Get ready to laugh, cry, and feel so seen. I did all three while we were recording this!

I loved this conversation with a new friend of mine, Cynthia Yanof, and I'm thrilled to share it with you today.

Cynthia is the host of the MESSmerized podcast and the author of two books, including her latest How'd I Miss That?: Gas Pump Confessions, Drive-Thru Obsessions, and Figuring Out What Really Matters.

Cynthia is a deep well and also deeply funny, which really matters around here :)

Join Cynthia and I for a conversation about:

• how we figure out what really matters in a world where there is so much to care about
• not missing the people God puts in front of us each day
• deciding what success looks like
• the good work God wants to do in us as we grow into the people He made us to be
• getting honest with God in our conversations
• the most important thing about us

LINKS

Connect with Cynthia on Instagram

Get a copy of Cynthia's new book How'd I Miss That?: Gas Pump Confessions, Drive-Thru Obsessions, and Figuring Out What Really Matters

Check out Cynthia's podcast, MESSmerized

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram

How to we determine what to say yes to and what to say no to?

How do we know if hardships are because we're doing something right, or because we're doing something wrong, or if it's just part of being human?

And how do we embrace our limits instead of trying to work around them?

My friend Keagan Hayden is joining us to talk about it all! Keagan is a speaker and Bible teacher, host of the Bright & Bold podcast, and author of The Struggle is Real.

Join Keagan and I as we talk about:

• embracing our limits instead of constantly trying to find a work-around
• how to know when hardship is spiritual warfare, part of being human, or divine redirection
• determining your yeses and nos for your season of life
• setting and holding healthy boundaries without becoming closed off
• one big lie I believe is affecting women right now

LINKS

Listen to Keagan's podcast, Bright & Bold (this link will take you to the episode when Kayla was a guest!)

Get your copy of Keagan's book, The Struggle is Real: Purpose in the Pain

Connect with Keagan on Instagram

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram

This is our fourth and final week in our "best of" mini-series: 4 weeks of bringing you some of the best of all the conversations we've had on The Bitter & the Sweet!

I have loved these sampler-style episodes, and I hope you have, too!

We are wrapping up this mini-series and the month of January with a show that takes us back to our roots as a show: telling the truth about grief, joy, and the grace that covers it all.

Join some of my favorite guests (and yours!) as we talk about:

• balancing moving forward with making space for our grief
• the times when it feels like you're going in circles with God (this is one of my personal favorite parts of the convo!)
• connecting with God and finding the Light when life gets dark
• grieving as a parent
• what to say and do (and what NOT to say and do!) when a loved one has lost a child
• advice for the early days of navigating deep grief
• grieving with hope
• building our trust in God and His character when we've been disappointed

LINKS

How Grief Invites Us to Build Something New with Dawn Mann Sanders- Episode 11

Connect with Dawn on Instagram

Get your copy of Dawn's book, When Your World Ends: God's Creative Process for Rebuilding a Life

Isaiah's Story and Loving Your Friend Through Infant Loss with Hannah J Clements - Episode 9

Connect with Hannah's counseling practice, Oak and Sparrow Counseling

Connect with Carried Ministries on Instagram

Hannah's other episodes of our show: In Our Losses, We are Carried (Episode 56) and How to Grieve in a Healthy Way (Episode 57)

How to Trust God in Hearthbreak with Claudia Campbell- Episode 32

Connect with Claudia on Instagram

Get your copy of Claudia's book, These Stones Remain: 60 Reflections on Finding Hope When Darkness Lingers

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram

We are in week three of our "best of" mini-series: 4 weeks of bringing you some of the best of all the conversations we've had on The Bitter & the Sweet!

Today's episode is all about caring for your mental and spiritual health.

Join some of my favorite guests (and yours!) as we talk about:

• building resilience in ourselves and our children
• addressing shame
• bridging the gap between our mental and spiritual health
• misconceptions about healing
• the role of forgiveness in healing from grief, loss, or trauma
• the danger of isolation
• the freedom Jesus offers us
• counseling as a tool to help us walk in that freedom

LINKS

The Impact of Trauma with Dr. Lindsay McVety, Part 1- Episode 39

Bridging the Gap Between Our Mental and Spiritual Health with Dr. Lindsay McVety, Part 2- Episode 40

Connect with Dr. Lindsay on Instagram

Reclaiming Your Life After Grief, Loss, or Trauma with Kimberly Haar- Episode 38

Connect with Kim on Instagram

Get your copy of Kim's book, Healing From Life's Deepest Hurts: Reclaiming Your Life After Grief, Loss or Trauma

Considering going to counseling? Listen to this with Kayla- Episode 59

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram

We are in week two of our "best of" mini-series: 4 weeks of bringing you some of the best of all the conversations we've had on The Bitter & the Sweet! Today's episode is all about friendship and community.

