#275: Motherhood vs. Victimhood (Feat McKenzie Reaume and Macy Robinson) Oct 30, 2024

Moms, are you living in a cycle of victimhood?

McKenzie Reaume and Macy Robinson (Manning. daughters #3 and #4) join Suz on today's podcast. This topic is one we believe will impact mothers all over the world.

Because let's face it....

Motherhood is hard and we are all prone to victimhood thoughts.

Things we discuss in the podcast:

What are the definitions and tendencies of healthy motherhood + victimhood
How do you know if you are living with a victimhood mind set?
Unpacking Mother Mary and her mindset on motherhood (she has revelations along the way we can learn from)
3 ways to change your mindset on motherhood

We challenge you to listen to this podcast and change your thinking! Every mother can feel like a victim - it's part of the enemy's plan to steal, kill, and destroy our families. We are giving you wise counsel and practical tips to help combat the schemes of the enemy.

Listen and share this episode today! We believe there are moms out there that need to hear this podcast - it could change your life!

Podcast Resources:

#274: The Value of Mentors Oct 23, 2024

Have you ever been mentored? Discipled? Coached? Counseled?

There are a lot of words for it these days but in today's episode we focus on Kingdom guidance - what does it look like and how do you access it?

Here are the main questions we unpack in Episode #274:

What is a mentor and how do we make sure we are getting Kingdom counsel/advice?
Don and Suz share personal mentoring experiences
3 reasons why parents should invest in mentorship
Mentoring within different season of life - how to navigate this

We believe EVERY PARENT benefits from mentoring. Life's questions aren't getting any simpler and we need older, wiser mentors to help us navigate marriage, kids, and more! If you are needing guidances or help making a family decision- this podcast will help inspire you to invest in mentorship. Listen and share today!

Podcast Resources:

#273: Insight into Rebelling Kids Oct 16, 2024

How do you Crazy Cool Parent that?

This is a new phrase (maybe even a verb) we are going to start using. Our heart is to give ALL parents Kingdom tools to help them be the best parents they can be. Our topic today is...

REBELLING KIDS – OH NO!!! HELP!!!

Do you have a 3-year-old who throws fits and runs away?
Are you at a loss of how to connect with your middle schooler about school, friends, and technology?
Do you have a teenager who is distant and rebelling against your family’s culture?

Here are the main points from today’s episode about “Rebelling Kids”

Why do kids rebel in the first place?
The world is appealing to our kids (and us) – what do we do about it?
How to involve Jesus in your kids' lives and make Him appealing
Rebellion provokes the “long game” in parenting
How we draw our kids in and not push them away when they rebel
The power of physical touch – it's an invitation for relationship!

We discuss scriptures, personal relationship with Jesus, and how you as a parent can love your child right where they are. It’s not about what you “should or shouldn’t do.” Instead, we share practical ways you can reach your rebellious child.

Pray – choose to fight for them in the unseen realm. Petition the Heavens for your children’s hearts. Enlist your kids to pray for each other – there's so much power in prayer!
Give encouragement and approval. Our kids long for our approval (even if they act like they don’t care). Go out of your way to find things they are doing RIGHT and tell them every day. Draw them in with kind words. Correction is necessary if they are rebelling, but encouragement needs to abound all the more.
Let natural consequence happen. Allow life’s consequences to take their toll. Seek God on ways to not shelter your child from the world’s hardships. This sounds backwards but when you let natural consequences run their course, you can come alongside them in the grief/pain and comfort them. We want our kids to have Godly sorrow which leads to repentance – changing their thinking/behavior.
Choose to stay in the fight. Don’t tap out and start ignoring your child when they start ignoring you. Press in and love them like Jesus would. Be radical in your parenting. Don't coddle but don’t let them stray.

Listen and share this with a friend who needs help with their rebelling child. Send us questions to podcast@crazycoolfamily.com if you have a specific situation, you want insight into. We are here for you! Let’s go Crazy Cool Parent our rebelling kids😊

Podcast Resources:

#272: Halloween - to Celebrate or Not? Oct 09, 2024

How do you celebrate Halloween as a family and is it bad to do?

First off, your family needs to personally seek God and obey what he is saying for your family. There is no right or wrong. Obeying God is top priority!

Secondly, if you do decide to dress up and go house to house here are some mindsets you can empower your kids with.

Focus on Light vs. Darkness: Emphasize themes of light, drawing from verses like John 1:5 ("The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it").
Use Halloween as a time to connect with neighbors and friends. Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages fellowship and building each other up, which can be reflected in community activities. Share the gospel or pray for people as you go door to door.
Encourage creative expression through costumes and decorations. This encourages creativity and imagination in them - and honestly it is just so fun to dress up.
Teach children about discernment, focusing on Philippians 4:8, which encourages thinking about things that are true, noble, and right. Discuss the difference between fun and fear and avoid anything that glorifies evil.

Email us (or comment on social media) your thoughts on this topic! As Christians, where should choose to be a light and where should we protect our kids? We get to invite God in and decide for our family! Share your thoughts and share this episode with a friend!

Podcast Resources:

#271 : Talking Every Man's Purpose and Where it is Found (Feat. Mark Lubbock) Oct 02, 2024

Mark Lubbock joins us to talk about relationships. If you are a husband, or man - this podcast is for you! BUT if you are a woman or wife, this will give you insight into your spouse like never before.

"Men want to earn respect and find value in life. They want an identity that is worth living in." - Mark Lubbock

Don and Mark unpack manhood and what men desire when it comes to a purposeful life. The take time in the podcast to discuss purpose, profession, and what men really want to live for.

Mark talks about the value of community for men when discovering their identity. It creates a brotherhood and ultimately creates development. Relationships create opportunity for belonging.

If you are looking for purpose (or seeking to understand your spouse's purpose) This podcast is for you! Listen and share with your friend!

Podcast Resources:

#270: God vs. Technology Sep 25, 2024

Who has your child's attention - God or AI?

“In today’s day and age- our kids can just ask AI “what does God look like?” and get an actual picture- is it accurate? NO! But so many things are being defined for our kids- how do we show them that following God/knowing Him is worth it and an adventure worth going on?!” - CCF Parent

Don and Suz unpack the realities of technology in our kids' lives and how it can affect raising kids. They share how different times were when they raised most of their kids BUT they have learned along the way how technology can hinder or help build family relationships.

Join them as they unpack ways you can help your kids desire the things of God over the things of the world. They share vision for your family and practical ways to set boundaries around technology.

"We must continuously show them God and that he is worth following. He is no comparison or competition with technology... it just seems that way because we must work a little harder in this world to see, know, access God." - Suz

If your family is struggling with technology - how to use it and how to not allow it to become an idol, then this is the podcast for you!

Check it out and share it with someone you know!

Podcast Resources:

#269: Celebrating Don’s 60th with 60 Second Relational-Parenting Tips! Sep 18, 2024

Today’s episode is special – we are celebrating Don’s 60th birthday! We are going to reminisce and share a few practical parenting tips in 60 seconds or less!

We believe God will inspire you with the values Don and Suz have learned over his 60 years of life! Here we go!

Relationship with God

Suz: Matt. 6:33 invites us to seek first his kingdom and all things will be added unto you.
Don: Take one next step and invest in family - worth it!

Marriage

Suz: Marriage is the foundational relationship in family. Go to bed together as a habit- creates time for pillow talk which connects the marriage.
Don: Stop controlling, instead, help spouse to be best version of themselves.

Parent to Kid

Suz: “They are just little people so treat them with honor & respect and they will treat you with honor & respect.”
Don: Realize how powerful words and tone are and use them to strengthen not damage.

Kid to Kid

Suz: Siblings can and should be best friends because the relationship as adults is unique because it carries the past, present and future.
Don: Role of older sibling is key and parents deposit the right vision in older kids.

Kid to God

Suz: We get to build kingdom on earth by the way we show God’s love to our kids.
Don: Teach our children to live on mission.

Share this podcast with anyone you know who needs a parenting boost today! Also, go donate to Crazy Cool Family for Don's birthday! We love each of you and are looking for faithful supporters as we continue to do what God's asks us to do for families!

Podcast Resources:

#268: A Day in the Life of a Mom (Feat. Macy Robinson) Sep 11, 2024

Today's episode targets a day in the life of a mom BUT even if you are a dad- this episode will still inspire and challenge you!

Suz is talking about her wheelhouse today. She has done thousands of hours at home with littles, middles, and bigs AND she has been in the workplace full time. The goal of today's episode is to inspire moms to thrive in the day to day of motherhood AND help families thrive in every ordinary day of your life/season.

Here are main points from today's episode:

Practical tips for making the day THE BEST (especially for stay-at-home moms)
Tricks to getting kid's energy out each day
Ways to rest and recharge throughout the day
"When husband gets home" dynamics and how to communicate expectations
Lots of other ideas/words of wisdom from Suz!

"As a mom, when you are home with your kids all day - the goal is to invite Jesus in and show our kids how to know/love Him along the way." - Macy Robinson

Suz shares her practical tips and tricks on mothering at home, in the workplace, and with your spouse. This episode is timely with Fall coming and the schedules starting to settle in. We don't want the season to pass us by- we want Jesus at the center and relationships to thrive! If you are struggling to thrive in your weekly routines, then this podcast is for you! Listen and share it with someone who needs wisdom in this area too!

Podcast Resources:

#267: Tackling Your Family's Core Issues (Feat. Abby Shields and Alicia Stickles) Sep 04, 2024

We are so excited to have Abby and Alicia from No Heart Left Behind on the podcast today. A good podcast with lots of good insight. They really have a focus -- like us -- of getting to the core issues in the heart of the parent and the heart of a child. We talked a lot first about the parent and then about the child. With the parent, we also talked about how to change our own heart through walking with Jesus and the role of friends/small groups in our lives.

When do we go for counseling?

How much should we depend on our close friendships in this process?

How can we help others?

With the kids, they talked a lot about helping the child feel like the matter to the parents. Difference between love and mattering. Also, she said three keys: Significance, belonging, security.  We dove deep into topics like connection, time and relationship. Talked about building our core and then helping our kids build their core.

Highlights from podcast:

No Heart Left Behind birth story
Personal testimonies
The value of counseling – methods they use to help families
Countless mic drop moments/words of wisdom😊

Check out all our resources + Abby and Alicia's website below!

Podcast Resources:

#266: 3 Ways to WIN at Family this Fall Aug 28, 2024

It’s the end of summer BUT the beginning of Fall! As we start the Fall, we wanted to highlight the 2024 Olympics and how it brings family together. The inspiration of hard work and celebration of wins is exciting! Our family loves competition and it has unified us throughout the years. Sports, we believe, are a way to win at family –it brings out our character (good and bad!) and forces us to be refined.

But if your family isn’t into sports- don't turn this podcast off! We are using the Olympics as an example of the power of training + winning. We want to help your family WIN this Fall.

Listen to the 3 ways we challenge you to fight and win!

Do you want to WIN at family? We believe you can “get the gold” this Fall with every relationship in your family. This podcast gives you practical takeaways to start building your best family today!

3 Ways to WIN at family:

Invite God into your family’s season
Choose to be a learner of family
Strengthen and Cultivate WEEKLY

Here are the highlights from today’s episode:

Family is something we fight for and can win at!
Practical things to value when trying to win at family
How to build a vision for family
Being intentional about your days and investing in each relationship
Hearing God and asking Him to help you win at family
Being a learner of family – forever!
CCF Resources to buy – they will set you up for success!

Podcast Resources:

#265: 6 Ways to Spark Faith in Your Family this Summer - Living Out His Mission Aug 21, 2024

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Welcome to summer 2024 – there will never be another summer like this one. Your kids will never be this age, your family season will never be like this again and we want to use this special summer season to do some building.

We are devoting the summer to building faith, connecting with family, and making every day intentional and FUN!

If this is something you want – then the next 6 podcasts are for you! We are launching the series today and we will release 1 episode every other week until late August.

Each week we will share a new way to build your family’s faith and strengthen the relational lines within the family. Our relationship with Jesus is the cornerstone to all other relational lines within family! He helps us know how to love each other best!

Week 1: Encountering His Presence
Week 2: Engaging His Word
Week 3: Walking with Him
Week 4: Hearing His Voice
Week 5: Building Our Faith
Week 6: Living Out His Mission

We intentionally slow down our podcasts in the summertime because it allows families to rest, enjoy each other, and practice the concepts we unpack over a few weeks!

Week 6: Living Out His Mission

Main Ideas from this episode:

The value of living on mission with your family
Building a culture of mission/loving others within your family
Understanding God's mission and exposing your kids to the purposes of God
How mission creates spiritual experiences and connection with God
Mission supernaturally strengthens relationships
Practical ways to live on mission as a family

Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!

Podcast Resources:

#264: 6 Ways to Spark Faith in Your Family this Summer - Building Our Faith Aug 07, 2024

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Welcome to summer 2024 – there will never be another summer like this one. Your kids will never be this age, your family season will never be like this again and we want to use this special summer season to do some building.

We are devoting the summer to building faith, connecting with family, and making every day intentional and FUN!

If this is something you want – then the next 6 podcasts are for you! We are launching the series today and we will release 1 episode every other week until late August.

Each week we will share a new way to build your family’s faith and strengthen the relational lines within the family. Our relationship with Jesus is the cornerstone to all other relational lines within family! He helps us know how to love each other best!

Week 1: Encountering His Presence
Week 2: Engaging His Word
Week 3: Walking with Him
Week 4: Hearing His Voice
Week 5: Building Our Faith
Week 6: Living Out His Mission

We intentionally slow down our podcasts in the summertime because it allows families to rest, enjoy each other, and practice the concepts we unpack over a few weeks!

Week 5: Building Our Faith

Main Ideas from this episode:

Stepping into our God-given identity as a parent - we go FIRST!
We each share our testimonies
How to lean into God through the troublesome times
Establishing Pillars of Faith in your family
Being a learner of God for all of your life
Practical ways to hear God (for you and for your family)

Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!

Podcast Resources:

#263: 6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer - Hearing His Voice Jul 24, 2024

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Welcome to summer 2024 – there will never be another summer like this one. Your kids will never be this age, your family season will never be like this again and we want to use this special summer season to do some building.

We are devoting the summer to building faith, connecting with family, and making every day intentional and FUN!

If this is something you want – then the next 6 podcasts are for you! We are launching the series today and we will release 1 episode every other week until late August.

Each week we will share a new way to build your family’s faith and strengthen the relational lines within the family. Our relationship with Jesus is the cornerstone to all other relational lines within family! He helps us know how to love each other best!

Week 1: Encountering His Presence
Week 2: Engaging His Word
Week 3: Walking with Him
Week 4: Hearing His Voice
Week 5: Building Our Faith
Week 6: Living Out His Mission

We intentionally slow down our podcasts in the summertime because it allows families to rest, enjoy each other, and practice the concepts we unpack over a few weeks!

Week 4: Hearing His Voice

Main Ideas from this episode:

Why equipping our kids to hear God is SO POWERFUL!
Ways to hear God's voice and teach it to your kids
How to invite your (little) kids into hearing God - talking to God along the way!
Inviting (middle) kids into the conversation with God when making decisions
Teaching siblings how to hear God on behalf of their siblings (encouraging words, pictures, etc..)
Discipling (older) kids on waiting with the Lord and living in the world BUT not of it

Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!

Podcast Resources:

#262: 6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer - Walking With Him Jul 10, 2024

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Welcome to summer 2024 – there will never be another summer like this one. Your kids will never be this age, your family season will never be like this again and we want to use this special summer season to do some building.

We are devoting the summer to building faith, connecting with family, and making every day intentional and FUN!

Week 1: Encountering His Presence
Week 2: Engaging His Word
Week 3: Walking with Him
Week 4: Hearing His Voice
Week 5: Building Our Faith
Week 6: Living Out His Mission

We intentionally slow down our podcasts in the summertime because it allows families to rest, enjoy each other, and practice the concepts we unpack over a few weeks!

Week 3: Walking With Him

Main Ideas from this episode:

Why and how do we walk with God - it's SO important, but why...?
How to include Jesus in your daily life
Living a faith-filled example for our kids and showing them a personal relationship with Jesus
Kids want to see your failures AND victories
The cause and effect of walking with Jesus
Practical ways to show your kids how to walk with God - at every age!

Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!

Podcast Resources:

#261: 6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer - Engaging His Word Jun 26, 2024

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Welcome to summer 2024 – there will never be another summer like this one. Your kids will never be this age, your family season will never be like this again and we want to use this special summer season to do some building.

We are devoting the summer to building faith, connecting with family, and making every day intentional and FUN!

If this is something you want – then the next 6 podcasts are for you! We are launching the series today and we will release 1 episode every other week until late August.

Each week we will share a new way to build your family’s faith and strengthen the relational lines within the family. Our relationship with Jesus is the cornerstone to all other relational lines within family! He helps us know how to love each other best!

Week 1: Encountering His Presence
Week 2: Engaging His Word
Week 3: Walking with Him
Week 4: Hearing His Voice
Week 5: Building Our Faith
Week 6: Living Out His Mission

We intentionally slow down our podcasts in the summertime because it allows families to rest, enjoy each other, and practice the concepts we unpack over a few weeks!

Week 2: Engaging His Word

Main Ideas from this episode:

Why the Word of God is still relevant for families
Why is it important for us to value the ancient words of God?
The Bible is more than rules, it's about relationship
Practical ways to help your kids LOVE the word of God

Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!

Podcast Resources:

#260: 6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer - Encountering HIS Presence Jun 12, 2024

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Welcome to summer 2024 – there will never be another summer like this one. Your kids will never be this age, your family season will never be like this again and we want to use this special summer season to do some building.

We are devoting the summer to building faith, connecting with family, and making every day intentional and FUN!

If this is something you want – then the next 6 podcasts are for you! We are launching the series today and we will release 1 episode every other week until late August.

Each week we will share a new way to build your family’s faith and strengthen the relational lines within the family. Our relationship with Jesus is the cornerstone to all other relational lines within family! He helps us know how to love each other best!

Week 1: Encountering His Presence
Week 2: Engaging His Word
Week 3: Walking with Him
Week 4: Hearing His Voice
Week 5: Building Our Faith
Week 6: Living Out His Mission

We intentionally slow down our podcasts in the summertime because it allows families to rest, enjoy each other, and practice the concepts we unpack over a few weeks!

Week 1: Encountering His Presence

Main Ideas from this episode:

What does the presence of God look like?
What does the presence of God look like in our homes during the summer?
What do parents do if they don’t know how to encounter God’s presence on their own? Where should they start?
How do parents invite God into each day? How do they show their kids?
Summer resources to build your personal relationship with God!

We kick off with this topic because we really want you to practice it all summer! Go for it and bring the Presence of God into your home TODAY!

Podcast Resources:

#259: Capturing Your Child’s Heart this Summer May 29, 2024

It’s summertime and we cannot wait to help you make the most of your summer! Parents, this season is not made to survive- It's made for investment!

“Summer is a special time. It’s set apart and different. There is a bit of a break and a great chance for kids to be at home and with their parents. It’s needed in a lot of ways for your child’s heart.” - Suz

FIRST THINGS FIRST! Ask your kids what they want summer to hold- see what they want to do and do your best to make some of those things happen!

3 Ways to Invest in family this summer:

1. Speak more life than death

Start with a yes (build a world of yes)
Encourage, build up, invest in identity (You are a mighty man of God, so helpful, kind to sibling, smart, clever, talented).
Speak forth what is not as if it is. Call them up to the actions you want

2. Invest in making memories

Think of your happy childhood memories and build from them
Ingredients for a memory: fun, laughter, activity, productivity, creativity, adventure
Add water to summer fun
Don’t be afraid to make a mess
Be intentional
Embrace the chaos

3. Choose family first

Give family space each week to hang out with each other (slow down with activities and friend hang outs)
See summer as a gift of time to invest in the relationships that might be a little broken

This is the only summer 2024 we get- let's make the most of it and invest in family this summer!

Podcast Resources:

#258: Cultivating Harmony Between Parents & Grandparents May 22, 2024

Let's continue with the grandparent conversation!

We have 8 grandchildren (4 boys and 4 girls) and are learning so much about grand parenting! We wanted to bring the relational line to the front and talk about how to have harmony between parents and grandparents!

Main topics of this podcast:

Parenting vs. Grandparent leadership dynamics
How grandparents can be honoring and value the family's culture
Grandparent's unique position of influence
How to be honest with your parents (grandparents) when it comes to gifts for kids
Setting boundaries for grandparents with your kids - how to do it!

The goal of this relational dynamic is.... HONOR. Find ways to honor the grandparents and have conversations asking for honor in return. Family is worth it, and we can find a way to include the generations in our family culture. Do what it takes to have the relationship AND be strategic with the freedoms you give!

Podcast Resources:

#257: Calling All Grandparents! (Feat. Larry Fowler) May 15, 2024

Calling All Grandparents!!!

Larry Fowler joins us. He is the founder of the Legacy Coalition which invests specifically in grandparents. He has been in ministry for over 40 years and really cares about the role of grandparents within family.

Legacy Coalition started in 2016 and is designed with grandparents in mind. Larry Fowler and his wife felt a nudge from God to start this ministry and fill in the gaps within the church where grandparents exist – because they are worth investing in!

“Navigating issues from the parent’s perspective AND the grandparent's perspective is pivotal.” - Larry Fowler

2 Main Ideas:

When grandparents aren’t believers and don’t influence the kids the way the parents want them to...
How are parents/grandparents partner successfully when it comes to raising the kids?

Here are things we discuss in the podcast:

Consistency is key. Some grandparents want to spoil their kids, and some are rule followers. In both cases, these grandparents need to try to build consistency with their kids who are now parents.
There is a biblical model for grandparents. They don’t stop parenting, but they do stop being the primary caregivers. They have more of an influence role.
Does what they are doing engage the relationship or damage the relationship?
Grandparents can have great influence in the world of technology by engaging their grandkids by asking them questions and letting them explain technology to them rather than complaining about the kids’ usage of technology.

“Grandparents, you are still a parent (noun) but are no longer parenting (verb) the grandkids.” - Larry Fowler

Legacy Coalition is an amazing resource for parents AND grandparents – if you need help, click the link below for more information.

Podcast Resources:

#256: Need a Better Chore System? (Feat. Macy Robinson) May 08, 2024

Today's Topic = Do’s and Don’ts of House Cleaning Systems

We got a great question from a Crazy Cool Parent recently and we decided to make it a podcast! Here is what he asked,

"What is your advice about chores & rewards/allowance? We have 6 kids (ages 2-9) and we're really struggling with getting a workable chore plan.....Would love any resources you have on this!" -Crazy Cool Parent

Here is what we cover in today's episode:

Kids attitude is work/chores are not fun. “I don’t want to do it.”
Work is necessary. How do we get our kids to believe/live out this idea?
What chore plans used in the past? Favorite one? Least fav?
How did you get your kids to care about if the house was clean?
How did you get them to clean up after themselves?
Building Culture amidst the mess

If you are looking for better systems in your home when it comes to. cleaning. chores, and better habits, this podcast is for you! Suz and Macy share ideas, mindsets, and practical systems you can try TODAY! Listen and share with a friend!

Podcast Resources:

#255: Parenting & Play Therapy (Feat. McKenzie Reaume) May 01, 2024

“Play is their language; toy is their words.” - Kenzie

Our 4th daughter, McKenzie joins the podcast today and PARENTS- YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS EPISODE. There are so many valuable tools, mindsets, and words of wisdom shared by Kenzie. She is passionate about giving kids language and helping parents strengthen family relationships.

“If you play with them when they are little, they will feel safe when they are older.” - Suz

Topics:

How playing draws out a child
Counselor's role in play therapy
Allowing space for the work to unfold
How to know if counseling is needed
Identifying emotions and helping kids have language skills
Other, parent included therapy options
Being a present parent during the counseling season

Questions to ask counselor:

Any personal “need to know” about counselor
Resources you can have to help child post session
What does confidentiality look like?
Knowing more about the process
Asking to see the playroom
How to honor the process post session

Resources:

Raising Emotionally Strong Boys
The Whole Brainchild
Deeray (Author) has lots of helpful books

Podcast Resources:

#254: The Universal Impact of Special Needs on a Family (Feat Steve and Katie Keene) Apr 24, 2024

How do we talk about special needs within families?

Humbly and with kindness. This topic can be sensitive and a lot of people do not know how to approach it. We invited Katie and Steve Keene onto today’s episode because they carry wisdom, experience, and passion for families who have special needs kids.

Keene’s first son created a life they didn’t expect and brought special needs into their family. They’ve been married 23 years and have 5 children. They love all their kids and admit to the hardships their family faces due to special needs. BUT they have not let it discourage them - instead they are investing in family and helping other families do the same! They feel called outward to help families who were also struggling. They started a membership site and podcast as an avenue to help families have community.

Steve and Katie Keene join us to talk about a unique and often sensitive topic within the family. They have experience with special needs children and have a passion for families with special needs children. Katie shares about the definition of special needs and how we are sensitive to it. There are so many needs impacting families daily. Steve dives deep into the power of asking, listening, and being willing to serve families such as theirs. Everything they say is insightful and practical!

Here are things talks about in this episode:

How special needs impacts family
Parenting kids with high needs
The value of community amidst raising kids with challenges

How can you help families with kids who have special needs?

Ask AND keep asking!
Truly listen to their needs and help them!
Offer to help them in their homes
Be transparent, don’t try to equate it to your life problems
Don’t talk about yourself, listen to them – go further!
Keep inviting them to events, even if you know they can’t come

Katie and Steve have lots of ways they help families with special needs children. They value community and desire for every family to feel loved, known, and equipped to love their child, no matter what challenges they face. Check out their link below to learn how you can help or be helped in this area of family.

Podcast Resources:

#253: Relating to Littles, Middles, and Bigs - Do You Want Respect? Apr 17, 2024

Do you want respect from your kids?

We valued this in our home, but what did it look like? Does respect equate to obedience? Talking in the correct tone and verbiage? If you want your kids to “Respect” you, there are a few things you need to consider investing in. In today’s episode we are going to discuss the battle for respect within a home. It looks different for every child at every age.

If respect is a constant battle in your home, then this episode is for you! Let’s jump in!

Things to unpack:

What is your definition of respect?

How did this play out in your home when you had small kids?
- Get on their eye level and use your words to direct them.
- Show them respect when changing activities, treat them older than they are- like people not like lesser than.
Middle aged?
- Give them more responsibilities and opportunities to be given respect
And now older kids?
- As a parent you are building respect in the younger years for this season! Now is the time to talk with respect to your child.
- Use questions, conversation, mistakes to grow respect.

What is at the heart of respect?
- To like and value someone .

What is it about for the small, middle-aged, and older kid?
- How do we find the root issue? (these are good but we did not address this... remember for another time)

How did you correct your kids when they “disrespected” you?
- Point it out- call it disrespect, and above all else be an example of respecting them first!

