00:00:00 - Johnny Sanders
Do you have a child that is gender confused? Are you the parent of somebody who is either identified as transgender using different pronouns or some other type of gender confused just propaganda being shoved down your kids' throats? Well, I created the biblically parenting gender-confused children support group for parents just like you. The support group is completely free. We meet monthly and you are able to connect with other like-minded Christian parents who are struggling with how to parent children who are gender confused. They're getting all sorts of nonsense brought to them by the world and I want to help connect parents that are going through similar struggles and be able to tackle this issue through a biblical worldview. If you are interested in joining this group or know somebody who might be interested in this group, head on over to faithfullyengaged.com. and there's more information about the support group there. I have a link down in the description below. Well, welcome back, everyone, to another episode of Faithfully Engaged. I'm really excited to have my guest, Amelia Walden, on today. We're going to get into a little bit of the topic of her book and kind of her faith journey. Amelia, it's great to have you on. Why don't you tell the audience just a little bit about yourself?

00:01:33 - Amelia Walden
Thank you so much for having me, Johnny. I'm excited to be here. My name is Amelia Walden and I'm the author of the new book called From Jew to Gentile A Transformation From Religion to Relationship. And I wrote the book because I felt like God called me to write it. Being an author was something that I never imagined myself doing. I never had it on my radar. I am a contract auditor by trade during the day and, you know, financial spreadsheets and numbers is really what my niche is, I guess. So, yeah, I felt called by God to write it and I just, I know that God loves our obedience. And so I sat down to write and what resulted was the draft being done in a month. And here we are today.
00:02:35 - Johnny Sanders
Fantastic. Real quick, before we kind of get into your faith journey, I'm just curious. I've had several authors on here from all sorts of walks of life. Some that's their full-time profession, they've done it their whole lives. Some, like you just kind of stumbled into it. I love the dynamic there of being in spreadsheets and numbers and stuff that doesn't usually translate to writing a book. So that's just curious to me. Yeah, how was that? Was it just like you woke up and like, oh my gosh, I'm writing a book where did this come from, like, what was that process, like for you, writing the book?

00:03:10 - Amelia Walden
Yeah. I grew up with a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, so I got the cultural side of Judaism. I never went to Temple or anything like that, but my grandparents, I say in the book that my grandparents would celebrate Hanukkah with us when they came to celebrate Christmas. So a little bit of a weird dichotomy there. And really, once I discovered my own faith, I started out on that walk, and a few years into it, I realized that I had no idea about my own identity. It was after a women's conference that I attended, and I was just a wreck during the talks that were being given. I mean, black mascara down my face, never should have worn makeup to the conference type of deal. And I. So after that conference, I googled the book on identity because I wanted to do a Bible study on whatever book that was. And Ephesians was the overwhelming result. And so as I started reading that, I saw right above, I believe it's Ephesians two, and it says, Jew and Gentile reconciled together through Christ. And I remember thinking in that moment because I had always considered myself a Gentile from when I started reading the Bible front to back. It really started my faith journey. And I sat there for a second when I read that, and I was like, wait, which one am I? I don't know which one I am, you know? And so that was sort of milling in the back of my mind. And as I got ready that morning, I say it was like a loud thought, you know, it was just something that silenced all other thoughts in my head. And it was From Jew to Gentile, write a book. And, I mean, I. I don't know how to describe it any other way. It was just that. And I think it's kind of, you know, even speaking it out loud, I feel a little crazy sometimes, you know, but it's. It was such a wild experience, and, you know, I'm so grateful for it, but I was so confused, honestly, because I didn't know where that came from. As I said, being an author was never something that was on my radar. It wasn't something that I, you know, I know a lot of people in their life, they want to write a book eventually, and that just was never me. I was perfectly content in my job and going about my, you know, everyday life. And when I sat down to write, that was, you know, all of the thoughts and all of my upbringing and really how I got to where I am today and finding Jesus and finding a relationship with Jesus, realizing that it wasn't all ceremonial, that just came pouring out. And like I said, it was, you know, the draft was written in a month, which I say that was holy spirit led because I don't think that I personally could have done that, you know, and in my own power because that is, it was very, very wild. Couldn't go to bed until I thought, felt that I had gotten everything out, you know, the outpouring of the thoughts onto the paper, you know, sometimes going to bed at one, two in the morning just because I had to get all the thoughts out.

