I have sat down at my desk many times over the past year to write a blog. My mind swirls with thoughts I want to share, nothing concrete hitting the page. I inevitably turn to tasks and to-do lists instead. In return, the Joyful Stepmom blog has gone dormant for 2022.

Do not be fooled into thinking this is an accurate reflection of the ministry activity for the year! The Joyful Stepmom has been buzzing. With ten years strong under our belt, we continue to grow. I published two books this year! A feat  that boggles my mind and humbles my heart. We revamped our local outreach to meet the current connection needs of our members.  

I have been questioned many times over the years about the value or importance of an online ministry. The merit of online ministry holds such a strong significance in my heart, it can only be referred to as "calling."

I heard recently that online ministries and resources are one of the first places people are hearing about Jesus. Before the church, before your pastor. Online is the first line of defense. With devices on our persons nearly 24/7, it's the place we reach out for everything from communication, questions on how items work to questions regarding our physical, mental and spiritual well being.

Is online ministry perfect? No. Should it be your only resource? No. But if people are going to use it, and stepmoms are going to cry out in a time of crisis, I want there to be a Jesus focused resource there when it's needed. During the holidays and times of high emotion, we do see an increase in activity. I am so grateful the Lord has built this ministry. I pray he continues to lead and protect us for the stepmoms still to come.

If you are reading this, most likely you stumbled upon my site because you were searching for stepmom help or christian stepmom or stepmom prayer. You aren't truly here for a year end update from Emily of the Joyful Stepmom. You Googled on your phone during a time of hurt. And if that is you, my friend, I wanted to share one of my favorite stepmom verses. 

Pause. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in and then slowly out.

Reflect on the verse. Eyes directly forward. It doesn't say - look at what's going on over there! Look over here! Look at this!  Nope. It says -Eyes directly forward.

Eyes on your house, stepmom. This life is between you and Jesus. Don't look at whatever's going on over there. As we close out the year and enter a fresh season, eyes forward. One foot in front of the other. Don't get distracted by all the noise, and there's a lot of noise in our families! Look straight at Jesus and the direction he has you going.

I look forward to 2023 and another vibrant year of ministry.

With Joy,
Emily

It is with joy and honor that I share my book, The Blended Family Devotional for Couples. Available for purchase wherever books are sold.

“If you are a couple in a blended family, you are in for a treat. This book is like giving your relationship a hug. Filled with the realities of living in a stepfamily and antidotes, you will be affirmed and encouraged. Take the time to invest in your marriage by reading this ‘hug!’”
—Gil and Brenda Stuart, speakers, authors and owners of Restored & Remarried

“Wow! This devotional is full of practical, hands-on activities that enhance communication and deepen connection. For busy blended family parents, this is a must-have tool for your marriage. Emily's creativity is refreshing and gets to the heart of it quickly!”
 —Tammy Daughtry, author and founder of CoParenting International

“If you are a stepcouple seeking to deepen your faith and move toward a stronger biblical connection, this is your go-to guidebook. Emily shares insight, Scripture, and challenges to equip and encourage stepcouples looking to move forward together in a biblical direction. Peace, comfort, joy, and hope are found in God's word. This devotional can be a stepcouple's road map to growing stronger.”
—Heather Hetchler, founder of Learning2Step.com

"As a stepmom in a blended family, I so enjoyed soaking in Emily Jordan’s Godly encouragements to married couples. In The Blended Family Devotional for Couples, Emily inspires couples to break old habits and discuss life more deeply, especially among the trials and tribulations of blended families. This devotional format offers a weekly pause to read, reflect, and take action—a true inspiration to grow our marriages."
—Diane Ingram Fromme, stepmom and author of Stepparenting the Grieving the Child

I have recently had the pleasure to read Stepparenting the Grieving Child by Diane Ingram Fromme. The book is a resource for stepparents of children who have lost a biological parent. While I am not in this position, there are parents in our ministry who fit that role.