Verses:

Proverbs 23:22 - Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Proverbs 1:8-9 - Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. (9) They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Exodus 20:12 - Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Conclusion:

What are 1-2 ways parents can cultivate mutual respectfulness in their homes? What do they do if they feel like it’s hopeless and their kids can’t unlearn their behaviors?

Clear the slate: Ask for forgiveness
Pay attention to your tone & facial expressions
Have a conversation to define respect and the desire for it in your relationships

Podcast Resources:

#252: What is Biblical Accountability (feat. Rod Handley) Apr 14, 2024

Rod Handley joins the podcast to talk about character, integrity, and accountability.

He has been in FCA ministry for many years and has devoted his life to the Kingdom. He has had many decades of faithful service and we can learn a lot from his faith and wisdom.

The word of the day is accountability. Rob talks about it in depth. Through his own journey with purity, he shares the supernatural power of God and how He uses accountability to bring believers together and pursue righteousness.

Here is what we discuss in today's episode:

Definition of BIBLICAL accountability.
How/Why God made Rob passionate about accountability.
Practical ways to live in accountability.
How accountability can change the trajectory of your life.
The power of saying YES instead of "stop it."
How to teach accountability to your children.

At the end of the day, scripture is clear that we cannot do this life on our own. We are not designed to live alone and remain holy. We need the personal relationship with God AND the accountability with people. Rob is passionate about accountability because he has seen the fruit in his life.

Practical Tips fro

Lead with your lamp
Don't freak out
Hear and process what we hear from our kids to bring freedom

How can you live in accountability today?

Check out Rob's resources if you want to go deeper with this topic for you and for your family.

Podcast Resources:

#251: How to be a Team When Parenting Your Kids Apr 10, 2024

Do you feel like you have differences in discipline? How do you handle a disengaged spouse in a family?

Don and Suz talk about the HOT topic of different parenting styles. If you are feeling alone in parenting or on a different team than your spouse - then this podcast is for you!

Things we talk about in this episode:

Building your parenting foundation together
How to be a team in parenting decisions
Focusing on values not methods (explanation is POWERFUL!)
Learning from our mistakes and avoid disunity in your parenting

There are so many ways we can feel alone or on different pages when it comes to parenting with our spouse. We want you to learn from our mistakes. We share things in this podcast that will help you rethink parenting, being a supportive teammate, and discipling our kids in a way that builds relationships.

We also speak specifically to the spouse who is carrying the relational load, and their spouse is checked out. If you can relate to this, listen to the podcast and really tune into the last 10-15 minutes - they are recorded for you. You are not alone and there is a lot of good truth in this episode to inspire and challenge you.

Take in the truth today and share it with a friend who needs help in this area of parenting.

Podcast Resources:

#250: Celebration is Simple, Biblical, and Powerful Apr 03, 2024

Big Milestone this week! Today's episode is all about...

Celebration! Let's Celebrate! It's Episode #250 and we are so thankful for all the listeners who have stuck with us through 6 seasons and hopefully a lot of encouragement!

Today's topic is celebration. We believe celebration is BIBLICAL and so worth it for your family. When you choose to celebrate, your family feels valuable and learns more about their individual identity AND your family's culture.

"Celebration is tied to theology. People in the Bible celebrated the goodness of God. Celebration is stopping and seeing how GOOD God has been!" - Don

Things we cover in this episode:

How did we celebrate milestones within our family?
Going all out (even on a budget) to celebrate one member of the family
Showing our kids how celebration is really about honor
Celebration + Tradition = Family Culture
Know your child and how they want to be celebrated
How do simplify celebration and not set too high of expectations on your self

Parents, we invite you to be intentional in your celebration as we head into Spring + Summer. This is a chance for us to love on our family members and create joy in our home.

Go and celebrate this week and see how it changes the dynamics in your family.

Podcast Resources:

#249: Choosing NOT to Live in the Middle (Feat. Shiraz Siddique) Mar 27, 2024

Are you looking for something more? Tired of living in complacency?

Shiraz is passionate about helping people thrive in work and ministry. His focus is on helping people balance serving the local church and being passionate about the Kingdom of God. We were not made to be comfortable living in the middle – we are called to be passionate about the purpose God has given us.

Shiraz talks about the heart behind helping people be kingdom minded AND thrive in the business spheres. If you feel like there is more to life than this podcast is designed to inspire and equip you to think higher and live passionate about God’s purposes with the time you have here on earth.

Things talked about in the podcast:

Kingdom values in the workplace
How focusing on the Kingdom helps your workplace
No such thing as work-life balance, so what do you do?
Taking ownership of God’s plan for your life
Purpose comes from intimacy with God

“We can’t live in the middle – it's dangerous. When you know, you are called to do something, we need to take the heart of a courageous one and do something about it.” - Shiraz

Podcast Resources:

#248: How to lead your family and WIN! (Feat. Cory Carlson) Mar 26, 2024

Are you winning at family?

We have a BONUS podcast today with our friend, Cory Carlson. He is a life coach, father, husband, and passionate man of God. He loves helping people deepen relationships and accomplish life goals.

Things we talk about in the podcast:

How do you know if you’re winning or losing at work and at home?
Valuing one on one time with each person in your family
Intensity awareness within family
The value of intentionality with family relationships
The power of think time – what is it and how do you start benefiting from it today

Everything Cory says will inspire and challenge you to live your best life, not just for you but for everyone in your family. He will give you helpful mindsets and tools to build your best family. If you want more from Cory – check out his resources in the links below.

Podcast Resources:

#247: Relating to Littles, Middles, and Bigs - Learning to Wait Well Mar 20, 2024

We are back with the Littles, Middles, and Bigs conversation and the topic we are breaking down is – waiting!

There are so many scriptures that help us show our kids God’s way to wait. If your child struggles with patience or waiting well – then start by reading through these scriptures to equip yourself with TRUTH to teach your kids from.

Ephesians 4:32
Psalm 21:14
Isaiah 40:31
Psalm 37:7
Galatians 6:9

“Waiting with God is a good thing and teaching our kids to wait is essential.” - Suz

How do you teach your Littles, Middles, and Bigs to wait? Here are a few practical tips for each age group. Check them out and apply them to your kids

Littles:

Share the plan and remind them why we are waiting/how long we need to wait
Recognize the battle of wills and don’t allow it to generate anger
Give them something practical to do while they wait

Middles:

Realize it’s more about emotional and spiritual maturity
How we can come alongside them and expose them to the things of the world
The goal is to be informed not permissive when it comes to things of the world
Reminding your child that you are for them

Bigs:

Realize they want to do things they are not physically ready to do
Teach waiting by showing how you value them + a relationship with them
Don't wait too long to be done waiting

No matter what season your children are in, waiting is part of their everyday life. As parents, when we learn how to steward the “waiting seasons” well, we build strong relationships with our kids.

So, go parents and practice waiting well with your kids! When done well, it will help your kids mature physically, emotionally, and spiritually!

“On the other side of waiting is goodness.” - Suz

Podcast Resources:

#246: Afraid Your Child Doesn't Want to Know God? Mar 13, 2024

What do you do if your child does not know God?

Today we are unpacking the Kid-God line and as parents, we get the first and deepest opportunity to show our kids Jesus BUT it is not up to us to make the decision for them.

“What we want is for our kids to KNOW God, not just know about him - but really really know Him for themselves.” - Suz

Main things we discuss:

A child’s faith timeline
Create space for child to build their own relationship with God
How God uses the fear of our kids not knowing Him
Selling Jesus to our kids – we MUST!

“God wants your children to know Him MORE than you do! When we believe this, we get to partner with God and work within HIS plan for our child’s faith.” - Suz

This episode unpacks practical ways for you to sell Jesus to your kids without forcing a relationship on them – or worse – expecting and judging our kids into knowing God. Following Jesus is relational and when we focus on this aspect of Christianity, our kids are attracted to it. Even in middle school and on, they are wired and designed for relationships. When you show them a loving, present, gracious God – they will want to know more!

A few ways to invest in the Kid-God relational line:

Create space for curiosity
Get on your knees and pray against the enemy
Share your testimony and why you love following God
NEVER GIVE UP

Lastly, we unpack the ALIVE method. This is a CCF acronym we fully explain in our Building Family Relationships Guide. If you want to learn more about the ALIVE method, buy the guides today!

Podcast Resources:

#245: Talking Motherhood (feat. McKenzie Reaume and Macy Robinson) Mar 06, 2024

New to motherhood?

Suz is joined by McKenzie and Macy (daughters #3 and #4) to talk about becoming a mom. They both recently had baby girls and are fresh in the motherhood journey. If you are planning to have a family, pregnant, or recently had a child, this podcast will encourage and challenge you.

Here are main points from today's episode:

How to grasp time when entering motherhood
How to thrive after pregnancy and birth
The value of community when building a family
Inner healing for births and how to do it
Celebrating a baby's development and soaking it all up
Similarities between mothers and Holy Spirit

There is so much change that comes in the transition of motherhood. If you feel vulnerable, alone, or worried about any aspect of motherhood - we are here with you. We believe God wants to show you His love, character, and plan through becoming a mother.

Macy shared how God is rewriting her identity as she steps in to motherhood - specifically her self-worth. She is seeing breakthrough slowly and deeply. McKenzie said God is showing her how the waiting is worth it and when you need breakthrough, it is close - keep enduring well and find Him in the midst of the struggle.

God designed marriage and building a family to help us depend on Him desperately. No matter where you are on your parenting journey, we encourage you to strengthen your relationship with God and you will see breakthrough. You can do it new moms! We are in this adventure together.

Please reach out with anyway we can pray for you OR questions you have about stepping into motherhood.

Podcast Resources:

#244: Marriage Coaching and Intensives (Feat. Bruce McCracken) Feb 28, 2024

Are you looking for a way to invest in your marriage?

When marriages are neglected they often affect the entire family.

Is your marriage okay but not thriving?

Join Don as he interviews Bruce McCracken, a family pastor and marriage coach. He loves the American family and felt called to reach families when he was 19 years old.

Don and Bruce discuss marriage intensives and coaching opportunities for marriages at any stage or season.

If you are looking for a way to invest in your marriage- this podcast is for you!

Podcast Resources:

#243: Getting Your Kids to Invest in Each Other (Feat. Madeline Jones) Feb 21, 2024

Need creative ways to get your kids to like each other?

Don, Suz, and Madeline talk about relationships- specifically the sibling relational line. Madeline is a product of Don and Suz taking this value seriously because she can truly say her siblings are some of her very best friends.

Here are a few gold nuggets from the podcast:

How we (the Mannings) valued siblings as best friends
Evaluate each sibling relationship and see where more investment is needed
Siblings love each other, even when they don’t like each other
How to keep kindness within the sibling relationship – is it okay to be firm??

If you have kids who are struggling to love each other (or even like each other) - this podcast is a great place to start! If you want more guidance on how to build up the kid-kid relational line, check out our Building Family Relationship Guide – available now on Amazon AND in the CCF Store!!

Podcast Resources:

#242: BONUS Episode - Healing Marriages in EVERY Season (Feat. Nick and Haley Teixeria) Feb 18, 2024

Single? Dating? Engaged? Married? STARTING TO HAVE KIDS?

No matter where you are on your marriage relational journey, this podcast is for you!

Nick and Haley Teixeria have seen God restore and build so many things within their marriage relationship. God placed in their hearts to start their podcast, Thriving Relationships for His Kingdom, to help people see the fruit in relationships – especially the ones God gave us to steward.

Nick and Haley are helping people kick off their marriage right!

Don, Haley, and Nick discuss the raw truths about marriage and how you can prepare well for marriage. No matter where you are in this relational line – single, dating, engaged, or married – this podcast will inspire you to pursue healing for yourself and for your marriage.

Here are topics they discuss in the podcast:

Preparing for marriage BEFORE you are married
The shift from marriage to marriage PLUS parenting
How to transform family and break off lies from enemy about relationships
Working through victimhood
Working with a spouse who is different from you
Working with others through first years of transitions into parenthood
How to value time as you step into parenthood
Keeping God at the center of marriage as you become parents

“Having kids will NOT fix your marriage – that is insanity!” - Haley

Main points:

Manage emotional changes
Navigate relational changes
Keep God at the center of all family relationships

Bottom line is Haley and Nick desire couples to prepare well for marriage and parenting. Their podcast and groups are designed with the marriage relationship in mind. We love their heart and commitment to marriages. If you want to invest in your marriage – start connecting with the Teixeria’s today!

Podcast Resources:

#241: Loving on Your Marriage Feb 14, 2024

Happy Valentine's Day, Parents!

Ready to love on your marriage this week?

Don and Suz answer your questions about how to take care of your marriage. If you are looking for inspiration and practical ways to build your marriage relationship line- this podcast is made for you!

Questions we’ve gotten about marriage:

How do you invest time in your marriage?

1. Get date nights with your spouse!! It’s so valuable to spend intentional times with your spouse and if finances if a hindrance, get creative and find friends who would kid trade for a night. The benefits of being away from kids for an extended period of time can help create connections and a space to dream about your family’s future.

“Men often care about building a life with their teammate and investing in the marriage relationship by dreaming about what is next.” - Suz

“Women love getting a break from the constant needs and it fills up their cup. And we love having adult conversation.” - Suz

“Date nights are a must – if you don’t feel connected to your spouse – date nights are essential.” -Don and Suz

2. Go to bed together! Suzanne remembers asking Don to go to bed with her. She remembers her parents didn’t and she valued the sacrifice Don made to stay up later than he planned to spend a few moments processing with Suz before bed. It will change in certain seasons but going to bed together creates space for connection.

3.Sit by each other. A lot of parents are bookends for their kids (playing defense) but we chose to sit together no matter what. So much so it feels weird when we don’t sit next to each other.

4. Get your kids out of your bed!! This may be easier said then done (or controversial in today's society) BUT it gives both spouses a better chance of getting lucky😊 AND its a sacred space for connection between husband and wife.

How do you “learn” your spouse?

"Learning each other was essential in our first decade of marriage because we did not know how the other person operated. It took time to figure each other out but it was worth it! Often conflict and decision making were the main ways we learned how the other one operated." Suz

Don remembers the marriage getting better by the decade and working hard to understand each other’s differences is to our benefit, not detriment.

Both Don and Suz use the eneagram to help them learn their spouse. The 5 Love Languages also helped them know how to love and interact with their spouse in any given season.

No matter how old your marriage is, the goal is to be good to each other and build a life together you can submit to God when you reach Heaven.

A great question to ask yourself, is “what are you doing to take care of your marriage? How are you investing and finding new tools to help you have the best marriage possible.”

One of Suz’s favorite things is the shift in their humility- they went from always thinking their way was the right way. Now it is more of a place of connections. She feels like they come into situations with more of an open mind and heart to hear the other person out and decide together.

“When you accept your spouse, they will feel more accepted.” - Don

It’s simple but changing your perspective of how your spouse should act, respond, or love is essential to helping your marriage thrive. As a spouse, it is powerful to work on ourselves and change our perspective when our spouse interacts with us.

Main point: look at intent.

It’s not often the spouse is trying to deliberately hurt the other spouse. Our perspective needs to be benefit of the doubt instead of offense. It allows us to be kinder and more compassionate.

“A common phrase we say is, ‘we are on the same team- they are for me!’” - Suz

This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to insights from Don and Suz's 30+ years of marriage. Hopefully you heard one takeaway you can start practicing TODAY!

Podcast Resources:

#240: Raising Little Boys (feat. Mollie Torres & Madeline Jones) Feb 07, 2024

Are you a boy mom?

Mollie and Madeline (or first and second daughter) join Suz to talk about the honor of raising boys. They both have little boys and are pregnant with more boys! As a mom, today, we need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to raise mighty men of God.

Mollie and Madeline share their insights and struggles to raising 5 (and almost 5) year olds.

Bash is strong willed, emotional, and a collector😊

Truett is driven, curious, and loves sports.

God made both boys in HIS image and allowed Mollie and Madeline + their husbands the honor of raising them up to be like Jesus.

If you want to have a strong, fruitful relationship with your son, this podcast is a great place to start! Listen as each woman shares her revelations from God about mothering a son.

“God, show us how to parent your child.” -Mollie

Main Points:

Raising emotional sons + how to love them without catering to every emotion
Asking husband to help in areas you don’t understand
Training boys to have authority and honor
Getting them on your team + be a protector
Learning what they are interested in + building relationships
Walking with Holy Spirit + what to pray for them
Battling society when raising men of God

Want more insight on building relationships? Check out our Relationship and Culture Guides! Now available on Amazon!

Podcast Resources:

#239: It's NOT too Late for Your Marriage (Feat. Dr. Wyatt Fisher) Jan 31, 2024

Ready to talk marriage?

Join Don and Dr. Wyatt as they discuss marriage, intimacy, and practical ways to work on your marriage – no matter the season!

Dr. Fisher shares from experience about his troubled marriage and the power of God’s redeeming love. He gives hope (and practical tools) for any marriage.

Listen as him and Don explore the ups and downs of marriage and how husbands and wives can lean into what God is saying to bring restoration.

If you, or someone you know is having marriage struggles, this podcast is worth the listen!

Podcast Resources:

#238: Relating to Littles, Middles, and Bigs - Lying & Building Trust Jan 24, 2024

Did you lie as a kid? We did!

Do your kids lie? Ours did!

We are taking a "hot parenting" topic and breaking it down for littles, middles, and bigs. Today’s topic is Stopping Lying and Building Trust.

Do you want to have honest kids? We hope so!

Do you want your kids to trust you and share what is going on in their world? We do too!

Don and Suz discuss so many valuable parenting tools in today’s episode. If your kids are struggling with valuing the truth, this episode is for you!

Here are a few things they discussed:

What is the motivation for the lie?

Kids don’t feel safe
Afraid parents will overreact
Don’t want to get in trouble/face the consequences so the lie is more favorable than the truth
They want to be accepted by others or to protect others
They don’t feel good about themselves, so they lie about their achievements- stop this lie by speaking into their identity

The main reason kid’s lie is they want their parent’s approval over whatever the thing is they are lying about. They want our approval more than they want the truth - isn't that wild? So what do we do as parents? We must make telling the truth valuable. We cannot get angry when our children lie or they will continue to lie. Our reaction directly determines the continues behavior of lying or not.

How this applies to Littles, Middles, and Bigs:

For ALL ages: Don’t label your child a liar. Speak who they are and that’s who they will be
Littles lie to protect themselves and feel out boundaries
Middles lie out of insecurity of self, world, don’t know what to do, relationship with parents not open & safe
Bigs lie because of trust in parents, world is telling them not to tell parents

Final Thoughts:

Building trust with each age group
How to respond when you find out they are lying
Know that deep down kids want to tell their parents all the things so it’s our role to help them do that despite what the world says, how they feel, how we respond. We get to walk along beside them as they face the world

Podcast Resources:

#237: What it Takes to Do January Right! Jan 17, 2024

How is your January going...?

We are already 1/2 way through January, but we think it's time to Stop. Pause. Reset.

Don and Suz unpack a timely word for 2024 which can help you have your BEST January yet.

Here are a few things they discuss in today's episode:

Give yourself space to get back into a rhythm
How do we as parents, connect with our kids as we kick off the year
Letting January be a space where we build up our child
January = a month where you listen to your child instead of lecture them

Isaiah 43:19 says, "Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert (our underline)."

How do we allow God to do a new thing in our family as we start 2024:

Creating space for conversation and connection
Set January aside like a tithe to the Lord
Make conversation about THEM (no lectures!)
Family connection time/vision casting for the new year

Allow January to be the month of GRACE! Lean into the transition and let it come a little slower. Choose family over resolutions or goals. Choose relationship over doing everything right. We believe there are many parents out there who need to hear this word as we kick off the new year.

Choose relationships & share this with someone who needs vision for 2024!

Podcast Resources:

#236: Is Your Wife Attracted to You? (Feat. Mike Frazier) Jan 14, 2024

BONUS EPISODE ALERT!

Join Don as he interviews Dr. Mike Frazier specifically about marriage relationships. We don't normally release episodes twice a week but this one was too good to sit on.

We are focusing on relationships in season 6 and this is an episode you will not want to miss.

Here are a few things they discuss:

Why do marriages struggle with attraction over time?
Where the “Christian culture” gets it wrong with marriage.
How any man can be attractive to their wife again.
Breaking mindsets and building a healthy relationship with your wife again.

Dr. Mike is passionate about family, specifically the husband/father role. He shares how a marriages can feel dry, boring, and broken- but that doesn't mean the marriage will end. THERE IS HOPE!

This podcast breathes life into marriages – so if you are struggling to feel attracted to your spouse – this podcast is for you!

Listen and share today! He also has podcasts and resources for you in the link below.

Podcast Resources:

#235: NEW SEASON + New Ways to Engage Jan 10, 2024

SEASON SIX STARTS TODAY!

We are so excited to launch our 6th season of the Crazy Cool Podcast! Today's episode is filled with vision and new resources. The word for this year is ENGAGE.We desire for every parent, kid, grandparent, and sibling to grow closer to Jesus and each other.

So how do we do that?

By ENGAGING in RELATIONSHIPS. Our podcasts will be topical and question based with your family relationships in mind. You won't want to miss an episode!

Join Don, Suz, and a few guest along the way to learn how to strengthen your family relationships and engage with all the Crazy Cool Family ministry has to offer!

Speaking of resources....

Check out our new website to learn more about all the NEW resources Don and Suz talk about in today's episode. On the new and improved website you will find...

(1) 5 Day Family Challenge (for newbies AND those who need a CCF refresh)
2 New Guidebooks (coming soon but info available)
3 New Micro-books (easy to read topical parenting books)
Daily Parenting Tips via email (you gotta subscribe to these- life changing!)
Our very own Crazy Cool STORE!
So much more!

Check out all the resources HERE!

#234: Season 5 Finale! Dec 27, 2023

It’s the SEASON FINALE of our podcast! We are wrapping up SEASON 5 of the Crazy Cool Family podcast and we are so excited!

Here are a few words we heard from God about this year and podcast season:

SIMPLE

We realize we need to simplify our life. How? Letting things go and relaxing into family, culture, and our kids. Just pausing and asking God, "What is the best thing for my kid in this season?"

ENGAGE

Chaos of the last few years has caused us to disengage. It's time to engage again because it's worth it. Technology and information is bombarding us and we need to simplify and pick what we want to engage in - we hope you pick Crazy Cool Family!

CULTURE

We are focusing on what culture is and why it is important. Culture is the builder of relationships. It's intangible yet possible to cultivate. Do you like the culture in your family? Did you know you can change it?

We really held onto these three words as we built content, invited guests to share, and had honest conversations about family! This episode we are going to recap all we talked about over the season and share a few reminders as you wrap up your year!

3 Main Parts to Season 5:

Family Culture Made Simple (Ep. #194-#212) - 19 episodes
Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit (Ep. #213-#222) - 10 episodes (every other week)
Guests + Holiday + Season Finale (#223-#232) - 10 episodes

Family Culture Made Simple: Ep. 195-211

This series is based on one of our foundational elements of CCF – Building Culture. We felt strongly from God that a good portion of Season 5 was going to be equipping parents to build culture. He gave us so many great revelations about culture over the years and we wanted to share them with you in bite size chunks!

Holy Spirit Bring on the Fruit: Ep. 213-222

We based this series off of Galatians 5 and felt God leading us to go deep into the concept of “walking with the Holy Spirit.” We interviewed our kids and dove deep into how we build culture in our homes by walking closely with Holy Spirit.

Guests + Holiday Inspiration + Season Finale: Ep. 223-234

We ended the Fruits series in October and launched into a ton of amazing guest podcast recordings. We had so many people invite us onto their podcast AND they said yes to being on ours! We value having other voices speak to you parents, and season 5 wrapped up with a few AMAZING men and women of God who spoke challenging and inspiring truths.

Season 5 is a wrap!

We will take a few weeks break and launch season 6 of the podcast in 2024! Be on the lookout for the first episode coming to you in January! Thanks for being a faithful listener and share this podcast with a friend or family as we wrap up the year!

Resources:

#233: Getting Off the Sideline (Feat. Laura Malone) Dec 20, 2023

Are you feeling stuck?

It's our second to last episode for season 5 and Laura Malone joins Don to talk about life coaching and global disaster relief opportunities. Laura is a life coach and she also works with her husband to bring global relief.

This podcast will challenge you to get involved in the mission of God by becoming healthy and serving others. Listen as Laura shares the heart behind life coaching and invites every listener to get off the bench and join in what God is doing on earth.

Listen and share with a friend today. Also check out Laura's resources below.

Podcast Resources:

CCF Website (It's NEW- check it out!)
Laura's Life Coaching Website
Malone's Non-profit Info

#232 : Building Blended Families (Feat. Craig Morgan) Dec 13, 2023

Divorced? Re-Married? Blending Your Family?

Craig Morgan, the founder or Blended Together Forever joins Don today on the podcast to talk about building the BEST blended family possible. They discuss blended families and how to make them thrive.

Here are the main topics from the podcast:

The challenges of building a healthy blended family
How to process the pain of separation or any type of disconnect within family relationships
Building culture and realigning family values
Working through new relational dynamics during blending
How to "blend well" and what ingredients it takes to blend a family
How to speak into the lives of stepchildren as the "new parent"
Co-parenting a blended family (being a team NO MATTER WHAT!)

The process of walking through divorce is not God's design for family BUT He can and wants to redeem all relationships. Craig and Don give all families ways to build thriving, blended relationships. The wisdom and experiences Craig shares can help any family. Take time to listen and share with a friend who may be in this season of blending their family.

Resources:

#231: Making THIS Holiday the BEST One Yet Dec 06, 2023

We have a lot of holiday podcasts and we wanted to remind you of the topics we’ve covered over the years. Listen to an "oldie but a goodie" and share the goodness or revelation with a friend.

Here are the past podcast topics:

Other things we cover in this podcast:

What makes us excited for Christmas (give you vision for the season)
How to build culture during this season
The value of making memories
How to make Jesus the center of the season
Slowing down and showing our kids Jesus amidst the events

The only thing that is going to get your soul excited is paying attention to Jesus. He is the reason for the season. He is why we are celebrating and being generous this month. As parents (and grandparents), we get to invite our kids into seeing Jesus as the MAIN EVENT of this season and everything else is a bonus.

Lastly, we announced our NEW CCF WEBSITE! This resource is the BEST way we can equip you to have a Crazy Cool Family. So click the link below to check out the new website, buy merch from our store, and see all the new resources we have for parents, just like you, who are aiming to grow!

NEW NEW NEW CRAZY COOL WEBSITE!

#230: Relationally Connect with Your Kids (Feat. Joe Martin) Nov 29, 2023

Dr. Joe Martin joins the podcast to share and inspire families. He grew up in an impoverished area, born to a young mother, and didn’t plan on going to college. He was the first in his family to graduate from high school.

He graduated college at age 20 and became a professor at age 24. He had his PHD by the time he was 28. He said this not to brag but to say, “no one can determine your future but you.”

