Blending Your StepFamily 19: What's Your Wish?

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Happy New Year! I hope the year is off to a great start for you and your family. My mom is having some serious health issues that we have been dealing with for the past month. She is staying with us for awhile until she feels better and can go back to her home which is her desire.

Because of the New Year and my mom’s health, I have been reflecting a lot lately. Thinking about my mom, what a great mom she is. Thinking about the past year, it was really a good year. And I’m thinking about this new year.

What do I want to accomplish? What do I want to change? What wishes or prayers do I want to see come to pass?

You may be asking yourself the same types of questions. I’m trying to be proactive this year rather than reactive when it comes to goal setting. Writing down what I’d would like to see happen in my life really does work. Let me tell you about a time when my husband and I wrote down our goals for the New Year.

We had been married for about three years. We had no money, but this was our list:

– Buy a home in that year (even though we had no extra money or savings for a downpayment)

– Buy a new car

– Go to Australia

– Share Christ’s Gospel with our families

I have to tell you, they all came true. All of the material things happened that year, and through the years we have seen one family member after another come to the Lord, including my husband’s father in Australia just before he passed away.

I don’t say any of this to brag or rejoice in the “things” that we listed and received, but rather to show just how amazing God is and that He can provide even beyond our hopes or expectations.

When we write our goals, hopes and prayers down, it’s easier to see and acknowledge answered prayers rather than just let life happen and not stop to see what God has done over the course of time in relationship to the prayers you once wrote down.

Now, since this is a stepfamily podcast, what are your goals for your family this year? Do you have a stepchild you kind of don’t like? How’s your marriage? If a relationship is sour, make a goal to work on it. What can you do to help improve the situation?

Start brainstorming and write down what you come up with. Or if you just can’t on your own, I am available to help get you started. Rather than working on prevention strategies or how you can avoid that certain someone, be proactive by taking charge of the situation and doing something about it. You can’t decide what they will do but you can choose to try to make amends and rebuild the relationship.

Do you need more unity in your family?

Blending can create many happy experiences but I would be lying if I said it was easy. It’s often hard work bringing people together under one roof, trying to build relationships and unite as a couple at the same time. Every decision has the potential to cause conflict. After 29 years in a blended family I can tell you it is worth the effort but you will need to be proactive in creating the unity you desire.

What are your hopes, goals and dreams for your blended family this year? What one area do you want to do something different about? We all have them.

Have you a plan in place to help you achieve these goals?

To enjoy a great family life you need to put in some effort to make it happen. To quote :