FamilyLife Blended Podcast

144 Hope Is What the Dr. Ordered

August 12, 2024 • Dr. Lee Warren

The dynamics of blended family life can bring hopelessness, and we lose the ability to see a future where God can make our situation better. But there’s always hope for a brighter tomorrow. In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Dr. Lee Warren, a neurosurgeon who has experienced personal trauma and loss, and explains the difference between our mind and our brain and how to use our mind to face hard things in a constructive manner. As we transform our thoughts and consider our feelings against the Truth of what God’s Word says, we find hope again for healing, for purpose, for change.

143 Ghosts of Marriage Past—Dealing with Relationship Baggage

July 29, 2024 • Gayla Grace

Ghosts of marriage past—triggers from past hurt that we carry into a new relationship—are common for blended family couples. But emotional ghosts don’t just appear from relationship baggage. We can be triggered by childhood wounds, grief, or other hurts that leave a residue on our heart and create hypersensitivity to getting hurt again. As a result, we guard our heart and resist vulnerability in our relationships. In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Gayla Grace about how to recognize our ghosts and take responsibility to move past our fears. Ron and Gayla both share ghosts they’ve wrestled with and how to have conversations with your partner that build trust in your relationship.

142 Troubled Teens & Addiction Help

July 15, 2024 • Adrian Hickmon

How do we help kids who are struggling with addictive behaviors such as pornography, drinking, drugging, video game addiction, or others? In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Dr Adrian Hickmon, founder of Capstone Treatment Center, about the best approach, particularly for blended families. Hickmon says it starts by understanding the pain and void in the child's life and using your influence as a parent and stepparent to impact their behavior. He explains the value of creating deeper attachments and practicing healthy boundaries in a way that provides the connection and motivation a child needs to make changes in their life.

141 Overcoming Stepparenting Myths

July 1, 2024 • Gayla Grace

Stepparenting myths have been around a long time, and they can negatively impact stepparents if not understood well. Although there might be some truth to them, the non-truth messages create tension and confusion for us. Ron Deal talks with Gayla Grace about how to sort through the reality and false messages of myths such as: All stepmothers are wicked and all stepfathers are abusive, stepparents can easily take on a high parental role, stepfamilies can behave as traditional families, we will love biological and stepchildren the same, and if you call them "my children," they will like being your children.

140 A Home Built From Love & Loss

June 17, 2024 • Sabrina McDonald

After losing her husband in a tragic accident, Sabrina McDonald looked forward to her young kids having a dad again. But remarriage came with hardship. She shares her lessons of loss and love with Ron Deal and how God met her in the wilderness.

139 Growing Up Blended: My Stepdad

June 3, 2024 • Host: Ron Deal, Marshall West

Growing up blended often includes hard transitions and isolation for those involved. But Marshall West’s story is different. He shares with Ron Deal the beauty of God’s provision for two families coming together after loss, giving him a dad he never had and two brothers who were never considered “step.” Marshall was 12 when his mom married his stepdad, a pivotal point for him. Marshall had been praying to have brothers join his family, and his stepdad had been praying for a Mom for his two boys. Marshall credits the Lord and His goodness for bringing two broken things together and creating a family.

138 Cancer, NFL, and Family

May 20, 2024 • Devon Still, Asha Still, Host: Ron Deal

Ex-NFL football player Devon Still and his wife Asha married shortly after Devon’s young daughter, Leah, went into remission from stage four cancer. While rejoicing over Leah’s healing, they were soon blindsided by blended family struggles. Devon and Asha talk with Ron Deal about how they had both been raised in divorced homes and didn’t understand how to create a lasting marriage. They began to learn about blended family dynamics and take intentional steps toward harmony in their relationship. They quit avoiding hard conversations, listened to each other’s feelings, and created new habits in their communication to connect well. They also leaned into their faith to work through misguided expectations and move toward love and trust, ultimately finding hope in a long-term relationship.

137: Broken: Help for Family Problems

May 6, 2024 • Elisa Morgan, Host: Ron Deal

Blended families often feel broken. But Elisa Morgan says, “God loves the broken. In our brokenness, we are just where we need to be—fractured, messed up, sinful, needy, … and redeemable.” Listen to Elisa's talk on the beauty of broken.

136: Help Me with My Finances

April 22, 2024 • Host: Ron Deal, Greg Pettys, Gayla Grace

Help for your finances! Money matters can be a hot topic for blended families, creating strife and inequity if not handled well. Listen in as Ron Deal speaks with Gayla Grace and financial expert Greg Pettys about how couples can make wise decisions on financial issues that benefit all members of their blended family.

135: Growing Up Blended: Kim Walker Smith's Story

April 8, 2024 • Host: Ron Deal, Kim Walker-Smith

Singer/songwriter Kim Walker-Smith grew up in a blended family with multiple stepparents, instability, abuse, and isolation. She shares her story with Ron Deal in this podcast episode, beginning with her mom’s first divorce when she was a young child. It didn’t take long for her mom to marry again, divorce, and marry again. Eventually, her mom married a stable, loving man who wanted to be a father to Smith when she was a young teenager. Hungry for his love but scared it wasn’t real, Smith rejected him over and over again. But this stepdad kept coming back, faithful and steadfast in every way and, eventually, a stabilizing force for Smith. Although Smith experienced hardship and adversity as a child, as an adult, she came to know a loving, redeeming God, who she now sings about all over the world, testifying of His love.

134: Being a Stepparent: Is it a Blessing?

March 25, 2024 • Host: Ron Deal, Cheryl Shumake

Are there blessings in blended family life? Yes! But perhaps not in the early years. In this 2023 Blended & Blessed presentation, Cheryl Shumake talks about how God gave her strength during seasons of weariness and rewarded her efforts with blessings.

133: Remarrying After Loss

March 11, 2024 • Host: Ron Deal, Rod and Rachel Faulkner Brown

Remarriage after widowhood carries unique challenges and unwanted transitions. Expectations that aren’t realistic often show up, creating even more grief and heartache. But hard dynamics in the beginning can move toward bonded relationships and family unity with time and effort. In this podcast episode, Ron Deal talks with Rod and Rachel Faulkner Brown about their blended family challenges after Rachel was widowed twice, had two children with her second husband, and then married Rod with two young children in tow.

132: Growing Up Blended: Navigating Loss

February 26, 2024 • Host: Ron Deal, Scott Kedersha

Our past affects our present. And when we experience complicated blended family dynamics as a child, we're forever changed. Listen to Scott Kedersha share with Ron Deal how his blended family upbringing has impacted his parenting and marriage as an adult.

131: God's Purpose and Intent for Sexuality

February 12, 2024 • Ron Deal

Do you wonder about God's purpose and intent for marital sexuality within marriage? What about the symbolism the Bible presents on this topic? Do you need help on how to nurture and protect this aspect of marriage? Listen to Ron Deal's message: God's Purpose and Intent for Sexuality.

130: Coping With Traumatic Events

January 29, 2024 • Host: Ron Deal, Joel and Vaneetha Risner

Trauma and suffering can impact families in unexpected ways. Joel and Vaneetha Risner share with Ron Deal the positive effects of loss and suffering and how it helped to ground their faith, trust God in deeper ways, and bond their blended family.