Join some of my favorite guests (and yours!) as we talk about:

• why women need each other
• loving a friend through a health crisis
• rejecting the temptation of self-sufficiency
• being a gracious receiver
• making friends as an adult
• good communication and conflict resolution in community
• the heartbreak of friendship breakups
• finding joy in friendship, even after we've been hurt

LINKS

How God Loves Us Through His People with Vivian Mabuni- Episode 55

Connect with Vivian on Instagram

Connect with Vivian via her website

Get your copy of Vivian's book, Warrior in Pink

Get your copy of Vivian's second book, Open Hands, Willing Heart

The Family You Choose with Sam Williams- Episode 7

How to Make (and Keep!) Friends as an Adult with Kristen Strong- Episode 44

Connect with Kristen on Instagram

Connect with Kristen on Substack

Get your copy of Kristen's latest book, Desparate Woman Seeks Friends

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram

We are kicking off season 5 with a "best of" mini-series: 4 weeks of bringing you some of the best of all the conversations we've had on The Bitter & the Sweet!

Given that we are in a brand new year, we are getting things started with the best of starting over. Join me and some of my favorite guests (and yours!) as we talk about:

• starting over somewhere new
• building new friendships and being open to all God as for us
• finding our way back to God
• how getting clear in our calling helps us fight shame
• common patterns that hold us back
• healthy boundaries and walking in forgiveness
• where intentionality meets faith

LINKS

Starting Over Somewhere New with Neshe Lee Sloan (Episode 21)

Connect with Neshe on Instagram

Neshe's coaching page (writers, don't miss this!)

Visit Neshe's website

Finding Your Way Back to God with Ashley Martin (Episode 23)

Connect with Ashley on Instagram

Visit Ashley's website

You're One Choice Away from Change with Justin and Trisha Davis (Episode 28)

Connect with Justin and Trisha's ministry, RefineUs

Connect with Trisha on Instagram

Connect with Justin on Instagram

Get your copy of One Choice Away from Change

Living an Intentional Life with Cristina Slabic (Episode 19)

Connect with Cristina on Instagram

Visit Cristina's website

Get your copy of Cristina's book, The Intentional Life

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram

The Bitter & the Sweet podcast has always been and will continue to be a show where we tell the truth about grief, joy, and the grace that covers it all.

In just 2 minutes, take a look back at where we've been in our first four seasons, and where we are going in season 5 (can you believe it?!), as we stop looking at our limits as liabilities and learn to live into them, instead.

Season 5 kicks off January 6, 2026. Let's go!

We've spent four weeks together preparing our hearts and our minds for the coming of Jesus, as we look forward to celebrating the incarnation at Christmas.

In the fourth and final episode of our Advent series, it's all about love.

I considered doing our Advent series solo, but the more I thought and prayed about it, I really felt that we all need to be pastored, to have a pastor's voice speaking into our lives and helping us navigate this sacred (and sometimes chaotic) season. There is no pastor I trust more than Dusty Smith.

Full disclosure: Dusty is my pastor. I have known him for two decades, and I can tell you with certainty that 1- he is a trustworthy person with the utmost integrity, and 2- our church is growing and thriving under his leadership. I'm so grateful to get to have him on the show for this series.

Pastor Dusty and his wife, Jennifer, planted Depot Church in North Carolina 12 years ago, where he is lead pastor. Dusty and Jennifer have four sons, ages 5-16.

Join Dusty and I as we talk about:

• the ways we miss God's love for us, even if we "know" it's true
• internalizing the love of God for us personally
• looking for love in misplaced places (even the good ones)
• one characteristic of God that will encourage you if you're waiting or going through something hard
• what to do when you don't feel God's love
• Dusty's favorite Christmas scripture

LINKS

Advent Week 1 with Pastor Dusty Smith: A Thrill of Hope

Advent Week 2 with Pastor Dusty Smith: The Peace We Need

Advent Week 3 with Pastor Dusty Smith: The Joy You're Looking For

Connect with Dusty via Depot Church

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram