Explore every episode of the podcast Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Discipline of Inspiration with Carey Wallace | 14 Jan 2025 | 00:50:14 | |
"Just try harder. Work harder. Think harder." But what if the key to creativity, whether that’s in our art or in the art of our daily lives, isn’t more effort but surrender? Carey Wallace, artist and author of The Discipline of Inspiration, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about:
_ The Discipline of Inspiration by Carey Wallace Image Seminar: The Discipline of Inspiration (a five-week craft workshop) Slow Productivity by Cal Newport Jon Batiste interview on Fresh Air Once a Queen: A Novel by Sarah Arthur Once a Castle by Sarah Arthur _ CONNECT with Carey Wallace on her website (disciplineofinspiration.org), Instagram (@disciplineofinspiration), or Facebook (@disciplineofinspiration). _ WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast. _ ABOUT THE GUEST: Carey Wallace is the author of The Discipline of Inspiration (Eerdmans), The Blind Contessa’s New Machine (Penguin), and The Ghost In The Glass House (Clarion). She works to help people from all walks of life find inspiration and build strong creative habits to sustain a lifetime of creation. She performs as a songwriter, exhibits her own fine art, and has spoken on art, faith, and justice with students at Princeton, Julliard, Emory, Pratt, and Yale. Her articles and poems have appeared in Time, Detroit’s Metro Times, and America. She is the founder of a retreat for artists in Michigan, and the Discipline of Inspiration creative habit formation program, which has been in operation for over a decade across the US and internationally. She grew up in small towns in Michigan, and lives and works in Brooklyn. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| The New Testament in Color with Esau McCaulley, Ph.D. | 03 Dec 2024 | 00:44:59 | |
How do we attend to diverse voices in our churches and society without silencing or patronizing each other? Author and professor Esau McCaulley, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary. They talk about:
_ NYT essays by Esau McCaulley CONNECT with Dr. McCaulley on his website (esaumccaulley.com) and on social media (@esaumccaulley) Watch this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast. Esau McCaulley, PhD, is an author and The Jonathan Blanchard Associate Professor of New Testament and Public Theology at Wheaton College. His writing and speaking focus on New Testament Exegesis, African American Biblical Interpretation, and Public Theology. He has authored numerous books including, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, which won numerous awards including Christianity Today’s Book of the Year. Esau also served as the editor of New Testament in Color: A Multi-Ethnic Commentary on the New Testament. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Chasing the Intact Mind with Amy Lutz, Ph.D. | 28 May 2024 | 00:54:11 | |
In a society often obsessed with intelligence, can we reimagine a good life that encompasses joy, meaning, and respect for all? What does it mean to respect and support individuals with profound intellectual disabilities? What role do those most intimately involved in providing care have in advocacy? Professor Amy Lutz, Ph.D., author of Chasing the Intact Mind, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss:
_ Professor Amy Lutz, Ph.D., is a historian of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research locates at the intersection of disability history and bioethics. She is a founding board member of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) and the author of Chasing the Intact Mind and several other books. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and five children, including Jonah, her 25-year-old son with profound autism.
