FamilyLife Blended® Podcast

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What's FamilyLife Blended® Podcast about?

FamilyLife Blended® Podcast with host Ron Deal, provides timeless wisdom and practical help and hope for blended families and those who love them.

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112: Stepmom Help: Pro Tips...

05.22.2023

Do you struggle with 2nd wife syndrome? Are you confused with your role and often feel you can't measure up to the expectations? Ron Deal speaks with Bill and Jen Rogers on the valuable role stepmoms play and offers encouragement ...

FamilyLife Blended® Podcast episodes:

05.22.2023 112: Stepmom Help: Pro Tips from Jen & Bill Do you struggle with 2nd wife syndrome? Are you confused with your role and often feel you can't measure up to the expectations? Ron Deal speaks with Bill and Jen Rogers on the valuable role stepmoms play and offers encouragement ...
05.08.2023 111: Custody Battles and Court Conversation Litigation creates stress and anxiety for stepfamilies, but there are ways to experience peace and bring kindness to others in the midst of it. Listen to Ron Deal with Scott and Vanessa Martindale on how to resist negative emotions and ...
04.24.2023 110: Growing Up Blended: Dr. Darrell Bock When complicated circumstances show up in blended families, relationship-building slows down. Ron Deal speaks with Dr. Darrell Bock about how the death of his mom when he was a teenager, a dad who traveled weekly with work, and a new ...
04.10.2023 109 Who Comes First in a Blended Family? Stepfamilies are fundamentally different than biological families, which can create tension and ambiguity for everyone involved. In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Dr. Patricia Papernow about key principles for healthy relationship building in blended families which navigating complex dynamics ...
03.27.2023 108: Prioritize Marriage in Your Home How can you establish your marital relationship as the foundation for the home when children preceded your union? It starts by understanding that a strong marriage contributes more significantly to the stability of the home than any other factor—including the ...
03.13.2023 107: Blending a Family: Strategies that Don’t Work Blending isn't the goal for stepfamilies; it suggests the family becomes one in a relational sense, which rarely occurs. Other cooking strategies that stepfamilies try, such as the instapot, food processor, or pressure cooker, don't work well either. Then what ...
02.27.2023 106: Scripture for Families in Need of Encouragement Do you have a roadmap to follow on your blended family journey? We'd like to encourage using God's Word to guide you, encourage you, and empower your steps. Listen to Ron Deal and Gayla Grace, along with stepcouple guests, talk ...
02.13.2023 105: Stepfamily Relationship Building: Stepping Stones for Success What are key stepping stones every stepfamily needs that will lead to healthy relationship building? Ron Deal and Gayla Grace discuss how perseverance, flexibility, commitment, Christ-likeness and other core attributes work together to create familyness. Show Notes and Resources Share ...
01.30.2023 104: Kids, Culture, Phones, and the Other Home Every parent undertands the power a smartphone carries with kids. What rules, principles, or contracts should you put in place to manage their use? David Eaton, author of Smartphone Sanity, talks with Ron Deal about 8 major concerns to consider ...
01.16.2023 103: Alienated: One Child’s Journey to Reconnect (A Parental Alienation story) Parents who are alienated from their children due to the behavior of a former spouse face devastating loss. But there is hope for redemption! Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Dr. Richard Marks on how Marks re-connected with his mother ...
01.02.2023 102: Working Smarter, Not Harder What does it mean to work smarter, not harder? How do we apply that to our relationships and why is it important? Listen to Ron Deal and Gayla Grace talk about unique blended family dynamics and the value of strategic ...
12.19.2022 101: Christmas: Recovering Joy It's the most wonderful time of year! Wait ... is it really? We want Christmas to be a season that feels magical. But too often, we feel disappointment, stress, sadness, and loneliness. Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with author and ...
12.05.2022 100: FamilyLife Blended: The Birth of a Movement How did Ron Deal get started in blended family ministry? When was FamilyLife Blended birthed and what role does Nicole Burns play? What about Gayla Grace's start in stepfamily ministry? Listen to Ron Deal and Gayla Grace tell their stories ...
11.21.2022 99: Growing Up Blended: Changing the Course of Your Family Legacy Growing up in an unstable blended home with 7 stepmoms and 11 marriages between his parents left Fred Von Canon determined to change his legacy. Listen to his conversation with Ron Deal as he and his wife Anita describe their ...
11.07.2022 98: Dating and the Single Parent, Revisited As a single parent, it's natural to yearn for a marriage partner who will love you AND your kids unconditionally. But is that realistic? Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Sabrina McDonald about dating, remarriage, and stepfamily life after widowhood, ...
