Amy Julia Becker's Blog, page 103

S4 E6 | The Reunited States: Love Big Enough to Heal with Erin Leaverton

Erin and David Leaverton sold their house, loaded their three, young children into an RV, and traveled the country for a year. Their family’s journey is part of the documentary The Reunited States. Erin Leaverton talks with Amy Julia about their search for what divides our nation, the false hierarchy of human value, and the durable power of God’s love to heal division.

TRANSCRIPT

SHOW NOTES

Erin Leaverton is a wife, a mom to three children, an interior designer, and a blogger. Her family’s “life-altering adventure, traveling across America by RV for one year to learn about why the fabric of our nation is fraying,” is part of The Reunited States documentary. Connect with Erin online:

Website: erinleaverton.comFacebook: @erineleavertonInstagram: @erinleavertonPinterest: @erineleavertonWebsite: undividednation.us

On the Podcast: 

The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide by Mark GerzonDocumentary: The Reunited States , presented by Van Jones and Meghan McCainSusan Bro, Steven Olikara, and Greg OrmanUndivided Nation

The Reunited States: Love Big Enough to Heal episode quotes | Erin Leaverton

“Our divisions are rooted in a belief system we have about human value.”

“[We’re] Rooted in our belief in a false hierarchy of human value. There’s a whole lot of bullet points on that hierarchy: socioeconomic status, education, skin color, religion, sexual orientation. These are all sort of marks that are either going to work for you or work against you in how valuable your life is. And the flaw in this entire scheme is [the audacious idea that] any life could be measured in value – you can’t measure human life. It’s infinite.”

“We bear the image of an eternal God. That’s incredible. Each one of us. It’s infinitely beautiful and infinitely valuable.” 

“The things that I will look for to define my own value is the exact same set of principles I’ll apply on every other person.”

“We do have permission to mourn things that we discover. And we need to. I think that that’s healthy. But we can’t stay there. We have to move through it.”

“Dr. King said, ‘Love is the most durable power in the world.’ And when I heard that quote, what I literally saw was like an actual structure to hold the weight of disagreement. And I think agreement is what we’re building on right now. And it’s so cheap and so flimsy. It cannot hold any dissonance, whereas love can.”

“Respect is earned over time. Honor is something we can give freely, just like love. Everyone is deserving of honor because everyone bears God’s image. Even if they’re committing atrocities—and I know this is a hard thing to say, a hard thing to believe—but even in the act of committing horrible atrocities, no human being is outside the realm of redemption and honor.”

Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.

Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.

To learn more with Amy Julia:

Love is Stronger Than Fear | Season 4—Head, Heart, HandsS3 E11 | The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity with Esau McCaulleyS4 E1 | How Do We Fight Racism? with Jemar Tisby

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

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Fasting 101

Painting in our home {by Auseklis Ozols}

In certain subsets of American culture right now, intermittent fasting—only consuming calories for 8 hours each day—is all the rage. I have friends who don’t eat any calories until 1pm. They drink black coffee all morning, and then eat whatever they want for eight hours and do it all over again the next day. They swear by the benefits—less inflammation, fewer achy and pains, a more regulated body weight.

I’m sure intermittent fasting is wonderful. But I am not breaking my dependence upon black tea with honey and almond milk as soon as I stumble into the kitchen in the morning any time soon.

A Weekly Fast

And yet I have taken up the practice of a weekly fast, and I feel a little bit like my intermittent fasting friends in that I want to sing its benefits and invite everyone I know to try it too. So please forgive me if I gush a little bit about this strange, ancient practice of intentionally denying myself food for a set period of time in order to connect with God.

Nowhere in the Bible is fasting mandatory. It’s not one of the ten commandments. Jesus is even criticized for not fasting, which implies that it wasn’t a regular practice of his (even though there’s also that story of his 40-day fast at the beginning of his ministry…). But almost any Christian spiritual teacher (and many spiritual teachers from other religions too) will recommend it.

Fasting’s Promptings

The idea is that we intentionally abstain from something (traditionally food) for a set period of time. When we desire that thing, instead of satisfying the desire, we turn to God. Fasting heightens our awareness of our own neediness. It prompts us to pray. It reminds us that God offers us spiritual nourishment. It attunes us to God’s presence.

Over the course of the next six weeks of Lent, I’m going to be writing about fasting each week on Mondays. I’ll share some thoughts on why and how and with whom we fast. For today, I wanted to offer a little introduction to the practice of fasting for spiritual purposes. I know many of you have more knowledge in this area than I do, so please comment and share your thoughts and experiences too!

To read more with Amy Julia:

Devotional Book | On the Way: Walking With Jesus Through the Season of LentThe Call of Lent (And the Temptation)What’s Up With Fasting

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

The post Fasting 101 appeared first on Amy Julia Becker.