His surroundings and upbringing tried to label him as a future criminal, athlete, or rapper. He saw 6 of his kids die before he reached the age of 18. The “make it” mentality of his childhood caused him to choose education and desire to make a life for himself outside his broken neighborhood.

His childhood can be summed up in 3 words: desperation, not inspiration.

Don and Dr. Joe discuss the hard truths about raising and connecting with the kids of this generation. Dr. Joe explains how connection comes through understanding pain, connecting with them, and finding a way to bring hope and help.

Main points from the podcast:

Parents are called to help their child just take the next step.
How all people are the same and we can connect through our pain/hurts.
Helping kids through crisis.
Processing God’s character amidst everyday trauma.

“Getting to the root of behavior creates connection with any relationship.”- Joe

3 Simple Steps for Connection:

Understand the hurt first
Give them hope
Find a way to help

Listen and share the podcast with anyone you know who needs to hear this powerful, challenging, and encouraging message!

Podcast Resources:

#229: What Are You Driven By? (Feat. Shae Bynes) Nov 22, 2023

Guests on guests on guests!!

We have another amazing guest joining the CCF podcast this week. Shae Bynes joins Don to talk about how to be a Kingdom focused worker. Shae has a ministry called Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur and helps people find their purpose in alignment with God.

She has multiple “drop the mic” moments on the podcast and challenges the listener to MAKE A MOVE towards the things of God.

Here are a few of the topics from the podcast:

Inspiration on how to take steps towards entrepreneurship and living intentionally
How to process big life decisions with God
Discovering your God-given assignments
Signals on when to make a change
How to have “Grace over Grind” in any job you are in

Her book, Grace Over Grind inspires people to do diligent work WITH GOD. We are not made to do this life on our own and that includes our jobs. He is our source of wisdom and peace. When we engage God throughout the day, it changes our perspective and helps us see His supernatural grace over our life which leads to diligent, hard work.

This podcast is jammed packed with wisdom and practical resources to help you live a life of grace and grind like Shae Bynes. Listen and share today!

Podcast Resources:

#228: Is God Calling You? (Feat. Sam Semans) Nov 15, 2023

Is God Calling You?

Sam Semans, who is a part of our CCF Team joins Suzanne to discuss life, family, and ministry. She shared about her family - amazing husband, homeschooling 4 children while creating a new ministry. The Abundant Women Collective was created out of an obedient YES to the Lord. She sold her marketing business to gather women who want to deepen their relationship with Jesus to share their testimony and journey with other like-minded women.

We discussed capacity and calling.

We have to decide our capacity. Sam has always had a large capacity. She started doing things out of a good works mentality. Thinking that busy means good. She was all about striving because it made her feel accomplished.

She had to learn how to practice resting and abiding and having a surrendered life and holding onto everything loosely. Sam, “I want to do what God tells me to do.”

At the end of the day, God is calling you something and wants to walk with you into more of His purposes. It's worth it to seek Him for your ministry/calling. Do you know your calling from God?

Ministry is a calling.

We are all called to do something different, but we are called.

A calling is a stirring in our hearts.

Examples of ways we are called:

Bible study in the home
Making a meal
Knitting/sewing
Making meals for others
Loving people along the way

Nuggets from the podcast:

God has qualified you - if you are called, he has equipped you.
Our only job as women is to fall more in love with God.
Pressing into him loving him more discerning ear tuned in.
Fall in love with Jesus more everyday.
Must exercise our obedience muscle.
Must intentionally focus on our relationship with Jesus.

You can reach out to Sam if you want to join the Abundant Woman Co. and want to be challenged to stretch your capacity and say YES to God's call on your life! You can directly message her in Instagram (info below) and join the Abundant Woman Collective TODAY!

Check out Sam's resources:

The Abundant Woman Co. Info

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Other Resources!

#227: Is Your Marriage Surviving or Thriving? (Feat. Jon and Carrie Vajko) Nov 08, 2023

Is your marriage surviving? Thriving? How do you make a change?

Husband and wife Jonathan and Carrie Vajko join the CCF podcast to help take your marriage deeper! They have a podcast that is about being intentional in your marriage and joined us to share how you can strengthen your marriage TODAY!

Their story: Met 8 years ago at church, got married a year later, and a year and a half later they got pregnant with their son. They have a 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughters.

They got into helping couples 2 years ago when they felt led to share their story and how it played a role in their current marriage. They wanted to help people see how their upbringing affects current relational dynamics.

After sharing their story and hearing others, they realized intentionality kept surfacing and when they focused on it, their relationships grew stronger.

How has intentionality helped your marriage? Your parenting? What are the benefits and challenges of being intentional?

When intentionality is modeled, it helps kids have loving relationships with all other people.
Being intentional has generational impact.
Intentionality brings relational blessings and creates thriving not just surviving relationships.
Not being intentional creates “two ships passing in the night” or “roommate” relationships
A lack of intentionality can cause you to believe lies about marriage over time.

How do you bring intentionality into marriage?

Acknowledge you want your marriage to go from surviving to thriving.
Taking the time to spend and invest in your spouse (date nights – make them happen!)
Ask questions and make sure you are listening.
Practice listening and allowing spouse to think of their answer after you ask a question.

Marriage is important and is worth the investment. Understanding your spouse is essential to choosing intentionality. Jon and Carrie challenge and encourage you to go deeper in your marriage by investing time, asking questions, and learning to listen.

Take this information and go make time for your spouse. If we make time and ask questions, we can live intentionally in all our relationships, especially our marriage!

Check out her resources:

Vajko's Email
Connect with Jon and Carrie Vajko

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Other Resources!

#226: Find Delight in Your Marriage (Feat. Belah Rose) Nov 01, 2023

This podcast contains intimate language and may not be suitable for children's ears.

How's your marriage doing, really?

Belah Rose joins our podcast and tells the story of her purity going into marriage, the relational struggles of her first marriage and her solution and now success in her current marriage. She says if she had known the things she knows now about men and women she would have applied that to her first marriage and believes it would have been a successful marriage.

She is working on a marriage bundle now that starts with pre-dating to give our kids before they start dating a plan on not falling in love but in how to know yourself and find the person for you. The second book is about dating and the last one is about being engaged. (these last two will be out in 2024)

Delightyourmarriage is her ministry and was born- first with a book Delight your Husband found on Amazon which then led to interviewing many wives on their successes and failures in spiritual, emotional and physical intimacy.

The connections with wives then became a connection with husbands as Belah shared her findings and now her ministry is made up of more husbands wanting to learn how to be intimate with their wives.

Belah shared that men and women are created differently- by God’s design so their intimacy needs are very different too. She created a Delight Your Marriage Framework resource that can be downloaded on her website.

Here is a summary of the DYM Framework:

To feel loved a wife needs to feel known, safe and wholeheartedly cherished
Husbands date your wives- set a regular weekly time and a spontaneous monthly time to get to know and cherish your wife.

To feel loved a husband needs to feel respected, admired and have wholehearted sexual intimacy
Wives don’t ‘mother’ your husband it disrespectful.
Wives have wholehearted sex 2-3 times a week- make your man the happiest man on earth (ONLY you can do that)

We wrapped up by having talking about the value of marriage in the family and that it’s the most important thing you can do for your children. She shared a quote- the best thing a wife can do for your children is have passionate sex with their father.

Check out her resources:

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Other Resources!

#225: Healthcare Done Right (Feat. Jeff Street) Oct 25, 2023

We are talking about something completely new today... Interested?

Welcome our guest Jeff Street who partners with Health Sharing to help families live financially wise while taking care of their health.

The Health Sharing model is a business both Jeff and his wife work for and sell services to families regarding health insurance. He is passionate about the healthcare system and knows there is brokenness within it. The purpose of this podcast is to bring knowledge into your family regarding healthcare.

At Crazy Cool Family, we don't do a lot in the financial realm of family, but there is always a first time right? What better place to start than health care, an issue every family has to deal with.

A lot of our listeners have health care issues due to having their own business, being self-employed, or wanting an expansion of traditional health care options. In addition, the cost of traditional health insurance is getting more and more expensive.

In the past, as an alternative to traditional health insurance, religious organizations have had health sharing organizations where members had a network to share medical expenses. Now there are health sharing organizations who have gone beyond religious affiliation and are inclusive to all people groups.

In this podcast, my friend Jeff Street shares with us the pros and cons of health sharing with lower cost and new improved systems versus traditional health sharing options. We have a very frank discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of each option that we feel will be helpful to many of our parents.

“The reason Health Sharing works so well in America is because 5% of our population equates 50% of all healthcare costs within our country. Most people are healthy but are paying for those who are not.” - Jeff Street

Here are the main points from the episode:

Health Sharing is designed for those who don’t have health insurance due to high cost
Health Sharing is not designed for someone who has pre-existing conditions or life-long illness
The maximums and unique cases people may face and how insurance works
How Health Sharing works and how the average American family can benefit from using it
All culture and races use Health Sharing, even though it is a Christian faith-based business
The positives and challenges of Health Sharing (there are both!)

There is a lot we unpacked here, but this is worth the listen, research, and discussion. If you want to reach out to Jeff Street and hear about your family’s options, check out the resource below.

Jeff’s Cell: 267-974-1059
Jeff's Email: jjstreetenterprises@gmail.com

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Other Resources!

#224 : The Holy Work of Motherhood (Feat. Kirsten Vossler) Oct 18, 2023

CALLING ALL MOTHERS!

Kirsten Vossler is a mom of many- 9 to be exact (ages 14-to almost a year old). She is just delightful. You will hear the joy radiate from her. Kirsten has a heart for moms. She believes that motherhood is valuable and holy.

She created a ministry/podcast called, Rejoicing in Motherhood to encourage moms to embrace the season of raising children as an incredible time of becoming who God has created you to be as person leaving the selfish old way behind by constantly having a chance to die to self with the everyday tasks required by little people.

"Raising kids is HOLY work." - Kirsten Vossler

Kirsten shared one of her favorite things to do is to LDL- to have a low delight level. Find pleasure, satisfaction, delight in the little things, like the green grass, the sprinkler in the morning, jam on your toddler’s face. When we can get filled up with little delightful things throughout the day the messes of life don’t seem so big.

She has a free resource with 4 more practical tips to maintain a rejoicing attitude which she will share with you if you email her at: rejoicinginmotherhoodpodcast@gmail.com.

Listen and share today with a mom today!

Want MORE resources?

#223: Parenting is about the Heart (Feat. Morgan Snyder) Oct 11, 2023

Do you believe parenting is about the heart?

Your heart.

Morgan Snyder joins us in Episode #223 to talk about being a student of the heart, your heart. He is a part of the Wild at Heart ministry and has spent the last 23 years walking alongside men and women to help them live whole heartedly.

Here are a few highlights from today’s podcast:

What kind of person are you becoming? It overflows into parenting.
Understanding motive is important, it is the center of our soul. How do you navigate your motives within your parenting?
Our relationship with our kids is an overflow of who we are becoming.

Morgan inspires us to love and have compassion for every heart. He encourages us to start with questions and start right where you are. He unpacks practical ways to lean in and help the individual know and love themselves. This podcast is JAMMED packed with wisdom and challenging truths.

Listen and share today!

Want MORE resources?

#222: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 9: Self-Control + Wrap Up (Feat. Michael Manning) Oct 04, 2023

Self-control is not about holding onto everything in our life, it’s about freely living with purpose!

Self-control is our last fruit. We want to walk in all of the fruits, but self-control is unique because it starts with us. It’s so important to walk with the Holy Spirit in order to walk out a life of self-control.

Proverbs 16:32 says "better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city."

Proverbs 25:28 says, "like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control."

Self-control is valuable and something men and women of maturity carry. When we don’t have self-control, we allow the enemy to break through our walls into our hearts. We don’t want your life to consist of this AND we don’t want this for your kids!

“Self-control is a gift God has given us to contain our selfish selves and build his Kingdom.” - Suz

A lot of what we unpack in today’s episode is how self-control is the fruit of a life inspired by God.

Michael, our 5th child and oldest son, speaks about his 23 years of life and how he pursued men of God who inspired him to live a life full of purpose. Their leadership in his life taught him how to make Kingdom decisions and life with self-control.

One of the goals of this series is to inspire our kids to live a life with the Holy Spirit. Self-control is one of the gifts from God to help our kids be their best! We get to come alongside our kids and equip them to live a life full of purpose. Self-control is not something we do on our own – it takes people and family!

Things we cover in this podcast:

We are invited to be intentional in life and self-control is a big element
Self-control has been modeled by God and He values is
What does self-control within Christianity really entail?
Why is self-control valuable and how do we walk in it daily?
How are self-control and accountability connected?
What does self-control look like within our relationship with God?

God is transforming us from one degree of glory to the next. A degree is SO SMALL and you don’t see the change instantly. It happens gradually over time, but it is still beautiful. The vision of loving the journey is so important as we practice self-control in everyday life.

“Self-control comes from vision. Vision takes intentionality.” - Don

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#221: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 8: Gentleness (Feat. McKenzie Reaume) Sep 20, 2023

“There is a strategy around being gentle and it can bring a lot of peace into your home.” - McKenzie

McKenzie, our 4th child, joins the podcast as the CCF Team continues to share how we walk with the Holy Spirit and live a life full of HIS FRUIT!

Today, we unpack gentleness. Our definition of gentleness is...

Treating people with care and compassion.

Proverbs 16:24 says, "gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

Ephesians 4:1-3 says, "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Here are a few takeaways from the episode:

Gentleness and humility are linked, they go hand in hand in our life
Repentance is a sign of having a gentle heart
Gentleness is overlooked because it causes us to go low and put others higher

McKenzie shares several powerful tips on how to live a life of gentleness. She talks about how curiosity is tied to gentleness. She often asks herself, “where is this person coming from?” It has helped her cover her heart and relationships with gentleness.

The goal is to overflow with gentleness. When we walk with the Holy Spirit, we are invited to treat others with gentleness. He continually gives us chances to be gentle instead of harsh or judgmental.

Are you gentle? Do you see God as gentle?

McKenzie also speaks to the character of God and how his voice is gentle. She shares how over the years she has learned how to hear God and see Him as gentle. There is a distinction between the voice of God and the voice of the enemy, often it is distinguished by gentleness.

Listen and share this inspirational truth today!

This podcast is for you if you want to walk in gentleness and if you want to see God as a gentle God.

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Other Resources!

#220: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 8: Faithfulness Sep 06, 2023

Faithfulness is remaining unfailing loyal.

The faith we want to talk about today is centered on belief.

Hebrews 11:1 says our faith is meant to be in things we hope for, not in the things we see (or don't see). We can trust in God's faithfulness and it helps us life like Him. Even when we can't see/feel it!

Faithfulness is not something we “will into existence.” Faithfulness is modeled first by God and then by us, as parents. When we are faithful, it shows our kids how to be faithful. When we affirm places our kids are faithful, it makes them want to continue to live faithful lives.

At the end of the day, we want our kids to walk with the Holy Spirit and live faithful to Him, not us - Him. Hopefully you’ve heard a few things that will empower you to point your family to God and start living faithful!

Here are a few main points:

Faithfulness can relate to remaining loyal to the community around you
Faithfulness is connected to faith - when we choose to trust God, we can live faithfully
Walking in faithfulness is not about us, it's about looking at God
Faithfulness requires sacrificial love

Luke 16:10 says, "one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much."

So, go today learning to live faithfully by living a life connected to God.

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#219: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 7: Goodness (feat. McCade Manning) Aug 23, 2023

What does it mean to be good?

The world defines "good" as something completely different than God does. Goodness is the fruit of choosing good in your everyday life. When we walk with the Good Shepherd, or good father - we learn how to live out a life of goodness. When we live in the "good" of the world, we are left unsatisfied.

McCade is our 17 year old son and the youngest of 7 strongly opinionated kids. He was raised with 4 sisters (aka extra mothers) and two older brothers. He was constantly told what is "good, cool, or dumb." He learned quickly how to see the world distinctly good or evil.

Goodness is living with an upright heart.

Goodness is vital for families, especially within sibling relationships. McCade speaks to how goodness plays out in his generation, his church involvement, and his personal relationships.

Don and Suz unpack how to instill goodness into your home and how to break off "evil, harshness, or rudeness" if there is not a culture of goodness currently in your family.

Here are a few things we unpack in today's episode:

How do you remain "good" as a teenager in this day and age?
How do you identify a lack of goodness in your home/between family relationships?
How do you live out a life of goodness?
What are practical ways to walk with the Holy Spirit and walk out in goodness?
What are the benefits of choosing goodness?

Cade shares the need for goodness in our world. This podcast will challenge your personal view of goodness. It will also help you see the ways you can instill goodness in your family TODAY!

Listen and share with your friends today! Share the whole series and bring on the fruit!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#218: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 6: Kindness (feat. Maddox Manning) Aug 09, 2023

Kindness is choosing to serve others with LOVE and MERCY.

Maddox, our 6th child joins us to talk about how love and mercy are connected to kindness. We unpack how God is kind - it is His nature. Because God is a good father, He is our example of how to be a thoughtful, loving, merciful, and kind parent. When we tap into his kindness towards us, it leads to relational intimacy.

The same is true for you and your family!

When we choose to walk with the Holy Spirit, we release kindness into our family.

Here are a few main takeaways for this episode:

Kindness is ultimately understanding and loving others right where they are
Kindness starts in our mind and is often a perspective shift from God
God's heart is kind, He has abundant kindness for us daily
Kindness is a doorway, judgment is a wall
Kindness destroys criticism (especially of self)

Maddox shares personal ways to be personally kind to your mind, heart, and journey. Suz shares how, as parents, we can show our family the kindness of God by walking daily with the Holy Spirit. This conversation is challenging and full of truth. Listen and share today!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#217: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 5: Patience Jul 26, 2023

The Fruit of the Spirit is something we HAVE because we are in step with the Holy Spirit...

That is what this series is all about! We are unpacking the fruit of PATIENCE today. All summer we have been learning to walk with the Holy Spirit. When we do, we will see His fruit in our lives.

Patience is waiting with JOY!

We created each definition with your kids in mind. The goal is for you to start saying them around your house and planting Holy Spirit fruit in your family's culture. Each definition is something we can remind them of throughout the day and helps us build culture in our home.

Romans 12:12 invites us to "be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." God invites us to be patient amidst good AND BAD moments in life.

Psalm 37:7 says, "be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!"

Here are a few highlights from the podcast:

Fruits are linked and they work together for the good of our family.
Long term patience vs. short term patience - how do we operate in both?
Lacks of patience leads to "acts of the flesh" like we see in Galatians 5.

How do we personally walk in patience in every season?

Focus on God and His character
Remember your identity- you are the first example of God to your kids
It's not about the season, it's about recognizing the invitation to practice patience

Listen to the rest of the podcast to hear how to plant patience in your kids - it's worth the listen!

There is SO MUCH in this podcast! Listen to the full episode today and share it with a friend who is longing to learn how to have a culture of patience in their home. Keep listening and start walking with the Holy Spirit today, bring on the fruit!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#216: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 4: Peace (Feat. Mollie Torres) Jul 12, 2023

Is your home defined by PEACE or CHAOS?

Peace is resting in God’s control of everything. Mollie, our oldest daughter speaks into this definition in today's episode. Her insight into this fruit will inspire and challenge you.

“Because Jesus is inside of us – when our world is chaos- we are always at peace in God.” - Mollie

In Isaiah 26:3 says, “you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.”

When we receive the peace of God, it takes over our circumstances. The world we live in is CHAOS – which is the opposite of peace.

Here are a few main points of the podcast:

Peace is a person, His name is Jesus, and He can enter any chaos you are feeling
Ask and rest in the Holy Spirit when you feel chaos overtaking your family
When you feel “away from peace” it’s an opportunity to ask Holy Spirit to lead you
The God of peace surpasses any worldly experience or emotion you are experiencing

How do we carry God’s peace?

Recognize when you are not walking in it
Ask the Holy Spirit to wash over you with peace
Respond to your spouse, kids, or environment with peace instead of chaos.

When we experience God’s peace, it is a miracle. It is within you and recognizing the Holy Spirit is in us and working on our behalf. Jehovah Shalom is who we get to call upon when we need peace – He is the God of peace, and we have full access to it.

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#215: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 3: Joy (Feat. Madeline Jones) Jun 28, 2023

What does it mean to "have joy?"

We are in the third episode of our new series. This week our 2nd daughter, Madeline, joins us to talk about living with JOY!

We are slowing down our rhythm and releasing episodes EVERY OTHER WEEK!

What is this series all about?

A word we received from God for 2023 is culture. Culture is one our ministry's main themes. It was highlighted to us at the end of 2022 and we are diving in with all we've got! If you feel like your family's culture is "off" then this series is for you. We are intentionally diving into Galatians 5 and learning how to live and walk by the Spirit.

JOY: Gladness despite circumstances.

Joy is a choice in many circumstances and comes from abiding in the father. Jesus said in Hebrews that for the joy set before him he endured the cross. We get to choose joy as we endure trails and circumstances in life. Don, Suz, and Madeline talk about finding joy in different seasons of parenting. No matter what circumstance you are faced with, having a joyful perspective is possible.

Joy is a gift from God to help lighten the burdens of life. He designed us to walk in joy. He wants us to walk with Him so He can give us daily joy – despite our circumstances. God is a good father and wants to release joy over your heart today.

If you need joy today, this podcast is for you!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#214: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 2: Love (Feat. Macy Robinson) Jun 14, 2023

Is your home filled with love?

We are in the second week of our FRUITS series and this week we are talking all about LOVE!

We are slowing down our rhythm and releasing episodes EVERY OTHER WEEK!

What is this series all about?

A word we received from God for 2023 is culture. Culture is one our ministry's main themes. It was highlighted to us at the end of 2022 and we are diving in with all we've got! If you feel like your family's culture is "off" then this series is for you. We are intentionally diving into Galatians 5 and learning how to live and walk by the Spirit.

LOVE: Seeking the highest good of others.

Here are the main things we talk about:

What is love? What does God say about love?
Love is a fruit but is also a person - Jesus is love!
How do we partner with the Holy Spirit to bring God's love into our family?

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#213: Holy Spirit, Bring on the Fruit! Week 1: Introduction May 31, 2023

Holy Spirit, bring on the fruit!

We are kicking off a new podcast series this week! We are slowing down our rhythm and releasing episodes EVERY OTHER WEEK!

What is this series all about?

A word we received from God for 2023 is culture. Culture is one our ministry's main themes. It was highlighted to us at the end of 2022 and we are diving in with all we've got! If you feel like your family's culture is "off" then this series is for you. We are intentionally diving into Galatians 5 and learning how to live and walk by the Spirit.

Here are the main things we will cover in this series:

Definition of each fruit (Crazy Cool Family Version)
How we live and walk with the Holy Spirit
How we can change the culture in our families by walking with the Holy Spirit

We believe this slower, simpler series will radically change your family and any family that decides to listen! Listen and send this to families you know who want to build a Kingdom culture this year!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#212: Family Culture Made Simple: Let's Wrap It Up! May 24, 2023

It's the last week...

Our Family Culture Made Simple series is wrapping up today. What did you learn? How did you see your family change over the last 3-5 months?

This series was designed with your family in mind. In this episode, we unpack a few key reminders and practical ways to cultivate culture in your home. We encourage you to take what you learn into the summer and keep building life-giving culture in your family!

Do you remember the four culture pillars?

The 4 pillars of culture are:

The Power of Encouragement
Safe Haven
Relational Discipline
Unity

Each pillar is vital to a family’s culture and each episode focused on one pillar. Our hope was to simplify these four pillars and give you 4 declarations to go with them. Did you learn the pillars? Do you remember these statements:

How do we build culture in our family?

Encourage extravagantly and correct carefully
Become a listener
Move from parent control to self-control.
Celebrate differences and establish values

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#211: Family Culture Made Simple: Building Unity with the Family Name (Feat. Mollie Torres) May 17, 2023

How do you build a Family Name?

If you've been with us for a while, you know about this term, "Family Name." But for anyone new to the podcast or to our CRAZY COOL FAMILY, Mollie (our oldest daughter) joins us to unpack the concept again! Her take on family is unique and so insightful for families in all seasons.

If your family is having a hard time...

Connecting with each other...
Feeling unified...
Enjoying time with just family...
OR generally lacking vision...

THEN THIS PODCAST IS FOR YOU!

Listen as Mollie and Suz unpack how to build a family name AND how to get your kids to buy in! Culture starts when kids are young, but it is never too late to build new, life-giving culture in your family. We share practical ways for you to cultivate unity in your home by using your Family Name.

So, take 26 minutes out of your day (less if you listen at 2X speed) and invest in your family's culture by learning about the POWER of the Family Name!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#210: Family Culture Made Simple: Values Build Unity May 10, 2023

How do you define UNITY?

Last week we talked about embracing the differences and uniqueness of each family member and how it helps build unity. Today we are talking about how family values are a great way to unite our family.

First, we define VALUES.
Second, we define UNITY.
Third, we share ways to determine your family's values and use them to build unity!

Here are a few questions we answer in today’s episode:

How did we decide what our family values are?
What are some things you value in your family?
What are values or things in your home that are keeping you from living in unity?

The bottom line is: UNITY IS NEXT LEVEL!

If you want to take your family to greater depths of joy, life, and unity – then this podcast is for you! If you know someone who needs to hear a podcast on unity – send this episode their way!

As always, check out all our resources on unity by signing up for Basecamp! Click the links below to get started today!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#209: Family Culture Made Simple: Unity is Unique! May 03, 2023

Are you ready to take your family to the next level?

Unity is the fourth culture pillar, and it is NEXT LEVEL! If you can grasp this concept, your family will see breakthrough!

God values unity. He says so in his word:

Psalm 133:1 says, how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

What is unity?

Family unity is celebrating family uniqueness as we unite under family values.

Why is unity so important?

It allows you as a parent to multiply your efforts. You go from addition to multiplication. Instead of just working on family values, now your whole family is working on those values.

BOTTOM LINE: GOD LOVES UNITY!

“God says things WORK BEST in unity.”

God designed his creation to be unified.
God designed the body to be unified.
God designed marriage to be unified.

Unity does not mean everyone is the same, no way! UNITY EMBRACES UNIQUENESS. Unity is working to bring out the best in each person in your family.

Here are a few key points from the podcast:

Embracing the differences each of our kids bring to the family is powerful
Each of our kids are very similar in some ways- but are very different in many more ways
These differences open our eyes and hearts to be, do, and see things from new perspectives
What we value determines how we will live – so value unity!
Bringing unity in your home is key to having strong relationships

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#208: Family Culture Made Simple - Let's Get Good at Discipline! Apr 26, 2023

It's the last week of our 7 Discipline Drivers. Can you remember what they all are?

PSA: Here's your quick reminder to listen to any episodes they haven’t yet!

Each discipline driver has it’s own episode, so go back and listen for a deeper dive. We spent a lot of time talking about practical ways to implement these strategies with kids at all ages!

TODAY we are talking about our last discipline driver: Let them make mistakes.

