Life can be a bit messy. Whether that’s a literal mess of toys all over your living room, a kitchen full of dirty dishes, and laundry piled high or an internal mess of feeling behind on work, issues in relationships, and more!
Whatever mess you are facing in your life, I have a truth for you—God is at work even in the mess. I know we can sometimes struggle to believe that statement. The truth is, however, that God is present in the messiness of life.
I can’t think of a better guest to help us navigate the mess than a woman who wrote a book titled Life Is Messy, God Is Good: Sanity for the Chaos of Everyday Life. My guest is Cynthia Yanof. She is a wife, mother, podcaster, blogger, author, and an everyday girl who is committed to not taking herself too seriously. Cynthia is passionate about speaking, writing, foster care, and hanging out with as many friends as possible.
In this conversation, you’ll hear:
- Common lies we believe about the struggle of life
- How to find sanity in the chaos
- Cynthia’s experience of foster care and adoption
- And so much more!
Listen in as we talk about the messy, less-than-perfect parts of life!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- MESSmerized podcast
- [BOOK] Life Is Messy, God Is Good: Sanity for the Chaos of Everyday Life
- [BOOK] Real Moms…Real Jesus: Meet the Friend Who Understands
- [BOOK] Empty Nest, Full Life: Discovering God’s Best for Your Next
- Connect with Cynthia on her website, Facebook, or Instagram
- As a thank you for listening, get your 3 free eBooks.
My Key Takeaways:
1) The majority of life happens in the mess. There is this idea that most of us have our lives together and never struggle with feeling overwhelmed or like we are living in chaos. However, the reality is that most of our lives are messy! If you are a mom, I don’t have to remind you of the chaos that comes along with having children or the endless number of things on your to-do list. We don’t live in a sterile, perfect life. The beautiful thing is that God doesn’t expect us to have every part of life in order. He shows up in the messy, less-than-perfect parts of our life.
2) Success is not measured by our children. One of the lies that we can believe is that our children’s success or failure defines us as parents. This can become an unhealthy idol in our lives. Furthermore, the way our culture defines success is by things like how well our children can read or how fast they can run. It doesn’t measure the things that are actually important like if they are kind to others or how compassionate they respond to someone who’s hurting.
3) Ordinary is enough. Most of our life is going to feel ordinary. Social media highlights the extraordinary events and can cause us to think that our normal lives pale in comparison. Instead of dreading the ordinary, it’s important to get back to the foundational things that really matter. It’s often in the ordinary stuff of life that our faith is built up.
About Cynthia:
Cynthia Yanof is a wife, mom to three, former attorney, podcaster, blogger, author, and speaker. She is the author of several books including Life Is Messy, God Is Good. Cynthia is an everyday girl committed to not taking herself too seriously. She loves speaking, writing, foster care, and hanging out with as many friends as possible.
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