Do you ever wonder why you respond the way you do to your kids? Do you feel like there are things to process from childhood but don’t have the words to explain those feelings?  Today Charissa Lopez, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Dallas joins me. She specializes in play therapy, EMDR, emotionally focused family therapy, and trauma-informed care. She is full of wisdom and the science to explain why we respond and parent in specific ways based on childhood patterns.  Join us as we talk...

Do you struggle with discontentment and comparison in motherhood and beyond? Do you constantly second guess the best way to raise your kids in regards to food, education, health, and even naptime? Today, Laura Wifler, from Risen Motherhood is here to talk about her new book written with her sister-in-law Emily Jensen. We start by breaking down the framework they introduce in the Gospel Mom and how we are often looking for a formula to parent our kids but God has given us a framework in the...

Ever wonder how your mom friends with all boys or all girls handle parenting? Do you often wonder how in the world a “boy mom” or a “girl mom” views the opposite?  Today my good friend Courtney DeFeo is here to have an in-depth conversation about her experiences as a “girl mom” and asks me tons of great questions about what life with four boys is like (spoiler alert- active and crazy). Courtney is an author, podcaster, and creative mom of two girls. We bring the conversations we have had...

Do you often feel like what is the point of engaging politically or voting? Are you worried about the direction our nation is headed and what is next? Today Sharon McMahon is here to teach us about how our government functions and encourages us that individuals make a difference. She began as a government, history, and law teacher and then took her passion for educating to Instagram. Her platform grew rapidly as she has a way of helping all of us understand the process and history of the...

Do you ever struggle to keep Christ at the center of Christmas? Do you feel many Christmas traditions take a ton of time and energy or are just busy work but don’t point to Jesus?  Today Lillian Richey, my personal friend, is here to share her new project called Finding Jesus which helps families make Christmas meaningful and simple. Last year the Lord dropped into her heart the idea of a Jesus doll that tells the whole story of Christmas through scripture and helps kids see Jesus. Through...

Do you feel like your teens have hidden struggles that you can’t talk to anyone about? How do you honor your kids while still finding safe people to process parenting with? How do you advise your kids on their friendships and relationships?  Today, Amy Betters-Midtvedt is here to help us navigate the deep waters of parenting teens. Amy is a teacher with a master’s degree in leadership and is currently a literacy coach. She has five kids in all stages of life from college to kids still at...

As a mom do you feel there is not enough time in the day? Are you constantly overwhelmed with your to-do list and mental load? Are you snapping at your kids because they cannot keep up with the pace?  Today Kendra Adachi; the Lazy Genius, author, podcaster, and most of all mom, is here to help us focus on the most important tasks. Kendra and I are opposites, she has read all the time management books whereas I have read zero. Only 7% of books in this arena are written by women so her newest...

Do you feel like a team with your spouse in parenting or do you often turn on each other? Do you have different ideas about what is right for your kids? Have the teen years brought more conflict than unity?  Today Dr. Kim Kimberling, professional counselor and founder of Awesome Marriage, is here to share his years of wisdom on how to keep the marriage strong while parenting. Dr. Kim has been married to his wife for 53 years and the tips that flow from those years of experience are...

Does the word holiness feel stuffy and old-fashioned? Do you feel you have a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord? Does your Christian life look more like a performance than a practice?  Today Jeannie Cunnion joins me to discuss her new book Closer to God. She is a best-selling author, bible teacher, and speaker who shares how the Holy Spirit can transform our family and motherhood. Her new book covers how to practically have an intimate relationship with the Lord in the middle...

How do you know when it is the right time to leave a season? Do you know how to sit in silence with people? Would you consider yourself a good listener?  Today Emily P. Freeman joins us to discuss her new book, How to Walk Into a Room. She is a New York Times bestselling author of six books with a masters degree in Spiritual Formation and Leadership from Friends University. She has a true passion for teaching us how to listen well and hold grief and silence with those who need it most. Emily...

What would it look like to have Jesus-centered peaceful parenting? Is your parenting style just a list of do’s and don’t or getting to the heart of your child? After correction do you feel more or less connected with your kids? Today, Dr. David and Amanda Erickson, join me to discuss their new book The Flourishing Family. They founded Flourishing Homes and Families to equip and empower Christian parents to lead their families with grace and gentleness through parenting principles that are...

Today Cynthia and I are talking about all things college drop off and how Cynthia missed saying goodbye to her daughter and I share how dropping Quade off in Tennessee went. We talk about back-to-school haircuts and terrible yearbook photos and rehash how we both ended up at the same event but had very different experiences. We end the episode with a cliffhanger story about Bucees and a HUGE exciting surprise you don’t want to miss.  Connect with Cynthia Yanoff:  Website: ...