Psalm 37:24 says, “...though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”

Here’s the truth parents.... OUR KIDS WILL MAKE MISTAKES.

The good news is God takes care of our children EVEN WHEN mistakes happen. Here’s a helpful truth, our kid’s failures are doorways to their hearts. It gives us a chance to point them to God.

When we look at mistakes as opportunities instead of annoyances, we have a doorway into our children’s lives that allows us to deposit wisdom, grace, understanding, and hope.

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#207: Family Culture Made Simple: Consider & Why Apr 19, 2023

Okay, parents, say this with me...

"Natural consequences are MY FRIEND!"

This week we are unpacking 2 more discipline drivers in our series: Family Culture Made Simple.

So often in parenting, we feel like we are on the opposite side of our kid. Imagine a line, and parents are on one side looking across at their kids on the other side of it. We are on one side telling them what to do, and they are on the other side resisting.

Here’s how this applies to your relationship with your kids—natural consequences put us on the same team. Our kids’ natural consequences help us to join them on their side of the line. Natural consequences give us the opportunity to work with our kids to solve an issue or get something done.

You can also say it this way: Natural consequences puts us on the same team.

We love it when we don't have to be the one that brings on the bad consequences. We challenge you to look for ways to use natural consequences this week instead of "piling it on."

Proverbs 4:5 says to get wisdom and understanding.

As a parent, one of the most important things we do for our children is to give them wisdom and understanding. How do you help your child gain wisdom and understanding? Explain the why!

The 6th Discipline Driver is "Life is in the WHY" and it is so important. Every parent needs fresh vision AND we need to be able to share this vision with our child.

When kids ask "why why why" 100 times a day, we get to build their understanding of the world. If being asked "why" constantly annoys you, then you may need to rethink this aspect of parenting.

Listen to the whole episode as we fully unpack the two discipline drivers: Consider Natural Consequences & Life is in the Why.

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#206: Family Culture Made Simple: Act & See Apr 12, 2023

Is discipline working in your home?

In this episode, we unpack our next two discipline drivers: Act like the parent, not the child AND see life through the eyes of a child.

Driver #3: Act like the parent, not the child

Driver #4: See life through the eyes of a child

Wanna know how to use these methods to connect with your child and make discipline easier? Listen to Don, Suz, and their 2nd daughter, Madeline, share how to learn and use these strategies.

So much of success in Relational Discipline is understanding and connecting with your child. Instead of controlling the outside, we understand and influence the inside. Seeing things through their eyes is a big step toward connecting with them.

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#205: Family Culture Made Simple: Think & Ask Apr 05, 2023

My kids are....

I'm sure you could fill in the blanks with 1,000 different good (and bad) words to describe your kids. This week, we are diving into the Relational Discipline Culture Pillar (say that 5 times fast)! This episode is designed to help you start RETHINKING the way you do discipline.

In Episode 205, we take you through two of the seven discipline drivers.

Parents, meet the Seven Discipline Drivers:

Think before you act.
Ask forgiveness.
Act like the parent, not the child.
See things through the eyes of your child.
Consider natural consequences.
Life is in the why.
Let them make mistakes.

Driver #1: THINK before you act

Get past your first response to the best response.

Proverbs 29:11 says: “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.”

That’s what the concept, “think before you act,” is all about. Getting past how your flesh wants to respond to how your spirit wants to respond.

When faced with a discipline situation, we want a proactive response rather than a reactive response.

Driver #2: ASK Forgiveness

Forgiveness supernaturally softens hearts.

Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

God talks a lot in the Bible about hard hearts and soft hearts.

Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

A heart of stone is hard and unforgiving. A heart of flesh is soft and pliable...kinda squishy!! We want to model a forgiving heart towards our kids. How do we do that? BY ASKING FORGIVENESS!

If you are wanting to RETHINK your discipline methods, then Episodes #204-208 are for you! Stick with us over the month of April as we unpack all seven of our discipline drivers. It's worth the investment!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#204 Family Culture Made Simple: Where to Start with Discipline? Mar 29, 2023

What words come to mind when you hear the word “DISCIPLINE”?

As parents, we get the amazing opportunity to train our kids through every age. In this podcast, we are sharing our vision behind discipline. It’s not about control, it’s about freedom!

We believe God’s view of discipline is about freedom, responsibility, and self-control. His ways are always better than ours. Remember, the goal is freedom, but the strategy is relationships. When we are in depth of a relationship, we will see freedom come into our kids' lives.

Here are the 3 stages of Discipline discussed in this podcast:

Younger kids learn controlled obedience towards parents
Middle aged kids learn willing obedience towards parents
Older kids learn willing obedience towards GOD

Want to learn how to discipline your children God’s way?

This episode and the few to follow are designed with you in mind. Listen and share with a friend today!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#203: Family Culture Made Simple - Fill Your Home with Faith, not Fear Mar 22, 2023

We are faithful parents, not fearful parents.

Creating a Safe Haven is complex and this week we are going to unpack a concept we believe is essential to creating a safe haven for your family.

Concept: Faith vs. Fear

Hebrews 11:1 says faith is “confidence is what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Faith can be hard to define but it is something we get to live out and show our kids every day. There are endless chances we get to practice faith over fear. Let’s dig deeper into faith and fear and understand a few key things about why they are important.

In this podcast, we unpack ways to cultivate culture in your home by choosing faith over fear. It sounds simple but it is something we, as parents, get to practice ENDLESS amounts of times throughout our kid's upbringing.

So, what are you waiting for?

Listen today and share with a friend who needs the challenge to be FAITHFUL over FEARFUL!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#202: Family Culture Made Simple: Safety in Questions (Feat. Lisa Johnson) Mar 15, 2023

Do you know how to ask your kids the right questions?

We are diving back into our second culture pillar this week called Safe Haven. We have been talking about a lot of difference culture building topics but TODAY'S podcast will challenge and encourage you.

This week we have a special expert joining us Lisa Johnson. She is a family friend and professional psychiatrist. Her heart is for families to feel the freedom to ask for help.

We invited them Lisa to share her perspective on creating a safe haven for people through questions.

Here are some of the questions we discuss:

What are questions we can ask our kids to help them feel safe?
When they hide stuff from us, how do we approach talking to them about it?
If something traumatic or bad happens, how to we approach them and the situation?
What are things NOT TO DO when our child needs a safe place?
How do we make our home physically safe for our kids?

How do we make it emotionally safe?

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#201: Family Culture Made Simple: Building Culture on Family Trips Mar 08, 2023

When was the last time your family took a trip?

Trips and breaks during the school year are a great time to be intentional with family.

How do we think ahead and create intentional spaces for our family during these set aside breaks?

Culture is happening around us constantly. It is something we, as parents, have authority over. The culture in your home is being built whether you are doing it or not.

Think about the last trip your family went on... how was it?

What words would you use to describe the atmosphere of your family?
What about your heart?
Were you a stressed, rigid, exhausted parent? Were you kids avoiding conversations with you throughout the trip?

In this podcast, we answer these questions and more! If you want to plan a family trip AND build life-giving culture in your family - then this podcast it for you!

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

#200: Family Culture Made Simple - What is a Safe Haven? Mar 01, 2023

What is a Safe Haven? Is Your Home Safe?

TWO MONTHS! We have already been in this series for 2 months. We hope you are learning about culture and how to cultivate it in your family over this last month.

This week we are stepping into a new piece of culture. Join us as we talk about our next pillar, Safe Haven.

"We want our home to be a SAFE HAVEN where we wash the world off our children so we can send them out energized and refreshed." - Suz

We want home to be a place they want to come to and a place we want to be as well. The #1 key to creating a safe haven in your home is to become a great listener. If you learn one thing from this course, it is to become a great listener.

Everything we talk about the rest of the way will relate back to listening.

James 1:19 says, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

Our goal with our children throughout their lives is to show them how wonderful it is to follow God’s ways. By listening instead of lecturing, we are creating a safe haven environment, a trusting environment that allows us to best guide their lives.

Listen and share this podcast with a friend! It's worth the investment.

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Safe Haven course
Other Resources!

#199: Family Culture Made Simple - Identity is Foundational (Feat. John Stickl) Feb 22, 2023

Identity is a HOT TOPIC word in today's culture and we are here to tell you...

God created identity and has specific TRUE things to say about you AND your children.

We are finishing up our first culture pillar this week with a guest, John Stickl.

John Stickl is lead pastor of Valley Creek Church. He is also an author who wrote Follow the Cloud. Most importantly, he is a mighty man of God, a loving husband, and an amazing, intentional father to his two kids.

We invited John onto today’s podcast because he deeply understands the power of encouragement and how it goes hand in hand with identity.

Questions We Discuss:

- What is Kingdom identity?
- As parents, do we have authority to tell our kids who they are?
- How do we get our kids to believe God's identity for their life?
- If parents would do one thing to help build identity in their kids, what one thing would you challenge them to do?
- Why is identity especially valuable within family relationships?

Want MORE resources?

#198: Family Culture Made Simple - Avoiding Anger Feb 15, 2023

99% of parents struggle with anger....

“We think anger is blowing up at someone verbally or physically... but it can be through our glances, harsh tones, snide comments, or even sarcastic joking.” - Suz

If you choose anger often in you parenting, you are not alone. We believe anger is not inherently bad, but often used in the wrong way. The bottom line is anger, when not used right, creates disapproval. It exposes us as parents and ultimately shows that we (the parents) are reacting because we feel frustrated for simply not getting our way.

Psalm 37:8 says, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it only leads to evil.”
Proverbs 29:22 says, “An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.”
Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.”

The reason we resort to anger is because IT WORKS!

We use anger to get compliance BUT THERE IS A BETTER WAY

Anger is a short-term solution but it can create a wedge in the relationship in the long term. There is a time as a parent to be forceful and express anger but if we react in anger, it can create the wrong outcome in our relationships.

As parents, we need to get to the core of our anger and stop – and understand why we are angry in the first place.

“Anger is in the non-verbal. Kids read our non-verbal words more than they hear our words. When we express the wrong form of anger it hurts our kids.” - Suz

“Anger produces fear in our children. It also creates aggressiveness. Anger does not produce the fruits of righteousness we deeply want in our kids.” -Don

As parents, we have the best intention when it comes to correcting our kids. Anger is a form of correction we most likely learned it from our parents or authorities in our lives. In our homes, we need to become aware of the things that trigger us and cause us to choose anger over careful correction.

LIE: YOU CAN’T BE FIRM WITHOUT BEING ANGRY.

We hear parents say, “I have to get angry to get my kids to respond.” We thought the same thing for a long time!

Here is what we say to parents who feel this way:

You’re underestimating the intelligent of your child (oooff.... read that again..)
Give them a chance to respond to something other than anger
Calmly, present the consequence with firmness
Stop looking it as "you vs. them" but think of it as a game of gaining their obedience
Dissociate with anger and practice firmness and encouragement

Anger-triggering situations we discuss:

Kids fighting over toys
Your child lying to your face
Kids are screaming at you about not wanting to obey (or throwing a fit)
Kids are making you late for an event and moving in slow motion
Kids won’t go to sleep when you asked and keep asking for things

Practical ways to STOP responding in anger:

Stop reacting:
Take a deep breath,
Ask God for help and think about how you will intentionally correct.
For littles – get on their level and see their eyes (eyes are the window to the soul)
Ask for forgiveness. It heals angry outbursts.

Want MORE resources?

#197: Are Summer Camps for MY Family? Feb 08, 2023

We are taking a small pause from our Family Culture Made Simple Series to talk about SUMMER CAMPS!

It's a hot topic in households this time of year.

Can we afford to send our kids to camp?
How do we know they will be safe?
What camp do we entrust our kids to for a whole week?
Can I send my kid for A WHOLE SUMMER (JK JK) 😏

Amy Lowe and Chris Witt join us from Win Shape Camps. They share the value of camp experience as a developing individual and as a a family unit. If you are considering camps this summer for your kids, or family - this podcast is worth the investment!

Want MORE resources?

#196: Family Culture Made Simple - Correct Carefully Feb 01, 2023

Are you a critical/harsh parent?

This week's episode hits on a culture pillar called Encouragement - specifically how to correct carefully. If your kids this you are harsh, critical, and correct too much, then this podcast is for you!

The 4 pillars of culture are:

The Power of Encouragement
Safe Haven
Relational Discipline
Unity

The 4 declarations are:

Encourage extravagantly and correct carefully
Become a listener
Move from parent control to self-control.
Celebrate differences and establish values

In this episode, we are zooming in on the second part of the first declaration – CORRECT CAREFULLY

Our goal for today is to share how you can correct in ways to help our children instead of hurt them.

2 Timothy 4:1-2: “I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.”

Remember, correction is good! That verse tells us to correct.

As parents, it is our job to correct. The book of Proverbs talks so much about correcting your child.

“Hear instruction/correction and be wise, and do not neglect it.” Proverbs 8:33“
...he who loves his son is diligent to correct him.” Proverbs 12:24“
For the Lord corrects him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:12

As PARENTS, we correct carefully!

Want MORE resources?

#195: Family Culture Made Simple - Encourage Extravagantly Jan 25, 2023

There's POWER in Encouragement!

This week we are unpacking our first culture pillar - the power of encouragement.

Do you remember our four culture pillars and four declarations?

The 4 pillars of culture are:

The Power of Encouragement
Safe Haven
Relational Discipline
Unity

Each pillar is vital to a family’s culture and we want to show you how! We want to simplify these four pillars and give you 4 declarations to start learning. By the end of the series, we want you saying these four statements in your sleep!

The 4 declarations are:

Encourage extravagantly and correct carefully
Become a listener
Move from parent control to self-control.
Celebrate differences and establish values

Listen to this week's podcast to learn how to encourage extravagantly! This 30 minute investment could transform your family!

#194: Family Culture Made Simple - Introduction Jan 18, 2023

Season 5 is HERE!

We are so excited to be back with you~ We LOVE making podcasts because it is like a kitchen table. We get to sit with you and share our hearts. We get to take time and build family together.

Here are a few words we heard from God about this year and this podcast season:

1. SIMPLE

We realize we need to simplify our life. How? Letting things go and relaxing into family, culture, and our kids. Just pausing and asking God, "What is the best thing for my kid in this season?"

2. ENGAGE

Chaos of the last few years has caused us to disengage. It's time to engage again because it's worth it. Technology and information is bombarding us and we need to simplify and pick what we want to engage in - we hope you pick Crazy Cool Family!

3. CULTURE

We are focusing on what culture is and why it is important. Culture is the builder of relationships. It's intangible yet possible to cultivate. Do you like the culture in your family? Did you know you can change it?

The goal of this series is to help your family build culture. In every season, we are building culture within our family. You may have littles at home and you’re in survival mode. You may have a range of kiddos and it feels like time is going by too quick! You may have older kids and it feels like culture is set. Wherever your family is, God is ready to shake up your culture and make it better.

We want to give you simple, applicable ways to change your family’s culture. Let’s jump in!

The way we are going to break this series down is in 4 parts – or 4 pillars.

The 4 pillars of culture are:

The Power of Encouragement
Safe Haven
Relational Discipline
Unity

Each pillar is vital to a family’s culture and we want to show you how! We want to simplify these four pillars and give you 4 declarations to start learning. By the end of the series, we want you saying these four statements in your sleep!

How do we build culture in our family?

Encourage extravagantly and correct carefully
Become a listener
Move from parent control to self-control.
Celebrate differences and establish values

Want MORE resources?

Join Basecamp Here!
Click here to watch the Culture Course in Basecamp
Other Resources!

193: What Did God Say and Do in 2022? Dec 14, 2022

It’s been an amazing year and we wanted to spend the last podcast talking about all God has done and spoken through this podcast in 2022. As we wrap up season 4 of the podcast, we wanted to reminisce on a few key things we’ve said this year (or that guests have said).

Then we broke down the word FIGHT and here are the words we highlighted:

F is for FAITH

I is for INSPIRE

G is for GIVE

H is for HUGS

T is for TEACH

After we unpacked the word FIGHT, we brought in fight experts. People who are fighting for family and people we can learn from.

Here are a few highlights from these episodes:

In Episode 158, Julie Pierce joined us to talk about how LEADERSHIP IS WORTH THE FIGHT.

“Every situation is a leadership situation. Every life lesson is a leadership lesson.” - Julie Pierce

Ep. 161: Commit to Fight for Family (Don and Suz)

We talk about vision, culture, and how to change your family from the inside out

"I looked at the fight for family and I decided... I am not going to lose this fight." - Don

Ep. 162: Fight for Energy

The truth is, the kids do have more energy! "The reason kids have so much more energy is because they are carefree and have the freedom to play all day!" - Suz

The heart of the FIGHT series culminated with Colleen Stickl joining us for Episode 163: Step into the Spiritual Fight. In a lot of ways, this is the main theme we hoped parents gained from this series.

"Ephesians 6:12 says, Our fight is not against flesh in blood (or toddlers and teenagers), it is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world... The biggest battle is not what we can see with our eyes but against satan and his forces." - Colleen

As parents, we see the battle for our kid's hearts. The more we are equipped to fight the less the enemy can do! Our kids are warriors and their salvation is at stake. If they have salvation, then he goes after their hearts. If their hearts are secure, he goes after their everyday peace and joy. We are called to fight for our kids and help them fight against darkness!

Ep. 164: Tim Hawkins – Being a Funny Family

Talking about authenticity and how to be a joyful culture but not at the expense of identity and encouragement. Tim talks about how joking was a way to bond but sometimes pushed the boundaries of kindness... he has learned as a father how powerful his words are and how to use them for building up, not tearing down.

Ep.165: Julie Parido - Parents who Fight for Truth

She shared her book “Draw the Scriptures” and how to fight to keep the Word of God in our families.

Ep. 166: Christy Gandy – Fight for Generosity

She shared her company “Love Well Co.” and talked about how she builds her family’s culture by prioritizing generosity over everything else.

Ep. 167: Anne Evans – Fighting for Marriage

Anne shared her ministry, Real Life Ministries and how her marriage was marked by unity and building their marriage daily. “What starts with you and God will overflow into your family and marriage relationship.” - Anne

The overall message of the FIGHT series is, IT’S WORTH IT!

And the way we fight is often different than we think... Fight for family takes a different role when we do it with God and FIGHT His way.

Summer Series: Who Knows Your Kids Best

We interviewed each of our kids this summer and our hope was that as you got to know them, it would help you know your kids better!

We heard so many people LOVE the series and gain insight into themselves and their unique children.

It was a whole summer learning about our kid’s world and how they saw their upbringing.

Fall Series: Parent to God

There were so many guests who came on to share their perspective of parenting, marriage, and more. We unpack how your relationship with God directly affects all the other relationships in your life.

#179: Pursuing God is Essential to Parenting
#180: Fatherhood, Football, and a Family Crisis (Feat. Chad Hennings)
#181: Pursuing God is a Delight
#182: A Father’s Pursuit of God (Feat. Dan Luigs)
#183: Teach Your Child to Hear God!
#184: Pursue God + Pursue Unity in Marriage (feat. Kim Kimberling)
#185: Q&A About Parenting + Hearing God
#186: Need a Fatherhood Refresh? (Feat. Larry Hagner)
#187: Talk to Yourself the Way God Talks to You (Feat. John Stange)
#188: Wrapping Up the Pursue God Series

Final 4 episodes of the season:

Ep. 189-190: AVOID the HOILIDAZE – real talk about the holidays and how we can have vision, declarations, and hope for the season. Great to listen to if you haven’t yet and there is a challenge at the end of the series, we think every family should do this week!

Last two episodes of the year – both inspiring and great to listen to before the year ends!

#191: Coaching Your Inner Self (Feat. Jill Hawkins)

#192: Building a Crazy Cool Family (Feat. Chris Grainger)

It’s been a wild year full of God’s voice, His wisdom through relationship experts, and practical next steps for families just like yours. We invite you to go back and listen to season 4 of our podcast and allow God to speak into your family as the year ends.

LAST THING!

Would you pray about supporting CCF through a reoccurring monthly donation or committing to a reoccurring yearly donation?     

Partners who commit to a reoccurring monthly donation of $20 or more (or a reoccurring yearly donation of $240 or more) will receive an official Crazy Cool Family t-shirt. 

Partners who commit to a reoccurring monthly donation of $50 or more (or a reoccurring yearly donation of $600 or more) will receive two official Crazy Cool Family t-shirts.

We would love for you to help us reach out to the families in your community. Together we reach families who desire to pursue God, build relationships, and create culture. We cannot do it without you. Help us reach other families by prayerfully considering supporting our ministry.

Click here to donate!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#192: Building a Crazy Cool Family (Feat. Chris Grainger) Dec 07, 2022

“Couples that grieve together, grow together.” - Chris

In difficult situation, or extensive grief, who do you turn to? How do you continue to build family when you are struggling?

What does it mean to turn to God and turn to people who are safe?

Chris Grainger joins Don on the podcast to help parents who are in a difficult season. Through divorce, family loss, and other trials Chris leaned into God and church community. He shares how God encountered him with love, mercy, and community to help him walk through relational valleys.

If you are feeling shameful, alone, or uncertain on how to deal with your current family situation, this is the podcast for you. Chris and Don get to the heart of family and how to be a spiritual leader amidst struggles.

Chris Grainger has an amazing ministry called the Lion Within Us and many resources. Check out the podcast, share it with a friend, and take a look at all Chris has to offer.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Follow Chris Here!
CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#191: Coaching Your Inner Self (Feat. Jill Hawkins) Nov 30, 2022

Are you a people pleaser?

Are you dreading the holidays because the "needs of others" feel overwhelming?

The amazingly joyful and wise JILL HAWKINS is back on the CCF podcast for Episode 191!

Last time she was on, she shared about physical health and how eating right can change your life. Over the last few years, she has been venturing into other areas of health. She is a "mental fitness" coach and LOVES helping people become emotionally and mentally healthy.

Do you feel like your emotions and mind run you?

Do you get stuck in emotional cycles and feel like there is no consistent solution?

Episode #191 is made for you. You are not alone and Jill is sharing profound words of wisdom about emotions, values, and needs. If you have spent your life trying to please others, enough is enough! She will let you in on the secrets of coaching your inner self, finding language for emotions, and expressing those emotions in alignment with your values.

There is too much goodness in this podcast, we might just have to give away some FREE stuff.... wait, Jill already is!

Click the link below to schedule a FREE coaching call with Jill Hawkins. See what her mental fitness coaching is all about. Dip your toes into this world and we promise you will not regret it!

So, what are you waiting for? Listen and sign up today!

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#190 AVOID the HoliDAZE - Part 2 (Feat. ALL the "Manning" Girls) Nov 23, 2022

How do you ENJOY the holidays and not get stuck in a holiDAZE?

This mini series is created for all the parents out there who are lying awake at night wondering how they are going to get it all done by December 24th...

Madeline, our 2nd daughter, came up with the word, "holidaze." Its completely made up (we think....🤷🏽‍♂️)

Definition of "Holidaze":

not enjoying the present event, festivity, or celebration, because you are so stressed out about the next event, festivity, or celebration.

2nd definition:

cloudy, negative mindset around the upcoming holiday events because they feel too overwhelming/you don’t have the energy to make it through them with joy.

Anyone feel this way about the 2022 holidays?

How do we kick any HOLIDAZE MINDSETS and make the most of 2022 Holidays! They only happen once, so how do we make the most of them?

We cover so much in this podcast, you will just have to listen. This is one of our favorite quotes to entice you....

"Rethink the holidays and the relationships around you in this season. The end of 2022 can be full of healing. God can restore and reignite our relationships this holiday season!"

Check out this week's podcast (Part 1) and be on the lookout for next week's episode! We believe God will highlight a strategy to you, for your family, and it will make this holiday season AMAZING!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#189: AVOID the HoliDAZE - Part 1 (Feat. ALL the "Manning" Girls) Nov 16, 2022

How do you ENJOY the holidays and not get stuck in a holiDAZE?

This mini series is created for all the parents out there who are lying awake at night wondering how they are going to get it all done by December 24th...

Madeline, our 2nd daughter, came up with the word, "holidaze." Its completely made up (we think....🤷🏽‍♂️)

Definition of "Holidaze":

not enjoying the present event, festivity, or celebration, because you are so stressed out about the next event, festivity, or celebration.

2nd definition:

cloudy, negative mindset around the upcoming holiday events because they feel too overwhelming/you don’t have the energy to make it through them with joy.

Anyone feel this way about the 2022 holidays?

How do we kick any HOLIDAZE MINDSETS and make the most of 2022 Holidays! They only happen once, so how do we make the most of them?

We cover so much in this podcast, you will just have to listen. This is one of our favorite quotes to entice you....

"Rethink the holidays and the relationships around you in this season. The end of 2022 can be full of healing. God can restore and reignite our relationships this holiday season!"

Check out this week's podcast (Part 1) and be on the lookout for next week's episode! We believe God will highlight a strategy to you, for your family, and it will make this holiday season AMAZING!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#188: Wrapping Up the Pursue God Series Nov 09, 2022

What are your reasons for not having a strong relationship with God?

In this podcast, we unpack SIMPLE but POWERFUL ways you can strengthen your relationship with God. In every season you are in, God is pursing you and He wants to have a relationship with you. It will give you the strength to live each day to the fullest!

The Parent to God is the covering relationship for a family. We are wrapping up this series by talking about how GREAT God is amidst the change. This fall air and crisp evenings has us excited about what all God is going to do as this year comes to a close.

What are practical ways to connect to God?

Get out in nature (especially amidst the changing seasons)
Worship
Read your Bible
Find the small moments to invite God
Asking God for His perspective on each situation

“God, what is your perspective on this situation? Show me your ways.” -Suz

What are ways you spend time with God?

Consistency to get up in the mornings
Along the way (especially with small children)
Leave for work early and spend time with God there
Find quiet times in your days
Ask your spouse what they need to connect with God

Fight and articulate for your time with God. Your spouse may not know what you need, so tell them!

“It may not be easy, but it is worth it!” - Don

What do I do if I love God but my kids don’t? How do I help my child hear God for themself? What about my spouse?

Our example is more important than our words/instruction
The questions are so important! (Look for that the questions are doing in your child’s heart)
Create experiences for them to see/know God
Allow the truth of the Gospel to be in front of your kids as often as possible
Invite your kids to thank God for the everyday miracles

What if my family doesn’t like church? How do we connect with God within the church?

Everyone has a story and church needs to be at the center of it
Kids need a foundation for the truth, which is found within the church
Jesus created the church but it is imperfect, we are called to contribute, not just consume
Ask God what church your family needs to be a part of

“The church is an extension of your family. We don’t walk away from family when it’s messed up... so we don’t walk away from the church when it feels messy.” - Suz

What else can we do to help make God a priority in our family?

Invite Him into every decision
Talk about God and give Him credit for the little things
Technology is everywhere – put God things in front of your kids
Thank God for food, toys, teams, and everything we are a part of each day
Include your kids in the ups and downs of life (emotions, decision, etc...)
Show them how you include God in your feelings and life decisions

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#187: Talk to Yourself the Way God Talks to You (Feat. John Stange) Nov 02, 2022

Parents, do you ever feel like all those spiritual words get jumbled up in your head and you can’t figure out a simple, effective way to consistently hear God?

