Amy Julia Becker
@amyjuliabecker.bsky.social
Author | Speaker | Reimagining the Good Life podcast | Disability. Faith. Culture. | MDiv, Princeton | WORKSHOP: Reimagining Family Life with Disability
https://amyjuliabecker.com/
https://amyjuliabecker.com/
Mattel has released a series of Barbies with disabilities and health conditions—most recently autistic Barbie. When Mattel created a Barbie with Down syndrome, there were people online who mocked that decision. I wrote a response to the online ridicule, which I linked in this week’s newsletter.⬇️
January 22, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Mattel has released a series of Barbies with disabilities and health conditions—most recently autistic Barbie. When Mattel created a Barbie with Down syndrome, there were people online who mocked that decision. I wrote a response to the online ridicule, which I linked in this week’s newsletter.⬇️
A question on a form for the Down Syndrome Clinic at Mass General asked: “What makes you smile about this person?” What a wonderful way to communicate to Penny as a patient and to us as a family that this doctor and his team care about us. 1/
January 21, 2026 at 4:41 PM
A question on a form for the Down Syndrome Clinic at Mass General asked: “What makes you smile about this person?” What a wonderful way to communicate to Penny as a patient and to us as a family that this doctor and his team care about us. 1/
I was completely surprised when Penny pointed out one question in the medical forms we were filling out. The questions we ask reveal the assumptions we’re making.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
One Question I Wish Every Doctor Asked
The questions we ask reveal the assumptions we’re making. {Plus two things worth your time}
open.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:17 PM
I was completely surprised when Penny pointed out one question in the medical forms we were filling out. The questions we ask reveal the assumptions we’re making.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
I, for one, am ready for some moral clarity and heroic deeds all offered through very vulnerable and needy humans. So here’s why I like The Pitt…
amyjuliabecker.substack.com/i/184445719/...
amyjuliabecker.substack.com/i/184445719/...
When the New Year Hits Harder Than Expected
Troubling news and a reminder that hope is still possible {Plus three things worth your time}
amyjuliabecker.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:45 PM
I, for one, am ready for some moral clarity and heroic deeds all offered through very vulnerable and needy humans. So here’s why I like The Pitt…
amyjuliabecker.substack.com/i/184445719/...
amyjuliabecker.substack.com/i/184445719/...
"We're getting too close to a place where we're giving up on each other. And that's never an acceptable outcome."
- Justin Giboney
- Justin Giboney
January 19, 2026 at 2:06 PM
"We're getting too close to a place where we're giving up on each other. And that's never an acceptable outcome."
- Justin Giboney
- Justin Giboney
In a moment that rewards cruelty dressed up as courage, I’m thankful for Justin Giboney's wisdom on the podcast this week. 👇🏻
January 17, 2026 at 4:36 PM
In a moment that rewards cruelty dressed up as courage, I’m thankful for Justin Giboney's wisdom on the podcast this week. 👇🏻
In 2020, Peter happened upon a set of questions that changed how we leave behind one year and enter the next.
REMEMBER & REJOICE
What were the highlights & encouragements of 2025?
What did I achieve?
When did I experience joy & wonder?
Who were the people who encouraged me?
What have I learned?👇🏻
REMEMBER & REJOICE
What were the highlights & encouragements of 2025?
What did I achieve?
When did I experience joy & wonder?
Who were the people who encouraged me?
What have I learned?👇🏻
January 15, 2026 at 3:21 PM
In 2020, Peter happened upon a set of questions that changed how we leave behind one year and enter the next.
REMEMBER & REJOICE
What were the highlights & encouragements of 2025?
What did I achieve?
When did I experience joy & wonder?
Who were the people who encouraged me?
What have I learned?👇🏻
REMEMBER & REJOICE
What were the highlights & encouragements of 2025?
What did I achieve?
When did I experience joy & wonder?
Who were the people who encouraged me?
What have I learned?👇🏻
"Moral imagination allows me to look at somebody who’s cursing at me and throwing insults and not hate them back because I see something bigger. It is the ability to see what ought to be in the moment and what will be based on who God says that we are.”
