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A Cup of Gratitude
A Cup of Gratitude
Author: Amanda Schaefer
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© 2026 A Cup of Gratitude
Description
An honest look at how gratitude can change absolutely everything. Interesting discussions and stories of finding gratitude even in the midst of life's difficulties. Everyday people sharing their extraordinary stories.
264 Episodes
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This week, I speak with Mitch Matthews, who is the creator of the DREAM THINK DO podcast. He’s also a success coach, speaker and serial entrepreneur. His DREAM THINK DO podcast helps people to dream bigger, think better, and do more of what they were created to do. It’s been rated #1 by the Huffington Post and is in top 1% of all podcasts. Plus, as a speaker and elite success coach, he’s spent the last twenty years helping organizations like NIKE, United Airlines, and NASA. Mitch has also built...
This week, I am speaking with Paula Romand, who holds a BA in English from Bryan College, Dayton, TN, and an MA in English from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, MO. Paula is a Christian author, speaker, and podcast guest. Her memoir Thriving in the Barren Place was released on July 1, 2025. Paula also blogs on her personal website www.paularomang.com. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, Mark. Their surviving son, Luke, was recently married and is thriving in his new ca...
This week, I speak with Kevan Chandler, a best-selling author and founder of the nonprofit organization We Carry Kevan. He speaks worldwide about his life with a disability and how community and creativity are the keys to true accessibility. Kevan and his wife, Katie, enjoy spending time together, growing vegetables, and reading to each other. We look at his childhood up to the present to find the beautiful thread of Jesus in his life. You won’t want to miss this inspiring episode! http://wec...
This week I speak with Nancy Lavo. A love of happy endings and a fiction writing course at the community college started award-winning author Nancy Lavo on the road to publication. She’s published her lighthearted romances in both the traditional and inspirational market. Nancy and her husband live in the great state of Texas. We look at her childhood up to the present to find the beautiful thread of Jesus in her life. You won’t want to miss this encouraging episode! www.nancylavo.com Theme M...
This week, I speak with Kimberly Haar, who is a licensed therapist, author, and speaker with nearly two decades of experience in trauma recovery and marriage and family therapy. Blending clinical insight with deep faith, she helps others move from pain to purpose. Drawing from her own story of healing, Kimberly shares a message of hope and restoration, reminding others that with God, no story is too shattered to be rewritten, and no life too broken to be beautifully restored. We look at her c...
Are You Ready for our last special episode of the year? On this episode of A Cup of Gratitude, I share personally a bit about my upcoming talk for the Prudent Woman Retreat - And I share about practicing the attitude of listening and then leaning into a word of the year from God for 2026, available tomorrow on all podcast platforms & we will join you next week for Season 11✨ Happy New Year!!!
This week on Special Episode #4 of the Christmas Break series, I speak with Arrica Hess, who is a follower of Jesus Christ, a pastor’s wife, a women's ministry leader, and a homeschooling mom of four kids ages 18, 17, 14, and 10. Ever since she had her second child, she has been a stay-at-home mom. Through raising and observing her children, God has used them to teach her valuable lessons about her relationship as a child to Him as her Heavenly Father. Arrica shares this and more on her blog,...
Special episode 3 is this week. I speak with fellow Prudent woman Retreat speaker Tracy Harper who is a Christian author and speaker with more than twenty years of experience mentoring young adults through campus ministry. Her journey—from the East Coast to Hawaii—has taken her across the country and into countless conversations with young women wrestling with faith, identity, and emotional overwhelm. She holds a degree in Secondary Education/English from Towson University and completed Cru’s...
Welcome to episode 2 of the Special Christmas Break episodes. This week, I speak with Gayl Wright. In upstate South Carolina, from her log home bordering the woods, Gayl loves to encourage others as she writes from her heart about life and faith. She has been married to Steve for over 50 years. Daily, they enjoy reading and discussing the Bible and other books. They are parents of 7 (one son is now with the Lord) and have 14 grandchildren. Gayl enjoys visiting with friends and family, taking ...
Welcome to the first Christmas Break special episode of a Cup of Gratitude. All of December, I will be sharing fellow speakers from the Prudent Woman Retreat. This week, I speak with the founder, Dr Ifeoma Samuel, your down-to-earth Bible Study writer and speaker, passionate about helping women grow in faith through the Word. She is happily married to her heart throb, Obiora, and together they are blessed with a daughter and a son. You can find her Bible Study Group on Facebook: "Purposeful a...
