Life with Amy

Amy Poepping

Welcome to Life with Amy, a podcast for women who want to lead well, build meaningful businesses, and live a life of wholeness rooted in faith. Hosted by Amy Poepping, entrepreneur, leader, and very real life mom. This show dives into honest conversations behind leadership, entrepreneurship, faith and wellness that shape who we become. From stepping into the unknown and building businesses, to navigating hard seasons, strengthening your mindset and becoming the woman God created you to be. Each episode is honest, encouraging & grounded in real life. If you're looking for perfection, you won't find it here! Join Amy for real conversations about growing as a leader, creating freedom as an entrepreneur, and not losing yourself in it all. If you are a faith driven woman who knows she is called to more, and is ready to step outside her comfort zone, grab a seat and hit play. You are in the right room!

  1. 19 Aug

    The Wellness Wheel: Why One Area of Your Life Affects Every Other Area

    Takeaways Health is not one dimension. When one area of your wellness wheel struggles (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social, environmental, or financial) the other areas feel the ripple effect too.Chronic pain does not just affect the body. It affects sleep, mood, motivation, relationships, and even your sense of connection to God.You do not need a perfect routine to stay well. You need intentionality in the areas you can control while you work through the area that is struggling.In this solo episode of Life with Amy, Amy gets real about a chronic pain flare that returned after months of relief. After nearly a year of neck and back pain caused by damaged discs, physical therapy and treatment finally brought Amy total relief, more activity, better sleep, and a return to normal life. Then, just over a week before recording, the pain came back in full force, right as her family settled into a new school year in Texas. Rather than keeping the struggle behind the scenes, Amy walks listeners through the concept of the wellness wheel: a visual, pie-shaped model of health broken into pieces like physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social, environmental, and financial wellness. Her core point is simple and important: none of these pieces exist in isolation. When physical health takes a hit, it bleeds into sleep, mental clarity, emotional regulation, motivation to connect with friends, and even spiritual closeness with God. Amy is candid about what the last week and a half has actually looked like: less-than-perfect eating, resisting time in her Bible even though she knows how much she needs it, and cycling through frustration, tears, and moments of feeling distant from God. But she also shares the practical, intentional choices she is making to hold the rest of her wellness wheel steady while her body heals: reaching out to friends more than usual, protecting her home as a low-toxin environment, staying financially grounded instead of turning to retail therapy, replacing spiraling negative thoughts with truth, and leaning on faith and community to get through what she calls an "analyze and adjust" season. This episode is a reminder that wellness is not about achieving perfect balance all the time. It is about noticing which piece of the pie is struggling and being intentional with the rest so the whole wheel can keep turning. Key Topics Covered: The wellness wheel model and its seven pieces of healthHow chronic pain affects mental and emotional health, not just the bodyRecognizing and replacing negative, spiraling thoughts with truthStaying spiritually grounded during a hard, painful seasonProtecting social, environmental, and financial wellness when one area is strugglingPracticing mental toughness without pretending to have it all together

  2. 12 Aug

    A Mom Son Interview: Faith, Football, and Money Lessons From My 10 Year Old

    Takeaways Kids notice more about how adults worry and behave than we give them credit for, and their honest perspective is a great gut check for parents.Teaching kids about money early, like saving instead of spending everything at once, sticks even when it is hard for them in the moment.Big life transitions like a cross country move hit kids differently than adults, but new adventures and new friendships follow close behind.Faith conversations with kids do not need to be complicated. A favorite Bible story can carry a big lesson about courage in the face of fear.Some of the best parenting moments are the small, funny, completely unscripted ones, like a 10 year old explaining why "sick" is cooler than "cool."In this episode of Life with Amy, host Amy Poepping hands the mic to someone very special: her oldest child and only son, Chase, just 10 days shy of turning 11. What starts as a fun rapid fire interview turns into a heartfelt look at how a 10 year old sees the world, from adjusting to his family's recent move from Minnesota to Texas to what he has learned about money, friendship, and faith along the way. Chase opens up about the hardest part of the move (leaving his friends) and the best part (the Texas heat, biking, and fishing), all while keeping Amy and listeners laughing with his takes on preteen slang, being "weird" versus "normal," and his very specific plans for a hypothetical million dollars (a 220 acre ranch, obviously). He shares what he has learned from his mom and dad, why he loves the story of David and Goliath, and what he thinks adults could stand to do more of: have more fun. The episode closes with a sweet "how well do you know Mom" quiz, where Chase proves he has Amy figured out down to her coffee order, her go to sushi dinner, and the fact that she is, in his words, "terrible" at video games. It is a candid, funny, and truly touching window into family life, faith, and what really matters to a kid on the edge of becoming a preteen. Key Topics Covered: Moving from Minnesota to Texas as a family, and how kids process big life changesWhat a 10 year old thinks adults get wrong about kids (worrying too much, forgetting to have fun)Teaching kids financial responsibility: saving versus spendingFaith and courage through the lens of the David and Goliath storyFamily traditions, football season, and Friday Night Lights culture in TexasA lighthearted "how well do you know Mom" quiz between mother and son

