If you were growing up in a blended family, you knew the drill—new houses, new rules, new “normal” every few years. And now you’re the parent, wondering what stuck and what still stings. Ron Deal talks with Barna's Micah Scharchburg about growing up in family chaos—and why your story doesn’t have to define your kids’ future. If you’ve ever asked, “Did that mess me up?” or "Am I messing up my kids?" this conversation meets you right there—and points you forward.

Show Notes and Resources

• Get a Blended & Blessed All Access Pass blendedandblessed.com
• Blended resources for you 
• Learn about Barna 
• Ron's speaking schedule RonDeal.org

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Meet Matt and Kari Perkins, widowed parents who blended a family of seven after deep loss. They know you don’t “get over” loss—you grow with it. Find honest hope for grieving parents and blended families as you form a future without erasing the past.

Show Notes and Resources

• Learn more about Matt and Kari, and the Grief to Growth Pathway 
• You still have time to register for Blended & Blessed! 
• List of Christian Stepfamily Therapists 

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You’re not crazy. Blended family life is complicated—and sometimes it feels like you’re fighting battles that started long before this marriage. Old fears. Ex-spouses. Money tension. Kid loyalty binds. Ron Deal and Gayla Grace name the “ghosts” haunting stepfamilies—and why you lean out when you meant to lean in. If you’re tired of walking on eggshells, this one will feel uncomfortably familiar—in the best way.

Show Notes and Resources

• Watch Women & Blended Families 
• Attend Blended & Blessed for free this year! 
• Get the All- Access didgital pass from previous Blended & Blessed years 
• Listen to the podcast with Dr. Juli Slattery 
• Get your copy of The Mindful Marriage 

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Vaneetha Risner knows the raw grief of unwanted divorce and betrayal. She gets church shame, lost identity, lingering triggers. Yet God has turned lament into deeper trust. This was never the plan, but it has forged faith. And it offers hope for yours.

Show Notes and Resources

• Register for the live Blended & Blessed event in Oklahoma City 
• Listen to episode 130: Coping With Traumatic Events
• Learn about Vaneetha and get a copy of her book, This Was Never the Plan: Walking with God Through the Heartache of Divorce 
• Help us reach more families around the world with a gift of support 

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When did “family time” become everyone scrolling in separate corners? In this eye-opening episode, Ron Deal and author Arlene Pellicane unpack how to manage screentime—helping parents and grandparents raise screen-wise kids who still look up, laugh, and live offline. Discover why boredom builds brilliance, how to delay devices with grace, and how real connection always outshines the algorithm.

Show Notes and Resources

• Reserve your Love Like You Mean It cabin!
• Look for a seminar or stepfamily small group in your area
• Learn about Arlene and order her book, Screen Kids ArlenePellicane.com
• Send a tax-deductible gift
• Join us online for Blended & Blessed for FREE!
• Watch the film, Screen Kids: In Their Own Words

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Grief lingers, yet love insists on living. Podcasters Justin and Kelly Walker navigate a blended family of 9 amid grief triggers and daily chaos. Hallway tributes, fire-pit conversations, and tender routines show how honoring the past fosters resilience, teaches empathy, and shapes a family that holds loss and new beginnings in a single heartbeat.

Show Notes and Resources

• Host Blended & Blessed for FREE
• Get a copy of The Mindful Marriage: Create Your Best Relationship Through Understanding and Managing Yourself 
• The Happy Chaos Podcast
• Send in a donation
• Search Ron's upcoming events

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After a scandalous start to their blended marriage, Ines Franklin and her husband Jim discovered God's grace turns broken stories into masterpieces. With raw honesty--and pulling from the richness of the beatitudes in the Bible--Ines explains core ingredients to flourishing in blended family life, with heaps of practical takeaways. What began in shame ends in her "smoothie family" of 5 kids, 10 grandkids, and redemption that shouts hope.

Show Notes and Resources

• Order a hardback copy of The Mindful Marriage here or preorder the paperback where you get books
• Blended & Blessed for FREE!
• Look at Ron's upcoming events 
• Learn about Ines on her website
• Get a copy of Ines' book, Blended and Blessed
• Make a donation to FamilyLife Blended 

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Overwhelmed by blended-family brokenness? Ron Deal and Wynand Jacobs dive into the messy, unpolished reality of blended families in New Zealand. Using Kintsugi as a gospel metaphor, they explore God's power to reform shame into beauty, grief into testimony, and mistakes into stories that shine. It's a masterclass in the divine alchemy of blended family life.

Show Notes and Resources

• Learn about FamilyLife New Zealand 
• Find an event on our blended map 
• Send a donation to further the blended ministry 

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Holidays got your blended family feeling like a tossed salad of joy, stress, and edgy emotions? Podcast hosts and blended marriage coaches Mike & Kim Anderson bring real talk, raw truth, and restoration therapy magic. Learn how to swap pain cycles for peace, chaos for connection—and maybe, just maybe, survive a blended family Christmas with your sanity and your stepkids.

Show Notes and Resources

• Order a hardcover copy of The Mindful Marrriage. You can pre-order a paperback version any place books are sold. 
• Learn about Mike and Kim 
• Send in a year-end gift to FamilyLife Blended 

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What happens when God’s good plan lobs an unplanned pregnancy into a blended family? Jay and Tammy Daughtry chat about shock, grace, and choosing love over shame. From unfiltered Day One reactions to faith-fueled healing, they offer a blueprint for both welcoming chaos and blessing it. This episode is a must-listen for anyone ready to turn unexpected blended-family moments into hope-filled family legacies.

Show Notes and Resources

• Ron and Nan's schedule 
• Learn about The Daughtrys coparentinginternational.com
• Unplanned Grandparenting 
• Give a year end gift and it will be doubled! 

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