The GoodHard Story Podcast

How are we expected to live well on this side of the sky? Sometimes we need wisdom for the deep, hard, dark suffering. But most of the time, we just need encouragement for the normal lives we’re living on this side of heaven. Laura Wifler is a mother and poet who finds endless inspiration in the mundanity and mess of her everyday life. In our conversation, Laura shares what’s changed in her theolo...

What is the first step of moving forward from the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? Join me today for a solo episode as I process some recent thoughts I’ve been having about how healing actually begins with heartbreak. I share some of the painful (and downright bizarre!) early memories of “waking up” from my stroke and being in total denial about my situation. That season taught me just how...

Episode 126 - Martin Deacon on the “Weird and Wonderful” Gift of Disability What if our disabilities might give us as much—or more—as they take from us? Disability gives us the gift of dependence. That’s the mantra of Martin Deacon, the CEO of Teach Every Nation, who began to lose his vision when he was just twelve years old. In our conversation, Martin shows how his disability transformed an ordi...

What if your suffering is not a curse on your children, but instead an inheritance of breathtaking value? In this deeply personal conversation, I sat down with my son James the day before he left for college. James opened up about the reality of growing up with a mom who has disabilities and how the experience has formed him into a person who shows up helpful and grateful. I reflected on one of th...

What good and beautiful thing can we be sure of, no matter what happens? That’s the question guiding author, professor, and theologian Kate Bowler. Her academic research and her lived experience of suffering have confirmed for her that it’s possible to be joyful and sad at the very same time. In our conversation, Kate shared how she’s committed to being surprised by joy and embracing uncertainty a...

If The GoodHard Story Podcast has encouraged you, consider joining us on Take the Next Step. Each week, Amy Julia Becker interviews disability experts, advocates, and parents about practical next steps for families with disabilities to build connection, belonging, and delight—at home and in community. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Take the Next Step is a part of the Hope Heals Network, a c...

My guest today doesn’t get a break from physical pain. And because she’s living with pain that never ends, she stopped waiting to find joy on the other side of her suffering.  K.J. Ramsey is a therapist and author inviting people into the lifelong process of acknowledging and recovering from trauma of all kinds. She joined me to talk about loving the bodies that feel like they’re failing us, resis...

There’s a lie circling around out there that we have to fall into a binary. Life can either be good or hard. We can choose grace or truth. Our politics can be either progressive or conservative. And if you know me, you know I don’t really buy into the “either/or” thing. My guest today is Justin Giboney,  an ordained minister, attorney, author, and political strategist who is breaking out of the bi...

Today I’m sitting down with a woman who is living out the message of this podcast: Suffering is not the end of your story. It’s the beginning of a new story. My friend Courtney Pray Duke became a widow when she was just 29 years old. She was left to raise three small children all on her own. Courtney has experienced the deepest kind of loss, yet she never misses an opportunity to proclaim the good...

J.S. Park has spent over a decade at the bedsides of the sick and dying as a hospital chaplain. He passes his days in the valley of the shadow of death, and he hasn’t left empty-handed. He was generous enough to share what he’s learned about the utility of grief, the ministry of presence, and faith shaped by experience. Show Notes What we mentioned: As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve by J.S...

My guest today is Sissy Goff, a licensed professional counselor for kids whose wisdom goes far beyond the boundaries of children and parenting. Her insights into anxiety, resilience, mental health, and spiritual wellbeing have served me as a mom and also as a person with worries and hurts of my own. She’s become a dear friend of mine and one of my most trusted voices as I navigate raising my two s...

My friend Kim is a writer, speaker, and podcaster who has the gift of finding the arc of a story, even in the messiest moments. Lately she’s been searching for the storyline of grace throughout her life and what she found has changed everything. Kim is witty, winsome, and oh-so-wise. In our hour together, she was as generous with her tears as she was with her laughter as we discussed the places wh...

Today I’m introducing you to a friend who has decided to make his life into a “joy lab.” His circumstances are anything but easy - tune in to see why - but he’s learned how to thrive within them. Will Acuff is a disability dad, husband, author, and founder of a non-profit that helps underestimated entrepreneurs launch their own businesses. He has become an expert at building a life that can handle...