Lenten Reflection | Psalm 42

When my soul is “downcast” I am not always inclined to turn towards God. If I’m honest, I’m inclined to turn towards Netflix or planning my week or chocolate-covered almonds from Trader Joe’s. But in Psalm 42, the Psalmist writes that when his soul is downcast, he will remember God’s love. What if I learned from him? What if Lent is an opportunity to learn how to turn away from all the habits that keep me from bringing my true self to God and receiving the fullness of God’s love in return?

Every Saturday through the season of Lent, I’ll be posting a video of a short Lenten devotional on a Psalm. These Psalms, along with reflection questions, can be found in my new Lenten devotional (available as an ebook and paperback book) if you want to follow along.

To read more with Amy Julia:

Devotional Book | On the Way: Walking With Jesus Through the Season of LentThe Call of Lent (And the Temptation)Four Spiritual Practices That Help Social Justice Stay Grounded in Love

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

The post Lenten Reflection | Psalm 42 appeared first on Amy Julia Becker.

Lenten Devotional | Psalm 42

When my soul is “downcast” I am not always inclined to turn towards God. If I’m honest, I’m inclined to turn towards Netflix or planning my week or chocolate-covered almonds from Trader Joe’s. But in Psalm 42, the Psalmist writes that when his soul is downcast, he will remember God’s love. What if I learned from him? What if Lent is an opportunity to learn how to turn away from all the habits that keep me from bringing my true self to God and receiving the fullness of God’s love in return?

Every Saturday through the season of Lent, I’ll be posting a video of a short Lenten devotional on a Psalm. These Psalms, along with reflection questions, can be found in my new Lenten devotional (available as an ebook and paperback book) if you want to follow along.

To read more with Amy Julia:

Devotional Book | On the Way: Walking With Jesus Through the Season of LentThe Call of Lent (And the Temptation)Four Spiritual Practices That Help Social Justice Stay Grounded in Love

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

The post Lenten Devotional | Psalm 42 appeared first on Amy Julia Becker.

AJB Recommends: Resources for Lent

I’m usually scrambling to get my act together when it comes to Lent. I truly appreciate this season every year when I am invited to focus my attention on the death of Jesus. But I also tend to put off deciding whether/how I’m going to observe Lent in any way. Am I going to “give something up”? Am I going to take up a new spiritual practice? Read a devotional? What resources will I compile for Lent?

Resources for Lent

In case you’re like me, and you are a little behind when it comes to Lent, here are a few resources that you might find helpful in this season:

VIDEO FOR LENT

First, a 5-minute video teaching from my friend Patricia Clarke on a new way to think about fasting in Lent (this is on IGTV called Lent and Beauty). 

BOOKS FOR LENT

Second, some books to check out:

Jen Pollock Michel has just released a wonderful book called A Habit Called Faith. It’s designed around the idea that we become what we do. If we don’t have much faith, but we practice faith habitually, we grow in faith. Like a muscle. This book contains 40 days of reading the Bible that can correspond to the 40 days of Lent.

God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter. I am planning to use this devotional guide this year, so I can’t recommend it yet, but I appreciate the variety of Christian voices and artists they have within its pages. One little teaser of goodness from its opening pages:

Whether it is imposed by circumstances or chosen through spiritual discipline, Lent is about nurturing a posture that holds all things lightly, that ensures that our passions are subject to us and not the other way around. In Lent we learn that the meaning of life is not dependent upon the fulfillment of our dreams and aspirations. Nor is it lost within our brokenness and self-absorption. That meaning is still there–and it can be found. Lent cleanses the palate so that we can taste life more fully. It clears the lens so that we can see what we routinely miss within our circumstances. Lent and Easter reveal the God who is for us in all of life–for our liberation, for our healing, for our wholeness.

-Greg Pennoyer

Fleming Rutledge wrote a sweeping—and surprisingly accessible and riveting—volume on The Crucifixion that I read over the course of two years of Lent a few years ago. For anyone who wants a deep dive into what the crucifixion is all about, this book is for you. 

GUIDES FOR LENT

And finally, a few people I respect are offering guides to Lent:

Kate Bowler is offering daily Lenten devotions sent straight to your inbox by email. (And as an aside, her interview with Greg Boyle on her podcast this week is just wonderful.) 

Ruth Haley Barton also offers a guide to Lent.

I’ve used An American Lent as a way to focus my attention on injustice and healing throughout the season of Lent as well. 

And of course, if you want some of my thoughts and reflections on this season, you can purchase a copy of On the Way: Walking with Jesus Through the Season of Lent.

To read more with Amy Julia:

Devotional Book | On the Way: Walking With Jesus Through the Season of LentWhat’s Up With Fasting?Four Spiritual Practices That Help Social Justice Stay Grounded in Love

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

The post AJB Recommends: Resources for Lent appeared first on Amy Julia Becker.

