https://fl-podcasts.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/FLBP/pdf/FLBp2025-02-24_S07_E158_.pdf

https://fl-podcasts.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/FLBP/docs/FLBp20250224_S07_E158_.docx

Parenting a prodigal creates pain and helplessness as we seek to navigate difficult relationships. Listen to Ron Deal’s conversation with Judy Douglass, a prodigal parent, on how to tenderly manage these tenuous relationships while staying calm, present, and patient in rebuilding a relationship on their terms. 

Douglass and Deal discuss the Prodigal Son story in Luke and the parallels with our prodigals in opening our arms to them when appropriate but not chasing or threatening in any way with our behavior. We move toward the goal of gaining influence as we patiently work to bring back love and trust in our relationships.

Show Notes and Resources
Make plans to join us at Blended & Blessed! 
Judy's podcast with Ron 
Judy's podcast: When You Love a Prodigal 
Order your copy of When You Love a Prodigal 

Parenting a prodigal creates pain and helplessness as we seek to navigate difficult relationships. Listen to Ron Deal&rsquo;s conversation with Judy Douglass, a prodigal parent, on how to tenderly manage these tenuous relationships while staying calm, present, and patient in rebuilding a relationship on their terms. Douglass and Deal discuss the Prodigal Son story in Luke and the parallels with our prodigals in opening our arms to them when appropriate but not chasing or threatening in any way with our behavior. We move toward the goal of gaining influence as we patiently work to bring back love and trust in our relationships.
Show Notes and Resources
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.blendedandblessed.com/">Make plans to join us at Blended &amp; Blessed!</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blended-families-ron-deal-episode-132/id1551846569?i=1000644374885">Judy's podcast with Ron</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/when-you-love-a-prodigal/id1551846569">Judy's podcast: When You Love a Prodigal</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://shop.familylife.com/product/when-you-love-a-prodigal/">Order your copy of When You Love a Prodigal</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

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.

Timeless wisdom and practical help and hope for blended families with Ron Deal, LMFT, LPC.

FamilyLife Blended® Podcast

Parenting a prodigal creates pain and helplessness in how to navigate. Listen to Ron Deal’s conversation with Judy Douglass, a prodigal parent, on how to tenderly manage  the dynamics & do our part to bring them back into a loving, trusting relationship.

158 Prodigal Parents: Rebuilding Relationships with Children and Not Losing Your Influence

https://d39ogy74mn1yxi.cloudfront.net/FLBP/pdf/flbp2025-07-14_S07_E168.pdf

Guidance and hope for blending families can be found in stories from scripture. Ron Deal talks with Laura Petherbridge about her latest book, Stepfamilies of the Bible: Timeless Wisdom for Blended Families. Through true stories of God's heroes from stepfamilies of biblical times, Petherbridge offers practical tools to build unity, overcome complexity, foster love, and create lasting relationships for today's blended families. Through families such as David's, a man after God's own heart, and Joseph's, the favored son of Jacob, we learn how God can use sin done to us and sin done by us for His glory, and redeem relationships, regardless of how messy and broken they are.

Show Notes and Resources
Summit on Stepfamily Ministry Information 
Learn about Laura Petherbridge and Stepfamilies of The Bible 
Send a gift to help the FamilyLife Blended team 
Get a copy of The Smart Stepmom 

Guidance and hope for blending families can be found in stories from scripture. Ron Deal talks with Laura Petherbridge about her latest book, Stepfamilies of the Bible: Timeless Wisdom for Blended Families. Through true stories of God's heroes from stepfamilies of biblical times, Petherbridge offers practical tools to build unity, overcome complexity, foster love, and create lasting relationships for today's blended families. Through families such as David's, a man after God's own heart, and Joseph's, the favored son of Jacob, we learn how God can use sin done to us and sin done by us for His glory, and redeem relationships, regardless of how messy and broken they are.
Show Notes and Resources
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.summitonstepfamilies.com/">Summit on Stepfamily Ministry Information</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.thesmartstepmom.com/">Learn about Laura Petherbridge and Stepfamilies of The Bible</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://donate.familylife.com/blended/?cru_source=D000BLENDG&amp;cru_medium=DesktopHeaderNav&amp;cru_campaign=Blended">Send a gift to help the FamilyLife Blended team</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://shop.familylife.com/product/the-smart-stepmom-updated/">Get a copy of The Smart Stepmom</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Guidance for blending families can be found in stories from scripture. Ron Deal talks with Laura Petherbridge about her latest book, Stepfamilies of the Bible, and how God's heroes from stepfamilies of biblical times provide tools for today's families.

