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Showing posts from 2020

S03, Ep. 04: Disability in Crisis

  After an eight month hiatus, Mandi returns to highlight the effects COVID-19 has had on her as a disabled woman and brings to light larger issues the pandemic has revealed for society. Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi : It's been 8 months! I can't believe the last time I recorded here was on Easter. I had to get one more episode in for this crazy year that is 2020. It's appropriate that it's in the Christmas season.  Last we spoke, I started talking about my personal Deconstruction journey. I had every intention of getting deep into it, and still do, but I can't pretend the craziness of this year didn't happen. So, for this episode, we're going to do a bit of a year in review and I'm still going to touch on how, even, maybe especially, in times of crisis, the experience...

S03, Ep. 03: Deconstructing Beauty

Mandi shares how playing the "Why Game" with God led her on a journey of Deconstruction. Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi : Happy Resurrection Day! I don't know about you, Beautiful, but the last few weeks have been really hard. I'm used to working from home, as my day job typically has a big work from home component, but literally being stuck in the house 24/7 with two toddlers and my husband has been stressful. Add to that the smaller size of New York City apartments and helping my 6 year old with his remote education. Did I mention the dog and the cat? Yeah, for an extrovert like me, this limited amount of face-to-face time with people outside my house has been really hard. However, I don't really believe in coincidence and this episode was planned weeks ago....

S03 Ep. 02: COVID-19 & The Disability Effect

Mandi weighs in about 3 lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi : Let me first say I hope everyone tuning in is healthy and safe. I know this is an incredibly challenging time for many, especially if you're in a "shelter in place" state. If you're an extrovert like me, this isolation is very hard and can leave you feeling depleted. Now more than ever, it is crucial for us to band together and remember that community is not defined by walls.  This is where I think the disability community shines. I'll be honest, I see the light at the end of this. My prayer is that we won't be so caught up in the panic that we don't learn the crucial lessons during this time. The world has suddenly become so much more accessible, t...

S03, Ep. 01: Breaking the Rules

In this season 3 launch, Mandi talks about breaking rules to Find Your Beautiful. Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi : Welcome to season 3 of this podcast! I can't even believe I'm saying that. I started this podcast a little over a year ago because I had things I needed to say and hoped at least my closest friends would listen. Never did I imagine my episodes having over 1,200 plays and people I have yet to meet in real life tuning in. Thanks so much for giving me a space and the support to share my truth. One thing this podcast has taught me over and over again is that what I think I know today will likely not be the same as what I know tomorrow. Life has a funny way of expanding your mind if you let it, but it's really scary. Asking the hard questions, or even knowing what...

S02, Ep.13: The Inclusion War

Mandi wraps up season 2 with a look at what true disability inclusion is and is not. Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi : It's Black History Month! I hope everyone is taking the time, not just this month, but regularly, to teach themselves and those around them about different cultures. And I'm not talking about just the pretty stuff, or the delicious foods. I'm talking about the real stories, which sometimes include tragedy.  As I was thinking about some of the big name figures that get honored this month, I started thinking about this idea of separate, but equal. Quick history lesson, the phrase was actually equal, but separate and during the era of the Jim Crow Laws, this was the US' way of trying to create a loop hole in the 14th Amendment. For those who may not kno...

S02, Ep. 12: Inspiration Porn is an Addiction

All porn is addictive, including inspiration porn. Mandi helps you understand what inspiration porn is and why it's a thing to avoid.  Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi :  In 2014, the world lost a great comedian, journalist, and disability activist when Stella Young died. Stella was born with a disability called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, commonly known in the mainstream world as Brittle Bone Disease. As a result of her disability, Stella used a wheelchair most of her life. After graduating from college, she worked for some time as a high school teacher. In 2012, Stella wrote an editorial for Ramp Up, in which she coined the term "Inspiration Porn." A few months before her unexpected death, she delved into this concept in her TedxSydney talk entitled, "I'm Not Yo...

S02, Ep. 11: The Disabled God

Mandi shares an important biblical fact that blows the traditional christian perspective of disability out of the water.   Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi :  Hey Beauties! Last Spring I had the unique privilege of participating in a program at MIT. Quick shout-out to my Link20 friends for making that happen. During my time there, we focused on different disability related issue. One of the issues had to do with the physical differences some disabilities cause in a person's body, more specifically how these differences affect people's physical and sexual attraction to people with disabilities.  Let's face it, when we talk about body positivity, it is rarely inclusive of disability. I went on Instagram and looked up the hashtag #bodypositive and scrolled t...

S02, Ep. 10: Disabled People Need Healing

Mandi tells you why people with disabilities need to be healed, but not cured, in this controversial view of biblical disability.   Find Me Online: Website Facebook Instagram Transcript Mandi : Mandi Frantz here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.   [Upbeat Background Music] Mandi :  Hey Beauties! Today's episode will again speak to my faith community, but I know it can also help non-believers too. Many non-believers arrived where they are because of negative experiences with with the church or individual believers. Many disabled people have turned away from God for similar reasons. Listen to this experience I had. When I was a little girl, probably 8 or 9 years old, I remember going to a church. I won't bother saying the denomination because it's pretty irrelevant as it isn't the last time I had this experience, even at churches of other denominations. Honestly, I don't remem...