- Justin Giboney👇🏻
- Justin Giboney👇🏻
January 14, 2026 at 7:10 PM
"Moral imagination allows me to look at somebody who’s cursing at me and throwing insults and not hate them back because I see something bigger. It is the ability to see what ought to be in the moment and what will be based on who God says that we are.”
- Justin Giboney👇🏻
- Justin Giboney👇🏻
I loved reading this report about students all over the US in school-based workplaces that employ teenagers with disabilities alongside their general education peers. 👇🏻
January 14, 2026 at 7:00 PM
I loved reading this report about students all over the US in school-based workplaces that employ teenagers with disabilities alongside their general education peers. 👇🏻
We’re living in deep division and political unrest. Justin Giboney, political strategist and author, helps us recover a moral imagination shaped by faith that:
• resists polarization
• refuses hatred
• offers a better way forward in public life
Listen wherever you get your podcasts:
• resists polarization
• refuses hatred
• offers a better way forward in public life
Listen wherever you get your podcasts:
How the Civil Rights Generation Can Lead Us Out of the Culture War - Amy Julia Becker
Within deep division, political unrest, and global instability, Justin Giboney explores how faith can restore moral imagination and resist polarization in public life.
amyjuliabecker.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:34 PM
We’re living in deep division and political unrest. Justin Giboney, political strategist and author, helps us recover a moral imagination shaped by faith that:
• resists polarization
• refuses hatred
• offers a better way forward in public life
Listen wherever you get your podcasts:
• resists polarization
• refuses hatred
• offers a better way forward in public life
Listen wherever you get your podcasts:
We waited years for this kind of birthday. Penny and I took some small steps toward cultivating friendship. And some women we don’t even know prayed for those steps to take root. And here we are, celebrating and knowing that we are not alone in this journey.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
The Birthday Emotions I Didn’t Expect
What our daughter’s 20th birthday revealed about becoming and belonging {Plus 4 things worth your time}
open.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:59 PM
We waited years for this kind of birthday. Penny and I took some small steps toward cultivating friendship. And some women we don’t even know prayed for those steps to take root. And here we are, celebrating and knowing that we are not alone in this journey.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
We celebrated Penny’s 20th birthday with a very simple gathering with three friends. They ate pizza, played games, made ice cream sundaes, and Penny opened presents. It’s the first time in many years that Penny has had a group of local friends who can celebrate with her. At first glance...
January 10, 2026 at 2:17 PM
We celebrated Penny’s 20th birthday with a very simple gathering with three friends. They ate pizza, played games, made ice cream sundaes, and Penny opened presents. It’s the first time in many years that Penny has had a group of local friends who can celebrate with her. At first glance...
Thinking about time management or household clutter? The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi offers simple and life-giving advice about how to bring some order to the chaotic corners of your life. One of you sent it my way, and I'm so grateful.
January 9, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Thinking about time management or household clutter? The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi offers simple and life-giving advice about how to bring some order to the chaotic corners of your life. One of you sent it my way, and I'm so grateful.
Our oldest turning 20 felt different than I expected. Parenting a daughter with Down syndrome has reshaped how I think about milestones, friendship, and hope.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
The Birthday Emotions I Didn’t Expect
What our daughter’s 20th birthday revealed about becoming and belonging {Plus 4 things worth your time}
open.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Our oldest turning 20 felt different than I expected. Parenting a daughter with Down syndrome has reshaped how I think about milestones, friendship, and hope.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
“When your head and your habits diverge, your heart tends to follow the habits.” As we move into 2026, here’s an invitation from Justin Whitmel Earley to think about habits and rhythms that nurture health and wholeness. (Plus why I choose to eat the cheese casserole at the church potluck!)👇🏻
January 5, 2026 at 1:46 PM
“When your head and your habits diverge, your heart tends to follow the habits.” As we move into 2026, here’s an invitation from Justin Whitmel Earley to think about habits and rhythms that nurture health and wholeness. (Plus why I choose to eat the cheese casserole at the church potluck!)👇🏻
What does it mean for “love [for others] to be the guide into the decisions we make around food”?
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
Why Ignoring the Body Never Works - Amy Julia Becker
Justin Whitmel Earley and Amy Julia Becker explore how breathing, meals, rest, and habits nurture body and soul.
amyjuliabecker.com
January 4, 2026 at 10:42 PM
What does it mean for “love [for others] to be the guide into the decisions we make around food”?
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
I suspect I’m not alone in both thinking back on 2025 and looking ahead to 2026 at this moment in time! Here are the books I loved in 2025. open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
Instead of Resolutions, Try This {Plus my favorite books of 2025}
I'm thinking back on 2025 and looking ahead to 2026.
open.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I suspect I’m not alone in both thinking back on 2025 and looking ahead to 2026 at this moment in time! Here are the books I loved in 2025. open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
Why does sleep matter spiritually? How can breathing reconnect body & soul? How do fasting, feasting, & everyday meals contribute to the spiritual life?
"Why Ignoring the Body Never Works with Justin Whitmel Earley" is live now on Reimagining the Good Life🎙️S9 E7
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
"Why Ignoring the Body Never Works with Justin Whitmel Earley" is live now on Reimagining the Good Life🎙️S9 E7
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
Why Ignoring the Body Never Works - Amy Julia Becker
Justin Whitmel Earley and Amy Julia Becker explore how breathing, meals, rest, and habits nurture body and soul.
amyjuliabecker.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Why does sleep matter spiritually? How can breathing reconnect body & soul? How do fasting, feasting, & everyday meals contribute to the spiritual life?
"Why Ignoring the Body Never Works with Justin Whitmel Earley" is live now on Reimagining the Good Life🎙️S9 E7
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
"Why Ignoring the Body Never Works with Justin Whitmel Earley" is live now on Reimagining the Good Life🎙️S9 E7
amyjuliabecker.com/body-soul-wh...
We are in a holiday season where there is much to fear, with news of what can feel like endless tragedies. The Christmas story of a God who not only says “do not fear” but also says “I am with you always”—that is a story that is big enough to hold the suffering.
December 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
We are in a holiday season where there is much to fear, with news of what can feel like endless tragedies. The Christmas story of a God who not only says “do not fear” but also says “I am with you always”—that is a story that is big enough to hold the suffering.
Kevan Chandler has used a wheelchair his whole life and lives with progressive dependence on others. Instead of seeing that dependence as a tragedy, he invites us to reimagine it as a path to deeper relationship, shared joy, and even hospitality.
December 19, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Kevan Chandler has used a wheelchair his whole life and lives with progressive dependence on others. Instead of seeing that dependence as a tragedy, he invites us to reimagine it as a path to deeper relationship, shared joy, and even hospitality.
Do not fear is a promise that God will be with us even in the midst of the most fearful, dark, & terrible moments. It can be easy for me—I’m such a rule-follower—to berate myself for fear. But with all the reasons we have to tremble in fear, we hear the reassuring words in response, “I am with you.”
December 19, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Do not fear is a promise that God will be with us even in the midst of the most fearful, dark, & terrible moments. It can be easy for me—I’m such a rule-follower—to berate myself for fear. But with all the reasons we have to tremble in fear, we hear the reassuring words in response, “I am with you.”
Here’s what changed when 30 teenage boys met our daughter (resisting the r-word slur and honoring one another): amyjuliabecker.substack.com/i/181784057/...
December 17, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Here’s what changed when 30 teenage boys met our daughter (resisting the r-word slur and honoring one another): amyjuliabecker.substack.com/i/181784057/...
Do not fear is a promise that God will be with us even in the midst of the most fearful, dark, and terrible moments.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
"Do Not Fear" Is a Promise
Grief, darkness, and a longing for peace {Plus a book and headlines worth your time}
open.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Do not fear is a promise that God will be with us even in the midst of the most fearful, dark, and terrible moments.
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
open.substack.com/pub/amyjulia...
In a season of parties and entertaining, it’s good to remember that hospitality means something very different—welcoming the stranger and caring for one another. Kevan Chandler, author of the Hospitality of Need, joins me on Reimagining the Good Life. lnkd.in/gnuGPQRN
December 16, 2025 at 4:13 PM
In a season of parties and entertaining, it’s good to remember that hospitality means something very different—welcoming the stranger and caring for one another. Kevan Chandler, author of the Hospitality of Need, joins me on Reimagining the Good Life. lnkd.in/gnuGPQRN