You can try to talk to both little parts of their heart something like you know what if I were you I get it I can see how calling me dad just feels weird and if you need a break from that that's okay so you give

permission to that child needing to use a different term and then you try to

talk to the other half of the heart and say but I want you to know that I love you like crazy and this doesn't affect our relationship. Welcome to Family Life Today, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most.

I'm Shelby Abbott and your hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson.

You can find us at family life today.com.

This is family life today.

Okay Dave do. Okay, Dave, did you know this? I probably didn't. The blended family ministry at

family life teaches that no one in a step family has had more loss than the children.

Oh, that has to be true.

And I know Rondale says the problem is that often the adults, the parents and the step-parent, are unaware of what the kids are going through.

I know my dad and my step-mom had no idea what I was going through.

So they missed the chance to help them you know the kids

with their grief and I get it too because the parents are going through a lot of

trauma anyway and you know who else doesn't get this is church leaders and that's one of the

reasons we put on the premier blended family ministry conference for church

leaders the summit on step family ministry is our annual event for church leaders and lay couples.

October 10th and 11th, 2024, it's going to be in Dallas this year.

We'd love for you, someone in your church to come and you can check

the show notes or go to summit onstepfamilies.com to learn more about it.

Okay, so yesterday we started listening to this great conversation between Ron and Rod and Rachel Faulkner Brown

that was released on our Family Life blended podcast earlier this year.

And so far, we've heard about Rachel's loss

...