00:06:38 - Johnny Sanders
So, yeah, I just find that so interesting. And I'm excited to hear a little bit more on your, on your faith journey because, you know, even you writing the book was not, oh yeah, I have this big goal. God, God used you through that and, and really put that on your heart and really excited to, yeah. To hear a little bit more from you on just your faith walk. And I hear from you on this, I know many listening to the podcast grew up kind of like me. I'm in, I'm in Oklahoma, kind of in the middle of the Bible belt. And if you were not a Christian, you at least kind of spoke Christianese. There's just a lot of that kind of cultural Christianity. But your faith background is just, it's very, all of our faith background is unique to us, but yours really has kind of a distinct flair to it that I think a lot of people listening may, yeah, may not have heard a story quite like yours. So, yeah, you kind of teased out a little bit of this before, but walk us through just your faith journey and how, yeah, how you came to faith in Christ.

00:07:49 - Amelia Walden
Right. So, like I said, grew up with the Jewish culture, so I didn't, you know, study Torah or anything like that from the Judaism side. But my father was a devout Catholic. He went to Mass every Sunday, if not, you know, multiple times during the week. But at the same time, God was never really a topic in my home. It wasn't, you know, like God wasn't something that we discussed, we never prayed together, it just wasn't a topic in the home. But I did end up going to Catholic high school and that is where, you know, I have a chapter in the book called The Lions and I open it with Daniel and the lion's den and that from scripture because I feel like my high school experience, it felt like I was in a lion's den. Just the, I think, judgmental aspect of religion. And, you know, I wanted to rebel against that as a teenager. And I actually listened to one of your other guests, and when she was talking about, you know, how the women that she grew up around she was like, if that is what, you know, being a Christian is, I want nothing to do with it. And really, that was the experience that I had. If these people are Christians, then I want nothing to do with this. You know, I don't. I don't want to know God if this is what it's like. You know, if I'm going to treat people the way that I am being treated right now, I want nothing to do with it. And so I rebelled quite heavily against faith and, you know, just rules at the school. I was on the headmistress shortlist. Just about every rule you could break, I was doing it, and I walked away from God for a very long time. I would go to Mass on Christmas and Easter with my Dad, and that was really, that was about the extent of it. I didn't know anything about the Bible. And so when I walked into a church in 2020, and I guess I should back up a little bit, whenever I felt like I was having a hard time in life, I would always find myself going back and finding a church. And I think that was the foundation that was sort of set for me with my dad. I saw my dad doing that, and, you know, and so it was just something that was natural to me to just seek out church. But it never stuck until 2020. And I walked into a church, and I think the familiarity of the place where the church was. So it was actually one of our friends. We saw him become a born-again Christian on social media. My husband's in the military, so we keep up with a lot of our friends via social media, and we saw him become a born-again Christian. And the church was at his ranch, which is also an event center. And so they were a mobile church renting space from him. And so when we got stationed back in Texas, we asked him about the church in 2020, and we walked in, and it was the place where our reception was for our wedding eight years prior. The front lawn is where we got married. So the space of the church was very familiar to us, and I think that probably made us feel more comfortable. But I remember walking in that day and the pastor saying, we're in the book of Johnny, and if you don't know, that is the last book in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Johnny. And I just sat there and I was like, oh, I never knew that. I never knew what the gospels were. I went to Catholic school, I knew the Hail Marys. I knew all of the prayers that I was supposed to pray, all of the motions that I was supposed to do and get through a Mass and fit in, really, you know, do everything to not stand out. And I had no idea what the gospels were. And so I remember that just hitting, and I was like, wow. And there was just something in me that just wanted to know more. And it felt like every time we went back, the messages were speaking directly to me, that I was the only person in the room. And looking back, I know that was God. But at the time, I was just floored. I cried every single service. And I really just vowed at that point to chase after God and to find that relationship with him that I was learning about. And I just wanted to know more. And I was hungry for it at that point. And so I think when that started, you know, and the series of events that took place after that led me to where I am today. But, yeah, that's my faith journey summed up, as much as it can be summed up.

00:13:11 - Johnny Sanders
Yeah, what I find so incredible with that, and obviously, everybody's faith journey is a little bit different. But on yours, you were around religion. You, you were around some religious, even texts and practices and things like that. But the gospel was not, was not fully present there. And to hear something like, yeah, Johnny is the last book of the Gospels, something that is fairly, fairly basic knowledge, that's something that we can, we can take for granted, especially as believers. Like, oh, yeah, that's, I got a Bible. In fact, you can't see this on my screen, but I'm looking at, like, three Bibles right now. I got a lot of Bibles, and that's great. That's a beautiful thing. But how powerful that is to actually hear the gospel, hear the word of God. And clearly, you hearing that was not just a verbal, intellectual thing. It. It captured your heart.
00:14:21 - Amelia Walden

Absolutely. And, you know, I tell a story that was part of my journey when I started reading the Bible again. And it sort of goes back to this. I really didn't have the basic knowledge, even with growing up around it. I started reading the Bible, and I texted my girlfriend that I knew she had grown up Jewish as well and become a Christian throughout her life. And I texted her and I said, girl, there is so much Jewish stuff in the Bible. I had no idea even about that, you know, and it's, it just, it floored me. And so I think that is so much of my heart, reaching people who don't know Christ and starting back at the basics, telling them what the gospels are teaching them, that Jesus loves us and he gives grace for us, and the Bible tells us to come as you are. It's nothing. Not this, you know, scary preparation, recited prayer sort of thing, that they really can just come with their heart. And if they're seeking after the Lord, then he is going to accept them with open arms and he is going to guide their path from then on out.

00:15:36 - Johnny Sanders
Yeah. Yeah, no, I think that's, that's really big here, especially for people that maybe are looking at impacting others, trying to, you know, be able to share their faith. Sometimes we get caught up in the technique. How can I approach this person? The right things to say, and there, there's time and place for exploring some of that. But like you're saying, get to the basics. What is scripture? Who is God, what is the gospel? And not taking that stuff for granted. You've got people that maybe have been adjacent to religion or adjacent to even Christianity that just flat don't know it. And they don't even know that they don't know it.

00:16:22 - Amelia Walden
Right. And, you know, I think that's something that I've had to lean on because I am not a person that is very confident in myself. And so a little bit of imposter syndrome with the book, you know, with, you know, being an author. But I find myself falling back to if I'm going to share the gospel with somebody, being nervous to do it, and I have to remind myself that no matter the way that I do it, God is sovereign. And no matter. It's not in my power that the gospel is going to reach their heart. It is going to be God and his work. And no matter what I do, I can't screw it up, you know? And so I think that's something that I really have to remind myself of a lot is, Amelia, you can't screw this up. This is God's work. And he is just using you and using your mouth as a mouthpiece to touch somebody's heart. He's using me as a pathway to reach somebody.

00:17:24 - Johnny Sanders
What you said there is, I think, extremely important for us to understand that we kind of sometimes put ourselves as, like, the. All this pressure. If I don't get this right, people aren't going to hear the gospel. I'm going to mess it all up. It's not about that we don't save people. It's not our job to save people. We can present the gospel, present the truth, yes, but we're just sharing our story, and God's story through us said, you can't mess that up. God. God's the one that did that. It's not our job to say this on the podcast before that. We don't want to be so results-driven. I'm going to write this book and it's got to sell a million copies. I'm going to preach the gospel and it's going to save a thousand people. Like, we don't want to be on the results. Just being obedient, and sharing my story, I can't mess it up. Sharing the gospel, you can't mess that up. It's not on you to save it. It's on you to say it.

