[00:00:01] Jessica: Hey, friend. Welcome to Perspectives into Practice, a place where life's stories meet practical wisdom. Together, we'll explore how faith filled perspectives can transform the way we live, love, and grow.
So grab a seat, settle in, and join us on this journey to turn inspiration into action.
Let's dive in.
Hey, friend. Welcome back to Perspectives into Practice. There's a difference between knowing about God and actually learning to walk with Him. And sometimes we need to know the language of faith, know what we're supposed to do, and even believe the right things, but still feel like we're trying to perform Christianity correctly. My new friend, Amanda describes herself as a baby Christian, even though Jesus has been part of her story for much longer than that. But. But this past year, something shifted. She stopped trying to come to Jesus the way that she thought she was supposed to and started learning what it looks like to come to him honestly as herself. And through that, God has been teaching her about identity, trust, how he created her, how to recognize his voice, and how to follow him in everyday life. So today we're talking about what happens when faith stops becoming something that you're trying to get right and becomes a relationship that you're actually learning to live. Welcome, Amanda. I'm so glad that you're here.
[00:01:27] Amanda: Aloha.
[00:01:29] Jessica: I am so excited about this. And your fun fact actually has to do with Hawaii. And y' all know I love a good, fun fact. And so you told me that you love gardening and hiking, craters and volcanoes and beach walks. So my question is, what is your favorite thing to garden? And what's the best thing that you've seen on a hike? Those are, like, two completely different things, but I'm so intrigued.
[00:01:55] Amanda: Okay, well, Hawaii is like a very small place. Well, it's a tiny island, right? So when we have our backyards, it's not like when you're in the mainland or, you know, in the continental US where you have these giant backyards that I used to have growing up. So we just have a tiny sliver of land where we can plant in. And the problem is we have these critters called mongooses. And there's a whole story as to why there's mongooses, but they're animals that usually are in Australia. They're invasive species, but they're all over my backyard. So my little strip of land keeps getting eaten by the mongooses and holes going under it. So pumpkins are growing. It's basically the same stuff that grows in California where I grew up.
Same climate, but it's all year Round. So whatever grew in the summer. So tomatoes, peppers, things like that. So if they don't get eaten by the mongooses.
[00:02:42] Jessica: So. So. And mongoose are the under the ground, like, moles type thing.
[00:02:46] Amanda: Yeah, they're like. They're like big, giant, furry squirrel rats with big long tails.
So. And they're. They're the only apex predators we don't have like wolves or coyotes or anything that we had growing up. Bears, Nothing. There's nothing. So if you have, like, pets, nothing's going to eat them. Which is great, except for, you know, they eat the mongoose. But the mongooses are vicious. They will actually, like, attack your cat, too.
[00:03:09] Jessica: To.
[00:03:09] Amanda: My cat has gotten attacked by one before. Yeah, but I'm sorry, what was the question about the hike? I forgot the other question.
[00:03:16] Jessica: The best thing that you've seen on a hike. I love hiking.
[00:03:19] Amanda: I mean, we've got the coolest hikes because, I mean, you've got. On every island, there's a windward side and a leeward side, which is our words for like, depending on which way the wind blows. I don't know. So one side is always way greener, like tropical, like Tarzan. And the other side is more like a desert or a volcano. So you can get tropical hikes with waterfalls, just incredible. Or you can have just dry hikes.
[00:03:41] Jessica: You know, it's a choose your own adventure.
[00:03:44] Amanda: It is a choose your own adventure. And you can hit them all within an hour. So it's pretty cool.
[00:03:49] Jessica: That's amazing. Hawaii is the one place that my husband and I, neither of us have been, and obviously we can't take the bus there.
[00:03:56] Amanda: You can write off your trip if you come and visit me now because we've done business together. So there you go. That's right. I'm not an accountant, but I love it.
[00:04:05] Jessica: We love to find things that we can write off because we do love in business everywhere.
[00:04:11] Amanda: Me too. Same thing. I'm in San Francisco right now, so.
[00:04:14] Jessica: Yeah, man, I love it. Oh, yeah. We were just there just a couple months ago. I love it. Well, I want to shift from the fun stuff into, like, what the past year of your life has been and how it's changed and how you're exploring Christmas.
[00:04:27] Amanda: Christmas. I'd love to explore Christmas, but we're a little early.
Christ and Jesus. Yes.
[00:04:32] Jessica: That was both of those together. Yes.
[00:04:35] Amanda: Yes.