Words like, identity, repentance, intimacy, Gospel, grace, etc...?!??!

Well, today’s your day! John Stange joins this week’s podcast to talk about walking and talking with God.

Ep. 187 provides practical tools to help you focus on God’s voice and start experiencing His presence daily.

Crazy as it seems, God sees His kids (that’s us) the same way He sees Jesus.... holy.... clean... righteous. If you don’t see yourself this way, then it’s time to invest a little time in Ep. 187 and let John and Don redirect your thinking!

Listen today and share with a friend! It’s worth your investment!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
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Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
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John Stange's Resources

#186: Need a Fatherhood Refresh? (Feat. Larry Hagner) Oct 26, 2022

Learning to be a Godly, motivated, and joyful man in our world can feel overwhelming....

How do we bust out of the mental, emotional, and spiritual ruts we, as men, can fall into?

Larry Hagner joins Don on this week's podcast and the truth bombs he drops will blow your mind. His testimony alone is worth the price of admission (which is $0!)

Don and Larry unpack the hardships men, in today's society, face and how to overcome the "Drift Effect." Each man is worthy of a relationship with God but that doesn't mean we know how to have one.

If you are a man, trying to love God - this podcast is for you.
If you are a man, trying to lead your family - this podcast is for you.
If you are a man, seeking FULFILLMENT out of your season of life

THIS PODCAST IS FOR YOU!

If you are anyone who knows someone who fits the above three criteria - share this podcast or listen to gain priceless insight!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
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The Dad Edge Resources

#185: Q&A About Parenting + Hearing God Oct 19, 2022

Today, Macy joins the podcast to ask us questions about hearing God and how it aligns with parenting.

This podcast is all about hearing God and including Him in every parenting season. God is our Heavenly Father and He designed family. He wants to walk with you as you parent your kids.

Questions We Unpack:

How do you hear God's voice?
Has the way you hear God changed throughout your parenting journey?
Why is hearing God's voice essential to raising Crazy Cool kids?
How have you made parenting decisions and included God?
What are practical ways you make spirit-filled parenting decisions?
What do I do if I want to make Godly decisions but my spouse doesn't seem to care?
What if I can't hear God's voice? How do I grow in hearing God's voice?

Hearing God's voice starts with identity. Start small and allow God to speak to you with love, grace, and kindness. As you listen to this podcast, we believe you will discover new ways to hear God. Hearing God will overflow into your family and help you make wise parenting decisions.

Want to make great, unified decisions for your family? Start by inviting God in and letting Him speak!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#184: Pursue God + Pursue Unity in Marriage (feat. Kim Kimberling) Oct 12, 2022

Is your marriage struggling?

Kim Kimberling wants to help you turn your marriage upside down!

We invited Kim Kimberling, writer of several marriage books AND creator of the Awesome Marriage podcast onto Episode 184! His insight into a husband or wife's relationship with God will inspire and challenge you.

We love Dr.Kim's perspective on marriage and we think this quote sums up the podcast well.

“Pray for your spouse and let the Holy Spirit do the work.” - Kim

If you need help cultivating a healthy marriage, this podcast is a great place to start! Join Don and Dr. Kim as they unpack topics such as:

How to have unity in marriage
Listening to your spouse
Showing respect to your spouse
How to love and serve your spouse when they don't follow God

After you listen to this podcast, check out all the Awesome Marriage resources the Kimberlings have to offer!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Awesome Marriage
CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#183: Teach Your Child to Hear God! Oct 05, 2022

Do you have kids? Do you want your kids to be able to hear God's voice?

Join Suz, Madeline, and Macy as we unpack our childhood memories about hearing God.

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
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#182: A Father’s Pursuit of God (Feat. Dan Luigs) Sep 28, 2022

How do you lead your family well?

Dan Luigs shares his story and challenges us to live a life unto the Lord.

Have you ever felt like your life was chaotic and losing purpose? Do you wish you and your spouse knew how to invest in the spiritual vision of your family?

We invited Dan Luigs, founder of The Journey of a Christian Dad podcast. He is a business man, a father, and a husband. He deeply loves the Lord and journeys with Him daily.

In Episode 182, Don and Dan unpack their experiences with business and fatherhood. They share the importance of pursing God amidst the craziness of life.

If you are seeking wisdom and ways to lead your family, this podcast is for you!

Dan is wise, joyful, and full of experiences that will encourage you to fight for your family. His family is marked by God's favor and wisdom. Do you want the same thing to be said about your family?

The thing is, no matter what season we are in or what job we are working, God wants to be at the center of it all. If He is not the center, we can lose sight of who we are and what our family is created to do on earth.

If your life feels "a little off," then listen to Dan and Don share their story and give practical ways to get your family back on track! There's always time to invest in your family. We invite you to invest by listening to this week's podcast.

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
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Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
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The Journey of a Christian Dad

#181: Pursuing God is a Delight Sep 21, 2022

Do you know how to DELIGHT in the Lord?

Do you feel burdened by the relational aspect of God?

The series we are in is called “Pursuing God.” Today we are sharing our personal relationships with God, how we have learned to grow and know them, and how we interact with Him now.

Our faith and knowledge of scripture were very different. We talk to parents all the time who are struggling to be unified with their spouse when it comes to beliefs. It's normal and healthy to have a unifying period in your marriage.

Suzanne had a deep faith and a basic foundation of knowing God. Don grew up in the church and quickly sought to achieve. He saw knowing God as something to obtain/win at.

After we were married, Don became a husband and a dad overnight. He learned quickly that he needed to figure out what he believed and what his purpose is within life and family.

After a year of learning about our beliefs, we joined a startup local church. Through this community, we studied scripture, had friends and hit a whole new level of relationship with God.

Our relationships with God have matured over the 30+ years of marriage and parenting. We are continually seeing new aspects of God's character in our life. It doesn't matter where you are on your journey with Jesus, He wants to connect with you.

What has God taught Suzanne?
- God was tender and kindhearted with her
- She felt chosen and blessed to raise all those girls
- God helped her cling to His word and had it around her often
- The value of building family values and caring about sibling culture
What/How has God taught Don?
- Seminars and seeking our information helps build faith
- The concept of authority
- Siblings can and should be best friends
- Seeing situations from God’s perspective
- How to carry God's heart into the workplace
These are just a few of the things God has taught us along the way. He is our Creator and Savior. He meets all our needs (better than anyone else can...).

So, what do we do? (We dare you to try these things this week)
- Believe the best in your spouse and call it out
- Show kindness and see if it leads to repentance (it’s supernatural)
- Believe and know God is real and ALIVE
- Give your feelings to God and walk with Him daily
Psalm 37:4 says, "delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

We get to delight in the Lord everyday, for the rest of our lives! That’s what we are doing when we pursue God, delighting in Him! We receive fullness of life when we hang out with our Creator!

Crazy Cool Resources:
- CCF Podcasts
- CCF Social Media
- Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
- Already in Basecamp? Check out the TRAILS!

#180: Fatherhood, Football, and a Family Crisis (Feat. Chad Hennings) Sep 14, 2022

What do you do if your family member is hurting?

Chad Hennings, a mighty man of God, former pro-football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and faithful husband + father joins us this week on season four of our podcast!

Chad shared how early on in his fatherhood journey, his oldest son, Chase, only 2-years-old, experienced adverse effects from a vaccination. This created a lot of uncertainty in their family. As years went on, Chase continued to worsen and experienced immense pain. Chad shares his perspective of his children's upbringing and what God taught him through the traumatic experiences. He was so burdened with Chase’s condition and it broke his heart.

Chad shares how this family crisis affected his marriage, his outlook on life and ultimately his journey as a father. God showed him how to rest in His plans and look to the miracle worker instead of just looking for a miracle.

“Our job as parents is not to fix every issue in our kids; our job as parents is to raise independent, critical thinking adults, who love the Lord.” - Chad

Chad's legacy is more than pro-football. He believes our legacy is defined by how we live our life and raise our kids to thrive. Listen to his perspective on fatherhood, family, and handling hard seasons. It will inspire you to pursue your family and pursue God whole heartedly, not matter what!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
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Check out Wingmen

#179: Pursuing God is Essential to Parenting Sep 07, 2022

How do you pursue God amidst parenting, marriage, and the craziness of life?

In this podcast we answer your questions about pursuing God.

What does it mean to "pursue God"?
How do I make time for God amidst my busy season?
Why are we called to spend time with God consistently?
What does God think about us/why does He want time with us?

We believe there are three things you commit to if you want to create a Crazy Cool Family:

Pursue God
Build Relationships
Create Culture

For the next several weeks, we will unpack the first pillar of our ministry: Pursuing God. We believe you MUST have a relationship with God and live out your relationships if you want your kids to experience Jesus in your home.

So how do you pursue God?

LISTEN to the podcast and START pursuing God TODAY!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media
Join Basecamp- FOR FREE!
Already in Basecamp? Check out the Parent to God Course!

#178: Who Knows Your Kid Best? (Feat. McCade Manning) Aug 31, 2022

We are wrapping up the summer series with McCade, our 7th child!

McCade is practically perfect in every way (just kidding!) McCade is the youngest of seven and remembers all his siblings being older and stronger. As the 7th kid, he learned to be independent, courageous, and very tough.

McCade is 16 years old now and is discovering who he is, what he believes, and how he wants to interact with us (the old parents he is stuck at home with). Now that he is the only child at home, we see the next few years being a sweet time for us to invest in his life and prepare him for what's ahead.

Here are a few things he said in the episode for parents who are raising teenagers:

Allow kids as much freedom as you can (responsibility = freedom!)
Let them solve their own problems (stop coddling them!)
Be a place for them to share, talk, and not be ridiculed

We learned how powerful a parent's voice is in a teenager's life. Even if they roll their eyes and act like they don't care, they do. Cade shared how his relationship with God has been growing because he has watched his older siblings, and parents live out their faith. He has been watching and learning from us all these years.

Parents, as your teenagers is trying to build their life, it's not too late for you to come alongside them. Be a parent who encourages, challenges (in love), and believes the best in your child.

Want to know how to do all of these things?

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST TODAY!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#177: Who Knows Your Kid Best? (Feat. Maddox Manning) Aug 17, 2022

The summer series continues with Maddox, our 6th child!

Is your child....

Easy going but picky about random things (like food textures)
Has big emotions but you never know what's going on in their heads/hearts
Acts apathetic or resistant to trying new things

Maddox shares how he spent his childhood going with the flow but also needing a lot out of the relationships in his life. In middle school, he experienced the powerful grace of God and started questioning his beliefs with us. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit helped up navigate his questions and doubts.

Countless kitchen counter conversations and encounters with Jesus have developed Maddox into a mighty man of God. He loves the local church, is an amazing big and little brother, and is ready to start a new season in a new state by attending a university.

Do you want to release your child into college (or adulthood) confidently?

In this podcast, Maddox shares how parents can make their kids feel safe, open, and seen. Through discovering faith, finding friendships, and making life decisions, we walked alongside Maddox and helped him be the best version of himself.

Now he is leaving for college and we are sending him! It's the biggest blessing, as a parent, is sending your child into their season with confidence. Listen to learn how to start loving your child and building their trust!

God has a plan to connect you and your child. Listen and share with anyone you know who needs to hear this encouragement today!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#176: Who Knows Your Kid Best? (Feat. Michael Manning) Aug 03, 2022

What if your child acts like a punk?

Our 5th child and first boy, Michael, said he "was a huge punk" growing up.

Wanna know why?

In this podcast, Michael shares his first memories of childhood, having 4 older sisters (aka his personal cheerleaders) and how he discovered Jesus + his calling to be a leader.

Do you feel like your child is distancing themselves from you?

Do you worry your kid will not grow up and discover Jesus' love for themselves?

This podcast is for you. There is hope. God has a plan to connect you and your child. Listen and share with anyone you know who needs to hear this encouragement today!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#175: Who Knows Your Kid Best? (Feat. McKenzie Reaume) Jul 20, 2022

How do you help your middle child live out their God-given identity?

The "Who Knows Your Child Best" series continues with our 4th daughter McKenzie Reaume. She is in between the three older sisters and three younger brothers. God gave us McKenzie as the relational bridge between the Manning kids.

In this podcast, you will hear us discuss:

What Kenzie was like as a child
How she related to her siblings
How we parented her well (and not so well)
Her journey to knowing God deeply
Practical ways parents can love their child if they are like McKenzie

This podcast is jammed packed with wisdom, practical tools, and funny memories. If you have a middle child, this is the podcast for you!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#174: Who Knows Your Kid Best? (Feat. Macy Robinson) Jul 06, 2022

Is your child emotional? High achiever? Really hard on themselves and hard on you?

This week, our 3rd daughter, Macy, joins us to talk about how to raise an emotional child. She grew up in our household with lots of siblings AND LOTS of emotions! She was by far our hardest toddler and there was a whole season we didn't take her out because she threw too many fits!

We love Macy because she brings heart into our family. If you need a good cry, talk to Macy. If you need someone to feel what you feel and be with you through it, call Macy. She is an aware, an incredible helper, and has a heart of worship. God put her in our family to keep us on the straight and narrow (huge rule follower), but also to show us the depth of love God feels towards us.

In this podcast, we discuss:

How emotional kids think, feel, and react to life
Ways parents can model emotional intelligence
The spiritual part of raising an emotional child
Practical things to do when this type of child is struggling

Do you have a child like this?

How do you love them?

Listen to this week's podcast to gain insight on how to raise an emotional, perfectionistic child. If your child is struggling with self-esteem issues or reacts poorly to life's circumstances, then this is the podcast for you! Macy gives wisdom and helpful tools to equip parents who desire to raise an emotionally healthy child!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#173: Who Knows Your Kid Best? (Feat. Madeline Jones) Jun 22, 2022

Is your child loud? Energetic? A little too adventurous for your parent-heart?

This summer we are slowing down the podcast and inviting each of our kids to share about their perspective of family, relationships, and our parenting. You do not want to miss these honest conversations about our wins and misses as parents. Trust us, our kids will not hold back!

The question we are asking, to you parents, in the Summer Series is "Who knows your kid best?"

Do you know your child better than anyone else?

How do you get to know them better this summer?

As we've watched our kids grow up, we've learned a few things. Our hope is that you learn how to love your kids by listening to ours!

The podcast will air every other week throughout the summer. So take time to listen, process, and practice what you are learning!

Meet Madeline Jones!

Madeline is our second daughter. From the start, she has been full of life, energy, and joy! She is married and has 2 kiddos under 3 with another baby on the way!

Madeline unpacks her childhood, personality, and memories in this podcast. She shares about her relationship with God and how she loved adventure from a young age. Her story is powerful and we know there are more kids out there like her!

A few things about Madeline:

She loved (still does love) playing babies
She was coachable and good at basketball
She often found a camera and videoed or performed for people

Here are a few main things Madeline shares about being raised by us:

She felt like an optimistic child and hated to be lectured, put down, or nagged. When we encouraged her, it made her heart come alive but when we coached or lectured, it shut her down
She loves intentional times with family and sharing about the things we did each day.
She loves missions and wants to live her life bringing the Kingdom of God to earth!

Does this sound like your son or daughter?

Do they challenge you and push the limits of your family's culture?

This many not be a bad thing. Listen to the podcast for insight on how to train up and love this type of child! We believe God has something in this podcast for you! Listen and share today!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#172: Who Knows Your Kid Best? (Feat. Mollie Torres) Jun 08, 2022

We are kicking off our Summer Series!

This summer we are slowing down the podcast and inviting each of our kids to share about their perspective of family, relationships, and our parenting. You do not want to miss these honest conversations about our wins and misses as parents. Trust us, our kids will not hold back!

The question we are asking, to you parents, in the Summer Series is "Who knows your kid best?"

Do you know your child better than anyone else?

How do you get to know them better this summer?

As we've watched our kids grow up, we've learned a few things. Our hope is that you learn how to love your kids by listening to ours!

The podcast will air every other week throughout the summer. So take time to listen, process, and practice what you are learning!

Meet Mollie Torres!

Mollie is our oldest daughter and the 2nd mom to our other 6 kiddos. She is organized, fashionable, and is very... VERY passionate.

Mollie and Suz started the fam and Don joined in (meaning Don is not Mollie's biological dad) and the adjustment was a little tricky for everyone as the Manning family formed.

Here are a few main things Mollie shares about being raised by us:

As a first born, she sometimes felt like a failure and unable to share her emotions when she messed up or "fell short" in our eyes
As a girl, she often felt hurt by our harsh words (or lack of encouragement)
As an older sister, she felt like she had to be mature and help with her siblings and house stuff more than she wanted

Does this sound like your first born son or daughter?

Mollie's insight into her upbringing is so valuable. She is now an amazing mom to Sebastian (3 year old boy) who is a lot like her! Her perspective of our parenting choices is priceless. Listen today and learn why.

Topics we discuss:

Learning to listen and draw out your child's emotions
Building trust and talking about the ways trust has been broken
Setting expectations (specifically around grades)
Giving them experiences with Jesus
Inviting the Holy Spirit into hard parenting moments
Choosing relationship instead of rules with your first child

Crazy Cool Resources:

#171: Fight the Fight and Jump into Summer Jun 01, 2022

Ready for summer?

We fight for family and we love summer! This week's podcast is about fighting for your family AND jumping into summer.

Listen to this week's podcast to kickstart your summer and start investing in your family.

Crazy Cool Resources:

#170: Stop Sibling Fights with Investment May 25, 2022

Are you over your kids fighting with each other?

Do you see them going against each other and just wish they could learn to listen and love their sibling?

Suz and Macy share ways you can change your family's culture on this week's podcast!

Suzanne talked to several Crazy Cool Parents and asked them, "How do you help your kids get along?"

The answers will blow your mind! The parents have taken building culture to the next level and their kids are becoming best friends.

We believe family is made by God and He has a specific plan for every family. What is yours? We encourage you to listen to our podcasts so you can be inspired and gain insight for your family. Listen and share today!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#169: We Fight for Family to Believe May 18, 2022

What are your family's beliefs?

Are your beliefs helping or hurting your family grow?

We were recently on a walk and started talking about how our family has been marked by our beliefs. We identified positive and negative (true and false) beliefs and started seeing how beliefs affected our parenting.

"What we believe about things influences what happens in our life." - Don

Beliefs are amazing because they are always growing and changing. As parents, we can invite God in and ask Him what beliefs we need to incorporate into our family, starting now!

“If you have a belief you do not like, you can change them!” - Don

Fighting for family takes time. We want you to fight by looking at your beliefs. What does your family think about, talk about, and care most about? These things are connected to your beliefs.

What does it look like to build family beliefs?

Here are a few we have chosen to live by over the last 30 years:

Relationships are valuable
Our kids are gonna turn out great
What we talk about influences our family
Encouraging our kids to do their best
We serve rather than look to be served
I am for my spouse, we want to understand each other
Our kids will be best friends
Believe God is good, no matter what

Building your family's belief system is a process and every family can start today. How are you going to start fighting for your family's culture? What is one thing you can start doing today?

Take a minute and ask God:

What are my family’s beliefs?
What beliefs do you want us to have?
Are there any false/bad beliefs we need to get rid of for our good?

Crazy Cool Resources:

#168: What if I'm Losing the Fight? (Feat. Madeline Jones) May 11, 2022

Do you feel like "quitting the fight?"

Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel and quitting this whole parenting thing?

Madeline, our 2nd daughter joins us to share about her season of feeling like the is "losing the fight" with her family. Through sickness, trials, new work for her husband, and other things she found it really hard to feel like a success when it came to parenting, marriage, and her relationship with God.

Suz shared how she remembers countless moments of wanting to quit. It's a valid emotion and something each parent hits at some point in their parenting journey. She shares how these feelings are okay and even good. They are invitations from God to draw near to Him

Can anyone relate?

You are not alone! We unpack ways you can flip your thinking when the season feels like it holds more losses than wins.

A few ways to exchange the "losing mentality"

Talk to God
Go outside and get sunshine
Mindset of "allotted time" with your kids
Sit back and just be for a few minutes every day
Let go of your agenda and play with your kids

Parents, we are invited to soak of these seasons with our kids. We are hand-picked by God to love and raise our kids. No matter what difficulties you are facing in this season, God sees you and wants to meet you in the midst of the crazy.

Remember, joy comes in the morning and with each new day we get a chance to love and live again! We encourage you to stop, see what God is doing in this season, and let it energize you for the days to come. This season will not last forever and when you are 20-30 years down the road, you will see the fruit of your parenting. Keep investing in your kids and leaning into God's plan for your family.

Here are ways to win each day:

Laughter
Serve each other
Get our of your house
Play outside
Communicating with spouse

Crazy Cool Resources:

#167: Fighting for Marriage (Feat. Anne Evans) May 04, 2022

What do I do if my spouse and I are not on the same page?

Unity within marriage is vital. God's idea of marriage is centered on unity. Is your marriage unified? What creates unity and what destroys it?

Anne Evans joins Suz to talk about unity within marriage. This week we are FIGHTING for marriage!

Anne and Tim Evans have 6 books about marriage. Their books are centered on sexuality, sexual intimacy, forgiveness, how to dream as a married couple, and so many more topics! No matter what season your marriage is in, these books will take your marriage to the next level!

Check out their books here!

How to build unity within marriage

"It took me seven years to be comfortable within marriage. I was conflict avoidant and didn't want to create anything bad in my marriage. Living in unity is all about living in unity with the Lord. Unity with our spouse is great but unity with God is our foundation we live on." - Anne

Here are a few main points of how to have unity in your marriage:

Learn how to include God in your decisions
Include others (community) in your life
Pursue the heart of God and be unified with Him

Building Unity

Teachability and availability are the two main ways unity is built. Marriages can be marked by differences which can create tension. A big distinction Anne makes is differencing absolutes from preferences. Often times we get bogged down with preferences and it causes fights.

Learn how to talk to each other
Learn how to manage our emotions
Find the best times to have hard conversations

The topic is unity but we are called to examine ourselves and develop our inner core. We can set ourselves (and our spouse) up for success when we do the hard work within ourselves. Then even if our spouse doesn't do exactly what we want, we are still able to grow with God.

We want to end with an encouragement. Your identity is first and forever found in Christ. Your marriage is marked by the love of God and His love covers a multitude of sins. As we fight for unity within our marriage, we encourage you to think about how God wants to strengthen you with unity so your marriage can be unified. It starts with you and God and overflows into your relationships.

Podcast Resources:

Real Life Ministries

Crazy Cool Resources:

#166: Fight for Generosity (Feat. Christy Gandy) Apr 27, 2022

Mother's Day is coming up and we have the perfect gift idea! This week, Christy Gandy joins the podcast to help us Fight for Generosity. She unpacks ways her family chooses to be generous in every season.

Generosity is a value and something we are invited to build into our family culture.

"Generosity is an investment. It creates connection within relationships. Generosity goes straight to the heart and builds gratefulness." -Suz

The reality is, generosity starts with you. Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed."

A culture of generosity starts in our home. Do you have a culture of generosity?

Here are practical ways we have practiced generosity:

Buy things for others
Serve together
Buy presents for other members of the family
Write thank you notes or encouraging notes
Encourage the sibling to choose generosity!
Look at your budget and find the funds for giving
Have a basket or closet set aside for gifts!
Ask God how you can give today and then give

Generosity is from God and He knows it is part of who we are called to be as His children. When we give it stirs up our hearts to give even more!

Listen and learn how to start building a culture of generosity in your home! Take a few minutes to learn ways to model God-inspired generosity to your kids!

Podcast Resources:

Crazy Cool Resources:

165: Parents Who Fight for Truth (Feat. Julie Parido) Apr 20, 2022

The fight continues, parents and this week we are picking up the Word of God to help us fight for our kid's hearts.

Julie Parido joins the podcast to share a God-inspired idea. She created a book called, Draw the Verse, which provides parents and kids with a simple and fun way to study scripture together. She felt like she knew the bible and grew up in the church but this class helped her have a passion to have her kids learn scripture by drawing the tree picture while they interacted with scripture. As the year went on, the felt like God called her to make a book for families to learn scripture together.

"Draw the verse sets our kids up to hear God, through His word, and have a relationship with us. This combo teaches them (and us) how to tie our actions, behaviors and our hearts to the scriptures. As our kids get older, it becomes part of the family culture and as a way to consistently talk about Jesus." - Suz

Do you want your kid to know God's word? Do you want them to learn to hear His voice through the Bible?

Then listen and be inspired by Suz and Julie! They will give you practical ways to start putting God's word into your family culture.

Recommended Resources:

Draw the Verse
Follow Julie on social media!

Crazy Cool Resources:

164: Being a Funny Family (Feat. Tim Hawkins) Apr 13, 2022

Is your family culture marked by fun?

Tim Hawkins joins us this week to share how his family values laughter, jokes, and silliness. If you need a laugh or help creating laughter in your home, then this podcast is for you!

"Humor is a God-given quality to help us walk through life." - Tim

Don and Tim discuss the power of comedy within a home and all the ways parents can create fun in family.

Here are a few things they discuss:

How do you bring humor into your family?
How do you create humor without putting down others?
What does humor bring into your culture?
How do we use technology to bring humor into our home?

Creating confident world changer kids starts with creating culture in your home. Tim says he used humor to combat shyness and help his kids shine! He believes it’s something God puts in us to help us live life and embrace the unknowns.

As we fight for family, we know every parent makes mistakes. The point is not to focus on the mistakes but choose to be the real TODAY and show their kids an authentic you.

Tim Hawkins Resources:

Crazy Cool Resources:

#163: Step into the Spiritual Fight (Feat. Colleen Stickl) Apr 06, 2022

When God gave us the word FIGHT, this is what we wanted to talk about! What we are called to do as parents is fight on the spiritual realm for our kids.

Colleen Stickl, the wife of our lead pastor at Valley Creek, and fighter for families all over the world joins the CCF podcast to equip us on the spiritual warfare FIGHT!

Basics of Spiritual Warfare:

Acknowledging we are in a battle
The fight is happening everyday and we walk in authority
Assume the battles are coming AND that we are never alone!
Remember who you are and who we are fighting

"Ephesians 6:12 says, Our fight is not against flesh in blood (or toddlers and teenagers), it is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world... The biggest battle is not what we can see with our eyes but against satan and his forces." - Colleen

Here are great questions to ask yourself as you grow in awareness about the spiritual fight:

What do we know about the enemy?
Can he be resisted?
Does the enemy have power? Authority? What is the difference?
How do we define the specific battle we feel or see?
Is God bigger than this? Does he have authority? Do I?

How do we fight the spiritual battle as a parent?

Renew your mind, replace them with God's truth
Taking authority and teaching our kids to do it too!
Believing and speaking out our identity

As parents, we see the battle for our kid's hearts. The more we are equipped to fight the less the enemy can do! Our kids are warriors and their salvation is at stake. If they have salvation, then he goes after their hearts. If their hearts are secure, he goes after their everyday peace and joy. We are called to fight for our kids and help them fight against darkness!

