RECENT POSTS
![a screenshot of the NYT essay cover, which is a close-up view of Ashlee Wiseman, bending down to kiss her daughter, Lennie, who is lying on a red blanket. Below is text that says: “‘A Chance to Live’: How 2 Families Faced a Catastrophic Birth Defect. Cases of trisomy 18 may rise as many states restrict abortion. But some women choose to have the babies, love them tenderly and care for them devotedly.”](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AJB-trisomy-18-honoring-womens-hard-choices-prenatal-diagnosis-1024x402.png)
Honoring Women’s Hard Choices
When it comes to prenatal testing and disability, there are two extremes. One is the thought that a prenatal diagnosis of a disability like Down
![dark blue graphic with intertwined blue and yellow partial circles on the left and text that says: Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker. In the middle of the graphic is a a photo Nancy French, a white woman against a neutral background. On the far right is a photo of Amy Julia, a white woman who is wearing a blue shirt and smiling at the camera with her arms crossed in front of her.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AJB-featured-season-71560-×-628-px-FRENCH-1024x412.png)
S7 E 13 | When Your Church and Political Group Turn on You with Nancy French
Apple YouTube Spotify More! {Please note that we discuss abuse in this episode.}How do we love people across our political and social divides? What are
![photo of geese flying against a dark blue sky that lightens toward the bottom](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-God-loves-you-1024x402.png)
God Loves You
God loves you. It’s the most basic message. It is central to the entire Bible. It is central to Jesus’ teachings. It is central— foundational—to
![photo of bare tree branches reflected in a dark puddle of water](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-dont-you-care-1-1024x402.png)
Don’t You Care If We Drown?
“Don’t you care?” I’ve prayed that prayer more than once. In the middle of a conflict with Peter that seemed irreconcilable. In the moments when
![Amy Julia and Marilee sit at a linen-covered table on the beach and look out at the sunset over the ocean](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-trip-with-teenage-daughter-1024x402.png)
What Happens with Three Days Away with Your Teenager
I’ve never taken a mother-daughter trip with Marilee before. But this year over spring break, Marilee and I spent four nights together in Jamaica. I
![photo of a laptop on on top of a blanket. The home page of Amy Julia's website is on the screen, which has the logo "Reimagining the Good Life. Faith. Disability. Culture." on the left and a photo of Amy Julia standing outside on the right.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-disability-faith-culture-1024x402.png)
Why Disability, Faith, Culture?
It was relatively easy to land on “Reimagining the Good Life” as my new tagline and the new title of my podcast. Those words helped
![screenshot of "Assume that I can" ad which shows a young woman with Down syndrome surrounded by young men with Down syndrome and yellow text overlay that says, "Assume that I can so maybe I will."](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-assume-that-I-can-maybe-I-will-1024x402.png)
Assume That I Can, Maybe I Will
“Assume I can, and maybe I will.” It’s a new ad campaign designed to raise awareness about the assumptions people have about people with Down
![an outdoor photo of William, a teenage boy, Penny, a teenage girl with Down syndrome, and their mom, Amy Julia, leaning in close together and smiling at the camera](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-world-down-syndrome-day-2024-1024x402.png)
World Down Syndrome Day 2024
Happy World Down Syndrome Day! Our daughter Penny is 18, and we join thousands of other people around the globe who want to raise awareness
![dark blue graphic with intertwined blue and yellow partial circles on the left and text that says: Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker. In the middle of the graphic is a a photo Andrew Draper, a white man wearing a suit jacket sitting in front of a dark gray door. On the far right is a photo of Amy Julia, a white woman who is wearing a blue shirt and smiling at the camera with her arms crossed in front of her.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-featured-season-71560-×-628-px-draper-1024x412.png)
S7 E 12 | Reimagining Church Leadership and Disability with Andrew Draper
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Why does it matter that most churches don’t welcome people with disabilities in leadership? If a church excludes people with disabilities,
![photo from 2022 of Amy Julia, who smiles at the camera and sits at a desk. On the desk, the book To Be Made Well is propped up in front of stacks of books next to a white mug](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ajb-two-year-anniversary-to-be-made-well-1-1024x402.png)
Two-Year Anniversary of To Be Made Well
Do you want to be made well? It’s a question that Jesus asks, but it’s also a question we can ask ourselves. Whether we are
![a photo of 3 teen siblings—Marilee wearing a pink dress, William in the middle wearing a blue shirt, and Penny on the right wearing a blue dress—giving each other a group hug in front of a faint sunset over the ocean](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-3-ways-to-interact-with-disengaged-teenager-1-1024x402.png)
3 Ways to Interact With Your Disengaged Teenager
We now officially have three teenagers under our roof. Which means we have lots of pop music playing at all hours. And we go through
![Penny, dressed in her blue and white cheerleading uniform and wearing a jean jacket over it and a pink bow in hair, walks down the school hallway away from the camera](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ajb-Pennys-last-night-of-cheer-1024x402.png)
Penny’s Final Night of Cheerleading
I don’t know why I wasn’t weepy with Penny’s final night of cheerleading. Maybe I’m in total denial that her time in high school is
![Amy Julia shakes a woman’s hand in a church foyer](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ajb-jesus-changes-the-story-of-disability-1024x402.png)
How Jesus Changes the Story of Disability
Go where Jesus goes. See who Jesus sees. Tell the story that Jesus tells. I had a chance to preach at Matthews United Methodist Church
![screenshot of the cover photo for the "The Blurring Is Part of the Beauty" Comment essay. The photo is of an older man grinning broadly and looking in to the face of a younger man who is touching his chin with his fingers](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ajb-comment-magazine-disability-interdependence-1024x402.png)
COMMENT MAGAZINE | The Blurring Is Part of the Beauty
Every summer our family of five travels to Nauvoo, Alabama, for one week. It’s an unusual decision—we leave the relatively cool nights and sunshiny days
![dark blue graphic with intertwined blue and yellow partial circles on the left and text that says: Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker. In the middle of the graphic is a a photo Jessica Hooten Wilson, a white woman wearing a pink shirt. She is sitting at a desk in front of full book shelves. On the far right is a photo of Amy Julia, a white woman who is wearing a blue shirt and smiling at the camera with her arms crossed in front of her](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AJB-featured-season-71560-×-628-px-jhw-2-1024x412.png)
S7 E11 | Flannery O’Connor and the Prophetic Imagination with Jessica Hooten Wilson
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Why would a Christian author immerse her stories in darkness? Why would she use violent imagery that directly relates to Christianity,
![a photo looking down at a cluttered desk; in view is a nearly empty, white mug, a coaster that says "Life to the Full," a hair tie, napkins, and papers and envelopes](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ajb-walking-in-peace-in-the-midst-of-the-storm-3-1024x402.png)
Healing Our Narratives
A friend recently pointed out that I need to experience healing in the midst of the false narratives I tell myself. As some of you
![Amy Julia, a white woman, leans in close to her teenage daughter Penny, who has Down syndrome. They are outside wearing winter coats and hats and are surrounded by smiling women](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ajb-walking-in-peace-in-the-midst-of-the-storm-2-1024x402.png)
Changing Prepositions (from “for” to “with”)
As a part of an ongoing desire to honor Penny’s capacities as an adult with Down syndrome, I’m learning to change my prepositions. I keep
![covers of the books It. Goes. So. Fast. and Practicing the Way, and the cover of the movie Rustin](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ajb-walking-in-peace-in-the-midst-of-the-storm-1024x402.png)
February Favorites 2024
Here are nine of the books, movies, podcasts, and essays that helped me learn, think, and grow this past month… 1. Book: Practicing the Way