Thank you SO much for listening to our very FIRST episode of The More Than Enough Podcast!In this episode we will give you a little taste of what to expect in the future episodes and why we created this podcast!

We are Pamela & Mary, and we are a mother daughter duo, who span 2 generations but share one message. 

We will delve into what it looks like to be fully integrated- body, soul, spirit, and will bring encouragement and hope along the way. We get it, life is hard. But we want you to know that you’re not alone. And not only that. We are are here to come along side you and cheer you on as you walk out your individual storyline! 

Follow us on on Instagram - @amesgirls

Hey, welcome to the More Than Enough podcast.

This is Mary Francis.

And this is Pamela.

And we are a mother-daughter podcast.

, we started this idea of this podcast probably like five years ago.

, I've had this on my heart for a super long time, and this is something

I originally actually started even thinking about this podcast to help my

mom kind of get her story out there.

You're gonna hear more about her story and the book that she's writing

as we continue on, but we knew.

Well, I knew that she had so many stories to tell and I knew it was gonna encourage

so many people, and I just knew, , that she had to get her voice out there.

And I just so felt an urgency for that.

But I knew that you weren't gonna do it, mom

Yeah, that's true.

That's true.

I was like, okay, you need me to help you.

Let me help you.

So I.

I have been thinking about it.

We've been thinking about it forever.

And, , yeah, just time just kept going and we just kept thinking, okay, like

this has gotta be, this has gotta be it.

, At the time

when I was even processing through this, I was, I was

overwhelmed by life, by everything.

I kept feeling like there was more than enough noise and information out there

to just keep me spinning constantly.

And.

There was this pervasive feeling that no matter how much noise or information there

was, I always felt like I was drowning.

And I just, I, and everybody that I talked to felt, felt similar, like they

were just drowning in information and yet still just felt so swirly with everything.

And as I was sitting with, the Lord just, , processing this and thinking about this,

I kept feeling like the Lord was saying,, in the world where there's more than

enough noise and information and just, the narrative is so swirly constantly.

I am more than enough to sustain your heart.

And almost instantly I so felt like, yes, more than enough.

Like that is the podcast.

So for years that's what, , we knew if we ever were to do a podcast, this

is kind of what it would be about.

Yeah, man.

And I can remember the very first time, you brought that,

that, phrase forward and.

. , first of all, I loved it instantly.

I'm like, that's perfect.

That's exactly what we should call it.

And I love that.

The idea is that it's like got two sides to the coin.

Like there's more than enough noise and data and information

and people's opinions.

and at the same time, when I thought about more than enough, I instantly

thought, , that's how I see God.

And that's how I see him in my life, that he's been more than.

And it's like who I believe him to be.

So I did love that right from the get go.

Hey, I wanna welcome everybody too

and, just tell you, that, I'm just so, so very excited.

I've waited a long time.

in many ways to share, the story that we'll be sharing throughout this podcast.

But, also as she said, writing this book.

And so,, that was a, a long time ago that I started that journey of the book.

And, so, I, I do wanna say that when I did start writing that book, the, one of the

first things I did, and that was over 23 years ago, was to write a letter to you

all that would be hearing the story and.

I mean, I just wanna tell you that in that letter from 23 years ago, to

all those who would hear the story, I, I basically, said to you that I

started praying for you on that day.

So I literally want you to know you individually that in

a way that only God could do.

I honestly and sincerely started praying for you 23 years ago.

And so, actually, even to dovetail off that, Yesterday.

So now today is here and we're, we're recording this today.

yesterday I was sitting at my desk and I actually was talking to Mary

briefly and, on the phone and.

, the leaves were just falling like rain, out my window and it was so beautiful

and I was so captured by the beauty.

And the more I was thinking about things, , my story is gonna be about my son's

death, when he was 17, my firstborn and I just started thinking about all of it.

And here it was, it was here the podcast was now gonna go before the book, and

of course, I started crying and, and just, I'd been so busy that it didn't

really dawn on me until yesterday.

That now I'm actually going to let this go to Total Strangers.

Something I had dreaded for so many years, it was so overwhelming to me.

But anyway, the Lord just reminded me, of how he'd helped me back in

that day and how he's helping me today.

And so I, I'm just excited that it's come here and, so there, there

is a little anxiety about letting all this go, but, I appreciate

your prayers in this journey and.