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_ Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E13 | Privilege, Wealth, and the Christ-Shaped Life with Paul Miller | 22 Sep 2020 | 00:51:12 | |
How does the pattern of Jesus’ life reshape privilege, wealth, and community? Paul Miller, author of “J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life,” talks with Amy Julia about the J-curve and how this daily dying and rising with Christ can create communities where the potential divisions of wealth and privilege are reshaped by love. “The normal Christian life looks like the path of Jesus’ life—from life down into death and then from death up into resurrection and glorification. That pattern of Jesus’ life is the template for whole sections of my life, pieces of my day, my relationships, and it’s a very liberating grid. It has hope in it and gives meaning.” “We don’t understand how critical our dying is to the creation of an inclusive community.” “If I begin to live this J-curve, I become a community-creation machine. Everywhere I go I’m creating community.” “The antidote to all of the problems of the power of money is love.” “One of the aspects of evil is that it bends you to seeing that evil is the final word. And that leads to cynicism. You begin to see evil everywhere, and that in itself is evil because it leads to a cynical spirit where you begin to doubt even the good. That’s a disease of our age—an age of cynicism...Paul clearly looks at life through a resurrection lens and tells us to do so as well. What’s right and true and lovely? Be looking for those things. You’re hunting for the good.” On the Podcast:
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast. White Picket Fences, Season Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E12 | What Is Unjust About the Criminal Justice System with Dominique Gilliard | 15 Sep 2020 | 00:58:10 | |
What would it mean for the criminal justice system to be unjust? And if it is, what should Christians do about it? Dominique Gilliard, author of “Rethinking Incarceration,” talks with Amy Julia about the history of injustice in this system, reimagining justice, punishment, and reconciliation in light of the gospel, and practical ways the church can love people who have been incarcerated. Follow LMDJ on social media Twitter “Restorative justice says that for justice to be made manifest, there has to be a tangible pathway toward restoration for not only the person who has suffered from the offense but also the person who has caused the offense.” “Do we really believe the things that we proclaim in our congregational spaces, and, if so, how does that inform how we vote, how we live, how we engage in the world at large?” “Nobody is beyond redemption....the Spirit who has the ability to bring life out of death has the ability to bring restoration out of people who have caused offenses.” “When we understand that privilege is something for us to steward, then that liberates us from feeling immobilized by it. It liberates us from actually denying it. We can affirm privilege is real and that we have a responsibility to steward it in a way that furthers the kingdom and loves our neighbor.” On the Podcast:
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast. White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love i Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E11 | The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity with Esau McCaulley | 08 Sep 2020 | 00:52:34 | |
The Black church has a gift for American Christianity. Are we all willing to receive it? New Testament scholar Esau McCaulley, author of “Reading While Black,” talks with Amy Julia about Black biblical interpretation, distorted views of the gospel, the importance of identity within a Christian’s story, and the Black church’s commitment to both the theological tenets of Christianity and advocating for justice.
“There’s a whole story in the Bible of God liberating an entire people who are enslaved. This goes to the front of God’s resume. He says it over and over and over again, 'I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.'” “The very practice of going to the Bible and asking God to meet us there is an exercise of hope." "Look to the Black church in America. It has a long history of advocacy for justice along with remaining in the great tradition of things Christians will always believe." “If our ethnicity is eschatological, if we go into the new creation as black and brown and white people, if we all come into the kingdom as our ethnic selves, then God is glorified in the salvation of each of us and each part of who we are. My blackness is not immaterial to the story of my life. I can’t tell the story of my life and what God has done in my life without talking about what it means to be Black and Christian.” On the Podcast:
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast. White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapter 7. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E10 | Anxiety, Affluence, and Identity with Niro Feliciano | 01 Sep 2020 | 00:55:14 | |
In an achievement-oriented culture, how do we risk vulnerability in order to move toward personal and racial healing? Cognitive therapist Niro Feliciano talks with Amy Julia about the complexities of privilege, race and identity, affluence and anxiety, and the hurt and the hope found within communities of faith. “Race is a part of my identity and it is so much a part of my relationships.” “Affluence contributes to...anxiety and depression.” “Identity and value is so linked to accomplishment.” “Starting in the home, we have to validate our families and our kids for who they are and not what they do. We can’t constantly be focused on the achievement.” “I am sure about Jesus. When we say Christianity and the Church has not always been inclusive, my feeling is—Jesus always has been.” “Be compassionate towards yourself. Forgive yourself.” On the Podcast:
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast. White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book “White Picket Fences,” and today we are talking about chapter 7. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E9 | How Jesus Overcomes the Barrier of Wealth with Marlena Graves | 25 Aug 2020 | 00:46:47 | |
Fear often inhabits both wealth and poverty. How does viewing money and self-sacrifice through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus bring freedom and joy? Writer and speaker Marlena Graves, author of The Way Up Is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself, talks with Amy Julia about wealth, poverty, faith, and the freedom that comes from being filled up with God’s love. “Money can’t buy happiness or joy or peace. We can use money that God has given us for God’s ways, but to think that [money by itself] is going to satisfy—it really doesn’t.” “The way of Jesus is to use whatever God has given us and whatever station of life we are in for God’s Kingdom.” “The only way I can love people, love my neighbor, is if I am in tune and paying attention to God.” “Prayer is putting your gaze upon God.” On the Podcast:
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast. White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapters 6 and 7. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E8 | Equality, Equity, and Education with Subira Gordon | 18 Aug 2020 | 00:43:24 | |
What is the difference between equality and equity and how does that affect education? Subira Gordan, executive director of ConnCAN, talks with Amy Julia about the lack of equity in education, the effects this has on opportunities for children, the role of antiracism in education, and the questions we can ask to move our communities toward affirming antiracist policies. “Your ZIP code should not determine your future.” “Education is a great equalizer.” “Everyone wants to keep what they have, and they don’t recognize that what they have was made possible by government policies.” “We should be talking about how as a community we can affirm antiracist policies.” On the Podcast:
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E7 | Conversations about Whiteness with Cara Meredith | 12 Aug 2020 | 00:44:55 | |
How does “color blindness” actually enable blindness to racism and the system of whiteness? Cara Meredith, author of The Color of Life: A Journey Toward Love and Racial Justice, joins Amy Julia to talk about racism in the north, the harm of “color blindness,” the tenants of whiteness, and creating space to process whiteness in a way that’s “not all about me.” Show Notes: Cara Meredith is a writer, speaker, and coach. Connect with her online: carameredith.com, @carameredithwrites on Facebook and Instagram, and @caramac54 on Twitter.
On the Podcast:
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| On Vacation | 04 Aug 2020 | 00:03:41 | |
Amy Julia is on vacation. Tune back in next week for a new episode and interview.
Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E6 | Now Is the Time for Justice with Jemar Tisby | 28 Jul 2020 | 00:52:27 | |
How do we find hope, particularly in white American churches, when our history and identity is intertwined with racism? How does knowing who we were—and who we are—help us move toward justice and who we want to become? I talk with historian Jemar Tisby, New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise, about racism’s past and present reality, his sense of a growing darkness, and also where he sees hope. Show Notes:
IN THE PODCAST:
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E5 | Why I Wrote White Picket Fences | 21 Jul 2020 | 00:46:13 | |
When it comes to the enduring legacy of racism, what place is there for forgiveness, humility, and healing? On today’s episode, Amy Julia’s friend Niro Feliciano interviews her about how she came to write White Picket Fences and what she has learned in talking about social divisions over the past few years. {This episode originally aired on Niro's podcast—All Things Life.} Show Notes: Niro Feliciano is a certified cognitive therapist and is the co-founder of a multi-specialty mental health group—Integrative Counseling and Wellness Group in Wilton, CT. Follow Niro at nirofeliciano.com, on Facebook at Niro Feliciano, The Incidental Therapist, and on Instagram at @niro_feliciano.
Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Hope That Heals in a World That Hurts with Katherine Wolf | 14 May 2024 | 00:49:38 | |
How do you hold onto hope in the midst of suffering? How can we trust in the goodness of God in a world of pain? What does the good life look like in the midst of disability and uncertainty? Katherine Wolf, author with Alex Wolf of Treasures in the Dark, survived a catastrophic stroke at the age of 26 and continues her recovery to this day. She offers thoughtful answers to these questions as she talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
FREE RESOURCE: 10 Ways to Move Toward a Good Future (especially for families affected by disability) _ Katherine & Jay Wolf are communicators and advocates. They married and moved to Los Angeles to pursue careers in law and the entertainment industry. Their son, James was born in 2007, and six months later Katherine’s life nearly ended with a catastrophic stroke. Miraculously, she survived and continues her recovery to this day, including having a miracle baby, John in 2015. Katherine and Jay have shared their journey of steadfast hope through their books and at speaking events. Together, they founded Hope Heals camp, a community for families with disabilities like them. Katherine, Jay and their two sons live in the Atlanta area.