I've definitely been exploring Christ Jesus this year.
This year has been a different year. And I think I made a lot of changes in my life this year. But Mostly because I somehow managed to pivot after 51 years of trying from a believer to a disciple. And the pivot just happened.
It was a lot of work to go into it. And because of that, now that I feel like, like in your intro I have a. I was trying for 51 years to have a one on one relationship with Jesus, but it never quite felt like what other people said. But then I just said, well, maybe I'm just putting to other people as an idol and maybe that's just the way my relationship with Jesus is. But then once I started learning to pray more properly and listening and pausing, then I felt like I had the relationship. And once I had it, then I had answers to a lot of stuff and feedback on how I move my life forward. So this year has been different. A lot of this probably has to do with being in your 40s and 50s and going through perimenopause, which changes your whole hormone and the way your brain sits. And you actually get a lot of clarity in that season. And I would like to let all women from age 35 on, no, it can hit you as young as 35 and it actually may clarify your, your relationship with Jesus and to embrace it. Don't fear it.
[00:05:50] Jessica: Yeah, I, I 100% agree with you. Unfortunately, my side of the family, I don't know how any of the women have gone through perimenopause. They have all had removed organs and I'm the only one with it. So I'm, I feel like I'm kind of out here on a ship on my own because I don't.
[00:06:07] Amanda: Well, maybe they were on meds because most people who have everything removed, they get. They're the only people that were allowed to have the meds all this time.
[00:06:14] Jessica: Yeah.
[00:06:15] Amanda: So I actually did my own little study since I'm a healthcare provider and we will definitely get more into faith. But I started noticing even 20, 30, 40 years ago, the friends moms that I had that had their organs removed and were on, they were much more put together at 70, 80, 90 than the people I knew who did did it naturally. And they were falling apart mentally, physically. And I said, I want to be like this, can I get my stuff taken out? You know, like how can I get these meds to, to be not breaking bones and not hobbled over and not cranky, you know. So I am really excited that I'm the first of a line of women that had access to the medication. But I had to fight for this and my relationship with Jesus helped me to fight for this. So it's all interconnected.
[00:06:58] Jessica: I love that. I love that. I love that you say that you are unlearning things as you're getting older. And I so appreciate that you're sharing that at 51, that, you know, I tried all of these things and they weren't working. And here's what I did. That is working. And so what are you learning about Jesus now that you're approaching him more, more honestly and personally than you had been in the past?
[00:07:22] Amanda: Well, I had to break down who I was. I was not me that you see now. I was idol.
Yesterday I did a podcast, and I couldn't say this wor either. Idolatize, idolize, idolized, idolized version of me. I was the version that I thought people wanted to see. It's not that there was someone else underneath that I was suppressing because I didn't know. I had no idea that I was on the autism spectrum. And I had to.
I had to go deep to figure out what was going on. The only reason I knew I was on this is I started doing research in dentistry, which is the field I'm in, and orthodontics and a lot of literature would bring me back to ADHD and neurodivergence and certain types of facial and phenotypes and stuff like that. And I'm like, well, what is this?
And I'd met neurodivergent kids, but the ones that are usually out and proud or out based on their medical history, their parents are very open about it. I'm sure there was many more I met that I didn't know. But I started putting two and two together and researching it and going, well, maybe I am, but I've never met a female who is. Well, there's none because there was no research done on females. So the doctors don't know how to identify it in females. Well, now there was a literal revolution, an exodus of women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s that are getting diagnosed now and using that knowledge to be, have more clarity, have more faith later in life. And I'm meeting them actually in Christian circles. And I think in the United States, people think it's a bad word. It's like you have a choice to be neurodivergent. No, you are born that way. And although it's not mentioned in the Bible, there are certain types of scriptures. And if you talk to some pastors, they believe that, you know, the Pharisees maybe have been neurodivergent or certain people may have been Neurodivergent, maybe even Jesus was neurodivergent, an outside the box thinker. He didn't just do what he was told, he did what he was guided to do based on his faith.
