Saying Goodbye to the Graced Health Podcast: The Final Cool Down

The Final Cool Down: Saying Goodbye to Graced Health

Hey everyone, welcome to Graced Health and welcome to the final episode of the Graced Health podcast. Um, this is something that I announced several weeks ago, and I wanted to come on today and just tell you a little bit more. when I announced this over the podcast a few weeks ago, I also sent some emails, and I got a wide array of responses from some people saying, "I had a feeling this was coming," And other people said, "I'm so surprised, but I wish you well."

Every single one of you who responded, uh, was so positive and encouraging and trusting, and for that I'm really grateful. 

So today I just wanted to spend a few minutes and let you know the why behind all of that, um, and what's next and kinda everything else in between.The first thing I want to do though, before we get into any of my own stuff, is I just want to thank you. Thank you for showing up week after week. Thank you to those of you who have found me and gone back and listened to the entire back catalog.

I've spoken with a few of you who have said that, and I tell you what, that's tenacity, uh, with over 500 episodes. So I'm so grateful for any of the time that you gift to the podcast and to me, because I know that your time is very valuable. And so I just, I really appreciate, um, the time that you have taken to listen to not only what I have said, but also to our amazing guests.

You have trusted me with your body, and that is not something that I take lightly. I know as I've gotten older, probably you too, you realize how precious our bodies are and how much we want to protect them. Of course you do.

That's why you're here, and you're trusting me with that. And for that, I just want to say thank you again

As many of you know, my dad passed away in early February completely unexpectedly. He was sitting at the dinner table eating and breathing, and then he wasn't. Um, needless to say, it was shocking, um, and traumatic for my mom, And we have just been, um, walking through in our grief and the, and how we know, which we've never done this before, so we're just kind of figuring out as we go along.

I shared more about this in the, um, Five Uncomfortable Truths Learned in 500 Episodes

that came out on March 17th. So you can go back and listen to that, uh, more if you want more information. That part, my personal part, that fifth truth, is toward the end of the episode. About a week after my dad passed, um, you know, I had gone up to Oklahoma to be with my mom. and I came home, and my husband and I were just spending some time together kind of recalibrating, processing.

And we were just sitting outside, by the fire. We had a glass of wine in our hands,And he, he said, "You know, when my dad died," which was three years prior to my dad, he said, "Something in me changed." And he said, "I, I can't really explain it. Um, I don't really even have the words for it, but I just want you to be prepared that something like that might happen to you." And of course, I'm still in this fog at the time, and I said...

I was like, "Okay, that's fine." And also, he was right. Um, within just a few weeks, something in me shifted. It wasn't, like, super dramatic. There was nothing big and huge, but it was just kind of a knowing in me that, that kind that kind of settles in your chest, and you're not even sure what it was until your mind catches up.

 and something needed to change.And that something was the time and the energy that I was putting into my business What's interesting about this, but not surprising, is that God had actually been planting very small seeds in me for honestly about a year. I remember walking with one of my local besties, um, and this was probably in like April of 2025, and I said, "You know, I just kind of feel like God's asking me to hang it up after 500 episodes."

And she stopped and she looked at me and she said, "Amy, really?" And I said, "Yeah. I don't know though." And then I kind of kept going because 500 episodes was, I knew wasn't gonna be coming on for a while. And then I got reinvigorated in my business. 

But in the spring of 2025, um, I had, I just had heard that whisper. Like, okay, after 500 episodes, it's time to stop. And because I just was going through these waves of feeling more energized and then maybe not, but then feeling energized again, I just thought, "Ah, you know, I must have heard wrong," and, you know, I just kinda kept going.

But I hadn't heard wrong. I had just heard early. God knows how I operate, and I think He knows that I need to have those seeds and I need to have those, you know, small little whispers in order to really trust what He is asking me to do. Because otherwise it's like, "But why? Why, God? Why would you pull me out of this if this is something that you have given me?"

And I've always said, like, God brought me into it. God'll call me out when it's time. And, um, it's just so very clear in my, in my soul, um, that this is the right time. And I know it doesn't make sense, and in fact, one of my, one of my really, really ... I mean, like she's another one of my besties, was like, "Amy, I don't

But you've, you've put so much energy into this. I don't understand." I'm like, I don't, I can't really fully explain it except to say that once I made this decision, I have, I have felt so much peace and I have been so relaxed about it that it can't be wrong. 

But why, I'm sure, is still a, a burning question if you're having a burning question. And really honestly, I would say the, the most important and the biggest reason is my mom. I live about 530 miles away from her. My sister lives a lot closer, and My sister does so much to support my mom, and I support her in the way that I can from 500-plus miles away.

