Hey, everybody, welcome back to The Covenant Eyes Podcast, where we are all about empowering you to live with integrity in a digital world rooted in biblical truth. Today, we are so excited to have a guest that has never joined The Covenant Eyes Podcast, but we are excited to have her. Her name is Amber Rose. She is a vibrant voice in the Christian community and she's often called the religious hippie. I'm super excited to get into that. This episode is going to be a lot of fun. I've got Theo joining us from Covenant Eyes. Hey, Theo, how's it going? Karen? It's going great. As always. It's an honor to co-host alongside you. How are you today? I'm doing great. I'm really excited about our conversation. And, Amber, thank you for joining us today. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to talk about this topic and to talk to you guys and just dive right in. Awesome. Well, Amber, for our listeners that are not familiar with who you are and what you do, can you share a little bit about your background? And also how'd you get that name? Religious hippie. That's cool. Yeah. No, I it's great. So I'm Amber Rose, the religious hippie. My ministry's main focus is to help people who have fallen away from the church to find their way back. Because I was that person. In 2019, I found my way back to the Catholic Church after leaving it for almost a decade. I was around 11 when we left, and I came back when I was about 19 or 20, and I didn't have this was pre-COVID. We didn't have, you know, social media the way we do now with TikTok, the way it blew up. And we have all these, you know, Catholic content creators who have come up and are amazing. I only had really Catholic Answers. Trent Horn you know, and I love them. They were great. Father Mike Schmitz. Oh my gosh, so amazing. But I wanted to know what it was like to be a teenager, you know, a young adult in the Catholic world trying to find your way back. And I couldn't find any relatable sources. It was all apologetics. It was all about how to defend your faith, which I was like, this is amazing, I need this. But when I looked for interviews of young adults who were passionate about their faith, maybe they fell away. Maybe they went through some things that I went through and they, they I just didn't find anybody. And this was before Covid. So, so before all the, you know, Catholic content creators took off on TikTok and then subsequently on other platforms. So I decided I was like, well, if I can't find them, maybe I'll become one of them. And I decided to just post, you know, a video, and I didn't really know how it was going to go. I didn't expect anything crazy, but I was looking for community, I was looking for camaraderie, and I wasn't finding it. And then that video basically blew up overnight and thousands of thousands of people started following me. I started getting an influx of people who are like, oh my gosh, I'm in the same boat. I had no idea I wasn't alone, like, I am also where you are. And then I realized, oh crap, I don't know much about my faith. And so I started diving deeper into my faith. And as people came to me with their questions, I started learning a lot more about the faith through just, you know, my outreach in the community that I was kind of building on there. And so the name came from a so it's funny because when I was in high school, I was called hippie because of my crazy hair and because of my flowy pants. And, you know, I was I was crazy. I was also into New Age occultism. But that's you know, it was short lived, but I was definitely into like some of that stuff. And so my friends call me hippie in high school. And, when I came back into my faith, the friends who did stick around were like, well, I guess, you know, like the religious hippie, like you're now like religious, right? And so that kind of just sparked this whole thing. And I was like, well, I guess I have to call myself something. And I called myself the religious hippie. It was supposed to be a temporary name, completely temporary, but I tried changing it once and people had a fit. They were just like. Why did you change it? You can't change it like that. To me it was great. So anyway, it stuck and it was all an accident. But, you know, I asked God. I was just like, if this is something you want from me, let it be done. But if it's not, take it away from me. Because, you know, social media had been a vise for me for so long. And he said, you know, to me, he said that I'm going to make something horrible, beautiful. And I'm going to turn your vise into a virtue if you're strong enough. And if you are willing to follow me and do this for me, not for your own glorification. And so I try to uphold that every day. And it's hard, very hard. But I do my best. So yeah. That is cool. Thank you. Yeah, I love that story. And thank you for sharing the journey too. I love how you were able to redeem, you know, what was kind of used as, you know, you were a hippie kind of mindset when you were in high school and kind of going down a path of darkness, you know, New Age, that kind of thing. And you redeemed that for God's glory, I love that. Thank you. Yeah. Do you still wear the floor, you the floor we pants and all the fun things are. Did you go let that go? You know, I definitely do. I have my bell bottoms. I have my peasant tops and everything. Unfortunately, it's not like the most esthetic thing ever. I definitely still like it. So I wear it. But posting it, people are like, it's like you told me I was promoting drugs by dressing that way. And I was like, that's that's weird. But okay, so now I just, you know, sweatshirts and t shirts and stuff, but I do definitely still have a very hippie flow to me. If, if you meet me in person, for sure. That's cool. Oh, one of the things is that, for Covenant Eyes, we are about living with integrity on the internet. And you, Amber, have, you're all over social media, but you've also talked about how social media has downsides. So how do you how do you balance the good sides of social media and the risks? Yeah, I think that that's a really hard one, especially today when the social media, you know, world is so saturated with Catholic content creators, which is great, but there has been a lot of infighting, too, and a lot of problems amongst Catholics online dragging each other through the mud, you know, just oh, I disagree with this person. So I'm going to completely unfollow them and like block them and whatever. It's there's a very there's a huge lack of humility and prudence online and social media kind of cultivates that. And so for me, being able to protect my piece is the most important thing, not just my peace, but also my privacy. I only share as much as I'm willing to share. I don't share out of the necessity of getting views or like, oh, this is going to be shocking. So people are going to want to, you know, view like the, you know, the family vloggers or, you know, whatever clickbait and things like that. I don't try to go towards towards that, but I try to talk about things that I'm very passionate about and things that I feel like young adults are really struggling with in today's world. And unfortunately, that comes with a lot of backlash, which means I have to protect my peace. I have to protect my privacy, I have to, make sure that I'm putting God first and that he is the one that's carrying me through this. Because if I'm doing it for my own gratification, my own glory, glorification, you know, it's not it's it's short lived. It's very temporary. Because if I'm basing my worth based off of what people say about me, that is going to be like, oh, I love her. One day. Oh, she's the worst the next. Oh, I love her this day. She's cancel her, you know? So for me, it's like I have to get my strength from God truly. And I do that through setting limits with my social media. Most of my social media is actually scheduled. People don't realize that. But I take month long breaks from social media at one time because I have to. Because if I am sucked into this world, if I am so deep into this world, I get sucked into the vortex of just black pilled people and, you know, feeling like it's okay to admonish someone online without actually, I don't know, trying to get their perspective. Now, there are people online that do need, you know, some public, I guess, you know, being called out in public. Sure. But it should always be done with a type of charity. And, you know, even when Jesus called out the Pharisees, it was still in charity in a way, you know, to to keep them and to prevent them from going deeper into their pride in their ways. And so, unfortunately, it can be very, hostile online. And so for me, just being able to refocus, make sure that my phone isn't the first thing I grab in the morning, make sure my Bible or, you know, my prayers are the first thing I grab in the morning, my rosaries. Always having Catholic art or something around to remind me to pray. And if I do find myself getting riled up online, and this is the best quote I think I've ever been given was if you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. If you can't handle what's going on online, it's causing you your peace. You're getting riled up about it. You have to go to confession because of how much you're online chronically, or because of what you say online, uncharitable, etc. take a break. It's really not that big of a deal. And I think, people are addicted. And so being able to prioritize your faith and constantly just ask, God, is this even something I should be doing? Because I don't believe everybody should be on social media or needs to be on social media, at least to the extent that most Catholic content creators are like myself or Trent Horn. I think it takes very specific people. You have to do it for the right reasons. You can't go into this being like, oh, I want to be a Catholic content creator because finances, like, I want to get paid or or I want people to see how much I'm doing for the church. It really doesn't come to that. And if you ask the big Catholic content creators today, most of them started their ministries just because they wanted to help people. It wasn't for self, you know, glorification. It wasn't for money or anything like that. It was, you know, the there was a lot of humility that went into that decision. And, God obviously was at the center of that. So for balance, honestly, I just schedule a lot of posts, make sure prayer comes first. Make sure I don't, you know, overdo it online too much. Especially when I'm sick, because that's all I feel like doing. And yeah, it's really simple things, but easier said than done, for sure. And it's a calling, right? It's a it's a calling. It's a kind of lowercase b vocation. Like, okay, I'm called to be here and do this. Not all of us are, but but you are so. But when you have a calling, you still have to proceed and live it out in the best way possible. So yeah, I think those are some great tips. Thank you. Absolutely. Yeah. And I think you brought up some really good points too, because oftentimes, you know, there are and I think we're inundated with this online, whether it's on Instagram or TikTok or even on YouTube. There are so many content creators. I actually read a study I it was probably a couple months back that being a YouTube influencer is like the number one and number two jobs for young people. Like when asked in high school, what do you want to be when you grow up? You know, not doctors, not lawyers. They want to be YouTube influencers. Yeah. Content creators. And so there's this whole dynamic of young people that, you know, they see the personalities out there and you know, they want the I think they're going after it for the wrong reasons. They see the money, the fame, you know, the notoriety. But it actually is a lot of work. And most of the the really high level, influencers that are out there for the church, whether it's Catholic or Protestant, they really do have good boundaries put in place. You talked about that. And I think that's something that people don't realize that, you know, they're not living online. A lot of times they have people that manage their social media profiles for them because they know the danger of getting sucked in because, you know, all of these platforms are designed to be addictive. That's that's how they keep people coming back. You know, they don't offer their services free because they care about your well-being. They offer them free because they build in behavior modification techniques to get you coming back. So the advertisers can get in front of these people and they can sell ad space and make money. So, I mean, if we really look at the intent of social media, I think that's important. But let's talk a little bit about, you know, in your story, you know, you left the church and came back. Let's talk a little bit about that journey and, talk about your reversion story and how how, you know, your transformational encounter really led you back to where you are today. Yeah. So I was born and raised a cradle Catholic. My dad raised us in the traditional Latin Mass, and, I mean, we went to the Novus Ordo to. There was one that I did, you know, catechism at. So I, I was there as well. So I got the best of both worlds, basically, I got, you know, to, go to the North sono and I got to go to the TLM. But I hated mass. I hated everything about it. I hated how it was like this hour of just doing nothing. And, you know, I'm short. I'm a little kid. You know, I'm literally just looking at butts because it's like I'm at a certain height. I can't see anything. And we always sat in the back and we always went to the earliest mass possible, which was, surprise 730 in the morning. So little me was like, not thrilled about this. I'm like, not only do I have to sit in silence for an hour in a church and stare at people's either heads or butts, but I also have to be quiet. I can't do anything, and I have to, like, not fall asleep either, which is also very hard to do. But I added a low Latin Mass, because there's like silence and it's dark and nobody's talking. So I didn't like it, growing up. And because of that, I didn't really pay attention. And catechism class, I got my first communion, I got my confirmation and I didn't, I, I goofed off the entire time, never really absorbed anything that was given to me. Despite going to one of the most beautiful parishes and going to some of the most informed catechism classes, I think some people would have died to go to those catechism classes, you know, but unfortunately I just didn't recognize it as something that was important. I didn't realize that it was something that was, you know, I guess, important for my soul. I, I just didn't really care. And I hate saying that, but it's true. As a little kid, I didn't care. 2011 rolled around and my family fell away from the church because of the sex scandals that were coming out. I think a lot of people didn't know how to handle those at the time, unfortunately, and my family was one of those, and so to me, I was like, great. Yes. Like, this is perfect because now I can sleepover with my friends into Sundays. I don't have to go to mass. I don't have Catholic guilt. I don't have to go to confession. I don't have to any of these giant responsibilities that were really keeping me safe at the time. But to me, I viewed as restrictions, were finally gone in my eyes. And shortly after that, I think only a couple months after that, I was introduced to pornography by a peer of mine at, an orchestra group that I attended when I was younger. And I really liked this boy. I thought he was smart. I thought he was handsome. I thought he was interested in me for all the right reasons. He gave me attention. And the pornography kind of just came on slowly. It was more of a grooming type of situation where I was very young. He was only a little bit older than me, not by much, but he was groomed by a girl at his school, and he told me about that. And I was just like, what does that mean? What is grooming? What is what is any of this stuff? Because I'm 11, I got, you know, almost 12. I don't know these things. And so then over time, he slowly introduced me to certain words, and he introduced me to sexting. He introduced me to, different things that I shouldn't have known about at the time, and I didn't really still understand. I knew that this behavior was expected of me from him and that I liked him. And so I was going to do this because I liked him. But unfortunately, it was just something that became a you know, an 8 to 9 year long addiction where I didn't realize why I was doing it or why I, you know, felt the need to do it. But it was like a stress relief. And it was something that I, I just kind of kept with me. It was a secret. Nobody else knew about this. You know, I was very good at hiding everything. And when I got my own phone, because my sister and I were actually sharing a phone at the time, and somehow I got away with this, and I don't know how I got away with, you know, sharing a phone with my sister and also doing that. I have no idea. But I did. I was very, very sneaky. I was able to get away with it. And because I really was craving affirmation and I was craving validation and just love, I guess this is what I thought it was supposed to be like. Because this is what the world tells you. Love is like sex outside of marriage, you know, drama. Just doing inappropriate things in general, like dressing immodestly like all of that. Lust is just a part of relationships. And if they're not lusting after you, then there's a problem. And so from that and then also from viewing pornography for years, I started learning what, basically from the women in pornography, what you're supposed to look like to be appealing to the male, the male gaze. And so I started starving myself, to be skinnier. I was 12, I was already skin and bones like I'm a child. And I was like, oh, I need to be skinnier. I need to be this. I need to look like Britney Spears. I need, you know, to wear these scandalous clothings. I need to draw attention to myself and I still didn't know why I was doing it. I was chasing validation. I was chasing these feelings, but it always left me empty. And so I kind of went through this for eight years. I developed an eating disorder. I did I was, you know, depressed, I was anxious, self-harm was a huge part of it. And during this time I was also homeschooled. So there's that and I was in a few different homeschool groups, but in one specifically, there were always rumors going on about me, about, you know, oh, she's, you know, an slut. You know, she she does this stuff. She's even though it wasn't necessarily true what they were saying, it still had some truth to it because I knew I was still, you know, not a virtuous person. And so I kind of just got a lot of trust issues. And I started shutting everybody out as