Remember that goal I set in 2018 to open our home every single week ? Well, it was hard and scary at first, but the more we did it, the more it's become second nature to use! Last week alone, we opened up our home all week to host three college girls who are volunteering at Pine Cove Camp in the City, we hosted the Girls' Bible Study for the teen girls at church (I think maybe 20 girls came?), we had multiple teens over, we had two couples over for dinner, and we had a family over for dinner. An...
Jun 18, 2019•37 min
On August 16, 2016, I posted the above picture on Instagram with this caption: Today is a bittersweet day. After many years of homeschooling, I just dropped the kids off at the new Classical School they are attending this year. I'm so grateful for those sweet years I had to be a homeschool mom. I'm also grateful for God's direction this year (for a long list of reasons) that a different schooling option is best for our family and our kids. I won't pretend it's been an easy decision. It's one tha...
Jun 11, 2019•43 min
For years, I believed the lie that I didn’t know how to be a good friend. Because of some past hurt and rejection, I told myself that I was a disappointment to those closest to me. I let this lie become my truth and I built a thick barricade around myself to keep other women at arm’s length. I was self-protecting... and when anyone would get too close, I’d pull back. I didn’t realize I was doing any of this, of course. I just thought that I struggled to make friends and felt lonely much of the t...
Jun 04, 2019•32 min
Today on the podcast, not only do Jesse and I share some fun book updates, a hilarious podcast review we received, and something that's saving my life, but I also am joined in studio by one of my dear local friends! Fran Maynard and I got to know each other well over the past few years as our families were in Community Group together. Then, she and I got even closer two years ago as we were in a small group in our church's Discipleship Program. This past year, Fran and I also had the privilege o...
May 28, 2019•34 min
Jesse and I are excited to have our pastor on the show today! We’re part of the discipleship program that he started at our church, and you’ve probably heard us talk about the program many times if you've been following me online the last few years. Jesse actually joined the Discipleship Program shortly after we moved to TN. It ended up profoundly impacting his life. I was more reluctant to be a part of it, but I finally said yes the next year... and well, my life will never be the same! Many of...
May 21, 2019•36 min
Jesse surprised me as we were prepping for this episode by telling me he had recently deleted Facebook off of his phone. I had no idea that he had, but I had noticed he has been knocking things off his to do list right and left. In this episode, we not only talk about boundaries we've set for our phones, a book we are reading, and recent travels. Plus, we tackle a somewhat hot-button topic that multiple listeners requested: How our marriage works since I have such a strong personality. As we sta...
May 14, 2019•41 min
Last time we recorded an episode for The Crystal Paine Show , we had just gotten back from Kansas. And this time, we just got back from Destin, Florida! It was our first time there (can you believe it?), and we had an amazing trip. We haven’t gone on a long road trip by ourselves since our honeymoon, and even though it was a little bit weird to be in the car for six hours by ourselves, I’m so thankful that we got to go! Today’s guest on the show is the amazing Anne Bogel , who you may remember f...
May 07, 2019•35 min
(Listen to the episode for the story behind this photo!) Today's episode not only includes details on our whirlwind trip to Kansas, my thoughts on buying markdowns, a book I loved recently, a new book Jesse is reading, and a very practical interview with Lisa Burns from This Pilgrim Life . I first connected with today’s guest, Lisa Burns , when she signed up for my four-week blog coaching class. It's been so fun to watch her blog and social media take off since that class -- and she’s now known ...
Apr 30, 2019•32 min
Last week, Jesse and I were supposed to record an episode telling more of our story, but he had to go out of town unexpectedly and was gone for almost the whole week. In this episode, we share more about that, why we don't function very well when he's gone, but why I'm happy he was able to make the trip. We also talk about books we're reading (my book was one I almost didn't share about!), my new non-coffee healthy "mocha" I've been drinking in the mornings, and a special offer on my course, 15 ...
Apr 23, 2019•34 min
We’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the Enneagram recently, so I thought it was high time we devote part of an interview to explaining what it is and why it can make such a difference to understand. Truly, understanding the Enneagram has changed so much of my perspective on life and has improved my relationships, my compassion toward others, and has helped me to embrace the way that I am wired and see it as a gift, instead of something to be embarrassed about. My friend and virtua...