But I know it's time now to, to let it go.

So thanks so much.

Mary, why don't you, tell us a little bit about this idea about why we do

value the story and, and what this part has to play in our podcast.

Yeah.

Yeah, totally.

So, yeah, I think, I, I think that the whole idea of that our capacities are

full, that there's more than enough noise and information out there.

I think both of us have been talking about, and not just us, I feel like

it's a narrative that we've been hearing from so many different people, just

realizing how powerful our stories are, and how really our stories are

all we really have in this life.

The power of our story and the way we view our story, right?

It changes everything.

so I believe, yeah, that sharing our stories, and then hearing other

people's stories, listening to people's stories, that that really will

affect so much and changes so much.

but I do also believe that it's not necess.

Necessarily more information that we need and, just more people like telling

you more inspirational stories, right?

but we need people who are really willing to be authentic and vulnerable

to, to really share their stories and then invite you into that journey

to glean from, from each other.

So, so yeah.

I think this is a podcast a, about sharing stories and how that will

kind of, unfold is, is still to.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

That's really good.

I, I, I think the first thing I'm struck by was stories, of course,

, was God walking me through my own and, through different pain and

circumstances and trials along the.

, it just really forced me to have to look at my own personal story.

So, we will be getting into unfolding the power of the story, your story, in

the weeks and months and years to come.

I wanna add a couple of tidbits onto that about the value of story.

And, the first thing that comes to my mind is that I've been, mentoring

or coaching, some call it counseling, but just to say right off the bat

that I'm not a professional c.

More a pastoral or lay counselor.

And so I've been doing that for, many, many years over 20, 25 years.

And, but more recently I started noticing with people that I was counseling that

I didn't know relationally, that they were strangers when they came to me.

Something that I found was absolutely, amazing was that in my approach to

counsel them, that I would have them tell me their story going all the way back

to their earliest memory of childhood and, without even really counseling

them, without even really any input.

There was such a power in just listening to their story.

Every one of them would say, nobody's ever asked me.

I don't, I don't even know that I've ever told my story.

And, Certainly just the idea that they were able to unload

that and process it with me.

Then eventually adding some questions and things.

I mean, it was so valuable to them that just telling and having to recount

their story actually brought a level of freedom to them that had nothing to

do with any input I was giving them.

So I think just going back and inviting Jesus into the story up to now is,

just in and of itself very powerful.

And along with that, is just the value of somebody listening, so, , we don't

have to be a counselor to just stop and be silent and instead of racing for each

conversation to be about telling you about myself, that I actually genuinely

ask God for the curiosity and the love.

To really want to listen to your story.

So, those are, those are a couple of, parts that I think are really important.

Another thing is that recently, , I'd say in the last year or two, God just

gave me like a verse outta Revelation.

That was so powerful to me.

And, because, because he has sort of given me this wisdom into an insight,

into our narrative being valuable to God.

And so, it's a verse outta revelation that you're all probably, or

many of you are gonna be familiar with, and that is, where God is.

That they meaning us, the body of Christ overcame by the blood of the

lamb, which is the story of God.

That's his story, and by the word of their testimony, and that's our story.

And this is what we're taking with us is God's story.

So in this life is we're building on the foundations of who God is,

and we're inviting him into our storyline as to who he says We.

In the midst of our circumstances and our trials and our suffering, That's

the two things that are highlighted in Revelation, that that is how we

overcome is by focusing on God's story and even inviting him into our story.

So I, I found that, pretty awesome and, and, and so yeah.

Mary, why don't you lead us back into kind of another part of what we wanna

be talking about in the podcast, which is this idea of foundations,

and let's let you introduce that amazing word to us, which is Integr.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I think that's awesome.

I think the whole idea of story is everything, right?

That's our narrative.

That's how we view the world, and really how we help view and perceive

others is by hearing their stories.

but like we all know, Hearing stories isn't enough.

I mean we can all read a good book and walk away and be like, wow, that was

super inspirational, and just walk away.

It's like, how do we then take that information and change and grow?

And I feel like the culture and the world we live in is like a, , like a buffet.

We're at a buffet of full of foods and all the things, and it's like we have so much

at our fingertips, so much information.

So, Everything, right, the good, the bad, the other.

And we're just like, as a culture, just like, stuffing our faces with

more information, more stories, more books, more all the things.

and we're just becoming like gluttonous and like stuffed with information

and really never being satisfied.

We're never like truly just letting that food, like enjoying

the taste of it and just sitting, with that we're just stuffing

more food, more food in our faces.

And so I think this idea.

Hearing stories, but not just like, okay, another story, another story.

but like, yeah, so just like letting those stories really take root and let

marinate and, and just kind of, how, how that, how that story and how our

own stories affects the choices that we make, and become, different people.

. So we believe that being like anchored and living out of that place of being fully

whole is what integration looks like.

So you will hear us say that word of lot integration.

You've probably heard that in different ways.

And basically what that means, it just means that you're living out of your

core self of who you're created to be.

The integrated person is defined by Rogers as unified within him or herself.

All levels and with low discrepancy between the present

self and the desired self.

when I heard that, I was like, ah, that's everything.

Right?

It's like what we want to be.

It reminds me of Paul.

It's like what I, what I know is true.

What I wanna do, I do not do.

And it's like, that is the truest, disintegrated self, like, that is

what a disintegrated self looks like.

It's like, this is everything.

I know, this is my values, and yet I'm not doing any of them.

Why?

What is the, where's the gap?

Right?

So basically being integrated, which, you know, mind, body,

spirit, we've, we've all heard that.

What does that look like, it means you're living out of your core values and.

and we're gonna talk about what that looks like in further episodes.

we're gonna.

Yeah, we're gonna tell stories about what that looks like.

We're gonna give labels and names to those things, but just know that

everything we talk about on this podcast will be aimed at helping each

one of us to walk out that storyline.

and we definitely don't claim to be experts, at all.

I would venture to say experts though really aren't what we

need most of the time right now.

Like, you can go on YouTube and, you can like stick and learn how to build.

On YouTube from scratch right now if you wanted to.

you can go pick up any book on a zillion different topics from

a zillion different experts.

And it's like, but why aren't we actually changing right.

With all of this information.

so, so there are plenty of people to tell you how to do things and to give

you the steps and the strategies for how to get those things done, but

that's not exactly what we're about.

we don't feel like becoming who you are created to be isn't a formula.

It's a process.

so a very complicated hazy, swirly process, complete with like switchbacks

and roadblocks all along the way.

so yeah, just consider us as someone who is like in your lane cheering you

on, encouraging you speaking truth and reminding you, yeah, to keep going.

And, yeah, we're just, we're, we're here to journey alongside and with you.

Oh, Mary, that's so good.

I love that.

I love all those parts and I, I love all these really cool words God gives you.

yeah, I, I would just say, just, just to build on that, that,

you know, to me, integration.

it does, it kind of starts with your story, right?

Because until you're in touch and are curious to look back and to

say, you know, how did I get here?

And then when you begin to see things that might be hard for you to look at.

You know, it's not like you have to, run out and find a counselor necessarily.

It's just a matter of being curious to look and, and just process

your story honestly with God.

I always just tell people, start there.

just start to write down your story.

And bullet points and just sit on those.

This goes back to what Mary was saying about the feast and the buffet.

I, I definitely think that we are spending too much of our time going

wide instead of deep, instead of just like, Mary used the word marination,

just sitting on a thought, on a word.

On one of the pieces of your story, just in silence with God, maybe just in

worship music, just slowing it way down.

I would say that's something that we're gonna be talking about too,

is the idea of learning how to stop.

How to rest, how to stop running and the busyness.

so, and, and you can do that with God, the idea of story and you can invite a

person, a counselor, a friend, a group of people, in to hear that story again.

There's healing in that.

we'll be talking about something like foundations, which is

this idea of going deeper.

You know, do, do I really know?

What am I just spitting back what I've heard about who God.

or have I really invited God in to say, God, teach me and

show me who you really are.

Teach me and show me who I really am.

Those two categories, have endless other topics within them.

So, we'll, we'll talk about building a well that, as a picture God gave

Mary, a while back and we'll talk about such an important part of our lives is

building that well and building those foundations, especially when there's gaps.

Especially when there's breaches along the way.

So, and, and we will be looking at mi mind and body and spirit and sometimes

people refer to the mind as the soul, but we'll be looking at all these

pieces and saying, how have we got so.

