If you haven't dealt with your previous marriage, it's never too late. Taking the time to heal may be the most important thing you do for your second marriage.
When Darryl Smith began calling his ex-wife Gwen, she just laughed. "You got me once. You won't get me twice."
Developing a good relationship with a spouse and a stepchild
Stepfamilies are especially vulnerable to parental favoritism
Being a stepmom is hard. Stepmoms Laura Petherbridge, Gayle Grace and Heather Hetchler offer their very best advice for becoming the best stepmom you can be.
What's the biggest mistake couples make when trying to blend a family? Stepmoms Laura Petherbridge, Heather Hetchler and Gayla Grace, share their perspective on this question and more.
Stepmothers Laura Petherbridge, Heather Hetchler and Gayla Grace talk about the challenges they've faced blending a family and becoming effective stepmothers.
Bill and Evelyn Thompson join Ron Deal to talk about their surprising courtship and remarriage, as well as the adjustments blending families has required of them.
Bill and Evelyn Thompson talk about their first phone call and the launch of their budding romance.
Bill and Evelyn Thompson join us to share more about their losses, and their second chance at love
In some step families, parents try to force their kids into a relationship with their stepparent. Ron Deal suggests letting the kids set the pace for the relationship with their stepparent.
Blending a family is easy, right? Ron Deal says "not so fast". Blending two families is a lot slower, more complicated and more fraught with challenges than anyone expects.
God can create beauty from ashes.
Today, the Spehns' story continues as Michael tells of Cathy, the wife he lost to cancer.
Michael and Gina Spehn both suffered the loss of a spouse to cancer, but their stories turned from grief to hope.
You cannot afford to be a vanishing father to your biological children.
Is your marriage in a "death spiral"? That's how Moe and Paige Becnel describe the first four years of their blended-family marriage. Joining the Becnels is blended family expert, Ron Deal.
Sharing experiences of Mother’s Day.
It's common for stepfamily kids to spend weeks at a nonresidential parent’s home during the summer. Here are some tips for managing the challenges.
Issues for second-half stepfamilies to consider.
Making assumptions about your spouse’s thoughts, feelings, and motives is a risky endeavor.
The difference between premarried hope and stepfamily reality
When you and your ex-spouse fight, it's your children who suffer.
How do you deal with a child who is sharing private information with an ex?
After a divorce, part-time parenting is challenging. Take the risk of acting like a parent and perhaps your children will respect you as one.
Children who have one parent not living a Christian life will need "spiritual inoculations" to help deal with an environment that's hostile to their faith.
How stepfamilies can curb conflict and tension during the Christmas season.
The Couple Checkup offers couples a checkup on the health of their marriage.
With healthy expectations and a specific strategy to build a relationship, a satisfying bond can be nurtured.
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.
If they work together, divorced parents can help their children adjust to differences between homes.
As I considered remarriage, I was scared of the work it would take to blend these two families.
Can they make this blended family work?
A father's loyalty and support toward their wives can make a world of difference in a blended family.
Laura tells you how to avoid making some of the most wicked step parenting mistakes.
If being a mother is hard work, then being a stepmother is twice as difficult.
As a forty something woman, Rhonda found herself widowed.
The normal stress of the holidays is multiplied for stepfamilies.
Stepchildren often feel caught between their biological parents.
Jerry Sittser talks about the years after the accident when he focused on raising his children as a single dad.
What to do when remarriage destabilizes a child’s world.
The difficulty of seeking the respect and acceptance of a stepchild.
The first two years of stepparent-stepchild relationships tend to be tense and stressful for everyone.
Stepparents must develop a secure bond with their stepchildren.
A delicate balancing act for blended families.
Remember Hebrews 12:2 as you look forward to a future payoff for your parenting efforts.
Problems arise when a biological parent continually tries to guide, guard, and direct the stepparent’s every step.
Divorced parents who fight with each other are trampling on their most prized possession—their children who have to live in both homes
Finding an effective stepparent role is a challenge.
Improving your relationship is a challenge, so be intentional.