So I said, well, if Jesus can do that and so, and so can do this, why can't I do it? And I actually took some classes on how to literally, I mean this is how basic it was. I've been in church my whole life, but I didn't know how to use the Bible to make decisions for myself. I would only go to someone and have it translated and you know, like, pastor, what does this mean? What do I do here? And they were like, you can learn to read it for yourself. Really? Well, of course I can read stuff for myself. I mean I have a doctorate, I have a master's, I should be able to read. But to read the Bible, that sounds scary. Why I can't do. Yes I can. So I took a one year course to learn how to do this and now I have confidence and on everything
[00:09:50] Jessica: that goes in my life, that's, that's amazing. I think it's so important for us to have that relationship with Jesus and understand that ourselves and realize that we don't have to just memorize more or watch more sermons or show up to church more or know more or say the right things. That it really is understanding how to, to read the Bible. And I think that there is a big disconnect in churches right now that they're not teaching us how to read the Bible and then we have to go out on our own. And a lot of people are unwilling. If they show up on a Sunday or a Wednesday and they don't get it, well then that's just it for them. And that seems, that's not fair. Like that is so unfair. And you know, not everyone is like you and me, where we will go out and we will learn more because you know the man I use.
Right?
[00:10:42] Amanda: Is it.
[00:10:43] Jessica: Yeah. Isn't giving me that. I'm going to go find it. And there's a lot of people who, who just won't. And so what has God been showing you in that, that you don't have to have everything figured out, but you can have a real relationship with him through all of your research and reading?
[00:10:58] Amanda: Yeah, totally. I mean that, that is what God is showing me. And I think that before, before I really got confidence in being able to do this and I'm telling you guys, this took me 51 years of confidence. But once I got the Confidence. Now I have it, and no one can take it away. And no one can tell me that that's not true or that's not what I think. So I think for me, I just. The level of anxiety, and it's. Again, I'm gonna circle back to perimenopause. We have so much anxiety just in us Gen X late elder millennials. We're just, like, wound up, like, tops. And if you're going through Perry, you know you're going to be even more wound up if you're not already Type A. So just being able to take it down a notch and be like, here's my Bible. My Bible's on my phone. I have a paper Bible. It's always with me. If I have a question, I can look it up. You know, I mean, yes, you can even use AI And I'm not saying to do that. And there's even in our. In our lectures. Our lectures, in our sermons on, you know, that I listen to on the weekends and Sundays and stuff. You know, they're like, watch out for AI in the Bible. But, hey, sometimes when I'm really lost, I'll just say what passages might talk about X, Y, and Z, and it'll give me a whole. It won't. I don't want the AI to translate it for me, but I do want them to say what passages might have to do with that. And then I'll go in and decide what he's saying, you know, and I'll pray about it. And sometimes I don't know what he's saying.
[00:12:15] Jessica: There's.
[00:12:15] Amanda: And I'll. And I'll give pause. I'll give space. I'll pray for the answer. I'll pray for clarity. And it might come tonight, tomorrow, the next day, next week, next year, you know, but you don't get to put God's voice on a timeline. It's going to come when he wants you to hear the answer. But you can keep bringing up your question, you know, and you'll get clarity and you can make big decisions in your life with confidence. I used to really be scared to make big decisions. What if I upset somebody? What if I piss someone off? What if people don't like my family anymore because I did something?
[00:12:45] Jessica: No.
[00:12:45] Amanda: Now my big decisions are backed up by the Bible, and I am completely confident in them.
[00:12:49] Jessica: Yeah, I love that. I love that you mentioned AI because I think a lot of Christians are afraid of it, that it's going to just take over or that it's this huge demonic thing. But We, I believe that we can use it as a tool, as an assistant and not as the is all be all, because that's what the word of God is. But I love that you said that. I just asked, where, where in IT can you show me that? And I am notorious for not knowing the address in the Bible where things are. But I have things memorized, but I don't remember all the numbers. I'm dyslexic, so the numbers get me mixed up all the time.
[00:13:26] Amanda: I can't. But I can tell you me too. I'm terrible at scripture, but same thing. I'll hear words and I'll be like, I know that came from the New Testament, maybe book of Blah, but I don't know which one. There are people who are just incredible and memorizing scripture. Good for you. I, I stink at it. I know. But. But I have other. And we all have spiritual gifts, you know, that's not my gift. But I can tell you how it works in my life, you know, and good. If I. You know what? This is a resource to get me more in the Bible.
[00:13:53] Jessica: Great.
[00:13:53] Amanda: Get me in the Bible. Because I'm curious. When I was a kid, I was such a dork. This was before computers. We had a whole series of encyclopedias. Each week I think we got a new one. It was like a B. I. That was my, that was my AI I read the whole encyclopedia. All of a sudden A. You know, like to this day I don't even know if I got the Z because I may not have even bought that one. But I knew abcd, you know, but what's the difference? That's just analog. Analog AI all it is is just scraping data. But there are errors. So you have to know when there's errors. It's not proofread.
