In this episode Amanda shares with us the power of our personal story and the importance of us sharing our story with others.
Amanda is a podcast host, an author, a publisher, a speaker, an artist, a mother, a daughter, a friend (the list goes on), but her true passion and calling in life is her desire to tell God’s story. Amanda has always been a storyteller. When she was in high school, Amanda knew that she wanted to be a writer and a speaker, but Amanda also knew that she didn’t yet have a powerful story to share. She went to NYU anyway and studied in the Dramatic Writing Program believing that one day she would have a story worth telling and would then be prepared to tell it.
Twenty years ago (many years after college), Amanda met Jesus, and everything changed! Her entire life was now a vehicle to tell the greatest story ever to be told, the story of redemption. She had been chosen, loved, set free from the ties that bound her for most of her life. The traumas and the trials, the pits and the mountain peaks, the valleys and the harvest fields all became fair game in sharing the love of God. She shares all of her story, the good, the bad, the messy, the broken, the places filled with shame, knowing that these are the places where she can truly connect with others who are struggling too. Often we like to appear to have it all together, but Amanda has found that being vulnerable, honest, and authentic about life and the challenges she faces is the best way to share.
Although many have suggested that Amanda get a “Patreon” account or a “Buy me a coffee” app or find some way to monetize her podcast, she stays resolute to offer all of the time and work that it takes to produce her podcast to God to do with what He will. It is ministry, it is her offering to him. She empowers others by linking arms with people who follow their calling and shares their platforms and stories and gives a platform to those who don’t even have social media accounts but have a story to tell of God’s faithfulness and goodness during life’s difficult times.
Gratitude is the lens Amanda chooses to look through. Every day she makes the choice to be grateful and to appreciate what she has been given and she encourages others to slow down and look around and do the same. In the introduction to her podcast, Amanda asks the old question, “Is your cup half empty or half full?”. But then she goes one step further to propose that a better question is, “What’s in your cup?” It is from that place, from a cup filled with gratitude that Amanda shares the joy and the wonder of the life that she has. She takes the time to stop and see all the good things around her and then shares them to remind those who are weary and feeling heavy that if they take the time to look, they will find a beautiful world around them as well. She declares that God is with us, loving us and desiring to carry our burdens. She desires that we all would stop and experience the beauty of His presence and be grateful.
You can stay connected with Amanda:
Amanda on Instagram: https://instagram.com/acupof_gratitude
Amanda on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandaspeaksout
Amanda's Website: https://www.footbridgepublishinghouse.com/acog
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