Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

What should you hope for? What’s worth investing your life in? How do you define and create a flourishing life? Matt Croasmun, coauthor of Life Worth Living, joins me to discuss:How to ask life’s big questionsWhy pursuing those questions matters How to disagree with respect, friendship, and kindness in the midst of those questions“Matt Croasmun is an Associate Research Scholar and the Director of the Life Worth Living program at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School and a Lecturer of Divinity and Humanities at Yale University. He is also a staff pastor at the Elm City Vineyard Church, a dynamic, diverse, urban church.”Connect Online:Website: matthewcroasmun.comTwitter: @mattcroasmunOn the Podcast:Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life by Anthony KronmanTranscript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/matt-croasmun/ Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

In an anxious, rational world, is there a place for enchantment? Katherine May, New York Times bestselling author of Wintering and Enchantment, talks with Amy Julia Becker about awakening wonder, relearning enchantment, connecting to the natural world, and living every day with a continual sense of the presence of God. __Guest Bio:“Katherine May is an internationally bestselling author and podcaster living in Whitstable, UK. Her journalism and essays have appeared in a range of publications including The New York Times, The Observer and Aeon. Katherine lives with her husband, son, two cats and a dog. She loves walking, sea-swimming and pickling slightly unappealing things.”__Connect Online:Website: katherine-may.co.uk/Instagram: @katherinemay___On the Podcast:Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious AgeWintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult TimesNew Yorker essay: The End of the English MajorGenesis 1Zen Peacemakers For transcript and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/katherine-may/Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.__*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

On World Down Syndrome Day, Jillian Benfield, author of The Gift of the Unexpected, talks with me about whether it is hard to be the parent of a child with a disability, how our perspective on ourselves, faith, and the world has changed through our experiences as parents, and about the gift of the unexpected.__Guest Bio:“Jillian Benfield is a former journalist and news anchor. She holds a broadcast journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Her essays about living an unexpected life have appeared on sites such as TODAY, Good Morning America, Yahoo! News, and ABC News. Jillian regularly advocates for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in her writings, in her community, and as a part of the National Down Syndrome Congress’s National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition. Jillian and her husband, Andy, and their three children make their home on Florida’s Space Coast.”__Connect Online:Website: jillianbenfield.comInstagram: @JillianBenfieldBlogFacebook: @jillianbenfieldTwitter: @JillianBenfield____On the Podcast:Book: The Gift of the Unexpected: Discovering Who You Were Meant to Be When Life Goes Off PlanThe Journey by Adam HamiltonDown Syndrome Diagnosis NetworkTranscript* and more are available at: https://amyjuliabecker.com/jillian-benfield/__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

What do our bodies tell us about ourselves and our world? And how do we listen? Lyndsey Medford, author of My Body and Other Crumbling Empires, talks with Amy Julia Becker about physical and social healing and the beauty of limitations and interdependence. They discuss how healing connects to slowing down, technology, food banks, capitalism, and more.___Guest Bio:“Lyndsey Medford lives with a rare autoimmune disorder in the American South and is the author of My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That is Sick. She writes and speaks about spirituality and justice from a disabled and feminist perspective, through loves of friendship and land passed down by her family, in the tradition of the Christian mystics.”More about My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That is Sick: “We live in a world that is sick. Both literally sick, with chronic illness on the rise, and figuratively sick, facing ever increasing rates of burnout, disconnection, and disaster. Lyndsey Medford draws on her experience living with a rare autoimmune disease to offer broader lessons we need to heal what ails us, both individually and communally. Whether our burnout stems from illness, systemic racism, poverty, or simply sin’s separation, we’re all in need of hope, and we are called to heal together.”___Connect with Lyndsey online: Website: lyndseymedford.comInstagram: @lyndseymedfordTwitter: @lyndseymedford___For show notes, transcript, and more: amyjuliabecker.com/lyndsey-medford/Coming soon__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

What is casual racism? And how did a non-fiction writer end up writing a mystery series? Author Patricia Raybon talks with Amy Julia Becker about faith and “casual racism,” Black history month, and the beauty and truth that emerge from creative storytelling.__Giveaway:  Share this episode on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter by February 26th and tag me when you share. You’ll be entered for a chance to win a copy of Patricia’s latest book, Double the Lies.__Guest Bio:“A writer of faith by day and mystery by night, Patricia Raybon is an award-winning Colorado author, essayist, and novelist who writes daring and exciting books and novels at the intersection of faith and race. After a notable career in newspaper journalism and journalism education, Patricia turned to fiction with release of a 1920s mystery series about a prim, poor but clever Black female theologian—a fan of Sherlock Holmes—who solves murder and crime in Colorado’s dangerous Klan era.”__Connect Online:Website: www.patriciaraybon.comInstagram: @patriciaraybonFacebook: @patricia.raybonTwitter: @patriciaraybon__On the Podcast:Patricia’s 1st interview on Amy Julia’s podcast: S3 E3 | Our Different Stories Divide UsAll That Is Secret by Patricia Raybon Double the Lies by Patricia RaybonWhite Picket Fences by Amy Julia BeckerStory by Robert McKee https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/patricia-raybon/___Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.__*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