_
_ Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E4 | Challenging Comfort, Acknowledging Power, and Using Privilege with Natasha Robinson | 14 Jul 2020 | 00:57:21 | |
Natasha Sistrunk Robinson grew up as a Black woman in a patriotic family in Orangeburg, South Carolina. She went on to serve as a United States Marine and later worked in the Department of Homeland Security. She is now an author, speaker, and leader. Today we talk about her most recent book, A Sojourner’s Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World. We also cover the topic of patriotism, whether or not churches should seek to become multicultural spaces, and how white people can name both the injustices and the goodness within their lives and use it to serve God’s good purposes. Show Notes: Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 Bonus | Talking with Our Kids about Race, Justice, Love, and Privilege | 07 Jul 2020 | 00:25:03 | |
In this follow up to last week’s interview with Patricia Raybon, Amy Julia interviews her three children. Penny, William, and Marilee all talk about what they’ve learned from books, museums, and the recent protests after the death of George Floyd. Show Notes: We begin our conversation by talking about our family’s Civil Rights tour in 2019. Here’s a description of our four-day tour, as well as a recommended itinerary, which includes the Whitney Plantation that Marilee mentions, as well as the Legacy Museum, which is where we saw the jars of dirt that Penny talks about. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E3 | Our Different Stories Divide Us with Patricia Raybon | 30 Jun 2020 | 00:48:33 | |
How do white parents talk with their children about race and racism? Why do white evangelical and Black Christians seem so socially and politically divided? How can we move towards one another in love even when we disagree? Author Patricia Raybon and Amy Julia discuss these questions and more in this conversation about race, books and reading, parenting, and faith. (Also, check back next week for a bonus episode where Amy Julia talks with her kids about what they’ve learned from talking about racism and injustice at home.) Show Notes: Patricia begins by talking a bit about her background. Go here to learn more about her career in journalism and as a professor of journalism.We mention my Patricia begins with talking a bit about her history. Go here to learn more about her writings and career in journalism and as a professor of journalism. We talk about my essay series about racial healing on my Christianity Today blog and the connection to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Patricia wrote an article entitled “A White Cop and a Black Lady” that was published on my CT blog following this essay series. We mention Brené Brown, Kelli Trujillo, and Howard Thurman. We talk about mortgage discrimination, economic disparities, and white privilege. Patricia recommends reading Alex Haley’s book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, as well as Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. Patrician mentions an article she wrote entitled “Will We Judge Young Looters or Love Them?” Find Patrica Rabyon online: patriciaraybon.com. She also writes for Our Daily Bread Ministries, DaySpring’s (in)courage, Charles Stanley’s InTouch Ministries, and Christianity Today. If you would like to read more from Patricia, she recommends starting with My First White Friend, and then reading I Told the Mountain to Move, which is a prequel to Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace. Two additional books that Patricia recommended to me but not mentioned in the podcast are: Born a Crime and Cry, the Beloved Country. This podcast season is called White Picket Fences, and it is based on my book White Picket Fences: Turning Towards Love in a World Divided by Privilege. Learn more about White Picket Fences! Also check out free RESOURCES to accompany White Picket Fences—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you r Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E2 | Living into the Really Real with Micha Boyett | 23 Jun 2020 | 00:48:14 | |
How can we talk about race and disability without conflating the two? How can white, able-bodied, neurotypical people enter into this conversation? What is the difference between “white fragility” and being vulnerable? What is the connection between contemplation and activism? Amy Julia talks with author, podcaster, and advocate Micha Boyett today about all these questions and more. Show Notes Follow Micha Boyett online:
Micha also co-hosts a podcast called The Lucky Few, with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara. I mention that Micha is a poet and studied with Mary Karr. I reference last week’s podcast episode: S3 E1 | Waking Up to Privilege with David Bailey. We talk about Jean Vanier’s book Becoming Human and our sorrow over the sexual abuse perpetrated by Vanier. We mention Fr. Richard Rohr and his phrase “the really real,” and his prayer for “one good humiliation a day.” Why the phrase “all lives matter” is problematic and some of the warning signs of gaslighting. We talk about White Fragility by Robin J. DiAngelo. We mention The Rule of St. Benedict and mention Micah 6:8 from the Bible. Finally, here is my favorite podcast episode on The Lucky Few: Friendship Pt. 2 with Guest, Melynn Henry. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S3 E1 | Waking Up to Privilege with David Bailey | 16 Jun 2020 | 00:42:57 | |
Race, class, and the kingdom of God all come up in this conversation between Amy Julia and David Bailey, Director of Arrabon, a ministry to help churches become reconciling communities. In this introductory episode for Season 3, David and Amy Julia talk about why white people can feel afraid to enter into conversations about race, the controversies over Confederate monuments in David’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia, whether this moment of protest and activism will translate into lasting social change, and more. Show Notes: David references a lot of rich material in this show, so hopefully I’ll get it all recorded in one place. First, there are some references to the Bible. David talks about the foundational Judeo-Christian narratives found in Genesis 1 and Genesis 3, and he also makes reference to the “Jericho Road” and the “Good Samaritan” which can be found in Luke 10:25-37. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Season 3 Trailer: White Picket Fences | 12 Jun 2020 | 00:05:00 | |
Race, class, identity, privilege. These are topics and concepts that divide us, but what if we could start talking about them? Through conversation and stories that follow the themes of my book, White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege, we are going to explore these hard topics in order to move together towards healing. Show Notes: Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 112: Hope, Strength, and Contentment in the Midst of Civil Unrest | 09 Jun 2020 | 00:28:04 | |
Finding contentment and strength in all circumstances has never been easy. That was true for Paul 2,000 years ago writing from a prison cell, and it is true now for those of us in the midst of very ordinary hard days and those of us in extraordinarily hard days. This week, Amy Julia talks about small but hopeful steps people are taking in response to the recent protests in cities and towns across the country, and she explores the final verses of Paul’s letter to the Philippians and how they can find strength and contentment. She talks about how we can find protection in who God is and how that allows us to enter into conversations and relationships with an open heart. And finally, she shares a sneak peek at the next season of The Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast, coming very soon! Some Stories of Hope in a Week of Hardship Ta Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein’s interview Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 111 Cultivating Peace in a Week of Protest | 02 Jun 2020 | 00:33:01 | |
In the midst of a week of social unrest across the nation, how can we work towards peace? This episode looks at Paul’s words, “do not worry” and talks about how we can cultivate personal and social peace. Amy Julia examines the problems of reading the Bible individualistically and considers how we can also read it in the context of a broader community of faith and humanity. This episode is especially relevant for white Christians who are looking for ways to learn, listen, lament, and love. Show Notes: Today’s Bible passage comes from Philippians 4:1-9. I used N.T. Wright’s Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters and George Hunsinger’s Philippians commentary in preparation for this show. In the show, I reference the Destructive Power of Despair by Charles Blow, Episode 103 of this podcast, which is about love as the foundation, and a recent blog post I wrote offering 5 Small Steps toward Racial Healing. Also, I mention Niro Feliciano's podcast All Things Life episode titled From Hurting to Hopeful: Race, Privilege and Meaningful Action and this article about childhood anxiety from the May issue of The Atlantic. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Bonus Episode: Hope and the Spiritual Imagination | 26 May 2020 | 00:21:20 | |
In a time of uncertainty and lethargy, Amy Julia offers thoughts on the nature of hope, the vehicle for hope, and the source of our hope. This bonus episode comes from a talk she gave years ago that details how she moved from fear to hope after her daughter Penny’s diagnosis of Down syndrome. She encourages all of us to cultivate hope—not optimism—in the face of fear. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 110 What to Do if You’re Feeling Hopeless | 19 May 2020 | 00:26:24 | |