Do you worry about whether your child is on track with verbal milestones? Does the stress of what is typical in eating, talking, and verbal cues feel confusing? Do you know speech pathologists can help with food intake or nutrient deficiency?  Today I am embracing my past life as a speech-language pathologist as I chat with Stephanie Cohen. Stephanie is a mother, speech-language pathologist, author, speaker, and lactation counselor in private practice who has worked with children and...

Today my friend, Robin Pou, joins us to talk about his powerful testimony of a near-death experience in Africa while on a mission trip and share about his new book, a parable, that was 14 years in the making. Robin is an executive coach, author, and founder of a leadership development firm. He is in the business of training Christians to lead in the marketplace or wherever God has placed them.  Through Robin’s harrowing experience the Lord shifted his life to focusing on how to bring God...

Are you tired physically, spiritually, or emotionally as a mom trying to do it all? Does the thought of resting make you stressed because you can’t see how? Do you know what kind of rest fills your soul?   Today Jess Connolly joins us to talk about her new book and all the research behind the how, where, and why of rest. Jess’s life is full with being an author, Bible teacher, podcaster, and coach so she knows the challenges of finding pockets of rest in a full schedule. I love how we...

Do you try to coach or control your kids in friendships? Whether sending them off to Kindergarten or College there are so many opportunities along the way to help them be good friends and pick good friends.  Today we are revisiting an amazing conversation with Sissy Goff and David Thomas discussing how to help our kids foster friendships.  As licensed counselors, working at DayStar Counseling Center in Nashville, they provide support, encouragement, and compassion to children, adolescents,...

As parents, we are keenly aware of the peaks and valleys of our kids’ emotions. Anger, sadness, excitement, and all the other feelings can make us feel like our child is on a roller coaster we’re just trying to slow down.  It’s true that we all feel highs and lows throughout our day, but we rarely talk about what it feel like when we’re “in the zone” and feeling calm and ready to go. My guest today is sharing about the window of tolerance and how to regulate ourselves and our kids to help...

Out of the gate today we are into all the TMI topics like how to wear your gown at the Doctor’s office, mammograms, and what stage of menopause we are in. (Did you know there are five?) Cynthia’s family keeps it real as usual by washing their healthy vitamins full of fruits and veggies down with Diet Dr. Pepper.  Next up we discuss the Olympics, from what our favorite sports are to handball and break dancing, which we are pretty sure are made-up sports. I rehash my prolific synchronized...

Do you feel like all the parenting books and formulas do not apply to your child? Is there embarrassment over public behavior that causes conflict? Are you longing for a deep connection with your kids that lasts into adulthood? Today we revisit my conversation with Amy and Jeffrey Olrick. Jeffrey is a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children and families and uses his knowledge in the science of healthy human development mixed with faith to help us in our family...

I love Kirk’s realistic approach to parenting. He understands what your home dynamics are like. And gives practical tips. After listening to today’s episode you will have at least three different “tricks” to apply. Most of all, I’m thankful for the new perspective he has given me. Kirk helped me recognize how emotionally invested I was in my boys’ behavior and freed me from the need to regulate their behavior for them. The last couple days I’ve enjoyed the boys more. I’m also less tense and...

On September 20, 2021, Makayla Noble, a world-champion cheerleader, suffered an injury that resulted in a severe spinal cord injury. Both Cynthia and I were part of her extended community and were getting updates on her healing journey and how to pray for her.  Today we have the honor of interviewing her to see how God has used her life to glorify Him even when things don’t go as planned.  From the moment of her accident, Makayla felt the overwhelming peace of God, that He was going to take...

A few years ago on an Instagram survey I learned that 68% of y’all have experienced broken friendships. I knew we needed an episode to help. Licensed professional counselor Shundria Riddick is here to walk us through some healthy ways to work toward reconciliation and how to know when to walk away from a hurtful friendship. We talk about setting healthy boundaries, having clarifying conversations, and how to analyze the health of relationships. We also cover the new trend of Millennials...

**earbud alert–if you listen with little ones around may want to pop in the ole earbuds or be prepared to have lots of conversations ;) **  We kick off today looking like we are going to two separate events, with one dressed up and one in athleisure. Are you team shorts or team dresses for summer? We give some summer updates including how to feed ALL of the teens that are home and my 1980’s drink that is keeping 4 boys hydrated. Social media has us convinced that everyone is traveling to...

Welcome to week one of the Summer of Mentorship! This summer we are answering your questions with guests from past episodes. We are starting off with an episode from April of 2020 (ep 280) with Rachel Macy Stafford, the founder of Hands Free Mama.  Rachel’s Hands Free Mama mentality is all about finding balance in a media-saturated, perfection-obsessed world. And it’s about seizing the little moments that life offers us to engage in real and meaningful interaction. She shares a realization...