Don't Mom Alone Podcast

Do you feel the pull between protecting your family and kids while having compassion on the orphan and the widow who are crossing our borders? Do you feel confused about immigration laws and sustainable immigration practices?  Today Bri Stensrud, author, human dignity advocate, and the Director at Women of Welcome shares her heart on immigration. She began her career as a pro-life advocate and aft...

Today’s show starts with a small hiccup and then really gets going with our guest and listener Rachel Green (but not that one ;)).  We discussed what we had for breakfast and it was everything from a frittata, to coconut milk yogurt with all the toppings, to a Diet Dr. Pepper with saltines. Can you guess who ate what?  Rachel admits to being sidetracked by ruminating over her busy calendar, and ho...

If you need a reminder that God can redeem and restore a broken marriage, this week’s guest, Kathy Bush shares her powerful restoration testimony.  Kathy and Tim have been married for 42 years, many of those years filled with hurt, pain and infidelity. Their story centers around a primary marriage challenge —bringing two stories,  backgrounds, and expectations together. It took Kathy and Tim hitti...

Did you know panic attacks can happen even when everything around you looks “perfect”?  They can sneak up seemingly out of nowhere and be frightening. But a panic attack is a warning light to slow down and see what is happening in our bodies and emotions.  Panic is a behavioral and physical response to anxiety locked in our bodies. So many of us can feel alone and isolated even when surrounded by...

Boys today are struggling more than ever with social anxiety.   They feel hesitant, anxious, and struggle to take healthy risks. How do we know when to push them into uncomfortable places? Many boys are even struggling with life milestones like getting their driver's license, asking a girl to the school dance, or applying to college. OCD and ADHD are on the rise and we want to understand when to s...

Kids plus nutrition often equals a storm of thoughts and emotions. What should I serve my child? How do I get them to eat it? Is what I heard on the internet true? We don’t come to these questions with blank slates either. Words spoken to us or ideas we’ve internalized can make this area of life rife with trouble.  But my guest this week is mom and registered dietician Kacie Barnes and she is here...

Where do you turn when life gets messy?  Cynthia said it best, “98% of life is the messy part.” But that sentence doesn’t have to end there, with us shaking our fists at the sky. Instead, get Sidetracked with Cynthia and me as we dive right into life’s messy parts, clinging to the brilliant hope that God is still good to us, and for us.  Pre-order Cynthia’s new book, Life is Messy, God is Good and...

How do you measure yourself? How do you decide if you’re succeeding or failing in life? One ruler we often reach for is comparison. Sometimes comparisons are helpful tools we can use to evaluate our processes or methods. But we’ve all seen comparisons go wrong. Who hasn’t thought, “I’m not like her. I must be less than”?  Comparison isolates. It causes us to withdraw from our community or to put u...

Have you ever asked yourself, “Is what’s going on with my body normal?”  So often as women, we are quiet about what’s going on with our bodies.  Our concerns have been dismissed before. We’re worried about what will have to change in our lives to fix this nagging symptom. The doctor is busy.  We have to leave this appointment soon to make it on time to the next thing on our lists. So we just deal....

What would you do to make sure your child’s faith life is growing strong? Is this something you’re taking on yourself or getting help with? Join us this week as Ben Bevis, a passionate advocate for youth empowerment through faith, shares insights on gathering Mentor Circles around our young people. As the founder of Encircled, Ben is dedicated to helping to launch the Next Generation with sustaine...

Happy New Year! We’re starting the year off right with mile-long to-do lists and a complex highlighting system so we don’t forget to wash the dog in the midst of crocheting that giant bow.  JK!   But we are thinking about what went well in 2023 and what we’re focusing in on 2024. Whether you make resolutions or not, evaluating how things are going is helpful and the flip of the calendar is a natur...

How are you handling your mental load? Are you a well-packed Sherpa able to take on any terrain or Sisyphus rolling the ball up the hill only to watch it roll back down?  This is the time of year when it feels natural to look back and look forward. We can evaluate what worked and what didn’t, but more importantly we can listen to what space the Lord is asking us to occupy. Maybe things need to dro...