a teenager would do. And then in every relationship I ever had, you know, one after the other, after the other, the main, consistent thing was always either pornography, sexting or them only valuing me for how skinny I was, what my body looked like, etc. and so I quickly learned that validation came from how I looked. And so it made me a very shallow person because I started putting more effort into how I looked as opposed to things I knew, skills I had, you know, my personality and I would just mold myself into what other people wanted me to be in that moment, as opposed to who I really was or what my actual viewpoints were. So I became a mask of a person, and by the time I was 19, I had no idea who I was. I was like, I don't have a personality. I don't have, you know, I don't know what I'm specifically supposed to do. I don't know why I feel so empty when I'm doing everything that everybody wants me to do. Why do I still feel this way? And so it all came to a head when I was probably, you know, it was in the summertime sometime, and I was in bed and I was having, like the worst depression episode of my life where I couldn't get out of bed for days. I was just laying there, and I remember rolling over and on my wall, I have a calendar and it was pugs and donuts, my dad. So it was like a really cute calendar. But I rolled over and I saw that it was Sunday and in my head I was just like Sunday. Okay, I have homework to do. I have this to do. I have everything to do. And I kind of, I don't know exactly what it was, if it was, you know, the Holy Spirit or Our Lady or what it was, but it was kind of like this nudge of, remember when you were younger and I remember latching on to this memory of just like us going to mass as a family, and afterwards we'd get brunch. But even though I didn't like mass necessarily as a child, I liked feeling like I had some sort of foundation, like the pillars were there at that time. And I'm like, well, I've tried everything else. The last thing I can really do is go to mass. So I somehow gathered enough courage to get up, put on the least scandalous thing I owned, because at that time I had a closet full of scandal and I drove myself to mass. Nobody knew. My parents didn't know. My friends didn't know. My sister didn't know. I just took myself to mass and I walked in. I sat in the back pew because that's where we sat when I was a kid. And I was almost like, immediately, like sandwiched in by people who were, like, filing in for mass. And I was just like, great, okay. That's great. Like, now I can't leave if I want to, and I know God kind of did that on purpose, you know, corralled me, so to speak. So I wouldn't I wouldn't get up and leave. But I decided I was like, you know, for my anxiety telling me, like, you don't belong here. And the devil obviously lying to me, saying, like, people are judging you, they know what you've done. And someone could simply just, like, glance at me and I'd be like, oh my gosh, they know what I did. Like I am. Oh no. And so I was sandwiched in couldn't leave, but I decided I'm like, I have to get out of here. So during communion, when people get up to go receive, I'm going to ditch because, you know, that's that's I've seen people do that before too. When I was a kid. I'm like, people would just receive communion and leave, which is also not a good thing. That's a different topic. But, I was like, I'll just do that. Nobody will notice. Like, it'll be fine. So eventually, you know, I'm like just in my head at this point, just thinking like I don't belong here, etc.. And eventually consecration starts and the priest lifts the host for transubstantiation and everything freezes. And I remember kind of looking around and being like, okay, well, this is a new low for my mental illness, but, I guess I'm having a psych moment and I remember looking around, everything's frozen. Nobody's talking. The priest is frozen, but it's like Jesus is alive. You know, in the Eucharist where there's this pulsating light. And I heard him say in my heart, he said, do you trust me? And I was just like, okay, psychic break down, like, let's go. Okay. But I was just like, kind of in a moment of disbelief, I guess, because God had always been something so distant to me, something that I just thought was something that people imagined to make themselves feel better as opposed to an actual person, an actual, you know, loving God. And I said, no, I don't trust you. And I started listing off all the reasons why I didn't introduced pornography. My my depression, my mental illness. All my friends turned against me like, why would you do this to me? Why would you allow me to go through this? And he kept asking. He's like, well, do you trust me? Do you trust me? And I was like, no. And I kept fighting him on this. And, you know, at one point, the more I reflect on the story and the more that I kind of get back into that mindset, I remember having a moment of clarity where I realized God didn't leave me. I left him and he had been trying this entire time to bring me back over the course of eight years, and I had to take some responsibility for the decisions I made, not what was done to me, because I can't control that. I was a victim in many ways, but now I'm an adult. I have to take responsibility for what had happened to me and how I respond to that now. And in that moment, I understood that God didn't put me through that. You know, we live in a fallen world where sin run rampant, runs rampant, and there are other hurt people who hurt people. And that wasn't necessarily my fault at all. But at the same time now, it is like this behavior that I've cultivated, is my fault because why am I hurting myself even more? Why am I giving my abuser that satisfaction of, you know, instead of healing and taking care of myself? Why am I torturing myself? Why am I now becoming the abuser of myself? And I had that realization and God just kept asking, he's like, do you trust me? Do you trust me? And eventually I said, I'll try. You know, and I always describe the hymn constantly asking over and over again, I describe that as him taking like a little chisel and a pick and kind of like chipping away the stone cold parts of my heart, because I had built so many walls around my heart at that point, from the rumors that