How do you identify narcissism? How do you deal with a narcissist in marriage or co-parenting? Ron Deal talks with counselor Laurel Slade-Waggoner about her personal journey with narcissism and now the professional help she offers to those in a relationship when someone seeks to control, manipulate, shift blame, gaslight, create fear, or act out in other narcissistic ways.

Counselor Slade-Waggoner offers an understanding of how narcissism develops, what it looks like in a relationship, and biblical strategies to manage the behavior, particularly in a blended family setting. Waggoner says you don't have to stay stuck in an unhealthy cycle—there is help!

Show Notes and Resources

Check out Laurel's website and available books.
Laurel's Podcast
Join us for the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry!
Ron's comprehensive list of Recognized Smart Stepfamily Therapy Providers
Check out everything FamilyLife Blended has to offer.
Send in a tax deductible gift to the FamilyLife Blended Team.

Does your family have a designated Sabbath? How do you spend that day? Author Kathi Lipp shares with Ron Deal her suggestions for reimagining Christian Sabbath that is a meaningful day with the Lord and one another as you prioritize rest and share a meal together. On Sabbath, we want to focus on who God is and His provision for us as we rest and connect with one another.

Lipp suggests that food provides the platform to linger in relationships, and feeding your family shows you care for them. She shares recipes from her new book, Sabbath Soup, and offers ideas on preparing for Sabbath and creating a special day each week.
Show Notes and Resources

Watch Women and Blended Families!
Join us for the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry!
Learn more about Kathi and get her new book: Sabbath Soup
Thank you for supporting FamilyLife Blended with a donation!

The intersection of marriage and parenting often creates tension for stepcouples that leads to disagreements and, as a result, slows down relationship building.

Listen to Ron Deal and Gayla Grace give valuable input on how to become a parenting team and strengthen your marriage in the process as you cope with common stepfamily dynamics such as: different parenting styles, co-parenting struggles, rejection from stepchildren, stepparent ambiguity, fear of failure, a paralyzed biological parent, a stepparent who oversteps their place, guilt from the past and fear to parent well because of what the children have already walked through, and other challenging dynamics.
Show Notes and Resources

Register for this year's Summit on Stepfamily Ministry!
Watch Women and Blended Families
Watch: No Threat video
Check out Stepparenting with Grace and Building Love Together.
The Smart Stepfamily on RightNow Media

As a blended family couple, it's not uncommon to experience sexual pitfalls that bring additional stress to your relationship. How do you prevent physical intimacy issues and work through those that have shown up?

In this episode, Ron Deal and Gayla Grace talk about how to build trust and emotional safety to overcome common pitfalls such as: the comparison trap, fear and insecurity from "ghosts" of marriage past, unlearning old rhythms of sexual practice and learning new ones, and lingering messages from prior sexual experiences that can inhibit healthy physical intimacy in marriage. In addition, you'll understand more about the biblical view of healthy sexuality and why God established boundaries around it.
Show Notes and Resources

Make plans to join us at the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry!
Check out where Ron will be speaking.
Listen to or watch episode 30, 66, or 131.
Send a donation and get a copy of The Smart Stepfamily Marriage

The dynamics of blended family life can bring hopelessness, and we lose the ability to see a future where God can make our situation better. But there’s always hope for a brighter tomorrow. In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Dr. Lee Warren, a neurosurgeon who has experienced personal trauma and loss, and explains the difference between our mind and our brain and how to use our mind to face hard things in a constructive manner. As we transform our thoughts and consider our feelings against the Truth of what God’s Word says, we find hope again for healing, for purpose, for change.
Show Notes and Resources

Send a gift and receive The Smart Stepfamily Marriage
Learn more about the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry
Get Dr. Lee's book, HOPE IS THE FIRST DOSE
Dr. Lee Warren's website and podcast
Email us for a chance to win a hard copy of Hope Is The First Dose! blended@familylife.com
Ron's list of Smart Stepfamily therapists.

Ghosts of marriage past—triggers from past hurt that we carry into a new relationship—are common for blended family couples. But emotional ghosts don't just appear from relationship baggage. We can be triggered by childhood wounds, grief, or other hurts that leave a residue on our heart and create hypersensitivity to getting hurt again. As a result, we guard our heart and resist vulnerability in our relationships.

In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Gayla Grace about how to recognize our ghosts and take responsibility to move past our fears. Ron and Gayla both share ghosts they've wrestled with and how to have conversations with your partner that build trust in your relationship.
Show Notes and Resources

Register for the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry!
Get your copy of The Smart Stepfamily Marriage
Make a tax dedecutible donation and get a free gift!
Watch Women and Blended Families on YouTube
Call and leave a message with your podcast suggestions: 407-826-2606

How do we help kids who are struggling with addictive behaviors such as pornography, drinking, drugging, video game addiction, or others? In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Dr Adrian Hickmon, founder of Capstone Treatment Center, about the best approach, particularly for blended families. Hickmon says it starts by understanding the pain and void in the child's life and using your influence as a parent and stepparent to impact their behavior. He explains the value of creating deeper attachments and practicing healthy boundaries in a way that provides the connection and motivation a child needs to make changes in their life.
Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry.
Learn about Capstone.
Watch the Brain, Heart, World documentary.
Get In Their Shoes with any gift amount!
Email us a review or a comment! blended@familylife.com

Stepparenting myths have been around a long time, and they can negatively impact stepparents if not understood well. Although there might be some truth to them, the non-truth messages create tension and confusion for us. Ron Deal talks with Gayla Grace about how to sort through the reality and false messages of myths such as: All stepmothers are wicked and all stepfathers are abusive, stepparents can easily take on a high parental role, stepfamilies can behave as traditional families, we will love biological and stepchildren the same, and if you call them "my children," they will like being your children.
Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry.
Get a copy of In Their Shoes for a gift of any amount!
Check out books and resources for Blended Families!
Email us a review or a comment! blended@familylife.com