This week Amanda Bacon is joining the Living With Less podcast as a special guest. She works for Proverbs 31 Ministries, is co-author of Shiny Things, co-host of All The Mom Things podcast, a wife and superwoman to 8 kiddos..yes, you read that correctly I said 8! Today we’re going to be talking all things Jesus, book writing, mothering, and choosing lasting things over lesser things.

1) Tell us about the wonderful you! (Family, home, church, job, ministry, etc.)

-Hi! My name is Amanda Bacon and I live in Charlotte, North Carolina. I've been married to Jeremy for twenty years and am the mom of eight children ages 7-18. We're relative newbies in the South, having lived here just over three years. My husband and I grew up in Alaska, and all of our children were born there! I serve on staff at Proverbs 31 Ministries on Lysa TerKeurst's team, and write online at themasterpiecemom.com and amandabacon.com. I'm the co-author of Shiny Things: Mothering on Purpose in a World of Distractions, which released in April 2019.

2) When did you feel the call to become an author/writer! What started the whole idea of writing the Shiny Things?

-I've loved to write since I was in the 4th or 5th grade and continued to love it through my college years. I even enjoyed writing research papers! Shortly after I became a mom, I started to blog in 2006 and have been doing so ever since. What started out as updates for faraway friends and family turned into something different. Through the writing I was doing, I found that I loved to encourage women using biblical truths and examples from my own life. In 2014, Anne-Renee Gumley (my co-author of Shiny Things) and I started an online ministry to moms called The Masterpiece Mom. The writing we do at TMM turned into a blog post that turned into a book idea that a publisher noticed! And now we have a book.

3) What was your favorite part in writing the book? I find when I write I learn so many things about myself and The Lord. What do you feel stands out most to you in seasons of intense writing?

-My favorite part of writing the book was doing so as a duo with Anne-Renee, and the dependence on the Lord that grew out of that experience. I also found I loved writing for a long time on a single topic!

4) I loved the story you shared when you talked about being at that conference looking down at your belly and knew you and your husband were supposed to grow your family again, what was that like? What was it like sensing God so clearly in a moment.?

-Yes, in Chapter 11 of the book, I tell the story of being in a hotel shower at a mom conference far from home and seeing the formation of a "bow" formed as the blood came to the surface of the skin on my abdomen in the hot shower! I had been praying in the shower and crying out to God about whether or not we should start trying to conceive a 4th baby. It was an amazingly personal and vivid moment with God. I heard the message He was sending loud and clear: Children are a gift. Our 4th baby was born 18 months later.

- Even for the people listening to this episode who aren’t growing their families, don’t have children, or honestly aren’t married! I think we all have moments where we feel God move in this way but some chalk it up to just a thought/feeling. What would you tell someone who experiences this type of moment.

-I would say two things: 1) Don't push it away or flippantly disregard it. and 2) Don't run full-fledged after it either! Take it to the Lord in prayer.

5) I loved asking Anne-Renee this question! Since your book is all mainly geared towards moms, who has been the best role model in your life when it comes to this season of life.

-I'll have to say, I haven't had many mentors in my life. I'm not exactly sure why that is, but it has grieved me many times throughout the years! But I do have one special friend who is near and dear to me and is a stage ahead of me who has helped me so much through my mothering years. And I have always looked up to moms who have raised or are raising four or more children, since that's my life. I love to hear how they do things. My life now mothering eight children is very different than when I was mothering one to three children, so I love hearing from the women who have juggled lots of kids!

6) What’s the hardest distraction you deal with when it comes to mothering in our world today?

-I'd say I am my biggest distraction. I don't compare myself to other moms or women, but I do get lost in thoughts that might be negative about my life or myself. And those painful thoughts can lead me to want to get lost in the apps on my phone.

7) Our sweet boy Cam is actually turning 2 the week this airs! What is your best encouragement for us younger moms in the throws of littles.

-I had to come to a point where I realized I won't be perfect and neither would my kids. It sounds simple, but how often do we expect this from ourselves and kids? Let your kids be imperfect and offer lots of love and grace.

8) The Living With Less podcast is all about living with less of the things getting in the way of who Christ is calling us to be. If someone asked you something they needed to live with less of in regards to becoming who God is calling them to be what would you tell them?

-I love this question! I think we all could live with less swirling thoughts that are left unchecked in the secret spaces of our minds and hearts.

2 fun things to wrap us up! Favorite Bible verse and why.

-I love the story in 2 Chronicles 20. So that whole chapter is amazing! I've been camping there a lot lately.

Best part of having a family blended with adoption!

-The best part of having both bio and adopted kids is the compassion I've seen grow in my older kids' lives. It's been beautiful to see!

You can find Amanda at themasterpiece mom.com , Amandabacon.com, and @amanda_bacon_