Big Changes at The Wonder Years!
Proverbs 16:9 is a verse I have returned to again and again throughout my life. “A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” I am a dreamer, which means I make lots of plans. And yet (I suspect because I am in regular need of humbling) God often directs those plans to take twists and turns.
I (Amanda) started The Wonder Years podcast with my dear friend, Brooke Johnson, last semester. It was such a joy doing that with her, and I treasure the opportunity we had to do it together! As the Lord’s plans went, an increase of needs in Brooke’s ministry and home has ultimately led her to step away from the podcast. All is well with her and our friendship is still going strong, but as she is leading a very full life she determined that she needed to focus on pouring into her local church in this season with undivided attention. This is classic Brooke. Her love for her family and church is an inspiration to all who know her! You can still find her at @brookejohns over on Instagram, so if you are on that platform I would certainly encourage you to make sure you are following her. Brooke is such a life-giving presence and undoubtedly has the gift of encouragement, so as she continues to share there I know we will all be blessed by it!
From the first time I was given the opportunity to make online resources pertaining to classical education it was on my mind and in my heart to dedicate my time and talents to partnering with my husband, Patrick, in this work. He is my beloved, my friend, the yin to my yang. He is the one that I am talking to about educational philosophy on most every day of the week! He shared my vision of us doing this together, but because he had encountered classical education later than myself, he desired more time to grow in his understanding before taking on this kind of platform. When Brooke told me she was stepping away from the podcast, I asked him what his thoughts were of beginning with me now. We talked, he thought about it, we prayed. And I squealed like a high school cheerleader when he told me, “Let’s do this!”
Patrick is a lover of classical Christian education and is zealous to see it spread far and wide. Reading C. S. Lewis’s Abolition of Man was a life-changing experience for him, and he is passionately committed to being the kind of man who resists cutting down forests in favor of irrigating desserts. In a world of Debunkers, he is striving to be a man with a chest. And as his wife, I can tell you he is. With nine years of youth ministry experience, five of those years as a full-time youth pastor, his awareness of the gaping need in our country for classical Christian education was nurtured by his experience with hundreds of youth students during that time. He has a heart for the children growing up in the soul-killing atmosphere of modern America, and he desires to inspire and encourage parents to pursue a better path as Christian families in this generation. It is my joy to pursue that vision with him together, side-by-side!
With that context, I am excited for the future of The Wonder Years, both the podcast and the Substack, which will include bringing my poetic knowledge article series from Classical Woman over here. I am keeping A Classical Woman live for now, since I do love writing on the topic of womanhood when I get the chance, and there is a lot of crossover in my brain between classical educational philosophy and our God-given design as women. But out of necessity to prioritize, I am eagerly going all-in on The Wonder Years with Patrick. We have a number of really exciting projects coming down the pike, so I hope you will continue to follow along with us here so that we can share them with you in the days ahead!
Onward and upward, friends!