by Gayla Grace | Feb 18, 2020 | encouragement
The Last Lecture “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” Professor Randy Pausch spoke these words in The Last Lecture, a talk he gave at Carnegie Mellon University. He had just learned his pancreatic cancer, diagnosed a year...
by Gayla Grace | Aug 28, 2018 | Blog, encouragement
As part of the book launch for my newly-released book, Stepparenting With Grace, readers submitted their favorite quotes from the book. It was fun to see the varied themes and encouragement sprinkled throughout the book that readers chose. Here are a few favorite...
by Gayla Grace | Aug 7, 2018 | Blog, encouragement
Today is release day for my new book, Stepparenting With Grace: A Devotional for Blended Families! Have you purchased your copy yet? Here’s a comment I received last week from a stepmom who had found my book already in New Brunswick: “I...
by Gayla Grace | Feb 20, 2018 | Blog, encouragement
Have you been watching the Winter Olympics? What’s your favorite sport? Mine is women’s figure skating. The athletes make it look so easy to throw themselves across the floor in beautiful techniques and hoist their bodies in ways that seem impossible. As I...
by Gayla Grace | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog, encouragement
Sisterhood of Stepmoms (SOS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping any woman dating, engaged or married to a man with kids find help, hope, and healing. We walk alongside women to offer answers to the challenges that accompany the journey. Our SOS team is...
by Gayla Grace | Feb 7, 2017 | encouragement, stepparenting
A knot formed in my stomach as I watched my son, a high school soccer player, clutch his chest and bend over, gasping for air. Mouth wide open, he stood almost lifeless. I knew what was happening. Asthma had struck again. Play on the field continued; no one noticed...
by Gayla Grace | Nov 29, 2016 | Change, encouragement, feelings, stepfamily holiday tips
“Family traditions are a great way for stepfamilies to connect with one another. Family members come together and work toward a common goal in a non-threatening environment. Traditions can be as simple as making paper chains to count down the days toward...
by Gayla Grace | Oct 25, 2016 | Blog, encouragement
Words of encouragement from Randy & Gayla If you have trouble seeing the video, please click here. My husband, Randy, and I recently celebrated 21 years of marriage. We’ve made it more than two decades together! During our first year of marriage, I would...
by Gayla Grace | Sep 22, 2016 | Blog, encouragement, perseverance, rewards of stepparenting
“Who will walk the girls down the aisle when they marry?” I cringed at the awkward conversation my ex-husband had started. Concerned about the relationship that had developed between my two daughters and their stepdad, Randy, my ex-husband raised the...
by Gayla Grace | Jul 6, 2016 | Blog, encouragement, expectations, stepfamily relationships
I sat by my phone anxiously, watching every text that came across. My niece was having a baby, and I wanted to know the details. Was it a boy or a girl? What was the name? How big? How was my niece doing? So many questions. The answers were slow to come. And then a...
by Gayla Grace | Jul 25, 2015 | acceptance, Blog, encouragement, hope, rewards of stepparenting
My son has an upper respiration infection. As he whined about his symptoms while picking at his breakfast, I didn’t want to believe him. My to-do list for the day didn’t include a trip to the doctor, a two-hour wait with screaming children sliming their...
by Gayla Grace | Feb 17, 2015 | Blog, encouragement
Baffled by my teenage son’s behavior, I stood speechless as he slammed the door in my face. Usually a mild-mannered, easy-going kid, his outburst of anger surprised me. Had I done something to offend him? I quickly rehearsed our conversation in my head but couldn’t...
