Oh, boy, am I taking a step of faith that scares me to death! For those who may not know me personally, I am Amanda Stewart, or Mandy, whichever one you prefer. As you can read in my “about me” page, I am a wife and a mother to two wonderful teenage boys. Professionally, I have been a high school teacher, a fitness instructor, a adjunct college professor, and a real estate agent. Many of those things were simultaneous, but the point is, these jobs have given me a wide range of experience in many different areas in life. Through all of these things, I have been a writer.
Writing has always been an outlet for me. A way to connect to the world around me and share words, either of encouragement or to show a similar experience. It’s so important for people to not feel alone in this world, and if my words can provide some sort of comfort for even one person, then I am happy to share. I have written for magazines and national online publications, and even wrote a novel that is quietly sitting in my hard drive storage unlikely to see the printed page, but mostly I have written for myself and my friends. I love connecting and walking along side people through words. My writing was gaining traffic, but a change in my husband’s job in 2018 required me to step away from writing and contribute to the family in other ways. Honestly, while everything was quickly resolved, I felt a real guilt every time I tried to write again. I have written as part of our real estate business, but it was different. That was information, not sharing my heart. The Lord has really been tugging at my heart to get back to writing, so here I am.
I don’t know if this is just for me, or if it’s just for one person out in the world, but I’m being obedient to what I feel God calling me to do. But here is what you mostly need to know about me and this writing endeavor, I am not an expert. I am not an expert in anything! I have lots of experience in dealing with teenagers, from my 14 years of teacher and my last few years in the trenches of mothering two teenagers. I have a lot of experience in fitness from what I learned in my study and what I have learned in my decades long pursuit of exercise and healthy living. I have well over 20 years of experience in being a wife and over 40 years of experience being a woman of God. All of that experience has shaped who I am, but I am not an expert in any of it. Please know that any “advice” or “guidance” I give is strictly from a friend. I’m going to get things wrong, but I plan to talk about all of it. Imagine this blog as a front porch chat between friends with a cup full of whatever you want: water, tea, coffee, wine, all of it sounds great to me.
I hope you enjoy it here, and if you do, please share it with your friends. Please know I am sharing this earnestly and faithfully, and will be here if and when you need me.
Thanks for reading!