I was interested to read this resource as a way to educate myself. But it has been more than just a textbook, Stepparenting the Grieving Child has touched my heart.

Diane shares about her experience as a stepmom to children who lost their mother before she came into the family. She shares her emotions and the stages of grief the family experience together. Diane documents timelines and shares research with tenderness and empathy.

The discussion was interesting and broke my heart wide open for the whole blended family in a grieving situation. I greatly appreciated the amount of research poured in to the book. This was balanced well with personal story for a gentle approach.

For the stepmom in a such a special role of parenting a child who has lost their biological parent, I am pleased to be able to recommend this resource. 

Every year we pick a theme verse. This year I felt drawn to choose a purpose as well. When I think of you all, I want so much to see your face, give you a hug and let you know - yes I actually do pray for you!

However, so many of us will never meet on this earth so it will have to wait until we get to heaven. And I want to make sure we will all be there!! This year, the Ministry Team has agreed that our theme is to make heaven crowded. You will see intentional posts, our posted studies will be about growing in the faith. As our mission statement says, we are more than just stepmom sisters we are sisters in Christ.

I'm excited to share our Verse of the Year for 2022.
I look forward to another year of sharing, praying, and growing together.

I've been working on a project and can't wait share those details with you soon! To prep, I had to get some new head shots taken. While working with the photographer, I asked if we could take a few with photos of me and my husband as well!

Many blended family couples will get this. I started to feel a little...guilt, or unease? Was it OK for us to take pictures as a couple and not include my stepson?

My stepson is an adult now. Why would it be weird to take pictures without him? Well, because we've never done that! As a blended family couple everything from early dates to engagement photos to wedding - the typical couple moments - were family affairs. Yes, of course we have pictures of just my husband and I, but it's rare folks! Most of our photos are family pictures.

So when we had this opportunity to take a professional photo of just us as a married couple, it felt a little weird. This feeling has come up with other blended families in my ministry and now that I have experienced, I wanted to share - yes, it's a thing! And you know, it's OK. It was OK to take the photos. And I love them so much!

See below for our couples photo and sneak peek of photo for my upcoming project - come back for news!!

Hello Joyful Stepmoms,

Scripture memory has been on my mind lately. When I don't have a verse right on the tip of my tongue, it's easy to Google/search on the Bible app/etc. We are encouraged to store God's Word in our heart. I thought we'd take a few weeks to memorize some verses.

UPDATED: During this season I posted verses in our Facebook on a weekly basis. We were able to visually see the weekly memory verse as well as encouraged to practice scripture memory on our own. Some great ways to practice a verse for memorizing are writing it out on paper. You can also post the verse around your house or save to your phone and speak the verse out loud to commit to memory. 

 Below is our list of scripture memory verses:

Week 1: Isaiah 26:3
Week 2: 2 Corinthians 12:10
Week 3: Psalm 34:4
Week 4: 2 Timothy 1:7
Week 5: Psalm 94:19
Week 6: Proverbs 3:5-6
Week 7: Romans 8: 38-39

I hope this exercise is an encouragement to your heart. 

Hey Stepmoms, hope your summer is going well! Ours has been full of family and home projects. We are keeping busy and enjoying some down time after a crazy school year.

The idea of making Bucket List has been around for awhile now. If you aren't familiar, a Bucket List is kind of like a wish list or to do list. It's a collection of things to do or places you hope to visit before you turn a certain age or just at some point in this lifetime.

Lately, I've been feeling a whirlwind of emotions. Our son graduated from college, he's moving into this next phase of young adulthood. We've been living under a legal agreement right up until his graduation. The mix of his graduation and the final chapter of this legal experience has churned such a mix of joy and reliving the past in my heart.

I think this is what sparked the idea to jot down a couple items on a Bucket List. I thought, now that we are moving into this next phase, what are some things I'd like to do? Don't get too excited, stepmoms. Ha! There's nothing too interesting on my list. No trips to Europe or cruising around the world. I'm a pretty simple girl.