[00:14:23] Jessica: Right, Exactly. And that, that is why it is so important to get the address and then go read it yourself in the Bible in the actual word of God. Whatever. Translation is easier for you. And know what it says there before you go ask any other questions. Like if you're going to go back and forth and have a conversation with it or anyone else for that matter. I mean, take it back to the word of God. Always, always, always take it back there. So, yeah, I want to kind of switch gears a little bit. So you mentioned to me when earlier that you. You say that God is driving a boat. You let God drive the boat. There we go.
[00:14:58] Amanda: You.
[00:14:59] Jessica: You mentioned to me that you let. Yes. You let him drive the boat. So. And, and like I love that, but it also sounds good until the water starts getting rough and then we, you know, we want to take the wheel back. And so what does for you, what is God letting God drive the boat actually look like for you in this season?
[00:15:18] Amanda: That's what God's doing right now. And I am scared right now. I have made some big decisions because I'm not even going to say because I don't even know if people know them, but I've made some big decisions in my life in the last couple months. But, but it was God's word. And I did run them by pastors, I did run them by small groups. I took God's words first and then I went to my pastor, my small groups, you know, my mentor. I have enough Christian people in my life that I can go to now and say, okay, here's what I'm thinking, here's what God's word said, here's what I prayed, here's this. And they're like, yeah, that makes sense. It's just putting confidence. I've always had confidence in myself, but now I feel like I have literally my best, best friend who's been just. This best friend has been hanging on for 52 years. He's been around, but he's been like, hi, I'm here. Oh, she let me in.
You know, now he's like, I'm here. And I'm like, yeah, you're my friend, we're cool. So. But you're here with me. I, I really don't slip up anymore. I'm much more conscious about not saying certain words, not doing certain things. And if I do, I make sure, I pray. I do my amends. I don't leave stuff hanging. I don't get messy anymore. I'm much more cautious.
[00:16:25] Jessica: I love that. And that right there, it just pays tribute to there actually being fruit in your life that you didn't just say yes to Jesus and then you still, you know, don't walk the walk or talk to talk, but that you have and want a relationship with him and that want, you know, creates in you that, that need to not do things against him. Right? Like when you're reading the Word and it says do not talk about others or spread rumors and you're like, okay, great. And then you can actually go and do that.
Funny story, my son is reading through, my 16 year old is reading through the book of James and he's, he's asking me questions about it. And so we're getting to talk about it, which is great, but it literally says in there to. To do what the Bible says and live that out. Like, be be doers of the Word and not just hearers of the Word. I mean, yeah, God's word is our instruction manual for life. He gives us everything that we need to live a life of godliness. And when you're actually doing those things, there will be fruit that will be seen. And I just, I love that you say that because I think far too often we think when we see people that, oh, well, they're, you know, they're holier than thou or they're better than us because of whatever. But no, we can all have the same relationship with the Lord.
It. It's gonna. You have us do work, like, it's gonna cause us to have to do something in order to have that relationship. Just like if you meet a new friend, if you meet them and never talk again, don't be disappointed when they've forgotten about you or they're not, you know, just on your doorstep when you're crying. Right. Like, there has to be a give and take. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So in, in this season where you're, where you're doing all of these changes unexpectedly, what has, what is the Lord taught you in. In that about trusting him more when he changes the direction of your life?
[00:18:27] Amanda: I don't get so upset when the pivot happens. I embrace it. Because every time there's been a pivot, Even going back 20, 30, 40 years, there were some pivots that happened where I was heartache. I mean, why. And this was before I had such a relationship with God. But why is this happening to me? But always within a year, two, three, there was always an oh, well, now I know why that happened. So now I look at God favorably and I'm like, you're funny. All right. I don't know why we're doing this, but I'm gonna find this out eventually. So I just have to trust. But it doesn't make me so scared anymore, and I don't panic as much, which makes my overall vibe just more chill, you know, which is good. Which is what I needed.
[00:19:11] Jessica: Yes, yes. Which is opposite of the perimenopause wackadoodle ness that's happening on this side of the.
[00:19:17] Amanda: Of this side of the mic.
Lisa, we gotta talk about it. Because if we don't, if we just act like everything's ok, you know, then the next generation is going to get smacked in the face. So if we don't go out here and tell people what's going on, and also you know, our spouses are.
