Amanda Held Opelt
@AmandaHeldOpelt
Songwriter, author of A Hole in the World & Holy Unhappiness (July ‘23). Writes about faith, the creative life, grief, & ritual. Rooted in Southern Appalachia.
Blessed are the unentitled- the ones hungry for the table scraps, the ones grasping desperately for the hem, the ones satisfied w/ the simple word of healing without the miraculous performance. They know there is power even in the remnants, the odds & ends. Theirs is the kingdom
For all the gatekeeping that goes on in Christianity (especially online Christianity), I am reminded that in John 10, Jesus tells us that HE IS the gate.
Just because I don’t post on the internet doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions. Just because I have opinions doesn’t mean I need to post on the internet.
While campaigning, they PROMISED they would rebuild Western North Carolina. There are still thousands of people here living in moldy homes, campers, sleeping on relatives couches. This is devastating news.
NC Governor Josh Stein's office has now released an official statement. "Today, I learned that FEMA refused our request to extend its 100% reimbursement period for another 180 days. I got this news while I was in Newland with families who lost their homes in the storm. The need…
Turns out, neither side of the political spectrum applies their principles consistently. We like who we like, we pick our team, and we shift our principles accordingly to support their actions.
New post! I wrote a few more reflections on the 100 year anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial. This one is…personal. It was pretty tough to write. I love my hometown. I’m grateful for how I was raised. I’m learning to embrace the both/and. open.substack.com/pub/amandaheld…
This month marks 100 years since the Scopes Monkey Trial. I grew up in Dayton Tennessee, under the long shadow of that trial. In this Op Ed for @RNS , I share what it means to me now. religionnews.com/2025/07/03/100…
Still stand by this post 😊
I’m about to give a hot take on this revival. I might regret it. I might be wrong. I might delete this. 1/6
Believing that children in Gaza deserve food to eat is not the same as being pro-Hamas/pro-terror. Condemning the murder of Israeli embassy staff does not mean you hate all Palestinians. This polarized, either/or, black and white thinking is going to be the end of us.
One of those days I’m feeling glad I stayed on this app 😬
I am really struggling to understand the logic of banning food dyes while simultaneously defunding cancer research. 🤔
Hey @matt_vanswol thoughts on this? wataugademocrat.com/news/local/tub…
Hearing @ezraklein and @DouthatNYT seriously discuss the existence of “the good people” is exactly the diversion I needed from the disaster that is the daily news. 🧚 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ros…
Whooooo boy. The special needs mom groups are ✨feral✨ this morning
RFK JR: And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, they'll never play baseball, they'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted
Our culture desperately, desperately needs an anthropology of belovedness & inherent worth of EVERY human made in the image of God regardless of productivity or economic contribution. It’s good & right to want to alleviate suffering. But we’ve got to keep the WHY in check.
RFK JR: And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, they'll never play baseball, they'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted