14 episodes

Love Letters with Amanda Cunningham: A collection of conversations about how God's love changes how we love. Whether you have been a Christian all your life, or you have never met a Christian you like in your whole life, you belong here.

Love Letters Amanda Cunningham

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 5.0 • 28 Ratings

Love Letters with Amanda Cunningham: A collection of conversations about how God's love changes how we love. Whether you have been a Christian all your life, or you have never met a Christian you like in your whole life, you belong here.

    Love, Amanda Serving Up Season One Sampler

    Love, Amanda Serving Up Season One Sampler

    Welcome to the Love Letters Podcast! This is where my friends and I come and read the love letters of our lives to show how God’s love changes how we love. There is a huge gap between people who know and love God and those who don't but maybe want to learn more about Him. Here on Love Letters, we turn that gap into overlap. And we think God’s love is the perfect place to start the conversation, especially now. So whether you’ve been a Christian your whole life or you’ve never met a Christian you like in your whole life: you belong here.
     
    This summer, my guests and I decided we wanted to inject God’s love into the world so we spent week after week talking about our own realizations and explorations of God’s love at work in our lives. We wanted to do more than talk about the love we feel, we wanted to talk about how to walk love out in our lives. Because God’s definition of true love is not a feeling, it is an action, a verb. 
     
    So each week, my brave friends came on and shared the love letters of their lives. And every episode first tells a story of a life transformed by God’s love and also displays how each person became an agent of His love. 
     
    If you are just stopping by to check this out and see who this God is and if He has a place in your life, we are completely honored to have you listen in today. We are all really, truly grateful you’re here and we ask you to please be our guest and consider this episode a giant sampler platter at a restaurant you’ve never been to before—little bites of all these things you might never have tried. 
     
    And if you are one of our incredible listeners, we are again and completely honored to have you listen in today too. I cannot tell you the loud cheers raised and the grateful tears shed at the encouraging words you sent to my guests and me. Thank you for subscribing so my friends’ stories are raised up higher and are able to reach more and more people! Thank you for writing a review so anyone who’s swinging by can take a quick glance and see what we’re all about here! And thank you for sitting with us and listening and learning along with us. It has been an undeserved gift to connect with y’all in such a meaningful way while we are all so physically isolated because of COVID-19. 
     
    If this is your first time to listen or you’ve been here from the beginning, either way, we hope that every time you come here, it’s like hopping in the car and heading out on a road trip with someone new, or sitting next to someone on a flight you only just met. And by the time you reach your destination, but before you grab your luggage from the overhead compartment or stop the car to get out, you realize you’ve made a friend. Now, they are someone you understand more and respect more because you listened to and considered their story. 
     
    As the temperatures drop and summer comes to an end, we cannot end the first season of the podcast without a celebration of all God has done through our friends’ lives and throughout the past few months as we fought technology and learning curves and real live nerves to capture these stories and contain and preserve them here for you. Join us today as we take a wide sweep over the first season and look back at how we are figuring out how to fulfill the two greatest commandments He has given to us: to love God and to love others as ourselves.
     
    You can find me on instagram, twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok at @amandafromtx and on facebook @amandafromTexas
    -OR- on my website at Amanda From Texas [dot] com!

    • 29 min
    Love, Shannon with Letters in Ink

    Love, Shannon with Letters in Ink

    My guests and I launched the first season of the podcast this summer and based it on 2 Corinthians 3:2-3:
    You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
    Today, we are going to change things up a bit and actually talk about walking out love in our lives through letters written with ink. And not written on tablets of stone, but on beautiful stationery--which might remind some us we are a long way from the days of writing to penpals on Lisa Frank paper. We are also changing today’s episode up because I am joining you in making a new friend!
    Shannon Hood of AForeverLetter.com is here, in the middle of (or hopefully God-willing near the end of) our longest bout of separation from so many people we love, to give us a tender nudge in the direction of pen and paper. A simple way to love people that goes a long way. As a wife of 15 years, a mother of 5 with number 6 nearly here, an English major, an avid reader with an artist’s eye and a huge heart, Shannon will be sharing about a crazy project she dreamed up to write a letter every day for a year. She'll encourage you if you’ve recently made a big move with your family (so many are making big changes in our lives right now) because she has been there. And she will reveal a gorgeous story about how God cared for her personally in one of her darkest seasons through the letters she sent to everyone else. 
     
    God pursues us through the written word. He displays His love for us in books and letters. Today we’ll talk Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego in Chapter 3 of the book of Daniel and 1 Peter 5:8. and we’ll stop by Proverbs 16:24 for a moment too. 
     
    Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery
    The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
    1776 by David McCullough
    The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
    Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
     
    Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
    They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
    He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
    Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
    So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
    Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
    Daniel 3:26-28
     
    Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
    1 Peter 5:8
    Gracious words are a honeycomb,
        sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
    Proverbs 16:24
     
    Connect with Shannon!
    AForeverLetter.com
    Etsy shop
    Instagram
    Facebook
    Pinterest 
    Twitter
     

    • 53 min
    Love, Brooke Who Went to Seminary

    Love, Brooke Who Went to Seminary

    God’s love cannot change how we love if we don’t know God. The most effective way to know the truth about Him is to study His Word. My dear friend Brooke Sparks is here today to tell us what happened when she decided to followed through with a long-time prompting to go back to school and study God’s Word at Dallas Theological Seminary. 
     
    As a dedicated wife, mother of four children, and active member at her church and in her community, Brooke honored all her roles with grace and Christ-like love. I hope our conversation today is a great encouragement to any seminary student or college student and to their families, to those whose lives have been upending by the coronavirus and are possibly going back to school at older ages, and to any mom or dad who needs support as a homeschool parent, especially if you’re in school yourself or overwhelmed with your current workload.
     
    As an author, speaker, and Bible teacher, Brooke is always a blessing, especially to groups of women on retreats or at gatherings. If you are interested in having her come speak to you and your circle, you can contact her on her website at brookeyoungsparks.com.
     
    Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
    LIT by Mary Karr
    Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb 
    Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge 
     
    Dream Big by Bob Goff
    Stop Calling Me Beautiful by Phylicia Masonheimer
     
    The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
    he leads me beside quiet waters,
    he refreshes my soul.
    He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
    Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
    I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
    You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
    You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
    Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
    and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

    Psalm 23 I have hidden your word in my heart
        that I might not sin against you.
    Psalm 119:11


     
    But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
    2 Corinthians 12:9-11
    A wife of noble character who can find?
        She is worth far more than rubies.
    Her husband has full confidence in her
        and lacks nothing of value.
    She brings him good, not harm,
        all the days of her life.
    She selects wool and flax
        and works with eager hands.
    She is like the merchant ships,
        bringing her food from afar.
    She gets up while it is still night;
        she provides food for her family
        and portions for her female servants.
    She considers a field and buys it;
        out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
    She sets about her work vigorously;
        her arms are strong for her tasks.
    She sees that her trading is profitable,
        and her lamp does not go out at night.
    In her hand she holds the distaff
        and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
    She opens her arms to the poor
        and extends her hands to the needy.
    When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
        for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
    She makes coverings for her bed;
        she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
    Her husband is respected at the city gate,
        where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
    She makes linen garments and sells them,
        and supplies the merchants with sashes.
    She is clothed with strength and dignity;
        she can laugh at the days to come.
    She speaks with wisdom,
        and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
    She watches over the affairs of her household
        and doe

    • 1 hr 5 min
    Love, Simone with a Specialty in Leadership: Part Two

    Love, Simone with a Specialty in Leadership: Part Two

    In Part One, Simone Monroe shared almost 40 years of leadership expertise with us about callings, ministry, and careers. We defined what true leadership means and we identified things you need to know before you start volunteering in your local church. 
     
    Now in Part Two, we discuss the roots of ministry burnout, discover how to know if we are serving out of who God created us to be, how to say no easily, and at the very end you’ll hear details on how to win your very own copy of the book Simone Monroe and Bobi Ann Allen co-authored called, Own Your Everyday Influence which can be found at everydayinfluence.org.
    He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
    John 9:25
    The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
    Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
    “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
    Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
    She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
    But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
    She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
    2 Kings 4:1-7
     
    Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
    Proverbs 4:23
     
    So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
    Psalm 90:12
    To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.
    Mark 12:33
    For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
    Ephesians 2:10
     
    Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
    Matthew 11:28
    "Save ur energy. Guard ur time. You’re not supposed to be willing to die on every hill. Just the ones that God has called YOU to. Those are the ones we need u to climb to the pinnacle so that u can plant the stake of truth in the ground. Be wise. Be prayerful. We need u." -Priscilla Shirer
     
    So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
    “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
    Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
    1 Samuel 16:11
     
    Visit me on instagram @amandafromtx and facebook @amandafromtexas for details on the Own Your Everyday Influence Giveaway that ends this Friday, August 28, 2020!
     
     

    • 40 min
    Love, Simone with a Specialty in Leadership: Part One

    Love, Simone with a Specialty in Leadership: Part One

    As Christians, as Christ followers, we are all called in Matthew 28 verses 19-20 to “therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” We talked about the global aspect of spreading the gospel to the nations in the last episode with Angela Perritt, but today we are going local, real local, to focus on developing yourself as a disciple--as a dedicated follower of Jesus--first, before you begin any mission. Simone Monroe is here to teach us about how to love God and love others as ourselves, by leading well in all areas of our lives. 
     
    She has so much wisdom to offer us that you’re going to need a pen and you’re going to need to come back for part two. There was too much goodness to squeeze into one episode.
     
    In Part One we talk about callings, ministry, and careers, we define what true leadership means, and we identify things you need to know before you start volunteering in your local church for the first time. 
     
    And in Part Two we will discuss the roots of ministry burnout and discover how to know if we are serving out of who God created us to be and how to say no easily. At the very end you’ll hear details on how to win your very own copy of the book Simone Monroe and Bobi Ann Allen co-authored called, Own Your Everyday Influence which can be found at everydayinfluence.org. Today we will be all over the Bible with your new friend Simone from Alabama, so roll tide and come sit with us.
     
    The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
    John Maxwell
    Simon Sinek : TED Talk
    Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
    Brene Brown
     
    For you created my inmost being;
        you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
    I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
        your works are wonderful,
        I know that full well.
    My frame was not hidden from you
        when I was made in the secret place,
        when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
    Your eyes saw my unformed body;
        all the days ordained for me were written in your book
        before one of them came to be.
    Psalm 139:13-16
     
    For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
    Ephesians 2:10
     
    And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
    2 Corinthians 3:18

    • 31 min
    Love, Angela with a Heart for the Nations

    Love, Angela with a Heart for the Nations

    We know God has called His followers to love Him and to love others. But if you truly believe in our one and only God and His one and only Son and Spirit, it’s pretty daunting to think about what it would mean to love Him back. 
    He tells us in 1 John 5:3, “For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands.” We learn to keep His commands by reading them, by studying His Word in community, by praying for the wisdom and the strength to obey Him. And when we obey Him by loving others, His love is made us complete in us as He tells us in 1 John 4:12. If you don’t know much about what God says about love, then you are going to love today’s episode as we dissect what it really means so we can live out true love in our lives. 
    My prayer is this episode gives you specific ways to take action on all the stirrings in our hearts lately to care for people living in oppression, isolation, and even poverty here in our country and all over the world. Angela Perritt, the Founder and Director of an international women’s ministry called Love God Greatly is here today and we hope her story cracks your heart open to care for women across the globe by setting them free with God’s gift of free grace found in His Word. 
    If you follow me on Instagram and Facebook @amandafromtx, then you read a little bit about the beloved time I spent as a writer for Love God Greatly where I met so many beautiful translators, all selfless and full of joy. I also met and learned from the stunning, Edurne Mencia. We mention her in this episode but she left more than a mention of an impression on our hearts as she tragically passed away one year ago. We cannot thank her enough for her pure example of loving the Lord. This one’s for you Edurne.  
     
    No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
    1 John 4:12
    BSF, or Bible Study Fellowship can be found here.
     
    Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
    Matthew 28: 19-20
     
    “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
    Deuteronomy 7:6
    Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
    Titus 2:3-5
    Visit this wonderful ministry at LoveGodGreatly.com to find the reading plans, download all free Bible studies, and become a facilitator for your town study group!
     
    Pre-order your copy of the Love God Greatly Bible HERE! Do it now!
     
    After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.
    Revelation 7:9
     
    Visit my website at http://www.amandafromtexas.comto sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss out on our next giveaway!
     

    • 54 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
28 Ratings

28 Ratings

Triple Bar Melissa ,

Love, Love, Love this podcast!!

I look forward each week to listening to this podcast! Amanda always has such inspirational guest on and I always take away things in a different perspective!

incredibleX10 ,

Skeptical too!

I too, Jenn, am like Tommy. He told me about this about a year ago and I was like “ok, good for you not sure it’s for me.” But listening to searching ourselves and cutting out which hinders us from our full potential in Christ. Thanks, gonna explore this more!

kiwis2020 ,

Love!

I LOVE Amanda’s podcast! She is engaging and transparent. I look forward to each one.

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