I want to continue supporting her, and I would like to do that in a closer proximity, which means more travel up there, um, just being available for different things that she has going on, and really just enjoying my time with her My mom is capable. She is intelligent. She is doing hard things.I am so proud of how she is navigating her grief, how she is trying new things. Um, I, I just, I'm so, so proud of her, and I still want to be there to support her as part of what I do, not just in the margins of a busy content schedule. And then there's something else that is a little bit harder to articulate. It feels a little more fuzzy. I'm not gonna do a very good job of this, but hopefully you know me well enough to, to, to get it or to at least get me. You know, when I came into Graced Health, that was over 10 years ago. I was, um, unsettled.

I talked about this a long time ago, and I haven't listened to this episode in a long time. Full disclosure, it is six-plus years old, so who knows? But it was how I heard from God without spending time in prayer or worship. And that actually kinda shares how I got to starting Graced Health.

But about 10 years ago, I knew God wanted me doing something, and I wasn't sure what it was. And I ended up just sitting with him. I kinda sat with the discomfort. I sat in silence. We've talked about this a lot.

 I have since dubbed it be still time, just sitting in the stillness and knowing that God is God, and not necessarily having all of these praises and prayers and all of that, but just being still with God. At that time, I heard him whisper, "Write." So that was when blogging was really big.

And of course, it's getting big now again, thanks to Substack. But this was 10 years ago. And so I started blogging. About three years later, I transitioned to podcasting, and of course, have loved it so much. 

Doing what I do in this business has been such a blessing because I do believe that in many ways it has helped various people. Um, it's helped through Strong and Vibrant at Home, my online course. I think the podcast, um, has been beneficial.In so many ways, Grace Health has been such a huge blessing to me. I hope it has been a blessing to you as well, but it really has been. But this is the deal. That blessing came out of stillness and silence and obedience. And I'm in a similar place now. I am not confused about where I need to be. Like I said, I feel so much peace and I feel so relaxed about it.

So I am very clear in where I need to spend my time and my energy right now. And all I know right now is that this call that God has for me is to be still. 

 as much as I have talked about that on this show, I am still not great about it. I kind of feel like I need to go back to my roots, go back to sitting outside if, God willing, this weather will ever cool down, but listening to Francesca Battistelli and Holy Spirit, which was, like, my jam back 10 years ago, and just kind of resetting was talking with my friend Sherry Fletcher about, um, just this process and saying like, "I j- I just feel God like asking me to Sabbath with Him."

And she said something that has just not left me since then. and I've quoted it so many times to, um, friends. I might have even said it here on this podcast. But she said, "You know, Amy, the deal is Sabbath, yes, is about rest, but it's about trust more than rest because the Israelites had to trust that God would provide, and then they could rest."

And she said, "I feel like God is asking you to trust that He will reveal what is next

And quite honestly, I feel like I'm also in a place where God is inviting me to trustThat I will feel fulfilled even if I'm not producing. Because I like to produce. I like to check the boxes. I like to do all of the things, and that is what fulfills me oftentimes.

And so I think God is saying like, "Hey, guess what? You don't have to do all of these things, and you're still gonna feel good about that." And I gotta be really honest, I'm kind of scared about that process. However, I've also learned that if I don't listen, then things don't work out very well either. So I just feel like God is calling me into this Sabbath, into silence, into trust, into stillness.

And if you're thinking, "But okay, Amy, but like what are you gonna do? What are you, what are you gonna do?" Because let's be really honest, when you are 51 years old and your kids are not in the house, and you've got one full-on adulting and one who's in the middle of college, um, this is not really the time that it's like, "Well, I'm just not gonna do anything with my day."

I mean, like this, this doesn't make sense. And I have identity issues that I'm having to work through. In fact, I was just telling my husband that this is something I'm struggling with, is I've had this identity of producing content, of writing books, of having this podcast, of writing newsletters, of making these, you know, online programs so women can feel strong and vibrant at home.

And without that, I know ... Look, I know the whole churchy answer is that my identity is in Christ, and I know that, and I'm struggling with my identity some. Which begs the question, like, then what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? And I honestly, this is the honest answer, I don't really know. 

But it reminds me of a passage I heard probably since I have made this decision, um, from Joshua chapter 3, and I keep coming back to it. It keep- like, it's just staying with me.

And basically, it is when the Israelites are at the edge of the Jordan River. Um, it's flood season. They have to take the tabernacle across the river. The river is high, and God doesn't part the water. It wasn't like the Red Sea where God parted the water, and then they could go through.

It was likethey have to get this tabernacle, the, like, the place where God is, safely across the river. And it wasn't until they stepped into the waterthat then God parted the water. Like they had to take that step. And I think that's a great lesson for me. Like I have to take the step of stopping and being still, and then in his timing, God will tell me where I'm going and what I am to do next. I am at that edge of the river. 

I don't know that I can even see the other side, but I know I've got to get to the other side. And I do believe that there will be something that God has me doing on the other side of the river. What that's doing, what that is, I have no idea. I, I really don't.