There is TOO MUCH GOLD in this podcast! Listen and share, today!

Recommended Resources:

The Bible! The word of God is the sword of the spirit and a double-edged sword
Peace Soundtrack from Valley Creek – truth soundtrack
Follow the Cloud – by John Stickl

Crazy Cool Resources:

#162: Fight for Energy! Mar 30, 2022

As a parent, do you ever feel like your kid(s) have SO MUCH MORE energy than you?

Often, we get asked the question,"How did you have enough energy to raise 7 kids!?"

The truth is, the kids do have more energy! "The reason kids have so much more energy is because they are carefree and have the freedom to play all day!" - Suz

Playing brings energy and life into family. We believe God calls us to work and steward our lives but also value play. We invite you to rethink the areas of "work" in your life and bring laughter and fun into them.

This week's podcast answers important questions about fun, energy, and relieving stress. We share practical ways parents can maintain energy and even create a culture of fun during the each season of family. If you feel like your family is running low on energy, this podcast is for you!

Here are a few questions we unpack:

Do you play with your kids? Do you make time to play?
How do you get on your kid's level and play?
What type of energy do you carry into the home? How do you change it if it's negative?
How do we, as parents invite God into our energy levels?
How is stress stealing your energy? What systems can alleviate the stress?

A Few Practicals:

Go outside!
See the day in two parts: morning and afternoon
Get creative with ways to exert energy!
Become aware of how stress drains our energy
Schedule clean-up times
Create systems to maintain energy
Find a village (or army) to build up your family
Refill your energy tank by getting time away

Crazy Cool Resources:

#161: Commit to Fight for Family Mar 23, 2022

We are in the Fight for Family, are you with us? How do we take it to the next level?

"I looked at the fight for family and I decided... I am not going to lose this fight." - Don

Commitment is key and we are talking about how to commit to the fight. Are you in? Let's take this conversation deeper. We have talked a lot about how to fight for your family but in today's podcast we step back and share vision and practical ways we have learned to fight over the last 30 years.

Remember parents, in every season, your family is worth the fight. Let's dive in together!

What are our family goals? What are yours?

We wanted our kids to love Jesus
Create fun moments with our family
(Insert yours here!)

Three Commitments:

Pursue God
Build Relationships
Create Culture

Questions We Cover:

What do I need to conquer in my life to have an amazing family?
What parts of me is God trying to refine through relationships?
What do we do to change family culture?
How do you activate/apply culture in your home?

Keys to Winning the Fight:

When we pursue God, we get to hear God
When we hear God, we get direction for our lives
God is a God of relationships - He is ALL about them!
You've got to be healthy yourself to create a healthy family
We are empowered by God to create family culture
Relationships is a game, designed by God and EVERYONE can win!
Culture is about connection, not performance

Resources:

#160: Fight for Forgiveness (Feat. Julie Plagens) Mar 16, 2022

Do you need forgiveness in your family?

Join us this week as Julie Plagens shares with Don and Suzanne about her book, Estranged and shares how forgiveness is essential to a healthy, whole family. If you need forgiveness of restoration in your family's relationships, this is just the podcast for you!

In this podcast, we unpack the power of salvation and how it can transform a family. A family without Jesus creates pain and family estrangement. Julie shared how her parents started following God and her extended family didn't approve. She experienced physical, emotional, and relational pain. It followed her into her marriage and parenting journey.

In the midst of a lot of pain and sickness, she had "a come to Jesus moment" and decided she was going to reconcile all the anger and strained relationship with her family.

Do you feel estranged from someone in your family?
Do you feel conviction from God to reconcile but have no idea how?
Are you a people pleaser and struggling to have healthy boundaries with relationships?

"Fear based parenting can overtake encouragement and stop it. Fear based life impacts every relationships in your life." - Julie

Forgiveness is about the offense and reconciliation is about the relationship. Forgiveness has ZERO loop holes and God calls us to forgive, no matter what.

Reconciliation is an invitation from God but it revolves the relationships. It is two-sided and takes both people to make reconciliation happen.

Forgiveness is between us and God, reconciliation is between two (or more) people.

Key Takeaways:

Forgiveness is a super power and we rely on the power of God to help us.
The process of forgiveness works on our stubbornness and we start with embracing God's love.
Prayer softens our heart and helps us choose reconciliation.
Counseling can help the process of forgiveness - it's worth it!
Rethink the lies you have chosen to partner with and replace them with God's truth.
As parents, we can all break generational "legacies" or strongholds.

Resources:

#159. Dads, Join the Fight! (Feat. Jeff Zaugg) Mar 09, 2022

How do we, as fathers, win the game of love?

Does work feel like too much? Are you missing out on deep connecting with your kids? How do we (dads) invite God into our family and allow Him to teach us to be a provider? A protector? A friend?

Jeff Zaugg and Don unpack these question on this week's podcast. Jeff is a man of God and loves his family. He has dedicated his life to helping men walk about their God-given calling as fathers.

“My identity as a son of God, and my relationship with God is like a waterfall. The identity I believe flows from my life and into the next generation, my girls.” - Jeff

Hear from Don and Jeff on how they have learned to step into their God-given identity and follow His ways over theirs. This episode is for dads who long to know God and love their families. Listen as Jeff shares creative and spirit-filled ways he has learned to follow God and raise his kids.

"I can make mistakes but it doesn’t have to affect my sonship. The way I see myself will determine how I treat myself and others, especially my kids." - Jeff

LIFE stands for:

Love
Intentionality
Free (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Enjoy

Dads, your kids know if you love being a dad or not. How do you think your kids see you? Our Heavenly Father loves you and loves walking with you. When we spend time with Him, it overflows into our family, especially our kids. When you receive love from God, you will be more intentional, freer, and you will enjoy your family more.

Every family can be CRAZY COOL. Every family can have LIFE.

Encouragement from Jeff: Go after it! God has made your family unique and there is a spark inside you. Every kid (including you) has a place in God’s Kingdom and a place where your heart can align with God’s heart.

Resources:

#158 Leadership is Worth the Fight (Feat. Julie Pierce) Mar 02, 2022

Is everyone a kingdom leader?

That’s the question we unpack today. Julie Pierce joins us to answer our questions about leadership. Leadership is next level when it becomes KINGDOM leadership! We take the conversation into real-life situations.

“Every situation is a leadership situation. Every life lesson is a leadership lesson.” - Julie Pierce

We talk about:

The identity of a Kingdom leader
Training up Kingdom leaders (no matter what age)
Leading when you aren’t in charge (by your example)
Help kids be confident in every situation

Julie has 2 sons and she is passionate about raising them up to be leaders. Her desire is for them to walk into a room and be able to step up and lead if needed.

Parents, we are called to teach our kids to walk out in their Kingdom identity, this included being a Kingdom leader!

Here are other questions we answer:

What is the difference between a worldly leader and kingdom leader?
What have you learned about raising kingdom leaders over the years?
What if your kid doesn’t believe they are a leader/ have no confidence/would rather just follow others?
How do we pick up leadership skills? How do we train our kids to do the same
How to lead by going first. What does this look like in everyday life?

We love the “along the way” leadership learning. We get to create places for our kids to become leaders through serving, teaching them skills, and calling out the leadership identity God placed inside them.

“What we celebrate, we replicate.” - Julie Pierce

The conservation landed on this idea of celebrating our kids when they lead and helping them know how to keep leading in future situations. Celebration is a leadership skill and as parents, when we celebrate our kids take notice!

Listen to this week’s podcast to learn how to speak Kingdom leader-identity over your kids. Julie speaks over her kids, “Lead well and shine your light.” It’s a simple phrase they consistently speak over their boys. They are seeing the fruit in their kids and you can too!

Resources:

#157 "T" is for Teach Feb 23, 2022

FIGHT, that is what we have been talking about this year!

F is for... Faith
I is for... Inspire
G is for... Give
H is for... Hugs
T is for....?

TEACH! This week we focus in on how to train up our kids and teach them how to live!

Do you talk more than listen? Do you use too many words? Do you nag and lecture?

We are here to say there is a better way! We invite you to listen and challenge the way you teach your children. There are biblical, God-given ways to teach and train our kids. We talk about these things:

How to listen and connect with our kids
Help our kids come to their own conclusion
Let kids make mistakes (What!? Really!?)
Creating Family Values + Culture
How to live like the Kingdom of God

There are so many ways we can teach our kids. We invite you to start a conversation with your spouse, friends, or kids about things you are called to teach them. Teaching our kids is a life time journey and we do it along the way. How can you start teaching your kids today? Start somewhere!

Resources:

Social Media
Basecamp

#156: "H" is for Hugs Feb 16, 2022

We continue the Fight for Family series with "H is for Hugs." Affection, physical touch, and affirmation are all things we invite you to give your kids.

Here's the reality, parents... if they don't get it from you... they will look for it elsewhere.

Listen and grow in your understanding of how a parent's loving touch can change the heart of a child. Your affection, love, and kindness can fill your child's love cup up. It can change their hard heart towards you.

Did you know you need 4 hugs a day? Really?

We need 4 hugs a day for survival.
We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance.
We need 12 hugs a day for growth.

Here are 25 reasons you need hugs:

Hugging helps us fight stress and keep us healthier.
Hugging boosts the body’s immune system.
Hugging releases oxytocin which relieves anxiety.
Hugging helps us to bond.
Hugging gives us skin contact that our bodies need.
Hugging increases serotonin in the body, making us happier.
Hugging leads to a balanced nervous system.
Hugging uses nonverbal communication.
Hugging provides multiple health benefits.
Hugging raises our level of dopamine reducing depression.
Hugging connects us.
Hugging can help us to sleep better.
Hugging builds self-esteem and self-love.
Hugging helps us to feel love and acceptance.
Hugging is the best way to maintain a strong emotional bond.
Hugging gives us empathy for others.
Hugging helps us control our feelings.
Hugging increases intimacy.
Hugging allows us to give and receive comfort.
Hugging tells a person that they matter.
Hugging builds trust and a sense of safety.
Hugging relaxes muscles.
Hugging teaches us to let go and be present in the moment.
Hugging encourages us to flow with the energy of life.
Hugging connects us with our heart, feelings, and breath.

We must MUST MUST add hugging to our arsenal as we fight for our children/families. We have to be the ones to fill the need. It is way too costly for to have the need for physical touch to be met outside the family.

So GO HUG YOUR KIDS, your spouse…. The dog! Keep a count 4, 8, 12…. How many hugs are you going to give today because that is exactly how many you are going to get to! All the benefits they get from a hug you get too!

Wherever you are in your parenting journey, we can all learn more about how to love our kids!

#18 Overcoming Conflict In Sibling Relationships - Featuring Madeline & Macy Manning Jun 18, 2019

In this podcast, we have a great discussion with Madeline and Macy, our second and third kids. They are a brief eighteen months apart and did a lot together growing up. We invite you to listen to the podcast and hear in their voices their struggles, but more importantly, how they overcame those struggles.

We also hope this podcast will encourage you to inspire the little people of your family to see their siblings with love and adoration (as the apple of their eye) and choose to protect and nurture (in the shadow of their wing) those key sibling relationships.

Crazy Cool Resources:

#16 How To Encourage Your Oldest Child To Take Ownership in Their Role Jun 05, 2019

Mollie and Suzanne were the beginning of this Crazy Cool Family, and one-by-one, starting with Don (since Mollie and Suz were a pair before Don entered the picture) they built a family of nine. Mollie felt the burden and responsibility of being a big sister when Madeline was barely sitting up.

The role of the oldest sibling is a powerful and influencing role in your family!

When you get the oldest on your team, the other siblings will follow. Be aware, and make them aware of the responsibility, honor, ownership, and value of being the oldest. God has set them apart and hand-picked them to be the oldest. And God knows exactly what He is doing!

Crazy Cool Resources:

#15: 3 Mindset Shifts to Build an Amazing Childhood For Your Kids May 29, 2019

Often in CCF, we talk about flipping your thinking as a parent. Today we give you 3 mindset shifts to help build an amazing childhood for your kids.

Do you want your kids to have an amazing childhood?

Listen as Don and Suzanne share snippets of conversations with their kids that will help you shift your mindset to building an amazing childhood for your kids.

Crazy Cool Resources:

#5: Creating Culture - Part 2 Mar 12, 2019

It's part 2 of the Creating Culture podcast series. This week we dive deeper into ways to create culture in your family.

Do you believe this?

"No matter what your family looks like now, you can still change the culture for the better."

This podcast shines a light on the brokenness each family needs to push through to create a better culture. It's possible and we want to help! Listen and apply the things we share today and start building culture in your family!

Crazy Cool Resources:

"G" is for Give Feb 09, 2022

Are you giving it all you've got for your family?

The better question is, are you giving your best?

This Fight for Family series is helping families take ground in 2022. In today's podcast we challenge your view of giving.

Parents, we give our best so our kids can become their best. Listen today as we unpack this truth.

Giving our best for our family has helped us build culture, make decisions, and is 100% worth our time, energy, and heart!

Join Basecamp
Follow us on Social Media

"I" is for Inspire Feb 02, 2022

Are You an Inspiring Parent? This podcast will challenge you to take your encouragement skills to the next level.

As parents, we are called to be the loudest, most encouraging voice in our kid's lives.

Can you say you honestly are? If no, how do we change?

God gives us faith and He inspires us to live our lives overflowing with inspiration.

Listen and share this "I is for..." episode and watch how God flips your thinking when it comes to being a parent who inspires more then crituques!

"F" is for Faith Jan 26, 2022

2022 is all about rising up and getting back in the FIGHT for Family.

This week, Don and Suz unpack the first letter in FIGHT:

F is for Faith.

Faith is so powerful and when we are full of faith if overflows into the lives of others, especially our family.

Do you feel a lack of faith in your heart? Your marriage? Your home? If yes, this podcast will inspire you to pursue God and ask Him for faith!

Listen and share with other families who need to get into the fight!

Resources:

Fight For Family Jan 19, 2022

This week's podcast is a MUST LISTEN! Don and Suz talk all about the phrase "fight for family."

Did you say fight WITH family? We don't want to do that!

No no no...Don and Suz are talking about a word they feel God is speaking over every Crazy Cool Family. The word is "fight."

They invite parents to seek God for a word for their own family and to pray about what God is inviting each parent, grandparent, or family member to "fight for."

Listen and join the fight for families!

What's Your Word for 2022? Jan 12, 2022

This week we are diving into the power of words on our podcast. On this episode Macy (Manning) Robinson joins Suz to talk about words for 2022.

Do you have a word yet?

What we are sharing is the power of a God-given word for 2022. In the podcast we share how we have sought God in years past for specific word. God has been faithful to provide one and it blows our minds with all He does in a year related to the word.

Do you believe God’s word can change your heart? What about your family? Listen to this week’s podcast to hear how a word from God can bring breakthrough and transformation for you AND your family in 2022.

What to Do With the New Jan 05, 2022

It’s a new year and we have a bunch of new podcasts for you to listen to (and share) in 2022!

Two of our favorite people jump on this podcast to ring in the new year! Parker and McKenzie Reaume join us to talk about the new year and how we can rethink it!

Do you ever get overwhelmed by the new year? All the “new” can feel like a lot...

In today’s podcast, we talk about how to break the new year up into seasons and how P&M have chosen to see life as small “chunks” or seasons.

We believe this podcast will encourage and challenge you to find Jesus-focused ways to see all the new coming at you in 2022.

What Your Kids Need for the New Year Dec 29, 2021

See ya 2021! It's bee a whirlwind of a year and we are full of anticipation at what God is going to do in 2022!

This year, we are inviting you to focus on the light and the life Jesus brings. Our passion is for you to do something kingdom oriented for your family. Our passion is for you to pray.

What is prayer? How do you pray as a parent?

Prayer is simply talking to God. The Creator and Maker of our children. He knows what they need, what wounds the world has given them and he has a plan and a purpose for them. He wants to share all His knowledge and wisdom with us.

Do you want to see God move in your family? Do you want to learn how to pray?

Listen to this podcast! It's a great way to close out the year. Let's up our prayer game together in 2022.

What Your Kids Need MOST for Christmas Dec 22, 2021

Do You Remember Your Christmas Joys Growing Up?

Christmas is miraculous and magical for kids. As parents, we get to replicate these joys for our kids and take them to the next level by sharing the miracles of Christmas. We get to bring life, love, joy, and fun into the Christmas season.

This week, we talk about how Christmas is a great time to bring the hope of Jesus back into your home.

In the midst of the Christmas crazy, how are you going to focus your family on Jesus?

There's no better time than when He was born; when the story began.

Need to CCF Resources?

Is Your Family Full of Fun? Dec 15, 2021

Oh, baby(It's cold outside) and you are gonna love this episode. Get ready to laugh with Madeline and Larry Jones. They join us to share how they live life to the fullest. They have two toddlers and choose to value fun and joy in their family culture.

Are you a fun parent? Do you know how to flip ordinary things into fun?

Well, this podcast will make you laugh AND give you ways to bring laughter into your family.

Listen and learn, folks. The Jones crew have tapped into something and it shows in their family. They are full of the joy of the Lord! Wanna know how?

Want more from CCF?

#146: Creating Space with God Dec 08, 2021

Parents, when was the last time you read the Word of God?

We have a special guest this week who is going to inspire you to jump into God's living and active truth, His word.

Jodie Niznik joins Suzanne and walks us through the power of Creating Space for God.The podcast is full of practical and powerful strategies to get you into the presence of God, through the word of God.

This is something we all need especially with Christmas around the corner and the New Year just weeks away. Take time to listen to Jodie's passion and learn from her resources on how to make God's word a priority again.

Check out ALL Jodies' resources HERE!

Want More CCF Resources?

#145: A Parent's Pursuit of God Dec 01, 2021

It's December and we want to kick the month off right. Through the holidays, parents usually stop thinking about themselves. While this sounds good, it can be ultimately detrimental to your family culture. Parents, you matter.

This week we focus on your pursuit of God. How does a parent focus on their relationships with God? Why is it important?

Take a listen to this podcast while you drive, cook, or workout. We promise you will be inspired and challenged to spend time with God this month.

Strengthening your relational line with God is the BEST thing you can do for your family this Christmas.

Want more Crazy Cool Family in your life?

Two Ingredients for the BEST Thanksgiving Week Nov 24, 2021

Happy [almost] Thanksgiving!

We are talking about making this Thanksgiving the BEST one yet!

Do you remember the ingredient from last week?

Last week we talked about awareness and this week we focus in on appreciation.

Appreciation: The act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value.

Listen to this week's podcast to learn how to take awareness AND appreciation and mix them together to make your Thanksgiving full of life and relational connection.

Two Ingredients for the BEST Thanksgiving Week Nov 17, 2021

One reason we love Thanksgiving so much is because of family. Do you enjoy being around your family?

This week (and next) we are giving you two ingredients to help Thanksgiving be full of life and connection!

Awareness is the word for this week. Want know how to bring joy, love, and connection into your Thanksgiving? We believe it has to do with God opening your eyes and helping you be aware of what is happening around you.

Listen to the next two podcasts to learn how you can elevate your Thanksgiving game and make it the best yet!

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See the Podcast Show Notes here!

Embracing the Differences in Marriage Nov 10, 2021

This November, we are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary! We are spending a little time this week talking about revelations God has given us about marriage over the last 3 decades.

We answer questions like:

How do you celebrate differences in your spouse?
How do you build communication?
How do I practice building the marriage relationship line?

Listen and share with couples you know! God cares about your marriage and we are here to come alongside you and strengthen your marriage line!

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Technology Wrap Up + 5 Essential Insights Nov 03, 2021

The question is not how to control technology. The question is what is going to work best for your family to meet their relational, spiritual, emotional, technological needs of each child in this season of life?

We are wrapping up our Technology Podcast Series this week and this might be the best week yet! We wanted to end this series talking about culture and showing you how parental control is not as powerful as teaching our kids self-regulation.

So how do we set a healthy family culture around technology?

We unpack 5 truths you can start using TODAY to cultivate a “real life” family culture. We narrow in on “teens” because this is where we are seeing a lot of issues in families.

Listen to this week’s podcast as we unpack powerful and practical ways to reach your kids hearts. Technology is not going anywhere parents, so we need to adapt and create a safe place for our kids to live and learn.

Connection, Technology, and Relationships Oct 27, 2021

Is All Technology Bad?

WE SAY NO! This week, McKenzie (our 4th daughter) joins us to talk about the connection between relationships and technology. Through her twenties, she has been studying counseling, relationships, and all about connection.

She shares so many amazing practical ways parents can connect with their kids through technology.

If you are struggling to find the good in technology, this podcast is for you! Listen and share with any parents who need help in the area of technology and family culture.

Also, connect with us on social media and join Basecamp TODAY for FREE!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/
https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/
https://basecamp.crazycoolfamily.com/
https://crazycoolfamily.com/podcast/

Technology & Family Culture Oct 20, 2021

How does technology and family’s culture work?

Angie Seedorf, an amazing friend, joins Suz to talk about her perspective of technology. She has 4 boys, ages ranging from 10-17. She is wise and shares GOLD about how their family has created a safe and open environment to talk about technology.

In the podcast, Angie shares how to set good guardrails (or norms), how to use technology as a doorway to your kid’s heart, and how to ask questions about technology with young boys specifically.

Her insight and experience are BEYOND wise and something you do not want to miss out on! Take a listen and share with anyone you know.

Follow CCF!!

Teens & Technology (Feat. Maddox Manning) Oct 13, 2021

Do you care more about control or connection?

Parents, we are focusing on teens and technology this week and Maddox (our 6th kiddo) joins us to share his perspective. He is 17 going on 45 and he has grown up with technology.

He shares about the wrestle each kid in his generation faces when it comes to a healthy relationship with parents and technology.

We answer questions like:

How do you limit technology intake?
Do you want more or less boundaries?
How do parents help them kids?
What do parents do when kids break trust?

You do not want to miss out on the GOLD Maddox shares! Parents, you will walk away feeling encouraged and equipped to help your teen with technology!

Check us out on social media and if you haven't already - go join BASECAMP!!

Kids & Technology Oct 06, 2021

Does it feel like it's you vs. technology (or screens) in your home? Do you constantly fight your kids to stop "screen time"?

This week we unpack Kids and Technology in episode #137! Our kids are bombarded by technology and often times they know how to work it better then we do!

Listen to Don and Suz share how they have built a culture of relationship with their home. They will inspire and equip you to change the culture of technology in your family by focusing less on the screen and more on the relationships!

If you haven't heard- Basecamp is FREE!! Sign up today!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Part 2: Basecamp is... FREE! Sep 29, 2021

Did you hear the news? Basecamp is changing!!

Last week we shared how God challenged us to step out in faith and make some changes. This week we share how you can jump into all the new things at Crazy Cool Family!

Learn how to use the resources we have!

Basecamp: Now free for everyone!
Social Media: Connect with us!
Our Book: Buy it and be inspired!
Podcasts and YouTube: Weekly ways to learn!

All of our resources are 100% accessible to you in Basecamp! Click the link below to create your account today!

https://basecamp.crazycoolfamily.com/

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram/crazycoolfamily

Part 1: Basecamp is... FREE! Sep 22, 2021

The reality is, we can’t learn parenting in a week. It’s a journey and we want to come alongside you and drip Godly concepts into you in the coming days, months, and years!

So, we have some BIG NEWS!!!

BASECAMP is FREE!

That's right! In this week's podcast, we share about God's encouragement and challenge to us to step out in faith and make Basecamp (our CCF membership site) 100% FREE!

Join us as we share the "what" and "why" of our family ministry.

Right now is a GREAT time to jump into all God is doing for families!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/connect/

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Part 2: Let's Switch on Our Joy Sep 15, 2021

This week's episode is the 2nd part of our amazing and insightful interview with Chris Coursey. The author of The Joy Switch and teacher within Thrive Ministries.

Chris shares about CARS. Not the driving vehicle... something that will help you slow down and stay relational with your family.

Listen to this episode and learn something new about JOY!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Buy the book: The Joy Switch

Thrive + Chris Coursey's YouTube

Let's Switch on Our Joy! Sep 15, 2021

Hey Crazy Cool Families, do you want a joy-filled family?
This week's podcast in truly inspirational and practical about joy.

Join us as we interview Chris Coursey, the author of The Joy Switch.

He shares incredible correlations between our brains and our joy. This is an episode you will not want to miss!

It is so good we split it into two episodes. Listen this week and next for the full interview with Chris Coursey!

The Joy Switch: How Your Brain’s Secret Circuit Affects Your Relationships…And How You Can Activate It by Chris M. Coursey

Website: www.thrivetoday.org
https://crazycoolfamily.com/
https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

It's Family Dashboard Time! Sep 01, 2021

As we kick off another school year, we wanted to go over our main tool for creating a Crazy Cool Family!

The Family Dashboard is an amazing tool God showed us in our early years of parenting. It's a simple way to evaluate every relationship in your family.

Take a listen to this simple but POWERFUL podcast about strengthening your family relational lines. It is a foundational teaching for our ministry and one we know you will benefit from hearing!

ALSO! We have exciting news coming up about Basecamp! So listen to the podcasts this month to hear all about our upcoming changes!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Jumping into Fall! Aug 25, 2021

Are you ready for all the Fall things? This week we talk about how to fill your calendar with valuable Fall activities! Sports, music, art, and so many other options open up to families at this time of year.

How do you decide what each kid will do this Fall? Listen as Macy and Don talk about extracurricular activities and how they can bring value to the family relational lines.

Don’t know how to say no? This podcast will challenge you to prioritize activities and experiences that create life, joy, and bonding moments for your whole family.

Listen today to learn how to kick off your Fall and make it fun instead of stressful!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

School Transitions: College Edition (Feat. Michael Manning) Aug 18, 2021

This Week, we are joined by Michael (5th kid and junior in college) to talk about the College Transition. He loves college and has discovered new passions, found his people, and is living out his God-given purpose.

Parents, we say this all the time but you only get so much time with your kids under your roof. Do you have a high school junior or senior? How are you equipping them to make this upcoming transition to college?

In this podcast, we share our heart regarding college transitions. We also share several practical ways to help your kids start college well. We encourage you to listen AND share this podcast with anyone who is preparing to send their kids to college!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

REPLAY! Creating Independent Kids Aug 11, 2021

Do you want your kids to be independent?

We do!

This week we throw it back to a podcast we did in March of 2020. We talk about how to cultivate independence in your kid - no matter what age!

All kids rely on parents and it is our job to teach them how to do things on their own. Get dressed, brush teeth, put laundry away, the list goes on! We are the example for our kids to learn life skills.

This podcast will equip you on practical ways to create independence in your home! Let’s listen and learn today!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Let's Have the Best August Ever! Aug 04, 2021

As much as we love summer, we know August is a transition month. Over the last 30 years, the Mannings have learned a few tricks to make August less stressful and more peaceful for EVERYONE.

