The InFormed Parent with Suzanne Phillips

Episode Summary
Marriage is the foundation of family — and parenting flows from that foundation.

But what happens when that foundation is built within a blended or stepfamily?

In this insightful and practical episode, Suzanne is joined by Ron Deal, one of the nation's leading experts on blended families. With decades of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist, author, and director of FamilyLife Blended, Ron brings clarity to one of the most complex family dynamics parents face today.

Blended families are not rare — they are increasingly common — yet many parents enter them without the tools, discipleship, or understanding needed to navigate the unique challenges they bring.

From dating and remarriage to discipline, school decisions, and family culture, this conversation explores the realities that many families don't anticipate — but must learn to navigate.

Ron also speaks into marriage itself, sharing warning signs couples should not ignore, common struggles that lead to breakdown, and how intentionality and awareness can build stronger relationships.

This episode is both a wake-up call and a roadmap — helping parents move from confusion to clarity in building healthy, God-centered families.



Episode Highlights
✔️ Why blended families require intentional discipleship

✔️ Divorce rates among Christians vs. non-believers

✔️ The difference between stepfamilies and blended families

✔️ Why marriage in a blended family is a "package deal"

✔️ Key considerations when dating, remarrying, and involving children

✔️ How school, discipline, and parenting decisions are more complex in blended homes

✔️ Common stumbling blocks families face when they aren't prepared

✔️ Warning signs in marriage that can lead toward divorce

✔️ Insights from The Mindful Marriage

✔️ The role of the Church in supporting blended families

✔️ Practical resources and tools for families navigating this journey



Featured Resources
📚 The Smart Stepfamily

📚 The Mindful Marriage

Practical, research-based, and biblically grounded resources to help couples and families thrive.

👉 Learn more → https://rondeal.org

👉 FamilyLife Blended → https://familylife.com/blended



Links
👉 Website → https://familylife.com/blended

👉 Ron Deal → https://rondeal.org

👉 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/familylifeblended

👉 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/familylifeblended



Call-to-Action
📲 Connect with Ron Deal & FamilyLife Blended
Instagram → @familylifeblended
Website → familylife.com/blended

📲 Stay Connected with Beacon Parent
Instagram → @suzannephillips_
Instagram → @beacon_parent
Website → www.beaconparent.com


✨ JOIN PARENT CLUB TODAY FOR MORE
If you're navigating parenting, marriage, or family complexity and want ongoing support and biblical clarity: 👉 www.beaconparent.com/parentclub



Identity Truth for the Family
Strong families are not built by accident — they are built with intention.

In blended families especially, clarity, patience, and wisdom are essential to creating unity and stability for both marriage and children.



HEY PARENTS!
Parents — if your family is navigating remarriage, blending, or complexity, you are not alone.

Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement, clarity, or practical tools for building a strong family foundation.

Episode Summary
Parenting today can feel overwhelming.

The conversations are heavier.

The culture is louder.

The pressure is constant.

In this personal and powerful solo episode, Suzanne pauses from interviewing guests to speak directly to parents — not about what to do, but about who we are becoming.

Because our doing flows from our being…

And our being flows from what we believe.

Drawing from over 25 years of experience coaching, teaching, and raising her own family, Suzanne shares a defining vision: the call to build a Well Lit Home.

In a world that feels increasingly dark, the brightest light our children should experience is inside our homes.

Through a vivid story from Easter morning and a deeply practical framework, Suzanne introduces the 7 Facets of a Beacon Parent — the qualities that anchor parents in truth and empower them to lead with clarity, courage, and peace.

This episode is an invitation to step out of pressure, step into purpose, and become the steady light your family needs.



Episode Highlights
✔️ Why parenting today feels heavier and more complex than ever

✔️ The shift from focusing on what to do → to who we are becoming

✔️ The vision of a Well Lit Home in a dark world

✔️ A powerful real-life story that shaped the Beacon Parent message

✔️ Why parents are not responsible for outcomes — but to their children

✔️ The role of trust in releasing control and fear

✔️ The importance of anchoring parenting in biblical truth

✔️ Why formation matters more than information



The 7 Facets of a Beacon Parent
These are the qualities that create a home that shines:

1. Supremacy of Christ
Christ is central — above every circumstance
Releases pressure and the illusion of control
Anchors parents in truth during uncertainty
2. Expressed Honor
Honor God, others, and family
Teach children to value and respect authority and people
Strengthens the fabric of family and society
3. Intentional Legacy
What you do today shapes tomorrow
Parenting is always forming a legacy
Your daily choices matter
4. Transformative Wisdom
Wisdom changes how we live, not just what we know Seeks truth and applies it
Invites intentional, thoughtful decision-making
5. Humble Courage
Following God requires action
Standing firm often requires courage
Leads with patience, curiosity, and conviction
6. Secure Identity
Rooted first as a child of God
Embraces uniqueness in family and calling
Provides stability in a shifting culture
7. Personal Responsibility
Parents are the primary shaping influence
Formation is happening — intentionally or unintentionally
It is an honor to lead and steward a family



Key Takeaway
A well-lit home doesn't happen by accident.

