512: Dealing with Extended Family Conflict

Wire Talk with Karen Stubbs

Karen Stubbs

Christianity, Parenting, Parenting Advice, Kids & Family, Christian Parent, Religion & Spirituality, Faith, Motherhood

4.9 • 936 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Family dynamics can get complicated quickly, especially when expectations, boundaries, and communication styles start to clash. Today we’re talking about how to navigate tension with extended family without losing your peace (or your voice.) We hope you’ll walk away with practical ways to communicate clearly, pursue peace, and love your extended family well.

Episode Recap:

Moms can easily get stuck in the middle of family conflicts (1:59)
I’m stuck in the middle of conflicts between my mom and my husband, help! (4:02)
My MIL is extremely difficult, even mean and petty toward me (7:47)
How can I be good friends with my mother in law and still have boundaries? (11:30)
How can grandparents be closer to the grandchildren of divorced parents? (14:33)
Join us for more questions on WT+ - link in show notes! (18:00)

Scripture: Romans 12:18 (NIV)
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Discussion Questions:

Where do you feel the most tension right now with extended family or in-laws? What makes that situation difficult?
Do you tend to avoid conflict or confront it quickly? How does your temperament affect the way you handle family tension?
Are you currently acting as a “middleman” in any relationships? What would it look like to step out of that role in a healthy way?
What does it look like to “live at peace…as far as it depends on you” in your current situation?
What is one practical step you can take this week to improve communication or reduce tension in a family relationship?

Resources:

Become a WT+ Insider today! boaw.mom/insider
Check out Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
Listen to a past episode on boundaries with family
Download our FREE temperaments packet

Want More of This Conversation?
On WT+ today we are answering more questions about extended family - how to make vacations and extended time together work well - and Karen shares her insights on keeping family connected and what to do when someone pulls away.

Head HERE and join us for the full conversation.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey everybody, welcome to Wire Talk. Well, today we have a very practical episode, and it's about
0:05.3	in-laws. It's also about aging parents and what to do with all this extended family that brings
0:11.3	us so much love and joy, but can also bring us a lot of stress. We're going to talk about
0:15.8	boundaries. We're going to talk about speaking your mind in love and how to take all these things to God. So let's get
0:22.7	started.
0:26.8	Hey everybody and welcome to Wire Talk. I'm your host, Emily. And with me is Karen Stubbs,
0:31.4	the founder of Birds on a Wire. And we have got a wonderful episode for you. So grab your
0:36.6	cup of coffee, put your airpuds in,
0:38.4	start a load of laundry, or just enjoy the drive with us talking. There you go. I know. Hey.
0:43.7	Hey, Mom. How are you? I'm great. Today's going to be 76 degrees.
0:48.4	Ooh. I know y'all. We're coming out of winter, and it's wonderful. It's nice in Georgia. Now, listen,
0:53.8	it's March because we're
0:55.1	recording a month early. But I know another cold spell will happen. Absolutely. But I'm going to
1:00.3	enjoy today. Do you know when it's going to happen? When? It's going to happen on Easter Sunday
1:04.2	when everyone's got their cute little Easter outfits ready to go. And then it's 20 degrees and everyone's
1:09.6	freezing and you're like standing outside,
1:11.4	take your picture, smile.
1:12.9	That's right. Okay, Amy. Yes. That's right. It's a hard season to get dressed for. You're like, what do I? How do I dress? Well, especially in Georgia. In the mornings, it's cool. And then by the afternoon you're burning up. And then you do more laundry. Oh, yeah. It's fun times to be bad by all.
1:28.1	It is.
1:28.9	Well, enough about that, Mom.
1:30.1	They didn't come to be had by all.
1:28.1	It is.
	...

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