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Want home to be your favorite place in the world? Want to see siblings get along like best friends? Want to send your kid off to college with hope instead of fear? At Crazy Cool Family, we can help you answer all of those questions with a resounding “YES!”
We have one simple mission: To show parents how to create amazing families by building their lives around Jesus and helping their kids to do the same. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells us that what is most important in life is our relationship with God and our relationships with one another. We believe that families are our most important relationships and their strength will determine the strength of your family. You will Rethink the Way You Do Family when you see God’s incredible relational design for your families.
God wants a Crazy Cool Family for you and we want to help you get there!
The podcast Crazy Cool Family is created by Don and Suzanne Manning. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Julie Plagens, a wife, mother, and author joins our podcast to talk about her new book, Marriage Interrupted. If you are wanting to invest in your marriage and learn ways to love and forgive your spouse, this podcast is for you!
Julie's new book goes over so many Kingdom principles and relates them to marriage. We focused on forgiveness and how to believe for change within your marriage.
Here are the key talking points from the podcast:
Podcast Resources:
The world wants to tear your child down and create insecurity inside of them. Family is the place where we wash off the world and send our kids out - confident, loved, and brave.
Parents, we get to go first in building our kids up - here's how!
Today's talking points:
Our heart behind these episodes is to inspire and equip you in specific parenting topics and apply your learnings to your specific kids. In today's episode, a huge practical we share is how to be approachable and a safe place for your kids to come to you. Your love and response is crucial in building confidence in your kid. Listen to this episode to learn HOW to love your kids and build confidence into them, in every season.
Listen to the episode to learn more about the CCC and how you can apply it in your family today!
Podcast Resources:
On Episode #287, we celebrate Suz's birthday! She is 23 years young😜 and living her best life! We unpack do's and don'ts from her parenting experience. Now that she has 4 grown daughters who are married and multiplying - AND the world's BEST daughter in law, she asked them to sit down and share some of their experiences.
This episodes is packed full of silly moments that will make you laugh AND words of encouragement, challenge, and possibly wisdom;)
Listen and share this episode today if you are looking for something to spice up your week and help you invest in your family!
Podcast Resources:
Love is in the air and we are talking REAL LOVE and real struggles that come with marriage! With Valentine’s coming up – we wanted to take an episode to encourage and challenge you in your marriage.
Don and Suz are talking about the good, bad, and ugly from their 33 years of marriage! They would say their marriage is "the best it's ever been" and "it's the hardest relationship for them to invest in."
They both share how powerful of an influence marriage is because people grow, change, and evolve. Marriage is not easy and it takes effort. We want every Crazy Cool Marriage to be full of hope and endurance.
Main Points from the podcast:
Podcast Resources:
Chris Harper joins Don as they unpack the 2024 election and what we are called to do.
"God has given fathers a mantle to be the chief priest of his home. His home is a reflection of the greater Kingdom." - Chris Harper
Chris shares how fathers are called higher by God for the sake of their families. He calls every father to reclaim the mantle God has given him to lead. The world wants to steal, kill, and destroy what God has said is true. Don and Chris share how we can tear down the current perspective and fight to build back better. If you are a father who is invested in family - this podcast is for you!
Chris Harper and The Better Man organization empower fathers and families. If you want to connect with him - click the link below.
Podcast Resources:
We know the majority of parents want great relationships with their kids BUT do they actually have one?
Don and Suz are focusing on the Parent to Kid and Kid to Kid relational lines this season. They have raised 7 kids and have learned a lot along the way. They are passionate about teaching parents to have great relationships with their kids.
Here are the 4 main things they discuss in today's podcast:
Podcast Resources:
Season 7 of Crazy Cool Family kicks off today, and we’re excited to dive into another year of parenting insights! As we enter 2025, we’re focusing on the word CREATE. God, the Creator, has given us the privilege and authority to shape the culture of our homes. It’s not about grinding—it’s about daily choices of love, investment, and energy.
This year, we want to help you create the family culture you desire. We’ll be coaching you in specific areas of family life, and we invite you to walk with us by:
Parenting is a cycle of learning and application, and our goal is to make it easier for you. Here’s what to expect from our podcasts this year:
Podcast Resources:
Season 6 is ending and as we are taking time today to reflect on all the episodes the season holds.