I wrote down just a couple items that I've wanted to do for a long time. The only thing stopping me on most of them is making the time. So last weekend, I checked one off! And it was really fun. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 11 years ago. I am healthy, happy, and would gladly eat this way to experience the healing in my body. There is a fabulous, well known gluten free bakery just a small distance from my house. I've always wanted to go.

I am so glad we went last weekend. There are a lot of places that offer gluten free options anymore. But it's so nice to walk into a completely free space where everything is available and safe for me....and yummy!

Now I'm excited about the other items on my list...a couple of those are food related as well. Ha! Sensing a theme? It will take me awhile to get through this, and that's ok because I like to savor the moment and not rush things. I'm enjoying the journey. 

Thank you to Cheryl Shumake for sharing her book and workbook with me!  "Waiting to be Wanted: A Stepmom's Guide to Loving Before Loved" arrived and I was so excited to see the content. With a just a cursory flip through, my heart soared thinking of the stepmoms who struggle and I knew would be touched.

The workbook is about the size of a full sheet of paper. It walks you through moments of faith to your stepmom journey. There's plenty of room to jot notes and write your thoughts. The questions are thought provoking and dare I say, almost like a visit with your therapist in some cases.

I particularly appreciate sections like "Treasure Hunt" taking us beyond the surface and causing us to dig deep into Scripture.  I also want to draw your attention towards the second half of the workbook to a section on writing your stepmom mission statement. Wow, so powerful! This section will be very defining for some of us.

I love the topic of this book. It addresses the stepmom and stepchild relationship. Cheryl doesn't spend just a chapter on this, but gives a entire book of faith filled hope.

This book visits the topic of the relationship with your stepchild. It doesn't get into the nitty gritty, it's not heavily detailed on all the things your stepchild could be doing to annoy you. This book is about you. Cheryl focuses on the stepmom and her relationship with Jesus. Through our faith, we can wait, hope and have peace in the building of our relationships in our family.

I love the hope that is offered. Just like in the workbook, each chapter has a Treasure Hunt section where you spend time in the Bible and your journal. The final two chapters are so special. Cheryl gives us verses of encouragement and some prayers for this season.

This is a beautiful book, I love the heart behind it. I believe it be empowering for many struggling stepmoms. 

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 NLT

I've had this image saved to my phone for quite some time. I'm sorry I don't have a source to give credit. I don't even remember where I came it across it at this point.
 It reminds me of Isaiah 40. Those who place their trust in the Lord
will soar like Eagles. That image of strength is powerful. It's a fantastic reminder
of the hope we have in Christ. 

I think a lot of you will be familiar with Summer Butler. She has a strong social media presence and is the founder of Blended Book Co. which includes writing, speaking and chapters. I recently had the pleasure of getting to know her work and she kindly sent me a copy of her book - Blended.

Blended: Aligning the Hierarchy of Heart + Home is a devotional and workbook. There are questions to guide your thoughts at the end of each chapter. As a paper nerd, I'll tell you the cover feels so soft! It's a thin book with a fun cover. White background, very light and bright feeling. Summer is on the front with a fun outfit and great shoes.

I'm going to be honest right at the start. I think I had some preconceived ideas about this book. That it would be light reading, maybe another social media influencer who had thoughts on how I should be a stepmom. This is not that book!

Summer Butler came to preach to us today. This book is well done. It's very difficult to tell your stepmom story and keep it about you. In these public spaces like social media, blogging or writing a book, keeping that level of privacy for the rest of your blended family is difficult. But Summer manages to do that. She tells us some very real narratives, which I know many of you will love and relate to. But she finds that balance of keeping it about herself or her own marriage.

