• When blending a family, hold regular family meetings, build new traditions while also respecting old ones, and provide personal space for everyone in the household (especially children who only visit occasionally and need to know that they truly belong).

  • Constantly pursue a deeper communion with God together, by worshipping in church at least once a week, praying and reading Scripture together, and using your talents to serve others.

    • Adapted from Saving Your Second Marriage Before It Starts, copyright 2001 by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. Published by Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich., www.zondervan.com, 1-800-727-3480.

    Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott are co-directors of the Center for Relationship Development at Seattle Pacific University (SPU). Les is a professor of clinical psychology at SPU, and Leslie is a marriage and family therapist there. They have written several previous books together, and live in Seattle with their son.

    Why do you think it's important for couples who are getting married for the second or subsequent times to invest extra time in working out issues between them? If you've been remarried, what issues have proven most challenging for you to deal with, and why? How has God helped you build a strong new marriage? Visit Crosswalk's forums to discuss this topic by clicking on the link below.