00:18:28 - Amelia Walden
Absolutely. And that is something that I've had to work through. I recently actually changed the book because at first when the book came out, I had it priced, you know, to where there was some money coming in because it's obviously an expense to write a book and have it published. And I was trying to sort of gain that back. And I heard a sermon and it was like, the gospel is not yours to sell. And, you know, I heard that and I was like, wow. Yeah, that really hit home for me. And so I actually, I went and I changed the price of the book, and I was like, God, whatever you're doing through this, you do. You do. You. And so I changed the price of books so that there is no profit involved. And I just want to see God work because I always said from the beginning, that this isn't about the money. You know, and then I wasn't putting my money where my mouth was, you know, I was saying it wasn't about the money, but then I was trying to make money on the book. And so it's like, no, that's not what this is about. You know, and really trusting God and letting go of control, which is so hard for me, I do not like to let go of control. And, you know, being like God, you take this. This was yours to begin with. This is, you know, the path that you set me on. You take this and just sit back and be like, it's okay. And also excited to see what he does with it and to watch it from a front-row seat, you know?

00:19:59 - Johnny Sanders
Absolutely. Another thing I was thinking, when you're going through your faith journey, this is something that my church regularly practices. We have a. We have a potluck at least once a month with the members, and quarterly, we have an actual members meeting and go through different business and stuff. But the other months. So the other eight months out of the year, just fellowship, and have fun together. And also we have a member share a testimony. So eventually we all work, work through it. And it's been so wonderful. We've been doing that for the past couple of years. We hear stories that are like, whoa, I had no idea, um, that they went through that. They had that type of. Type of childhood or whatever it may be. Kind of these. Yeah, these are incredible stories, but probably my favorite ones because they are more in line with me. With my own. And I've. I've struggled with this, of, well, my. My testimony is kind of. It's kind of lame. I grew up in church and I was saved. Like, who cares? Who wants to listen to that? And hearing several people in the church share stories similar to mine, I. It's been a convicting thing that, again, that wasn't on me. Like, God saved me. And that's a that's a beautiful story. And to have that practice of sharing not just your own experience, but what God did through you and also what God has continued to work through you, it's just a beautiful, beautiful thing to hear from other believers and, for ourselves of practice, saint sharing that. Along with that, I'm curious on your end, since really your heart being just broken and needing Christ to being saved. I know that we're constantly being sanctified and we never reach a perfect state while we're on this earth, but in what ways have you seen your life? How God has transformed your life and just the way that you see life and are able to function in life? How have you seen the difference since God saved you?

00:22:14 - Amelia Walden
Oh, my gosh. How have I not seen the difference? I think the biggest difference that I see looking back is my perception. So I used moving from military base to military base. I always said that each base taught me a lesson, so, you know, there was always a lesson, and this was even before I believed in God. I would say that, or I shouldn't say believed in God because I always believed in God but came back to my own faith. I would always say that each base would teach me a lesson, and now I see that's true, but because of God's leading, and so at each base, before we got to Texas, I always had this negative outlook. I wasn't really happy at the bases. I couldn't wait to leave, and, oh, we've been here for four years, let's go on and get. I wasn't content in my situations, ever. I was always striving for more. I was always results-driven. And so when I found my faith, my perception flipped so much as what am I supposed to learn here if it is a struggle? Okay, I am struggling and I can cry out to God in my prayer time about that struggle, but what are you trying to teach me through this, God? Because there's got to be something, or if it's something amazing that's happening, then it's glory be to God that this amazing event is happening to me. And that perception has just flipped 180 from really being results-driven to having it more directed towards God and what he is doing through my life.

00:24:14 - Johnny Sanders
Yeah, absolutely. Because when we are fully results-driven, it's really on us now. Whereas, yeah, we, God is the one that is working through us. And sure, there could be results with that, but we don't want to take all the glory for it. I'm curious for the listeners here who maybe have grown up in either a Catholic background now, which might be a little bit more people in the audience than the second, which is those that have been from a Jewish background, who maybe grew up culturally Jewish or whatever, that may be. For those who have been in either of those circles or maybe like you, a little intertwined in both, what would be your general advice for those that maybe have been now in faith in Christ to be able to reach their Jewish family, to reach their Catholic family, to penetrate the gospel in their lives? Do you have any kind of go-to advice on ways that they can approach those friends and family members?

00:25:23 - Amelia Walden
Well, and I think I'm still working on that, you know, myself because, my dad passed away ten years ago, but I am now the only believer in my family. And so I'm still trying to work through that. And even, you know, small comments that, you know, my family will say and I'm sure listeners can, you know, relate to this if their families don't believe or have the same faith. You know, they were like, oh, you gave up your Jewishness. You can't say that you know, or whatever. Small, slight comments, you know, and you can laugh it off in the moment and it's fine, but, you know, just praying that their hearts are reached. I'm still walking through that. And I try to present my life as a reason, you know, look at how I'm walking through life, look at my perception change. Look at what has happened, you know, using my life as an example of what Christ can do in your life and letting that speak over any words that I can say to them and just hope and pray that God does eventually reach their hearts.

00:26:43 - Johnny Sanders
Yeah, no, I like that. And that's something that prayer is one of those things that within my own local church, we really have tried to emphasize more. We all know as Christians, prayer is important like that. That's something that most people have been. They've been in the church with any amount of time and goodness, how many times is there a prayer in one service? There's a lot. So, we know that, but do we actually practice it in our day-to-day lives? And even more so, this is where it gets harder. Speak on this often of, we talk on, on the show here a lot about greater, like the bigger cultural type of things that are going on in our greater, greater culture, greater society. And those are big, and we should pray about those things. We have a big election coming up. Like, there's, there's things to pray about that are biggest. Um, but sometimes it's a little bit easier to pray for that than for, your dad, for, for your sister, for, for your next next-door neighbor, those people that you share life with. It's a little bit more personal. And that's where, yeah, strategy and things like that can come into it. But prayer, um, and just having, having the confidence to have tough conversations and, like you're saying, it's not just about the words you're saying, but the life you're living. If you're living a bad witness, it's probably not going to go over all that great. So again, just like we started off with, getting back to the basics of your own walk is going to be a big piece of your witness as well.

00:28:25 - Amelia Walden
Right. And I think the cultural side is, at least for me personally, a huge difference. So I am, you know, I say I'm the black sheep of my family, but I am the only conservative person in my family. All of my family is back in California. And, you know, I live in Missouri, which I'm happy to, you know, live in Missouri, and I love it here. But I definitely, that is even another hurdle to jump because the stark differences in beliefs and the division that has happened recently, I mean, through media, I think is really the main driver of it that, you know, and we're kidding ourselves if we say it's not both sides, you know, but because every media outlet is just trying to, you know, they've got their talking points that they want to push, you know, and it's, that's what's being pushed to everybody, but it's dividing us so much. And really to remember to, you know, pray for not only the situations that are coming from this worldly culture that's, you know, happening, but also to pray for that belief system to somehow be, I mean, flipped in a way. You know, it's. It feels lofty when you say it like that. Like, oh, man, that's a big prayer. But I think just having a conversation with God, that's the way that I pray. I just have a conversation with him in my head and I just try to talk it out with him and that's where I go with it.

00:30:20 - Johnny Sanders
Yeah, well, we can very clearly see the divide is extremely large. But what I try to really encourage the listeners of the podcast is to have the steadfastness to stand on truth. I think that one thing that is, I guess, do air quotes. A good thing about the cultural divide is finding the truth has probably never been easier. I’m a father of three young children, I know which of them are boys, and which is a girl. Like, it's really not hard. Like, it's a pretty easy thing, and the culture wants to confuse it. So we need to stand on the truth that we don't back away from the truth. And I think in the broader conservative movement, there's been a lot of emphasis on that, which is good. I think the negative piece and this goes on the divisive end is, again, broad strokes here, but the larger conservative movement is, yes, that's wrong, and you're an idiot. Like, that's the next.

00:31:31 - Amelia Walden
Yes.

