Crystal Paine Show

In light of so many new and unexpected things in our lives recently, Jesse and I are chatting all about how to maintain a positive attitude in difficult seasons. One of the most important things for me is to focus on how much I am loved by God. Remembering and resting in His love and faithfulness changes my perspective on life. In addition, starting my day with praying over my day and handing my f...

Do you have a soundtrack on repeat in your head that is repeating negative things and holding you back? Many of us do -- often without even realizing it! Jon Acuff joins me on the podcast this week to share about how he discovered these soundtracks in his own life, how they were affecting him in a negative way, and how choosing a new soundtrack has changed his life. Jon is a best-selling author an...

Do you struggle to set good parameters for social media? In this week's podcast episode, Jesse and I tackle a question from a listener about how we set boundaries for our phones (trust me, we're a work in progress when it comes to this, as you'll find out in the episode!) We talk about different strategies we've implemented, why I take one day off from posting on social media each...

I recently shared some strategies on Instagram that have helped me to feel less stressed: 1) Recognize that in most cases, stress is a choice. No one can *make* me stressed (or angry or sad or happy, for that matter). I can choose my response in any situation. I can’t always choose my circumstances, but I can choose my response. And my response is my responsibility. 2) See stress as an indicator t...

In this week’s episode of The Crystal Paine Show, Jesse and I sit down and give you a fun life update — sharing all about our wild week full of a trip to Disney for Jesse, saying yes to a sweet little foster baby who has medical complexities, learning how to care for him in the middle of all the whirlwind of book launch, and getting the stomach bug thrown in there for good measure. Yes, all of tha...

Just for fun, this week on the podcast to celebrate the launch of Love-Centered Parenting , we turn the tables and Jesse hosts the show and interviews me about why I wrote another book when I never thought I would, a real behind-the-scenes look at how I wrote this book, what the editorial process is like for writing a book, plus much more! He asks me some of his own questions + questions you all s...

In this age of hurry and hustle where so many feel overworked and overwhelmed, is it possible to slow down? Is it possible to be successful and fulfilled in life while living at a slower pace? What would it take and what would it look like to live in a space of rest with an unhurried heart? In this episode, Jennifer Dukes Lee and I sit down and talk about what being an accidental farmer's wife...

We finally made it happen -- after having to cancel due to the snow and ice the week before. Angie Smith came over to record a podcast... and we covered a lot of ground in our short interview! Angie is one of those people who is always so honest and also hilarious. Every time I'm with her, she makes me think with her deep questions AND she makes me laugh until the tears come with her funny sto...

Last week, while the kids were off of school because of the ice and snow, Jesse and I sat down and interviewed Kathrynne, our 16-year-old. She answered some of your questions that you'd submitted on topics like: how parents can build stronger relationships with their teens why she feels like she can trust us her honest thoughts on kids and social media how she feels most heard and understood (...

How are you preparing for the college years? The question came into one of my Q&A Saturday features on Instagram stories recently. I loved how the question was worded because it wasn't, "How are you financially preparing for college?" Or, "How are you preparing your kids academically for college?" Or even, "How are your kids preparing for college?" Instead, it was m...

It's time for another edition of Answering Your Burning Questions! About once a quarter, Jesse and I sit down and devote a podcast episode to your questions. In this episode, we answer these questions: Is Jesse still doing CrossFit? (We also share a little more about current workout routines.) What top three tips would you give to your pre-married selves? When do you plan to retire? What are y...

“This was the worst garbage. I picked this up as an audiobook to listen to. Her voice is exceptionally annoying.” This was one of many similar reviews of my second book. While there were lots of kind reviews, all I could hear was that I should not ever narrate an audiobook again because my nasally voice irritated people. I was embarrassed that I had ever considered doing it myself. So guess what I...

Jesse and I celebrated our 18th anniversary recently (our marriage is officially an adult!) and we had fun sitting down and recounting 10 lessons we've learned in 18 years of marriage. We talk about lessons like: if your wife says she's not hungry, still get food for her and why daily gestures are more important than celebrating Hallmark holidays. We also share honestly about a simple phra...

Recently, on Instagram , I got asked the following question, "How do you handle friendships and disrespect in this political turmoil and pandemic." I shared the slide above to answer it, but I had so many more thoughts swirling in my head as I wrote the answer that I realized it would be the perfect topic to tackle more in-depth in a podcast episode. So this week on the podcast, Jesse and...

As I talked about yesterday , good habits done consistently can completely change the trajectory of your life. (And the inverse of that statement is also true.) So, how do you start with stick with better habits? In this week's podcast episode, Jesse and I tackle that topic along with sharing an update on our Christmas break, Jesse's hunting trip, an audiobook we both listened to, and two...

My word that I chose for 2020 was SAVOR. Little did I dream how much of my year was going to be able to live that word out so literally! From so much time at home and so many things cancelled, to so much time spent rocking and holding and feeding babies, to so much unexpected family time, this year was the perfect year to choose to savor the gifts right in front of me. Our year looked very differe...

In this week’s episode of The Crystal Paine Show, Jesse and I sit down and talk about what this last week has been like for us. We open up candidly about how the grief of  saying goodbye to Champ  has profoundly impacted us. We share what has been helping us, how we are processing this loss, what has been helping us, and how we are holding both grief and gratitude at the same time. And because we...

I was sitting with a few women recently and we were sharing some heavy things in our lives and big feelings. After a little while, I said, "Does anyone have any good news to share?" It's so easy to focus on the hard and difficult things. And I think we do need to acknowledge our feelings and not try to stuff down the difficult things, slap on a happy face, and pretend we're okay. B...

Forgiveness is certainly not the easiest topic to cover for anyone, but what if the ultimate betrayal was laid at your feet. How would you react then? For Lysa TerKeurst it led to authoring a book all about using forgiveness to heal and grow after a terrible experience.  Lysa found out several years ago that her husband was being unfaithful. Not just once or twice, but had been repeatedly unfaithf...

There is a lot going on in the world right now — and there is a lot going on in our home, too. In the middle of the noise and rush of life, it can be easy for our souls to get neglected. In today’s episode of  The Crystal Paine Show , Jesse and I talk about how we’re prioritizing soul care during what can feel like a stressful season. We talk about some R&R’s for our soul and challenge you to...

Jesse and I have both struggled with being what you could call "control freaks" in our life. I like to have a plan and I like other people to go along with my plan. Jesse's control shows up more in wanting to be able to control decisions other people make or to make sure that everything is always okay with me and our kids -- and when it's not, he feels a lot of stress and like thin...

If you or someone you love -- especially your kids -- struggle with anxiety or worry, you do not want to miss this episode of The Crystal Paine Show. I'm joined by Sissy Goff, the author of Raising Worry-Free Girls. In our conversation, Sissy talks about how to spot signs of anxiety in our kids, how our approach can help or hurt our kids, what to do if your child is struggling with perfectioni...

It’s been a while since we’ve answered your burning questions and this is one of your favorite types of episodes! So Jesse and I had fun answering another batch of questions you all have submitted recently. In this episode, we talk about how old we are, how long Champ will be with us, what to do if you want to have kids and your spouse doesn't, when we start talking about the birds and the bee...

I’m a big fan of doing our civic duty and voting. But you know what can make a bigger difference? How we live our every day lives. I’ve seen a lot of pundits and talking heads putting a lot of blame for problems on politicians. While elected officials can and should be held responsible for their choices and actions, we also have a responsibility as individual citizens to be a part of the solution....

After a few heavier/deep topics on the last few episodes, we had fun doing a more lighthearted podcast episode this week! So many people have asked how we chose our kids' names, so Jesse and I had fun sharing some of the stories behind their names in this podcast episode. Plus, we also share about Jesse subbing at the kids' school, our recent sleep struggles, a book I recently read and fou...