Daily Inspiration and Wisdom for Blended Families
Got a minute? Then you have time for a daily dose of encouragement and wisdom for your stepfamily journey. These 365 short and sweet thoughts will keep your family blending and bonding throughout the year. Topics include parenting and stepparenting, strengthening your marriage, grief in the stepfamily, bonding with children, co-parenting with exes, practical wisdom for bringing family members together, and inspirational stories to lift your spirits and keep you stepping in the right direction. This book also addresses special days like Mother's Day and holidays.
Each daily dose of encouragement includes a prayer for your home. Sharing these readings with your spouse and, when appropriate, kids will spark valuable conversations that strengthen family understanding and closeness.
Author Biography:
Ron L. Deal is a marriage and family author, speaker, and therapist (www.rondeal.org). He is Founder and President of Smart Stepfamilies (www.smartstepfamilies.com) and Director of Blended Family Ministries for FamilyLife (www.familylifeblended.com). Ron is author of The Smart Stepfamily, The Smart Stepdad, and Dating and the Single Parent, and coauthor with Laura Petherbridge of The Smart Stepmom and with David H. Olson of The Smart Stepfamily Marriage. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional counselor who frequently appears in the national media including FamilyLife Today, Focus on the Family, HomeWord, and The 700 Club. He's also been interviewed by Ladies Home Journal, New York Daily News, WGN-TV and ABCnews.com.
He is a popular conference speaker and his video series The Smart Stepfamily DVD is used in communities, churches, and homes throughout the world. Ron is a member of the Stepfamily Expert Council for the National Stepfamily Resource Center and is a featured expert on the video curriculum Single and Parenting. Ron and his wife, Nan, and their sons live in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Dianne Neal Matthews is the author of four daily devotional books, including The One Year Women of the Bible (Tyndale House) and Designed for Devotion: A 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation (Baker Books), a 2013 Selah Award winner. She writes regularly for The Quiet Hour and has been a contributing writer for Guideposts' Mornings with Jesus since the 2013 edition. Her stories and articles have appeared in LIVE, The Christian Communicator, Focus on the Family periodicals, Guideposts magazine, and several compilation books. She has also published Bible studies and newspaper features and frequently writes guest posts for bloggers and content for websites, including More to Life and CBN.com.
Dianne enjoys teaching at writers' conferences, leading Bible studies, and occasionally speaking at women's events. She is a CLASS graduate and a member of Christian Authors Network and Advanced Writers & Speakers Association. She and her husband, Richard, have three grown children and three grandchildren. They currently live in southwest Louisiana. To learn more, please visit DianneNealMatthews.com.
