Crazy Cool Family

In this episode, Don and Suzanne Manning share how to teach kids integrity without lectures. Learn how to model honesty, coach truth-telling with a “respond, don’t react” approach, and create a family culture of integrity. Get age-by-age strategies for littles, middles, and bigs that make character building stick. Anchored in Proverbs 10:9 and John 8, this episode equips you to help your child kee...

In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, Suz and McKenzie talk with Becky, founder of Clean Mama about simple, sustainable home keeping routines for busy families. Learn the 5 daily cleaning tasks, a practical weekly cleaning schedule (bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, floors, catch-all), how to involve kids in chores, and how to keep a non-toxic home with easy DIY cleaners. If you’re overwh...

Reclaiming Motherhood: Hard ≠ Bad  Suzanne sits down with her daughters—now mothers themselves—for an honest, hope-filled conversation about reclaiming a life-giving vision of motherhood. They unpack the tension most moms feel: the days are long, the needs are endless, and perfectionism and isolation creep in. Together they reframe motherhood as Kingdom work—discipleship in real time—where “hard”...

Why You Should Take Your Kid on a Mission Trip??? In this inspiring episode, Don and Suzanne Manning are joined by longtime friend and missions expert Dr. Chris Searcy to discuss the life-changing impact of mission trips on children and teens. With over 25 years of experience and 2,500+ students led on global trips, Chris shares powerful stories and practical advice for families.  Discover why mis...

What happens when spouses see parenting differently? In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, Don and Suzanne Manning dive into the power of parenting with unity—even when you have different methods.  Through practical stories, biblical encouragement, and years of wisdom, they show how to: Create safe, judgment-free check-in conversations  Encourage each other without criticism  Respond a...

Is your marriage stuck in a cycle of miscommunication and method wars? In this episode, Don and Suzanne Manning unpack a powerful concept that will radically transform your relationship: agreeing on values, not methods.  You’ll learn: Why unity doesn’t mean uniformity  How to define and agree on your family’s core values  Practical tools to navigate disagreements and grow together  How becoming th...

How to Start the School Year with Confidence (Not Chaos) Back-to-school season can feel like a whirlwind—supplies, sports, schedules, and stress. In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, Don and Suzanne unpack how to approach August with peace, purpose, and powerful parenting strategies.  They share real-life stories and practical tips for helping your kids through transitions, easing anx...

Ready or not.... The Fall is Coming! In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, Don and Suzanne Manning tackle the chaos and pressure of August head-on. From back-to-school shopping to emotional transitions, they unpack practical strategies to help families navigate the busiest time of year with clarity and connection.  You'll learn: How to ease your child’s anxiety about a new school year ...

What is the most important lesson to teach your kids this summer? In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family podcast, we’re wrapping up summer with the most essential parenting topic: leading your kids to Jesus. Whether your children are toddlers or teens, creating a family culture where God conversations happen naturally is one of the most powerful tools you have.  Don and Suzanne walk through how...

Parent Control or Kid Control?”  In this summer-focused episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, Don and Suzanne unpack one of the biggest tensions in parenting: control. Should parents stay in charge, or is it time to pass the baton to the kids?  You'll discover why summer is the perfect season to transition from parent control to self-control, helping your children develop responsibility, confi...

Who’s in Charge? How to Raise Leaders at Home This Summer In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, we dive into one of our favorite summer themes: raising leaders under your roof. Whether your kids are toddlers or teens, summer offers the perfect opportunity to build leadership skills in a low-pressure, high-relationship environment. We explore what leadership looks like in everyday momen...

Teaching Kids to Fight (Well): How to Turn Sibling Conflict into Character Growth Summer brings more time together—and more sibling conflict. But what if the fights between your kids were actually opportunities to shape their hearts? In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, we unpack how to teach your kids to fight well, using biblical principles and practical tools. You’ll learn: Why con...

Welcome to our Summer Series! In this episode, Don and Suzanne talk about how to intentionally plan your family’s summer so it’s filled with peace, purpose, and connection—not just chaos. They introduce the powerful idea of “washing the school year off” your kids—helping them reset emotionally, mentally, and spiritually from the demands and structure of school life. Topics covered include: Creatin...

