Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

Our tradition on Christmas Eve is to throw a birthday party for Jesus.  As we approach the mayhem of Christmas morning, we remind ourselves that the gifts Jesus asks for are those of a humble heart, a contrite spirit, and a willingness to give ourselves in love to those in need.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

Living with Jesus, living in the light, means we start to see the things that God hates in this world. Injustice to people who are vulnerable and needy might be at the top of the list of things God hates. But light doesn't just expose. It also guides us and shows us how to reflect the light that brings healing and change in the world.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

In today’s episode I talk about our options when we see the darkness inside our own lives, like a ketchup stain on a shirt. We can turn off the lights and go back to ignorance. Or we can ask Jesus to help us clean it up. But what do we do when some stains don’t disappear?We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

The darkness of the human heart. We don’t like to talk about that darkness, not at Christmastime, and really not ever. But if Jesus has come to be a light in the darkness, then the reason to talk about darkness is so that we can turn toward the light. We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

When I sing Christmas hymns to my children at night, I am naming something that runs deeper than peppermint ice cream and mistletoe, and yet it is through baking and decorating and gifts that I communicate the spiritual reality contained in those Christmas church songs.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

The light shines in the darkness. Today’s episode looks at how the glitz, parties, and gifts of the commercialized Christmas can serve as very physical reminders of what, of whom, we celebrate this season.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

I'm more or less ready for Christmas. But am I ready for Jesus? Not really. I'm not ready for Jesus to show up, and perhaps that's exactly as it should be. Today on the podcast we’re talking about how Jesus is ready to enter my life—just as it is.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

Today’s reflection comes from a time when our kids were little, our cat was alive, and I was in a hard spot personally. A time when I needed to learn about expecting God to show up not only when our life is in crisis but also in the every day.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

Today I look at a passage in the Bible that relates to George Bailey, and to Zechariah, and to me, and to all of us who think we need impressive resumes and accomplishments in order to prove our worth to the world.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

In today’s episode I give you a glimpse of when I was grumpy for a few years. Maybe not every day. But most days. And at the core of my being, deep inside my heart, lay a stone, a slowly growing bitter stone of resentment and self-pity.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening!