Featured Podcast

121: Lessons from Adoptive Parents

Blended families come in all shapes and sizes. Each family is unique with its own complexities. Chris and Yodit Brooks share their stories growing up in a stepfamily and wisdom they've gained from raising their adopted and biological children.

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  • Recent FamilyLife Blended® Podcast Episodes

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    121: Lessons from Adoptive Parents
    with Chris and Yodit Brooks September 25, 2023
    Blended families come in all shapes and sizes. Each family is unique with its own complexities. Chris and Yodit Brooks share their stories growing up in a stepfamily and wisdom they've gained from raising their adopted and biological children.
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    120: Blended Family Christmas: Tips to reduce holiday stress
    with Gayla Grace September 11, 2023
    Holidays can be a stressful time juggling visitations, planning activities, and managing feelings. Emotions in blended families are often magnified during Christmas. Gayla & Ron offer practical ways to promote positivity so your holiday can be enjoyable.
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    119: Parenting Teens During the Loneliness Epidemic
    with Mark Mayfield August 28, 2023
    Children want to be heard and seen. Ron Deal discusses with Dr Mark Mayfield about how parents can help teens with loneliness, purpose, and truth as they mature into young adulthood. Parents play a vital role to help navigate their overwhelming thoughts.
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    118: Blended Family Dynamics – The Enneagram Types Explained
    with Jeff and Beth McCord August 14, 2023
    The enneagram gives us insight into our unique gifts & contributions. But it shouldn’t be the ultimate source of our identity. Ron Deal talks with Jeff & Beth McCord about interpreting core types alongside the truth of the Gospel as we relate to others.
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    117: Trusting God in Difficult Times
    with Davey and Kristi Blackburn July 31, 2023
    No one wants to walk through grief and suffering. But God uses hard times to grow us up and discover hope in Him. Ron Deal talks with Davey & Kristi Blackburn about how to trust God's faithfulness in our pain and find healing and restoration through Him.
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  • 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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