It is built by parents who stay connected to the Source of light — and choose, day by day, to become a steady beacon for their children.



Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
📲 Stay Connected with Beacon Parent
Instagram → @suzannephillips_
Instagram → @beacon_parent
Website → www.beaconparent.com
✨ Join Parent Club

Ongoing encouragement, biblical clarity, and practical guidance for parents navigating today's world.
👉 www.beaconparent.com/parentclub
 
 
Identity Truth for the Family
The world may grow darker — but light shines brighter in the darkness.

When parents stay anchored in Christ, their homes become places of warmth, clarity, and truth.



SHARE THE LIGHT 
Parents — take a breath.
The to-do list will still be there. But who you are becoming matters more than anything you accomplish.

If this episode encouraged you, share it with another parent who needs hope and perspective today.

Episode Summary
School choice is one of the most talked-about education topics in the country right now — but many parents are still unclear about what it actually means.

In this episode, Suzanne is joined by Corey DeAngelis, widely known as the "school choice evangelist," to unpack the realities behind the policies, politics, and possibilities surrounding educational freedom.

Corey is a leading advocate for parental rights in education and the national bestselling author of The Parent Revolution. With a Ph.D. in education policy and years of research and advocacy, he brings clarity to a conversation that is often filled with confusing rhetoric.

But this conversation goes deeper than politics.

At its core, school choice is about recognizing that children learn differently. Not every student thrives in the same environment, and the traditional system often fails to consider the diverse ways children grow and learn.

Suzanne and Corey discuss why families are increasingly leaving traditional school systems, how school choice policies impact homeschooling families, which states are leading the movement, and what parents can do if they want to take action.

This episode will challenge assumptions and encourage parents to think carefully about the future of education.



Episode Highlights
✔️ Corey DeAngelis' personal journey into school choice advocacy

✔️ Why many now refer to public schools as "government schools"

✔️ The real reasons families are leaving traditional school systems

✔️ How school choice policies work and who they impact

✔️ Why these policies can benefit homeschool families

✔️ The number of states currently offering school choice options

✔️ Which states offer the most generous programs — and which resist change

✔️ The biggest barriers to passing school choice legislation

✔️ The practical benefits of educational freedom for families

✔️ Concerns homeschool families sometimes raise about these policies

✔️ How parents can take action and advocate for their children

✔️ What the future of school choice could look like in 2026



Featured Resource
📚 The Parent Revolution by Corey DeAngelis

A national bestselling book explaining how parents can reclaim control of their children's education.

👉 Learn more → https://amzn.to/47mZXqM
 

A Call-to-Action
📲 Connect with Corey DeAngelis

Follow Corey for ongoing insights and updates on school choice policy and education reform.

👉 X (Twitter): https://x.com/DeAngelisCorey?t=uogaiJZlZh2DMPlmWltEjg&s=09

📲 Stay Connected with Beacon Parent
Instagram → @suzannephillips_
Instagram → @beacon_parent
Website → www.beaconparent.com

✨ Join Parent Club

If you want ongoing encouragement, biblical clarity, and community as you navigate parenting and education decisions:

👉 Join here: www.beaconparent.com/parentclub



Identity Truth for the Family
Every child is uniquely created and designed to learn differently.

When parents have the freedom to pursue the environment that best fits their child's gifts and needs, education becomes formation — not just information.
 

In Closing
Parents — conversations like this matter because the future of education directly impacts the future of our children.

If this episode helped you think more clearly about school choice, share it with another parent navigating education decisions.

🎧 Share Now →

Episode Summary
For decades, the path after high school seemed obvious: graduate, go to college, get a degree.

But today, families are asking better questions.

In this refreshing and inspiring episode, Suzanne sits down with Jonathan Brush to explore a bold alternative to traditional college pathways. Jonathan brings nearly 25 years of experience helping young adults ask the right questions, take action, and build lives of meaning and purpose.

Unbound is not anti-college — it's pro-intentionality. It challenges the assumption that information equals formation and instead focuses on habits, mentorship, real-world experience, and a biblical worldview as the foundation for adult life.

As more parents reconsider what success looks like after graduation, this episode offers clarity, confidence, and a compelling alternative.