Season 6 is all about relationships. If you've been around CCF for awhile, you know about the Family Dashboard and the 5 Types of Relationships. In our 2024 season, we took the 5 Types of Relationships and did podcasts on each relational line.
This episode reflects on the entire year and how to build each relational line within your family. If you are looking for a way to strengthen your family relationships - this is the season for you. We highly recommend looking through the full list on our website and picking 1 podcast from each relational line. It's worth the investment and your family will see the breakthrough!
As another year ends, we wanted to encourage you to consider supporting Crazy Cool Family with your End of Year Giving. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit ministry. We are run off one-time and monthly donations from amazing listeners just like you! Your contribution could help a family see relational breakthrough! If you feel a nudge to give to CCF, click the link below or email [email protected] to get started.
Podcast Resources:
It's our second to last episode of the season, can you believe it? We want to inspire you and give you tips on how to make this holiday season AMAZING!
We often look back and wonder how we survived the holidays with so many kids, expectations, and events. As we look back on our 30+ years of holidays together, here are a few things we have learned:
This season is all about relationships. God sent his Son to earth for us, to make a way for us. This season is about building relationships and slowing down to recognize God’s goodness. As parents, we get to come alongside our kids and see them, love them, and help them have their best season yet. The reason for the season is the ultimate relationships, Jesus. When we point our kids to Jesus, the whole season takes on a different tone and we enjoy it in our souls. He brings us delight and that is what the season is all about.
Carl Caton is our guest and is deeply passionate about marriages. He is a husband, businessman, and founder of the San Antionio Marriage Initiative. Their vision is centered on restoration of family, by strategically investing in marriage, for the strengthening of communities and the glorification of God.
Carl and his team bring together authors, researchers, counselors, pastors, podcasters, marriage leaders and more. In addition, they maintain a faithful presence in our community to elevate available resources for couples that highlight the value, importance, and hope that is available for all marriages. They seek to be a local presence connecting and uniting people across our community with the shared vision to serve marriages.
He speaks to the struggles of marriage and the ways God is moving across our nation to remedy ALL marriages. There is hope for every marriage. If you are struggling to love your spouse in this season, this podcast is for you.
Podcast Resources:
Parents, we want to teach you how to invest in the sibling dynamics during the holidays.
This podcast is so practical because we give you strategies to help with rivalry, teaching empathy, and family unity during November and December.
"The reality is.... kids are selfish. We believe sibling relationships are the best place to teach our kids to live for something other than themself." - Suz
What we discuss:
"Sibling relationships are a training ground for real life. There is a purpose in sibling relationships and learning to love every person in your family." -- Don
Podcast Resources:
We've been asked by parents how to make the holidays meaningful. It's about more than presents, food, parties, and events. Here's our answer.... traditions! Traditions are ways to build family culture and it's really what your kids will remember.
So how do you build family traditions? Don and Suz unpack mindsets and practical ways to build your family's culture through traditions!
Main points from podcast:
Podcast Resources:
Today we are talking about gratitude and how powerful it is. Just in time for Thanksgiving (which we did on purpose) we want to talk about gratitude, gratefulness, thankfulness, and joy! As we prepare for Jesus’ birth, we need to start practicing our gratitude muscle – because this season is ALL ABOUT HIM!
Here are the main topics from today’s episode:
The condition or quality of being grateful; an emotion or sentiment of thankfulness. A warm sense of appreciation for kindness received; accompanied by a feeling of good will toward the benefactor, and a desire to repay the favor.
Recognizing who God is and what he has done.
A feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us. Joy comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God’s presence and from hope in His word.
Define these with your family this month and practice them! We believe these are the ingredients to a life-giving culture in your home. When we focus on building gratefulness, thankfulness, and joy - gratitude will become the norm. Practice these things this week and watch how your family culture changes for the better!
Podcast Resources:
Lee Ann Mancini found us through our Guides (which you can purchase through the link below), and we’re thrilled to have her join Don for an insightful conversation on the value of depositing truth into our children. Early in her parenting journey, Lee Ann found herself searching for Biblical materials to teach her kids. When she couldn’t find as many resources as she had hoped, she took matters into her own hands and wrote her own. Today, we’re diving into her newest book, Raising Kids to Follow Christ, where she shares wisdom and practical advice for parents.