Have you felt a little hopeless lately? Have you had a hard time feeling like your days have any meaning or purpose? Have you compared your life to the movie Groundhog Day? In this episode, Amy Julia talks about the way our imagination is linked to our ability to hope, and how right now it is hard to have hope in politics or the economy or our social or professional lives. She discusses the idea of cultivating the “spiritual imagination” in order to connect the pain of the present moment to the promises of the future, and how to bring the goodness, beauty, and joy of the future into the present moment. If you are struggling to feel hopeful, this episode offers thoughts on how to experience hope without denying the hardship of this time. SHOW NOTES
Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Bringing Politics Under the Power of Love with Michael Wear | 30 Apr 2024 | 00:46:51 | |
We are heading into another contentious Presidential election. For people of faith, for people who care about character and gentleness and values, for people who are inclined to disengage from politics altogether, what are we to do? Michael Wear, author of The Spirit of Our Politics, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about:
Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability “Michael Wear is the Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution based in the nation's capital with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. For well over a decade, he has served as a trusted resource and advisor for a range of civic leaders on matters of faith and public life, including as a White House and presidential campaign staffer. He is the author of The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life, a paradigm-shifting book that advances a vision for spiritual formation in the context of political life, and the author and co-author of several other books.” _
_ Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 109 How Love Brings Power in the Midst of Powerlessness | 12 May 2020 | 00:28:25 | |
The power of love works differently than the power of status. In this episode, Amy Julia shares stories of powerlessness in the midst of this pandemic, and she talks about how we will only feel increasingly powerless if our identity comes from achievement or social status. But if we understand our identity as given to us by God then we can enter into seemingly hopeless situations with the power of love. Show Notes: Philippians 3:1-11 Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 108 Carrying Love Letters from God | 05 May 2020 | 00:29:19 | |
How does God communicate love? In this episode, Amy Julia talks about how God uses people to carry “love letters”—messages of care and kindness and hope. She shares stories of how this happens right now when we pay attention to the whispers and nudges that prompt us to reach out and care for other people in need, and she refers back to stories in the Bible that show how God has always used people to carry his messages of love and blessing. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Amy Julia speaks from Philippians 2 in order to talk about how God uses people to carry “love letters” from Him. She talks about the way God works through people, with reference to Mary and Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45) and how God is humble, with reference to 1 Corinthians 13. At the end of the episode, she mentions a recent conversation on “the And” between her friend Ginny and her 15-year old daughter Rachel, who has Down syndrome, as well as a video produced by choirs and worship leaders in the United Kingdom to sing a blessing of peace:
Amy Julia also mentions her new podcast, Reading Small Talk, which will be available starting Thursday, May 7, in weekly installments, or is available as an audiobook here. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Bonus Episode: Head Heart Hands Audiobook | 28 Apr 2020 | 00:40:56 | |
Many people have read White Picket Fences and then asked me about practical steps they can take to respond to the harm they see in their own lives and communities. How do we move from considering the harm of privilege into participation in the healing process? Head Heart Hands is a free action guide that accompanies White Picket Fences and offers ways to respond to the harm of social divisions and privilege in a thoughtful, loving, and courageous manner. It's designed to equip anyone who wants to respond to the harm of privilege; it walks through the problems of “fixes” and then offers ways to engage your head, heart, and hands. Show Notes: Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 107 How My Daughter Convinced Me We Can Help Others in This Time of Need | 28 Apr 2020 | 00:33:23 | |
