198: Remarriage After the Death of a Spouse: Why It's Harder Than You Think

Remarriage after the death of a spouse brings hope—but it can also uncover grief you didn't expect. Ministry leaders Rod and Rachel Faulkner Brown share the realities of building a blended family after widowhood, helping children navigate loss, and learning that love doesn't erase pain overnight. O…

197: What Kids Grieving Divorce Wish Parents Knew

Many kids grieving divorce never have words for what they're carrying. Blake Hudspeth grew up through four different stepfamilies and knows how family change can shape a child's view of love, trust, and belonging. On FamilyLife Blended, Ron Deal talks with Blake about the grief parents often overlo…

196: Growing Up Blended: Montell and Kristin Jordan

Blended family life can feel like walking into someone else’s story: guarded kids, mixed loyalties, no clear playbook. Montell Jordan—the artist best known for his hit, "This Is How We Do It"—and his wife Kristen join Ron Deal to unpack growing up in the chaos—and what kids wish adults understood b…

195: Stepmom Advice: 10 Things I Would Do Over as a Stepmother

Blending a family isn’t a Hallmark montage. It’s a minefield of hurt feelings, mixed loyalties, and second-guessing...everything. Debbie Alsdorf shares hard-won “do-overs” from 36 years as a stepmom—what she got wrong, what she’d never repeat, and what actually helped a fractured family slowly beco…

194: What “God Hates Divorce” Gets Right—and Very Wrong

"God hates divorce": you’ve heard it, maybe felt crushed by it. Cheryl Shumake joins Ron Deal and Gayla Grace to pull apart what Malachi 2 really says—and what it doesn’t. If you’ve felt judged, stuck, or sidelined by church talk, this conversation meets you there and pushes toward truth, clarity, …

193: Restoring Trust After Sexual Betrayal

You thought you were rebuilding after sexual betrayal—whether from this marriage or the previous—but something still feels off: Distance. Triggers. Questions you can’t shake. Authors Matthew and Joanna Raabsmith get brutally honest about how betrayal trauma, perhaps from sexual addiction, porn, aff…

192: Jim Burns: When Adult Children Stray

You raised them right—so why does it feel like you’re losing them? Jim Burns steps into the ache parents don’t say out loud: regret, distance, and the fear you blew it. Drawing from When Your Adult Child Strays, he gets real about what to do when pushing harder only pushes them away—and what actual…

191: Father’s Day Feels Weird: Blended Family Grief and Hope

Father’s Day feels weird, or even stings, when the chair at the table is empty—or when your stepkids pull back because they’re still hurting. Ron Deal talks with the widowed and remarried Brian and Debbie Doyle--about grief, holidays, and blending families with adult children. If you’ve ever worrie…

190: The Mother's Day You Never Wanted: Hope for Hurting Moms and Stepmoms

Mother’s Day can sting when your story didn’t turn out like you planned. Maybe that looks like wayward kids. Courtrooms. Even prison sentences. And silence where relationship used to be. Ron Deal talks with author Carol Kent about loving a son serving life in prison—and finding faith when the worst…

189: Widowhood to Remarriage: Blending Families with Ongoing Grief - Daniel and Brittany Brooker

Loss shattered you; remarriage after widowhood humbles you amid trauma, blending families, and recurring developmental grief. If comparison, unmet expectations, or past pain threaten your marriage and home, listen in. Daniel and Brittany Brooker (Refuge Widowers) share Scripture-soaked wisdom, prac…