What’s New at FamilyLife?

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

Grief at Christmas can bring fresh ache and pain, but the hole grief creates can become a sacred space for the comfort Christmas brings.

After the unexpected death of our son, my wife and I learned that faith informs pain, but it doesn’t erase it.

How losing my husband made me focus on the gospel.

No matter how unexpected or predictable, death shakes us to the core. The pain is inescapable.

I had always turned to the Bible when I had problems, but after losing my husband I was hesitant.

Some phrases can simply minimize a person’s pain. Here are some ideas of what not to say to a friend who miscarried.

What could it look like to comfort someone who had a miscarriage or a friend struggling with infertility? Read a few ways to point them toward God in a season of loss.

Regardless of what the future holds, God has promised to redeem my pain. If you’ve struggled with infertility, my heart goes out to you.

Are you struggling to find the right words or actions to comfort a friend during tough times?

We’re so glad you found our Bible plan, “Grieving”. We invite you to explore some other ways FamilyLife can be a part of your spiritual journey.

Because marriage is a spiritual relationship, your spiritual compatibility (being “equally yoked”) will influence your relationship more than any other factor.

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

Having a brother with chronic illness, I've learned a few things that have helped him cope. I hope these lessons encourage and help you as you support your sibling.

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.

You know the feeling—the same thoughts keep spinning around and around in your mind. You feel like a frenzied juggler. Your worries, problems, and fears whirl around in your head

Understanding the stages of an immigrant’s experience—what they need and when they need it—is important to loving them and sharing the gospel in meaningful, vivid, and timely ways.

You’re in a painful place in your marriage, asking, “Should I Get a Divorce?” This decision requires the guidance of wise, biblical counsel.

Walking out of our wedding, my husband's hand in mine. This was the beginning of our first year of marriage. How surprising could it be?

Wondering where to begin discipleship of a new Christian? Don’t miss three critical lessons.

This year, consider celebrating the single moms in your life. Here are a few Mother’s Day ideas to get you started. M

In the pace of ministry, my soul felt like it was living in dog years. How could I replace rhythms of burnout with emotionally healthy leadership?

Someone else's struggles with God can rattle you. Here, ideas to help you help them through spiritual depression.

As a single mom, you may never find the perfect work-life balance, but you can be free from the burden of trying to do it all.

As I start another new year without my husband, I will strive to live in light of what grief has taught me about the fleeting nature of life.

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.

Most of us dream of deeper emotional intimacy with our spouse but have no idea how to achieve it. Instead, we tend numb or fix what we feel.

Wondering what you can do to feed unity with all these different values? Try these ideas.

In thin, exhausted places, it’s oh-so-easy for sex to freefall down the priority list. But could our marriages need sex more than we think?

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

Most of my experience mentoring women is casual as a frappuccino or pair of sneakers. It’s purposeful, curious, God-inviting friendship.

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

If you’ve grown up outside of a Christian home, it can be straight-up intimidating to try to raise your children to follow Jesus.

Your baby has graduated, leaving you an empty nester. But how do you grow your relationship with them while encouraging their independence?

Infertility is exhausting, and it can make or break your marriage. Here are seven tips my husband and I learned along our own journey.

You don’t have to take away your grieving child’s pain. When they come to you with a heavy heart, help carry it as our Father does for us.

We are a Chinese American family witnessing a 150% spike in anti-Asian violence. As a father to three kids under the age of 9, the hardest question I've had to answer recently is, "Daddy, are we safe?"

Do you and your spouse have the same definition of what romance is? Often in marriage, romance suffers an identity crisis.

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.

An unhappy marriage is a form of suffering. But while culture suggests we avoid suffering at all cost, Scripture offers a different take.

Wading through a down season? A fresh start for your marriage means more than cooking up a few romantic moments.

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.

So many of us are struggling to catch our breath this year. Gratitude might even feel wrong. So how can we be thankful?

It’s a myth that the older the child of divorce is, the easier it becomes. If your friend’s parents are divorcing, here are some ways to help.

Want to help as they grieve, but don’t know where to start? Start here.

Like many, I’m savoring the (albeit slow) exhale of life after quarantine. But there are also some rich gifts from the past few months that I don’t want to lose.

I weep in response to the hashtags I see. George Floyd’s life mattered. But how do we talk to our kids about another black man's death ... again?

Ahmaud Arbery's death isn't just about politics. It's a chance to teach our kids to think and act with Christian minds in areas we’d rather avoid.

As the coronavirus claims lives, we wonder how to grieve from a distance. Usually we find comfort in community. What do you do when you face death alone?

There are many lessons I’ve gathered on the journey of grief, and one of them is this: The heartache of losing a spouse lasts a lifetime.

Helping the spouse of someone in chronic pain? Give them hope with these ideas.

Most people mistakenly believe remarrying in the empty nest years is easier. But this union brings its own unique struggles.

“I don’t know if I’m even going to get up tomorrow.” Has a friend ever confided something similar? It’s unnerving. How do I help a suicidal friend?

Leaving heaven and coming to earth was part of God’s plan for Jesus—and all of humanity—all along.

The Christmas season didn’t kick off quite how we had planned after receiving the text from our son … “I’m not coming.”

Satan is our real enemy, and he would love to divide our marriages through suspicion, jealousy, disrespect, and resentment.

God gives us eternal treasures, so let’s take time to notice during the season of stuff.

My wife refused all my attempts to reconcile, keeping her distance both physically and emotionally.That scared me. And I had a choice to make.

The move from New York to Arkansas was painful for our family, but the journey taught us a few things.

In the wake of tragic events, it’s tempting to feel hopeless or point fingers at others. Here are some practical ways I can respond now.

When you’re picking out little baby outfits, you don’t anticipate someone telling you, years later, your teenager may have lymphoma.

The Thriving Blended Family Stepfamilies aren’t just “families.” They have their own unique triumphs and joys, as well as challenges and needs. They are a unique type of family, with

The first two years of widowhood, God seemed distant and silent. Then I discovered the problem.

Another friend called to tell me his wife filed for divorce. He’s devastated, yet ready to move on. I listened and wondered what my divorcing friend needs.

One in five women have the higher sex drive. But when our husbands decline—or rarely initiate sex—it leaves us sexually frustrated.

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Here are 10 ways to bless a hurting mom in your life.

Here’s to our mothers. Thanks for letting us see you struggle, ask for help, and never give up on the ones you love.

For parents who have lost a child, nothing will ever be able to replace that baby. But sometimes out of sorrow is the gift of a “rainbow baby," the healthy baby who follows loss.

Your sons have already heard about the owner of the New England Patriots charged with solicitation of prostitution. What will they hear from you?

Suffering from Alzheimer's, lifestyle guru B. Smith hardly seems to recognize the other woman now living in her home. Should we sympathize with her husband?

Three ways I’ve helped my stepfamily grieve the deaths of both previous spouses.

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

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

At Christmas, decisions for an adult child of divorce become especially difficult, with both parents vying for your loyalty and attention.

I want my own marriage to resemble the one our 41st president had with his late bride, Barbara.

The time we have with our children before they enter into adulthood is limited. We have a responsibility to use it well, with a heart of wisdom.