I feel like the older women they know, they just kind of laugh. We're like, hey, hey. My mom's. I'm gonna see her this weekend. I haven't seen her in person in about six months, but she's just like, that's real fun, huh? I'm like, yeah, it's great. Thanks.
[00:19:43] Jessica: Thanks. She's warning me.
[00:19:45] Amanda: Yeah, thanks for warning me. Exactly. My mom had a kid at 50. My age. She had a kid at 52.
So she didn't really get to go through it because she was pregnant. And then she decided to BreastFeed for another five years. Five years.
[00:19:57] Jessica: Oh, my goodness.
[00:19:59] Amanda: We're in California. And if she heard this, she might hear this on a podcast because she's actually becoming a Christian now at 78. So she listens to some of the podcasts I'm on. And she was in the same field I was in, so.
But, yeah, she goes, oh, yeah. I knew that would make my perimenopause less if I just kept breastfeeding. I was like, five, mom, five.
[00:20:19] Jessica: It just squashes all the hormones that are trying to dissipate out of your body.
[00:20:25] Amanda: Smart. I mean, maybe I should do it just to feel like a wet nurse. Just because then you lose weight and, you know, it looks good.
[00:20:32] Jessica: Exactly. I love that.
[00:20:35] Amanda: I have lots of random stories I did tell you. I might get. You might get a few tangents, but it's Northern California. We're kind of weird here, so.
[00:20:43] Jessica: No, you're good. You're good. So as you are following Jesus now, what does your everyday life look like? I love to talk about practical things so that when people are hearing that, yes, you've been a Christian for all these years, but now you have a relationship with him, what does that look like in your everyday life now?
[00:21:01] Amanda: Tough, because I made a mistake in that when I picked my spouse, and I'm not throwing any spouses under the bus. It's my fault, so. Because I make mistakes, too, that I did not demand that my spouse was disciple. I only checked to see if they were believer. And I just assumed we'd grow to be disciples together. But we met in school and, you know, school in the 90s, you're partying and you're doing things that people did in the 90s, you know, and, you know, I went one direction and he kind of stayed where he was, and that's my fault. So, you know, we're trying to work through that. But it's a tough life right now because I would really like my whole family to be with me on this journey. And my kids are almost all adults now. One's 20, one's about to turn 18 and that isn't something that they're really doing. So it's hard for me to walk the walk and for them to have mom be a little different than mom wise, you know, But I know God will have a plan for that. And if I just keep, you know, walking the walk and talking the talk and staying steady, then everything will work out in time. It's a little lonely.
[00:22:02] Jessica: Yeah, I can imagine. I can imagine that that would be in your world. But I know that because you are producing fruit, you're also planting seeds in them by being consistent in your walk with him so that they know that this is not just some whim that you've gone on which US neurodivergence can go on whims. But this is not one that you
[00:22:23] Amanda: are just willy nilly plating journey. I mean I went on mission trips when I was 22 for the whole summer and outside the country I've been doing this. I became a Catholic at 23, full on one year conversion. It's not like this is a whim. This has been a journey.
[00:22:37] Jessica: That's amazing. So what, what daily changes have helped you feel more connected with the Lord?
[00:22:44] Amanda: Yeah. So I actually went and found a better faith community. For me. I had one and it really wasn't a great fit.
I found one that's more open and has more flexibility and is totally fine. If I some days being on the autism spectrum where going to a big church is too much for me, it just. I just don't have the power in me to go or it wipes me out so much. So they are totally fine with me doing just small groups. So right now I'm doing a Tuesday morning small group which is great.
You know, it's just an hour and a half I can pop out of my day. I work from home. We are focusing. It's a women's small group. We're focusing on proverbs.
So not just Proverbs 31, all the Proverbs and all the wisdom for women and it's great. I really had not got into that, heard parts of it but I never understood it. So I mean it's a lot of work. The book that I'm in, but I was working out last night for a few hours catching up, but I'm pretty excited about it. And then besides that.
Yeah, just always looking at an opportunity to find something new in the Bible making it part of my daily habit as well as intro outro prayer. I do, I call it intro outro prayer because I'm a social media girl. But prayer in the morning, pray before I retire at night. That's just part of my habit, like brushing my teeth. I'm a dentist, so you know, just something I do.
[00:24:03] Jessica: I love that. So a couple more questions for you. What is something that you might have missed before you started intentionally looking for God in ordinary moments in this new relationship you have with him?
