Podcast: Play in new window | Download () | Embed
Welcome back to another uplifting episode of Fierce Calling! I’m your host, Doris Swift, and today we have a special guest joining us—Amanda Schaefer. Amanda is an inspiring author, speaker, and host of the popular podcast “A Cup of Gratitude.”
In this episode, Amanda shares her incredible transformation journey through faith, joy, and gratitude. From encountering Jesus in her home in a powerful way, to using her podcast to spread the gospel during the pandemic, Amanda’s story highlights the power of choosing gratitude and finding joy even in difficult times.
Amanda shares about the difficult seasons of two divorces, but don’t miss the praise story of what God did to redeem it all.
We dive into her upcoming book, which is set to encourage readers to explore their own stories and discover God at work in every chapter of their lives. Join us for a heartfelt conversation filled with insight, encouragement, and the reminder that our past story is part of our grace story.
Stay tuned for an episode that will inspire you to take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.
Episode Highlights
06:03 Gratitude and Opportunity Beyond Borders
10:56 Testimony: Sharing Stories of Faith
12:29 “Connecting Through Shared Stories”
16:11 “Discovering God’s Purpose in Stories”
19:48 Divine Guidance in Marriage Choices
24:37 Seeking God’s Guidance
26:40 “Journey of Faith and Renewal”
31:01 Journey to Healing and Faith
33:40 Amanda’s Inspiring Show Highlights
Connect with Amanda!
You can connect with Amanda at acupofgratitude.org where you’ll find her podcast, blog, and all her social media links!
Amanda Schaefer is a podcast host, author, and speaker. She carries with her the goodness of looking through a lens of gratitude. The “A Cup of Gratitude” podcast is global, reaching over 112 countries and 3000 cities. As a speaker, Amanda teaches the Bible while challenging audiences to live the way God intends. She has a way of making scripture come alive through everyday examples.
Amanda’s books include, “Crumbled, A Place for Broken People” and “Daily “Instaration.” She is a contributing author of “Life Changing Stories and the newly released books, “One Chance, One Dance, Don’t Miss the Moments in Your Life,” and “Courageous Voices Unlocked.” Her books are down to earth and packed with Biblical truth. Amanda has also written articles for “The Brave Women Series,” “The Uncommon Normal Gratitude Series,” “The Love Offering,” “The Warrior Women Series,” “Butterfly Living, “The Empty Nest Mom Series,” and “The Season Series.” She is under contract to write a new manuscript slated to be released in April 2025. Connect with Amanda at www.acupofgratitude.org or on Social media
www.instagram.com/acupof_gratitude
www.facebook.com/amanda.f.schaefer
https://youtube.com/@acupofgratitude?si=PF55x6T4ecrs7jdg
What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?
Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at https://dorisswift.com/book/
Let’s Stay Connected!
Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook, and more on my dorisswift.com homepage!
Love Fierce Calling?
Did you know that following, rating, and leaving a review over at Podchaser or Apple Podcasts helps others discover the show too? I would so appreciate it, friend!
Need a Speaker for Your Next Women’s Event? Now Booking for 2025 & 2026!
Check out my speaking page, grab my flyer, and let’s talk about me speaking at your next women’s event…
Thanks for Listening!
I hope this episode with Nancy encouraged, inspired, and challenged you to cultivate community, live and walk in the value and worth God gave you, and take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect. You’ll find links in the show notes to connect with Nancy and with me.
If you’re looking for a speaker for your next women’s conference, retreat, luncheon, or workshop, reach out and connect with me on my speaker page at https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift
Let’s have a chat about your 2025 event!
Stay tuned for more amazing content and remember to check the show notes for all the links mentioned.
Thank you for being a part of our community. We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to embrace the unique gifts that make you magnificently you.
I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another woman who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect …
Until then friend, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.
With love and joy,
Doris
P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for bite-sized wisdom and inspiration from Doris and our incredible guests! 📲
Check out my home page for free resources!
Transcript
Doris:
What is threatening to steal your joy? What is it that feels so heavy right now that you could barely stand? God has a plan, and his plan is to surrender it. Surrender it to him. It might be a prodigal. It might be a relationship, a marriage, something with your job. So many things. We have so many amazing blessings, but there are so many things in our life that threaten to steal our joy. I’m Dora Swift, author of the award winning six week Bible study, surrender the joy stealers rediscover the Jesus joy in you and it helps women rediscover the overflowing ever present Jesus joy within that fills, empowers, and ripens the fruit that God produces in our lives. Using personal and biblical stories, I share how you can identify your joy stealers, surrender them to god reawaken the joy within and share the joy with others you can do it on your own or with a group if you’re looking for a bible study check it out friends Surrender the Joy Stealers.
