The GoodHard Story Podcast

Amy Julia was a high-achieving, religiously devout Princeton grad who lived with the nagging feeling that there must something *more* to life than what she had experienced so far. Then her first child was diagnosed with Down syndrome, and Amy Julia began her journey into a version of “the good life” that she never expected. Amy Julia joins Katherine for a deeply vulnerable conversation about the t...

Are you ready to replace the “God, help me to have a good day tomorrow” bedtime prayer? Maybe for your kids…and maybe for yourself! Today, Katherine is offering you a benediction fifteen years in the making. What started as a bedtime prayer for her sons has become her prayer for a generation of souls hoping to live their good/hard story well to the very end. If you need fresh inspiration and real-...

Raise your hand if, in the last week, you’ve answered the question “How are you?” with some version of “Good! Busy, but good! Just tired.” In the kingdom of hustle, busyness is next to godliness. Rest is something to be earned. But in the kingdom of God, rest is an invitation from Jesus himself. Today Katherine is joined by Jess Connolly to talk about why we’re all so tired of being tired and what...

This week, Katherine is sharing why Resurrection Day has never meant more to her than it does now. For most of us, “resurrection” means the one-time-only, past-tense miracle that proved Jesus was who he said he was. It was an experience specific to him. But after surviving a catastrophic stroke, Katherine realized she really needed resurrection to apply to her. In a slow-motion miracle of her own,...

Today Katherine is trying her best to keep her cool as she interviews her longtime hero Dr. Russell Moore , the editor in chief of Christianity Today. You don’t want to miss Dr. Moore’s fresh insights on some of our favorite themes, like dealing with unmet expectations and anticipating God’s future presence and provision in our stories. If you’re looking for nuanced approaches to some weighty issu...

Be honest. Deep down, are you waiting for a happy ending before you feel permission to celebrate your life? In this solo episode, Katherine is sharing how she stopped waiting for closure and began practicing the spiritual discipline of “joyful rebellion” against fear and despair. We want to share something that could change everything for you: It’s possible to celebrate the lives we *actually* hav...

After Katherine’s stroke nearly 16 years ago, she was desperate for a “survival guide”—some voice to offer real hope in the aftermath of such disorienting loss. Jerry Sittser , the author of A Grace Disguised , was one of the few trustworthy resources she found after searching far and wide. Dr. Sittser became a bona fide member of the young suffering club when he lost his wife, mother, and young d...

Let’s acknowledge an uncomfortable reality: No matter how much healing we receive, a low-grade sadness will remain. In this vulnerable episode, Kathering shares how surprised she was to realize that having a second baby after her stroke couldn’t replace the months and years of motherhood she  lost with her first baby. A low-grade sorrow hummed deep in her heart, and she didn’t know what to do with...

What if some of our problems were never meant to be solved or eliminated? What if we began reframing some problems as opportunities for knowing Jesus more? In this episode, author and former pastor Curtis Chang joins Katherine to share how his lifelong experience of anxiety has led him to an entirely new understanding of loss, prayer, surrender, and even parenting. If anxiety has felt like a barri...

Few topics today are more taboo than death. We’re told that nothing matters more than hanging on to our youth and health and beauty. So how could the END of life be relevant to this moment in our lives? In this solo episode, Katherine lays out three surprising lessons she learned after nearly dying and how they’ve changed the way she’s living here and now. If you’re hungry for fresh perspectives o...

How would the narrative of your life, your pain, and your identity change if you started telling your story as if God intended it specifically for YOU? (Spoiler: he did!) Laura Wifler, who is raising a daughter with disabilities, shares how a conscious shift to gospel-thinking is transforming her experience of suffering. What We’ll Cover Choosing stewardship instead of balance when schedules feel...

Most of us are living stories we never would have chosen. Even so, friend, it’s possible for you to live these un-hoped-for realities well.  If you’ve found yourself in a place of suffering, this chapter of your life must start with total shock, sadness, and disbelief. But it doesn’t have to stay in that place. Let’s talk about how. Today Katherine is sharing a few tips she’s picked up while learn...

