IndyBlended

06/02/2026

IndyBlended exists to help stepfamilies understand the stages of stepfamily development and to find hope and help during times of stress. If you need tips for success and encouragement sign up for our upcoming workshop on June 19 and 20th.

Our next stepfamily workshop will be held at Second Chance Church in Plainfield, Indiana, on June 19-20, 2026. Sign up to register here: Tithe.ly Event Registration

05/20/2026

We have a workshop coming up for step-couples June 19 and 20th.

We will cover hot topics related to your stepfamily journey.

Friday night we will go over the introduction and talk about Stepfamily parenting. Saturday we will talk about the stages of stepfamily development, priorities for a healthy remarriage, co-parenting and discipline.

If you are in a stepfamily and could use some encouragement, please consider joining us. Or if you know someone in a stepfamily who could use some support share our website with them indyblended.com

Click here to register https://tithe.ly/event-registration/ #/10916392

05/10/2026

Happy Mother's Day to the stepmother out there who feels unappreciated and unloved. God sees you. He sees your efforts. He sees your attempts at unconditional love that are many times met with rejection. He sees your heart that means no harm and that tries so hard to love someone else's children. He sees you. Do not give up! Keep praying for God to help you love well. All your love poured out will not return empty. God sees you. And I'm praying for you to have patient endurance.

05/02/2026

There are stages to stepfamily development. Early stages, middle stages and later stages. Included in the early stages are the fantasy stage, the immersion stage and the awareness stage.

During the fantasy stage, it's important to remember that stepfamilies operate differently than biological families. Don't expect everything to go smoothly because it may not. It takes time for children in stepfamilies to adjust to the new normal. They will need your love, patience and grace.

During the immersion stage, when things don't go perfectly don't blame yourself. Take one day at a time and celebrate even the smallest of victories. Stay on the same team with your new spouse.

During the awareness stage, stepparents will begin to see beyond reactive behavior and put effort into getting to know and understand their stepchildren. This is where progress will begin.

04/22/2026

It is important in a stepfamily for the biological parent to build trust in the stepparent. Accept your spouse's input about your biological kids, listen to their "outsider" perspective and strive to see love behind their actions. The stepparent does not see right into the heart of your biological child like you do. They first see the behavior of the child.

The bio parent and the stepparent should have discussions about the behavior of the kids behind closed doors, not in front of the kids.

Present a united front before the kids. Come to an agreement together about how discipline will work within your home. But allow the biological parent to implement the discipline.

Have clear boundaries for the kids with "if, then" consequences or rewards. Maybe even write them out for everyone to see. For example, "If you take out the garbage every Wednesday, you will receive your allowance." Or "If you speak disrespectfully to your parent or stepparent, you will lose a privilege (list privilege - like loss of phone, loss of gaming time, etc.). It is then the child's decision whether or not they receive the benefit or consequence.

04/09/2026

Grace, grace, God's grace. The most needed ingredient in daily stepfamily life. Show grace to your spouse, show grace to your stepchildren. Don't expect perfection or for your stepchildren to behave like your biological kids. Relationships take time. Children are hurting over previous loss. Hurting people react. Pray for God to show you how to love your spouse and your stepchildren well.

03/10/2026

Big news! Mark has signed a contract with publisher Redemption Press for his book "The Fatherhood Challenge: Biblical Fatherhood Through the Storms of Life and Culture." In the book, Mark examines God's clear instructions and model for fatherhood and reflects on his own personal story as a son growing up without a dad, then becoming a father, bereaved father, stepdad, and grandfather. Stay tuned!

02/24/2026

What we love most about our IndyBlended workshops is meeting couples who love each other and want to improve their stepfamily relationships. Every couple leaves with a practical action plan and timely goals to work toward with love and integrity. And we leave each workshop with new friends. ❤️

02/13/2026

We have a stepfamily workshop scheduled for February 20-21. We are so excited about the couples who have already registered. If you are interested in joining, please go to our website to register at indyblended.com/workshops.

My favorite session in our workshop covers the stages of stepfamily development. The early stages of stepfamily development include the fantasy stage, the immersion stage and the awareness stage. Being aware of these stages can help a stepfamily move faster through the cycle to create a holistic stepfamily that will not fail.

Our next stepfamily workshop will be held at Second Chance Church in Plainfield, Indiana, on February 20-21, 2026. Sign up to register here: https://tithe.ly/event-registration/ #/10641461

02/13/2026

Mark and I were excited to participate with All4One and their Kingdom Outpost training. How can your family be on mission to glorify God together? We would love to pray with you about this. If you are a stepfamily, you have your own challenges, but there are little things you can put in place in order to put God first in your home. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).