Praises in the Pod

After twelve years serving at the same church, Amanda Odom and her husband stepped away from ministry in 2020, and she says she didn't know who she was without being a pastor's wife.

Amanda grew up in church outside Atlanta, but it was a best friend's invitation, and that friend's mom driving them to a thriving youth group, that led to her getting saved at 14. She met her husband at a summer camp where he was leading worship, they married within a year, and they have now been married 21 years. For most of those years he served as a worship pastor while she stayed home with their boys, and she shares how God provided month after month on a ministry income.

Then came the season she calls "so dark." Amanda talks about the nine months to a year after leaving church work, working on herself, fighting for her marriage, and waking up each day knowing only that God was sustaining her for that day. She walks through the doors God opened for a fresh start in 2021, why being seen matters so much to her, and the word He has been teaching her lately: persevere.

If you are in a season where you can't see what's coming, Amanda's story is a reminder that God still sees you.

What does God specifically call you? In this episode, Alexis and Abby get honest about identity in Christ after a week of conversations that changed how Alexis sees herself. Alexis shares how a mentor's question led her to the book Living Fearless by Jamie Winship, why she finally picked up a book that sat on her shelf for a year, and how she began hearing the names God speaks over her instead of the names the enemy has been using. They talk about the difference between your identity and your calling, why you have to know who Jesus is before you can understand who you are in Him, and what it means to abide in Christ. Along the way they look at Simon becoming Peter, the names God gave David, and why knowing your true identity can make the enemy fight harder, so you need to keep your armor on. This conversation is for anyone who has ever wondered how God sees them, and it is a good reminder to start by asking what the enemy has been calling you.

What happens when hidden sin affects your marriage and you don't even know it? Alexis sits down with a married couple, Sydney and Chandler, who share how a Catholic upbringing, a teenage divorce, and getting kicked out of high school all led them to God in different ways. Chandler talks about hitting his knees in repentance, praying for a wife and a family, and watching God answer through a phone call he never expected. Together they walk through marriage, moving in obedience, and years of unexplained infertility, including the day Chandler confessed what he had been hiding and the year of restoration that followed. They share the birth of their son Judah Samuel, a name that means praise and "God has heard me," and talk about conviction versus condemnation, what a husband's covering looks like, and taking every thought captive using 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. If you are struggling with secrets, infertility, or spiritual warfare in your marriage, this testimony will encourage you.

How do you actually forgive someone who hurt you, especially when you still feel the same afterward? Recorded live at Women in Truth: Abide 2026 in Macon, Georgia, this episode starts with Alexis sharing how the conversation went somewhere she never planned and why she is thankful it did. Author and ministry founder Kia Stephens opens up about growing up in a church home with her parents' divorce at age three, chasing validation and living a double life, and a moment in a college dorm room that unlocked years of buried pain over her father's absence. She walks through writing forgiveness letters to her father, herself, God, and her mom, what forgiveness is and is not, and the practical and supernatural parts of releasing someone you feel has wronged you. Alexis also shares her own struggle with the savior complex and finding the root of what we keep covering up. If you are carrying unforgiveness, father wounds, or anger at God, this conversation is for you.

How do you build a Bible reading habit that actually lasts? Alexis sits down with Eva Kubasiak, who grew up in a pastor's home and gave her life to Christ at nine, but spent years wrestling with depression after she decided she would not follow God unless she could feel Him. Eva shares how she realized she had made her feelings an idol, what changed when she finally read the whole Bible for the first time, and how reading through it in 90 days turned into a consistent habit she now does multiple times a year. They talk about the difference between reading and studying the Bible, what to do when you fall behind on your reading plan, and why God's first questions to Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" and "Who told you that?", are an invitation back instead of condemnation. Alexis also opens up about giving up social media after her husband told her she never listened, and they get honest about how phones compete with time in God's Word. This conversation is a reminder that Bible reading is about meeting with God, not checking a box.

Alexis and Abby are back in the studio for a real conversation about prayer, what it actually looks like, and why it is so easy to let it become an afterthought instead of the foundation of your walk with God. They talk through what it means to have a secret place, a specific spot where you go to be fully honest and surrendered before God, and why kneeling in prayer can be a posture worth trying even if it feels uncomfortable at first. They get into confession, journaling, praying out loud with strangers, and what it looks like to shift from praying only for yourself to praying for your family, your community, and the people around you. Rooted in Matthew 6:6, this episode is a reminder that the secret place is where real intimacy with God is built, long before it ever shows up in public.

Alexis catches up with an old friend Peyton Horton for a conversation about the winding road that brought her back to Jesus. Peyton opens up about a near fatal car accident in college, becoming a single mom in Atlanta, and the moment she felt God clearly tell her to move back to Warner Robins in the middle of an engagement that was not built the way it should have been. She talks honestly about the pruning process that followed, learning to read scripture for herself instead of just hearing about God secondhand, and the season where she finally started shedding things she used to hold onto. Peyton also shares a wild, Spirit led moment of praying for a total stranger at the gym, and what it taught her about being available to God in the smallest moments. This episode is a reminder that you never know who is watching your story, and that hope is always still on the table no matter how messy the middle looks.

What does God actually call you? This episode is Alexis's message from Born Two Praise, the live event celebrating two years of Praises in the Pod. She shares a teaching on identity in Christ and how easily we accept the names the enemy gives us over the names God has already spoken. Alexis walks through her own story of being called fat, hard to deal with, and unqualified, and how a conversation with her mentor Eva led her to actually sit down and ask God what He calls her instead. She breaks down what Scripture says about who you are in Christ, why knowing God has to come before knowing your identity, and how your specific, God given identity can anchor you through any season. Recorded live in front of the women who gathered to celebrate this milestone with PITP.

Alexis sits down with Catherine, a salon owner whose life has taken more unexpected turns than most. Catherine opens up about childhood sexual abuse, running from a painful past into an early marriage that ended in divorce, and a wild season that took her from nursing school to cosmetology to becoming the first female firefighter in her county. She shares how she met her husband, the fear she carried into that relationship, and how the two of them ended up healing together instead of one waiting on the other. Catherine gets honest about celebrate recovery, working through the 12 steps multiple times, and learning how to parent her daughter Lacey without passing down her own trauma. This conversation is raw, hopeful, and full of reminders that God can use every unexpected turn in your story, even the ones that do not make sense until later.

Alexis sits down with Cherrie Burdeshaw, founder of The Potter's House and author of Lord, Change Him or Kill Him, for a deep dive into fasting as a spiritual discipline. Cherrie breaks down what actually happens in your body day by day during a fast, from glycogen depletion to ketosis, and explains why Jesus fasted and why we should too. They talk through the different types of fasts, how long you can safely fast, and the long list of physical and spiritual benefits that come with it. This episode is a practical, no fluff guide for anyone who has wanted to try fasting but did not know where to start, paired with real testimony of what fasting has done in both of their lives. If you have ever said I could never go a day without food, this conversation might change your mind.