00:31:32 - Johnny Sanders
Whereas it's, hey, you're wrong, and I'm. I'm concerned about your soul. That's really where we want to get into, I'll tell you that. And you're an idiot is a lot more fun at times, and it's a lot. It feels good in the moment, but we know, as believers that that's not the right spirit. These are people made in the image of God who are not standing on truth. And again, that's where we stand on that. But we're not the victors here. We're not the judges here. Yeah. We need to have faith in God that he can use this crazy culture for his good. And that involves a lot of prayer because we, again, in that broader cult conservative movement, it's. We got this, but we, we don't. Sure, we need to be active, but we've got to have faith in God that he has control. And while voting and everything is drastically important, we need to be involved. Our faith cannot be in our own movement. It has to be in God. That's really the only way, way forward.

00:32:39 - Amelia Walden
Absolutely. And, you know, as you were saying, that I just think of, you know, with the election, of course, there is a side that I side with, you know, more and want to win the election, but I have to tell myself, and I actually just had this conversation with my mother in law. We were just talking about this, that God is sovereign, and even if something happens in this election that we don't agree with and we don't want, God is sovereign and it's happening for a reason. And, you know, I've had to really almost turn off my tv on it, you know, because it just gets so in your face, you know, in election years, and, you know, just replacing that with God at the forefront and being like, okay, God, you know, this is what I think is best. This is, you know, so human, you know, my, my flesh, Emilio wanting, you know, this to be a certain result. This is, you know, what I think is best. But you are in control. And no matter if I, you know, if it doesn't turn out the way that I want, you know, if it does, if it doesn't, you are in control, and I trust that you have this no matter what.

00:34:00 - Johnny Sanders
Absolutely. And again, this is that, that hard balance that, quite frankly, none of us are going to get 100% correct. Oh, yeah. But the balance, on the one hand, I'm saying we need to be more active. You need to be. You need to be voting. We need more Christians in office, running for school board and all that stuff. Like, we need that. And at the same time, yeah, I do think we need far less information, far less news to not just be inundated in it all day long either, and just have a horrible, grouchy mindset all day, either. It's just not one or the other. Well, we need to have both. And that it's. We live in a fallen world. But as you're saying, God is in control. If God has judgment on this country, then said he's got a. He's got a reason for it, and that's where our ultimate trust is, is to be lied in. And I think that's just something as Christians, we just need to be careful of. This is a big election and a lot of important things, but where is our faith? We've really got to check ourselves.

00:35:10 - Amelia Walden
Absolutely. And I totally agree. We have to stand on truth and we have to share truth. We have to push that forward and teach our kids that because they are the ones that are going out into this world that are being inundated with these messages. And it is so sad to see the effect that culture is having. I mean, I know when I was a kid and when I was a teenager, how much culture affected me. And I can only imagine one social media. You know, like, we didn't grow up with having social media during school, you know, and just that. And then just what the world is telling our children is true and just, you know, us trying to correct that and make sure that they stand on truth and make sure that they continue to pray and pray for their friends, that maybe, you know, are going down the wrong path. You know, one of my best friends, her son, you know, she. She wasn't sure. He was hanging out with a group of kids at school, and she wasn't sure if he was going down the wrong path. But she, you know, she kept a close eye and she saw the friends that he was hanging out with, but she took him to a church service. They found a new church, and she said on the prayer card that after he gave it to her to go hand it in, he had written on the prayer card to pray for his friends because they were. That they find Jesus and that they know Jesus. And she was like Amelia, I cried. I cried so much because I was like, okay, he. He knows. He knows, and he is standing on the truth. Even if he's hanging out with these kids that are going down the wrong path, he's praying for them and he's, you know, trying to guide them and trying to help them, you know? And she really wasn't sure, just on the surface of looking at it, you know? But once she saw that prayer cardinal, you know, and that, of course, brought tears to my eyes because I know him, you know, and I was like, oh, I just love him so much.