Is it still in the health world? Is it in some other areas that I'm really passionate about? I, I really don't know. But I do know that I can't hear that until I'm quiet enough to listen and to, and I'm trusting enough to step into that water

I have felt some little snippets of what to be doing, and really that boils down to going from one to many, like me behind the mic to you, to one-to-one or one to few. from broadcasting things to being present with people.In this world, there are a lot of metrics that are important to track. You can track your open rates. You can track how many subscribers you have. You can track how many downloads you have in podcasting. You can track how many sales you have in whatever your product is. And those are all fine, and I am not knocking them.

But lately, I feel like the metric that matters to me is different, and that metric is something like if people in my actual life are saying, "Wow, Amy's showing up for me," or, "I'm seeing more of Amy," or, "I'm having better conversations with Amy," or, "I'm having more time with Amy," that's the metric that matters to me.

I am truly hoping to, um, just to show up for my friends in various ways, whether that is making food and taking to someone who is sick or doing some sort of a Bible study in person, like face-to-face, or I don't, I don't know. I really don't know. There's a lot of that going on today. but that is, that is something that I do feel is what is next on the horizon for me isPresence in smaller groups

I hope that makes as much sense as it can to you considering I have said I don't know a lot and I'm somewhat ambiguous because I really don't have a lot of clear direction right now. But I do feel so strongly that this is the right move for right now

Practically speaking, this podcast will stay alive. It will still be up on YouTube. It will still be on all of the podcast players for at least a year, and then I'll see. Um, I will still have my newsletter,and that is probably where I will communicate maybe what, what this journey has been like, where God is taking me, what I am learning.

I don't anticipate that I will be emailing that much from it. However, I do process things by writing, and so I think that that will be the primary way of me communicating. If you don't already get my newsletters, then you can sign up over at gracedhealth.com/nourishing-notes, And that will be the primary way that I will be communicatingif you want to stay up to date on whatever it is I'm going to be doing. 

But as we close, there is something important that I need to say to you, and that is this: You don't need me. You really don't. One of the reasons I created the Common Sense series, and yes, if you're wondering, that was very strategic because I knew I would be wrapping this up.Those were like the last nine episodes in the last season. But I just was witnessing these smart and capable women outsource their judgment to a 60-second video, to something they saw on a Short or a Reel or on TikTok, and there's nothing wrong with all of those. But also, you were not meant to follow whoever speaks the loudest or who is the most confident on Instagram.

God designed us all to think, to be discerning,to be able to listen to the body that He created for us. 

And you've been doing that. I know you have. I know that you have started to see some things, and maybe everybody else is doing it, but do you really need that? I know you are asking these questions of yourself, and I'm so happy that you are You are doing hard things, and I know this because we're all doing hard things,and you are navigating a season that is highly complex, highly unique, and I bet, I'd be willing to bet that you are doing it with more grace than you are giving yourself credit for We are so lucky to have so much information at our fingertips.I am so grateful to be a woman in midlife at this time

You have begun to be more attuned to your body. You have begun to ask the questions that your uniquely created body needs and deserves. And I also pray, truly, that you have begun to give yourself more grace in your body as well

For years, I started this podcast with saying something like, "Your eating, movement, and body don't have to be perfect. You just need to be able to do what you're called to do." And so my prayer and my hope is through the science and research and thoughtful, um, conversations that I have had with so many other smart people on this podcast, that you are threading all of those together And trusting the God who knit you together in the first place, that you are capable of caring for your body in the best way that you know how

So to close this out, like I said, The podcast will stay alive. I will continue to give periodic updates over the news- on the newsletter. I don't really know how often that will be. And I will be continuing my one-on-one personal training as well as my one-on-one individual coaching.

What's the difference in that? the training is where I guide you in unique workouts,And I'll be honest, right now I am as full as I would like to be because, again, I'm not trying to fill up my time. And coaching is me coming alongside you. We get on Zoom, we talk about what your goals are, how I can support you.

we create a strategic framework and go from there. So I do have spots open for one-on-one coaching at this time, but you can always reach out to me on my website at gracedhealth.com. And if you happen to pull this up and listen to this episode, uh, first time ever on Graced Health, hi, I'm glad you're here. I encourage you to go back and listen to that Cool Down series. So that's the last nine episodes in season 25, and 

 then listen to the guests that I have had that I wanted to introduce you to.

These are all people I trust, and I trust their voices in your ear as you move forward. I started off by saying this, and I wanna say it again. Thank you. Thank you for hitting play on this podcast. Thank you for taking me along on your walks while you're getting ready, on your commute, um, kitchen cleanup, whatever it is. However you tune in, I'm, I'm so glad that we could share this time together.

 thank you for trusting me with your tender questions, for trusting me with your body. it is truly an honor. I do not take that lightly Where do we go from here? I think we all just move forward with grace and strength, and I will see you on the other side of the river, whatever that is. Okay. That is all for today. That is all for this podcast. Go out there and have a grace day