Because education is not one-size-fits-all — and formation matters as much as information.

Episode Highlights

✔️ Jonathan's background and journey into alternative higher education
✔️ What Unbound is — and how it works

✔️ Why questioning the traditional college model is healthy

✔️ How Unbound combines academics, mentorship, and real-world experience

✔️ Retention rates and student outcomes

✔️ What students consistently say about the experience

✔️ The most important takeaway students leave with

✔️ The overall vision: formation, not just credentialing

✔️ Class size and community culture

✔️ What parents and communities are noticing about Unbound graduates

✔️ Why this model works so effectively

✔️ Encouragement for hesitant parents considering a nontraditional path

Featured Resource: Unbound

A nontraditional, biblically grounded approach to post-high school education focused on formation, mentorship, and real-world learning.

👉 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/be.unbound/

👉 Website → https://beunbound.us


Call-to-Actions (CTAs)


📲 Connect with Unbound
Instagram: @be.unbound
Website: beunbound.us

📲 Stay Connected with Beacon Parent
Instagram → @suzannephillips_
Instagram → @beacon_parent
Website → www.beaconparent.com

✨ Join Parent Club

Ongoing support, biblical clarity, and practical guidance for parents navigating education and cultural conversations.

👉 Join here: www.beaconparent.com/parentclub

Identity Truth for the Family


Success is not defined by a diploma alone.

When parents prioritize formation, mentorship, character, and calling, young adults are prepared not just for careers — but for life.

In Closing

Parents — before you default to the expected path, ask better questions.

If this episode gave you fresh vision for your student's next step, share it with another family navigating post-graduation decisions.

Episode Summary
Sexual identity conversations are no longer rare or distant — they are happening in classrooms, friend groups, churches, youth ministries, and homes.

In this deeply thoughtful and compassionate episode, Suzanne is joined by Elizabeth Woning, Co-Executive Director of the CHANGED Movement — a community of individuals who once identified as LGBTQ+ and now testify to experiencing transformation through their faith in Jesus Christ.

Elizabeth shares her powerful personal story — from openly identifying as lesbian, advocating for LGBTQ affirmation in seminary and church spaces, to a life-altering encounter with Jesus that reshaped her theology, identity, and direction. Today, she works with pastors, parents, and church leaders to navigate one of the most emotionally charged and culturally dominant issues of our time.

This episode does not aim to inflame — it aims to equip.

With 26% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+, many families feel blindsided and unprepared. Suzanne and Elizabeth discuss how believers can hold firm to biblical convictions while extending grace, patience, and love — especially when the conversation becomes personal.

This is an episode about truth without cruelty.

Love without compromise.

And hope for families walking through difficult identity conversations.



Episode Highlights
✔️ Elizabeth's personal story and transformation

✔️ The founding and mission of the CHANGED Movement

✔️ Why sexual identity conversations are accelerating among Gen Z

✔️ The spiritual and emotional layers beneath identity struggles

✔️ How schools and cultural messaging shape identity formation

✔️ The most pressing needs facing families navigating LGBTQ issues

✔️ Trends parents must be aware of in today's cultural climate

✔️ Supporting pastors, parents, and churches with compassion and clarity

✔️ Practical guidance for parents whose child identifies as LGBTQ+

✔️ Stories of transformation and reconciliation

✔️ The importance of holding truth and love together

🎧 Listen Now
 

Featured Resource: CHANGED Movement
A community of friends who once identified as LGBTQ+ and now celebrate the freedom and comfort found in Jesus Christ.

👉 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/changedmvmt

👉 Elizabeth → https://www.instagram.com/elizabethwoning

👉 Website → https://changedmovement.com

👉 Elizabeth's Website → https://elizabethwoning.com




Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
📲 Connect with Elizabeth Woning
@elizabethwoning
elizabethwoning.com
📲 Learn More About CHANGED Movement
@changedmvmt
changedmovement.com
📲 Stay Connected with Beacon Parent
Instagram → @suzannephillips_
Instagram → @beacon_parent
Website → www.beaconparent.com
✨ Join Parent Club

If you want ongoing support, biblical clarity, and a community of parents navigating cultural conversations together:

👉 Join here: www.beaconparent.com/parentclub




Identity Truth for the Family
Truth and love are not enemies.

Compassion and conviction are not opposites.

Parents who remain anchored in Christ can create homes where hard conversations are met with both grace and clarity.




In Closing
Parents — this is not a topic to avoid. It is a topic to approach thoughtfully.

If this episode brought perspective, courage, or language to a conversation you've been afraid to have, share it with a trusted friend, small group, or fellow parent.

🎧 Listen Now