168: Learning from Stepfamilies of the Bible

https://fl-podcasts.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/FLBP/pdf/FLBp2025-06-30_S07_E167.pdf

https://fl-podcasts.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/FLBP/docs/FLBp20250630_S07_E167.docx

Divorce and the death of a spouse naturally bring grief. But we don't always recognize the grief our kids also carry after walking through hard circumstances. Ron Deal talks with Stanley & Mryna Brown on how they navigated grief when they married. Stanley had lost his first wife to cancer, later remarried briefly, then divorced. Myrna had also been through a divorce and was a single mom for ten years before marrying Stanley. They both had two children who struggled with their own grief and loss. Through counseling, Stanley and Myrna began to understand more about their children’s grief and how to help them work through the unique grief each of them carried, allowing relationship building within the family to more easily develop.

Show Notes and Resources
Watch Myrna's encouraging videos for your family! 
Watch the Griffies' story 
Learn about the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry 
Shop for books like In Their Shoes and The Smart Stepfamily 
Donate to FamilyLife Blended 

Divorce and the death of a spouse naturally bring grief. But we don't always recognize the grief our kids also carry after walking through hard circumstances. Ron Deal talks with Stanley &amp; Mryna Brown on how they navigated grief when they married. Stanley had lost his first wife to cancer, later remarried briefly, then divorced. Myrna had also been through a divorce and was a single mom for ten years before marrying Stanley. They both had two children who struggled with their own grief and loss. Through counseling, Stanley and Myrna began to understand more about their children&rsquo;s grief and how to help them work through the unique grief each of them carried, allowing relationship building within the family to more easily develop.
Show Notes and Resources
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoZ3uqAYX8EHb_Pgd54EKnyjjsVEyeX24">Watch Myrna's encouraging videos for your family!&nbsp;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/hOZ2KRVilcc?si=CYPkaYKAiv41nKE6">Watch the Griffies' story</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.summitonstepfamilies.com/">Learn about the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://shop.familylife.com/?s=Blended+%2526+Blessed&amp;post_type=product">Shop for books like In Their Shoes and The Smart Stepfamily</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://donate.familylife.com/blended/?cru_source=D000BLENDG&amp;cru_medium=DesktopHeaderNav&amp;cru_campaign=Blended">Donate to FamilyLife Blended</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Divorce and the death of a spouse bring grief. But we don't always recognize the grief our kids carry. Ron Deal talks with Stanley and Mryna Brown about how they navigated their own grief when they married and later, learned how to help their kids also.

167: Unrecognized Loss, Unexpressed Grief

https://fl-podcasts.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/FLBP/pdf/FLBp2025-06-16_S07_E166.pdf

https://fl-podcasts.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/FLBP/docs/FLBp20250616_S07_E166.docx

Every blended family navigates common stages on their way to finding familyness. It's not uncommon to experience the questioning stage, where you begin to doubt if you've made the right decision about your newly blended family, and you take a detour or two as you navigate your circumstances. Or perhaps you get stuck along the way as you walk through a crisis together. And what about the rewards stage? Wondering if you’ll ever get to that one? 

Gayla Grace shares the six stages of stepfamily development, how to navigate each stage well, and what it takes to build loving, connected relationships along the way. 

Show Notes and Resources
Join us on the Love Like You Mean It Cruise! 
Watch Women and Blended Families 
Get details for The Summit on Stepfamily Ministry 
Learn more about Gayla 

Every blended family navigates common stages on their way to finding familyness. It's not uncommon to experience the questioning stage, where you begin to doubt if you've made the right decision about your newly blended family, and you take a detour or two as you navigate your circumstances. Or perhaps you get stuck along the way as you walk through a crisis together. And what about the rewards stage? Wondering if you&rsquo;ll ever get to that one? Gayla Grace shares the six stages of stepfamily development, how to navigate each stage well, and what it takes to build loving, connected relationships along the way. 
Show Notes and Resources
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.lovelikeyoumeanitcruise.com/">Join us on the Love Like You Mean It Cruise!</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FamilyLifeBlended/streams">Watch Women and Blended Families</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.summitonstepfamilies.com/">Get details for The Summit on Stepfamily Ministry</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://gaylagrace.com/">Learn more about Gayla</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Every blended family navigates common stages on their way to finding familyness. But some get stuck along the way. Others experience a detour or two. Gayla Grace shares the six stages of stepfamily development and tips on how to navigate them well.

158 Prodigal Parents: Rebuilding Relationships with Children and Not Losing Your Influence

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