Ready to build your family's best summer? Madeline Jones (formerly Manning) is back—this time with special guest and fellow summer-lover Sarah Paul—to share how families can make the most of summer through simple rhythms, intentional connection, and memory-making moments. From mission trips to popsicle-fueled pool days, this episode is packed with encouragement, real-life stories, and practical wa...

Raising a Servant-Hearted Child Starts Right Here ❤️ Do you ever wish your kids would just share the toy... without a battle? In our latest podcast episode, we dive into one of the most powerful things we can teach our kids: how to be servant hearted. Inspired by Jesus washing His disciples' feet, we’re breaking down what it means to raise children who choose to serve others. And don’t worry—this...

Happy 300th Episode to us! In this heartfelt episode of the Crazy Cool Family Podcast, Don and Suzanne reflect on over three decades of parenting, ministry, and the launch of their brand-new resource, the Parenting Playbook. Whether you're in the thick of raising toddlers or navigating relationships with adult children, this conversation reminds you of a simple truth: family is worth it. Don and S...

Struggle with guilt when parenting? This Episode is for you...(and me!) In this heartfelt episode, each daughter shared how “mom guilt” has uniquely shown up in their motherhood journey. Macy opened up about her tendency to feel like she should be punished for both the things she does and doesn’t do as a mom. Mollie described mom guilt as a constant feeling of inadequacy, and McKenzie expressed he...

Guess what.... we've got something new for you! Next month, our seventh child, Cade, graduates — and with that, we officially wrap up over three decades of parenting. As we step into this next season of becoming almost-empty nesters, we’ve been reflecting on the journey that brought us here… and why Crazy Cool Family exists in the first place. In our early years, we (Don and Suzanne) felt like we...

"What is your favorite season of parenting?" In today’s episode, we’re talking about what we’ve learned through the years raising littles, middles, and bigs — and how to parent each age with purpose and grace. We're calling this theme “Crazy Cool Family This,” where we unpack key parenting concepts and make them practical for your season of life. Through it all, one thing remains true: your kids a...

Crazy Cool Family This - Connection! We are excited to talk about this because we feel like we prioritized connections within our family and we believe it is the most important thing you can invest in - connections within family are THE MOST IMPORTANT! "Relationships build security." - Suz Here are the talking points: What is more important - obedience or relationship? What does Jesus say about co...

Let's talk Easter, cause we never have! Easter is one of the MOST important holidays within our faith and we have NEVER done a podcast on it. We’ve almost made 300 episodes and looking through them, this is the first time we’ve set aside space to talk about Easter – so let’s dive in. The goal of today's podcast is to help your family have the BEST Easter EVER. Here are a few points we discuss: Bib...

Mollie joins the podcast to talk about an insight God has been giving her about control vs. being in charge. Mollie, a mother of two boys, and the oldest Manning kid - reflects on a thought-provoking question she received from her church: "Where are you allowing the Holy Spirit to be in charge in your life?" She shares that she loves to be in charge, a trait shaped by being the oldest in the Manni...

In this episode of the Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don welcomes Marcus Warner, the president of Deeper Walk International and a renowned expert on family dynamics and discipleship. The conversation dives deep into Marcus's transformative FISH discipleship methodology, which stands for Freedom, Identity, Spirit, and Heart-Focused Community. This framework offers a practical and spiritual approach to...

In Season 7 of our podcast, we are taking time to give practical parenting tips in our episodes. We are using the term, "Crazy Cool Parent This" because choosing to parent God's way is often crazy AND turns out cool. Sometimes we go deep into a specific topic and sometimes (like today) we like to throw random questions at Don and Suz and see what they think/how they would parent the situation. Her...

Emotions are a God given gift inside of each of us to help navigate life. But what do we do with them? Especially in our kids...? In this podcast Suzanne, Macy, and Mckenzie explore the topic of Emotional Intelligence and how to Crazy Cool Family emotions. If emotions feel challenging to you, or if they are taking over your home - you are in the right place! In the podcast we walk through a define...