In a time of social distancing, it’s hard to help other people. It’s hard because of the physical distance, but it’s also hard to feel motivated to engage in the needs of the world. Most of us feel needy ourselves right now, even if we are sheltering-in-place with relative ease. In this week’s episode, we talk about how to understand ourselves as beloved children of God, and how out of that belovedness we can find our way into the work of social healing using our heads, hearts, and hands. Show Notes: Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 106 Where is God When People Suffer? | 21 Apr 2020 | 00:28:27 | |
Science, medicine, and politics can answer lots of our questions about where the coronavirus came from and what it is doing in and among humans. But another set of questions arises in times like this. Can we find any meaning or purpose in this suffering? Can we find any meaning or purpose in our lives right now? Is God present, and loving, and real? Where is God in the midst of suffering? In this episode, Amy Julia looks at what Paul writes about who Jesus Christ is as a way to understand who God is in the midst of suffering and how voluntary self-sacrifice motivated by love equips and empowers us to find meaning and experience God’s loving presence in our current moment. Show Notes:
Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 105: COVID-19, Privilege, and What Keeps Us from Living in Love | 14 Apr 2020 | 00:36:18 | |
What does COVID-19 tell us about our humanity? In today’s episode, Amy Julia talks about the way this pandemic exposes three truths of human nature. She also explores three impediments to living in love: distraction, fear, and injustice. With a look at Philippians 2:1-4 as an ideal way to live, she offers thoughts on the way social divisions impede living in love.
For the Life of the World podcast (Miroslav Volf) Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep 104: COVID-19, Holy Week, and Preparing for Suffering with Love | 07 Apr 2020 | 00:26:26 | |
“Why does God allow the coronavirus to exist?” is the question my kids (and many of us) are asking this week. More generally, why does God allow suffering to happen? Why doesn’t God stop the suffering? I can’t offer any easy answers, but we will tackle this age-old question in today’s episode of the Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast. As we enter the Christian celebration of Holy Week, we’ll look at how Jesus faced his own suffering and death with love. We will also explore how Paul faced the prospect of his own death without fear and with love, and how we too can enter into a place of greater peace, hope, and love without denying our real fears and sorrows. Show Notes Blog post I wrote about how Psalm 63 moves us towards hope Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep. 103 The Foundation is Shaking: Coronavirus and Living in Love | 31 Mar 2020 | 00:26:48 | |
What do we do when the foundation is shaking? Thousands of Americans have already died from the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands of people are sick from this virus around the globe. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, just last week. So what do we do when the foundation is shaking and busyness, self-medication, and entertainment are not enough? Today’s episode explores six ways to receive God's love in the time of coronavirus. Additional Resources:
Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Bonus Episode: A Three-Minute Invitation to Peace | 24 Mar 2020 | 00:07:33 | |
For all of you who are stressed, and fearful, and worried—for yourself, for your family, for those you love, for our whole world—I want to share a practice that has helped me. I invite you to give yourself three minutes today. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S2 Ep. 102 Social Connection in a Time of Social Distance | 24 Mar 2020 | 00:25:26 | |
How do we connect socially in a time of social distance? Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians in the midst of his own extended time of social isolation. This letter he wrote offers us words of honesty and hope in the midst of our current moment. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| How to Honor Limits in a World That Doesn’t with Micha Boyett | 16 Apr 2024 | 00:55:39 | |
What's the difference between limitations and brokenness? What does it mean to be blessed? How can a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism be a part of a flourishing life? Micha Boyett, a writer, poet, and mom, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about her new book Blessed Are the Rest of Us. They explore the intersection of blessing, limits, and longing within the context of the Beatitudes, including:
Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability Guest Bio:
On the Podcast:
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/micha-boyett/ YouTube Channel: video with closed captions Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| S02 Ep. 101: A Global Pandemic, a Market Meltdown, No School, and the Bible | 17 Mar 2020 | 00:26:10 | |