This week I speak with Deborah Rutherford, who loves Jesus, being a wife to Don, singing old hymns, and nature walks. She is an author, poet, podcaster, and an award-winning makeup artist who has swapped her brushes for a pen. She is the founder of the Behold-Her Beauty Podcast and Blog, where she enjoys cheering others on. Her books include "Unexpected Blessings: 40 Days of Discovering God's Best," forthcoming "Prodigal Daughter: Poems of Light for the Lost Ones," and she is working on a bea...
This week, I speak with Na’Kedra Rodgers, who is a powerhouse Christian Motivational Speaker, Author, and Entrepreneur who brings a burst of sunshine wherever she goes! Famous for her boundless optimism and grit, to sprinkle biblically rooted encouragement across the globe, lighting the way for women wrestling with faith or on a quest for purpose. Na’Kedra is a multi-time published author who writes in both nonfiction and children’s genres. Na’Kedra is a recipient of the 2024 NCTRCA Outstandi...
Today I speak with Janet Hart Leonard, who is an award-winning newspaper columnist, author, and speaker. She speaks to women who think that God has written only a one-hit wonder for their lives. In her unique and quirky way, she shows them through scripture that He is writing a Greatest Hits Album for them throughout their lives. (Look at Naomi in the book of Ruth.) Janet is a cheerleader, without the cartwheels, who brings the scriptures to life with her wit, whimsy, and way with words...
This week, I speak with Jac Filer, a lifelong resident of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who presently lives with his family and dog. Since 2020, he has been enjoying a second career as a writer. Jac’s books include the Advent devotional Preparing for Jesus, the Biblical novel Coin and Dagger, and his new memoir, The Widower and the Washer. We look at his childhood up to the present to find the beautiful thread of Jesus in his life. You won’t want to miss this encouraging episode! Links: Website...
This week I speak with Dr. Jerry L. Woodbridge who is a Christian author and educator specializing in grief support and education. After experiencing the sudden loss of her husband, she guided her own children through grief, inspiring her to write books that offer hope and healing. Her works include Trading My Sorrows: For the Joy of the Lord, which explores widowhood and faith-based healing. Joy Overcame Sorrow, a children’s book on grief and resilience and Joy’s Journal, which provides guid...
This week I speak with Sarah Krizek who is the author of Beyond the Surface, published in August 2024. She was born and raised in the Hudson Valley, New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Mount Saint Mary College. When she is not writing or reading, Sarah enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and their two children. We look at her childhood up to the present to fond the beautiful thread of Jesus in her life. You won’t want to miss this amazing episode! ...
This week I speak with Sandee Macgregor who was educated and trained as a teacher, an inspired writer, and the award-winning creator and founder of a popular website www.sandeemacgregor.com. She is the author of two top-selling devotionals, A Mother-Daughter Devotional and Shared Journal Experience for Psalm 119 and A Devotional for Mothers and Sons: Walking in Wisdom Through Proverbs, which both encourage and enable the building of a deeper spiritual bond between a mother and her daugh...
This week I speak with Mama, editor, and writer Elise Tegegne who has published articles at Risen Motherhood, Christian Parenting, and (in)courage,among others. Her first book In Praise of Houseflies: Meditations on the Gifts in Everyday Quandaries is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Calla Press, In addition to serving as the Director of Communications for missions organization Synergie Francophone, she also writes a monthly blog, which inspires readers to cultivate eyes for t...
This week I speak with Kate Battistelli who is a bestselling author, speaker, and co-host of the Mom to Mom Podcast. She’s written The After Party of the Empty Nest, The After Party Devotional Companion, The God Dare, and Growing Great Kids, and her words appear in the (In)courage Bible for Women, Guideposts, and more. Once a Broadway actress starring opposite Yul Brynner in The King and I, Kate traded the stage for her first big “God Dare”—a life of homeschooling, home business, and ministry...
This week I speak with Theresa Rowe who is a nationally certified fitness professional, author, speaker, and the founder of Shaped by Faith, a ministry dedicated to whole-person wellness—spirit, mind, and body—while shaping bodies and hearts for God's purposes. With over 35 years of experience, she has impacted countless lives globally through her faith-based fitness programs, heart-centered workouts, and inspiring testimony of transformation. Her TV show, Shaped by Faith with Theresa Rowe, a...























