As a natural performer from age 3, I’ve always loved the spotlight. It was never a problem to sing, dance, or act – spouting lines and lyrics from the artists who created them. But public speaking? That was a big bag of NOPES. As I got older and had to do more speaking for school,…
Tag: Brave
Still Blooming
I love following artist and writer, Morgan Harper Nichols on Instagram. Her words and accompanying art always seem to catch me right when and where I need them. “I am not who I used to be and that is a beautiful thing and even here, in new unknowns, I know: I am still blooming.” -Morgan…
Keep the Receipts
It was one year ago today that everything changed. We were putting in a full day of work and training a new employee. We attended an event that evening… and an hour after we left, the building and surrounding neighborhoods were hit with tornadoes. Mere weeks later, the country quarantined from COVID. Everything was different….
Count It All Joy
Two years ago, my word for the year was Brave. The word Savor found me heading into 2020. I’d been wondering what this year would hold and what word I’d cling to. (After all we’ve been through, how do you even plan?) It sounds silly, but I asked God for a word at the end…
His Cup of Tea
March 19, 1989. I had to look up the actual date, but the time itself is easy to remember. I first made a profession of faith on Palm Sunday when I was eight years old. I was baptized the following week on Easter Sunday. Thirty-one years later, I realize I made this decision before I…
Loving Better
What. A. Week. For the Nashvillians who were here during the flood of 2010, our community response to this natural disaster is no surprise. There’s a good reason they call Tennessee the Volunteer State. After an F3 tornado ripped through Germantown, North Nashville, East Nashville, Donelson, Hermitage, and Mt. Juliet, the devastation surrounding our neighborhoods…
Anchored
“How’s the temp?” I yelled outside as my husband lit the grill to prep for dinner. “Chilly, but great.” That was all the encouragement I needed to bundle in my housecoat, pour a glass of red, and head outside. 63 degrees and sitting under swaying trees looks a lot different now than it did five…
Starting with a Song
I stopped scrolling when I saw this post. My friend re-posted this and suggested we think about where we started 10 years ago. Sure, the decade realization is enough to make my head spin, but I love how she used the word started. A decade ago, 28-year old Amanda was living in a very different…
Spanning Decades
My office is a short commute from where I live… approximately 15 steps upstairs. It was one of the first things that drew us to this house: separate workspaces for both my husband and myself, plus extra room for guests. There are days when I stop to drink it all in. I am doing what…
Who Needs a Map?
“The lies still come. Sometimes they are a whisper when I am walking onto a stage, sometimes they are a quick cut when I see a picture of myself, and other times, they scream. They scream in a way I cannot describe – they are constant and vulgar and violently unkind. And when the lies…
A Liviting Life 