Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman

In this episode, Mandi tells her birthing story. She shares intimate details in hopes of offering much needed information to other women like her. 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 : 3 weeks. 3 long weeks. That's how long I was in the hospital just before giving birth to my first baby, my Little Bear. When I think back, I realize that this long stay was probably because doctors were being cautious. They probably didn't want me to go home and have something bad happen, or have me go into labor at home. Things were a bit different with my second pregnancy, but that had more to do with my confidence and advocacy since I went through it the first time.  I shared in previous episodes about some of the crazy experiences I had with the health care community, but today I want to...

In this episode, Mandi shares the challenges she faced during pregnancy as a disabled woman, drawing attention to the need for more published medical information. 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 : I'm pumped about recording this episode and must admit, I'm feeling a bit professional. I'll let you in on a little behind-the-scenes secret. I've recorded every episode up until 2 weeks ago on a tablet or phone. So, thank you for listening with less than consistent audio. Today, however, you should hear me pretty well because your support of my podcast has allowed me to purchase a real microphone! I hope to continue improving my little home studio, my living room, and producing meaningful content for you. Please listen through to the end to learn how you can support this pod...

In this episode, Mandi encourages listeners to stand up for justice and recognize positive change through her personal story of having her rights violated. 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! As promised, I'm back to share more about life through my eyes. As a quick disclaimer, I apologize if the sound quality of this week's episode is off. The equipment I use to record this show died out and I'm hoping to upgrade to something better by next week. Hopefully, you'll still get something out of today's story. Last week I shared a difficult, but true, story about my first prenatal doctor's visit. It really set the tone for a lot of my negative experiences that were to come. Before I jump into today's story, I want to make important note of the fac...

In this Season 2 launch, Mandi shares the beginning of her journey to motherhood and offers her listeners the chance to get in on an important hashtag campaign that could lead one step closer to disability inclusion. 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 : I'm baaaack! Ok, so the plan was to launch this second season last week on Mother's Day, but then life happened. A few weeks ago I broke my leg, that's a whole story in itself, then I spent the last week at an Executive Education course through Link20 and The Ruderman Family Foundation at MIT. So yeah, a lot has happened, including a fantastic trip to KEEN Phoenix. I now have even more incredible stories to share so I'm thrilled to be recording again. Anyways, today I get to share what I wanted to share last week. I even...

In this season 1 finale, Mandi candidly reviews the Find Your Beautiful journey, beyond this podcast.  She goes on to share her vision for how she will carry out her calling of achieving social justice for the disability community through advocacy, education, storytelling, and most importantly by building authentic relationships. 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 : On January 10, 2019, I decided to start the Find Your Beautiful podcast. Here we are exactly 2 months later. I'm astounded that I have over 600 plays, a special feature episode, and a blog feature! January 10th was the day I committed to recording episodes on a weekly basis, but the overarching message of this podcast started percolating in my mind a couple of years ago. I just didn't have the concept fleshed ou...

"Lift your hands and worship," "Let us rise for...," "You're too pretty to be in a wheelchair." Often well meaning phrases and good intentioned people say and do ableist things. Microaggressions are experienced by marginalized people on a daily basis. However, we must ask ourselves if intent matters and where is the line between the fight for equality and an attitude of entitlement? These are the issues Mandi shares her thoughts on in this episode. 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 : Communal worship is a powerful thing. I love the experience of singing among a group of other voices and coming together to thank God for his greatness. I love watching how different people praise, some dancing, others being still with their eyes closed. One thing has been c...

Inclusion is a hot buzz word around disability today. Many churches are doing their part when it comes to ministering to people with disabilities. However, a church should be as diverse in its leadership as it is in its congregation. In this episode, Mandi calls for true inclusion in the church.  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 : My first God encounter happened when I was 6 years old. It was at a faith-based summer camp about an hour north of New York City. That summer, and the six summers that followed, are some of my best childhood memories. To this day, 26 years later, I am still good friends with many of my mentors from camp. While I wish I could say I had a face-to-face, or out of this world spiritual encounter with God when I was 6, it wasn't that. My encounter with ...