10.24.2022 97: Protecting Your Kids From Porn Pornography is everywhere. It's quickly becoming the leading sex educator of our kids. Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Brian Goins and Gayla Grace about the new documentary series "Brain, Heart, World" to learn how to address this important topic ...
10.10.2022 96: Get On Board Would you consider joining our mission to serve blended families as a volunteer or affiliate staff with FamilyLife Blended? Listen to Ron Deal and four couples share about why and how they minister to stepcouples and the blessings they receive ...
09.26.2022 95: Good Parenting, Good Stepparenting As parents and stepparents, we want to raise our kids well, but we often feel inadequate. In this episode, Ron Deal talks with Ginger Hubbard about parenting the heart of our children, seeking a change in behavior that stems from ...
09.12.2022 94: The Honeymoon: Blended Families: 10 Years and Beyond Are you in the early years of blending a family and you wonder if life will ever get easier? Listen to Ron Deal and Gayla Grace talk about the honeymoon season that often follows the hard relationship-building years and the ...
08.29.2022 93: Ministering to Blended Families Is God calling you to minister to blended families, but you feel inadequate? We have a solution! Listen to Ron Deal explain how to earn an online ministry certificate as you glean from blended family experts with 7 hours of ...
08.15.2022 92: The Fields Are White for Harvest: Teaching Pastors Speak Out About Blended Family Ministry Families are changing. Non-traditional families are now considered traditional. As churches, how do we continue to meet the needs of complex families and serve them well? Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with three senior pastors on why and how churches ...
08.05.2022 91: Bonus Q&A: More Answers to Questions Blended Families Ask Our bonus episode offers another question and answer format with Ron Deal and Gayla Grace to address those hard-to-navigate circumstances in your blended family with solutions that offer nuggets of wisdom and practical suggestions. Show Notes and Resources Find a ...
08.04.2022 90: Bonus Q&A: You Ask, We Answer Do you have stepfamily questions for the experts? We have answers! Listen to Ron Deal and Gayla Grace discuss everyday issues that frequently show up in blended family homes—along with practical solutions—to help you find harmony in your relationships. Show ...
08.03.2022 89: Bonus Q&A: Blended Questions with Kirk Do you struggle to find unity as a couple or need help setting boundaries with an ex-spouse and co-parenting successfully? Or maybe you could use a few tips on navigating the teen years with your stepdaughters. Listen to Ron Deal's ...
08.02.2022 88: Bonus Q&A: Stepfamily Questions with Don and Sandi 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 challenges like: managing ...
08.01.2022 87: Well Blended Do you need help growing unity and building character in your stepfamily? Our convenient online course, Well-Blended, can help! Listen to Ron Deal and Dave and Ann Wilson talk about how it can help you build robust, resilient relationships in ...
07.18.2022 86: Bi-Polar Value Differences Between Homes Are you steering your kids toward Christ while the other home is steering them toward the world? Ron Deal talks with Kara Powell and Gayla Grace about how to manage bi-polar value differences between homes and how to understand and ...
07.04.2022 85: Terrible Loss, Unexpected Love When remarriage happens after the death of a spouse, the stepcouple faces unique and hard-to-navigate circumstances related to grief and leftover feelings from those experiences. Ron Deal talks with Bill and Evelyn Thompson, who both lost their spouses prior to ...
06.20.2022 84: Relationship Essentials – Tools for Healthier Relationships Critical relationship skills are needed in every important relationship, especially in stepfamily life. In this episode, Ron Deal talks with a dynamic mother-daughter duo, Joneen Mackenie and Laueren Reitsema, on gaining a larger toolbox of wisdom and skills for strengthening ...
06.06.2022 83: Unsung Heroes Stepdads take on a heroic challenge as they parent someone else's child, which often includes frustration and defeat. Stepdad Gil Stuart talks with Ron Deal about his video series, Unsung Heroes, which captures the value of vulnerability, courage, and humility ...
05.23.2022 82: It’s All Fun and Games 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 and healing. Listen to her dialogue with Ron Deal and learn about games that ...
05.09.2022 81: Bonus Moms: Refined for Good God loves the work of refining our character, particularly as we engage in family relationships. We become more and more like Christ as we learn how to love, forgive, show kindness, and be family to one another. In this episode, ...
04.25.2022 80: From Toxic Competitors to Business Partners Relationships between biological moms and stepmoms can be malicious, competitive, and wounding. But they don't have to be! Listen to Ron Deal's discussion with two women who found healing for their toxic relationship through God's grace, forgiveness, and acceptance that ...
