We are full-service here on MESSmerized as we transition out of back-to-school topics and jump to the other end of the age pendulum with aging parents. 

Dr. Mary Norman joins us today with an incredibly wise and practical discussion on loving our aging parents well. She gives us considerations for immediate action if our parents are healthy today, as well as ways to be helpful if they require more assistance. 

Don’t miss her advice on these important topics: 

• Legal documents and conversations to have now if your parents are doing well 

• How to gracefully get involved in your parents’ healthcare 

• What is “normal” and what deserves further consideration with memory loss

• Thoughts on medical care facilities and choosing the right one 

This show is jam-packed with wisdom for those of us caring for parents now, or those who will be doing it in the coming years. Oh, and fun-fact: Dr. Norman and I are related, but we don’t really know how so we just call each other cousins. More on that in the show. 

All Things Cynthia Yanof

Dr. Mary Norman

Dementia:  

Alzheimer’s Association

Aging Topics, dementia, advance care planning: 

National Institute on Aging

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

For Texas specifically:

Area Agency on Aging (AAA)- Texas Health and Human Services

For Dallas placements: 

Senior Living Specialists- Paul Markowitz - founder 

A show of hands for those who love Sissy Goff? (Picture me with both of my hands up. 😂) 

Sissy is a Licensed Counselor from Nashville, Tennessee, and although she’s a frequent guest on CNN, GMA, and NBC Nightly News, she’s also just an amazing woman with an abundance of wisdom around anxiety and worry. 

Recent statistics show that 5.6 million kids have been diagnosed with anxiety. And if a parent has anxiety, research shows their child is seven times more likely to experience it as well. In other words, today’s conversation is pretty much on point for every single one of us. 

Sissy and I have a great conversation coming your way about identifying anxiety in our kids, coping techniques, and what’s normal versus what might need a little more attention. She also covers ways to show empathy without overplaying unreasonable fears. 

Her new book is just out, The Worry Free Parent, and it’s a great resource. Let’s take time as summer wraps up to have some intentional family conversations around anxiety and how to work through it.

All Things Cynthia Yanof

Raising Boys and Girls Podcast

The Worry Free Parent by Sissy Goff

Daystar Counseling, Nashville, Tennessee

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

With this in mind, I came up with three topics I want to cover with my kids and also share with you. Spoiler alert: they include belonging, perspective, and kindness. I can’t think of more important reminders for our kids at the beginning of a school year considering the inevitable highs and lows that are coming their way. 

Oh, and a BIG bonus for today’s show is that Heather MacFadyen is with us. As always, she gives lots of wisdom while making me laugh all the way through. 

Job 42:5 is one of my favorite verses in the BIble and I’ll end with this:

“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”

My prayer this school year is that our kids will not just hear of our faith, but truly experience it with their own eyes. Let’s kick-off the year with words that will lead them in the right direction.

We’re down on all fours and crawling towards the finish line of summer over here. 

Barely scraping by. 

It’s not all that surprising, except that every year my idealistic May-self is convinced this will be the summer where my dreams and expectations line up perfectly. The summer of family walks, lemonade stands, nightly devotionals, and a physical and spiritual renewing of our hearts and minds. 

But it’s August and all of that’s shot to  . . . the ground. And now it’s just survival. Want new school shoes? Not my concern, go thrifting. Need school supplies? Look in the junk drawer. Summer reading? Pretend you didn’t get the assignment. 

I’m assuming I’m not alone in this? The heat dome has shut me down, and it’s time to send the people back to school in a few weeks. So in honor of our impending freedom (scratch that) school starting, we’re spending the next few weeks in August talking about all the back-to-school basics. 

Today. Kay Wyma is chatting with us about comparison, competition, and how to become cheerleaders for those around us. Next week, I’ll be sharing a few critical conversations to have with your kids before school starts. And then Sissy Goff will round us out with some critical thoughts on anxiety in our kids and how to stay in front of it. 

I’m grateful you’re here each week, and in the event you’re having the summer of your dreams . . . let’s just keep that preciousness to ourselves. 😂

Grateful for you!

All things Cynthia

Hey Y'all!

I'm back from vacation and let's just say the Yanof family did not return unscathed. There may or may not have been a fall, a black eye, and a little (lot) of humiliation amidst the fun of family vacation. 

Nonetheless, I'm so excited about today's show because we've got the super hilarious and wise Steve Frissell joining us. Pastor Steve helps us walk through the concept of grace, and how it changes everything we do if we really understand it and apply it. 

Spoiler alert: Pastor Steve also has the most incredible story of grace in his own life with endless parenting applications and reminders to embrace the messy moments with love and compassion. 

So take a minute to tune in this week and laugh, learn, and even enjoy the visual picture of me face planting in Colorado last week.  Oh, and PLEASE share MESSmerized with a friend and help us build our sweet community. 

Let's do this!

P.S. I am SO EXCITED to announce that our first Patreon episode is out and I'm particularly fond of the guest. My teenage son, Brett Yanof, is joining us to talk about all things high school and giving us insights into the mind of teenagers. Support MESSmerized below and get bonus content each month! 

