The GoodHard Story Podcast

Laura Wifler, author, poet, mother, and co-founder of Risen Motherhood, explores finding hope in ordinary life. She discusses disability parenting, a renewed theology of the body, resisting internet influence, and welcoming people with disabilities. Laura also shares how a crisis of faith led her to doubt toward God, pursue new callings, and discover gospel beauty amid suffering.

Catherine Wolf reflects on waking from her stroke into denial, heartbreak, and the long work of facing reality. She explores Jesus’ example of lament, the role of ritualized mourning, and how to name both loss and unexpected gifts. The conversation closes with a practical exercise inspired by Habakkuk for honestly acknowledging pain while making room for hope.

Martin Deacon, CEO of Teach Every Nation and a Christian ministry leader living with progressive vision loss, reframes disability as a strange and wonderful gift. He discusses dependence, faith, purpose, accessibility, and equipping pastors worldwide. He also shares how Hippo Lakes supports global ministry, the role of beauty and hospitality, and the love that has sustained his marriage.

James Wolf, a college student and Hope Heals community volunteer, reflects on growing up with a mother living with disability. He discusses compassion, service, family devotion, and the life-changing community of Hope Heals Camp and MEND. As he leaves for college, James considers kindness, justice, humility, and how hardship can become a meaningful inheritance.

Kate Bowler, author, professor, and theologian, explores life beyond toxic positivity. She discusses suffering, cancer, honest spiritual promises, and gratitude without forced meaning. Joy, she argues, can coexist with grief, fear, and uncertainty. A thoughtful conversation about hope, ordinary grace, courageous acceptance, and finding delight when life refuses simple answers.

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 collective of Christian thought leaders offering honest conversations and hopeful wisdom to help people flourish in the good and hard parts of their stories.

K.J. Ramsey, a therapist and author who writes about trauma, chronic illness, and faith, shares how she lives with unrelenting pain and refuses to postpone joy. She talks about loving and dignifying bodies that hurt. She explores storytelling as a balm, resisting the urge to rush past suffering, and practical ways caregivers and patients sustain one another.

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 binary by inviting Christians to be faithful in the public square WITHOUT joining the culture war. For the last decade, Justin has led the AND Campaign, a non-partisan Biblical framework for civic engagement. He believes it’s possible for Christians to live with both compassion and conviction—and, my goodness, is it refreshing. If you feel like you don’t quite fit into a single party or you’re fighting the temptation to become politically apathetic, spend an hour with Justin and me. You’ll leave motivated, educated, and equipped to steward your public witness well.What we mentioned:“We All Have a Seat at the Table” - https://mendcoffee.shop/products/mend-mugDon't Let Nobody Turn You Around: How the Black Church's Public Witness Leads Us out of the Culture War by Justin Giboney Ep. 74 with Sho Baraka - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/NzNiOWM1ZjAtZDEyNS00NzdiLWI0YmYtMDcxODFjMzEzNDAxAmy Julia Becker’s interview with Justin Giboney - https://amyjuliabecker.com/culture-war-faith-justin-giboney/Church Politics Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-church-politics-podcast/id1289898626Justin’s recommendations for spiritual and political influences:Gardner C. TaylorG.K. ChestertonRoss DouthatDamon LinkerEsau McCaulley Alan NobleLisa FieldsCharlie DatesUnherd (TV Show)Breaking Points (TV Show)Scriptures we mentioned:Luke 18Where to find Justin online:Instagram: @justinegiboneyThe And Campaign - https://www.andcampaign.org/For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me: https://hopeheals.com/Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664bebWant a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, a monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content: http://eepurl.com/gGUnlfGet to know us:⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/spaces⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.com/Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

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 goodness of God. If you’re navigating a situation that feels hopeless, let Courtney be a voice of authority in your grief and disappointment. Her life is proof that God has the power to redeem even the most broken stories.Show NotesWhat we mentioned:And She Got Up: Shattered by Loss, Restored by Jesus by Courtney Pray DukeLouie Giglio’s message from Passion 2013 - https://passionequip.com/talks/raised-to-life-by-the-breath-of-a-living-godNever Alone Widows - https://www.neveralonewidows.com/Scriptures we referenced:Ezekiel 37Psalm 68:5Isaiah 43:19Habakkuk 3:17-18Where to find more from Courtney:@courtneypraydukecourtneyprayduke.comFor more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me: https://hopeheals.com/Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664bebWant a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, a monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content: http://eepurl.com/gGUnlfGet to know us:⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/spaces⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.com/Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

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 NotesWhat we mentioned:As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve by J.S. Park - https://a.co/d/04AUzjhFThe Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss by Mary-Frances O'Connor - https://a.co/d/03pTkAz7We Are Made of Us: Uncovering Our Hidden Family Dynamics, Rewriting Our Stories, and Returning to Ourselves by J.S. Park - https://a.co/d/06lrj9A3Where to find J.S. Park:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jspark3000/Website: https://jspark3000.com/Scriptures we referenced:John 16:33For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me: https://hopeheals.com/Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664bebWant a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, a monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content: http://eepurl.com/gGUnlfGet to know us:⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/spaces⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.com/Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/