “My family means the world to me” and “I’m happy now that I get the opportunity to make up for lost time.” 

Verlander has had an exceptional baseball career with much to be proud of professionally. 

According to MLB, over his 21 seasons Verlander won three Cy Young awards, an MVP and Rookie of the Year, 10 All-Star selections and two world series championships.

He threw three no-hitter games — something only six pitchers in MLB history have accomplished — and finished his career with 266 wins and 3,554 strikeouts, ranking him as eighth all-time strikeouts in MLB history.

When it comes to Verlander’s career, there is a lot to celebrate. What made Verlander’s final weekend so special wasn’t just a walk down memory lane celebrating his extraordinary professional achievements.

It was watching an incredibly successful baseball player who is also a father moved to tears when his little girl came running toward him.

It was hearing a professional athlete who is also a devoted husband and father say, “My family means the world to me.”

Our culture needs good men. Men who work hard, keep their commitments, love their wives and joyfully embrace fatherhood.

Christians believe marriage and fatherhood are sacred callings, and loving, leading and being present for your family is the important work.

Today, we celebrate Justin Verlander’s professional success, but of course there’s something even more important to recognize and honor — a good man who loves his family and understands that being a husband and a father is among the most important work he will ever do.

Should Children’s Television Shows Have Warnings About ‘Transgender’ Ideology?

If children’s television programming includes “transgender” ideology, should parents be warned? 

If Gonzo dresses up as Cinderella on Disney Jr.’s Muppet Babies, or Nickelodeon’s Rubble and Crew has a “nonbinary” character, should that be reflected in the shows’ ratings and content description? 

That question has Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr at odds with the Congressional Equality Caucus, a group of U.S. representatives who support and promote homosexuality and transgenderism. 

The caucus thinks it’s wrong to even ask the question about labeling children’s shows with transgender-identified characters, sending Carr a letter in June, stating:

Transgender people are part of every community, and many recognize their gender identity at a young age. Transgender people, including transgender young people, deserve to see themselves represented in media – and the public agrees.

Yes, you read that correctly. These legislators believe cartoon-watching young children can “recognize their gender identity.” 

Carr responded with a letter of his own on September 22, accusing the caucus of fighting “transparency and common sense.” 

He said: 

You stake out the radical position that parents have no right to know whether controversial gender identity ideologies are being promoted in children’s television programming. In your view, parents should not be empowered to make informed choices about the programs their children watch.

Gender ideology teaches children lies: There aren’t just two sexes, but a multitude of genders; the physical body doesn’t matter – only thoughts and feelings; and people can change from one sex to the other by just saying so. 

Parents should know if these falsehoods are being promoted in children’s shows – and be able to make decisions accordingly. 

The fracas began when the FCC’s Media Bureau properly solicited comments about the TV Parental Guidelines age ratings system in April 2026. The agency said parents had “raised concerns that controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents.” 

In asking for feedback from the public, the FCC asked questions such as: 

• Is the general public aware of the ratings system and how to provide feedback to the TV Oversight Management Board (TVOMB)?

• What more could the board do to include family-oriented perspectives – which are not well represented in the media industry – in its ratings process?

• Do descriptions of the content provide a sufficient basis for parents to make informed decisions concerning viewing decisions for their family, including when gender identity themes are discussed or displayed? 

Television guidelines were created by entertainment industry executives after Congress passed the Telecommunications Act in 1996, well before gender identity themes were being promoted to children. 

The Act required the entertainment industry to voluntarily provide parents with information about children’s entertainment content, or the FCC would establish a ratings system. 

Industry representatives chose to create the TVOMB and developed the TV Parental Guidelines age ratings system, which is still in use today.

The system provides ratings for programs that are appropriate for all children (TV-Y); appropriate for children over seven (TV-7); and suitable, but not specifically designed for, children (TV-G). The system also includes ratings for older children and adults: TV-PG, TV-14 and TV-MA.

In addition, parents are given content descriptions for sexually suggestive dialog (D), fantasy violence (FV), coarse or crude language (L), sexual situations (S), and/or violence (V). 

The Congressional Equality Caucus opposed the FCC’s Media Board seeking comments from the public about transgender ideology in children’s programs, calling it “censorship.” In their letter, the U.S. representatives wrote: 

We are deeply concerned that the questions you pose, such as whether programs should be rated differently because they discuss gender identity, indicate that you believe there is a role for the FCC to play in determining these ratings. 

The caucus added: 

The rating system is intended to address “sexual, violent, or other indecent material,” and we reject the idea that the inclusion of transgender characters or topics is “sexual, violent, or indecent.”

Chairman Carr took the caucus to task for opposing ratings that would inform parents about “the promotion of transgender and gender non-binary programming” in children’s television. 

The FCC commissioner wrote he was “deeply concerned” by the House members’ position “regarding the right of parents to know whether their sons or daughters are being exposed to controversial gender identity ideologies … in television shows that are rated as appropriate for young children.” 

Carr listed a number of children’s networks and shows that promote gender ideology. He told the Congressional Equality Caucus the FCC would move forward with giving parents more control over what their children watch: 

Opposing transparency puts you on the wrong side of the issue. Parents are nearly unanimous in wanting to know what their children are watching and to determine for their own families what shows are appropriate. Despite your opposition, the FCC will continue its work to empower parents and continue to engage with stakeholders as part of the agency’s open and ongoing proceeding.

Related articles and resources: 

‘Blue’s Clues & You!’ Celebrates LGBT Pride with New Alphabet Song

Disney Uses ‘Muppet Babies’ Show to Promote Transgender Ideology

Feds Ask Parents: ‘Did You Know Gender Ideology Can Be Promoted in Kids TV Shows?’

Increase in LGBT Characters in Children’s Entertainment – Focus’ Plugged In Gives Advice for Parents

Parenting Tips for Guiding Your Kids in the Digital Age

Plugged In

Rep. Hageman Introduces Resolution Demanding Transparency in TV Show Ratings

Report Shows Hundreds of LGBT-Identified Characters in Children’s Cartoons

TV Parental Guidelines: Understanding the TV Ratings and Parental Controls

Yes, Gay ‘Pride Month’ Most Certainly IS After Our Kids

Why Thousands of Families Are Choosing Christian Scouting

The teenager pictured in this photo is one of the more than 70,000 “Trailmen” in “Trail Life USA,” the Christian scouting organization which first launched back in 2014.

I snapped this photograph this past Saturday night up above Boulder, Colo., at Glacier View Ranch, a picturesque facility that’s owned and operated by the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Over the weekend, several hundred young men and their fathers gathered for the “Mountain Man” Camporee, an event where the Trailmen compete against one another across a series of outdoor competitions. On Saturday evening, the boys came together for awards, a bonfire and wholesome and humorous scout-led skits.

The multi-troop event concluded with a Sunday morning worship service held under sunny skies against the backdrop of quaking golden aspen trees.

“American Heritage Girls” is Trail Life USA’s sister organization, founded in 1995 by Patti Garibay. 

Both scouting groups enjoy approximately the same number of young men and women and are spread out across all 50 states. They’re affiliated with approximately 1,500 churches.

While Trail Life USA and AHG are distinctive in their charters, they were both founded in response to the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts losing their moral and spiritual way. They were created to give parents a Christian alternative. Patti Garibay recalled:

“When another girl organization that I served and loved changed their members’ promise to make ‘God’ optional in their program, I knew there was no way I could continue to serve as their ambassador.”

She then explained what happened next:

“The idea for AHG was birthed as a reaction to this change, fueled by the Lord’s leading, my husband’s coaxing, and my beloved, disabled father’s encouraging — ‘Why curse the darkness, when you can light a candle? Start something new!’”