She also comes in strong pointing us back to Jesus. Now you know I loved that. At every turn, Summer shares her heart, her journey of faith. And she keeps turning us right back to God in our blended family. As I've said before, I don't know how people do this life without Jesus! And think that is Summer's point. To do this life and this remarriage well, you need Jesus. Through personal narrative and thought provoking questions, she will take you on a heart journey.

I would like to direct you to Week 5 in particular. You will connect with this book all along the way. Week 5 made of think of people I know need this book in their hands. They need to hear this message for their marriage or parenting struggle. Grab a copy of the book and dive in.

Summer, thanks for the review copy. I was so delighted and encouraged to read it.  

One year. It's all over my social media, so I'm sure you are well aware of it too. It's been one year since the pandemic began wreaking havoc on our daily lives. A mark in time we didn't want. But as we face this anniversary, there are some landmarks of resilience that should be celebrated and cheered.

The changes to schools and the need to social distance has thrown our blended families into a tailspin. An already difficult situation to navigate entered unchartered waters. And our stepmoms have handled it with faith! We have supported each other, prayed over our families and we are still standing!

The core of our ministry is our Facebook group. I don't spend a lot of time looking at algorithms or data but after this season, I took a peek. We have added approximately 900 stepmom to our Facebook this year. In the past, we have had a lot of stepmoms who like to just watch from the sidelines. This year, engagement reached an all time high with majority of members participating.

What does this show me? It shows love, community, Christian sisters reaching out and that need being met. It certainly wasn't me! I'm exhausted emotionally, mentally, spiritually. No, this is a group effort of our Ministry Team fostering and protecting community, working on the mission before us. This is a testament to the strength of stepmoms.

Today this brought to mind Hebrews 12:1 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." During this season, this is the race! And it calls for steadfast endurance, staying the course. I'm so proud of our stepmoms. I pray we continue to mark the path of ahead of us with prayer and community. 

Last year, our pastor began 2020 encouraging us to pray the Prayer of Jabez every day. It felt like a great challenge! Scary, actually! Enlarge my territory? I'm not sure I want to pray for that.

Then 2020 took over with all it's glamour and might.

I decided to keep up with the Prayer. It wasn't anything daily or routine. But in the wake of a world wide pandemic, when events and stress often left me speechless - oddly enough, this became my prayer to Jesus. In the dark, middle of the night hours staring at the ceiling or a long afternoon trying to put one foot in front of the other - I recited the Prayer of Jabez.

Let me tell you, Sister. When you pray to Jesus, just expect that He will answer. These are not empty words you are reciting and rattling off to open air. When you speak to the God of the Heavens - He Moves.

I've been praying for a year that God would enlarge my territory. That was the scariest line of the prayer for me. I didn't know how God was respond and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out! Ha! In the past year, we have added hundreds of new members to our Facebook group and several new local chapters, even in the midst of a pandemic. I was given several opportunities to share my heart and story at virtual speaking events. And this is just how God worked on the ministry side of my life! There was growth in my personal life as well.

Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm. It's been an upsetting year and this line of asking for protection brought so much comfort to me. There are ways I saw God at work in our lives protecting us and I'm sure ways that I cannot fathom.

The line "that I may not cause pain" has become very dear. The Joyful Stepmom means the world to me. It is so much more than a space on the internet or little Facebook group. It holds a lot of weight on my heart. I am very aware that on the other side of the screen are real lives and families. This year especially, emotions are running high. I have been praying this line "that I may not cause pain" specifically for my interactions with the women in our group.

It was so fascinating to watch God move and respond to this prayer that I'm going to keep it rolling in 2021! And yes, I'm still nervous about what that means for my territory. Ha! So I guess stay tuned and let's see what's in store! 

Stepmoms, I'm excited to share this resource for you! A few weeks ago I saw Heather Hetchler do an IG video that she would be working on some school and COVID resources. I reached out and said "Please share with me! The Joyful Stepmoms need help!" And here we go! She has created a resource to help you navigate these crazy times.

So many school districts have opted for remote education this year due to COVID-19. These are uncharted waters for all of us. Navigating it between blended families is turning out to be really different for some of us.