I stumbled into a place of leadership, almost by accident, after surviving an out-of-the-blue stroke and becoming a beacon of hope for a lot of people. I wanted to rise to the occasion of encouraging those people and pointing them to Jesus, but I quickly learned that leadership isn’t automatic. It’s a skill to develop. I wish I’d had a guide like Jo Saxton…which is exactly why I’m sharing her geni...

Benjamin Wills is a man who has given every part of his life to the good/hard work of seeing people and communities restored to their God-given fullness. He’s worked and lived in marginalized communities, welcomed children into his family through adoption, shepherded a congregation in the Anglican church, and pastored my own Hope Heals Camp community for over five years! Benjamin is gentle and hum...

Parenting dynamics are complicated, to say the very least. Every mother and father will leave wounds on their children, no matter how carefully (or carelessly) they parent. Today I’m sitting down with Melanie Shankle, who was generous enough to share about the wounds left by her mother as well as the healing she’s found in raising a daughter of her own.  Through her bestselling books and hilarious...

One of my all-time favorite guests returns today with the most heartening, hopeful possibilities for the outcomes of our deepest trauma. Adam Young is a therapist who specializes in story work, a therapeutic approach that has helped me understand my own good/hard story in order to become who I want to be. It has changed my life and I think it can do the same for you. Our conversation covers the co...

Episode 113: Rich Villodas on Finding the Spacious Life Need a bit of soul rest today? I’m offering you an hour that feels both like a deep breath AND a challenge to live differently. Rich Villodas is one of the few people who can pull off this refreshing combination, and we are blessed to have him on The GoodHard Story Podcast this week. He’s been a source of inspiration and encouragement to me f...

My guest today is unlike anyone else I know. Andy Crouch is a genius writer, thinker, and speaker whose career has spanned from Harvard to Christianity Today to Praxis. Andy is inviting Christians to be creative, generative culture makers, and his words have deeply shaped my worldview and faith journey. You might want to be prepared to take notes during our conversation today, because Andy Crouch...

Following God does not always mean understanding God.  In fact, following God can lead us away from comfort, conformity, and communities we once loved. Few people are living that story more authentically than my guest Nancy French. She is a New York Times bestselling ghostwriter who has a dramatic story of her very own. Nancy has been abused and alienated by the people she trusted most, yet she’s...

I deeply believe that good therapy has been the ultimate enhancement to my faith journey. It’s helped me replace false narratives with the truest story of who God is, what he’s done for me, and how much he loves me. And if you’ve listened to my podcast for any amount of time, you know I love interviewing a therapist…maybe it’s my way of getting a free session, ha! Today we have the privilege of he...

Annie F. Downs may be known as the queen of fun, but that doesn’t make her frivolous. She lives a closely examined and intentional life that beautifully balances joy and suffering. She shared an hour with me to talk about what she’s learning (and unlearning) these days—like how she’s pursuing the freshest tools for thriving in her current life, telling the truest story of her singleness, and what...

“Living awake” sounds great when it comes to the beautiful stuff, but it’s much harder to live fully awake when the losses and disappointments and heartbreaks won’t stop coming. If that sounds like your life, then you need to hear every minute of this conversation with my friend Jess Connolly—pastor, writer, and parent. We talked about how to begin the healing process, recovering from church hurt,...

This is the very first episode of Take the Next Step and I’m sharing it here because I refuse to let you miss the launch! You might just recognize the guest... Be sure to follow Take the Next Step with Amy Julia Becker wherever you listen so you don’t miss any future episodes. amyjuliabecker.com/step/ __ Feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of disability? Katherine Wolf, author, advocate, and co-...

When I became physically disabled in my mid-twenties, much of the world became inaccessible to me—including faith spaces. I’ve now spent nearly two decades making a seat at the world’s table for people living with disabilities, which is why I feel such deep kinship with my guest today. His life is about making space at the table, too. Jemar Tisby is a best-selling author, historian, and professor...