Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

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...

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 especia...

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.  We want to hear your thought...

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 o...

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...

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...

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...

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 belove...

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...

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.  Show Notes: For the Life of the...

“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...

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...

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening! 

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.  SHOW NOTES: Philippians 1:1-11 We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listenin...

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. SHOW NOTES: Book of Philippians We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube...

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. We want t...

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening! 

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening! 

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening! 

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!...

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect wit...

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? We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening! 

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.  We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening! 

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening! 

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. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text! Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!