Raising Kids Amid Today’s Worldly Struggles: Lee Ann discusses the unique challenges parents face in a culture that often conflicts with Biblical values and how to navigate those struggles with intentionality.
Teaching Self-Motivation: Lee Ann shares strategies for cultivating self-motivation in children, empowering them to take initiative and develop a strong work ethic rooted in faith.
Role Playing Scenarios: One of Lee Ann’s practical methods is role-playing scenarios to help kids prepare for real-world challenges. This allows them to think critically and practice their responses before facing difficult situations.
Creating Critical Thinkers by Asking Questions: Instead of simply providing answers, Lee Ann emphasizes the importance of asking thought-provoking questions that help children develop critical thinking skills and deepen their understanding of faith.
Building Parent-to-Kid Relationships and Making Them Feel Safe: Lee Ann shares ways to strengthen the emotional bond with your children, fostering an environment where they feel safe, loved, and heard.
Controlling Behavior vs. Empowering Our Kids: Lee Ann explores the difference between controlling a child’s behavior and empowering them to make wise decisions based on their values and beliefs.
This podcast is packed with practical advice and valuable insights from Lee Ann. It truly feels like she’s sitting at our kitchen table, answering the burning questions that many parents face. If you're looking for wisdom and guidance to improve the relationships within your family, this episode is for you!
As Lee Ann wisely says, “Every adversity is an opportunity.”
Podcast Resources:
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....
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.
Podcast Resources:
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?
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:
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...
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.
Listen and share this with a friend who needs help with their rebelling child. Send us questions to [email protected] 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:
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.
Podcast Resources:
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:
“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:
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!
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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
Podcast Resources:
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.
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!
Podcast Resources:
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!
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!
Main Ideas from this episode:
Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!
Podcast Resources:
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!
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!
Main Ideas from this episode:
Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!
Podcast Resources:
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!
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!
Main Ideas from this episode:
Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!
Podcast Resources:
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!
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!
Main Ideas from this episode:
Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!
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!
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!
Main Ideas from this episode:
Stick with us this summer as we practice sparking faith in our family - one day at a time!
Podcast Resources:
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!
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!
Main Ideas from this episode:
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!
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:
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!
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!
Legacy Coalition is an amazing resource for parents AND grandparents – if you need help, click the link below for more information.
We got a great question from a Crazy Cool Parent recently and we decided to make it a podcast! Here is what he asked,
Here is what we cover in today's episode:
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!
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.
Topics:
Questions to ask counselor:
Resources:
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!
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.
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!
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?
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.
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
Check out Rob's resources if you want to go deeper with this topic for you and for your 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:
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.
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
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.
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.
“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
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.
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.
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.
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:
Middles:
Bigs:
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!
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
“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!
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!
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.
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.
When marriages are neglected they often affect the entire family.
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!
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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:
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!
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.
"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.
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!
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.
Main Points:
Want more insight on building relationships? Check out our Relationship and Culture Guides! Now available on Amazon!
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!
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.
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!
What is the motivation for the lie?
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.
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:
How do we allow God to do a new thing in our family as we start 2024:
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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...
Here are a few words we heard from God about this year and podcast season:
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?"
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!
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. 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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Listen and share the podcast with anyone you know who needs to hear this powerful, challenging, and encouraging message!
She has multiple “drop the mic” moments on the podcast and challenges the listener to MAKE A MOVE towards the things of God.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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: [email protected].
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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...
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."
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.
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.
This podcast is for you if you want to walk in gentleness and if you want to see God as a gentle God.
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!
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."
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 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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!"
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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!
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!
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.
We are kicking off a new podcast series this week! We are slowing down our rhythm and releasing episodes EVERY OTHER WEEK!
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.
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!
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!
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:
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
Family unity is celebrating family uniqueness as we unite under family values.
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.
“God says things WORK BEST in unity.”
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
This episode and the few to follow are designed with you in mind. Listen and share with a friend today!
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.
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.
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.
Trips and breaks during the school year are a great time to be intentional with family.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
We hear parents say, “I have to get angry to get my kids to respond.” We thought the same thing for a long time!
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!
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!