  3. 5 Aug

    Courageous Parenting in a World That Keeps Changing, With Angie Tolpin

    Courageous Parenting Book: https://amzn.to/4fIyiDY Courageous Parenting podcast & Program: https://courageousparenting.com (https://courageousparenting.com/) Main Ministry site: BeCourageousMinistry.org IG @Courageous.mom @courageous.parenting FB @CourageousMom @CourageousParent Takeaways Every season of life, even the ones that feel like a detour, is preparation for the season God has ahead. You do not need to force a dream before its time.Mentorship goes both directions. The women who mentor others well are the ones who never stop being a mentee themselves.A large percentage of older women in the church feel unqualified or unequipped to mentor, and that belief is keeping the next generation without the guidance it needs.The family unit is the training ground for the body of Christ. Reconciliation, forgiveness, respect, and confession are first learned at home.Angie and her husband Isaac built Courageous Parenting, a podcast with over 410 episodes, a Parenting Mentor Program that has walked over 3,000 couples through biblical parenting, and a book, Courageous Parenting: Biblical Parenting in Unprecedented Times, covering 31 real topics families face today.Amy sits down with Angie Tolpin, wife to Isaac, mom of nine, and co-founder of Be Courageous Ministry, for a wide-ranging conversation about surrendered plans and the ministry that grows out of them. Angie shares how she once believed she would be a lifelong single missionary after seasons of ministry work in Turkey and Mexico, and how a mentor's blunt correction, that her ministry would expand through marriage, redirected her entire life. She talks candidly about the dream that "died" when an unplanned pregnancy ended her plans for youth ministry, and the new dream that was born in its place. The conversation moves into the heart of Angie's work: Titus 2 mentorship. She explains why so many older women in the church, by her account roughly 90 percent in one ministry she helped lead, say no when asked to mentor younger women, and unpacks the lie she believes sits underneath that hesitation. From there, Angie and Amy talk about the family as a training ground for the body of Christ, the years Angie spent homeschooling nine kids while planting a church that now meets in a tent to 180 to 250 people each Sunday, and the physically difficult pregnancies, including hyperemesis gravidarum and bed rest, that shaped her first book, Redeeming Childbirth. The episode closes on Angie and Isaac's newest project, Courageous Parenting: Biblical Parenting in Unprecedented Times, a book built from 26 years of parenting and hundreds of podcast episodes, designed to be worked through chapter by chapter with scripture, discussion questions, and marriage challenges built in. Angie's message throughout is consistent: growth does not come from reading a good book and walking away unchanged. It comes from doing the work.

  4. 29 Jul

    How Megan May Found Jesus Over a Cup of Coffee (And Never Looked Back)

