FamilyLife Blended® Podcast

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 become one. From Debbie's book, Beyond the Brady Bunch, this stepmom advice skips fantasy and deals with real life.
Show Notes and Resources
Access blended resources familylifeblended.com
Give to Familylife Blended directly
Watch the show, Renewed Hope for the year, on Women & Blended Families
Read Debbie's article, "10 Things I Would Do Over as a Stepmom"
More about Debbie and her ministry


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"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, and hope without easy answers.
Show Notes and Resources
Blended family resources familylifeblended.com
Give to Familylife Blended directly
Blended ministry certificate
Start a stepfamily ministry
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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, affairs, or other sources, affects your brain, your body, your marriage...and why quick fixes don’t stick. From their book, Building True Intimacy, Matthew and Joanna map a slower, sturdier path forward when trust feels shattered.
Show Notes and Resources
Find a Mindful Marriage event and small group in your state

Access blended resources familylifeblended.com

Learn more about The Raabsmiths

Look through the list of Smart Stepfamily Therapists

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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 actually keeps the door open.
Show Notes and Resources
Email us blended@familylife.com
Learn about Jim, Homeword, and get his book, When Your Adult Child Strays
Give a tax-deductible gift
Ron's speaking schedule
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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 worried about stepping in or stepping too hard, this conversation gives you permission to move with patience, empathy, and faith.
Show Notes and Resources
Free blended resources
Look for a live or virtual small group to join
Iron Sharpens Iron
Get the Smart Stepdad or The Smart Stepmom
Give a donation to help strengthen blended families
List of Smart Stepfamily Therapist Providers

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