by Gayla Grace | Oct 23, 2014 | Blog, perseverance, Prayer, stepfamily relationships, surrender, Uncategorized
Nick Vujicic was born without arms or legs. He attempted suicide at 10 years old because he believed he would be nothing but a burden to his parents. But he overcame the lies he was telling himself and went from “a life without limbs to a life without...
by Gayla Grace | Aug 8, 2014 | Blog, conflict, feelings, Stepfamily Vacations, Uncategorized
I recently returned from a week long vacation with my extended family to the mountains. It was a wonderful time of relaxing and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation surrounding us. But it wasn’t a conflict-free, trouble-free vacation. They never are, are...
by Gayla Grace | Sep 16, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
National Stepfamily Day was created by Christy Borgeld, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1997 to recognize and celebrate the importance of stepfamilies and is celebrated every year on September 16th. The National Stepfamily Day Foundation was also established by Christy...
by Gayla Grace | May 13, 2013 | Blog, Faith, love, Prayer, stepmother role, Uncategorized
I love introducing new resources for stepmoms because as you know, if you’ve been a stepmom long, the journey isn’t easy. I’m participating in a blog tour this week and can’t wait to tell you about a new book, Recipe for Joy: A Stepmom’s...
by Gayla Grace | May 9, 2013 | Blog, feelings, stepmother role, take care of yourself, Uncategorized
One of the hardest hurdles to cope with as a stepparent is the reality that we make the same sacrifices as a biological parent but reap very few rewards for our efforts. In his book, The Smart Stepfamily, Ron Deal gives three reasons why the stepmother role is even...
by Gayla Grace | Apr 30, 2013 | Uncategorized
Do you remain in a conversation with your stepchild while he/she displays disrespectful behavior? Do you continue to pick up your children’s clothes even though you’ve asked them to do it themselves? Do you allow your ex-spouse to make repeated changes to the kids’...
by Gayla | Jan 30, 2013 | attitude, Balance, Blog, conflict, Grace, stepfamily relationships, Uncategorized
It’s easy to think we must be perfect in our stepfamily interactions and make huge steps every day to strengthen our relationships. But that isn’t true. Small steps on a regular basis can result in huge dividends with your stepfamily. Here are ten easy...
by Gayla | Jan 22, 2013 | Blog, expectations, hope, patience, stepfamily relationships, stepmother role, Uncategorized
As I listened to my husband on the other end of the phone with his daughter, I knew something bad had happened. He handed the phone to me and said, “She wants to talk to you.” Through tears, my stepdaughter, Adrianne, relayed that her boyfriend of six...
by Mary Bonner | Nov 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
by Gayla | Nov 1, 2012 | Blog, Faith, Uncategorized
I’m generally not a politically charged person – I don’t like the drama that surrounds elections. But I think this election could be one of the most significant in my lifetime and the end results will affect my stepfamily and yours. I believe our...
by Gayla | Oct 10, 2012 | Blog, Change, stepfamily relationships, stepparenting choices, successful stepparenting, Uncategorized
I love watching the giddiness of pre-married couples in our stepfamily class. They are in love and somewhat blinded to what lies ahead. Maybe that’s a good thing. Thankfully, they’re trying to educate themselves on how to do stepfamily life before...
by Gayla | Oct 2, 2012 | Blog, conflict, expectations, Faith, feelings, stepparenting heartache, Uncategorized
I sent my son to bed last night with consequences for his lack of obedience on a homework issue. He wasn’t happy with me and barely said good night as I left his room. But as his mom, seeking to raise a responsible young man, I knew I needed to address the...