Have you heard the Bible verse “Women will be saved through childbearing”? (It’s part of 1 Timothy 2:15) What do you think that verse means? What do you think it means for the woman facing infertility, or singleness?  My guest this week, Dr. Sandra Glahn, wants to dispel some iffy interpretations of this verse many of us grew up hearing. Dr. Glahn is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas T...

Ready or not, the holidays are upon us! What are your favorite holiday traditions? What are the ones you could leave behind?  Get sidetracked with Cynthia and me as we discuss everything from trees (real, fake, and Jesse) to gift giving philosophies (more or less presents than Jesus?) to elves and shepherds and the awful name your pie might get if it doesn’t come out just right. There’s even help...

How are you doing?  Honestly. What is the pace of your day? What do you long for and feel you are missing out on? What activities have you crammed in your life out of a “should” mentality? When do you focus on your spiritual life? Today we are getting honest about our lives. And discussing ways to deepen relationships, simplify schedules, and connect spiritually. This week’s podcast guest is the t...

What do you think of when you hear the phrase “college tuition”? Does your heart rate speed up?  Sending a child to college is the culmination of a lot of effort. It’s emotional and there are a lot of logistics to manage. In this hands-on, information-packed conversation Kristi and I cover the basics of applying for financial aid for college. We talk through deadlines and how-to’s to help relieve...

What are two words to describe your mind when your head hits the pillow most nights?  The quiet space before sleep can be our most vulnerable moments. Whether it’s to-do’s or dredging up memories from the past, our thoughts can feel overwhelming. If we let our mind spiral we’re sacrificing the rest God intends us to enjoy. But my guest this week, Emily Ley has some bedtime rituals that can help us...

Do the sights and sounds and feels of parenting overwhelm you some days? Or most days? How can we parent kindly and intentionally when we desperately need a break from all the stimulation?  My guest this week is Mary Van Geffen. She is a mom who has striven to cultivate good relationships with her children and husband while also navigating life as a Highly Sensitive Person with diagnosed ADHD.  Sh...

Pull out the petit fours and lip plumpers - it’s time to celebrate! Don’t Mom Alone has officially reached double digits!!  Get Sidetracked with us as Cynthia leads us on a surprising, only mildly teary ride as we look back on 10 years of the podcast.  There’s even a Cameo from Bob Ross! Jk, there isn’t.  But we do have a great lineup of special guests and listeners to help us commemorate 10 years...

Some moments create a “before” and “after” in life. Whether it’s a circumstance we live through or a person we encounter, we see the world and our lives differently after these experiences.  In choosing the most memorable moments to go back to, I thought about, “What were the conversations that changed my own life and parenting?”  Don’t forget, we are walking together down this path of motherhood!...

Though I didn’t have a five-timers jacket to send them, the guests on today’s show have all been on DMA at least 5 times (some have been on double that amount!).  As we celebrate ten years of the podcast we wanted to acknowledge the voices I turn to again and again for support in parenting and life. Trustworthy and encouraging, their episodes are full of hope and help so we don’t mom alone (see wh...

How do you quantify 10 years of mom-ing together?  Let’s start with what I want to make sure you don’t miss. As we inch closer to 500 episodes, I selected clips from 5 episodes over the years for us to listen to together this week.  Some have been transformational for me, all get to the heart of the message I want you to hear as a mom - you’re in the right spot and God is lavishing his love over y...

What hats do you wear? We’ve all heard the phrase “She wears many hats.” Maybe we’ve said it about ourselves or others. But do you know what is constant in this word picture about one person performing many roles? The head that the hats sit on. It’s such a simple concept - we remain the same in each job we do or season we’re in. But it isn’t simple at all, is it? If we think of our identity as the...

It’s mum time in Texas, y’all! Both the colorful garden flowers and the personalized faux floral and ribbon creations seen at Texas homecoming football games.  Get sidetracked with Cynthia and me this week as we decode what the kids are saying these days, design our own mums, and talk about the hard things life has thrown at us lately. We discuss the trap of comparison and we finally stop searchin...

What is our role in our children’s salvation?  It’s easy to hope in a formulaic approach for our kids’ salvation - to think if we just pray and have the family bible studies we’re guaranteed our kids will make an early decision to follow Jesus. But what about when they don’t? How do we stay “ok” when our kids are choosing the things we wouldn’t choose for them? How do we trust in God’s relentless...