Apr 16, 2019•35 min
Want to know the secret to a happier marriage? Tune in to this podcast episode with Audrey & Jeremy Roloff. We loved having Audrey & Jeremy Roloff into our home last week to record this join episode of the podcast. As I talk about on the show, I actually didn't know who Audrey & Jeremy were until their publicist reached out to me a few months ago and asked if she could send me their brand-new book, Love Letter Life . I Googled their names (yes, I did!) and discovered that they are we...
Apr 09, 2019•38 min
I am super excited to bring you this week’s episode of the podcast… but I have to be honest and tell you that recording this episode was one I was pretty nervous about. You see, unlike most of my other guests, I didn’t have any relationship with Cal Newport. I didn’t know anyone who knew him. I didn’t know his publisher. And I’d never connected with him on social media (because, as we’ll talk about on the show, he doesn’t have social media!) When I read his book, Deep Work , at the beginning of ...
Apr 02, 2019•32 min
I have some big news about a change for the podcast! Jesse is officially my new co-host on The Crystal Paine Show ! I've gotten such great feedback every time he’s been on the show and we have had so much fun recording together, so I'm excited to have him joining me on every episode! Today's guest is Meg Tietz is the host of the beloved Sorta Awesome podcast. Meg is really passionate about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and I'm thrilled she agreed to come on the show and share her wisdom on thi...
Mar 26, 2019•42 min
After last time Jesse was on my podcast, I got a request from a listener asking if he could do more of the talking on the episodes he’s on. He's actually quite a talker when he feels comfortable in situations (and can give me a run for my money when it comes to talking!), so I loved this request because I think it encouraged him to know that you all enjoy what he has to share and he doesn't have to feel like he needs to hold back. So I'm excited that you'll be hearing more from him in this episo...
Mar 19, 2019•32 min
When Jesse and I got married, I tried so hard to fix him. I saw all of his shortcomings, and I wanted to help him be better. Surprise surprise, this caused a lot of tension. It took a while for me to realize that my job was to focus on myself (and there’s plenty of work to do there) rather than try to change or “fix” other people. This idea goes for our kids, too! In today's episode of The Crystal Paine Show , I'm talking with Jami Amerine about how easy it is to try to fix our kids and how inef...
Mar 12, 2019•33 min
Today’s episode is going to be something completely new! So many of you have asked such great questions, and I really appreciate them, but it’s hard for me to manage to answer them all. That’s why today’s episode is completely devoted to answering your burning questions! Jesse is here to read the questions that you’ve asked, and we’ll answer them together! This will be extra fun because I haven’t thought about the answers ahead of time, so you’ll hear my totally honest answers on the fly. One of...
Mar 05, 2019•35 min
I was kind of giddy about doing today’s interview… because I had listened to Melissa Radke’s audiobook, Eat Cake, Be Brave , and had fallen in love with her hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is honesty and couldn’t wait to get to talk to her in person (well, it was actually over Skype, but that was a big step up from just listening to her on audiobook!) In our conversation, we dig deep into bravery, forgiveness, and rising about negativity. As Melissa explains, bravery doesn’t always mean jumping out o...
Feb 26, 2019•31 min
Thanks to popular demand, Jesse is back on today's episode! And this time, he’s joining me for the entire episode. We didn't really plan it... he was just sitting across from me when I went live and his mic was turned on. As you'll hear... he jumped right in! ;) We disagree about the weather, we talk about our new shower filter and how it's made such a difference in our lives, and I ask Jesse to share about the books he's been reading. And then we pick up right where we left off in our story las...
Feb 19, 2019•29 min
Well, y’all, after 19 podcast episodes, I’m finally feeling like I’m starting to get my feet underneath me and feel more comfortable with this whole podcasting. So, even though it scared me a lot, this is the first episode where I didn’t plan out every word I was going to say. That’s a big deal for me as one of my big goals for this year is to be as comfortable on the podcast as I am on live video… but I keep reminding myself that it took at least 30-50 live videos before I started feeling confi...
Feb 12, 2019•30 min
Now that it’s February, the excitement of the new year has probably started to fade for you. And it’s around this time of the year that it can begin to feel like you just want to give up on your goals for 2019. This episode might be just the shot in the arm you need to get back on track! I’m chatting with Tiffany King from Eat At Home Cooks — a woman who has made it her mission to help busy women spend less time and effort in the kitchen and more time as a family. She’s joining me today for us t...
