My latest thoughts on
faith, family, disability,
privilege, and healing
Understanding The US Immigration Crisis: 14 Recommended Resources
I feel very disconnected from the immigration crisis at the US southern border. I live in Connecticut, far away from detention centers and checkpoints. So
Defining Privilege Part Two: What Privilege Is
In my previous post, I discussed what privilege is not. In this post I will define what privilege is. What exactly do we mean when
Defining Privilege Part One: What Privilege Is Not
As important as it is to understand what privilege is, it is also important to clarify what privilege is not. Privilege is not an accusation
Summer Rewind: How Christians Should Talk About Sex
Last year the Atlantic reported on the fact that people are having less sex across all demographic sectors in America. Meanwhile, the sexualization of everything
What Training for a Half Marathon Teaches Me about my Soul
It still surprises me to note that I am training for a half marathon. Last year, I ran one for the first time and it
Review: The Peanut Butter Falcon | by Amy Julia Becker
This weekend was the opening of the movie The Peanut Butter Falcon. As parents of a child with Down syndrome, my husband Peter and I
The Porter’s Gate Worship Project – New Single “Nothing to Fear”
I got to participate in the The Porter’s Gate Worship Project in Nashville back in January, where a diverse group of singer/songwriters joined together to
Summer Rewind: Why We Still Go To Church
Summertime is the hardest time for us to convince our kids, and ourselves, to go to church on Sunday mornings. They want to go to
Sitting in Silence
I stumbled across a new podcast today called Encountering Silence and started with an interview with Richard Rohr on the topic of silence. I’ve been
Love in the Midst of the Mess
You may be familiar with the words of 1 Corinthians 13: “Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast.
Summer Rewind: Five Books that Have Challenged Me about Race and Justice
I’ve offered a number of book lists related to race and justice this past year since the publication of White Picket Fences (like this list
Remembering Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison was a mentor from afar to me, first as a writer of fiction, later as a professor for a course I took at
Scary Mommy Post: When My Daughter Wanted to Quit Dance Class, We Did This Instead
So my daughter wanted to quit dance class, and I wrote about it for Scary Mommy. You may already be familiar with the Scary Mommy
What My Blog is About
If you are new to my blog, welcome! I blog about family, faith, disability, privilege, culture and the intersection of all of these realities. I
Reflections on Suffering… and Love
Last week, I spoke with a group of women about the age-old question of how a good God could allow acts of senseless terror and
Guest Sermon: Salem Covenant Church
The 4 Things John 5 teaches us about healing, which is to say, about God “Biblically speaking, health isn’t the absence of illness. Health isn’t
Vacation Recipe: Gazpacho
I am not a chef. I do not make complicated dishes. I repeat tried and true recipes to the point that guests will say things
Normie – A Down Syndrome Coming of Age Film
I experienced such deep joy at the Normie screening at the Five Senses Festival. Not only did I get to sit outside under the stars in
Guest Podcast: White Picket Fences at Mockingbird Conference 2019
One of the great joys of being invited to speak from White Picket Fences about the power of love to heal social divisions is getting
Summer Rewind: Learning what happiness is (and isn’t) from my daughter with Down syndrome
I started thinking about the words in 1 Corinthians 13–Paul’s famous passage about the nature of love–many years ago when Penny was first born. I
Summer Rewind: Reflections on Peace and Overcoming Anxiety
There is little I love more than sitting on the porch in the summertime with a glass of wine, a plate of appetizers, and a
Summer Rewind: Why my Bad Experience of Barbie as a White Woman Does Not Actually Compare to my Friend’s Bad Experience of Barbie as a Black Woman
I write a lot about understanding our common humanity as a basis for understanding, exploring, and even celebrating our diverse identities. But sometimes it is
5 Ways to Receive God’s Love – Open Door Sisterhood Guest Post – Amy Julia Becker
I’ve just written a guest blog post on The Open Door Sisterhood called 5 Ways to Receive God’s Love. Spoiler alert: it’s not about just
Podcast: How Do I Figure out Where to Go?
Listen to Amy Julia speak as a guest on a recent podcast In my latest blog post, I listed ten recommended podcasts covering topics including
10 Podcasts Recommended for Summer 2019
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Whether I’m doing laundry, driving to the store, washing dishes, or even just walking around the house, chances
Rhythms of Rest: An Invitation
Before you read this post, I need to preface it with a big caveat. It’s a post about taking regular time for silence and solitude,
10 Tips for Raising a Cool Kid with Down Syndrome (even if you’re a nerdy parent like me)
By Guest Contributor Stephanie Meredith A note from Amy Julia: I am grateful for Stephanie Meredith for all sorts of reasons. One, she’s the force
“Take Courage” Podcast Episode: Hope and Healing
Matt Miller is a pastor and communicator in Memphis, TN. He has a new podcast called Take Courage. In the recent “Hope and Healing” episode
7 More Diverse Book Recommendations & A Deeper Look
In a previous post, I set out to select 20 diverse books from a few of our children’s favorites in various age groups: toddler, pre-school,
4 Simple Lessons to Stay Connected to Your Spouse
Peter and I have been married for 20 years this week. I am grateful in a way that words cannot convey for the ways we