Similarly, John Stemberger, who is currently president of Liberty Counsel Action and senior counsel for Liberty Counsel, grew frustrated when the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly same-sex-attracted boys to join the program.

“A boy can’t learn to be a man without a man to show him,” Stemberger suggested. “I started Trail Life at my church for that reason.”

The Trail Life USA founder rightly noted, “The biggest problem with masculinity in the world today is there’s not enough masculinity.”

From the beginning, neither Garibay nor Stemberger was looking to compete with the legacy scouting organizations. In fact, both had been actively engaged with them. Patti had been a former Girl Scout and served in leadership for 12 years. John was an Eagle Scout and former Scoutmaster.

At the time Trail Life USA was launched, John insisted, “We’re not an anti-BSA organization. We’re not an anti-anything organization. We honor the legacy of the Boy Scouts of America and the contributions it has made to us and our families. The men and boys we have left behind are not our opponents. They are our brothers and our friends.”

In a culture rife with difficult and discouraging trends, it should encourage you to know that nearly 150,000 young people are gathering each week to develop their faith, character and countless life skills.

AHG’s mission is “Building women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country.” Trail Life USA’s mission is “To guide generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure” with the result of producing “godly and responsible husbands, fathers, and citizens.”

The Trailman wearing the Charlie Kirk “Freedom” t-shirt in the picture may never have met the late Turning Point USA founder, but Kirk would have been proud of him. An Eagle Scout in his own right, Kirk once acknowledged that his boyhood organization was “a husk of its former self” and publicly endorsed Trail Life.

If you’re a parent and eager to connect your son or daughter to a wholesome and Christian-based scouting environment, Focus on the Family and the Daily Citizen strongly and enthusiastically encourage you to prayerfully consider Trail Life USA and American Heritage Girls.

Welcome Family? Or Welcome, Government?

On the surface, Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health program, “Welcome Family,” sounds practical.

Here’s how the state pitches the program on its website:

Before you take your newborn home, be sure to talk with a nurse about making an appointment with Welcome Family, the free 90-minute visit with a nurse who’s experienced in supporting moms and newborns.

The nurse will check on your health, answer your questions, help address your most pressing needs, and connect you to other resources in your community.

There’s a lot to know about caring for yourself and your newborn.

You may feel overwhelmed by all of the instructions you’re getting.

And once you’re home, you may have new questions you never thought to ask, about your health or your baby’s health.

Most moms do.

That’s why Welcome Family is here so you can get the answers you need.

The core of the Bay State’s “Welcome Family” program has been on the books since 2013, but it’s making headlines this week, after Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced plans to expand it.

“Everybody in the state, when you have a baby, you’re going to have a home visit within days, weeks and that will be an opportunity for a healthcare provider to make an assessment to see if you need some additional support and resources,” she said on Boston’s Public Radio.

Reports suggest the expansion of the program, which is voluntary, was motivated by the fallout of the Lindsay Clancy case, the 36-year-old Massachusetts woman who murdered her three young children. Individuals sympathetic to Clancy have suggested she was poorly served by the mental health care she was receiving – or not receiving.

To be sure, postpartum depression is a very real issue, and Clancy was receiving treatment for it. 

Yet, the fundamental issue and concern about the program’s expansion centers on how much, if any, government involvement is appropriate when it comes to families bringing home a newborn.

While the program is technically “voluntary,” are families being pressured to go along – and if they don’t, are they vulnerable to investigation? Is it even appropriate for a government employee coming into someone’s private home absent any suspicion or complaints?

In the “Welcome Family” program, the state’s nurses aren’t just examining the baby but also screening for signs of substance abuse, domestic violence, nutritional deficiencies in the home, and broader access to healthcare and other services. While some of those assessments might be clear-cut, others are unquestionably subjective. Even some of the seemingly black-and-white issues may generate unfair and unsubstantiated accusations that take time, energy and emotion to resolve.

