134: Being a Stepparent: Is it a Blessing?

138 Cancer, NFL, and Family

Ex-NFL football player Devon Still and his wife Asha married shortly after Devon's young daughter, Leah, went into remission from stage four cancer. While rejoicing over Leah's healing, they were soon blindsided by blended family struggles.

Devon and Asha talk with Ron Deal about how they had both been raised in divorced homes and didn't understand how to create a lasting marriage. They began to learn about blended family dynamics and take intentional steps toward harmony in their relationship. They quit avoiding hard conversations, listened to each other's feelings, and created new habits in their communication to connect well. They also leaned into their faith to work through misguided expectations and move toward love and trust, ultimately finding hope in a long-term relationship.

Show Notes and Resources

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137: Broken: Help for Family Problems

God understands broken people. He sent His son to die for us. Even when we feel beyond help, He meets us where we are, He loves us, and He redeems us. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our counselor and our guide. In our messiness, God wants to use our stories and our brokenness to minister to others.
Show Notes and Resources

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More info for the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry in October.
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136: Help Me with My Finances

Help for your finances! Money matters can be a hot topic for blended families, creating strife and inequity if not handled well. Listen in as Ron Deal speaks with Gayla Grace and financial expert Greg Pettys about how couples can make wise decisions on financial issues that benefit all members of their blended family.
Gain insight from listener questions such as: Should my spouse and I carry separate bank accounts? How do we spend our money equitably with “his and her” kids? Why do blended families need to do estate planning? What budgeting tools do you recommend? How do we share our resources? And more great topics applicable to every blended family.

Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about resources for blended families.
You can watch the podcast on YouTube.
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Make a donation to FamilyLife Blended.

135: Growing Up Blended: Kim Walker Smith’s Story

Singer/songwriter Kim Walker-Smith grew up in a blended family with multiple stepparents, instability, abuse, and isolation. She shares her story with Ron Deal in this podcast episode, beginning with her mom’s first divorce when she was a young child. It didn’t take long for her mom to marry again, divorce, and marry again.
Eventually, her mom married a stable, loving man who wanted to be a father to Smith when she was a young teenager. Hungry for his love but scared it wasn’t real, Smith rejected him over and over again. But this stepdad kept coming back, faithful and steadfast in every way and, eventually, a stabilizing force for Smith.
Although Smith experienced hardship and adversity as a child, as an adult, she came to know a loving, redeeming God, who she now sings about all over the world, testifying of His love.

Show Notes and Resources

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Learn more about Kim.

Hear Kim's song, "On My Side".

You can watch the podcast on the FamilyLife Blended YouTube channel.

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134: Being a Stepparent: Is it a Blessing?

Are there blessings in blended family life? Yes! But they might not show up in ways we expect or as quickly as we’d like. In this 2023 Blended and Blessed presentation, Cheryl Shumake talks about the many bonus blessings she has experienced and the strength God gave her during seasons of weariness to keep going when she wanted to quit.
Cheryl says, “God meets us in the waiting to strengthen us for the walking.” God wants to guide our steps when we face challenges. He knows that our convictions of creating long-term relationships can waver when weariness sets in. But our biggest blessings are waiting for us in the later years if we persevere.

Show Notes and Resources

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