    Connect with Megan: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youmatterbymegan/ Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/themeganmaypodcast/ From Zero to Four book: https://amzn.to/4bclcgL Takeaways Grief and joy are not opposites. You can grieve a loss and still find real, sustaining joy in the same season, sometimes in the same day.Success is not a house, a bank account, or a car without rust. Real success is internal growth: who you become through the hard season, not what you have to show for it.Isolation is often the first instinct in grief, but it is the opposite of what helps you heal. Reaching out for help, prayer, and community is what actually moves you forward.Summary of the episode In this first-ever guest episode of Life With Amy, host Amy Poepping sits down with her longtime friend Megan May, author, podcast host, speaker, and self-described "modern farm wife," for an honest conversation about walking through one of the hardest seasons of her life. Megan shares what happened after her family sold their home and moved to her husband's family farm: four weeks living in a camper, then months in an unfinished cottage with a shower curtain for a bathroom door, all while grieving the unexpected loss of her mother-in-law before they ever arrived. She talks candidly about what that season stripped away and what it rebuilt in her, including a completely new definition of success built on growth and faith rather than comfort and appearances. The conversation moves into how grief and joy can live in the same space at once, why asking for help is one of the hardest and most necessary things a person can do, and how Megan's faith journey, which started eight years ago over coffee at Amy's church, carried her family through both the season of adoption and the season of loss. Megan closes with practical, hard-won advice for any woman in a hard season right now: stop trying to see the whole picture, make the next right choice for today, and do not carry it alone.

  5. 15 Jul

    Starting Things Is Easy. Finishing Things Is Biblical.

    Takeaways There's a real difference between being interested in something and being committed to it, and that distinction determines whether you'll actually finish what you start.Slow, steady, consistent steps beat inconsistent bursts of motivation. Starting and stopping repeatedly is more exhausting than simply staying the course, even at a slower pace.Your pace is allowed to change with your season of life. What consistency looks like during a cross-country move is not what it looks like in a calmer month, and both are valid.Summary of the episode Amy opens this solo episode with a sentence that stopped her in her tracks during a church service: "Starting things is easy. Finishing things is biblical." As a self-described dreamer, visionary, and risk-taker, Amy has always found it easy to launch new ideas, but finishing has never come naturally to her. She unpacks that tension through the lens of her own June, a month spent moving her family from Minnesota to Texas, packing up a life, and starting over in a new home. She talks candidly about how that season stripped her capacity to keep up with things she cares about, like moving her body daily, and how she's rebuilding that consistency now in July, one evening walk and one 20-minute workout at a time. She also references Patrick Lencioni's book "The Working Genius," which helped her and her former team identify where they naturally operate best, and confirms what she already suspected: finishing has never been her superpower. The episode turns toward a bigger idea about calling and follow-through. Amy shares a conversation with a friend about the difference between being interested in something and being committed to it, and argues that when God calls you to something, He calls you to finish it, not just start it. She closes with an encouragement to listeners to identify what they've started and stopped, and to return to it with slow, sustainable, consistent steps rather than waiting for a burst of motivation. Key Topics Covered: The difference between starting something and being called to finish itRebuilding consistency after a major life transition (the family's move from Minnesota to Texas)Patrick Lencioni's "The Working Genius" and identifying your natural strengthsBeing interested vs. being committedWhy slow, steady consistency outperforms sprint-and-stop patternsFaith, calling, and finishing what God has asked you to start

  6. 8 Jul

    Halfway Through the Year? Here's How to Reflect Without Beating Yourself Up

    Takeaways Reflecting at the halfway point of the year, not just in December, gives you a clearer, more honest read on your goals and lets you adjust course while there's still time to use it.Writing down one good thing from each of the last six months, no matter how small, breaks the habit of only remembering what went wrong or unfinished.Extending yourself grace during a season of major change, whether that's a business transition, a cross country move, or a new routine, is part of healthy growth, not an excuse.Summary of the episode In this solo episode, Amy Poepping pauses to mark the halfway point of 2026 with a real, unfiltered mid-year check in. She opens up about the whirlwind of the last six months: selling her flower shop to a former employee on January 1st, a house hunting trip to Texas in February, a life-changing trip to Nepal that included views of Mount Everest and Mount Annapurna, buying a house in Texas at the end of April, hosting her women's event Embracing Grace, and a jam-packed May full of travel, a business conference, and family time. Then came June: a cross country move that left her living out of a suitcase for weeks and, by her own admission, barely touching her business. Amy uses her own year as a case study for a bigger point. It is easy, especially for women and entrepreneurs, to slide into comparison and self-criticism when we look back at a year in progress instead of noticing what actually went right. Rather than letting June's chaos become a reason to spiral, she walks through how she chooses to extend herself grace, and she invites listeners to do the same with their own first half of the year. The episode closes with a practical challenge: write down one good thing from each of the last six months, then name a couple of hard or sad moments and ask what you learned from them, not to dwell, but to notice. From there, Amy turns the lens forward, sharing her own goals and excitement for the second half of 2026, from new schools for her kids to a milestone cruise with her husband, and encourages listeners to build their own list of what they are looking forward to. Key Topics Covered: Why mid-year reflection matters as much as a New Year's resolutionAmy's biggest wins from the first half of 2026: selling her flower shop, a trip to Nepal, buying a house in Texas, and hosting Embracing GraceHow to reflect on hard seasons, like a cross country move or a new financial routine, without spiraling into self-criticismA simple journaling exercise: one good thing from each of the last six monthsWhy comparing your timeline to someone else's keeps you stuckSetting goals and building excitement for the second half of the year