It was after the election of President Trump in 2016 that I first wrote the words, “Love is stronger than fear.” Fears haven’t abated in the past few years, and they only increased in the past few weeks as we face an unprecedented medical and economic crisis across the globe. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Race, Sex, Faith, and the Halftime Show | 07 Feb 2020 | 00:49:21 | |
And now for something completely different: the Superbowl halftime show! After noticing really different reactions to the show from white Christian women and Christian women of color, my good friend Niro Feliciano and I decided to record a conversation. Listen as we talk about Shakira and J Lo, about how culture shapes our view of the world, and how to grow in love even when we disagree. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Head Heart Hands ebook | 02 Jan 2020 | 00:01:37 | |
I'm excited to introduce to you Head Heart Hands, my new resource that accompanies White Picket Fences. This free action guide offers ways to respond to the harm of social divisions and privilege in a thoughtful, loving, and courageous manner. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Jesus Came from A Dysfunctional Family | 26 Dec 2019 | 00:07:28 | |
I’m sneaking in one more bonus episode of the podcast because I couldn’t resist and because it’s about family, and, well, as we approach the end of the holiday season, sometimes we need to be reminded of the title of this episode—Jesus Came from a Dysfunctional Family. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Merry Christmas | 25 Dec 2019 | 00:04:18 | |
Our children will open presents today, and their joy at receiving gifts that they cannot buy for themselves will remind me of the extravagant and free love of a God who comes when we don’t expect him and shines light and hope in the darkest corners of our lives and our world. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Birthday Party for Jesus | 24 Dec 2019 | 00:05:06 | |
Our tradition on Christmas Eve is to throw a birthday party for Jesus. As we approach the mayhem of Christmas morning, we remind ourselves that the gifts Jesus asks for are those of a humble heart, a contrite spirit, and a willingness to give ourselves in love to those in need. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Light That Guides Us | 23 Dec 2019 | 00:04:51 | |
Living with Jesus, living in the light, means we start to see the things that God hates in this world. Injustice to people who are vulnerable and needy might be at the top of the list of things God hates. But light doesn't just expose. It also guides us and shows us how to reflect the light that brings healing and change in the world. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Seeing The Darkness | 22 Dec 2019 | 00:04:10 | |
In today’s episode I talk about our options when we see the darkness inside our own lives, like a ketchup stain on a shirt. We can turn off the lights and go back to ignorance. Or we can ask Jesus to help us clean it up. But what do we do when some stains don’t disappear? Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Darkness and Light | 21 Dec 2019 | 00:05:11 | |
The darkness of the human heart. We don’t like to talk about that darkness, not at Christmastime, and really not ever. But if Jesus has come to be a light in the darkness, then the reason to talk about darkness is so that we can turn toward the light. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Joy All Year Round | 20 Dec 2019 | 00:05:45 | |
When I sing Christmas hymns to my children at night, I am naming something that runs deeper than peppermint ice cream and mistletoe, and yet it is through baking and decorating and gifts that I communicate the spiritual reality contained in those Christmas church songs. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| When Your Church and Political Group Turn on You with Nancy French | 02 Apr 2024 | 00:48:47 | |
{Please note that we discuss abuse in this episode.}
New Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
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| Light in The Darkness | 19 Dec 2019 | 00:04:40 | |
The light shines in the darkness. Today’s episode looks at how the glitz, parties, and gifts of the commercialized Christmas can serve as very physical reminders of what, of whom, we celebrate this season. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Not Prepared | 18 Dec 2019 | 00:05:02 | |
I'm more or less ready for Christmas. But am I ready for Jesus? Not really. I'm not ready for Jesus to show up, and perhaps that's exactly as it should be. Today on the podcast we’re talking about how Jesus is ready to enter my life—just as it is. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||
| Ordinary Hard Stuff | 17 Dec 2019 | 00:07:08 | |
Today’s reflection comes from a time when our kids were little, our cat was alive, and I was in a hard spot personally. A time when I needed to learn about expecting God to show up not only when our life is in crisis but also in the every day. Connect with me: Thanks for listening! | |||