were spread to people who broke up with me, who just used me for, you know, sexual gratification, whatever it might be. And, he, he cracked through. And so I after that, I stayed after consecration, of course. And I just had like, this moment of weight being lifted off my shoulders. But then I also felt a different type of weight. I felt pressure, like a hug from a mother, a very maternal hug from Our Lady saying like, you did it, you you're back. Like you. Finally you had to go through what you had to go through. But you're here. And my son, once you back and now you're back. And so our lady went. And I didn't realize this until, you know, after my conversion. But when? A couple weeks before my Mia was a couple months. I don't really remember, but before my reversion, I lost my childhood rosary. When we left the church, I lost my childhood rosary. I had no idea where it went. Didn't know, where it was like I it was a beautiful amber colored rosary which I have on my desk over there, but no idea where it went. Just disappeared. And then a couple weeks before my reversion, I found it on my dresser and I told my mom, like, oh my gosh, you found you found my rosary. Like, this is great. And it didn't really mean anything to me, but it was like, you know, symbolic and nostalgic and whatever. And she was just like, no, I didn't. And I was like, oh, well, okay. Well, it just showed up on my desk, so I don't like somebody had to put it there and nobody put it there. So I was like, well, that's weird, but whatever. So I hung it up on my wall and I was just like, I'll just put that there. And then, yeah, two weeks later I had my reversion. So I definitely think it was Our Lady, you know, giving me a little a little nudge and being like, hey, you know, remember the rosary. Remember, my son loves you. Remember, you know, these important things. And after I had my reversion, I went to my car. And people usually have like a breakdown, like they cry, I started laughing, I had joy that I had not felt in over almost a decade. An 11 year old depressed like. Unfortunately, it's not that unusual these days for kids to be depressed. But at that time, I mean, I hadn't felt joy or happiness really in almost eight years, and it was just such a relief. And in that moment, I was like, I kind of had to stop laughing. And I was just like, wait, either I'm all in or I'm not. Either I go back to my old ways, either I completely like, do this or I don't. It's I can't do this halfway. I can't live a double life. I'm either completely in this for God or I'm not. And I have to make that decision right now. And I reflected on my life. I went through everything that had happened when I was younger and everything, and I was like, yeah, we're going to go the other way. I'm going to go follow God now. And that's what started all of this. Yeah. So that's kind of like the reversion story, I guess. You. Wow, that is incredible. Oh, my gosh, that is a beautiful story. A beautiful testimony to the power of our Holy Father. I just wow, I am so taken back by your story. And I think a lot of our listeners can relate to the journey that you've been on, because unfortunately, it's more common than we like to admit. You know, the details might be slightly different, but so many young women really end up in that space that you were in and walk away from the faith. We see a lot of young people turning from the faith. And, we also hear the testimonies of people who have come back and found that. So I just I'm so grateful for you sharing that. Thank you for your vulnerability. Thank you. Yeah. You. No, I'm happy to share. You've really built your ministry around your your your reversion and your your stories. So talk to us a little bit about some of the work that you're doing right now online and in other ways to support, people in your community and to help them grow in their faith as well. Yeah, I think community is so important. And, you know, we're in the middle of moving right now, so everything's a little bit all over the place. But I will say that one of the things I've really been trying to do when I kind of had a moment, in prayer, is when I was in adoration and I was just like, Lord, I don't know where to take this anymore. Like, I've already shared my story so many times. I've already shared what I've gone through and how to, you know, what more can I bring to this? And if this is the end of the ministry, how do I go about that? Like, what do I do about that? And he was like, no, you're not done yet. Sorry. I know you probably want to be, but you're not. He's just like, mainly what I felt was there is a need for my generation to know how to navigate this life. There are tons of people out there who are talking about their own stories, which is great. And there are tons of people out there talking about apologetics and how to defend the faith, which is great, and all of that's important. But what about those weird niche situations? What about those young adult situations that you find yourself in that nobody can really understand because they're specific to you? And so I have something called the help segment, where people email me in about their specific situations and I can share, you know, my experience. But then I also have a spiritual director who is wonderful and has given me so much advice on on how to help these people. And I get information from priests on everything on how to address these situations. And so that's something that I've really been trying to lean more into, is what is saturating the, I guess, the secular culture right now, and how is that bleeding into Catholicism? And, you know, the young Catholics that are trying to navigate the secular world. I have a podcast called A Catholics Perspective, and my little slogan is, all about a young Catholic trying to survive in a secular world. And so I'm like, I really need to take that more seriously and look into what's going on right now online, offline, in the dating pool, but also in personal lives. You know, I think a lot of stuff is similar but under different circumstances, because when I was 11, social media wasn't really a thing. And now it is, so the younger generation are being raised on social media and what is that costing them spiritually but also mentally? And how can they handle