Do you know what the weapon is, woman of God? It's Prayer! Prayer is a powerful weapon – the most powerful weapon in your Stepmama arsenal. There’s a lot of talk about conspiracies, theories, and end times. Let me share with you what is NOT a conspiracy. Satan is not a conspiracy. The Devil is real. Scripture tells us he’s the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. You know Eve’s temptation – Satan’s first of many demonic demonstrations of his one trick wonder in G...
Oct 27, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, find out how you can respond to the triggers that create emotional numbness you feel as a woman in a stepfamily. There are so many things that can happen that bring you to the brink of wanting to end it all. Yet, God says, I have called you to this! Remember, you have an arch enemy who is literally hell-bent on destroying your family. Armor up, Sister! Listen in for 4 Ways to Beat Feeling Emotionally Numb in your Blend, and claim God's best for you, Stepmom! Hey, St...
Oct 20, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you Frustrated and Confused by Other’s Expectations of You as a Stepmom? In today's episode, find out how to discern what God is asking you to do so you can ignore the naysayers, ditch the frustration, and understand God's expectations for you, a trusted steward of your stepkids. Hey, Stepmama, I see you. I know it's hard . I know that you're tired of all the double standards. That's why this podcast was created with YOU in mind, so you can 🛑stop🛑 focusing on all t...
Oct 13, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's amazing episode asks powerful questions about the church's role in ministering to stepfamilies. Church Leaders: What if you (your church) were known for that consistent soft landing where kids felt safe to express their hurts about their broken families? What if you were the church that could roll out the welcome mat and say, "Come on in. We understand that life is tough for you as a blend. We may not get all your hurt, but we get that you have been hurt and we want to let...
Oct 06, 2022•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do you know what you do more than 35,000 times per day? Listen in to today's episode to learn the 3 things that typically precede the exhaustion you often feel in your stepfamily and what you can do to regain the energy and control you crave in your blend. P.S. The answer? We make more than 35,000 decisions EACH DAY! W e help stepfamily couples turn what feels impossible into Stepfamily Mission POSSIBLE! We help you understand how critical YOU are as leaders in your family to create a kingd...
Sep 29, 2022•18 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast From Widowed to Remarried, with Stepkids. A Stepmom's Story From Heartache to Victory Featuring Wanda Patrick. Blending is hard. It can take a little longer to understand that our kids and stepkids are struggling in similar ways we struggle; the challenges they face are somewhat similar to our own. Meet Wanda Patrick . Wanda understands the challenges single parents and stepparents face . When her husband died, leaving her with two young children to raise alone, she didn't get a break ...
Sep 22, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ever wonder what your stepkids are thinking?! You're not alone, stepmom. We've got you, stepdad! The reason blending families feels so hard is because creating stepfamilies IS HARD!!! From our guest: "We're humans. So it's going to be hard . I don't even fault my dad or my stepmom or my stepdad for the way they handled the situation. They handled it the best way they knew how; it just doesn't have a great outcome, but we're humans. So, it's a learning...
Sep 15, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Note: This episode may be triggering. (Drug use and suicide) Did you know that if a mother has used marijuana in the past year, her child is 80% more likely to use marijuana? The stats for dads are even more shocking! A father who uses their child is 90% more likely to use marijuana. Listen to this week's episode to get equipped with the knowledge you need to prevent your kids from dabbling in dabbing. Today's episode is dedicated to the memory of Johnny Stack. May his death be a clari...
Sep 09, 2022•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to START, Stepfamily! You can do this! Create a sacred space to apply on your reflections from last week ( Mission #011 ) on what you've learned about yourself, your spouse, and your stepfamily. Then, take the first step. Feels awkward? No worries! Do it anyway. Get evidence through messy action and see what God can do! PREVIOUS MISSIONS Mission #011 How To Know What God Says About Your Marriage & Stepfamily Mission #010 Knowing When It&a...
Sep 02, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to carve out 15 minutes of time each day to glean insights, as a couple, about God's call for you and your marriage! You can do this! Create a sacred space to reflect on what you've learned about yourself, your spouse, and your family. Listen for God to discern where he is calling you to next! PREVIOUS MISSIONS Mission #010 Knowing When It's Time to Take A Break In Your Stepfamily Mission #009 What's At The Core? Mission #008 W...