Do you (parent) act crazy and bring that crazy into your home during August? With all the haircuts, meet the teacher nights, and school supplies to buy - it can feel exhausting!

You are not alone and we are here to help flip your thinking about summer-school transitions!

Listen to this podcast to gain insight on how to stop the crazy and create anticipation for all God wants to do in your family this Fall!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

The Power of Play Jul 28, 2021

Do you play with your kids? Does it feel like a chore or do you genuinely enjoy playing with them? Our 4th child, McKenzie, joins us this week to talk about the power of play. She is in school becoming a counselor and is learning a lot about play therapy!

What if play became more than toys and imagination? What if it involved learning language, developing social skills, and strengthening relational lines?

Listen to the podcast this week to understand how powerful play is! After listening you will want to scoop up your kiddos (of all ages) and go play!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

A Journey to Joy (Feat. Sara Chapple) Jul 21, 2021

This week we dive into joy with Sara Chapple and her new book A Journey to Joy. She shares how about Joy Cultivators and Joy Killers.

Do you ever feel like your house is bogged down by complaining, grumbling, or comparison?

Sara unpacks her heart behind the book and journal she created to help us cultivate daily joy!

If your home is lacking joy, flip it by listening to this week’s podcast!

https://sarachapple.com/the-book-journey-to-joy

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.Instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

My Heart's Garden with Charity Rios Jul 14, 2021

Every kid has emotions and often times parents do not know how to help their kid's process through them. Can you relate? This week's podcast equips all parents with an amazing tool called Tending Your Heart. Charity Rios, the author of My Heart's Garden, shares how her heart healing journey led her to write a children's book. Her freedom is beautifully written to teach kids how to take their emotions to God and replace lies for truth.

You will want to buy this book after listening to Charity!

Why? Because our world is going crazy! We need God's truth to be a voice in our kid's heads and hearts. This week's podcast can equip all parents (no matter what age your kids are) to help their family walk out of the enemy's lies and into God's healing truth!

Here are links to buying the book + CCF resources:

Check it out! Go buy the book + journal!
www.charityrios.com

Instagram: @claritywithcharity

Facebook: Charity Rios, author
www.crazycoolfamily.com
www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

Entitlement vs. Encouragement Jul 07, 2021

"What is the balance between encouraging our kids and creating entitlement within them?"

Here at CCF, we receive some form of this question on a weekly basis! So many parents want to know how to encourage their kids without "puffing" them up.

Today's podcast answers this question AND gives practical signs of entitlement. We also share simple strategies on how to raise your kids to live set apart.

What does living set apart mean? Listen and find out! This is a podcast you will want to use to build your own Crazy Cool Family.

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

How to Talk to Your Teen Jun 30, 2021

Are you struggling to connect with your teen? Do you want some insight on what they think about you? On today's podcast, Don and Macy talk about Macy's teenage years. Their father-daughter relationship was "tense" to put it kindly.

Listen to discover how Don pursued Macy and finally saw breakthrough in their relationship during her teenage years.

All teens want a strong relationship with their parents (even if they say otherwise...). It is worth the time, energy, and heart to pursue your teenagers. Listen to learn how!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Let's Talk About Dads Jun 23, 2021

What are good qualities in a dad? What are things every dad care about or aspires to do?

Calling all parents! In today's podcast, we hear from Jared Robinson (Macy's husband) and all the Manning men. The conversation stemmed from Father's Day and open discussions about what makes a good dad!

Take a listen! We believe you will take away encouragement and practical challenges on how to grow as a dad!

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

How to Be a Great Dad Jun 16, 2021

Don is flying solo this week and talking to all the current and future dads. Wives, don't go away! This podcast will give both man and woman several questions to unpack. We all want deep connections with our spouse and kids.

What if every dad built a legacy filled with deep relational connection with their family? What would our world look like?

Listen to today's podcast as we scratch the surface of how men can become great dads!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

We Give You Permission Jun 09, 2021

We hear parents say all the time, “I am exhausted, spent, or overwhelmed with life!”

The question that quickly follows is “how do I do it all?” and we want to say, “You don’t have to!”

We give you FULL PERMISSION to take care of yourself.

Today, Madeline (2nd daughter) joins me to talk about how as moms, we simply cannot do it all.

So, what do we do? Listen to find out some practical, life changing ways on parenting kids through crazy busy seasons!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Making the Most of Summer Jun 02, 2021

It's summer! What are you going to do with the next 104 days?

"There’s 104 days in summer vacation and school comes along just to end it. So, annual problem for our generation is finding a good way to spend it...." - Phineas & Ferb

The big question for today's podcast is how are we going to spend our 104 days of summer? We want to flip your thinking about summer!

Summer can be a time of rest and routine, not laziness and chaos! Listen to today's podcast to learn how to build the best summer for your family!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

The Joy of Being Mom May 26, 2021

Today we've got JOY! And Judy Brisky!

Do you parent with joy? Do you know how to find joy in the midst of all things parenting?

"Joy is second in the list of fruits of the Spirit. It is a bi-product of love. It is what we have despite what is going on around us. It is a daily choice to walk in joy!"

If you want to experience this kind of joy, click the podcast! You will walk away with practical ways to carry joy into your home.

www.judybrisky.com
https://crazycoolfamily.com/
https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Part 2: How to be an Awesome Parent May 19, 2021

Are you learning how to be awesome? This podcast unlocks the power of relationships and how to have the best ones possible!

The most valuable thing we can invest our time and energy in is people. God's plan is people. How are we going to connect with people to help ourselves become the most awesome parent and ultimately person!

You do not want to miss this podcast! We share practical ways to be the parent you want to be! We also share about our Basecamp opportunities! We believe the announcement at the end could change your family! Take a listen today!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

https://basecamp.crazycoolfamily.com/basecamp-may-2021

Part 1: How to be an Awesome Parent May 12, 2021

Let us ask you a question: Do you want to be an awesome parent? Or do you just want to be an average one? An awesome one, obviously!

In the next 2 podcasts, we are going to talk about key things every parent needs to do to become an awesome parent.

It is not as much about what you do, but more about who you surround yourself with. You become who you are around!

So, who do you pursue? How do you surround yourself with the right people to help your family? Join us this week and next to find out how to become an awesome parent!

Listen to the end of the podcast for an exciting CCF announcement. You will not want to miss it!

Basecamp Link: https://basecamp.crazycoolfamily.com/basecamp-may-2021

Other Links:

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

A Tribute to Moms! May 05, 2021

Mother’s Day is coming up! If you didn’t know, Mother’s Day is May 9th and we are taking time this week to celebrate every mom out there! Honoring and celebrating a mom is a big task. How do we do it well? Join us this week as Suzanne talks about the value of seeing mothers and motherhood as a gift. Every day we get to celebrate mothers! Expectations will fall when we focus on the value of family. The small moments are more important than one day.

Mothers have an everlasting impact on their kids. The value they bring to their lives cannot be bottled into just one day! Listen to this podcast to understand how we can flip our thinking this Mother’s Day and focus on what really matters!

www.crazycoolfamily.com

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Tone of Voice Apr 28, 2021

Have you ever had a spouse say to you, “Honey, I don’t like your tone?” We have! Often times our tone shuts down a conversation and creates a disconnect. We try and communicate with words, but the tone prevents any connection.

Today's podcast unlocks the power of our tone. All relationships are affected by it especially our kids. Tone is connected to feelings and how we speak to our kids affects our connection with them.

Do you want to change your tone? Do you desire for your kids to really hear you? Listen to this podcast for honest and open conversation about how to create helpful, life-giving communication in your home. It’s all in your tone!

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

Creating Family Values & Lasting Change Apr 21, 2021

Are there certain things you would like to see happen in your home? Things you would like to change but it seems like no matter how hard you try, it doesn’t work?

Today's episode unpacks the power of values and how they can create lasting change in your family. We believe you can change the values in your home if you don’t like them! Wanna know how?

If you want to build a Crazy Cool Family, you have to know how to build values in your family. Parents you are the leaders. You are the influencers of your home. Today, we talk about how to build this lasting change into your family through values!

Join us as we build values today! We give you practical steps to identify, create, and implement values into your home. It will take time, but we believe lasting change in your family is possible!

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram/crazycoolfamily

How to Get Older Kids to Talk About Life  Apr 14, 2021

Today we are talking about a common topic parents share with us a lot! We hear parents say, “My little kids always talk to me, but the older kids (pre-teens through high school) don’t! How do we get them to open up about life?"

In this podcast, we explore barriers that prevent openness. We share practical and powerful solutions to breaking down the barriers.

We say often, if you listen to them when they are five, they will talk to you when they are fifteen. Parenting is a marathon, not a sprint. Wherever you are on your parenting journey, we believe this information will radically change the way you parent and change the culture of openness in your home.

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

Creating Spiritual Interest Apr 07, 2021

The way to have the best life ever is to have interest and hunger for spiritual things! Do you want this for your kids? We do!

We hear from parents all the time how their heart’s desire is for their kids to know Jesus. 3 John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” The conversation we are having today is centered on the teenage years and how to help point them to Jesus.

We unpack powerful practicals to cultivate spiritual interest in your home. Our whole goal is connect our kids to the God of the universe. It's our privilege and responsibility as parents to help them follow God in their own way.

Join us to learn how to cultivate spiritual interest in your home, your car, and in every place you do life with your kids!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/
https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Marriage March Finale! (Feat. Dave and Ashley Willis - Naked Marriage Podcast) Mar 31, 2021

YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHO IS HERE TO WRAP UP THE MARRIAGE MARCH!

Yep, Dave and Ashley Willis from the Naked Marriage Podcast!

On this week's podcast we finish the Marriage March! All month we have been talking marriage. There are so many ways to strengthen your marriage.

This episode we interview the Naked Marriage podcast and authors Dave and Ashley Willis! They are full of supernatural insight when it comes to marriage. We zone in on their new book "Naked and Healthy."

We believe this podcast will encourage and challenge you to take your marriage from good (or okay) to great! Take a listen!

Marriage March: Larry and Beth Manning Mar 24, 2021

This week, we continue the marriage march with Larry and Beth Manning. They are Don’s parents and have been married since 1964.

They have been married for 67 years! You heard it right, SIXTY-SEVEN!

Our kids have been excited about this podcast because we grew up hearing Beth (Meme) and Larry (Grandad) talk about their upbringing and early marriage years. We are excited for you to hear about their rich marriage history! Buckle up and let’s start down memory lane!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Marriage March: Larry and Madeline Jones Mar 17, 2021

We are half way through March. Are you still with us?

This week we spent time with Larry and Madeline Jones. We traveled all the way to Arkansas just to hear their wisdom and learnings from their 5 years of marriage!

Madeline (the 2nd Manning daughter) and Larry share about marriage with small kids. They have 2 crazy cute kids!

Larry and Madeline blow our minds as they share what conflict in their marriage looks like. Everyone should have conflict like them!

We loved hearing their practical ways to "be each other's teammate" and "encourage more than critique."

Join us this week! We believe listening to this podcast will give you practical steps to strengthen your marriage relationship lines.

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Marriage March: Jared and Macy Robinson Mar 10, 2021

Did you like your first year of marriage? Did you learn a lot about yourself? Would you go back and do it all again?

This week of our podcast, we are joined by Macy and Jared Robinson. Macy is the 3rd Manning kid and got married 1 month before the global pandemic started. They share how they have journeyed through marriage ups and downs and what they have learned about themselves.

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Marriage March: Don & Suzanne Manning Mar 03, 2021

It's March! We are taking the whole month to talk about marriage! It's the Marriage March! God loves marriage and designed it with the Gospel at the center! Join us as Don and Suzanne unpack the beauty and struggles within a 30 year marriage.

They talk openly about their first decade of marriage and all God taught them through learning to live and love each other.

We know each marriage is different, so we are spending the whole month hearing from different couples who are in different seasons of marriage.

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

Don't miss an episode in March! Join us on the Marriage March!

Mothers and Daughters as Best Friends Feb 24, 2021

On today’s episode, Suzanne is joined by our 4 daughters. They openly discussed mother/daughter relationships. As women, we are gifts from God, but often our relationships can feel hard. Suzanne asked the girls to share how they grew to be best friends, how she helped or hurt, and how they plan to raise their daughters to be best friends. Join us as we unpack the beauty of mother and daughter friendships.

www.crazycoolfamily.com

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

How Does Crazy Cool Family Help Parents? Feb 17, 2021

Today we’re talking all about how Crazy Cool Family helps parents just like you!

Some people know us from our podcast like you guys. Some people know us from social media. Some people get emails from us.

So we want to tell you every way you can connect with Crazy Cool Family.

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

Part 3: The Family Name Feb 10, 2021

In today's podcast, we wrap up the Family Name series by talking about personal buy in.

Each kid experienced being a "Manning" in a different way. We unpack how each kid decided the value of being all in and came to appreciate the value of our family.

Take some time to be encouraged, challenged, and inspired by our kids. They are the fruit of our lives and we are so proud of the Godly men and women they are becoming.

We believe your day will drastically increase in encouragement if you listen to this podcast today!

www.crazycoolfamily.com

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Part 2: The Family Name Feb 03, 2021

Who is Ready for Part 2?!

Today, in the second part of our podcast series, we talk with our kids about activities and what being a busy family of 9 looks like.

We ask them, what activities did we do? How did we do them together?

We were a busy family with 7 kids and a lot of people going in different directions. As a family, we found intentional ways to connect, relate, and do life together.

Listen and gain helpful ways to unify your family as you live the day-to-day life!

www.crazycoolfamily.com

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

Part 1: Family Name Jan 27, 2021

We saved you a seat at our kitchen table! Come on, stay awhile!

We are excited to kick off a 3 part series called, The Family Name. All of our kids (yes, all 7) join us to talk culture, connection, and their perspective of family.

In today's podcast, we introduce the family, share the good (and bad) experiences, and encourage parents on how to build your own family culture.

https://crazycoolfamily.com/resources/books/

https://crazycoolfamily.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/

100th Podcast! 39 Crazy Cool Concepts to Radically Change Your Family Jan 20, 2021

Wow! Today marks our 100th podcast! We are official! We are so thankful for each of you who have been with us through the challenges and changes. We love to imagine you listening and being encouraged. It makes it all worth it!

It seems appropriate celebrate our 100th podcast by going over all the Crazy Cool Concepts (CCCs) in our book.

We believe these 39 concepts have the power to radically change your family. We invite you to listen and let the Holy Spirit help you rethink the way you do family!

https://crazycoolfamily.com/resources/books/

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

Building Daily Habits Jan 13, 2021

The Manning kiddos (Macy, Kenzie, & Michael) unpack encouragement and challenges for 2021. The podcast invites parents to be lifelong learners and pursue learning in every season. They zoomed in on reading and encouraged parents to build daily habits around learning from others. This identity and lifestyle will benefit any/every family. Jesus calls us to follow Him and sharpen each other. Reading and gaining knowledge is one of the best ways to live, love, and follow Jesus’ ways.

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

One Thing to Change in Your Relationships Jan 12, 2021

Welcome to 2021!

In this podcast, we ask you one simple question: What is the one thing you can do in 2021 to impact your family relationships in a positive way?

Relationships are worth it! Jesus said Love the Lord with everything you’ve got and love your family the same way!

www.crazycoolfamily.com

www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily

Part 5: How Is Jesus Better Than the World? Dec 30, 2020

Wrapping up our podcast series on introducing our kids to the real Jesus we end with asking the question:

How is Jesus better than the world?

He is the answer to all of life’s issues.

We shared the contrast of the world offers and what Jesus offers with the scripture Galatians 5:19-23. We wrapped up the podcast encouraging parents to boldly ask their kids do they believe in the real Jesus.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Part 4: Why Follow Jesus? Dec 23, 2020

In this podcast, we talk about why we follow Jesus.

We share that there are two simple reasons to follow Jesus:

1. Because he gives us the best life now and he gives us the best life forever.

2. Jesus is life-giving and he gives us hope and that makes him worth following.

This is a simple podcast but super important. If you can put the two concepts we are going to talk about today into your child’s heart, you will win as a parent and your kid will follow Jesus.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Part 3: Where is Jesus? Dec 16, 2020

How do you explain to your kids that Jesus lives in our hearts?

Don and Suzanne explore how God defines the heart and how Jesus lives inside our hearts where he can be our friend and shape our deepest beliefs about ourselves.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Part 2: What Has Jesus Done for You? Dec 09, 2020

Does your family understand the gift Jesus gave us?

In this podcast, we talk about what Jesus has done for us and how it gives us identity. We talked through Ephesians 1 and highlighted the gifts God gives us to build our identity.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Part 1: Who is Jesus? Dec 02, 2020

We are starting a podcast series for December called Introducing Our Kids to the Real Jesus. Each week we are going to answer a question about Jesus.

Today:
Who is Jesus?

Then:
What has Jesus done for you?
Where is Jesus?
Why follow Jesus?
How is Jesus better than the world?

We believe this season will be powerful and just what your family needs to center Christmas around Jesus.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Blessings to Say Over Your Family Nov 25, 2020

How can we use our words to bring heaven to earth?

We have been talking about the power of our words in this month’s podcast series, and we saved the best for last. Blessing others.

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Build Gratefulness in Your Kids Nov 18, 2020

When was the last time your kids told you "thank you"??

If you can't remember then maybe it is time to re-up on the value of gratefulness.

This may surprise you (or not if you have kids who can talk) but kids are not born grateful. It is something, as parents, we teach and model.

If you want your family to be marked by gratefulness, then listen to today's podcast to learn new ways to grow this value into your culture.

We say this all the time but you, parents, are the main culture creators in your home!

How are you going to build a culture of gratefulness today?

Start by listening to this podcast!

Crazy Cool Resources:

CCF Podcasts
CCF Social Media

The Power of Encouragement - Featuring Michael Manning Nov 11, 2020

Do your kids respond well to encouragement or criticism?

We invited Michael, our 5th child and oldest son onto today's episode to share how encouragement has marked his life.

He is a man of few words (unless you get him talking about Jesus, crypto, or books) but he has learned the value of encouragement.

Listen as we unpack practical ways for parents and kids to connect through encouragement. Remember, your words have the power of life and death and we want to equip you to use your words to connect with your family.

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The Power of a Parent's Words Nov 04, 2020

If words have the power to create life or death, then how much more power do your words have as parents?

We believe God handpicked you to be your kid's parents. Your words have weight. How you choose to use them will determine the strength of your relationships.

We want to help you learn how to use your words to build up not tear down. If you struggle to hold your tongue or find ways to connect with your child through talking, then this podcast is for you!

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Creating Willing Obedience in Your Kids Oct 28, 2020

How do we create willing obedience in our kids?

Does it matter?

What's the difference between willing obedience and regular obedience?

We unpack all these questions and give you vision for connection based obedience in your home.

This is a podcast you are going to want to share with all your friends!

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How to Raise Kids Who Respect Their Parents Oct 21, 2020

How do you get your children to respect you?

What does that look like when they are 5, 15, or 25?

Seriously though, as parents you can and should communicate the expectation of respect from your kids, but it’s not something you can control or see results from simply by demanding it from them. Over the years we have experienced a lot of ups and downs in this area with our kids.

This week we unpack two ways we have discovered how to help your children to respect you.⠀

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Earn the Respect You Truly Want From Your Kids Oct 14, 2020

We are constantly asked "How do I get my kids to respect me?"

What if it's not about respect... what if your kids are looking to give you something completely different?

Today we want to go deeper into the concept of respect in hopes that as parents you will see respect in a different way.

Crazy Cool Resources:

How We Did It Oct 07, 2020

Do you feel overwhelmed by life and all the years of parenting ahead?

As we look back on our parenting years, we know the only reason we made it through was because of God, community, and... God haha!

This podcast is a culmination of all our ideas to hopefully give you some ways to manage the craziness of life with kids. We break it all down for you about what worked in our family over the years.

Crazy Cool Resources:

How the Family Dashboard is Used to Build a Crazy Cool Family Sep 30, 2020

The Family Dashboard is a central tool we use to help make your family Crazy Cool!

The strength of your family will be determined by the strength of your family relationships. The Family Dashboard is your tool to quickly assess all the relationships in your home.

We talk about this a lot because it is the first step was invite every parent to take. It's a lifelong tool and we have used it for 30+ years.

Try it! We know it will help your family.

Click here to build Your Family Dashboard

Crazy Cool Resources:

A Tool to Build Amazing Relationships With Everyone in Your Family Sep 23, 2020

New to Crazy Cool Family?

Need Help Building Relationships?

This week we're talking about one tool that will help you build amazing relationships with everyone in your family! This is a podcast everyone needs to hear. If you have been with us for awhile, or are just tuning in, this podcast is a great step in your parenting journey!

Listen and share today!

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How to Get Your Kids to Obey Sep 16, 2020

Parents often ask us this question: “How do I get my kid to obey?”

So today we're talking about obedience!

Obedience is key to a healthy family. If you are struggling to have consistent obedience from your kids, we can help. Listen to this podcast to learn how obedience and connection go hand in hand.

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Overcoming Anger and Enjoying Parenting - Featuring Matt & Amanda Nelson Sep 09, 2020

Are you ready to hear from a CRAZY COOL Family?

This week we're chatting with Matt & Amanda Nelson. They're parents of 4 children and we're talking about emotions, anger, and experiencing the value of relationships in family.

Matt & Amanda are apart of our membership - Basecamp! You can sign up for Basecamp for free by clicking the link below.

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How to Get Your Child to Listen to You Sep 02, 2020

Be honest... do you lecture your kids?

Here's an even harder question... when you lecture, do they listen?

This week we’re talking about lecturing. We want to help you become more of a listener and less of a lecturer. The more we listen and the less we lecture, the better our connection will be with our kids and the more they will actually listen to our lectures, our instructions to them.

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Experiencing the Coronavirus - Featuring Macy and Jared Robinson Aug 26, 2020

What has your experience with COVID been thus far?

This week we have our daughter Macy and her husband Jared joining us to talk about the coronavirus! Macy and Jared both were diagnosed with COVID19 a few weeks ago so we asked them all about it. We want our listeners to know what it was like for them and how it impacted their life.

Disclaimer: We aren’t sharing political or medical opinions here.

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How to Have the Best Homeschool Experience With Your Kids Aug 19, 2020

Still wondering if homeschooling is possible for your family?

We are continuing this conversation because we see so many parents struggling with their kids when it comes to education.

What would it look like to ask your kids what they think? This episode equips you to have a conversation after hearing from one of our kid's perspective.

In this podcast, we talk with McKenzie (our 4th daughter) about how we had the best homeschool experience. Listen and feel equipped to tackle this conversation with your child today!

Click here to download our Guide to Homeschooling

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Homeschooling Aug 13, 2020

Did you know we homeschooled our kids?

We've highly recommend it and today we share why!

We want to talk about the positive parts of homeschooling and then get into the practical questions so many parents have asked us about homeschooling. If you are looking at your education system and questioning if it's the best place for your kids to grow, listen and hear our perspective!

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Back to School for Fall 2020 Aug 05, 2020

It's time to go back to school but...

Do you keep trying to homeschool?

Stick with online learning or a hybrid?

Send them back with masks and social distancing all day?

School is going to be different this year, so how do we help our kids prepare?

Today we're talking about back to school in the midst of the pandemic and our options for schooling.

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Handle Fits Jul 29, 2020

Are you over your kids throwing fits?

Your prayers have been answered because we are addressing the "fits" issues today.

Today we're going back to one of our most popular episodes and talking about how to handle fits.

Join us and make sure to join Basecamp for more tips on Relational Discipline.

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Building a Great Childhood - Featuring Macy Robinson & McKenzie Manning Jul 22, 2020

Need a little more help on build a great childhood for your kids?

We've got you.

Last week, we talked to our oldest 2 daughters, but this week we hear from our 3rd & 4th daughters Macy and McKenzie. They share how we can create/build a great childhood for our kids!

If you are feeling a little discouraged, listen to this for fresh inspiration and ideas!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Building a Great Childhood - Featuring Mollie Torres & Madeline Jones Jul 15, 2020

Do you want to build a great childhood for your kids but don't know where to start?

On this week’s podcast, we interview our two oldest daughters, Mollie & Madeline.They share how their childhood marked them and helped make them who they are today.

We ask them what they remembered about their childhood and what they are doing to build a great one for their own sons. They share helpful insights and strategies to help all parents!

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Racial Sensitivity- Featuring George & Kylee Washington Jul 08, 2020

How do we talk about race-centered topics with our family?

George and Kylee Washington join us on this week’s podcast and share their perspective and personal experiences of the current events of racial injustices. George and Kylee are an interracial couple and they have three children.

George and Kylee are dear friends, and they are an integral part of the prayer team for Crazy Cool Family. We are so grateful to have them join us as we all have so much to learn!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Love an Imperfect Country Jul 01, 2020

Do you disagree with our country's choices and/or narrative?

Do you want to know how to navigate these times with your family?

We're talking all about how to love an imperfect country this week! This is such an important conversation to have amidst this pandemic

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How to Use Essential Oils to Enhance Your Family's Health - Featuring Suzanna Nichols Jun 24, 2020

How can essential oils enhance the health of your family?

Have you ever wondered how essential oils are used? Or why they’re so popular right now?

Meet our friend, Suzanna Nichols. She is a wife, a mother of four, an incredible masseuse, and she loves Jesus! Today she talks about how oils have impacted her life & health and how they can impact yours too!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy - Featuring Jill Hawkins Jun 17, 2020

Are you tired of trying to get your kids to eat healthy? Is there a battle at the dinner table each night over eating healthy foods?

If you need some direction with getting your family to eat healthier (something we all know we should do, right?!), then meet Jill Hawkins. She’s a certified health and wellness coach and an expert in plant-based nutrition.

Today, she helps us understand how we can get our kids to eat healthy! This podcast is worth a listen!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Be an Advocate for the Health of Your Children Jun 10, 2020

Have you ever felt like you’re calling the doctor over the smallest of things?

"Well, that used to be me!" - Suzanne

Suzanne takes over this week’s podcast. She is passionate about health and has a specific word about how parents and health work together for the good of the child.

She shares how you, the parent, get to be your child’s advocate. We are invited to know all the options out there so you can make the best choice.

In this week’s podcast, we’re discussing how you can be your child's advocate!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Maintain Health in Your Family Jun 03, 2020

When it comes to keeping your family healthy, who do you listen to the most?

What does God say about health?

In this week’s podcast, we’re discussing how to maintain health in your family and what we’ve learned over our 30 years of parenting. Let’s dive in!

Join Basecamp for FREE by clicking here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Reassessing Family Activities After Quarantine May 26, 2020

It's almost summer and this year, thus far, has been wild. As we start to return to a little normalcy, how are you going to change your schedule to prioritize family?

If there is anything we have learned in the last 5 months, it's how important (and challenging) family can be. Activities are helpful and important but we don't want to just jump back into the craziness of life.

What if we stopped, invited God in, and asked Him what our family activities should be this summer?

What a great opportunity we have to reassess our family activities after quarantine. Let’s agree not to add activities back simply by default.

Listen to this week's episode as we talk about how to reassess life and family activities after quarantine.

Join Basecamp for FREE by clicking here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How Others Are Improving Their Marriage in This Season May 20, 2020

What are others doing to strengthen their marriage during this time of quarantine?

Last week we talked about what we’ve been doing to improve our own marriage. Now it’s time to hear from other Crazy Cool parents! Listen as they share what has worked for them in this difficult season. You will hear the authenticity and reality of how COVID is affecting marriages. Don't let the enemy steal your marriage, join us and learn new ways to fight!

Tune in and go be crazy!

Join Basecamp for FREE by clicking here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Improving Your Marriage During Quarantine May 13, 2020

How can you improve your marriage during the coronavirus season?

In this week’s Crazy Cool Family podcast, we’re sharing what we’re doing to strengthen our marriage relationship, plus some tips on what we’ve learned from our own marriage coaches!

Go be crazy (and don’t forget the sex)!

Join Basecamp for FREE by clicking here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Lean in to God During Hard Times – With Rob and Linsey Shields May 06, 2020

In this week’s podcast, we share our interview with Rob and Linsey Shields. It was recorded in February before the impact of COVID-19, but we believe it’s as timely as ever!

Listen for inspiration and encouragement. Their story will help you find God amidst your season.

Join Basecamp for FREE by clicking here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Why You Need a Guide and Community Apr 29, 2020

Do you ever feel like you’re the only one struggling with a particular situation with your child?

Does it feel like you’re alone in your parenting issues?

It's easy to feel that way. As parents, we need community and we need a guide. In this episode, we talk about how you are not alone and we have the tools you need to parent well.

Listen in to this episode as we discuss this topic and be inspired to keep parenting! You can do it and we can help in any area you are struggling. Let's do this together.

Join Basecamp for FREE by clicking here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

We're Launching a Membership for FREE! Apr 22, 2020

What is Basecamp and Why Should I Join?

We believe Basecamp is the best parenting resource out there. Basecamp is designed to help you, in every season, parent your kids with God.

God is our good Father and He wants to speak into our family. Relationships and Culture are the two big things we unpack in Basecamp. We want to help you strengthen your relationships and build Jesus-focused culture.

Listen to this episode to learn why its important to have a guide and why we created our new membership, Basecamp!

Join Basecamp for FREE by clicking here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Coronavirus From a Kid's Perspective Apr 15, 2020

What are kids saying about COVID?

We are interested in what kids think about our whole new way of life during this social-distancing, home-learning, coronavirus season we find ourselves in.

It’s been almost a month now. We’d like to ask: Do you know what your children think about all of this? Have you sat down and asked them…we mean, REALLY asked them?

We sent the following list of questions to several Crazy Cool parents and asked them to record their children’s answers. Their responses were FASCINATING!!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Our Most Recommended Parenting Books Apr 08, 2020

Need a new book? Want a few resources to help your parenting?

This week, Don and Suzanne discuss their most recommended parenting books and one's you'll benefit from reading. Tune in to hear their suggestions!

Crazy Cool Resources:

A Dad's Influence on His Family During the Coronavirus Apr 01, 2020

This week's episode is a message from Don to our Crazy Cool Family dads!

Although this is an episode mainly for men, I also invite wives to listen so you know how to encourage your husbands.

Men, as you’re learning to adjust to the new normal, you have incredible opportunities to grow your family relationships and improve the culture in your home in this season.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Tips to Help You in This Season of Home Learning Mar 25, 2020

Did you recently become a work from home parent + teacher + cook and house cleaner?!

The pandemic is getting a little crazy and we wanted to approach the conversation of schooling. If your kids are at home and you need help with their learning, this podcast is for you!

This week, Suzanne shares tips from from her experience as a homeschooling family and what she's doing now as a home learning family.

Tune in to learn some awesome tips to help in this season!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Create Family Connections Out of Worldly Chaos Mar 18, 2020

The world is crazy... and not in a crazy cool way!

In light of recent events, we want to encourage you. The world is becoming full of chaos and we are here to speak hope and vision in the midst of daily changes.

You have a great opportunity to do some wonderful things in your family during this season of social distancing. Listen in to learn ways to create connection in the chaos!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Moving Your Kids From Dependence to Self-Sufficiency Mar 11, 2020

Does your child need help?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss the topic of moving your child from dependence on parents to self-sufficiency.

Your job as a parent gets easier with each step of independence you give your kids. And society will be so pleased that you have raised a contributing member that will someday take care of others as well as themselves! Listen in to this episode to learn more about this topic.

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What Type of School Is Best for My Child? Mar 04, 2020

We often get asked by parents about how they should educate their children. They ask, “What’s the best way?”

In this week’s episode of the Crazy Cool Family podcast, we discuss the pros and cons of the four major types of schooling. Tune in to listen to our take on schooling!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Why You Should "Brainwash" Your Child Feb 26, 2020

In this week's episode, Suzanne talks all about how to "brainwash" your child and what that means. It's such an impactful episode that we believe can make a big impact in your kids!

If you haven't picked up a copy of our book, click here to buy your copy today!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How To Stop Sibling Fighting Feb 19, 2020

Listening to your kids constantly bickering or fighting can be maddening.

What’s a parent to do when it happens? Intervene? Let them figure it out on their own? Ignore the whole thing completely?

You may have experienced that intervening sometimes can make the situation worse!

Yes, sibling fighting is common. But just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s right or okay to tolerate. Listen in as we share our top 3 “practices” we used to stop sibling fighting in our family.

And download your free "6 Ways To Stop Sibling Fighting" Guide!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How To Keep Your Kid From Being A Brat Feb 12, 2020

Does it feel like you’re always correcting your kid?

Are you ever concerned your kid will grow up to be a brat?

How do you correct your kids and still maintain a great relationship?

Today’s episode is all about how to keep your kid from becoming a brat. We believe this is something every parent will question at some point in their parenting journey. Join us as we unpack strategies to help you build your child's identity and prevent them from becoming bratty!

All of these questions are covered in this episode!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Creating Unity With The Family Name Feb 05, 2020

Have you ever been on a team that you were proud to be on? Or been a part of something bigger than you that made you excited to be a part of? I’m sure you have. Why not take that same concept and apply it to your family? It’s called the Family Name.

What do you want your family to be known for?

This week we discuss what it looks like to create unity with your family name!

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Delighting In Your Child Jan 29, 2020

Today’s podcast is all about delighting in your child!

Do you delight in your child?

You may ask, “Delight?! How can I delight in them when they can be so frustrating?!” Or “How do I choose to delight when most of the time I’m just trying to make it through the day without loosing my marbles?” Delighting in your child is not a concept you hear very often, but it’s one of the greatest teachings we can share with you.
When you delight in your children, they will become delightful. When children know their parents delight in them, it’s so much easier for them to believe that God delights in them. Isn’t that what we want them to know and believe?
This weeks episode is all about how you can learn to delight in your kids!

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How to Raise Kids Who Respect Their Parents Jan 22, 2020

Respect.
How do you get your children to respect you? What does that look like when they are 5, 15, or 25?

Seriously though, As parents you can and should communicate the expectation of respect from your kids, but it’s not something you can control or see results from simply by demanding it from them. Over the years we have experienced a lot of ups and downs in this area with our kids. ⠀
On this week’s podcast, we unpack two ways we have discovered how to help your children to respect you.⠀

Crazy Cool Resources:

How To Connect With Your Teens - With Tim & Tesh Beaty Jan 15, 2020

“With the rise of technology, we have become the most connected globally but the most disconnected emotionally.”

What do we do about it? Today’s podcast will tell you!⁣

In our work in the DFW area, we get to meet some amazing people and we recently met up with Tim and Tesh Beaty. Together, they lead the Parent Pipeline Project, a ministry designed to strengthen parent-to-teen relationships and restore those that are broken.⁣
⁣
We had the honor of interviewing them on our podcast today and we really think you guys will enjoy this episode!

Crazy Cool Resources:

The Importance Of Reflection Jan 08, 2020

Reflection is so important this time of year.
It helps us see the world differently and gives us perspective on what God has done in our lives. You get to look back on the promises fulfilled. Reflection gives you the strength to move forward in your faith.
As we reflect on 2019 it gives us lots to be thankful.

On this week’s podcast we focused on ways you can take some time to reflect with your family as we begin a new year. Check it out!

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One New Year's Resolution For Your Family Jan 01, 2020

A new year brings an energy that comes with exciting new beginnings…and new resolutions.
As we head into this New Year (and new decade), we want to challenge you to choose one resolution to impact your family this year. Specifically, to impact the culture in your home environment. And today on the podcast we walk through this and give you some ideas for this as well!

It’s going to be a good year and we are taking it head on!

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How To Connect With Your Spouse During The Holidays Dec 18, 2019

We love the Christmas season! But let’s face it…sometimes the busyness of the holidays makes it difficult for us to connect with the people who are most important to us.

What if you could look back on your Christmas season and be amazed at how you were able to connect with each other?

Listen in to hear how we can connect with our spouse during the busy holiday season!

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How Much Should You Buy Your Kids At Christmas? Dec 11, 2019

Christmas is all about the gift God gave us, His only son Jesus.

So when did it become all about presents and getting everything WE WANT from Santa?

If you are struggling with the culture of Christmas within your family, this podcast is for you. Listen as we unpack the vision behind buying kids presents and how we can use this element of the holidays to point our kids to Jesus.

Jesus is the gift, not stuff. We want to help put Him back at the center of your Christmas season.

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How To Handle The Topic Of Santa As A Christian Parent Dec 04, 2019

Jesus said we are to be IN the world but not OF the world (John 17:15-19).

What does this look like at Christmas? Specifically, what does your family believe about Santa?

Holidays need to be relational and a place for connection. Don’t let the commercialism of the world distract you from important relationships.

Tune into this episode to learn more about our perspective on Santa!

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Interview With A Crazy Cool Family - The Schreiners Nov 27, 2019

On this week's episode, we interviewed Dave and Ally Schreiner. They are a faithful Crazy Cool Family and they are committed to loving Jesus and raising their kids well.

They shared some great insight and we can't wait for you to hear! And if you haven't already, head to Basecamp to join our free family resource! Click the link below!

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The Backstory Of Our First Book Nov 20, 2019

Not long into our parenting journey, we realized we had no idea what we were doing. It seemed we were doing more damage than good. So, we started reading lots of parenting books.

Can anyone relate?

We believe God showed us a very clear path to raising kids who love Jesus, love their parents, and love each other…so we wrote a book as the cornerstone to our CCF ministry. We want everyone to love and adore their family like we do!

Tune into learn the story behind our book. Click below to purchase your own copy today!

Crazy Cool Resources:

How To Have Peaceful Family Gatherings During The Holidays Nov 13, 2019

Are you looking forward to the holidays with family?

What do you do if you aren't? We can help!

The holidays are right around the corner. We all want the ideal family holiday experience, but it doesn’t always happen the way we picture it in our mind.

No matter the family dynamic, (whether there are healthy relationships or challenging ones) in this episode we will share tips to help make family gatherings peaceful this year.

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How To Assess The Relationships In Your Family Nov 06, 2019

When you think of creating your best family, what are the first things that come to mind?

So go the relationships in your family, so goes your family. And that is why we created the Family Dashboard—a simple tool showing all the relationships in your family on one diagram.

In this episode we explain how you can use this dashboard to assess your family.

Build your own Family Dashboard here!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Should My Family Celebrate Halloween? Oct 30, 2019

To celebrate Halloween or not, that is the question. We stopped focusing on the negative, fearful side of a holiday and turned our focus on all that God said was good.

In this episode, we share our take on halloween and our experience with our 7 kids.

Crazy Cool Resources:

How Siblings Can & Should Be Best Friends Oct 23, 2019

In this episode, Don and Suzanne go over examples that will help you understand how siblings can and should be best friends.

Tune into the episode to learn new ways for your kids to get along AND click the link below to join Basecamp!

When this podcast was recorded, Basecamp was not created quite yet, but now we have a 100% FREE resource for you to utilize! Check it out below and start the Relational Discipline Course in Basecamp!

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How To Discipline Your Kids + BIG NEWS! Oct 16, 2019

We’ve officially launched! Have you seen our new website?! We’re so excited to share a few of the many changes that are happening!

Here are a few things we’ve introduced!

The updated branding and new resources on crazycoolfamily.com
Our updated Crazy Cool Family book
The Family Dashboard
And two new digital courses!
- Relational Discipline
- Siblings as Best Friends

This week, we’re highlighting our Relational Discipline course and we can't wait for you to learn more!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Why Family Is Worth It + EXCITING NEWS! Oct 09, 2019

This week on the podcast, we are sharing some exciting news about what will be available next week!

Tune in to learn more details and to get an exclusive discount for next week!

Crazy Cool Resources:

Crazy Cool Family Ministry Update Oct 02, 2019

We have some exciting things to share with you guys!

Tune into this episode to learn more about what's to come for our ministry!

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New Parent Q&A - Madeline Interviews Suzanne Sep 25, 2019

Calling ALL New Parents! We've got a podcast just for you!

This week, Madeline takes over the podcast and interviews Suzanne about advice she would give to new parents. Listen to Suzanne’s unique perspective regarding what she’s learned in her 30+ years of parenting.

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Setting Grade Expectations Part 2 - With Macy Manning Sep 18, 2019

In this week’s podcast, we continue our discussion of Setting Grade Expectations. This time Macy chimes in with some amazing insight.

As a perfectionist in regard to her schoolwork, she shares what she learned about not allowing grades to define her identity.

Listen as we discuss topics to further help you grow the relationships in your family.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Setting Grade Expectations Part 1 - With Madeline and Maddox Manning Sep 11, 2019

Grades can be a huge source of conflict between parents and their kids, but it doesn’t have to be!

Training your children to love learning and take ownership of their grades is another opportunity to strengthen the relationships in your family.

This week, Madeline and Maddox join Don and Suzanne to give their perspective on this important topic.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Becoming The Trusted Voice In Your Kid's Life Sep 04, 2019

How do you become a trusted voice in your child’s life when there are so many voices battling for his attention?

This week we discuss that topic on the podcast! Listen and hear from our years of experience as we've raised 7 kids to hear God's voice and trust ours.

Kids need parents who trust them and are trustworthy. God gave you a voice into your kid's lives and how we use it is immensely important.

How are you using your voice to point your child to the heart of God?

Crazy Cool Resources:

Being Intentional With Your Spouse While Raising Kids Aug 28, 2019

No matter how long we've been married, we are called, by God, to continually strive to pursue our spouse.

This is usually the most challenging when you are parenting babies or young children. Maybe it's because the days become routine, or we believe that since we're married we don't need to pursue each other anymore, or most likely because we're just so exhausted!

In this week's Crazy Cool Family podcast, Mollie and Madeline join Suzanne to share what they've learned about pursuing their spouse in the midst of caring for young children.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Maintaining A Healthy Work/Home Balance Aug 21, 2019

Parents often feel overwhelmed with the amount of responsibilities that pull at our time and attention. We desperately want a balanced life that includes quality time with family and friends and doing things we enjoy.

But how do we do that while taking care of all the things?

In this week’s Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don shares a few tips to help you maintain a healthy work/home balance.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Car Time With Your Kids Aug 14, 2019

What if car-time became one of the best places to deepen your relationships with your children?

Time in the car with your kids is an ideal opportunity that you can use to your advantage!

In this week's Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don and Suzanne give you incredible ideas to transform your own thinking about car-time and how to use it to grow the relationships in your family.

Crazy Cool Resources:

How to Connect Your Kids to God this School Year Aug 07, 2019

Connecting your kids to God is the most important thing you will do as a parent... so how do we do it well?

In this week's Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don and Suzanne give inspiring and practical tips to help you connect your kids to God this school year.

What if at this time next year, your kids have had a leap in their relationship with Jesus?

Crazy Cool Resources:

Sending Your Kid To College Jul 31, 2019

Whether you're preparing to move your child into their dorm room in a few weeks, or trying to get your toddler to just fall sleep in their own room, "The Day" is coming! The day your child leaves your home!

In this week's Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don and Suzanne give tips to help prepare you and your child for the day he/she leaves home. They speak candidly to two different sets up parents - those of you who have a child leaving home soon, and those of you whose "day" is approaching further down the road.

Crazy Cool Resources:

Adjusting To New Parenthood with Mollie & Damian Torres and Madeline & Larry Jones Jul 24, 2019

New to parenting? Need help?!

In this week's podcast, we are joined by our two oldest daughters and their families. Mollie and her husband, Damian, and son, Sebastian ("Bash"). And Madeline and her husband, Larry, and son, Truett.

Having a newborn brings many changes and challenges. Mollie, Damian, Madeline, and Larry share openly about the struggles and victories they've had in this short season of learning to be parents. Listen as they offer great insight and much humor with how to handle this stage of first-time parenting.

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How To Handle Fits Jul 17, 2019

Do your kids throw fits? What's your parenting strategy to help them work through it?

In this episode, Suzanne and Don talk about how to handle kids throwing fits. Listen in to learn their best tips! If your approach to parenting a child who throws fits isn't working, then this podcast is for you!

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How To Navigate Technology With Your Kids Jul 10, 2019

We get asked all the time, “How do you handle technology?” It’s like its a bad word!

Social media, blogs, and articles out there are all about putting restrictions on our kids but we wanted to talk about our approach on this topic and how you can help your child adopt a healthy mindset with technology.

Listen in to these tips to help you navigate technology with your kids.

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How To Make Family Vacations Memorable Jul 03, 2019

This week's episode is all about vacation!

It's the week of the 4th of July and we know that many of you have some fun vacations planned for the summer. Research shows that kids who have the opportunity to go on vacation remember those as anchor points and highlights with their family. Studies show that kids value vacation over toys! So while you're on vacation this year and you've got intentional time together as a family, we hope this conversation encourages you to create some fun memories together.

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What to Do When Our Kids Hurt Each Other Featuring Michael & Maddox Manning Jun 26, 2019

Do your kids have a difficult relationships? Are they in a season of hurting each other?

Every sibling dynamic is unique and goes through seasons.

Listen as Michael and Maddox talk about siblings being hurtful or helpful. They grew up close in age, similar in hobbies, but very different in personalities. We share their struggles and hope to give parents insight into sibling dynamics.

If your kids are struggling to get along, listen to this together and talk about the changes you may need to make in your family's sibling culture.

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What If Your Kids Pursued Each Other? Jun 12, 2019

What does it look like for siblings to pursue each other?

Listen to McKenzie and Michael Manning tell the story of their relationship and how she PURSUED him even in the face of daily rejection.

This month we are talking about Siblings as Best Friends. At Crazy Cool Family, one of our core beliefs is that siblings can and should be best friends for life. We have fought to unite each sibling for their entire lives, and we have been rewarded with children who truly love each other, look out for each other, and want to spend time together.

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What Does an Awesome Sibling Relationship Look Like? - Featuring Maddox & McCade Manning May 22, 2019

Do your kids loving each other?

Do you believe they can be best friends?

Listen as Don and Suzanne are joined by Maddox and McCade, the last two of the Manning clan, as they share how their childhood was built on their relationship with each other.

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How To See The World Like Your Kids See It - Featuring Madeline, Macy, & Mckenzie Manning May 15, 2019

We all want our kids to have an awesome experience growing up. We encourage parents to be intentional and present in their kids’ lives to create a childhood for them that’s full of laughter, excitement, and purpose.

How do we do it? What is life like for the seven Manning kids? We want to show you and allow you to get to know them! What better way to learn about their childhood than to hear it directly from the source!

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How to Save Your Kids from the World- Featuring Mollie and Michael Manning May 08, 2019

How do we save our kids from the world?

This week our oldest daughter, Mollie, and our oldest son, Michael, share about their upbringing and how parents are a pivotal part in navigating the world.

Do your kids need help understanding the world? How are you, as a parent, supposed to help them without being controlling?

Listen and find out ways you can save your kids from the world!

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Three C's to a Crazy Cool Marriage Apr 30, 2019

Do you need a marriage boost? What do you do if your marriage feels stagnant or off?

Listen as Don and Suzanne talk about how Pursuing God helps us to have a Crazy Cool Marriage. This month we have been talking about Pursuing God and how it relates to creating a Crazy Cool Family.

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How to Stop Being a Nagging Parent Apr 24, 2019

What does a "nagging parent" look like in todays' world?

Listen as Don and Suzanne talk about how pursuing God changes us from nagging parents into inspiring parents.

In the month of April, we are talking about how Pursuing God, which is at the top of our Crazy Cool Family diagram, helps you become an amazing parent. To view the the diagram referenced in this podcast, go to basecamp and start learning more about how God made your family!

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Embarrassed By Your Child? Apr 17, 2019

Do you ever feel embarrassed of your child?

Like maybe when you are in public place and the toddler has a meltdown...

Or you're in a public place and the teenager has a meltdown...

Or when you're in a public place and you have a meltdown...

Listen to Podcast #9 as we unpack what to do when your family is embarrassing! Stop seeing your kid's as embarrassments and start seeing opportunities to build culture within your family.

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How to Stop Making the Same Parenting Mistakes Over and Over Again Mar 31, 2019

Do you feel like you are making the same parenting mistakes over and over?

How do we grow in parenting? What's the secret?

Listen as Don and Suzanne encourage parents to pursue God above all. Suzanne shares her testimony of discovering how much God knew her and loved her. She shares insightful stories of how she simply brought God into day-to-day conversations with her children. Her relationship with Jesus has been the greatest foundation for parenting her seven children.

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Creative Ways to Make Your Home a Fun Place Mar 26, 2019

Is your home a fun place?

Don, Suzanne, and their thirteen-year-old son, McCade, discuss personal examples of actions that impacted the culture in their home. Family can be fun and culture is a vital piece of the puzzle!

Listen to the podcast to learn new ways to help build your family's culture of fun!

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How to Stop Potty Mouth Talk in Your Home at All Ages Mar 20, 2019

Do your kids use potty talk?

Does it drive you crazy!?

Does it feel like you've run out of ways to tell them to "quit it, kids!" ???

Don, Suzanne, and their son, Maddox, discuss personal examples of how they impact the culture in their home with what they “Do Say” and “Don’t Say.”

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Creating Culture Mar 04, 2019

Do you want to build a culture of joy, life, and fun in your family?

What about honesty, authenticity, and trust?

Can you say your family is built on this type of culture?

Don and Suzanne Manning discuss the concept of Creating Culture in your family. | Rethink the Way You Do Family. Listen and share today's podcast and learn how families just like yours are creating culture they love!

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Flipping Their Thinking Feb 25, 2019

What does it mean to "flip your thinking?"

How do you help your kids see things God's way?

In this podcast, Don and Suzanne Manning discuss a recent example in their own family on the topic of Flipping Their Thinking. Listen and gain insight on ways parents can see the world through their kid's eyes and help them mature in their thinking.

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Be a Salesperson Feb 19, 2019

This week's podcast will change your thinking and challenge your view of sharing the Gospel with your kids!

Whose job is it to tell our kids about Jesus? Is it the church? Mentors or coaches?

Don and Suzanne Manning talk about being a salesperson and selling Jesus along the way of life for our kids. This episode puts the authority and the privilege of telling kids about Jesus in our court, the parents!

If you want your kids to know Jesus but don't know how to share Him with them, then this podcast is for you! Listen and share today!

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Highway to Heaven Feb 13, 2019

Welcome to the Crazy Cool Family Podcast where we share specific ways for you to help your kids fall in love with Jesus. Today, Don and Suzanne Manning talk about creating a Highway to Heaven for your children.

What would it look like for you to clear out the obstacles the world uses to hinder our kids understanding of God?

How do we do this, as parents, in love and not through control?

Listen to the podcast to find out!

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Crazy Cool Family

Moms, are you living in a cycle of victimhood?

Motherhood is hard and we are all prone to victimhood thoughts.

Things we discuss in the podcast:

Listen and share this episode today! We believe there are moms out there that need to hear this podcast - it could change your life!

Have you ever been mentored? Discipled? Coached? Counseled?

Here are the main questions we unpack in Episode #274:

How do you Crazy Cool Parent that?

REBELLING KIDS – OH NO!!! HELP!!!

Here are the main points from today’s episode about “Rebelling Kids”

How do you celebrate Halloween as a family and is it bad to do?

Email us (or comment on social media) your thoughts on this topic! As Christians, where should choose to be a light and where should we protect our kids? We get to invite God in and decide for our family! Share your thoughts and share this episode with a friend!

Who has your child's attention - God or AI?

We believe God will inspire you with the values Don and Suz have learned over his 60 years of life! Here we go!

Relationship with God

Marriage

Parent to Kid

Kid to Kid

Kid to God

Today's episode targets a day in the life of a mom BUT even if you are a dad- this episode will still inspire and challenge you!

Here are main points from today's episode:

"As a mom, when you are home with your kids all day - the goal is to invite Jesus in and show our kids how to know/love Him along the way." - Macy Robinson

When do we go for counseling?

How much should we depend on our close friendships in this process?

How can we help others?

Highlights from podcast:

Check out all our resources + Abby and Alicia's website below!

Listen to the 3 ways we challenge you to fight and win!

3 Ways to WIN at family:

Here are the highlights from today’s episode:

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Week 6: Living Out His Mission

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Week 5: Building Our Faith

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Week 4: Hearing His Voice

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Week 3: Walking With Him

Podcast Resources:

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Week 2: Engaging His Word

6 Ways to Spark Faith in your Family this Summer

Week 1: Encountering His Presence

We kick off with this topic because we really want you to practice it all summer! Go for it and bring the Presence of God into your home TODAY!

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3 Ways to Invest in family this summer:

1. Speak more life than death

2. Invest in making memories

3. Choose family first

This is the only summer 2024 we get- let's make the most of it and invest in family this summer!

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Let's continue with the grandparent conversation!

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Calling All Grandparents!!!

“Navigating issues from the parent’s perspective AND the grandparent's perspective is pivotal.” - Larry Fowler

2 Main Ideas:

Here are things we discuss in the podcast:

“Grandparents, you are still a parent (noun) but are no longer parenting (verb) the grandkids.” - Larry Fowler

Podcast Resources:

Today's Topic = Do’s and Don’ts of House Cleaning Systems

"What is your advice about chores & rewards/allowance? We have 6 kids (ages 2-9) and we're really struggling with getting a workable chore plan.....Would love any resources you have on this!" -Crazy Cool Parent

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“Play is their language; toy is their words.” - Kenzie

“If you play with them when they are little, they will feel safe when they are older.” - Suz

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How do we talk about special needs within families?

Here are things talks about in this episode:

How can you help families with kids who have special needs?

Podcast Resources:

Do you want respect from your kids?

Things to unpack:

Verses:

Conclusion:

Podcast Resources:

Rod Handley joins the podcast to talk about character, integrity, and accountability.

Here is what we discuss in today's episode:

How can you live in accountability today?