In the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death in Memphis, David M. Bailey, founder of Arrabon, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the long, deep, painful, hopeful work of healing in a world that is often filled instead with quick reactions.__Guest Bio:David M. Bailey is the founder and chief vision officer of Arrabon, which “cultivates Christian communities to pursue healing and reconciliation in a racially divided world…For the past 5 years we have successfully partnered with organizations across the country, providing guidance, education and the tools to build more empathetic, reconciled communities.”Connect Online:Website: arrabon.comTwitter: @davidmbaileyInstagram: @davidmbaileyFollow Arrabon on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter: @wearearrabon___On the Podcast:David M. Bailey on the podcast: S5 E15 | To Be Made Well; S5 E4 | What’s So Controversial About Critical Race Theory?; S3 E19 | Loving Our Enemies in a Nation Divided; S3 E1 | Waking Up to PrivilegeTyre NicholsColor of Compromise by Jemar TisbyJemar Tisby on the podcast: S5 E10 | How Kids Can Fight Racism; S4 E1 | How Do We Fight Racism?; S3 E6 | Now Is the Time for Justice Reconciling All Things by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris RiceAmy Julia’s book To Be Made WellArrabon coursesMatthew 6:9-13Amy Julia's video series for LentAmy Julia's Lenten devotional__Interview transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/david-bailey__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.__*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Pain is more than a physical sensation; it has cultural, relational, and spiritual dimensions as well. Dr. Haider Warraich, a cardiologist and the author of The Song of Our Scars, talks with Amy Julia Becker about these dimensions, the opioid epidemic, and ways we can be a part of the story of healing, for ourselves and others.__Guest Bio:“Haider Warraich is a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the VA Boston Healthcare System. He is the author of Modern Death and State of the Heart, and regularly writes for the New York Times and Washington Post, among others. He lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.”__Connect Online:Twitter: @haiderwarraich__On the Podcast:The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: https://amyjuliabecker.com/haider-warraich/__This conversation is a great pair with previous conversations on the podcast that I’ve had with Dr. Matthew Loftus and Liuan Huska.}__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Does anxiety characterize your relationship with time? Author Jen Pollock Michel talks with Amy Julia Becker about our posture toward time and her new book In Good Time.  She offers gentle reflections on learning new habits of being and of receiving the lives we have been given.__Guest Bio:“Jen Pollock Michel is a writer, speaker, coach, and podcast host. She is the author of five books. Her fifth book, In Good Time, released December 13, 2022. She holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College, an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University, and is working to complete an M.F.A from Seattle Pacific University. After eleven years of living in Toronto, Jen now lives in Cincinnati with her husband and her two youngest children. You can follow Jen on Twitter and Instagram @jenpmichel, subscribe to her Monday letters at www.jenpollockmichel.com, and listen to episodes of the Englewood Review of Books podcast.”__On the Podcast:New book: In Good Time: 8 Habits for Reimagining Productivity, Resisting Hurry, and Practicing PeaceS6 E9 | Spiritual Timekeeping in a New Year with James K. A. SmithThe Divine Hours by Phyllis TickleBecoming Friends of Time by John SwintonThree Mile an Hour God by Kosuke KoyamaWe Crashed seriesLuke 10:38-42WorkshopPsalm 90For show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/jen-pollock-michel/__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Do you feel like there isn’t enough time or wish you could just get a better hold on time? This episode is a chance to enter into a way of greater freedom with time. Professor and author James K. A. Smith talks with me about history, contingency, limitations, Black Lives Matter, hope, and his latest book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.__Guest Bio:“James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and serves as editor in chief of Image journal, a quarterly devoted to ‘art, mystery, and faith.’ Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith has expanded on that scholarly platform to become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. An award-winning author and widely traveled speaker, he has emerged as a thought leader with a unique gift of translation, building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.”__Connect Online:Website: jameskasmith.comTwitter: @james_ka_smith__On the Podcast:Latest book: How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully NowChristianity Today interview with BonoBono’s book SurrenderMidnight Library by Matt HaigRepetition by KierkegaardPlough Essay | When Merit Drives Out GraceA Royal Waste of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World by Marva Dawn__For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/james-k-a-smith__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

It’s Christmastime! But how do we celebrate Christmas when consumerism and church hurt bring complicated feelings to this season? Journalist Bekah McNeel and Amy Julia Becker talk about divisions within the American church and Bekah's book Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down. If you are someone who is wrestling with questions of faith and doubt and how to raise kids with faith without force-feeding them answers, this conversation is for you. __Guest Bio:"Bekah McNeel is a journalist, wife, and mother of two. She is the author of Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down,  and her work has appeared in Christianity Today, Sojourners, Relevant, The Texas Tribune, ESPN's The Undefeated, The Christian Science Monitor, Texas Public Radio, and elsewhere. In addition to pieces about parenting, she writes about education, immigration, and faith communities—as well as the occasional op-ed calling the American evangelical church to lay down its idols of White supremacy and patriarchy."___Connect Online:https://bekahmcneel.com/ https://twitter.com/BekahMcneel https://www.facebook.com/bekah.mcneel/ https://www.instagram.com/wanderbekah/___On the Podcast:Book: Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down: A Guide for Parents Questioning Their FaithThe Spiritual Child by Dr. Lisa MillerAmy Julia writing about faith, church, and kidsHebrews 4:12Matthew 1:21___Transcript, complete show notes, and more: https://amyjuliabecker.com/bekah-mcneel/___Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day at amyjuliabecker.com, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!