Heather Hetchler of Learn2Step has put together an online video presentation to encourage you. If you are struggling to wrap your head around Remote Learning - how to help your child, routines, navigating two homes, etc - this is a great resource and will help to pave the road to success.

I was able to view the presentation and loved the clear information. Let me also say, Heather has such a soothing voice! Grades are divided into sections and age appropriate information is shared. My husband is a high school teacher, doing remote learning right now. I appreciated the sensitivity to this age level and encouragement on ways to stage engaged with your teens.

There is hope, stepmoms! Resources are available and I wanted to make sure to share this with you. 

The past couple months have been trying on the mind and heart. We're all dealing with a little extra stress in light of recent world events. If you're like me, routine has gone completely out the window.

One thing that should not fall by the wayside is our quiet time with God. Even just a few minutes a day should be made a priority to keep us close. If you are struggling keep focus, I'd like to show your a daily devotional from Bible Gateway.

This devotional is a short morning and evening reading. The Charles Spurgeon Morning and Evening devotion takes you back to the classics. The audio is also provided. 

We love printables! These are Word documents you can print and post on the fridge, carry in your Bible or purse. I think you can open on your phone and save too!

During this time of uncertainty, we wanted to share hope. These printable pages are free. Free to print, share, whatever you would like. Please spread the hope and love! Click on the listed item to open the document.

Verses of Hope - favorite verses collected by the members of The Joyful Stepmom

Memory Verse Sheet - simple verses to store in your heart

I was reading in Ezra this morning. In this book we are looking at the Israelite's return to Babylon -  during their time away, people had made some bad decisions. They had walked away from the will of God.

One bad decision had spiraled into many and affected crowds of people, whole families! Sound familiar? It's why I'm reading ;) As stepmoms, our lives are often dictated by the decisions of others. Many times, those decisions feel wrong.

Looking at the situation, Ezra was overcome. He was so distraught at the sin of the people and anger of God. He fell on his face weeping and praying.

Look at Ezra 10:4 - the people said "Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action." Verse 5 - "So Ezra stood up."

I have a quote in my Bible from Lori Wilhite, she has a study on Ezra called Rise Up. You can follow the clickable link or find her study on YouVersion. She writes "We can sometimes find ourselves on our backside.Maybe we made a bad decision. We might end up on our back ends because of someone else's poor decisions. Either way, we all have moments when we need to rise up. Take courage, rise up, choose faith."

Ex spouses, the court, lawyers....we all have these outside influences directing traffic in our lives. Sometimes the actions they take feel wrong, we get put in a position that is really hard to handle.

 What are you going to do about it? Sit and weep? Yes, there's a time for that. But then we need to look at the heroes of the faith. We need to Rise Up in our faith and carry on. There's more work to be done. 

Confession, I'm an older stepmom. At least when it comes to technology. When my stepson was young and we were keeping track of calendars, it was all on paper. Our Family Wizard wasn't available. The advancements in technology and how they affect custody management are really helpful! We want you to know they are available to you.

Below we address a couple areas of frequent topics that come up in our Facebook group.

Favorite Calendar Apps:
Monitoring the schedules of two or more homes takes planning and organization. We often get asked about favorite calendar apps. There are two clear winners -
Cozi Family Calendar
Google Calendar
Each of these can be shared and color coded. They are mobile and laptop friendly.

Printing texts:
For clear and detailed documenting, we often need to save or print out texts.
This is tricky. A lot of stepmoms just screenshot and email to themselves. I have screenshot and printed at Walgreens as photos.
Apps that have been recommended: iexplorer, decipher tools

Software:
The below programs are available as software or apps. They cover a wide array of custody managements and we encourage you to look into their advantages. This is by no means an exhaustive list. 
Our Family Wizard
Two Homes app
Custody Toolbox

We frequently get questions from members of The Joyful Stepmom Facebook community about phone monitoring apps. To assist in protecting your family, we wanted to share some resources.

