MESSmerized - Funny and faith based encouragement in marriage , family , Christian parenting , and finding purpose

We are full-service here on MESSmerized as we transition out of back-to-school topics and jump to the other end of the age pendulum with aging parents.    Dr. Mary Norman joins us today with an incredibly wise and practical discussion on loving our aging parents well. She gives us considerations for immediate action if our parents are healthy today, as well as ways to be helpful if they require mo...

A show of hands for those who love Sissy Goff? (Picture me with both of my hands up. 😂)    Sissy is a Licensed Counselor from Nashville, Tennessee, and although she’s a frequent guest on CNN, GMA, and NBC Nightly News, she’s also just an amazing woman with an abundance of wisdom around anxiety and worry.    Recent statistics show that 5.6 million kids have been diagnosed with anxiety. And if a pa...

This week we’re continuing our back-to-school series with some key conversations to have with our kids before school gets rolling again. Over the years I’ve had the privilege of interviewing many of the top authorities in parenting, and I’m always reminded of the importance of knowing and speaking directly into our kids’ core needs.    With this in mind, I came up with three topics I want to cover...

We’re down on all fours and crawling towards the finish line of summer over here.    Barely scraping by.    It’s not all that surprising, except that every year my idealistic May-self is convinced this will be the summer where my dreams and expectations line up perfectly. The summer of family walks, lemonade stands, nightly devotionals, and a physical and spiritual renewing of our hearts and minds...

Hey Y'all! I'm back from vacation and let's just say the Yanof family did not return unscathed. There may or may not have been a fall, a black eye, and a little (lot) of humiliation amidst the fun of family vacation.  Nonetheless, I'm so excited about today's show because we've got the super hilarious and wise Steve Frissell joining us. Pastor Steve helps us walk through th...

Hello from Colorado!   We’re FINALLY on family vacation, and the high temps are in the 70s and the lows are in the 40s. I basically want to rededicate my life to Jesus, I’m so happy right now.    But I’m also excited for today’s show because it’s a free-flow of my thoughts around the book I’m reading on vacation (Atomic Habits) and the ways our habits shape our spiritual lives. I also share a litt...

Today’s episode is for all those craving deep, authentic friendships but instead find themselves in the spiral of people pleasing, overthinking, and questioning why you weren’t invited to the girls’ night out last weekend.  (Been there, done that ✔️)    Amy Weatherly is an author, speaker, and hilariously real advocate of deep, authentic friendships no matter the phase of life you’re walking. She...

What comes to mind when someone asks your feelings about church?  I feel like an outsider Life has gotten busy, and it’s hard to make time It’s full of hypocrisy that is sometimes hard to stomach Church people have hurt me more than anyone else I experience church at places that don’t have a big building and fancy landscapes  Sometimes I feel overlooked and undervalued at church   It doesn’t matte...

It’s summer and let’s be honest . . . . someone needs to start doing a little better job raising the kids in our house. (Or maybe that’s just the current situation in my house 😂). At some point over here we decided a swim in the pool constitutes bathing, and slushies are a food group. An intervention probably needs to be staged.    Either way, in honor of the dog-days of summer parenting we’re hi...

There’s some exciting news around here I’ve been waiting to share!    My dear friend Heather MacFadyen and host of the very popular Don’t Mom Alone podcast has asked me to be on her show for the next six weeks. We’re doing a summer of mentorship series and the first episode is out now. We’re covering all kinds of parenting tips as well as “important topics” like the time my son put a cherry bomb e...

In honor of Father’s Day, we’re talking about all things related to fathers, and we have none other than Louie Giglio joining us!    If you’ve listened to me speak much over the years, you know the impact Pastor Louie has had on my faith-walk. I had the opportunity to study the Bible under him in college, and then—full circle all these years later—I've been privileged to podcast him many times...

I just got back from a mission trip with my son, and there’s a few stories that need to be told. So we’re kicking off today’s show with a few things that made me laugh, as well as things that made me think from our trip. (And if you think my take-away is going to be uber-Spiritual, sadly it’s not. But it is funny and hopefully makes your summer feel a lot more normal after hearing what’s going on...

Callie Nixon is with us today, and you’re going to love her. She’s a sought after speaker, vocalist, and integral part of Jennie Allen’s IF:Gathering . But even more than that, she’s just one of us.    Callie is no stranger to walking the hard places in faith. And when I tell you the Lord put her in my life at the most unbelievably important time, well, it’s true. Today is a great conversation abo...

Have you ever heard a story that not only captivated you, but also changed your entire philosophy on how to live this life?    Other than the Bible, I had never experienced something like that until I met Darin Kinder.    Darin is a Secret Service Agent for the United States who has helped protect our last five presidents. He routinely works in over 38 countries and has more stories than the hours...

Welcome to our first season of MESSmerized!   We’re kicking off this shiny new podcast with a real and humorous conversation around the ways God unsettles us in order to gently move (or shove) us into new seasons.    The definition of mesmerized is “to hold the attention of someone to the exclusion of all else.”  So how do we focus on something more than our everyday struggles with approval, busyn...

Welcome to Cynthia Yanof’s newest podcast, MESSmerized.    Each week you’ll hear funny, authentic, and vulnerable conversations around everyday life, parenting, and following Jesus. A variety of guests will challenge us to pursue a life filled with the things that really do matter.   Cynthia Yanof is the host as well as an author, speaker, wife, and mother. She’s relatable, funny, and dead-set on...