Do we really want to give the state more access to mothers and fathers and children? Keep in mind this is the same state that recently expanded its abortion laws to allow the killing of a child up to the moment of birth.

Interestingly and tellingly, Massachusetts officials say the program exists to determine whether the baby and family have the support they need from family and friends. Implied in that goal is a case against the expansion of the program itself.

Before the government assumes the role of becoming the default support network for a newborn, families, friends, neighbors and churches should be the ones encouraged to serve in that capacity. Rather than have Big Brother usurp the role, why not ask those surrounding the newborn to step up and help?

Newborns don’t need bureaucrats – they need family, friends, and loving and supporting church members willing to help in times of need.

VP Vance to Radicals: Stay Away From Our Children

Speaking before a raucous crowd on Thursday night in Dallas at the Republican Midterm Convention, Vice President JD Vance hailed the nuclear family as the foundation of civilization.

“I can’t help but think about what it is that we’re fighting for and what it is that we want for all of our children,” Vance said. “What I want for my family, I want for your family, too.”

Noting that he and his wife, Usha, have recently welcomed Alec, their fourth child, into the family, the vice president praised the freedoms, opportunities and institutions that have been gifted by God and created by previous generations:

We live, of course, in an imperfect world of fallen men. We live in the city of man, not the city of God. But I believe that our founders built this nation on a promise that echoes our Creator, that every American child is born an heir, is born with a birthright, born with the right to inherit the blessings of the greatest country on earth, not because of who their parents are, not because of what they look like or where they come from, but because they are Americans, and this is our country.

Alec’s birth marked the first time in more than 150 years that a sitting vice president had welcomed a child while in office. VP Vance framed his remarks on Thursday around how God’s gift of family is influencing his own children’s view of the world:

It is inside of that nuclear family where I watch my four-year-old little girl, little Mira, beg to feed a bottle to her new baby brother.

It’s inside of the nuclear family where Alex’s older siblings just a couple of weeks ago witnessed the wonder of a new baby’s very first smile. It’s inside of that family where I’ve seen Usha show an almost divine patience with those four kids. 

The former Ohio senator suggested that attacks on the traditional family “come not from a love of country, they come not from a desire to serve you or our fellow Americans, but they come from a very deep emptiness in the soul.”

A student of classic Christian theology, Vance was likely alluding to Augustine’s famous observation in “Confessions,” in which the Bishop of Hippo wrote, “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

C.S. Lewis made a similar observation when he wrote, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

Talking about the world that the vice president and Second Lady want their children to grow up in, Vance went from the theoretical and theological to the practical. 

“I want my son to grow up healthy and strong,” he told those gathered. “I want him to have access to clean water and real food. I want him to live in a country where you don’t need a PhD in chemistry to understand the ingredient list in the grocery store. I want to live in a country where my son’s doctors answer to parents and to the Hippocratic Oath, not to a bunch of far-left bureaucrats.”

He continued:

“I want him to get a real education. He’s gonna grow up and go to school. I want him to go to a school that teaches him to read, to write, that teaches him arithmetic, that teaches him to love his country and his fellow citizens.”

VP Vance went on to say he wants an America where children can find meaningful employment, enjoy affordable housing and live in safe neighborhoods. 

The vice president warned radical actors to stay away from his and other parents’ children. He then defended the nation’s hard-fought religious freedoms.

“I want them [our children] to be free to worship to the dictates of their own conscience,” Vance declared. “And I want our children to grow up in a country that doesn’t roll its eyes at people who pray but remember that this country itself was an answer to prayer 250 years ago.”

Vice President Vance put a ribbon on his remarks by alluding to marriage as the cornerstone of life, noting, “I want my kids to do the most important thing. I want them to fall in love. I want them to find somebody who’s worth building a life with.”

Thursday night’s address was in a political context, but the underlying message should be nonpolitical: children are gifts from God, entrusted to parents, and not political pawns to be exploited in culture.