Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

What does COVID-19 tell us about our humanity? In today’s episode, Amy Julia talks about the way this pandemic exposes three truths of human nature. She also explores three impediments to living in love: distraction, fear, and injustice. With a look at Philippians 2:1-4 as an ideal way to live, she offers thoughts on the way social divisions impede living in love. Show Notes:For the Life of the World podcast (Miroslav Volf)Article in Washington Post by Sarah Pulliam Bailey re Samaritan’s Purse and Cathedral of St. John the DivineUpdate: While the organization Amy Julia mentions in this podcast, Samaritan's Purse, has set up in Central Park and is serving people there, the plans to work in the cathedral of St. John the Divine were canceled. According to the New York Times, it is unclear whether that changed due to need or to disagreement between Samaritan's Purse and St. John the Divine over same-sex marriage. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/nyregion/st-john-the-divine-franklin-graham.html)Philippians 2:1-4We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

“Why does God allow the coronavirus to exist?” is the question my kids (and many of us) are asking this week. More generally, why does God allow suffering to happen? Why doesn’t God stop the suffering? I can’t offer any easy answers, but we will tackle this age-old question in today’s episode of the Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast. As we enter the Christian celebration of Holy Week, we’ll look at how Jesus faced his own suffering and death with love. We will also explore how Paul faced the prospect of his own death without fear and with love, and how we too can enter into a place of greater peace, hope, and love without denying our real fears and sorrows. Show Notes Philippians 1:19-30Psalm 88Psalm 63 Blog post I wrote about how Psalm 63 moves us towards hopeWe want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

What do we do when the foundation is shaking? Thousands of Americans have already died from the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands of people are sick from this virus around the globe. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, just last week. So what do we do when the foundation is shaking and busyness, self-medication, and entertainment are not enough? Today’s episode explores six ways to receive God's love in the time of coronavirus.Additional Resources:Philippians 1:13-18, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 3:14-21, 1 John 4Blog Post: How to Receive God's LoveHarvard Business Review: That Discomfort You're Feeling is GriefExpanded Show NotesWe want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

For all of you who are stressed, and fearful, and worried—for yourself, for your family, for those you love, for our whole world—I want to share a practice that has helped me. I invite you to give yourself three minutes today.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

How do we connect socially in a time of social distance? Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians in the midst of his own extended time of social isolation. This letter he wrote offers us words of honesty and hope in the midst of our current moment. SHOW NOTES:Philippians 1:1-11We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

It was after the election of President Trump in 2016 that I first wrote the words, “Love is stronger than fear.” Fears haven’t abated in the past few years, and they only increased in the past few weeks as we face an unprecedented medical and economic crisis across the globe.SHOW NOTES:Book of PhilippiansWe want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

And now for something completely different: the Superbowl halftime show! After noticing really different reactions to the show from white Christian women and Christian women of color, my good friend Niro Feliciano and I decided to record a conversation. Listen as we talk about Shakira and J Lo, about how culture shapes our view of the world, and how to grow in love even when we disagree.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

I'm excited to introduce to you Head Heart Hands, my new resource that accompanies White Picket Fences. This free action guide offers ways to respond to the harm of social divisions and privilege in a thoughtful, loving, and courageous manner.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

I’m sneaking in one more bonus episode of the podcast because I couldn’t resist and because it’s about family, and, well, as we approach the end of the holiday season, sometimes we need to be reminded of the title of this episode—Jesus Came from a Dysfunctional Family.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

Our children will open presents today, and their joy at receiving gifts that they cannot buy for themselves will remind me of the extravagant and free love of a God who comes when we don’t expect him and shines light and hope in the darkest corners of our lives and our world.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening!