“It always comes back to limits and longing. Those are the two words that I see over and over in the Beatitudes in this portion of Jesus's teaching. That's the human experience for all of us.” - Micha Boyett Brazos Press

Listen or watch here:
amyjuliabecker.com/micha-boyett/

I gave our daughter Penny two choices for her spring break—the Bahamas (where she has always wanted to go) or Atlanta. She chose Atlanta so she could hang out with friends from Katherine Wolf Camp. A gift we can give ourselves and our children is relationships. Relationships matter.

'Comforting, encouraging, challenging all wrapped up.' That's how a listener summed up my conversation with Micha Boyett. We talked about how to honor limits in a world that doesn't, and the difference between limits and brokenness. I hope you'll listen!
amyjuliabecker.com/micha-boyett/

I don’t know how to capture the experience of the Festival of Faith and Writing last week. I listened to compelling speakers. And I loved preparing and offering my own words. But what really mattered about being there was connecting with people in real life.

I love the new Book Note feature in Karen Swallow Prior (Notorious KSP at The Priory)'s weekly email. Honored to have my work highlighted alongside Micha Boyett's.
Read and subscribe here! karenswallowprior.substack.com/p/the-tragical…

I’m heartened by these words from Esau McCaulley:
'We cannot and should not shield [our children] from all difficulty. But it’s also necessary, periodically, to be a bit irresponsible... so they remember that alongside the darkness, sometimes there is light.'

Grateful to have had John Blake on the podcast last year talking about his book, which I loved. You can listen to our conversation here (amyjuliabecker.com/john-blake/), and be sure to pick up a copy of More Than I Imagined! This award is well-deserved.

It's hard to hear about the bias against people with Down syndrome from the past, but I am also fascinated to hear about how our understanding of the value of all humans has changed over time. I appreciated this conversation on Hidden Brain with anthropologist Thomas W. Pearson...

'What makes life good is not perfection. This life is always going to ache.' Micha Boyett joins me to explore blessing, limits, and longing within the context of the Beatitudes. Check out her new book Blessed Are the Rest of Us. Brazos Press
🎙️ amyjuliabecker.com/micha-boyett/

Penny came home from dance last week and said, “Mom, I’m working on landing a double pirouette. I’m the last person in the class to be able to do it.”

I asked her how she felt about that.

She said, “I’m not discouraged.” She paused. And then she said, “I’m just determined.”

Watching the eclipse was like entering a thin place, a moment in time and space where heaven and earth kissed. I want to respond to the thin places, to seek out the deeper beauty. I want to live in expectation of quiet wonder that is entirely beyond my control.

I love the way Micha Boyett weaves together her story of transformation as the mother of a child with autism and Down syndrome and her reflections on Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes. Get the book! bakerbookhouse.com/products/542825

Wouldn’t employing people with disabilities, who might be overlooked by capitalist systems, be a beautiful way for the body of Christ to exist in this world? I know of more coffee shops & ice cream parlors than churches that are looking for ways to employ people w/ disabilities.

An agnostic mourns the loss of religion in America: 'Maybe religion, for all of its faults, works a bit like a retaining wall to hold back the destabilizing pressure of American hyper-individualism, which threatens to swell & spill over in its absence.'
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

'It costs us quite significantly.'
AND
“Love is powerful… When you expand your imagination & you get to connect with people… it's just so beautiful.”
Nancy French on the costs & gifts of loving political neighbors (her book Ghosted out soon) Zondervan Publishers
amyjuliabecker.com/nancy-french/

Today is the last day to get the early registration discount (over 50% off) for my brand new workshop—Reimagining Family Life with Disability. Register today and join me in May for live, virtual sessions, opportunities to ask your questions, and more!
amyjuliabecker.com/workshop/

A deal like this won't last long - buy the 'Small Talk: Learning From My Children About What Matters Most' audiobook today and save 50%! Amy Julia Becker | Author, Speaker, Podcaster audiobooks.com/promotions/pro…

I loved this conversation for so many reasons, including Rebecca Solnit's point about how despair and optimism come from the same root—the idea that we already know what will happen in the future. 
Rebecca Solnit: Why Is Hope So Powerful? Vivek Murthy
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hou…

I have heard from so many people already about how much they appreciated your candor and kindness on the podcast. I loved talking with you! Thank you, Nancy French!

47 is not a milestone birthday. I did, however, receive a pair of the softest pajamas I’ve ever known and a hairbrush-hairdryer thing that seems to work miracles. Maybe one joy of solid middle age is taking delight in pajamas, and hairdryers, and the gifts of a rainy evening.