Blending Families

In Blending Families, we brought together eighteen of the most successful stepfamilies we could find in order to create a hands-on, practical, and biblical set of resources on navigating the challenges that blended families face. These eighteen couples have already navigated the waters that most stepfamilies deal with on a daily basis, and have come out the other side happy, healthy, and intact. They learned to turn challenges into opportunities for growth. This eight-week study guide will help your family discover: * The Day One blended family dynamics * How to forgive and trust again * Successful parenting skills and techniques * Healthy boundaries for your relationship * Why marriage must come first * Secrets to blending and bonding for a lifetime Whether you've been married for years or just preparing for the journey, Blending Families is the essential resource to help your family thrive for years to come.

Create a Loving and Safe Environment for Your Blended Family Blended families face unique challenges, and sadly, good intentions aren’t always enough. With so many complex relationships involved, all the normal rules for family life change, even how you apply something as simple as the five love languages. That’s why Gary Chapman, the bestselling author of The 5 Love Languages® andnational expert on stepfamilies, Ron Deal, join together in this book to teach you how the five love languages can help your blended family. They’ll teach you: About the unique dynamics of stepfamilies How to overcome fear and trust issues in marriage How to develop healthy parenting and step-parenting practices How the love languages should—and should not—be applied You’re going to face many challenges, but with the right strategies and smart work, your family can be stronger and healthier together.

Rebecca Eckler’s newest book chronicles the hard truth of what it’s really like to make a blended family. Blissfully Blended Bullshit is a witty, engaging, refreshingly candid chronicle of a modern family’s journey as they blend households. We follow Eckler as her partner and his two children move in with her and her daughter. Then, thanks to a reverse vasectomy, they add a baby to the mix. Readers go along for the ride in this poignant, often hilarious tale, as everyone attempts to navigate their new roles: the children, the in-laws, the exes, the ex-in-laws, and even the dog. Lighthearted and intimate, this is an indispensable story about a family determined to make blended splendid, and the juicy truth of what it’s really like behind closed doors in what is rapidly becoming a typical family makeup. Still, if Eckler had to blend again, would she?

Even under the best of circumstances, marriage in a blended family is challenging. From parenting to ex-spouses to past hurts, couples face many obstacles. In Blending Families, eighteen successful stepfamilies will show you how they've learned to overcome their everyday challenges. Whether you ve been married for years or just preparing for the journey, Blending Families is the essential resource to help you breakthrough and have a successful family that will thrive for years to come.About the AuthorJimmy Evans is Founder and CEO of MarriageToday, a ministry that is devoted to helping couples thrive in strong and fulfilling marriages and families. Jimmy and his wife Karen co-host MarriageToday with Jimmy and Karen, a nationally syndicated television program which is broadcast daily into over 110 million homes in America and more than 200 countries worldwide.

When re-married couples bring their families together, they face unique challenges. Somehow, they must bring unity out of diversity. Maxine Marsolini points to biblical solutions to the conflict commonly found in divorce and remarriage situations. 'Growth and Application' questions make this an excellent resource for small groups or Christian counseling.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, less than half of the people who get married in the United States remain with their first spouse, and less than 50 percent of children grow up with both biological parents. In short, we live in a society of blended families. Everyone who survives a divorce and enters a new family is vulnerable. George Glass, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist, has designed a book to help parents understand the challenges of beginning new lives with blended families, and to help their children make the necessary adjustments. He explains how to approach unavoidable dilemmas when they occur and offers invaluable lessons about the link between divorce and issues of self-esteem, depression, substance abuse, and relationship failures that often result from the breakup of a family. Gathered from his years in practice and his own personal experience as a member of a blended family, Glass provides practical solutions to everyday problems. Blending a family, Glass explains, is a process, which requires patience. It can take a long time to develop trust, acceptance, and a willingness to overlook transgressions that in the beginning can cause tension. Each chapter offers specific advice to help blended family members improve their communication skills and ease the transitions from separate households into a larger, combined community. Taken together with a steady dose of “Dos and Don’ts,” this book provides an inspiring toolkit for families in need.

Each member has their own unique place in a family. Ron Deal explores the myth of the "blended" family offering practical, realistic solutions for stepfamilies.

Today more Americans are part of a second-marriage family than a first. Inevitably, these newly blended "stepfamilies" will be confronted by their own special problems and needs.This insightful problem-solving guide offers solid solutions--and includes real-life stories from families who've been through the adjustment process. Written by an award-winning author who specializes in health and family care, the book covers a wide range of issues--emotional, financial, disciplinary, and interpersonal. Naturally, there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution for second-marriage families. Each is unique, with its own composition, personalities, and problems. But with patience and understanding, this new family can work, live, and eventually love--together.Includes special sections on: * Family communication * Former spouses * Grandparents and step-grandparents * Juggling households * Commuting children * Discipline * School issues * Family customs and rituals * Religious differences * Reducing stress * Adult time * Money issues * Holiday planning * Vacations * Curfews and other rules