Doris:
Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You. It’s available on all the online retailers. It’s time to take your joy back. Welcome back to the show. Today, I’m very excited to welcome my friend, Amanda Schafer. She is an author, a speaker, and she is host of a popular podcast called A Cup of Gratitude. And she encourages and invites us to see things through the lens of gratitude, which I love that. And we’re gonna talk a little bit more about that in the show.
Doris:
But, yeah, she’s amazing. So you listen to podcasts, so be sure to go check that out. And I’ll have the link in the show notes, of course. And we’re just happy to get into this conversation and excited to see where God’s gonna lead us. So welcome to the show, Amanda. So great to have you.
Amanda Schaefer:
Thank you. Thanks for having me. I’m excited to to talk with you. We have followed each other on social media for a really long time, so I’m gonna have to have you back on my podcast as well. I’m very glad to have this conversation with you.
Doris:
I’m looking forward to that as well. And, yeah, we love how God connects us. And so this episode is very special, and I just can’t wait to hear, like, how God is gonna lead you and to share. So I would love if you would share a little bit about your story and how you are taking action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect?
Amanda Schaefer:
Well, how am I not at this point? So I’m 60, and I only came to Christ twenty three years ago. So I had quite a lot of past and quite a lot of trauma that, I needed to work through, but I can’t believe what God is doing in my life right now and and and that I get to share the gospel all over the world in so many different ways. So I started off with a lot of healing to do. I met Jesus not in church, but in my home, and I have been on fire for God ever since. I cannot get enough of the word. I cannot get enough of his presence. I can’t spend enough time in worship, and so he’s really transformed my heart. I’m able to connect with a lot of people who don’t know him because I spent more of my life not knowing him than knowing him.
Amanda Schaefer:
And so, he uses me a lot in these everyday moments where I look around and I am able to choose to look for the good in bad situations. It’s actually discipline, gratitude, you know, looking for the good. And the way that God created our our brains, he actually created a neural network that the more that you choose something, the easier it is to get there. It kind of creates a roadway. So it goes both ways. Unfortunately, conversely, if you think bad things or look for things anxiously or fearfully. But when you look for the good that is still there even in the midst of difficulty, you will find it, and then you’ll become expectant for more. And so that is really how he’s been using me is to remind people.
Amanda Schaefer:
I started my podcast during the pandemic after moving to care for my parents, in a into a sixteen hundreds farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and started podcasting from a closet because I was cut off and still wanted to share the gospel. And so he’s used my ability to look around and see his goodness and everything to connect to people and bring them hope.
Doris:
I love that. I mean, we could probably just end the show right now. I don’t want to. We’re not going to, but that was amazing. And I and I love how you talk about gratitude and what God did in your life, you know, even though you were feeling like you might have been isolated from where you used to live and maybe getting into more community outside of your home, he gave you an avenue to reach countries that you never would probably have had the opportunity to visit, and, you know, people are listening Yeah. To you because of that. And I love how on your show, you do say, that you’re not talking about whether your cup is half empty or half full. We hear that a lot, but it’s what’s in your cup.
Doris:
Right?
Amanda Schaefer:
Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, it’s an intentional thing. It really is. We have to choose it. And I love that God has always given us choice about everything from the beginning. You know, he allows us to choose whether we choose him or not, whether we choose to look and see the good or not. And a lot of times, people get stuck in the muck and the mire of really difficult situations, and no one’s making light of those.
Amanda Schaefer:
And I’ve been through a lot of traumatic things. But when we learn how to look above the wind and the waves and we can look right at Jesus, it changes everything.
Doris:
And I you know, we were talking earlier about you met Jesus at home. Can you elaborate a little bit about what that looked like? Like, how did that happen in your life?
Amanda Schaefer:
Well, to try to consolidate, it’s a difficult experience to consolidate, as much as possible. I did not go to church after I left my parents’ home. I never had a real connection to God at all. As a matter of fact, I kind of made fun of Christians, and and people that felt like they needed Christianity. I was pretty much placating myself with everything that you could think of and and very much an anxious and depressed person, pretty much the opposite now. I was very quiet, very insular. And, but I had convinced myself that I was a good person. I I was nice and I was kind.
