Blending, Feathering, Finishing #Blendedfamilies and #Remarriages

When I was a kid, probably all of my teenage years, My dad had me working in his auto-body repair shop afterschool and sometimes Saturdays. Besides sweeping, cleaning the tools and...sweeping, I also spent a great amount of time sanding. Where there was rust or a dent the paint had to be sanded down to the bare metal. What does this have to do with #blendedfamilies? Stay with me, you'll see.

The Woman at the Well: BF's & Remarriages in the Bible?

By Scott Hendrickson, LCPC

This is the first entry on BFW about blended families and remarriages in the Bible. My hope is that we all could see that blended families and remarriages have existed and scripture identifies with everyone and provides a restorative and redemptive message for all.

Mindfulness, pizza and hot burning flesh in the roof of my mouth.

Every Sunday my wife and I have pizza for supper. This goes back nearly 26 years. It used to be Pizza Hut in Central Wisconsin. Now it's Costco's best frozen pepperoni cooked on a stone in our very own oven. Delicious! It's not uncommon that by the time we get to eat we are so starving that we forget the sauce just beneath the perfectly melted cheese is steaming hot. As soon as we take a bite the roof of our mouths painfully remind us we should have gone slower-let it cool.

0-100 Rages per Second

Sometimes when things go bad, they go bad fast. My wife patiently smiles at me when I fantacize about owning a porsche boxter. Did you know it will go 0-60 in 4.85 seconds? Cool and exciting but there is nothing cool or exciting about your's or your spouses rage going 0-100 in .85 seconds.

In stepfamilies mired in high speed conflict, blending is most likely not happening.

Developing a Strong Blended Family Here and Now

There are certain tasks that every stepfamily must accomplish in order to fully blend. You could say they are developmental processes that are necessary in order for a family to not only become stable but also to grow and to flourish. 

The Process of a Blending Family

By Scott Hendrickson, LCPC
 People say that getting married the second (or third) time is a set-up for failure.  How many times have you been cited the divorce rates for second and third marriages?  My guess is—a lot.  It is true that remarriage is complex and ardently challenging but I don’t believe it has to be another failed marriage.  This blog exists to help the newly forming stepfamily to become