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How do I talk to and about blended families?

How can I help non-nuclear families feel seen and included?

Stepfamily life is chockful of challenges and rewards--but it helps to have a map. Whether your remarriage was preceded by death or divorce, these overarching tips from blended family expert Ron Deal will help your family succeed.

Tip sheet for ministry leaders that work with military families in stepfamilies.

This Stepfamily Marriage Ministry Tip Sheet is your go-to guide for making your ministry blended-family-friendly and inclusive of their unique relational dynamics. Packed practical tips for churches and ministry leaders, this PDF will help you provide power-packed tools for this significant yet underserved population of those you lead.

I worry about blended families in quarantine where emotions are being processed in a place that doesn’t feel safe. For stepchildren and stepparents alike.

Rejection in blended families hurts and is discouraging. What is needed is the resolve to keep going and a few helpful tools.

Blended family couples avoid many problems when they communicate and discuss money matters mutually.

Your blended family may have another river to cross and a few more battles to face, but don’t give up—significant rewards lie ahead.

God showed His love for us by bringing the outsider in, and that’s how Christians should love the “extended” members of stepfamilies.

Gives tips for those ministering to students who are in blended families.

How do we start helping blended families? Where should I start?

Stepcouples hope and pray they can have peaceful relations with their former spouses, and it is possible. But for some couples, no matter how much they try, the venom and vitriol of the former spouse drowns out all reason and compromise. Rodney and Lisa Webb, and counselor and therapist Helen Wheeler share their difficult blended journey.

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 can love all families, despite the narrative of their past. FamilyLife Today® The Fields Are […]

If you are a military stepfamily, try these tips for managing the stress and maintaining the peace in your blended family household.

Roles in traditional homes grow with the family. But in stepfamilies, it's not always clear how everything should work.

Obviously, sexual stress negatively impacts a marriage. Blended-family marriages are no different, but the nature of the stressors is different.

The process of planning and preparing for the wedding can help build family identity and bonding even before the ceremony.

You’ve invested time to build your relationship with your partner. You need to be just as intentional with children to co-create a blended family.

It can feel overwhelming to plan a blended family wedding. Here are six drama-free ideas to make your ceremony special.

Holiday seasons aren’t always merry for blended families. The season can resurrect grief from divorce, death, or another tragedy.

The truth is, no people group is immune from challenges. And no one group is the standard for virtuous lives, marriages, or families.

Good ministry to stepfamilies must also begin with good theology. Sin is messy. But it is no match for God’s unfathomable grace in Christ.

Rejection shows up at some point in most every stepparent’s life. If you’re not a stepparent yourself, you might wonder how to help. Here are a few ideas.

My heart grieves as friends describe new struggles and blended family stress during the pandemic. It feels like too much to manage some days, doesn’t it?

The effort to lump stepfamilies at church with biological families may have noble motivations. But it often leaves stepfamilies feeling unloved and unseen.

Many blended family weddings incorporate a ceremony called “blending of the sands.” But in reality it does not mean they have obtained “familyness.”

Advice on seeing both the stepmom’s and biological mom’s perspectives.

As a single mom turned stepmom, I look to the church for help to heal. But it’s challenging to feel accepted in a place where my family isn’t reflected.

Strengthen bonds between kids and stepparents by going on a trip that doesn’t fit into the status quo.

Two ordinary couples who are helping change the world.

Blended families live in a different land than first-families.

Many couples think that their blended family will flow and function like a biological family, only with different people involved.

Your special needs stepfamily can find peace and stability with time and the right tools and perspective.

This time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of “how we used to do it.”

The simple events of everyday life can create hurt feelings and anger that send blended families down the road to isolation.

The terms used to define and describe the blended family experience vary from person to person.

If churches are going to remain strong, they must intentionally work to build smart stepfamilies.

FamilyLife Blended™ is passionate about helping stepfamilies succeed.

Step-grandparenting involves three generations of family members, and each person involved has needs, desires, and a stake in all the other relationships. This FREE chapter, “Building Love Together in Grandparenting,” taken from Ron Deal’s book, Building Love Together In Blended Families, explores these relationships from multiple perspectives, offering something for each generation.

Quarantine and most blended families don’t mix. And if you’re wondering how to bond with your stepfamily while home, you might feel stuck.

Children in blended families are going to feel like they don't belong, and they often take it out on the stepparent. But there is hope.

A delicate balancing act for blended families.