Amanda Schaefer:
And this one particular moment and I’m sure God had been trying to reach me and I’ve been pursuing me the entire time, but I finally opened up to his presence. This one particular moment, I had a thought. And I think it’s the same thought I had had before other times that I might have convinced myself was good. And in that moment, I actually shifted perspectives, and I saw that it was very selfish. It was very unkind, and it and it was not a good thought. And in that moment, I suddenly agreed with God. I agreed. And all the years I had gone to church and not really paid attention, all those seeds were in there.
Amanda Schaefer:
And I I think they started growing roots and started shooting up. So, I was in this place when I agreed with god that I was not good. Suddenly, I felt like I was in this deep dark pit that I was looking around. If you saw it on a on a movie screen, I’m looking around, and I realized how cut off and lost I was. And as I’m looking up, I see light at the top. I’m in this utter darkness. I see Jesus, his face coming over from the light, and he came down, and he brought me up, and he set me down solidly next to him. And and what I’ll never forget is he did not speak.
Amanda Schaefer:
He did not need to. He put his arm around me, and we walked together. And I felt like in that moment, everything changed. I knew everything I had heard about was real. He did talk to me after that. But in that moment, all he did was show me and express his fullness of love. I felt connected. I felt in for the first time, I think I felt, like, in who I was supposed to be.
Amanda Schaefer:
It was fully me. That makes sense. It’s really hard to describe.
Doris:
No. That was actually described very beautifully, and you could feel the transformation in yourself. And the first realization was coming to, like, wow. I do need a savior. I I’m not as good as I thought. You know? Because there are so many that believe that, you know, well, I’m a good person. You know? I didn’t I didn’t kill anybody or, you know, whatever. And, but not yet realizing that they need a savior.
Doris:
And so Mhmm. Our voices and our testimonies are so important. It’s like, you know, because we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. And and so I I really love that you shared that with us because I know that someone listening may have experienced something similar, or maybe they feel like they’re in a dark place right now, and they just happen to, you know, think they happen to come upon this conversation. But, really, you know, nothing really happens by accident. So
Amanda Schaefer:
It doesn’t. And I love that you just used the scripture, from Revelation because, as I spent time with God, I have really become someone who’s focused on helping everyone I can share their story because I think they’re so important. And and I remember reading that very scripture in revelation for the first time, and I felt like God said to me, Amanda, people were will they listen to your story? Because I said to him, why are they, parallel? Why is not the blood of the lamb way up here and the word of my testimony way down here? That that didn’t seem right. And he said, because people that won’t go to church and won’t read the Bible, they’ll listen to your story, and so I pour the blood of the lamb through the word of your testimony. And that’s what he does with each one of us. And so we’re walking around. We’re the aroma of Christ in the world. We’re walking around, and we’re his ambassadors.
Amanda Schaefer:
And so when we’re willing to share the whole story, see, that’s the thing. Sharing things like I just shared or sharing other things like I’m about to share in my newest book that are very much not Christian and seeing where god came in and worked and where he was, that’s how people can really believe maybe it’s for me too. If they see someone like you, right, they say, oh, Doris is she’s written a book. She has a podcast. She’s a speaker. She’s doing all these things. She’s so accomplished. I can’t ever do that.
Amanda Schaefer:
I’m not good enough. I can’t get there. But that’s how people see. But when you were willing to say, no. No. No. Let’s look at everything. Here’s my other stuff.
Amanda Schaefer:
People are able to open up to the fact that they might be able to get where God wants them to go as well.
Doris:
That’s so very sweet how you described your experience with that scripture and how you kind of looked at it like, wait a second. You know, this and it’s good for us to question things, you know, and seek the Lord for the answers for that. And just sharing our stories because we’re connected by our stories, and there are so many similarities and common threads in our lives that people can feel connected. I mean, not everybody’s story, of course, is the same, but, you know, not everybody experiences trauma or grief the same. But we can come together in unity as a community and encourage one another, lift each other up. That’s why I love that scripture in first Thessalonians because of, you know, that being so important. And, you know, I always like to say that our our past story doesn’t discredit our grace story. It becomes part of it.
Doris:
And so it is so important Yeah. To throw off the shame and share. Right?
Amanda Schaefer:
Yeah. I also believe that they’re different on purpose. Okay? Just like each one of us is made and created uniquely, then god deposited certain passions and talents in us. The things that have happened to us, even though he didn’t want, you you know, a lot of those negative things to happen, we live in a fallen world, and so they’ve happened. But he works it all together, and he uses it to reach different people. So you’re gonna reach people I won’t. I’m gonna reach people you won’t. And I always liken it to this.
Amanda Schaefer:
I feel like our stories are like a net that God is trying to cast over the world, and there are people who aren’t sharing. And so there’s holes in the net. Our story is how we go into all the world. It’s how we go. And so I’m always just trying to get more and more people willing to share. Your story is important. You know, it’s it’s different. It’s unique.
Amanda Schaefer:
It has people to reach.
Doris:
Yeah. I love that visualization you just gave us with the net because you feel like, okay. So when you think about this story about Jesus saying, alright. Cast the net again, and they’re like, well, we’ve been fishing, haven’t caught, and bought okay, Jesus. And then, like, the net was like, there was just so many fish in the net. You know, there you couldn’t see the holes anymore, so it was overflowing. So I love that, how you how you kind of likened it to a net, for our story. And you’ve written many stories.
Doris:
You’re not only a podcast host and, of course, first and foremost, a child of God and, beautiful sister in Christ, but, also, you have the gift to write, and you’ve written for a lot of different publications, and you’ve written books, you’ve contributed to books. Now this newest book that’s coming out, could you share a little bit about what drove you to write this and what is kind of a little synopsis of what the reader will find or get from this book that you’re writing?
Amanda Schaefer:
Sure. I’m excited about this because it wasn’t my idea. So I know it was a god idea, so it’s a good idea. Right? So I was very busy. I was working on the podcast. I take care of like I said, I, take care of my parents. My mom mom has now passed, but I still have my dad with me who’s 94. I have all kinds of obligations.
Amanda Schaefer:
And so I was already working on some contributing author pieces, and I heard God say put everything aside. And I thought, okay. This is why I have prerecorded episodes and podcasts, by the way. So I I sat and I listened. And after a little while, what I felt like he was asking me to do is he said, I love what you’ve been doing for four years. I love all the stories that you’ve shared. Now that’s not enough. We need to reach more people, and we need to get more people to look at their childhood up until now and see the places where I was working, the places where maybe they thought it was silent or it wasn’t there.
Amanda Schaefer:
I want them to see the plans and the purposes I have for them and the way that I’m working in their lives, and I want them to be encouraged and I want them to share. So the book is really an overflow of the podcast. I, the first half of of the book is explaining why story is so important to god, why he’s given it to us, and then I share from my childhood up until right now some very difficult stories to showcase where god came in and worked and moved and and changed me and transformed things. And then the second half of the book is an interactive journal, which is, pivotal questions that have come from all of my experience of helping people share their story from the beginning until the present, to kind of give, like, a podcast prerecording call to all the people who pick it up and read it, to get them to spend time with God and to be able to see God and hear God in all of the parts of their story they might not have looked at. And when you think about it, how often do you go back and look at your whole story? And there is a treasure trove. There are blessings. There are so many jewels and nuggets in there that we have missed because we’re so present in the moment that we’re not seeing what God was doing. And so, I’m very excited to be able to share that because I also think it’s something that I wanna go around and and and speak about a little bit in the future as well, just to try and get more people out there sharing and get some of those net holes
Doris:
picked up. Wow. That sounds like a fantastic book, and I love that it kind of has a a purpose and a plan through it. And then that it’s also an interactive journal because then it will encourage people to take action, take some kind of action, which I love with, you know, the fierce calling, taking action where their passion, compassion, and conviction intersect. And so I think that’s fantastic. So, could you share maybe a little bit about something in your past that you had struggled with and how, you know, this now is becoming part of your story that you share?
Amanda Schaefer:
Sure. Where do I start? There’s so many things to pick from. I guess what’s coming to mind is the fact that I’m currently not married. I’ve been divorced twice. God did two different things, in both of those instances. So I got married not knowing Jesus, not knowing God, not knowing about covenant, not asking his opinion about who I married, none of those good things. And, I I divorced my first husband, and, god actually redeemed that whole thing. When I came to Christ, we ended up inviting them to our church.