A book I really like on this topic is Screens and Teens by Kathy Koch. When your children are entering the stage of using electronics, I highly recommend this as part of your reading stack.  

What to monitor?
Primarily, we received requests for phone monitoring apps. We can't stress enough the value and importance of monitoring ALL devices for your children. Apps, texts, websites - you want to watch it all.

Focus on the Family's Plugged In has a great, quick guide for parents on the what and why. CLICK HERE to read. 

Recommended Monitoring Apps
Consumer Advocate gives a list of the Top 10 Parental Control Apps. Each app has a bullet point description that is very helpful in breaking down the advantages and directing parents in what to look for. I see that Qustodio is on this list, which is frequently mentioned by parents in The Joyful Stepmom.

Focus on the Family's Plugged In recommends some of the same parental control apps. This list also adds Covenant Eyes which is another app recommended by members of The Joyful Stepmom.

Below is a list of parental control apps that made both lists, including those frequently used by members of our stepmom community:
NetNanny
Norton
Qustodio
Covenant Eyes

We share this information with no ranking or bias, only in the hopes that when you are on the search for this information it helps to have a few resources gathered. As mentioned, we have received the question enough times from members that we wanted to gather our own list to provide a little information for you. Protecting the hearts, minds and eyes of your family is precious to us as parents.

Merry Christmas, Joyful Stepmoms!

Each Christmas I send a card to the stepmoms or ministries I've connected with and prayed for during the past year. However, at this point our group has grown so much I'd be here until next Christmas addressing envelopes!

 I am so grateful for the abundance. The Lord has brought together an incredible group of women to love and support one another in His name for the family.

Stepmoms, as we prepare our homes for the holidays - take one moment to prepare your heart. Sit with your morning coffee, close the door to your room, whatever you need to do to intentionally take a moment with just you and Jesus. Let the quiet fill you and His peace surround you.

The entire purpose of Christmas is a Savior. Born, lived, died and rose again just for you. Hope was born that night.

Wishing you a time of joy with your families,
Emily - The Joyful Stepmom 

As a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid,  I received this copy of The Jesus Bible Artist Edition NIV as a free review copy. When I saw the review opportunity for this Women's Bible, I couldn't resist! I am so pleased to participate and look over the features with you.

Right away, the cover grabs my attention. The bright colors make me want to reach out and feel this Bible. The cover is soft and pliable. Honestly, I've tried to keep this as a nice review copy, in the box on my desk, but I can't keep my hands off it! It's a Bible I want to open and explore.

Let's take a look inside. If you are a note taker, there are nice margins along the text. The paper feels nice. Of course it's thin Bible paper. But as I'm flipping around, nothing feels fragile or like it may rip.

There is an introduction to each Book. Devotional notes spread through the Bible are about a page and from some of my favorite authors - Max Lucado, Randy Alcorn and more! Sometimes devotions in a Bible can feel random and be an interruption. I appreciate the placement and "just enough" of those chosen. They feel appropriate and complimentary.

I will highlight an additional special feature. Many of us carry the YouVersion Bible app on our phones. The Jesus Bible Artist Edition has a matching YouVersion plan available. I like the tie between my hard copy Bible and online, it's a nice touch.

Keep this one for me! But next time a gift a Bible to a friend, guess what they'll be getting. Thanks again Bible Gateway Blogger Grid for the opportunity to review this lovely Bible. 

The Joyful Stepmom verse for 2019

Our verse for this year brings focus back to why we work so hard at The Joyful Stepmom. There are plenty of places online to find advice for stepmoms. Do a search on Facebook and you'll find about a hundred stepmom support groups.

As a Christian, we need to be mindful of how we fill our cup and what we allow into our hearts. The advice of the world is very different from the guidance of God.

