Meet the Crew

I guess it's time that I introduced myself. I'm Amie Neal, and the funny thing is, I've been Amie Neal all of my life. The Mrs. part got added 12 years ago, when I married Toby Neal. (And no, I didn't make him take my name; we had the same last name before we got married.) So my mom, my mom-in-law, and I, all three are Mrs. Neal, and it's such a privilege to share that name with 2 very very special ladies. I hardly ever go by Mrs. Neal though. If you are trying to get my attention, any variation of "MOOOOOOOOOM!" is probably your best option.

I'll tell my salvation story in another post and fill you in on my life details along the way. But if I did that all here, I'd be writing a novel. So I am just going to stick to basic introductions.

So...I've been married to this amazing guy for 12 years. He is a full-time videographer for a great company here in Columbia, Missouri. Cinematography is his passion, and it's exciting that God gave him the opportunity to use that passion and skill each day. Toby became a pastor at Anthem Church in November of 2021. We have been a part of Anthem for 8 years and absolutely love the people God has made a part of that body. How God brought us to Columbia and to Anthem church is also a fun story that I'll have to share another time.

We have 4 beautiful blessings from God that we have the privilege of raising for Him! Currently, they are 11, 10, 8, and 6. I always, always, always wanted to be a mom. In fact, before I quite understood the whole process of things, I would tell people I wanted 10 kids and no husband. (My older sister was mortified when I would tell people that; and I now understand why. Oops!) I will say that my desire to be a mom fell short when we brought home our first from the hospital. Again, a story of God's faithfulness for another day. But what a gift it is to be discipling these souls! God has turned 3 of our children's hearts toward Him, and we are praying daily for our last kiddo's soul to be drawn to Him.

I teach our children at home, serve alongside Toby in ministry, study God's Word with some dear ladies, do a lot of laundry, clean house, and a whole lot of other really fun things every day! My hobby has officially become buying and storing produce in bulk. I know that's super weird....and I was in denial for a long time. But my freezer and the constant pile of random produce in my kitchen is giving me away. In case you are wondering, I didn't always appreciate the ministry of homemaking. I found it dull, beneath me, frustrating, under-appreciated, and so on and so on. But my faithful God has changed my heart and shown me how to be content and joyful in this day-to-day life he has given me. And I LOVE it!

Before wrapping up this intro post, I want to introduce you to Grace. She's the beautiful gal on the right in the picture. She is my discipleship buddy. And one of my best friends in the world! I love that girl! And I wanted to include her in this post, because she's been a big part of the Lord directing me to start this blog. I met Grace several years ago when she started college here in Columbia. We quickly became friends and now she's just part of the family. Her and I have had many talks about Biblical womanhood, and it's through those conversations, and our fun times together doing the little things in life, that I realized we need more of that. We need more elbow-to-elbow discipleship. We need more older women showing younger women how to love and nurture and steward homes and families.

So as I wrap up this introductory post, I want to encourage you to do 2 things to start this journey of learning to boil water:

1. Pray about your heart attitude toward Biblical womanhood. Joyfully praise God for the gift of being a woman! Give Him glory for creating you in His image with a specific path of good works. Ask God to make it evident areas where culture is defining truth about womanhood rather than God. Ask Him to reveal if there is any sin of discontentment in your heart about Biblical womanhood. Pray that God would send an older woman into your life for wisdom and discipleship.

2. Find an older woman. Look around you for a women who is faithfully pursuing Christ, loving her husband, raising her children to know Jesus, and caring for her home well. This may be your mom, your grandma, your aunt, a lady in church, your pastor's wife. Don't be shy. Walk up to her, text her, call her, and say, "Hey! Will you teach me about Biblical womanhood?"

I hope and pray this blog encourages you, sparks ideas, challenges you, allows you to look ahead with excitement, and gives you opportunities to ask questions. But this is just a starting point. There is nothing quite as wonderful as doing this discipleship with another person right in the middle of all the real-life situations.

As you pray and seek a Godly mentor, reach out if you have any questions, want me to pray with you, want to share the work God is doing in your heart, or need helping finding a mentor. I'm praying for you!