So far from maybe what God intended for us to be in a whole way.

so yeah, these, these are all the parts we're gonna be looking at and

it's just gonna be a process and we wanna just, that's why we don't

even really use the word integration very often without the word journey.

Yeah.

think, , what I've seen a lot of is, like one book or even sometimes

with some groups, if I just pray this one prayer, this special way.

Yeah.

the whole idea is that God has invited us into all of the parts

and our whole life is a journey of integration, which is becoming

more whole and more like him.

So, yeah.

Good stuff.

And we, we really, really look forward to exploring all these with.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I think, I think it'll be good finally, five years in the

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

it'll be finally doing it.

yeah.

And I think, we'll, yes.

We'll, we'll definitely, again, dive into each one of these topics.

I think we'll have guests even coming on from time to time or even

weekly, still walking that out.

and they won't necessarily be experts on any specific topic, whatever experts

even mean, or maybe they will, but, but more the people, we feel like

their stories kind of coincide with the topic that we're talking about.

And to really like, bring that message home of whatever a story is to, to

inspire, to encourage, to just reinforce that, that perspective and that

insight that we kind of are trying to.

Yes.

Yes, absolutely.

Absolutely.

you know, it dawned on Mary and I, I think last night and this

morning, that, we didn't really have any part in this podcast today to

tell you anything about ourselves.

So before.

, we sort of end with, we wanna kind of tell you our goals with this podcast and kind

of tell you, kind of the high points of, of where we're going with this in terms

of what's the point, we told you about what we're gonna be, what our topics are.

But we wanna kind of give you those.

Before we do that, we're gonna, both just share a little bit about

our personal lives because, we did say it's a mother-daughter du.

Or team or whatever we're calling ourselves, mother Daughter podcast.

So, but obviously you probably don't know because we haven't told you that

we're not even in the same space today.

we live in two different states and, we're doing this across

several states and, so anyway, yeah.

Yeah, it is.

Very sad.

Very sad.

And, so, I'll let Mary jump in First, Mary, tell us a little bit about yourself

and your life and family and anything.

Oh,

to your mind.

This is very impromptu

just, this is, this is, okay.

yeah, so I, I live in the Midwest in Kansas City, and, I have, four, four

children, four human beings that I raise, and our youngest just turned

10, which is absolutely bananas that I.

have such giant children.

And then my oldest just turned 16, so I have a 16 year old girl and a 15 year

old boy, right now at this recording.

And a 13 year old boy and a 10 year old girl.

So two boys and two girls.

Yes, I

Love my grands.

Yes.

So, yeah, so, so my husband and I got married, eight, well, almost

18 years ago, so, yeah, and that's definitely a story in and of itself.

got married super young and, yeah, it's been a journey, right?

A journey.

. But yes, it's, it's been good.

And I definitely wish that Maddrey and I were living.

In the same area.

Super sad, but you know what?

Maybe, maybe soon,

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

Okay.

Since you're telling your story, I can ask you some things

that, that you can also tell.

And let's see.

One would be, you know, let's see.

How about, your interests?

my

Yeah.

What do you do besides this

like my, like like my hobbies,

yeah.

Hobby lobbies.

What do you, what do you do yeah, I always, people always used to ask me that,

like, what do you like to do for fun?

I'm like, do for fun.

What

Who has time for that?

yeah.

Well, yes.

Outside of this, well, I, I am a photographer, so I'm a wedding

photographer and I, yeah, I was homeschooling my children, but

they're all in school now, which is insane to have them all in school.

So definitely jumping back into photography and that whole

world and, yeah, just excited for this next season and, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So as if, we, you didn't have enough to do, we've added this to your life, so

I know.

I know.

Yeah.

No big

So, yeah, I'm, I'm gonna just say some things.

Just to say that, yes, Mary and I are about 30 years apart.

I'm 63.

She just turned 34 and I'll be 64 in December.

So we're, in the same year.

We're about 30 years apart.

But she is my baby.

I have four children, Joshua, who as I mentioned, passed.

And that was in 1999.

And then David, I believe is, 38 ish.

Is that right, Mary?

Something like that.

something

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And you know, then, Liz is right in there in the thirties

and Mary's in the thirties.

