Veteran stepcouples have a wealth of knowledge on best practices for stepfamilies. Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Sandi Patty and Don Peslis, married in 1995 with a blended family of 8 children, on wise solutions to common issues stepfamilies face.
Do you need help growing unity and character in your stepfamily? Our convenient online course, Well-Blended, can help! Listen to Ron Deal and Dave & Ann Wilson talk about how it can help you build robust, resilient relationships in your unique stepfamily.
Are you steering your kids toward Christ while the other home steers them toward the world? Ron Deal talks with Kara Powell & Gayla Grace about how to manage value differences between homes and how to answer 3 important questions every teenager is asking.
Critical relationship skills are needed in every important relationship, particularly in stepfamily life. Ron Deal talks with a dynamic mother-daughter duo on practical ways of gaining a larger toolbox of wisdom and skills for strengthening relationships.
As a stepdad, you take on a heroic challenge in choosing to parent someone else's child. Gil Stuart talks with Ron Deal about his video series, Unsung Heroes, and how vulnerability, courage, & humility helped him create lasting relationships as a stepdad.
Krista Smith-Larson is a blended family mom who produces games that help draw out matters of loss and stepfamily transition in order to bring about hope & healing. Listen to her dialogue with Ron Deal & learn about games that can benefit your stepfamily.
God loves the work of refining our character. We become more like Christ as we learn how to love, forgive, show kindness, and be family to one another. Ron Deal talks with Summer Butler & Gayla Grace about the value of God's refining fire for stepmoms.
How do you help a lost or angry child who battles against the family? Ron Deal speaks with psychologist Danny Huerta on troubled kids in a stepfamily.
Do you seek to build happy memories with those you love? Have you considered the impact of intentional play in your home? Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Dr. Jim Burns about why and how to use "fun" to connect relationships in your stepfamily.
Little things can create big changes in blended family homes. Jed and Jenny Jurchenko share with Ron Deal how they created positive change in their home by taking small, positive steps to grow their most important relationships.
How do you know if you're ready to be a stepdad? Ron Deal talks with Bob Lepine and Dennis Rainey and gives insight into this important role. He encourages men to step out in faith and rely on God's wisdom for a role that can be daunting, but rewarding.
It is rare for a couple to meet, fall in love, marry, and parent their children the exact same way. It is even more uncommon in stepfamilies.
Labels can be confusing in stepfamilies. Does it really matter what a stepchild calls his stepparent? Join Ron Deal and Steve and Misty Arterburn as they discuss this important topic.
Melody Fabien joins Ron Deal for a conversation about learning to navigate between the homes, hearts, and faith of her divorced parents. Melody explains how she reconciled living between two homes and how God has redeemed her story.
Have you wondered what's going on inside a child of divorce? Ron Deal and Lauren Reitsema address common questions parents and stepparents ask about kids.
For a woman with no biological children, stepping into the role of stepmom can be a bewildering labyrinth of complexities. Ron Deal and Laura Petherbridge discuss how to navigate this winding path.
Ron Deal talks with Laura Petherbridge, The Smart Stepmom, has over twenty years of experience, as a childless stepmom who has helped countless women redefine what it means to mother and love children who don't share their DNA.
Have you wondered what's going on inside a child of divorce? Or what their experience of your blended family is? Ron Deal and Lauren Reitsema address common questions parents and stepparents ask about kids-and share insights that will help you love and lead them well.
Stepmoms bear a unique burden, and they often neglect their own care. Melanie Anthony offers hope for balance in the midst of the burden.
Ronnie Tyler may have been in love with her husband, Lamar, but she wasn't that interested in his help with raising her two children. Ron Deal explores the complex nuances of blended relationships.
How do you give grace to a teenager? To a stepteenager, at that? And, how do you give each other grace as parents, when it comes to how they react to your teenager? Ron discusses these questions and more with Randy and Gayla Grace.
She may have been in love with Lamar, but as a strong self-confident woman, Ronnie wasn't that interested in Lamar's help raising her two children from a previous relationship. Exploring the complex nuances of blended relationships.
Ron Deal, director of FamilyLife Blended, talks about the vital role step-grandparents provide as they help create connection in their families.
Steve and Misty Arterburn talk about the unique way blended families function. Steve and Misty recall bringing three children into the early years of their marriage and what they did to build a firm foundation for their family.
Ron Deal joins Steve and Misty Arterburn to talk about the complexities of a second marriage. Steve and Misty both experienced divorce in their first marriages. The Arterburns share what they have done to make their marriage work.
Adolescence is a natural time of turmoil in nearly every family.
The admonishment of Ephesians 4 to put off the old and put on the new applies in unique ways to blended families. Pastor Tim Lundy concludes his message on Ephesians 4.
Stepfamilies are hard no matter what your circumstances were before remarriage. Here are seven practical steps for healthy relationships.
We’ve all done it: We’ve all unjustly taken our anger against one person out on another. The question is, what do we do about it?
Are you wondering what is going on in your stepchild's mind? Some stepchildren are here to tell you about their blended experience. Josh and Emily Gangl and Jenifer Thigpen tell their stories.
Feeling like stepparenting is just not your thing? Laura Petherbridge, and Gordon Taylor are here to offer hope. Laura and Gordon tell their stories and offer advice for blended families.
In some step families, parents try to force their kids into a relationship with their stepparent. Ron Deal suggests letting the kids set the pace for the relationship with their stepparent.
Blending a family is easy, right? Ron Deal says "not so fast". Blending two families is a lot slower, more complicated and more fraught with challenges than anyone expects.
Making assumptions about your spouse’s thoughts, feelings, and motives is a risky endeavor.
Children in blended families are going to feel like they don't belong, and they often take it out on the stepparent. But there is hope.
Laura tells you how to avoid making some of the most wicked step parenting mistakes.
If being a mother is hard work, then being a stepmother is twice as difficult.
A delicate balancing act for blended families.
Remember Hebrews 12:2 as you look forward to a future payoff for your parenting efforts.
Parenting is difficult enough when it's your own kids, but throw someone else's into the mix and you may have problems.
The spiritual struggle of many Christian stepfamily adults.
Suggestions from experienced stepfathers on conquering Stepdad Mountain.