that? Because when you're a kid, you think your parents know what's best for you. And, you know, I assume most parents do try their best. And, but a lot of parents do fall short. And it's like, well, how do we navigate these things that our parents don't know how to deal with and or don't even know about? And I'm hoping that the ministry and some videos and some podcasts that I'm putting out there will help these specific niche situations in dating. It's like, well, what if I'm dating, you know, a guy and he's lukewarm Catholic, but, you know, he says he's going to get better or but he isn't. Just like very niche situations. I'm can't think of anything off the top of my head because they're so specific sometimes. But I'm really trying to help the younger generation. I've babysat for almost for one family for almost ten years at this point, and, I've watched them grow up. I've seen how social media has affected them, how Covid affected them when they were younger, and you know, the struggles that they're going through. I'm like, you should not know about any of this as a nine year old, or you shouldn't be going through this as a nine year old. One of the one of the girls, she often writes on random pieces of paper throughout the house. And I came across a piece of paper and she's at this point, she was probably, I want to say, yeah, maybe 9 or 10. And she basically talked about how she longed for a simpler time, how she longed for a time when her parents didn't have high expectations. She's nine, didn't have high expectations of her. She longed for a time when her mom used to brush her hair, and her dad used to sit on the couch with her and watch movies and not have any expectations of her, and it makes her sad and I was and I read this and I was just like, okay, there is a problem here. Like she was already feeling nostalgic and she's nine. She's not even a teen yet. She's not even in double digits. And I'm like, what is going on? So I'm really, really trying to reach the younger kids who are being fed all this, you know, just secular crap that they're, you know, that they should be introduced to pornography, that sex doesn't mean anything, that they can sell their bodies online, that this is a normal type of relationship. Because, yeah, I see it a lot and it's really, really sad. I think you bring up a really good point, too, because we've seen some studies recently that are kind of showing the younger generation almost trending back, back to like non-smart phones, flip phones, you know, they want to wait. I don't want to be online. I want to be in real life. And so we are seeing little incremental movements among the young people because I think they sense something's not right. And they long for something that maybe they've never even experienced because their whole life technology has been there. But they they sense that technology has driven them away from what is better and what is good. And ultimately, they're really seeking a deeper relationship with our Lord. But, you know, in community in connection with real human. So I'm glad to see there's sparks of hope out there that this generation is waking up and seeing that. And your story about the girl writing the note, I think is symbolic to that as well, because we're hearing those kind of stories all the time. So there's an awakening happening, and I'm excited to see that because I think technology with it does have its good, moments. And, you know, we use it to have these podcast conversations and to get the word out about your ministry. But there are some evil, dark things happening in the technological space. And pornography is one of those things, and it's poisoning our young people. So I just I'm grateful that you shared that story. And I love how you're really taking people's stories at an individual level because it shows them I'm seen, I'm heard, and then you can direct them, to really where the answers lie, which is in God's Word and in his loving support. So I love that. Theo. I bet you've got questions. I didn't mean to jump in there. No, no, I, I yeah, you everything you said was right. I think, Amber, one of the things that I, we admire about you is your willingness to kind of take on all the topics. There hasn't been any, sacred cows or anything. You seem to have void obviously. Pornography. Right. You're. Yeah, yeah. And, promoted us. So. So you're here. But even dating modesty, you know, the occult, I mean, nothing from what I've seen in your videos. So has has seemed to be off the table. You kind of already answered one of the questions in my mind. I love your, kind of direction. You're going where you want to answer specific things. I was wondering if there's anything that seems to kind of come up more regularly. Or, like, you know, any trends you've noticed in these niche questions, but, you know, now they're also very specific. But, I guess I want to combine two kind of things into one here. I want to, ask maybe what are some of the ways of handling certain topics that you found to be effective? And then since you're wanting to appeal to the younger generation, as do we, we tend to do that a lot by getting to the parents. So what do you think parents need to, need need to know to kind of be able to do what you're doing for their kids, if that all makes sense. Yeah, I think especially with the younger generation, the number one thing that I get is about friendships and about how they've realized that they're, you know, their faith is really important to them, but their friends have taken a completely detour route. And these are people who have been friends for years and years and years. But it's like, well, what do I do with my friends becoming hostile towards my faith? We've been friends for years, but all of a sudden it's just this 160 and I'm heartbroken and I don't know what to do. And it really does have to do a lot with relationships and whether that's, you know, dating or friendships. But I've noticed that there is a huge influx of also people just not knowing how to interact with each other properly. We've lost the art of communication. We've lost the art of argument. You know, where it's like an argument is always this negative thing nowadays. But in the old days, like, you could argue with someone where it's like you could have differing