What can our entire church do to strategically care for blended families?

Can I make blended families feel included in my small group, church education, and/or sermons?

How can I offer practical help to blended families that is designed just for them?

How can my work to help marriages adapt to include blended families?

One of the most stressful aspects of blended family life is the relationship between a stepparent and stepkids. Here are four tips to help you manage the emotions you feel.

A godly home isn’t a perfect place but a place where others sense the influence of Christ. Here are 30 traits that help define it.

Dave Weier considers it pure joy to father three stepsons. But while he didn't hesitate to step in, he admits it wasn’t always easy.

Ever heard of National Stepfamily Day? No matter what season you’re in as a blended family, here are three reasons you should celebrate.

When we learn to embrace our differences as a stepfamily and keep God at the helm of our family, we walk away from shame and brokenness.

Stepdads don’t always get the attention and gratitude they deserve. But it’s never too late to show appreciation for all they do.

This day doesn’t have to be difficult for stepmoms. Celebrate Mother’s Day by making memories that leave you feeling blessed.

It is rare for a couple to meet, fall in love, marry, and parent their children the exact same way. It is even more uncommon in stepfamilies.

Your stepfamily wilderness season may involve a broken marital vow, a stepchild who doesn’t want to be part of the family, or loneliness. Regardless of your circumstances, you don’t have to stay stuck wandering in the wilderness.

Romance easily gets pushed out when we’re juggling the overwhelming emotions and hard-to-navigate circumstances in a blended family.

It’s likely your holiday season will include tense moments. Don’t fret. Holidays can be joyous and memorable even if they’re not perfect.

You may not find quick-and-easy answers to all your questions when you marry into a stepfamily. But with God’s help, you can lead your stepfamily well.

Co-parenting, jealousy, and stepsibling conflict can chip away at a family’s future. But five changes can create a lasting impact on stepfamily dynamics.

Being a stepdad on Father’s Day can be a tricky, often overlooked, role. But here are a few ways to show your appreciation.

A mixed bag of emotions comes with being a stepmom on Mother’s Day. A day set aside to honor moms, where does that leave a stepmom?

These practical strategies will give you tools for a peaceful and effective interchange.

Josh and Tracey Devine barely survived their blended family turmoil, but with God’s grace and the help of resources like FamilyLife Blended®, they are now helping other stepfamilies survive and thrive.

Ten ideas that helped (or would have helped) my family during our first blended year.

A new marriage requires learning different forms of affection, communication, traditions, and expectations.

Three helpful hints I use to navigate the holidays in my blended family.

“FamilyLife is a ministry 'in spite of' rather than 'because of' ... God did not grow this ministry because of our hard work and brilliant ideas."

Biological parents who find themselves caught between their spouse and their child should step out of the conflict as often as possible.

Dating for two is difficult; dating in a crowd is downright complicated.

Have you ever noticed that falling in love makes you oblivious to reality? A couple of years ago onFamilyLife Today®, an interview was aired in which a stepfamily couple and a single mom talk about the challenges of dating when kids are involved. The interview was very insightful. Two years later, we invited the single […]

Strong couples feel close to one another because they know what to do to make that happen.

If you want a stronger, healthier church, consider starting a marriage ministry to help couples grow closer to God and each other.

Stepfamilies are hard no matter what your circumstances were before remarriage. Here are seven practical steps for healthy relationships.

A list of 34 questions to ask before the wedding.

After Dennis Rainey’s June 10 Marriage Memo, “Establishing the ‘New Normal’ in Your Marriage,” a number of readers wrote to tell about the struggles they faced with this issue.  As Dennis wrote of the “new normal” dilemma: Each of you brings a different background and a different set of expectations into your marriage.  Your family […]

Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine, co-hosts of FamilyLife Today®, returned recently from FamilyLife’s third annual Love Like You Mean It™ cruise.  The same week of the LLYMI cruise, another cruise ship made headlines when it lost power and had to be towed back to port, but Dennis reports that the LLYMI cruise had plenty of […]

Making assumptions about your spouse’s thoughts, feelings, and motives is a risky endeavor.

The difference between premarried hope and stepfamily reality

For many, sex has become a hiding place–a behavior that presents the appearance of intimacy, but is really striving for self-protection.

Bill and Jerrie Barnett have seen God transform their lives and their marriage.

Communication is the key—even if it begins with an argument.

A report on the 2013 Love Like You Mean It cruise.