Feb 05, 2019•31 min
I'm doing something I've never done on the podcast before... I'm doing an entirely interview-driven episode. I usually try to keep interviews with guests to around 15 minutes and then we devote the other 15 minutes of the podcast to other segments. But as I was prepping for this particular interview, I just had this feeling that I needed to go longer in the interview. That in order for you to really hear the story well, I needed to allow the entire 30 minutes for the interview. So that's what we...
Jan 29, 2019•35 min
Jesse is joining me for another really honest episode where we share our more of our story. This time around, we dig into one of the harder seasons of our life, when Jesse was still in law school and we had just had Kathrynne, our first daughter. We talk really candidly about one of the hardest years of our marriage and how stress caused such a toll on all areas of our life -- and ended up landing me in the hospital. At the time, it felt like our world was falling apart. But we look back and see...
Jan 22, 2019•35 min
If you’ve been following my blog for a long time, you know that for years I said, “I’m not a fashionista!” I felt so inept when it came to putting together cute outfits and I felt like anytime anyone complimented me on my outfit, I needed to apologize for someone or deflect the compliment by saying something like, “Oh this shirt?? I just pulled it out at the last minute and I don’t really like it.” Or, “Thanks, but I don’t really know this dress is my style.” I said these things because I felt s...
Jan 15, 2019•31 min
Today we’re talking about sinuses, allergies, India, personal growth and development, and how to cultivate a grateful spirit. Yup, it’s another episode of The Crystal Paine Show… and like usual, you’re going to get a plethora of topics! 🙂 Today I’m joined by the delightful Erin Port from Simple Purposeful Living . Unlike everyone I’ve interviewed so far, Erin doesn’t have a book (yet!). And truth be told: I didn’t even know who she was until a few months ago. As we share on the podcast, Erin re...
Jan 08, 2019•31 min
Happy New Year! Don’t you love this time of the year? Everything is fresh and full of opportunity! Today, on the the podcast, I share some practical ways to start your new year well. We’ll talk about everything from choosing a word for the year to meal prep to savoring life. I couldn’t think of any better way to kick off the podcast in 2019 than by inviting the woman who inspired my 2018 “word of the year” to be my guest! Monica Wilkinson is a blogger, mom, and author of the book Slow Lane . We’...
Jan 01, 2019•30 min
Well, this episode is all about Christmas and Christmas candy and cleaning your house for Christmas and one of our family's favorite stocking stuffer traditions... and then we take a hard turn and Jesse interviews me as I share more of our story and specifically how I broke free from legalism. (I know, those two topics have nothing to do with one another -- but hey, you just never know what you're going to get when you tune into the podcast each week!) To be honest, I didn't know how my conversa...
Dec 18, 2018•33 min
Other than my interviews with Jesse, this was my very first interview to do in-person -- with Myquillyn Smith (aka The Nester ) sitting right across the table from me as we recorded. I loved getting to chat with her face-to-face and be inspired by her heart for creating a cozy and inviting home that serves your family well. Myquillyn and I talk about the importance of making your home into a place that fits the way you’re called to use it, and she offers practical advice for women who may feel i...
Dec 11, 2018•31 min
If you've ever felt like that or just even wondered how you could feel a little more rested, you don't want to miss today's episode. In it, I talk with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith (author of Sacred Rest ) all about the seven kinds of rest (yes, that's right! Feeling rested is a lot more than just getting a good night's sleep) and practical advice for women who feel chronically tired. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Saundra and love how she addresses rest from a very different perspect...
Dec 04, 2018•29 min
I’m so excited for today’s guest! Jennifer Fulwiler has been a great inspiration to me. I first encountered her writings over a decade ago when I first started blogging, and rediscovered her this past year when I read her new book, One Beautiful Dream . If you’re a mom who works or wants to pursue your passions, I can’t recommend this book highly enough -- and I think you'll really enjoy today's conversation. (And even if you're not a mom, I think you'll get a lot from it!) In our conversation, ...
Nov 27, 2018•31 min
Jesse and I are currently in India (I messed up when I pre-recorded the podcast and said we were going to be in Rome and headed to India -- I was forgetting that episode 9 dropped this week, not last week!) with some good friends of ours, so I talk about my international travel must-haves on this podcast. Plus, by popular demand, Jesse joins me again for us to share more of our story -- including some stories from our law school days you've probably never heard before. We also talk about the Enn...
Nov 13, 2018•33 min