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.”
As parents, it is our job to correct. The book of Proverbs talks so much about correcting your child.
This week we are unpacking our first culture pillar - the power of encouragement.
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!
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:
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?"
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!
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.
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!
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).
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In difficult situation, or extensive grief, who do you turn to? How do you continue to build family when you are struggling?
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.
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.
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!
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....🤷🏽♂️)
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.
We cover so much in this podcast, you will just have to listen. This is one of our favorite quotes to entice you....
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!
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....🤷🏽♂️)
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.
We cover so much in this podcast, you will just have to listen. This is one of our favorite quotes to entice you....
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!
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?
What are ways you spend time with God?
Fight and articulate for your time with God. Your spouse may not know what you need, so tell them!
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?
What if my family doesn’t like church? How do we connect with God within the church?
What else can we do to help make God a priority in our family?
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
After you listen to this podcast, check out all the Awesome Marriage resources the Kimberlings have to offer!
Join Suz, Madeline, and Macy as we unpack our childhood memories about hearing God.
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.
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.
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...).
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:
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Our 5th child and first boy, Michael, said he "was a huge punk" growing up.
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.
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!
In this podcast, you will hear us discuss:
This podcast is jammed packed with wisdom, practical tools, and funny memories. If you have a middle child, this is the podcast for 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.
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!
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!
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!
Here are a few main things Madeline shares about being raised by us:
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!
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!
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:
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:
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.
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!
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.
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?
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
You are not alone! We unpack ways you can flip your thinking when the season feels like it holds more losses than wins.
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.
Crazy Cool Resources:
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!
"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
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.
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.
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 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."
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!
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
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.
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!
Don and Tim discuss the power of comedy within a home and all the ways parents can create fun in family.
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.
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!
"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!
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!
"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!
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.
"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.
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
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.
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.
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
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!
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!
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:
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:
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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:
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!
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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?
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?
We are talking about making this Thanksgiving the BEST one yet!
Last week we talked about awareness and this week we focus in on appreciation.
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.
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!
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:
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!
Take the VIA Survey to learn your values!
https://crazycoolfamily.com/
https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/
https://basecamp.crazycoolfamily.com/
https://crazycoolfamily.com/podcast/
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.
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/
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.
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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:
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!!
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!
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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!
All of our resources are 100% accessible to you in Basecamp! Click the link below to create your account today!
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!
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
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https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/
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://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/
Buy the book: The Joy Switch
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!
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://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/
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/
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!
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!
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https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/
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!
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https://www.instagram.com/crazycoolfamily/
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!
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
"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.
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!
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!
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!
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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!
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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!
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.
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!
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https://basecamp.crazycoolfamily.com/basecamp-may-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:
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!
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!
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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!
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.
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!
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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!
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!
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.
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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.
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.
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Don't miss an episode in March! Join us on the Marriage March!
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.
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.
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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!
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 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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
Wrapping up our podcast series on introducing our kids to the real Jesus we end with asking the question:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 have been talking about the power of our words in this month’s podcast series, and we saved the best for last. Blessing others.
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!
Start by listening to this podcast!
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.
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!
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!
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.⠀
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
We're talking all about how to love an imperfect country this week! This is such an important conversation to have amidst this pandemic
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!
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!
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!
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!
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 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.
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!
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)!
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.
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.
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!
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!!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
Listening to your kids constantly bickering or fighting can be maddening.
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!
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!
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.
This week we discuss what it looks like to create unity with your family name!
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!
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.⠀
“With the rise of technology, we have become the most connected globally but the most disconnected emotionally.”
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!
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!
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!
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.
Listen in to hear how we can connect with our spouse during the busy holiday season!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
This week, we’re highlighting our Relational Discipline course and we can't wait for you to learn more!
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!
Tune into this episode to learn more about what's to come for our ministry!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In this week’s Crazy Cool Family podcast, Don shares a few tips to help you maintain a healthy work/home balance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.”
It's part 2 of the Creating Culture podcast series. This week we dive deeper into ways to create culture in your family.
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!
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!
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.
This week's podcast will change your thinking and challenge your view of sharing the Gospel with your kids!
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!
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.
How do we do this, as parents, in love and not through control?
Listen to the podcast to find out!
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.