What to do when remarriage destabilizes a child’s world.

The difficulty of seeking the respect and acceptance of a stepchild.

Problems arise when a biological parent continually tries to guide, guard, and direct the stepparent’s every step.

Two tips for beginning a new marriage and a new stepfamily.

On May 16, 2011, Dave Boehi wrote an article called "Is  Marriage a 'Dying Institution'?"  Readers were invited to respond, and here are 100 of their comments.

You must understand the challenges of stepfamily living in order to make an informed choice about remarriage.

If you want to offer a widow hope, encourage her to hope in God. Not in God changing her circumstances, but being with her no matter what comes.

Wondering how to find a capable Christian counselor? One therapist offers helpful questions to locate a good match.

Godly homes are where imperfect families rely on God’s grace to be faithful reflections of Him in the way they relate to others.

Award conversations gravitate to our holiday tables year after year. But could we all truly get along, even for 30 minutes of face-stuffing glory?

You can make a difference through your marriage just by inviting others into your not-so-perfect, sometimes chaotic life.

Eight months into their marriage, Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk live in separate houses much of the time. Friends say it's ideal. But what's up?

When you must decide between siding with your child or your spouse in a blended family, choose your spouse.

Divorce rates aren’t really as bad as the academics were implying.

FamilyLife’s first feature film, Like Arrows, is coming to a theater near you, but this week only!

Some wives don't understand how important respect is to a man. Here are some ideas for how a woman can give her spouse the esteem he longs for.

Having another mom who’s already been through both the calm and rough waters of your current stage in life can be a beautiful gift from God. Here are some suggestions for finding that kind of mentor.

I like to use cooking as an analogy to identify some integration styles that stepfamilies attempt to utilize.

When you have a new marriage and blended family, it's important to build a respectful working relationship with your ex.

Both Vivian and Guy had been married before, and the frustrations of trying to blend their two homes had reached a breaking point.

Editor’s note, May 2015:  In a recent FamilyLife contest, participants were asked, “What marriage do you most admire, and why?”  Here’s a selection of their responses.  For more, read “The Marriages We Admire.” 1. My former pastor and his wife … they are both with the Lord now.  They had very different strengths but they […]

Despite doing all the right things in seemingly right circumstances, Rob and Rhonda Bugh struggled to make their remarriage work.

Bonita and Tazwell Thornton are leaving a priceless legacy to untold generations.

A story of impossible forgiveness and amazing grace.

The core method of stepfamily ministry is starting a class or small group of couples who come together to study and support one another.

Editor’s note, May 2015:  In a recent FamilyLife contest, participants were asked, “What marriage do you most admire, and why?”  Here’s a selection of their responses.  For more, read “The Marriages We Admire.” 1. My former pastor and his wife … they are both with the Lord now.  They had very different strengths but they […]

Discover your relational strengths and identify areas where you can grow in your marriage relationship.

Kyle and Jamie Soucie had been married before. This time, they figured, things would work out “happily ever after.”

by Abraham Lara As Christmas day approaches many of you will be finishing last-minute details at work, or driving to Grandma’s house, or shopping for groceries before the big meal.  As we gather with friends and family to celebrate Christmas, I am reminded of couples who have an extra reason for rejoicing this year.  Couples […]

Stepfamilies are especially vulnerable to parental favoritism

As I considered remarriage, I was scared of the work it would take to blend these two families.

As Christmas day approaches many of you will be finishing last-minute details at work, or driving to Grandma’s house, or shopping for groceries before the big meal.As we gather with friends and family to celebrate Christmas, I am reminded of couples who have an extra reason for rejoicing this year. Couples like Drew and Angie. […]

The first two years of stepparent-stepchild relationships tend to be tense and stressful for everyone.

Editor’s Note:  In the Marriage Memo of May 16, 2011, Dave Boehi wrote on “Is Marriage a ‘Dying Institution’?”  Readers were invited to respond, and included here are some of the responses we received. Click here to read additional responses. 101.  In my humble opinion, marriage is not a dying institution. We humans are more comfortable […]

Editor’s Note:  In the Marriage Memo of January 30, 2012, Dave Boehi asked readers their thoughts about the choices made by a woman featured in Washington Post article titled, The Vow: A family learns the true meaning of “in sickness and in health.” Below are the responses that we received: 1. This story struck a chord with me.  I […]

Suggestions from experienced stepfathers on conquering Stepdad Mountain.