opinions, still respect each other and still be able to move on and be friends after it. It's not this I'm cutting my family off for Thanksgiving. It's, you know, that we have these days. So I definitely see a lot of it. Most people, with relationships, whether that's parent relationship where the child wants to convert, the parent wants to kick them out, or, you know, whatever it might be. That's a huge one right now, actually. Or it might be, you know, dating, like, how do I find somebody in this world where it's like, sometimes Catholics aren't even Catholic? They say they are, but they're not sometimes, and they're fine with sex outside of marriage or they're fine doing, you know, pushing the boundaries a little bit. And then of course, friendships where, like, we had all this stuff in common. I started taking my faith more seriously. They did it. And now it feels like, you know, they're my enemy. So those are like, the top ones that I've been seeing as relationships. And for parents, I mean, there is a lot going on. And I think the most important thing that I tell parents is that if you don't teach your kids the world well, and that goes for anything that can go for sex, that can go for virtue, that can go for jobs and your worth. And for me, I never had the sex talk. I never had you know, any I, I figured all of this out on my own. I also taught myself how to read and write. So I was very much so. My parents don't know what they're talking about. I'm going to go off on my own and, you know, find my own answers because I was just raised in that mindset where it's like fend for yourself kind of thing. You know, you have to figure it out for yourself. And so I did, and I got I got deep in a lot of trouble because I didn't have guidance. I didn't have the bumpers keeping me from falling into, you know, the dangerous of the world. And the only bumpers I had were the Catholic Church, though I didn't know it at the time, and when those were taken away, I was just free to be a gutter ball, basically. And that's what happened. And so I tell parents, I'm like, do not be afraid of these hard conversations. You are the parent. You have a duty to protect your child, and you have a duty to protect them online and offline. And so you have to be able to have these hard conversations with them. And whether or not they take it in the moment, they will hopefully, when they're older, understand, or when they're faced with a situation like this. I think the worst thing that happened was, for me, at least in these situations, is that I was blamed, a lot for what happened. It's like, well, you should have known better. You should have this, this and that, whatever. And so instead of being like, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry that happened to you, like, this is, you know, we'll we'll do something about this or, you know, instead of being the. Yeah, I guess having a safe space to be able to tell an adult, any adult, what was happening behind the scenes. I did not have that. I didn't have one adult in my life who I felt like I could go to and be like, this is happening to me. What do I do? Everybody kind of just brushed me off or I was blamed for it. So I implore parents to have patience with their children to not go into it, judge, like judging them or, you know, yelling at them or anything, like, of course there needs to be a discussion, but it, you know, I think parents can become very emotional when they learn their child's hurt. And I think it can come from a very good place. But the child needs, support. They need discussion, they need an open space, not they don't need sometimes the fact that you know that something's bad is punishment enough. My husband and I talk about this all the time. It's like sometimes just the act of doing something and coming to your parent, knowing that you've done something wrong and telling them you've done something wrong is punishment enough. And what that child really needs is, is a hug, you know? I mean, I could have been at it. I could have benefited from a hug, like, so many times as a child. So I would say to parents, you know, have patience with your child for real. That's good advice. I think that's really important. I know as, a mom myself, my daughter's 26 now, and the best part of her being at that age is we can reflect on her journeys as a young person because technology came out when she was, I think maybe in like late middle school, and she didn't get a phone right away. And she was so bitter towards us because we wouldn't let her have technology. And now that she's older, she's like, thank you. You like thank you for being that parent and sticking it out. Even though I said I didn't like you guys, you were so mean. You know, all these things because she knows now the dangers that are there. And, you know, to all of our parents out there, it's not easy. I understand, like keeping up with what's happening in the technology space or, you know, the cyberbullying, the sexting, all the things that happened that we didn't have access to as young people. We don't understand them. It's hard. But just because something's hard doesn't give us the right to not do our very best to figure it out and to be there for our children. So, you know, let's do better. Parents, I mean, we can there's tools like Covenant Eyes. Protect Young Eyes is a great organization that keeps you in tuned. There's people we can we can actually refer our children to listen to people like Amber, you know, healthy podcast and YouTube and TikTok videos, people that we want our children to emulate. But we have to be engaged. We need to know who our children are listening to. Because, Amber, you're a great, amazing person. Thank you. But there are a lot of bad actors out there. There are people who claim to be in the faith and are misdirecting our young people, you know, or just have bad theology and they don't even know it. We have to be we have to know who our children are listening to and following. You know, in my day, it was my parents who needed to pay attention to the music I was listening to. But nowadays it's who are your kids listening to on podcasts and YouTube and TikTok and all the rest, right? If you hold the line while they're teenagers. My, my, I was I was late to the game with the phones to okay, my