[00:24:17] Amanda: God's sense of humor. So I think he has a hilarious. And it could just be that my brain sees stuff and just. But there's just too much. Okay. Like I'm, I'm such a math nerd. Like I look at things that can happen. I'm like what is the chance that that would happen spontaneously just because of science? You know. And that's actually how my whole, that was my whole issue with the Lord to begin with is I just kept thinking, well science doesn't prove it. Science doesn't prove it. And then eventually things got. I started doing little science experiments in my, my own. And then doing the math statistics. I mean I'll tell you for an example last month, well, there's a third. I don't know how much you can are into weather. Weather is something I like. It's one of my nerdy things. But there's a lot of hurricanes going on in the Pacific right now. We've had a really hurricaney years 3. There's another one coming this week. Thank goodness I'm not home. We had Hurricane Lala in early August. It hasn't hit Oahu. Any hurricanes are the one I'm on. I think in ever it only hit an island, Kauai. The last one was Iniki in 1991. So that was over 30 something years ago. I was like in high school when that happened. So it hit Oahu. Oahu has 400,000 individual residences, not to mention condos and everything else, probably more. Only 26 were badly hit. We were one of the 26. Now do the math on that. That's one in 15,000 chance. And we had like a new house. We lost our roof, most of it. My daughter's room was totaled, you know, like kitchen. Everything was. We had to gut start over. It's rebuilt. What was the chance of that? Before I went into that hurricane, I did some prayers and I know we shouldn't bargain with God, but I made some decisions and I said if this hits, I'm going to do X, Y, and Z. And God told me it's going to hit. So I got up at 3 in the morning, and I just sat in the living room. And then I heard this crash. I went outside. Roof had landed on the neighbor's yard on their car.
I heard water running open my daughter's door.
You know, she's still sleeping. It's like 4 or 5 in the morning. You know, I'm like, there's water on your head.
That was like, you know, like, I want to kind of off track here, but basically it comes down to there's a point where you just can't deny what you're seeing. It's just. It's statistically impossible. And once I got to that point, I was like, okay, God, I got it. You proved it to me. We're cool. And it wasn't like I said, some people are like, well, God, if you're out there, you'll knock on the door. Yeah, it's not going to quite be like that. But once he really wants to get your attention, he will get it. And you'll never. You'll never let him go then.
[00:26:43] Jessica: Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I love it. Amanda, thank you so much for being here, for sharing what you're learning while you're still learning and you're growing in it. I think that this is going to help so many women who might be in that transition period of.
I know. Jesus, but I want to really have a relationship with him, and I'm. I'm so thankful for you to come on here and share that with us.
[00:27:07] Amanda: Thank you.
[00:27:08] Jessica: Yes. So before we wrap up, I want to ask you the last question that I ask every guest on the podcast, and that is, what is one perspective that you would encourage listeners to apply today?
[00:27:18] Amanda: Don't give up.
Don't quit.
Even if you're searching for him, he will come. He will be there. You just have to be insistent. You have to open every door, every closet, knock on. You know, I don't. Don't give up until you meet him. And you will meet him. You just maybe haven't. You're not in the right season. Maybe you haven't made the right changes. Maybe you haven't hit bottom yet.
When you hit bottom, he will. I mean, I'll be real honest, and I've only told this to a handful of people, but I started having seizures due to stress in my life, and he picked me up twice. He. He was there, you know, and there's no doctor in the world can convince me otherwise. That was him. Held my hand, you know, and there's other people who were around me during those times and they said you were different. Something happened, you know, so don't give up. That's all I gotta say.
[00:28:06] Jessica: He's there and it's, it seems so simple, but it is so impactful when you actually apply that. I love it. I love it, friend. Maybe today isn't about adding one more thing that you're supposed to do as a Christian. This is not a checklist religion. Maybe it's simply just turning toward Jesus and asking what is following you today look like for me? And then pay attention, just like Amanda was saying, because he may meet you in his word. He may meet you in prayer or conversation or in a Bible study, or in one of those little ordinary moments that you might normally overlook.
If you are looking for a place to share what God is doing in your life right now, that God is still writing the story, I invite you to join the Story Haven. It's a free community where we share the real right now stories of what God is doing. We encourage one another and build genuine relationships as we walk it out. You can join
[email protected] or find our app on your mobile device. And if you have a story of what God is doing in your life right now, I'd love to hear it. You can learn more about being a guest and talking to me at perspectivesintopractice. Com. And remember, even small shifts in perspective can lead to big changes. Now go put those perspectives into practice. Talk to you next time.