It's too many people in the thirties, so, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Too, too many.

So anyway, my husband and I just celebrated, 45 years of being married.

And, as you'll come to know, Half of those 45 years was very, very, very difficult.

And so we'll be talking some about that as well.

Let's see what else to tell you about me.

just that, yeah, I, I do not live in Kansas City, but I live in, Western

North Carolina, near Asheville.

so we're in the mountain.

And, beautiful here.

I love it very much.

And so, we have a community of people in their mid thirties that we have

followed for, a long time, about 20 years.

And, so, that's, that's that, I can't think of anything else.

Interesting.

cuz my mind's gone blank.

But anyway.

Yes,

yes,

I know.

When you were asking me like, what do

like,

to do?

I'm like, I don't know.

I watch shows

I, I, I love, I love flowers.

I love things that are beautiful and lovely, and, and I, I'm pretty into that.

And, really, quite honestly, anything that's beautiful and, I'll be telling

you some of my story that happened, not, not very long ago, the last

five, seven years ago, how God used beauty to bring healing to me.

So anyway, just again, super excited and I'll just go into, some of.

, , again, some of these parts that we, are, giving kind of

high value to in this podcast.

And, so I guess, one of the first things that we said is that we just really

are gonna ascribe intentionally, to you and with you the value of your story.

Yes.

and the value that you can begin to give to the people around you in your

sphere of influence, even if it's your family, it, it's not about the numbers,

it's about the quality of our life.

Right.

so, so yeah, we're, we're really gonna be.

We're, we're, that's gonna be a, a primary value to us at this podcast

is, our story, God's story, which is our foundations and how we're

gonna put those pieces together and not be like two-headed people, just

being divided within ourselves.

And, the other thing is that we, we want you to grow in, in

confidence that, God is more than.

To overcome the more than enough stuff that's going on around you.

And that includes your circumstances, but it especially includes which

comes prior to the circumstances, your thoughts and your emotions.

So this is, we're, we're gonna be giving a high value to that.

That there's always hope, that you can always change, that it's

never too late to put those pieces together so that you're more whole.

And we do believe that that a primary place.

most important place is how God can help us come to that place of healing.

so, the other thing is that, you know, we, we want to somehow tangibly

palpably, like come alongside of you.

Like I want you to know, even though I'm not seeing your face

right now, I have an unusual gift from God to really have a heart.

Women and people in general and, and Mary does as well.

And we just want you to know that we really deeply care for you,

that we we're cheering you on and we'll be praying for you as I have.

Again, those prayers have been going up for you for 23 years to the throne.

They haven't dissipated or disappeared.

When I prayed for the group that would come in, To connection

with me and, and this story.

So, but yeah, we, we wanna come alongside you.

we're, we, we think, and you know, maybe I shouldn't be saying this, but

we might call our website Ames Girls.

And, we, we want you to be that, we want you to know that you're a part of, in

some ways, our family, because you are.

And,

Ames.

Ames is your last

Ames is my last name.

Thank you so much.

And it used to be Mary's.

Yep.

But anyway, all that to say that, , you know that, that we, we want to encourage

this community of people and we want to teach you and those who want to in.

times how to do the same thing in your community in ways that are,

again, are maybe even more tangible.

and lastly, we, you know, we wanna give you what we have.

We wanna give you resources and, tools that, will, will

help you in this journey.

So, all right, Mary, I guess we're getting along here.

So you, you close us out.

No, I love it.

I love it.

I love it.

I'm super excited.

And basically, yes, I think, at the end of the day, our goal and our heart.

Is really always gonna be the same for every episode.

and that's, and that's basically like in a world that's overwhelming and

noisy and exhausting at best, we want to come alongside and encourage you,

and to remind you of what's true.

And we wanna share stories, but don't just inspire you, but compel

you to grow and change and to become more of your fully integrated self.

and to that you truly like, Are able to walk this out and to grow and to

change and to remember that no matter the circumstance or the stage of life

that you're in, and you'll hear that from stories, starting next week with

my mom's story, that no matter what is going on around you, you truly do have

more than enough to sustain your heart.

so yeah, that's our heart and that's our vision.

And yeah, we're super excited.

Wow.

High five Mary.

Yes, we did

it

We did it five years in the making.

Even if we never did another

podcast,

this one.