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Most Recent Episodes
85: Terrible Loss, Unexpected Love
When remarriage occurs after the death of a spouse, the stepcouple faces emotional minefields in relationship-building. Ron Deal talks with Bill & Evelyn Thompson, who both lost a spouse prior to remarriage, on how to blend a family after significant loss.00:00 00:0084: Relationship Essentials – Tools for Healthier Relationships
Critical relationship skills are needed in every important relationship, particularly in stepfamily life. Ron Deal talks with a dynamic mother-daughter duo on practical ways of gaining a larger toolbox of wisdom and skills for strengthening relationships.00:00 00:0083: Unsung Heroes
As a stepdad, you take on a heroic challenge in choosing to parent someone else's child. Gil Stuart talks with Ron Deal about his video series, Unsung Heroes, and how vulnerability, courage, & humility helped him create lasting relationships as a stepdad.00:00 00:0082: It’s All Fun and Games
Krista Smith-Larson is a blended family mom who produces games that help draw out matters of loss and stepfamily transition in order to bring about hope & healing. Listen to her dialogue with Ron Deal & learn about games that can benefit your stepfamily.00:00 00:0081: Bonus Moms: Refined for Good
God loves the work of refining our character. We become more like Christ as we learn how to love, forgive, show kindness, and be family to one another. Ron Deal talks with Summer Butler & Gayla Grace about the value of God's refining fire for stepmoms.00:00 00:00 -
FamilyLife Blended® provides timeless wisdom and practical help and hope for blended families and those who love them. Join Ron L. Deal, LMFT, LPC as he and his guests discuss a wide variety of marriage, family, and relationship topics related to blended families.
Meet Our Host
Ron L. Deal, LMFT, LPC
Ron Deal is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife® and President of Smart Stepfamilies™. He is a family ministry consultant and conducts marriage and family seminars around the country; he specializes in marriage education and stepfamily enrichment. He is one of the most widely read authors on stepfamily living in the country.
Ron is author of the bestselling books Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages® and Becoming Stepfamily Smart with Dr. Gary Chapman and The Smart Stepfamily: Seven Steps to a Healthy Family (and DVD series). Other books in the Smart Stepfamily Series include The Smart Stepdad, Dating and the Single Parent, The Smart Stepmom (with Laura Petherbridge), The Smart Stepfamily Marriage: Keys to Success in the Blended Family (with Dr. David Olson, which is based on the largest survey of stepcouple strengths ever conducted), a one-year devotional Daily Encouragement for the Smart Stepfamily, and The Smart Stepfamily Guide to Financial Planning (with Greg Pettys and David Edwards).
He is a member of the Stepfamily Expert Council for the National Stepfamily Resource Center and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor. Ron has extensive experience with the media and is the host of the FamilyLife Blended Podcast. His one-minute radio feature, FamilyLife Blended® Minute, can be heard daily on over 850 stations nationwide and online. In addition, he has appeared on dozens of national and international radio and TV broadcasts including The 700 Club, Fox News, ABC Nightline, WGN-TV News, FamilyLife Today, New Life Live, and Focus on the Family, and his work with stepfamilies has been covered by Today.com, ABC News.com, New York Daily News, Ladies Home Journal, and newspapers/blogs throughout the world. He has written numerous book chapters and articles for magazines including Focus on the Family, FamilyLife, ParentLife, Gospel Today, Christianity Today, and CrossWalk.com. He and his wife, Nan, have been married since 1986 and have three boys. Find resources and conference information at www.familylife.com/blended.
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