When injustice happens in your stepfamily, the world will call you to anger and revenge. During a hard time in your marriage, the world will tell you to walk the front door and never look back. Kids giving you a hard time?  The world tells you to give it right back to them, you don't need that kind of attitude in your life. Get what you deserve.

Jesus calls you to something greater, harder and FAR more rewarding.

As we round out the year and look to 2020, take stock. Is there are an area of your stepmom life where you need a little less world and little more Jesus?

Your marriage - pray for and with your husband. Don't know where to start? Next time you have dinner together ask if you can just say a quick prayer together first. Send him a little text, Hey, I'm praying for you today! Stormie Omartian has a book I highly recommend called The Power of a Praying Wife.

The Kids - Struggling to connect? Just smile, make an effort to smile at them and start there. Take an interest in something they like to do or something about their day. Quick story - one year when our son was young, he didn't like talking about personal stuff so I just asked about his school lunch. Every weekend he would eagerly tell me what he had for lunch every day, what he liked about it... or not. We even started looking up what children in other countries eat for lunch at school! Start small and run with it.

The Mom -  Pray. Always pray for the mother of your children. You all have a big job together!

I had the opportunity to attend a parenting seminar with speaker Mark Gregston. Mark is the founder of Parening Today's Teens through Heartlight Ministries.

I'm not sure when I first stumbled across Parenting Today's Teens. Somewhere in the past few years when we were in the midst of high school with our son. Mark focuses on teens and families in crisis. Now, that wasn't us but the parenting advice was great. So I kept following.

For our members of The Joyful Stepmom who do go through some really challenging situations with their teenagers - Parenting Today's Teens is my go-to resource.

Image from Parenting Today's Teens with Mark Gregston Facebook Page

This seminar was more conversational. Mark gave stories and background of the ministry. He touched on some great points and I wish he had time to go deeper. Namely - when your child walks away from God.

Mark is a Texan, likes to joke and very relational. The couple sitting in front of us faithfully listen to his podcast, and I know many of you would enjoy that as well.

From my notes on the evening, I particularly honed in on his Love Languages message. Some will be familiar with the 5 Love Languages book by Gary Chapman. Mark felt that maybe there are more than 5 options. For teens, additional possible love languages are wanting to be defended by those you love and they want to feel wanted and included.

That resonates particularly in a blended family. Our children experience displacement, rejection and not knowing where they stand in their own homes and families. It should be a light bulb moment that of course they want the adults in their life to be their defenders. They want to truly be WANTED.

If you are going through the teen years, I urge you to follow Parenting Today's Teen and look through the resources provided. 

As a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid, I am so pleased to have received a copy of this Bible for Kids.  I received this copy of The NIrV Illustrated Holy Bible for Kids as a free review copy. I am excited to go over some of the features for our stepmom readers and their families.

I love to talk about and share resources for our stepmoms. We often get requests in our Facebook Group for children's Bibles or devotionals. Here is an opportunity for us to look at a Kids' Bible and some of the unique features.

Right away when opening the mail, I noticed the vibrant colors of this Bible. They are sure to attract the interest of little eyes. The cover is also very sturdy. Great for hands to grab, hold and really dig in easily.

On some adult Bibles the books are tabbed or indented for easy finding. This NIrV Illustrated Holy Bible for Kids has color coded books of the Bible. It allows for easily finding your place and a little bit of color on the side of the Bible, which is really nice for children.

Let's look inside the Bible. You will notice in your adult edition, verses are often divided by a title heading. The division is subtle but helps in breaking up verses for understanding. This children's Bible also has title division between verses. I appreciated that it was fun, clear but still felt like reading a real Bible.

I do want to mention I felt the font size was a drawback. It seemed small to me for a child. Then again, personally I have graduated to a Large Print version. Perhaps the difference is standing out too much for my tired eyes. Ha!

The NIrV Illustrated Holy Bible for Kids is a wonderful edition for when your child is ready to graduate from a baby -ish Bible and up closer to a full edition.