Aug 25, 2022•30 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to give yourself permission to take an intermission from your missions! Create a sacred space to reflect on what you've learned about yourself, your spouse, and your family. Where is God at work? Go there! PREVIOUS MISSIONS Mission #009 What's At The Core? Mission #008 What To Do When You Get Triggered Mission #007 How To Get In The Fight! Mission #006 | Mission #005 | Mission #004 | Mission #003 | Mission #002 | Mission #001 >> Bi...
Aug 18, 2022•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Your fights are important, and your marriage is important. Now that you know what your triggers are ( Mission #008 ), it's time to understand what lies underneath the triggers. When you establish some ground rules, you can fight better fights! Where do those ground rules stem from? That answer is critical to discern so you can evaluate the overall outcome that you want in your marriage. Guess what surfaces in your fights? Your values! Values are something that: Are at your core being Manife...
Aug 11, 2022•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast What if the way you fight could change your marriage for the better? 4 Part Framework to Fight Well for Stepfamilies Planned Fight: Identify - identify the trigger Manage - manage your " Myggy " (your amygdala/lizard brain/fight, flight, fre) Determine - what is the outcome you want (that builds up your marriage & family?) step three the outcome that you really want. Post Fight, Add Step 4: 4. How did you do? What went well? What areas do you want to modify for the next fight? Your...
Aug 04, 2022•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bill & Jen share 3 Key Points to Fight Well in War - Spiritual Warfare is real, y'all! Decide - Commit to fight spiritual battles with spiritual weapons ( Read Ephesians 6 ) Focused time with you and Jesus Prioritize praying together as a couple Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to commit to the fight through the power of prayer. We encourage you to spend 5 minutes daily in prayer together for your relationship as a couple, for your success as a family, with thanksgiving f...
Jul 28, 2022•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you a list lover or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Maybe you're somewhere in between. On today's episode, we're talking about a subject that can be a little bit tricky. If you are a list-keeper, keeping a list of offenses and frustrations and harboring unforgiveness, it might be time to scrap that list. Let's take a walk on the Jesus side and let go of that unforgiveness! PREVIOUS MISSIONS - Season 5 Mission #001 Your Stepfamily Heritage Mission #002 How To Prevent...
Jul 21, 2022•18 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast How do your children grieve the loss of the family that they no longer have? What do you notice about how each of your children are grieving? How about you? Have you grieved the loss that you've lived through? That loss can take many forms that then become commingled with others' expectations for how you should behave in the face of blending. Yet, there's no family like your family! Your family is beautifully unique and treasured by God. In this full length episode, Dr. David Knap...
Jul 16, 2022•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do your children grieve the loss of the family that they no longer have? What do you notice about how each of your children are grieving? How about you? Have you grieved the loss that you've lived through? That loss can take many forms that then become commingled with others' expectations for how you should behave in the face of blending. Yet, there's no family like your family! Your family is beautifully unique and treasured by God. In today's episode, Dr. David Knapp sh...
Jul 14, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast What do you think? Does culture inspire people to pretend you're something that you're not? It can often feel that way in blends - that we're in a role that's confusing and we're not sure where to get the answers. The answers lie in the Word of God! Listen to the biggest dose of hope from our guest, Crystal Daye. Crystal goes by many titles, including our fave - Jesus girl! Additionally, she's an Inspirational Speaker, Award Winning Author, Life Coach, Podcaster and...
Jul 09, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast We know that resistance in your blended family comes in many forms. When we're caught up in the middle of the trial, it's easy to get distracted and get stuck. In today's episode, we invite you to come up with 3 simple, easy-peasy steps to get started in your stepfamily. If you've got one big hairy, audacious goal, you've got to break it down to get started and show "overwhelm" the door. >>>> Register for the Workshop ! July 9 or July 16! Here are 5...
Jul 07, 2022•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Got a game plan for your stepfamily marriage? In today's mission, we break down how to align your goals, together! >>>> Register for the Workshop ! July 9 or July 16! >>>>> Join us for the workshop July 9 or July 16! Details and registration here . >>> Download the Guide to today's episode here . PREVIOUS MISSIONS Mission #001 Mission #002 Mission #003 is all about getting SMARTER with your goals: Specific —your goals must identify exactly what you w...
