FamilyLife Blended® Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Living in a blended family as a young adult can bring challenges and blessings. For Amelia Dellaripa, it brings many more blessings. In this podcast episode, Ron Deal talks with Amelia about her blended family of seven and how they developed love and acceptance for one another over time.

Amelia talks about how there was seldom any divisiveness or difficult interactions with her stepmom or stepbrother from the beginning. They were always welcoming toward her, and it seemed that everyone was on the same team and wanted to do their part in building relationships. Although she was young when her dad remarried and understanding new family dynamics was hard, she’s now thankful for her big, blended family.

Show Notes and Resources

• Pre-order Ron & Nan Deal's new book: The Mindful Marriage: Create Your Best Relationship Through Understanding and Managing Yourself 
• Get organized with the Family Core App! 
• This Christmas, your gift will be doubled! 
• Upcoming events and resources 
• Join us in April for a marriage event just for couples in blended families. 

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What’s it like to be a teenager in a blended family? How do you manage the confusing emotions of your childhood and teenage years while also adjusting to new family dynamics? Davis and Campbell Faulkner lost their dad in a traffic accident when they were very young. Their mom remarried and they’ve navigated feelings of loss, fear, anxiety, grief, abandonment, and more as they’ve adjusted to a new stepdad and life in a blended family. Listen to their insightful conversation with Ron Deal and learn how they’ve coped and found gratitude for their current journey in the midst of loss.

Show Notes and Resources

• Pre-order Ron & Nan Deal's new book: The Mindful Marriage: Create Your Best Relationship Through Understanding and Managing Yourself 
• Double your year end gift to FamilyLife Blended. 
• List of counselors and coaches 
• Upcoming events and resources 
• Please send your comments! blended@familylife.com
• Join us in April for a marriage event just for couples in blended families. 

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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.

Show Notes and Resources

• Register for the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry!
• Get your copy of The Smart Stepfamily Marriage
• Make a tax dedecutible donation and get a free gift!
• Watch Women & Blended Families on YouTube
• Call and leave a message with your podcast suggestions: 407-826-2606

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If self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, how do we allow the Spirit to cultivate that fruit in our lives? Pastor Rob Bugh answers that question and speaks with Ron Deal on the value of self-control, particularly in blended family relationships, and how his lack of it contributed to much heartache in the early years of his blended family.

Show Notes and Resources

Get Rob's book: When the Bottom Drops Out: Finding Grace in the Depths of Disappointment. https://www.amazon.com/When-Bottom-Drops-Out-Disappointment/dp/1414363494.
Learn more about our Blended and Blessed Livestream Event. https://www.blendedandblessed.com
Your generous support of FamilyLife helps create podcasts like the FamilyLife Blended® Podcast. https://donate.familylife.com/blended
Learn more about FamilyLife Blended. https://www.familylife.com/familylifeblended/blended-families

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Blended and Blessed® is a one-of-a-kind annual event for stepfamily couples, single parents, dating couples with kids, and those who care about blended families, with valuable teaching by trusted and respected experts. Get a glimpse of the upcoming event as you listen to fun and informative interviews from previous speakers including Ron Deal and Shaunti Feldhahn.
Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about our Blended and Blessed Livestream Event. https://www.blendedandblessed.com/.
Get Rob and Rhonda Bugh's book. https://www.amazon.com/When-Bottom-Drops-Out-Disappointment/dp/1414363494
Get Lauren Reitsema's book. https://shop.familylife.com/p-5706-in-their-shoes.aspx
Learn about Joneen Mackenzie. https://www.myrelationshipcenter.org/services/speakers/joneen-mackenzie
Learn more about Shaunti and her resources. https://shaunti.com/
Listen to the Battle of the Moms podcast episode. https://www.familylife.com/podcast/familylife-blended-podcast/40-battle-of-the-moms
Learn about FamilyLife Blended. https://www.familylife.com/familylifeblended/blended-families/

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When blended family variables create tough dynamics to parent through, we might consider giving up on those relationships. But Jim Ramos, raised in a blended family, speaks with Ron Deal about he was impacted by his parents and stepparents and the value of playing the long game in our stepfamilies.

Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about Jim Ramos and Men in the Arena. https://meninthearena.org/
Read Ron's Article: What Do We Do Now? When Step-siblings Have Sex. https://smartstepfamilies.com/smart-help/learn/parenting-stepparenting/what-do-we-do-now-when-stepsiblings-have-sex
Get your copy of Building Love Together. https://shop.familylife.com/product/building-love-together-in-blended-families/
Learn more about our Blended and Blessed Livestream Event. https://www.blendedandblessed.com/
Get The Smart StepMom. https://shop.familylife.com/product/the-smart-stepmom-updated/
Get Daily Encouragement for the Smart Stepfamily. https://shop.familylife.com/product/daily-encouragement-for-the-smart-stepfamily/

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How do you help a child or stepchild who feels lost, or angry, or who really fights against the family? And what if their anger or hurt is justified—and you deserve it, but everyone else doesn't? In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Danny Huerta, Vice President of Parenting and Youth at Focus on the Family, about parenting troubled children in a stepfamily.

Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about Focus on the Family's parenting resources. http://focusonthefamily.com/parenting
Check out Danny's book 7 Traits of Effective Parenting. https://store.focusonthefamily.com/7-traits-of-effective-parenting#refcd=869302
Take the FREE 7 Traits Assessment to learn more about your parenting. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/the-7-traits-of-effective-parenting/
Help strengthen stepfamilies by donating to FamilyLife Blended.https://donate.familylife.com/blended/?cru_source=D000BLENDGandcru_medium=DesktopHeaderNavandcru_campaign=Blended
Learn more about our Blended and Blessed Livestream Event.https://www.blendedandblessed.com/.
Learn about FamilyLife Blended. https://www.familylife.com/familylifeblended/blended-families/

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People of faith want their family to be a Kingdom family—centered in God's Word and rooted in truth and grace. Listen to Ron Deal's conversation with Scott and Vanessa Martindale, founders of Blended Kingdom Families, on how to create a blended kingdom family and why that's important.
Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about Scott and Vanessa Martindale and their ministry, Blended Kingdom Families. https://www.blendedkingdomfamilies.com/
Get Life in a Blender Living in a Stepfamily: a Guide for Kids. https://shop.familylife.com/p-2672-life-in-a-blender.aspx
Find ministries and events in your area on the Blended Family Ministry Map. https://www.familylife.com/familylifeblended/find-an-event/
Help strengthen stepfamilies by donating to FamilyLife Blended. https://donate.familylife.com/blended/?cru_source=D000BLENDGandcru_medium=DesktopHeaderNavandcru_campaign=Blended
Learn about FamilyLife Blended. https://www.familylife.com/blended
Learn more about our Blended and Blessed Livestream Event. https://www.blendedandblessed.com/
Donate to FamilyLife Blended by phone 1-800-358-6329.

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Stepfamily life often includes kids with two homes. Moving between those homes is not just physical for kids, but emotional, psychological, and relational. Ron Deal's panel discussion on this episode gives valuable tips on how to create smooth transitions and a secure environment when kids move between homes.
Show Notes and Resources

Learn about Joel Hawbaker and his resources. https://reallifeleading.com/blended-families
Get David and Claudia Arp's book: "Suddenly Their Thirteen." https://www.amazon.com/Suddenly-Theyre-David-Claudia-Arp/dp/0310227887
Learn more about Billy and Yolanda Jackson. https://www.liveinpeaceministries.org/
Visit Gayla Grace's website. https://stepparentingwithgrace.com/
Learn more about our Blended and Blessed Livestream Event. https://www.blendedandblessed.com/
Learn about FamilyLife Blended. https://www.familylife.com/blended
Learn more about Bethany House. http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/bethanyhouse
Donate to FamilyLife Blended by phone 1-800-358-6329.

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The journey into a blended family is full of bumps and bruises—for someone anyway. Unpacking those for yourself, your kids, your new spouse is part of readying yourself and your family for stepfamily living. In this episode, Craig and Gina Morgan talk with Ron Deal and unpack some of their baggage and invite you to do the same as you listen.
Show Notes and Resources

Get Craig and Gina's book, "Building Blocks to Making the Family WHOLE Again." https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Making-Family-WHOLE/dp/1733804013
Visit the Morgan's ministry, Blended Together Forever. https://blendedtogether.org/
Get Ron's book, The Smart Stepfamily. https://shop.familylife.com/p-3625-the-smart-stepfamily.aspx
Get Ron's Daily Encouragement for the Smart StepFamily. https://shop.familylife.com/p-5224-daily-encouragement-for-the-smart-stepfamily.aspx
Learn more about the April 2021 Blended and Blessed Livestream event. https://www.blendedandblessed.com/
Visit FamilyLife Blended® online for articles, videos, and resources for blended families. https://www.familylife.com/blended
Help strengthen stepfamilies by donating to FamilyLife Blended. https://donate.familylife.com/blended/?cru_source=D000BLENDGandcru_medium=DesktopHeaderNavandcru_campaign=Blended

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