  7. 1 Jul

    Two God Moments From Our Last Week in Minnesota

    Takeaways God shows up through ordinary people in ordinary moments — but only if you are paying attention and living open to receive it.Courage and clarity often arrive in that order: you make the bold decision first, and the confirmation comes after.The people God sends into your life may never know the impact they had. Be willing to be that person for someone else.Summary of the Episode In this episode of Life with Amy, Amy Poepping shares two God wink stories from the final days before her family's big cross-country move from Minnesota to Texas — moments she never wants to forget, and never wants to stop telling. Story one: Two days before leaving Minnesota for good, Amy books a same-day haircut for her son Chase at the only open slot at a small-town barber shop — a Monday-morning appointment she grabbed that very morning. What she expects to be a quick errand turns into something entirely different. The barber, a young guy her age, turns out to have grown up in Tyler, Texas — exactly where Amy and her family are headed. An appointment that was supposed to take 20 minutes stretches to 45. They talk about East Texas fishing and hunting, faith, business, baseball. Amy walks out of that shop more certain than ever. What she finds out later: the barber had almost not come in that day. He had planned to drive to Texas to visit family, changed his mind, and opened his schedule at the last minute. That is why there was one appointment available. That is why they were sitting in those chairs. Story two: Wednesday comes fast. Amy's husband is driving the moving truck; Amy flies solo with their three kids from Minneapolis to Texas. In the hallway near their gate, she stops to take a breath — and a stranger, a man her age with two little kids, looks over and says: "You guys look like you're on an adventure." She tells him they are moving to Texas on a leap of faith. He leans in. He asks if she is a Christian. And then he asks if he can pray for her. They stand together in the middle of the Minneapolis Airport — Amy, her kids, this stranger and his brother — and he prays over them. He tells her afterward that he almost kept walking, but he felt a nudge from God, and he listened. Amy closes the episode with the prayer she comes back to constantly: God, help me to live with my eyes, my ears, and my hands wide open to who you have for me. In their final hours in Minnesota, that prayer was answered twice. Key Topics Covered Believing in God moments, God winks, and God nudges — not coincidenceThe story of the barber from Tyler, Texas who had one last-minute openingHow a 45-minute haircut appointment brought clarity and confirmation about the moveFlying solo with three kids from Minnesota to Texas while her husband drove the moving truckThe stranger in the Minneapolis Airport who asked if he could pray for Amy's familyWhat it feels like when God sends confirmation in the final hours before a big leap of faithHow courage comes before clarity — the decision to be brave happens firstWhat it means to live open: eyes, ears, and hands wide to who and what God has for youEncouraging others to lean into their own God nudges, because you may never know your impact

Trailer

About

Welcome to Life with Amy, a podcast for women who want to lead well, build meaningful businesses, and live a life of wholeness rooted in faith. Hosted by Amy Poepping, entrepreneur, leader, and very real life mom. This show dives into honest conversations behind leadership, entrepreneurship, faith and wellness that shape who we become. From stepping into the unknown and building businesses, to navigating hard seasons, strengthening your mindset and becoming the woman God created you to be. Each episode is honest, encouraging & grounded in real life. If you're looking for perfection, you won't find it here! Join Amy for real conversations about growing as a leader, creating freedom as an entrepreneur, and not losing yourself in it all. If you are a faith driven woman who knows she is called to more, and is ready to step outside her comfort zone, grab a seat and hit play. You are in the right room!

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