Blended Families
Essays
Parenting: The Wonder of an Untidy Life
5/8/13As I drew the broom across our wood floors, the evidence of a life lived with children piled up. Yes, there was dust. But I also saw small sticks, Easter grass, tabs to yogurt tubes, small clumps of mud from shoes, indoor soccer field filings and tiny scraps of crayon-colored paper. I had swept the day before. Discouraging. I was pulling the broom against the dustpan when I saw it: a tiny feather, white and…
Christian Parenting: The Tale Your Life Will Tell
3/18/13
Our lives tell a tale. Each day the story begins as we put our feet on the floor. Given 1440 minutes, we begin. Kids up and dressed. Breakfast served. Daily tasks begun. Choices made. The tale unfolds. As parents, we can tell our children what…
The Reality of Step-families
12/9/12
Remember the Brady Bunch? Carol had three girls and Mike, three boys. On a hunch they married to form one big happy family. America faithfully watched as the family faced one silly crisis after another, but within 30 minutes all was well again. The fantasy…
When Our Children Struggle
11/26/12
The house was quiet, the kids all at school. Sitting at the table, head in hands, I was frozen in worry for my son. Caught in the midst of some struggle, he felt hard to reach, distant. We always worked hard to maintain good communication…
Devotions
Jonah: Attitude Check
12/18/12 Read Scripture Verse: Jonah 1-4
With whom do you connect in the story of Jonah? Maybe you feel like the sailors who don’t seem to recognize God until they are desperate for help and their troubles are looking like they might swallow them up. Maybe you feel like the people…
Parenting: Rising to the Challenge
12/6/12 Read Scripture Verse: Ps 94:16–19
Gazing at the lobby of the Rookery building in Chicago, I marveled at the talents seen in the designer Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright had an eye for reimagining traditional structures and creating artistically stunning buildings that used nontraditional support structures. The Light Court, as the…
Don’t Run: Honoring God in Conflict
5/18/11 Read Scripture Verse: John 16:33
Life is so unfair. We hear this complaint all the time. Our culture will tell us that if we are in conflict then our spouse is not our soul mate and we ought to start looking for someone else. The Bible has a very different…
Resources
-
Successful Step Families
Step families come with a variety of challenges to weather from the moment they say “I do.” Ron Deal addresses specific challenges and offers biblical insight as well as clinical experience as a marriage and family therapist to help equip couples for the journey ahead. He offers hope and encouragement for helping families navigate establishing working relationships within the new family as well as with the extended family.
-
Fair Fighting Skills as a Predictor of Marriage
Does how well you fight with your spouse predict long-term success in marriage? This article from the Boston Globe highlights research that says handling conflict well is good medicine for your marriage!
