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Are There Dry Bones in
Your Family? |
"Our Quote of the Month" |
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What is a Blended Family?
The Becnel's definition
of a Blended Family is
--- "any marriage in which at
least one of the spouses becomes
a stepparent (new parent),
regardless of the age of the
children."
When two people marry,
they always expect to live happily ever
after. For 1st time
marriages, the success rate is near 50%.
However, for 2nd or 3rd marriages with
children, or when one person marries a
spouse with children, the statistics change
dramatically. “Conservative” statistics also
show that the divorce rate of remarriages
exceeds 60%. Part of the reason for the high
rate is that most struggling stepfamilies
who divorce quit within the first 4 years –
before their family has had time to blend.
Another fact - over 50% of most Christian
church congregations in the USA are in, or
are related to, a blended family. |
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There are several problem areas that
only blended families face.
A few of these are: |
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Both parent and stepparent do not
treat children in the blended family
equally. |
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Many stepparents find it difficult
to love their stepchild or
stepchildren. |
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The children are not accepting of
the new “parental authority” in the
home. |
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Discipline from a stepparent usually
results in frustration, opposition,
and disrespect. |
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The new home has two sets of rules,
and two types of discipline. |
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Children have two homes, with two
sets of rules and different methods
of discipline. |
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Extended families do not always
accept the new spouse or the
stepchildren. |
Do any of these sound familiar?
Moe & Paige Becnel, authors of God Breathes
on Blended Families, have faced all of these
issues, and more. The book is a testimony of
how applying God’s truths to their lives
brought healing and wholeness to the Becnel
family. |
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God is
Your Loving FATHER – and Helper
Regardless of how difficult, or how many issues your
family may be facing, God is with you and is on your
side! Consider these scriptures:
John 1: 12-13 states, “Yet to all who
received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in His
name, he gave the right to become children of God--
children born not of natural descent,[3] nor of
human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
(Though we all fall short of God’s glory, Jesus
redeemed us back to our loving Father!)
John 10: 10 reads, “The thief comes only to
steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that
they may have life, and have it to the full.”
(Jesus came to show us how to overcome and have
abundant life!)
Deuteronomy 20: 4 says, “For the LORD your
God is the one who goes with you to fight for you
against your enemies to give you victory."
(You are an OVER COMER when you follow God’s
leading!)
Jeremiah 29: 11 states, “’For I know the
plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD , ‘plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.’”
(He has a plan for you and your new family – it is a
plan of success!)
Hosea 4: 6 says, “My people are destroyed
from lack of knowledge.”
(Our families fail for the same reason!)
Luke 3: 23 reads, “Now Jesus himself was
about thirty years old when he began his ministry.
He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph…
(Jesus grew up in a stepfamily environment…Joseph is
a role model for us today!)
Colossians 3: 21 (Amplified
Bible )states, "Fathers, do not provoke or
irritate or fret your children [do not be
hard on them or harass them], lest they
become discouraged and sullen and morose and
feel inferior and frustrated. [Do not break
their spirit.]"
(Parents can overwhelm and overburden their
children - expecting too much too soon, and
cause them to pull away from them, and the
family.)
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