Ron Deal
Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife®, founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, and the author and Consulting Editor of the Smart Stepfamily Series
Episodes appearing in
It's important to help children connect their choices with the consequences that follow. If a child spills their milk they should clean it up. If they agree to finish their chores before supper but don't they shouldn't get to eat until they finish. If the View Show Notes →
Yes, adult children have thought about their parent dating again, but once it's real, it's just bizarre. Sometimes their roles change. The child becomes the dating coach, telling their parent how to ask for a date and to guard against sexual temptation. E View Show Notes →
Jesus washing his disciple's feet in John 13 in the Bible is such a profound picture of love. And it really is simple: When you pay a compliment to a child, you're washing their feet. When you serve your spouse, you're washing their feet. When you put on View Show Notes →
In this digital age we have many communication filtering options. Say your mobile phone rings, but you let it go to voicemail. You listen to the message and reply with a text. That's filtering. This has pros and cons. For blended families, filtering can h View Show Notes →
This is ironic, in today's digital world we're more connected and disconnected than ever before. View Show Notes →
Children are blessed when mom and dad love each other and spend time together. But in the beginning in a stepfamily it's different. When a parent and stepparent spend time together children sometimes feel pushed aside. This naturally puts the biological p View Show Notes →
My five-year-old daughter adored Mike. They had a great connection and things were going well. But of course, the night before the wedding, she says,I don't want you to marry Mike. I was blindsided. What's going on here? I interviewed Kim Anderson and he View Show Notes →
When you struggle how do you know if you need help from an outside source? One indication is you rehash the same territory. One woman wrote that for years her husband talked about his former wife: what went right or wrong, why she left, and how it affecte View Show Notes →
I think foster parents and stepparents are heroes because they sacrificially chose to love, provide for, and raise a child not their own, sometimes in difficult circumstances. That's why it pains me when I hear about a stepparent who is M.I.A. It's rare, View Show Notes →
Well, it seems the book of Proverbs agrees because five times it makes reference to a quarrelsome spouse who is like a continual dripping of rain, it says. Apparently nagging is like water torture. Why do people nag? Because they are unhappy with somethin View Show Notes →
Now, as far as national days go, Mother's Day and Thanksgiving I get. But Bologna Day? View Show Notes →
For some reason, we sometimes hide our pain and suffering from God. But on a FamilyLife Blended podcast speaker Michele Cushatt said God is in the pain.The place where God connected with His people at the very closest moment was at the foot of the cross, View Show Notes →
A friend stood up against an injustice. A group of people were standing by when his wife heard about what he did and because he put himself in harm's way she reacted in anger. He could have gotten defensive that she chastised him in public, but instead he View Show Notes →
That sounds strange and it's not meant to be negative or condescending rather it's an important observation. Every stepfamily has a loss narrative just below the surface that impacts and influences every aspect of the family. For a child whose parent died View Show Notes →
It's true, isn't it? Just ask someone about their grandkids and their face lights up, they show you pictures, and they get giddy all of a sudden. No wonder Proverbs 17:6 says that grandchildren are the crown, or should I say the reason for joy, of the age View Show Notes →
If you're like me, you get a little grumpy when you're in pain. Does God withdraw during those moments? On the FamilyLife Blended podcast author Michele Cushatt and I talked about how God looks past even our big, ugly emotions and moves in closer. Here's View Show Notes →
Sometimes stepchildren are more problematic to a stepparent than a biological parent, because they intuitively know the stepparent is able to handle itit's a backward compliment. One couple heard me say that and it immediately planted a seed of truth in t View Show Notes →
Whether it's feeling like a social outcast in junior high or not fitting in at church, nobody likes to be an outsider. Stepparents start their blended family journey as outsiders. They have to find belonging and acceptance. Say you're going to play softba View Show Notes →
When people tell me they married the wrong person, I say we all married the wrong person. You really didn't know what you needed when you chose who you chose. Now, assuming you want to become who you need to become to love who you chose, by God's grace, y View Show Notes →