00:37:24 - Johnny Sanders
But, yeah, no, I think that's wonderful. And it's. It's a great example. This is something I've been beating the drum on a lot. Again, I'm. I'm. My family's kind of the picture of, like, oh, it won't happen to us. We're in rural Oklahoma as Ruby red as it can get, a smaller type of town. We're homeschooling our kids. It won't happen to us. Like, that is. We are just dead set on that. And I'm telling you, it will be like your kids as my kids are, they will be inundated with all sorts of crazy nonsense. The Internet, the culture. You will not get away from it. So we. We don't want to live in the bunker, but we do want to prepare. We want to prepare our kids. That's something we do with our kids that are young. Hey, is that a boy? Is that a girl? That sounds silly, but it's important. They need to know what the difference is and stand on that truth. So don't be scared. As a parent, I understand there are scary things, but be that, that preparedness and, like your friend's son there, when they're inundated with truth, they're going to be able to see that. And we don't want to live in that bunker and just hope it doesn't ever hit them. It just doesn't work that way. Those protective factors, that it won't happen to us. It just simply doesn't exist.

00:38:52 - Amelia Walden
Of course. And we send our daughter to a private Christian school, and it's the only Christian school in the area. And that was very important for us to do that. But just like you were saying, having those open conversations with your kids about the culture of the world, what is happening, not shielding them from it, because if we shield them from it and we cover their eyes and we're like, oh, don't look at that. Of course, we don't want them to be swayed by seeing those things, but having those open and honest conversations with them about, okay, you saw this. Now, let me explain what we believe, and let me explain the truth to you. And, you know, let me give you the reasons why this is actually not, you know, the. It may be the world that's saying, you know, that that is correct, but this is why it's actually not correct. Because if we just. If we. It's the same thing. If you, you know, you shelter your kids completely, the moment they turn 18, they're going to go crazy when they go out on their own. You know, it's the same thing with culture, and the world is not shielding their eyes from it. But also, I mean, obviously having discernment and what they watch and of course, like, that's, that's a big thing. But if they do ask questions or if they happen to see it out walking around, um, for instance, we were, you know, visiting LA. My daughter asked a lot of questions because there was a lot of stuff in LA that she saw for the first time that she had not seen in knob noster, Missouri. You know, so, you know, having those conversations and, you know, they're going to see it, you know, not pushing it in front of them, but having those open and honest conversations so that they know what the truth is and how to stand on the truth for themselves as well.

00:40:54 - Johnny Sanders
Absolutely. And you used a word that I'm trying to use more often too, of discernment. Discernment is so key. Being a parenthood through all generations, parents have needed discernment, but this is a pretty unique time and parents do need to use that discernment. When do I show stuff to the kids? Wins old enough. What questions do we ask? Some tough questions, but they're really important ones to really sink your teeth into because, yeah, we got to guide these kids and not just turn the tv on and hope for the best. That's not going to be a good strategy. Well, Amelia, fantastic conversation. I know that many people listening are probably interested in the book or want to know more about you. So yeah, where can people get the book and maybe be in contact with you after the show?

00:41:49 - Amelia Walden
Yes, thank you so much. So I have a website. It's https, all the regular stuff. There's just not a www. So I like to differentiate that. But it's fromj2g.com. You can also find me on social media, Facebook. It's my name, Amelia Walden. Instagram is m i l l i e, Walden. And then TikTok is GIG break pancake. A gig break is something that I put in the book. A God Is Good break. So breaking from the narrative to show that God is good and what he was doing in my life while I was writing. So that's where that handle comes from. They can find the book on Amazon or anywhere that books are sold. I also narrated an audiobook, so if someone prefers to hear the audio version of it, I narrated that so that I could put the inflections where I had intended to write them. So that's available on Amazon as well.

00:42:51 - Johnny Sanders
Fantastic. And I will include that down in the show notes and description down below, wherever you're tuning into this. Athenae. Amelia, again, thanks so much for coming on today.

00:43:01 - Amelia Walden
Thank you so much for having me. This is a wonderful conversation.

00:43:05 - Johnny Sanders
Fantastic. And thank you to everybody who tuned in today and we'll catch you on the next episode.