Nice to Meet you,
i’m cynthia
I don’t know when it all got serious, but as for me and my people, We will laugh!
Nice to Meet you,
i’m cynthia
I don’t know when it all got serious, but as for me and my people, We will laugh!
About Me
I grew up in El Paso, Texas, with amazing parents who made sure Jesus was central to all we were about. I also have two older brothers, identical twins, who made torturing me as a kid central to all they were about. I love those Neanderthals now, but they really were awful individuals back in the day.
The first time I ever remember public speaking was in seventh grade. in front of the First Baptist Church of El Paso. I was asked to give a short sermonette of sorts.
To know me is to know how fast I talk; however, this particular time, I apparently broke the record speed, being particularly nervous and unprepared. I rambled on for approximately ten minutes before very dramatically saying… “in conclusion.”
What exactly I was concluding is something we will never know, but my 13-year-old self promised that day I would NEVER be a public speaker. God had other plans.
After high school, I attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas (Sic ‘Em Bears), and then went to law school, where I earned a J.D.
I practiced law for about seven years before opting out of law for full-time motherhood and “ministry.”
About My People
My maiden name was Wilkinson, and I swore I would marry someone with a short, easy-to-spell last name that begins with the letter A or B.
Proof that God has a sense of humor: Mike Yanof and I met in law school and dated seven years before pulling the trigger with our nuptials in January 2001.
We had our daughter Kate in 2003 and son Brett in 2007. Being done with babies and all that business, we dove headfirst into select sports, family vacations, working hard, and playing harder.
Then, the Lord very clearly called us into foster care. Fast forward to January 2016, when we first met two-month-old Joshua Bo, who—19 months later—became our precious third kiddo.
These days, Kate is in law school (which feels full circle), Brett is in college, and JB is in elementary school. And I’m living proof that menopause and third-grade math facts were never meant to coexist—and yet, here we are.
About My Favorite Things
I could go a lot of different directions on this, but let’s break it down to the essentials in my daily life:
- Diet Dr. Pepper (fountain drink or can, never a bottle)
- Queso/chips
- Friends who laugh too much and too loud
- Finding ways to make Jesus real in our everyday lives
- El Arroyo signs with hilarious quotes like “Don’t blame the holidays, you were fat in July.”
- Sonic ice
- Disney World
- Leanne Morgan and literally anything that makes me belly laugh
- Colorado
- People who can laugh at themselves
About My Ride or Die Theology
If you’ve lived very long, you’ve probably figured out there are very few hills actually worth dying on. And believe you me, I’ve died on plenty of hills that had absolutely no consequence or eternal significance.
So now—many years later, married, and parenting three kids—I’ve decided to lean hard into grace and curiosity as my everyday practice. When it comes to the things I won’t let go of without a fight, here’s a sampling:
Mountains over the beach. Always.
Everything is bigger and better in Texas (minus the full-blown atrocity that is summer heat).
Jesus is the Son of God who lovingly pursues His people so they can have eternal life (John 3:16).
Seinfeld over Friends for dozing off at night.
Matthew McConaughey—albeit strange—is still the GOAT of rom-coms.
Our highest calling is to make Jesus known to a generation hungry for truth, hope, and rest.
The ’80s were God’s peace offering to those of us who long-suffered the music and fashion of the 1970s.
Everything in the Bible is absolutely true.
New York at Christmastime is a must.