Amanda Schaefer:
I ended up mentoring my ex husband’s wife. They all came to Jesus. They all got baptized. It’s a whole a whole podcast. Oh. So God absolutely redeemed all of that. He had me praying for them, and he really changed my heart, and it was just an amazing experience. And, you know, all going to the same church, it was really beautiful.
Amanda Schaefer:
People would see us laughing and hugging each other, and, you know, find out who we were to each other before we went on a mission trip together. Just lots of good stuff. Unfortunately, I came to Jesus. You know, he encountered me, as I said, in my home, about a week before the rest of my second marriage fell apart. So god brought me to himself, and about a week later, my second husband started showing signs of having bipolar disorder. He started self medicating, and he became a fairly horrible alcoholic. So god gave me himself to go to during that time. The difference in that story is that I knew about god’s covenant.
Amanda Schaefer:
I knew what marriage was at that point. I still hadn’t asked god, you know, who I was supposed to marry, but, you know, and so, eventually, I did get separated, and I felt like I knew that was biblical. I knew it was unhealthy. And at one point, god released me to get divorced, and he showed me that, you know, my husband had left the marriage, you know, quite a long time ago, and wasn’t willing to try to get into recovery, wasn’t willing to try to keep any of the boundaries that my my kids and I gave him. So, they’re just two different parts of my story that I came to mind because they kind of are are different sides of the coin. God was working in both situations, but it was up to the other people whether they accepted him or the changes in me because of him. So on one hand, god made this beautiful transformation and redemption and and and and brought this family into one thing. And on the other hand, he taught us that sometimes we lose people that we love because they are not willing to take the steps to allow him in.
Doris:
Uh-huh. Wow. That is really powerful. And that, you know, from the first marriage, what happened with all of that and the fact that it you know, not only your lives were all transformed, but the people around you seeing things that don’t make sense to the world. You know? That’s what that’s what we’re all about. You know? It’s like when you were kinda talking in the beginning that you even you walked away from the church, you even mock Christianity and all of that, and it just reminded me of Paul’s story, you know, and how he persecuted the Christians, and then, wow, look at his story. But he didn’t never say he was perfect either. You know? He said, I do what I don’t wanna do, and I don’t do what I, you know, wanna do or should do, whatever.
Doris:
And so, you know, but yet, god is so gracious and merciful and, you know, so beautiful, and he is at work, but also how you talk about choosing it. So a cup of gratitude, where did how did that come out for your podcast?
Amanda Schaefer:
I was about a year into the pandemic, caring for my parents. Couldn’t go to church, couldn’t see other family members because I was you know, we didn’t have a vaccine yet, and I was with elderly people. And so I was very cut off. And in Christ, I am very outgoing, very kind of a vivacious person, and so I was feeling really feeling it. And that’s when I cried out to God and said, hey. I I will do what you asked me to do, as long as you want, but I still wanna share the gospel. I miss sharing the gospel. And, you know, I had bought a microphone and and converted a closet into a podcast booth, and I had started.
Amanda Schaefer:
But when I started, I said, god, this is your podcast. I wanna know what you want me to do, how you want me to do it. So I spent a lot of time journaling before I did the very first episode. And these are the things that I felt God asked me to do. Show people that there’s good. Show them how to be grateful even in bad times. Show whole stories. Start at the beginning and keep going up until now so you can see me working in every story.
Amanda Schaefer:
And that’s the one thing I have this side, ministry that started where people who don’t go to church, don’t read the bible, are contacting me because they’re they’re listening because the stories are are interesting, and they’re realizing that everybody’s story is different. Some people love God, some people didn’t. Some people knew him, some people didn’t. But they’re noticing that God was always the same. And so the only thing I asked God to do, I said, I don’t know enough people to do this. You have to bring them to me. Well, my gosh. I’m four years in.
Amanda Schaefer:
I have a whole month already recorded, and I’m booked out until the February. He just bringing them. But the number one thing is I think he wanted our story to hold his story, and he wanted people to know that when they looked for him, they would find him, and they would find hope and goodness.
Doris:
Wow. Well and what’s so fantastic about what you just said is that people, even those who aren’t yet believers and haven’t yet discovered or met Jesus personally, can see how the stories are different, but yet God’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, you know, it’s like, wait a second. You know, there there is something constant here that I’m missing from my life. I need something constant. I need an anchor. And so that’s what, you know, your show has been able to to give people, and I think that’s wonderful. And, you know, how God is just pouring out these stories and basically booking your show out so that, you know, he’s orchestrating all of the things, you know.
Doris:
So it’s divine.
Amanda Schaefer:
Yeah. I think when God, you know, says it in his word that he looks to and fro for someone you know? I think when he sees a heart that wants to know him, that will take the time, to sit down and and to be in his presence, that recognizes, oh my gosh. I why do I do what I don’t wanna do and do you know? You you you that has a recognition of their sin and brings it freely to him and then says, hey. What do you want to do today? You know, they’re the they’re the people he’s able to pick up and use and pour through because they’re following, you know, his lead, and he gets to be the one. It’s his story. Every story in history is his story. All of it. And he’s already been to the places we’re worried about going to, and he was with us in places that we didn’t see him.
Amanda Schaefer:
And so he is so excited when any of us want to be cleaned out and ready to be used. And so I see that in you as well, and I think it’s such an exciting thing. You know? I’ve heard people say that Christianity is boring. It’s like, you’re doing it wrong. Right. You’re just doing it wrong. It’s an adventure. It really is.
Doris:
It’s quite exciting. And and your excitement because you are vivacious, and it comes out in your videos and your message to people because it’s not about you know, we don’t make it about ourselves. It’s about Jesus. And so it it is an adventure with God because we never know what he’s gonna do. And there’s, you know, a lot of different, age groups that are, you know, are listening, but I love sharing the fact that the things that god has done in our lives are all so important. We can look back and see where he has been throughout the whole thing and how he’s been faithful and how, you know, things in our lives may not even change until I mean, as far as ministry wise till, like, we’re 50 or 60 or whatever, like, new adventures. It’s never Yeah. It’s never too late.
Doris:
So that’s the exciting thing too.
Amanda Schaefer:
I love that you said that because I’ve encountered a a few people recently who are experiencing that, and then that’s my life as well. It’s twenty three years since I accepted Jesus. It’s ten years since I’ve been kind of free and single, and he Jesus has been my husband, which he’s a very good husband, by the way. And it’s five years since I started writing books and getting opportunities and doing, you know, the podcast and all these different things. And it’s amazing to me to see how he works in these layers. You know? There was so much of old me that needed to, be healed and and needed to understand God’s ways and needed to succumb to those ways and submit to him, you know, before he could use me again. You know? But once once you’ve done those things, he picks you up and said, okay. Let’s go.
Amanda Schaefer:
And he goes with us. He it’s his work. The fact that he wants us to join him in his work blows me away because he doesn’t need us. He wants us. That’s very cool.
Doris:
Very cool that he wants us. He sees us. You know, he loves us, and we have value and worth in him. And and just the fact that it’s funny because sometimes people will have dreams for years of wanting to do something, and God brings it to fruition, you know, and gives us the delights of our hearts and just, you know, wants us to, follow in in the direction that he’s leading, because it looks so much better than what we could ever think or imagine. But, then he also brings us on adventures that we had no idea about, like, we had no clue. Yeah. You know? Like
Amanda Schaefer:
Yeah. Yeah. And they’re the best. Yeah. Like, I always say with that’s that’s what podcasting is. Now I always knew I loved writing, and I I always knew I loved telling stories. And I was always good one on one with people and or getting on a stage. I didn’t care about that.
Amanda Schaefer:
But podcasting is the best thing I never knew I wanted to do. I just love it so much. So what a gift.
Doris:
It is a gift. Yeah. And yeah. Because for years, I thought, I would wanna be on radio because I thought that was fun, and I like doing radio shows. But, God sent these two precious ladies into I was I was leading a bible study at church, and they just they joined the group, and they were so sweet. And they just, I think one of the ladies, she’s since been, you know, went to be with the Lord, but I wanna say she was in her seventies. And she was like, well, we did a radio show at that station, because I have a friend who has a radio station locally. And she’s like, but you had to go to the station to do the show.
Doris:
But then my son said, why don’t you do a podcast? And I’m like, okay. There’s that word again. You know? It just things just keep coming up
Amanda Schaefer:
Yeah.
Doris:
You know, when god wants you to do something.
Amanda Schaefer:
Yeah.
Doris:
Have you found that too, Amanda?
Amanda Schaefer:
I have. I have. I I the other thing I always say is I always feel like I’m doing exactly what God has for me. Uh-huh. And then he always has a new thing. So it’s exciting in that way too in that as you take steps in obedience and you do what you have no idea how to do, number one, it gives him glory because you didn’t know how to do it, but he did. But number two is, like, as you he knows you’re gonna be obedient, then he knows he can give you new things to do.
Doris:
Yeah. If you’re willing. Yeah. And like you said earlier, choosing and how choosing gratitude, choosing joy. Because Jesus gave us his joy. It’s in us that ours would be full. You know? We already we already have his joy. It’s supernatural.
Doris:
It’s a fruit of the spirit. It’s not something we have to manufacture, you know, or try to make ourselves or other people happy kinda thing. It’s different. And so, you know, we we have that. So choosing those things and how earlier you were talking about, you know, it actually changes our heart, but also it changes the pathways in our brain. You know? And so it and, you know, and you and you were saying earlier how when you didn’t know Jesus and you kind of walked away from church and, you know, Christianity, the whole Christianity thing, and then you just you you felt like you’re a good person and everything was, you know Mhmm. Just okay, but you didn’t you had an emptiness. There was something missing.
Amanda Schaefer:
Oh, yeah.
Doris:
And then you found it.
Amanda Schaefer:
Oh, I knew I I remember thinking to myself literally, there has to be more
Doris:
than this. Yeah. What’s new?
Amanda Schaefer:
There has to be more than this. And I was chasing every other kinda high that there was, number one, because I hadn’t worked through all my trauma yet, and so I was trying to not deal with that. I did eventually go to therapy, and, also, the holy spirit came along and is a wonderful counselor. But, I I just didn’t feel complete, and you don’t realize what’s missing until you get it. And it’s so hard because we try we try to convey that to people without hitting them over the head or or appearing to be, you know, pushy, but they you don’t get it till you get it. And I always say it’s like that one big step of faith, but after that, every other step is just affirmation that you made the right step the first time.
Doris:
That’s very encouraging. That’s really gonna encourage someone listening right now, to just step out. Sometimes we have to just step out of our doubt and step out in faith and just allow God to lead us because, like you said, he already knows where we’re going, and he already he’s been there, and he’s, you know, with us. And so I think that’s amazing. And so when when is the book going to release? Or
Amanda Schaefer:
Well, I just had a production meeting, with the publisher, and we’re looking at the April 2025. So we’re we’re in line edits. We’re in
Doris:
line with it. Alright. So coming soon. That’s exciting. And this has been just an amazing conversation. And I’m so thankful for you and grateful to have you on the show. And I would just encourage the listener to reach out and listen to your show, follow it, subscribe to your channel. And if you could share how the listener can connect with you and if there’s any last thing that you might wanna share to encourage someone today.
Amanda Schaefer:
Alright. Well, you can find me just about anywhere because god said go all those places, and I went. Even though as an older lady, I was not so sure about TikTok or YouTube, but I’m there. I would just say if you went to my website, which I’m sure you’ll put in the show notes, it’s a cup of gratitude Org. You can find your way to everything that I’m doing there. And the last thing I would just wanna say is, like, thank you. Thanks for having me come on. Thanks for the opportunity.
Amanda Schaefer:
I loved our conversation. These conversations with sisters and brothers in Christ, they’re just so encouraging. They fill me up, and they help me you know, I call my bedroom office my braffice, and I have been busy in my bra office today. So I feel very, filled up and ready to pour out some more. So thank you for all you’re doing. I really appreciate you.
Doris:
Thank you. It it’s been fun and joyful, and it’s been a pleasure having you on. And, friends, don’t forget to check out the show notes so that you can find Amanda and reach out to her. She’d love to hear from you, and subscribe and listen to her show. And just be encouraged. And I I know what Amanda shared today really encouraged, challenged, and inspired you to take some kind of action today no matter what and reach out to god because, like, she has shared in the show, he is waiting. He is knocking at the door of our hearts, and he wants to come in. But he is a gentleman and he won’t force himself on anyone.
Doris:
It’s a choice. And and when we choose him, it’s life changing and life giving, and it you will never be the same. So friends, I hope you’ll join me next time. And, we’ll talk with another guest who’s taking action where their passion, compassion, and conviction intersect. Until then, friends, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.
0 Comments