All things Cynthia Yanof

Support MESSmerized on Patreon

Hello from Colorado!

We’re FINALLY on family vacation, and the high temps are in the 70s and the lows are in the 40s. I basically want to rededicate my life to Jesus, I’m so happy right now. 

But I’m also excited for today’s show because it’s a free-flow of my thoughts around the book I’m reading on vacation (Atomic Habits) and the ways our habits shape our spiritual lives. I also share a little insight into the many ways Colorado has not been our friend over the years–yet we’re back again. 

I cannot stress to you enough that you need to follow me on social to see a video I will be posting of an “incident” that occurred last time we were here. 

As an added bonus, I end today’s show with a conversation that Heather MacFadyen and I recently taped for her Don’t Mom Alone podcast. We talk about communicating with our kids, carpool disasters, and the value of an “easy yes” in parenting. 

This is definitely a summer episode that doesn’t disappoint. Can’t wait for you to listen!

P.S. Did you know MESSmerized has patreon now?

All things Cynthia 

Don't Mom Alone

Today’s episode is for all those craving deep, authentic friendships but instead find themselves in the spiral of people pleasing, overthinking, and questioning why you weren’t invited to the girls’ night out last weekend.  (Been there, done that ✔️) 

Amy Weatherly is an author, speaker, and hilariously real advocate of deep, authentic friendships no matter the phase of life you’re walking. She chats with us about creating friendships that celebrate others, while recognizing that not every person is “your person,” and that’s totally okay.

I especially love her thoughts on evangelizing through queso and Diet Dr. Pepper, and ways to help our kids navigate challenging friendships. 

Oh, and If you aren’t following Amy Weatherly online—you’re missing out! She somehow articulates everything we’ve been feeling in a way that is hilarious, real, and vulnerable. I can’t wait for you to hear this fun and important discussion on friendships. 

All things Cynthia 

Support MESSmerized and get extra episodes each month!

Amy Weatherly social media

Amy Weatherly & Jess Johnson book on friendship

What comes to mind when someone asks your feelings about church? 

• I feel like an outsider

• Life has gotten busy, and it’s hard to make time

• It’s full of hypocrisy that is sometimes hard to stomach

• Church people have hurt me more than anyone else

• I experience church at places that don’t have a big building and fancy landscapes 

• Sometimes I feel overlooked and undervalued at church

It doesn’t matter which answer(s) you picked, I echo your response with a heartfelt “me too.” 

That being said, I’m a HUGE advocate of the local church, and I can’t imagine my life without it. Every single one of those thoughts (and more) have threatened to keep me from going to the very place where I find the deepest community with other believers, and I’m encouraged to live fearlessly for Jesus. 

I love today’s conversation with Natalie Runion about the hard places in church that we don’t often discuss. She shares her deepest church hurt and how God keeps pursuing her with reminders to stay engaged because he redeems the hard places.  

Take a few minutes to listen today and then share this with anyone who needs a reminder of why church matters—even when it’s hard. 

P.S. - I kick off today’s show talking about the heat in Texas and my inability to “pretty sweat.” It’s really something that needs to be processed. . . so please don’t miss it.

Cynthia's Patreon

All things Cynthia Yanof

Raised to Stay Book

Raised to Stay Podcast

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

Either way, in honor of the dog-days of summer parenting we’re hitting some important topics today with the much-loved Dr. Ken Wilgus. 

For over 30 years Dr. Ken has helped parents prepare and launch their kids into adulthood. And today we’re talking about current trends in parenting, good parenting vs. Christian parenting, and even the changing nature of our relationship with our kids as they grow up. 

I especially appreciate his thoughts on must-have summer conversations with our kids, and hills to die on in parenting (and the things we really need to let go). 

Oh, and an effort to be full-service on MESSmerized, I kick-off today’s show by breaking down some of the words you’re probably hearing in your kids’ vocabulary (and you have no idea what they mean). For example, “ris” “cap” “bussin” . . . . you get the point. 

All things Cynthia Yanof

Support MESSmerized

Feeding the Mouth that Bites You book

Feeding the Mouth that Bites You podcast 

There’s some exciting news around here I’ve been waiting to share! 

My dear friend Heather MacFadyen and host of the very popular Don’t Mom Alone podcast has asked me to be on her show for the next six weeks. We’re doing a summer of mentorship series and the first episode is out now. We’re covering all kinds of parenting tips as well as “important topics” like the time my son put a cherry bomb exhaust system on his truck and even Heather’s texting habit that needs an intervention. Don’t miss it this summer. 

In honor of this fun announcement I’ve invited Heather to join us on MESSmerized today. We’re taking a deeper look at how to know if you’re in the space God has for you and how to occupy it well. Heather has a great word for us when it comes to dealing with comparison struggles, hearing God’s voice in our lives, and recognizing (and encouraging) our kids’ giftings from the earliest age. Right Where You Belong is her new book out on this topic and a must-read. 

I’m so grateful to each of you who listen each week. I would be grateful if you would share MESSmerized with your people.