Jun 30, 2022•23 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Season 5 where it's all about doing one mission at a time to create a beautiful legacy for your stepfamily! Mission #002 is all about preventing divorce/re-divorce. It involves 3 key things: AWARENESS - Action is required INTENTION - Daily investments in your marriage FOCUS - Key, small deposits that protect your marriage You can't do everything all the time, but you can do small things that create incredible momentum and prevent overwhelm. Your Mission, should you choose to...
Jun 23, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Season 5 where it's all about doing one mission at a time to create a beautiful legacy for your stepfamily! Season 5 Missions Mission #001 Your Stepfamily Heritage Mission #002 How To Prevent Divorce Mission #003 How To Get SMARTER* Together Mission #004 What Mission Are You NOT Willing to Do? Mission #005 How To Lean Into Your Losses and Move Forward Mission #006 The Stepfamily Roller Coaster of Forgiveness Mission #007 How To Get In The Fight! >>>> Register for the ...
Jun 16, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Unfortunately, there is no fairy dust. However, there are tools you can use to stop the chaos in your blend, one step at a time! Listen in to today's episode to acquire the steps you need to move forward. It all starts with one decision to move forward. Are you ready? PREVIOUS MISSIONS - Season 5 Mission #001 Your Stepfamily Heritage Mission #002 How To Prevent Divorce Mission #003 How To Get SMARTER* Together Mission #004 What Mission Are You NOT Willing to Do? Mission #005 How To Lean Int...
Jun 09, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Now that you've been together for a bit, a sneaky little thing called unmet expectations can begin to sabotage your starry-eyed love affair. That's why it is so important that you START WITH YOU! Because friends, YOU are where it's at in your stepfamily! Oftentimes, we have high expectations and low communications when it comes to what we need in our relationships. Today's episode revisits a modified version of #39, where Bill & Jen share the importance of reducing unmet ...
Jun 02, 2022•40 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast Meet Dr. Jeannette Lofas, Founder and President of The Stepfamily Foundation, Inc. Remarriage is the most difficult form of marriage . Dr. Lofas has written five books on the topic. In the foundation, she and her team teach couples how to recognize and deal with the perplexing dynamics of the step relationship. Through their system, couples learn what is necessary to solve their stepfamily issues. A stepchild and stepmother herself, Jeannette is considered to be the leading authority on stepfami...
May 26, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast What if we could get our bio kids and stepkids to do anything we wanted them to do? Would you like to know how? SPOILER ALERT! All parents want their kids to do certain things at certain times, and in certain ways. Truthfully, instead of getting our kids to do whatever we want, it's more important to teach our kids how to think. And that's what today's episode is all about. Bill and I explore fallacies, biases and propaganda. What do these three things have to do with blending fam...
May 19, 2022•46 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast What would your life be like if you knew your stepfamily was going to win the race – with the odds stacked against you? 80 to 1 odds in fact? What compels us to root for the underdog? Let’s face it, in families, it can often feel like it is us against the world – Attacks on our belief systems to societal mocking of God’s design for marriage, we as Christians must be equipped to protect our families from the crosshairs of demonic influences, world directives, and false teachings. No matter the ne...
May 12, 2022•31 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know? More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent. Funny thing, I couldn’t find any stats on the spike for stepmomma phone calls… No matter the stats, today’s episode addresses the awkwardness for stepmommas on a day set aside to honor mothers. Sometimes special occasions roll around and you're caught off guard with planning? Why does it sometimes feel as though hol...
May 05, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sometimes, it's really tough to have conversations about the money. That ends today, with this episode! It's time to get unstuck and move forward in your finances, together! How would you rate your financial literacy? How about your blended finances -- what rating would you give to you as a couple? Too often, stepfamily couples fight about the money. But there is a better away. In today's episode, Terry shares how healthy conversations start regarding finances so couples can begin...
Apr 28, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you thought about what you need to be in the cool kids club? Buckle up! We'll experience flashbacks to high school mean girls -- but, we won't stay there long. Jen welcomes Tess Scott , Author, Blogger, and Chief Encourager for Women in a girls-only episode where we talk all things stepfamily and revisit a few of those high-level embarrassing moments we've survived, through the power of these 7 strategies. Once we've recovered from Tess' Freakshow Flashback, we&apos...
Apr 21, 2022•48 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast 