04.11.2022 79: Advice to Children: What Experts Might Say to Your Kids Would you like your kids to hear helpful advice from several experts about their blended family struggles? This podcast is for you! Listen for yourself first, then with your child—young or old—to encourage dialogue about their feelings that can help ...
03.28.2022 78: From Our Perspective Kids in stepfamilies often lose control over many aspects of their lives after their parents remarry. In this episode, Ron Deal talks with two stepsiblings about their own experiences, their hard adjustments to stepfamily life, and how parents can give ...
03.14.2022 77: Grace-filled Parenting in Blended Families Blended and Blessed is a marriage event specifically designed for couples in a blended family. This podcast episode features a dynamic speaker from Blended and Blessed 2021, author and stepmom Laurie Short, with nuggets of wisdom and real-life stories from ...
02.28.2022 76: Moving from Roommates to Soulmates in Marriage Life has a way of moving us into roommates in marriage when we want to be soulmates. Ron Deal talks with Dr. Greg Smalley about how to stay deeply connected with one another, even during seasons of exhaustion or busyness, ...
02.14.2022 75. Dancing in the Bedroom The subject of sexuality and sexual desire in marriage brings up lots of questions. In this episode, Ron Deal interviews Dr. Michael Sytsma, a pastor and sex therapist, who talks about how to pursue the heart of intimacy with one ...
01.31.2022 74: You ask, We answer Do you have stepfamily questions? We have answers! Listen to Ron Deal's discussion with Gayla Grace on important topics like finding your place as a stepparent, being a childless stepmom, reasonable parenting standards, adding a new baby to a stepfamily, ...
01.17.2022 73. Waiting to Be Wanted in Your Blended Family Are you good at waiting? What about waiting to be wanted by someone you care about in your blended family? That's a hard reality for many in the early years of stepfamily life. In this episode, listen to Ron Deal's ...
01.03.2022 72: Ridding Your Soul of Shame Shame is a common theme in blended families, perhaps stemming from a previous divorce, failed relationship building in your current stepfamily, or the negative stigma associated with a non-traditional family. Learn how shame develops and what you can do to ...
12.20.2021 71: Have Serious Fun, And Make Each Day Count The benefit of "fun" is often overlooked when we consider how to build healthy stepfamily relationships. But Ron Deal's podcast guest, Dr. Jim Burns, says it's an important piece that can help connect relationships.. Listen to their conversation about why ...
12.06.2021 70: Having an Ours Baby Many stepcouples want to have a baby together. Is it a good idea? Are there negative implications? In this episode, Ron Deal talks with Heidi Farrell about how an "ours" baby impacts the family and other children, what research shows ...
11.22.2021 69: Good Co-Parenting: Conflict and Cooperation with Your Ex Children need healthy relationships with both parents after divorce, which requires good co-parenting. Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Dr. Mary Jeppsen on how co-parent anger dramatically impacts a child and how former spouses can keep conflict at a minimum ...
11.22.2021 69: Good Co-Parenting: Conflict and Cooperation with Your Ex Children need healthy relationships with both parents after divorce, which requires good co-parenting. Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Dr. Mary Jeppsen on how co-parent anger dramatically impacts a child and how former spouses can keep conflict at a minimum ...
11.08.2021 68: Preparing to Blend: Getting ready for life after the wedding Preparing to blend a family can be a daunting endeavor. But you can—and should—get smart about stepfamily living ahead of time to create a strong family. Listen to Ron Deal talk with two stepcouples about what they did during their ...
10.25.2021 67: Blended with Grit: Widowhood and Forming a New Family Remarriage after widowhood creates unique struggles. Listen to Ryan and Jess Ronne, parents and stepparents to 8, share with Ron Deal about how insecurities can create conflict in a new marriage after widowhood and how they found beauty from ashes ...
10.11.2021 66: A Healthy Sex Life: What Couples Should Know What does a healthy sex life really look like? How do you find healing if you've experienced sexual brokenness? Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Dr. Juli Slattery on what makes a good lover, the importance of bringing God into ...
09.27.2021 65: Turn Your Season and Your Life Around Pro baseball player Darryl Strawberry has experienced fame, fortune, and notoriety. But he's also walked through addiction, divorce, and anguish. Today, he's far more interested in talking about Jesus than baseball as he and his wife Tracy, parents of 9 ...
09.13.2021 64: Seasons and Rhythms: Strengthening Your Family Throughout the Year Special days give families an opportunity to honor each other, celebrate one another, and strengthen their identity as a stepfamily. Ron Deal and his guests present ideas on how to creatively take advantage of your family calendar in ways that ...

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