parents made sure I didn't and I didn't always like. And I noticed like, oh, it's not like everybody else, but you hold the line. And one thing that Karen and I can witness to is that your, your kids will stay in relationship with you as they're older, right. You have a great relationship with your daughter. I have a great relationship with my parents. Now that I'm 31, it pays dividends long term. Yeah, it's really hard in the beginning, but I think the parents who cave, they realize like, oh no, I've made a mistake, you know, and the parents who don't cave and they give their kids, you know, the freedom to feel their feelings, you know, to be upset within reason. Because sometimes kids these days can go a little crazy, No. Matter what. But, you know, you have to, you definitely have to walk them through this and teenagers are emotional, like, they're going to they're going to try and guilt you. They're going to try. Because in that moment, it feels so real. It really does to feel left out, to not have a phone, to not be able to do all these other things your friends are doing. But then, you know, you kind of look at it. And when I was kind of talking to the girls that, I babysat for, I was ten years, the oldest got a phone and her company completely changed. Her entire demeanor has completely changed. And I talk to the younger siblings, and I was like, do you see, like, what technology and what social media can do? And they're just like, yeah, we miss our sister. Like, I don't know what happened. Like all of a sudden she's obsessed with how she looks. She's on her phone all the time. She's not talking to us. She's more moody. And so I've had talks with, you know, the oldest one as well. And she just breaks down all the time. Just about like. I don't know why this person's not texting me back. I don't know if I did something. Is this okay to post like and and, you know, their parents are very similar to what I had growing up, you know, with, like, adult figures where it's like they don't feel safe going to them. So it's like, it's unfortunate because, you know, they build these walls and it just becomes a bigger problem, you know? And I do what I can to make the parents aware, because that is my responsibility. But, you know, you can't do anything if the parents don't do anything. I'm just the babysitter. Yeah, I think, too, for parents out there, that might be feeling a little bit like, wow, this is this is a lot. You know, I don't know how to do all this. The thing is, is that we are going to make mistakes. But if we can actually just humbly go to our kids when we know that we have let them down, or maybe we weren't there when we should have been there. I mean that the best parents are going to fail in some way, and just admitting that to your children and letting them know, like, you know, I don't know everything. And sometimes I make mistakes and I think I let you down and I'm sorry. And asking their forgiveness really can go far to building trust with your kids, because I know as a mom I made mistakes. And really, when you humble yourself and you admit those and you just ask them for, you know, some grace and let them know that we're on this journey together and I'm learning as I go as well. I think that can go really far. So if you're a parent that maybe did give the phone and maybe have some regrets there, there's still a way forward. You know, you can still go to your child and be like, maybe we made a little bit of a mistake here. I want to kind of walk this back and I'm sorry. I'm sorry if this is harmed you in any way. And I want to make this right, and I'm here for you. And, you know, you mentioned just just a hug. Sometimes a hug can really go a long ways, right? It really. Can. Yeah, absolutely. Well, we're coming to the end of today's episode, Amber. And I want to make sure that all of our listeners can get connected with you and find you in all your social spaces so that they can follow your work. So where can they go to learn more? Yeah. So I have a YouTube channel, which is where I upload a lot of videos about what's going on. For young adults in the secular world, I try to take like a funny spin on it too. So it's really entertaining and also, you know, informative. So it can keep the, you know, Gen Alpha's attention span in there, because my dad is not very good either, but I get entertained when I edit them. So I'm like, this is good. This is a good one. And then I also have a podcast called A Catholics Perspective. And you can basically follow me on any social media platform I'm on, Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, for some reason. And yeah. Awesome. All right. Well that's awesome. We'll put all those links in the show notes for our listeners that might be at the gym or driving. We know how hard that is to try to type that in while you're doing something else. So no worries there. We've got your back. Well, Theo, thanks again for joining us today. I hope that you found a lot of value in today's conversation. I know I did. I definitely I definitely did too. It was great to get connected with the religious hippie and, hear about this. And, you know, I'm a parent of a three year old. Right. So I have, a lot to, to, to learn. So I've definitely had some things I can, you know, take back even to my own parenting, but also, yeah, our our, our generation. Amber and I are kind of in the same generation, so we got, a lot of work to do, evangelizing, the fellow members of our generation, our fellow Catholics, and, and, yeah, we're just great to have you on the podcast. Amber, thank you for promoting us. Thank you for sharing the good word and speaking the word of truth into all of these different topics, these topics that are so on the ground and involved with people's lives. Just thanks for everything you're doing, and it's an honor to have you on today and to be connected with you and do the work alongside you. So thanks so much. Yes. Thank you. I really appreciate it. And thank you for all the work that you guys are doing as well, because our generation needs it and it's so important. So thank you. I really appreciate it. Well, thank you and thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in to this episode of The Covenant Eyes Podcast. We'll see you next time. Take care. God bless.