My latest thoughts on
faith, family, disability,
privilege, and healing
Love Your Enemies
Imagine being a leader of a school or a church or a community with a staff that included a white man wearing a MAGA hat
AJB Recommends: How to Love Across Divisions
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to love people across the various divisions we experience right now, and these podcasts and articles
Coming Home to Love
In this season, can we say we are coming home to love? One of the commands in the New Testament is to “abide” in God’s
My High Schooler’s Independence
I was recently reminded of my high schooler’s independence. Last week I left the girls home alone together while I went to the grocery store.
S3 E20 | When Love Is Our Home, Healing Begins
Do we want to get well? Within the reality of the harm of privilege and ongoing division, Amy Julia concludes this season of the podcast
Am I God’s Puppet?
Am I God’s puppet? What about free will? I was reading a book about prayer the other day where the writer told a cool story
AJB Recommends: Podcasts Processing the Election
On election day, I felt as if a band of pain had stretched itself above my eyes and across my forehead. It wouldn’t go away.
Inviting God Into My Constraints
This is a season of constraints. Remote learning at home. Social distancing. Celebrating holidays during a pandemic. Navigating a contentious election. This week, our kids
Advent Reflections: Prepare Him Room
I’m excited to let you know that the revised edition of my devotional Prepare Him Room: Advent Reflections on What Happens When God Shows Up
S3 E19 | Loving Our Enemies in a Nation Divided with David Bailey
The presidential election does not change the church’s assignment. David Bailey, the executive director of Arrabon, talks with Amy Julia about the practices of reconciling
I’m Scheduling Speaking Engagements for 2021!
A class of high school students studying bioethics. A small group of church members. A smattering of writers from across the nation. A spiritual book
AJB Recommends: Three Things That Have Brought Me Peace This Week
Are you looking for some healthy stress relief? Ways to turn your mind, heart, and attention away from discord and division and towards something more
Election Aftermath
It’s been a stressful week for most Americans when it comes to the state of our nation in the election aftermath. Even without a final
Uncertainty, Control, and the Election
We awoke to uncertainty, and I find myself wrestling with uncertainty, control, and the election. There is a part of me that wants to say,
S3 E18 | American Politics, Power, and Human Flourishing with Andy Crouch
As Americans vote in the 2020 national and local elections, is there hope for power, politics, and privilege to foster human flourishing? Andy Crouch, the
Prayer, the Presidential Election, and Acting Justly
After the 2016 presidential election, I wrote this about prayer: A heaviness hangs over our community. Most of the people I know are depressed by
Amy Coney Barrett, Down Syndrome, and Abortion
I have a new essay about Amy Coney Barrett, Down syndrome, and abortion (really light topics with no controversy!) up at the Religion News Service
S3 E17 | How the Church Can Support School Reform with Nicole Baker Fulgham
Do we, as a society, truly think that every child can succeed in school? Nicole Baker Fulgham, president and founder of The Expectations Project, talks
Hardship Is Not a Competition
I have so many friends who are struggling with dramatic hard stuff right now: cancer diagnoses and chronic illness and addiction. Then there’s me, struggling
AJB Recommends: Writing for Your Life Conference
I am so honored to join people like Philip Yancey, Diana Butler Bass, Parker Palmer, Sophronia Scott, Vivian Mabuni, and others as speakers at the
How Beauty Brings Peace, How Peace Brings Beauty
William took these photos the other day as a part of a year-long project he’s doing at school where he’s planning to learn how to
Announcing Missing Out on Beautiful, Part Two
Download FREE E-Book Our daughter Penny was born on December 30, 2005. She was diagnosed with Down syndrome a few hours later. It’s almost hard
S3 E16 | Normie: What is Normal Through the Lens of Down Syndrome with Annemarie Carrigan and Kurt Neale
What is normal? Normie is a coming-of-age film about a young woman with Down syndrome. Today, Annemarie Carrigan, the lead cast member of Normie, and
International Accessibility Symbol: When What You See Changes How You See
William and I walked to our local library a few days ago. I pointed to the painted symbol on the pavement in front of us
S3 E15 | Who Belongs? Disability and the Built World with Sara Hendren
How does “the built world”—the chairs, rooms, and streets that guide our bodies every day— implicitly ascribe worth to human beings? How does the built
Bloom Where You’re Planted
I used to think that the only way for me to participate in social healing was to move. I live in a predominantly white, affluent,
Dreaming and Planning With Our Teenager With Down Syndrome
We had a planning meeting last February for our teenage daughter, Penny, who has Down syndrome. Penny invited friends, family, and teachers to join her
Human Suffering Is Not the Only Point of Connection
I am so much more interested in human connection than human division. But where does that connection come from? How does it happen? I spoke
S3 E14 | The Astonishing Hope of a Mortal Life with J. Todd Billings
Mortality is often connected to fear, so how does embracing a mortal life provide hope to individuals and communities? Professor Todd Billings, author of “The
Big Feelings and Growing Up with Marilee
What do you do with a child with big feelings? Especially if you are a parent who has never had similarly big feelings? Yes, I