In the dictionary of your life, what would be written beside the word “good?” Maybe health, fulfillment, beauty, wealth, comfort, or control? If God promises to withhold no good thing from those who walk faithfully with him, why doesn’t life feel all that great for those of us who are doing it “right?” Everything we’ve been taught about goodness could use an update from the kingdom of God. Bold, h...

Matthew Sleeth , MD, a former emergency room physician and chief of the hospital medical staff, resigned from his position to teach, preach, and write about faith.  Dr. Sleeth has spoken at more than one thousand churches, campuses, and events, including serving as a monthly guest preacher at the Washington National Cathedral. Recognized by Newsweek as one of the nation's most influential Chri...

What happens when you invite thousands of people with medical complexities to middle-of-nowhere Alabama in the heat of summer? Radical joy and electrifying camaraderie, that’s what. Katherine sits down with just a few of the people who make Hope Heals Camp happen. For nearly eight years, Katherine and the team have hosted this subversive gathering of people who have suffered greatly but are determ...

Ever feel like you need a label across your forehead that reads FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE! In big read letters? It’s hard to imagine that we can be strong enough to handle all the suffering around us. In this heartening and thought-provoking conversation, Katherine sits down with therapist and author Aundi Kolber to reimagine what it means to be strong and understand how God made our bodies to ada...

You’re invited to ramble with Katherine and Leah as they reflect on when “the most wonderful time of the year” doesn’t feel all that wonderful. Our hurt, especially during the holidays, could drive us into isolation, shame, or guilt. But it could also invite us into a unique camaraderie if we’re willing to share our pain with other people. Join the conversation, covering everything from the holy b...

Join Katherine & Jay as they welcome beloved friends of the Hope Heals community, David Thomas and Sissy Goff in for a candid conversation on parenting. The best stuff comes from the hard stuff, but none of us want our kids to go through the hard stuff. What decisions are we making to stand in the way of our kids experiencing opportunities for resilience and growth in safe ways? This is a grea...

Suffering and death are guaranteed for all of us, so why are we so poorly prepared to engage with them? Dr. Lydia Dugdale, an expert on medical ethics and author of The Lost Art of Dying , gives us heartbreaking and thought-provoking insights on the widening access to physician assisted death and the “glorification of choice.” Katherine and Dr. Dugdale discuss how we can think differently about wh...

Join Katherine as she continues her "Finding Treasure" series! Do you want to know the secret to  being able to truly love the story you’ve been given? It’s called emotional agility, and it’s a choice available to all of us at this very minute. Katherine shares a story from her teen years that had the potential to be a viral-video-worthy embarrassing moment, but instead became a formativ...

Did you know Hope Heals has run an online shop for almost as long as the organization has existed? In this episode, we’re giving you a rare peek behind the scenes of the Hope Heals Shop and recommending our favorite gift-worthy items for the holiday season. Jay and Katherine catch up with our Shop Manager Tutta about our current lineup of mission-driven keepsakes that serve as a tangible reminder...

Join Katherine as she chats with the legendary Max Lucado on this Episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast. Max shares about his new book - God Never Gives Up On You - which is the story of Jacob. Hear them dig into how dealing with our past is essential for being able to move forward into the future, and how God does great things through the greatly broken. We don’t have to pretend that we’re not br...

Katherine and Caroline cover the practicalities of what it looks like to enter into the suffering of the people in our lives. They also discuss practicing gratitude as the antidote to comparison, which allows us to believe that the boundary lines around our lives are good and purposeful. Katherine reflects on how we can protect the narratives that are spoken over us to avoid becoming victims of ou...

Katherine reflects on a recent reunion with childhood friends that brought into striking relief the gap between the expectations they had for their lives, and the reality of the lives they are actually living. She walked away from the experience convinced we must expect more of God and less of the world. But how exactly can we do that? Katherine tells us how she’s doing it. ----- Treasures in the...

Join Katherine for a new segment she is calling “Ask Amy Julia” with one of her dear friends and Hope Heals Camp alum, Amy Julia Becker! Amy Julia Becker is an award-winning writer and speaker on faith, disability, and family. She is the author of four books, including To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope , a guest opinion writer for national publications, and the host of...