What’s Up With Fasting?

The Christian season of Lent begins today. If you aren’t a Christian, or if you aren’t from a church tradition that observes Lent, you might remember in years past that day every year when a few people in the office or at school had dark gray smudges on their foreheads. That’s today. Ash Wednesday, the day that many Christians around the globe acknowledge our mortality (ashes to ashes, dust to dust) and look ahead to the death of Jesus on the cross.⁠

Fasting

Throughout this season, many Christians also choose to fast from something. Meat, cheese, alcohol, sugar, social media, speeding—I’ve known people who have fasted from each of these things over the course of the 40 days of Lent. (Church fun fact: the 40 days of Lent do not include Sundays, because, for the Christian, every Sunday is a day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. So it’s not cheating to break a Lenten fast on Sunday.)⁠

I have often shied away from fasting because it seemed more like a handy diet plan or a self-improvement project and less like a way to draw near to God. But over the course of the past year, I heard more and more pastors, teachers, and friends talk about how important a practice fasting can be in connecting to God.⁠

Turning My Attention⁠

So I started fasting and praying—with a few friends—on Mondays. I’ll write more about that experience in the next few weeks, but for now, I’ll just say that I have found it unexpectedly revelatory in turning my attention away from my physical cravings and towards my deeper longings. I have found it unexpectedly lifegiving in turning my heart and mind toward God.⁠

None of us are obligated, and all of us are invited, to fast from something throughout this season, that we might see and receive more and more of the deep and abiding grace and love of God.⁠

To read more with Amy Julia:

Devotional Book | On the Way: Walking With Jesus Through the Season of LentThe Call of Lent (And the Temptation)Four Spiritual Practices That Help Social Justice Stay Grounded in Love

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

The post What’s Up With Fasting? appeared first on Amy Julia Becker.

S4 E5 | Healing the Harm of White Evangelicalism with Kristin Du Mez

Can acknowledging the wounds of white evangelicalism actually bring healing? Kristin Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne, talks with Amy Julia about the harm of militant masculinity and Christian nationalism found within white evangelicalism and the hope for healing by exposing and addressing those wounds.

TRANSCRIPT

SHOW NOTES

Kristin Kobes Du Mez is professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University and the author of Jesus and John Wayne. She holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame, and her research focuses on the intersection of gender, religion, and politics. 

Connect with Kristin online:

Website: kristindumez.comFacebook: @kkdumezTwitter: @kkdumez

On the Podcast:

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du MezLuke 6:6-10Healing the Harm of White Evangelicalism episode quotes | Kristin Kobes Du Mez

“The closer I looked, the more I saw John Wayne popping up in very unexpected places as the icon of American masculinity and Christian masculinity.”

“We have seen this before. We have seen this so many times before—evangelicals finding reasons to support abusers of power, to support men who they thought would protect the faith, protect Christianity—and at great cost to women, to children, and to their communities.”

“It doesn’t take a lot always to slip from metaphorical battles to actual battles.”

“How did we get to where we are now? There were many choices, active choices, that individuals made at different junctures, often for the purpose of enhancing their own power, and we can start to see how all of this came together…Then we are freer to ask, “Is this where we want to be? Is this how evangelicals—how Christians—ought to engage our neighbors?”

“What is the Good News? And what should that look like? And how much should it actually entail building walls and drawing stark divisions and excluding people from our communities?”

Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.

Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.

To learn more with Amy Julia and spiritual practices and healing:

Love is Stronger Than Fear | Season 4—Head, Heart, HandsS3 E11 | The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity with Esau McCaulleyFour Spiritual Practices That Help Social Justice Stay Grounded in Love

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

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Action and Discussion Guides for White Pickets Fences

Purchase Paperback: Action and Discussion Guides $8

I wrote a memoir, White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege, in what seemed like a time of unprecedented social divisions. It was published in the fall of 2018, and since then we have only seen more political polarization and civic unrest. 

In the midst of the social turmoil of these past few years, I have held onto the belief that we can respond to the harm of injustice and division with hope. We can participate in healing.

I developed a series of RESOURCES in response to people’s thoughts and questions after reading White Picket Fences, and those resources are now compiled in a book called Action and Discussion Guides for White Picket Fences. We need conversation, prayer, and action that leads us towards love now more than ever. I hope these resources help you begin those conversations, prayers, and actions in your own communities.

INSIDE THE BOOK:

Head, Heart, Hands Action Guide

Inside the pages of this book, you’ll first find Head, Heart, Hands. This companion to White Picket Fences lays out how we can respond—with our whole selves, our heads, hearts, and hands—to the harms of social division. It includes lists of resources and questions for reflection. 

Discussion Guides

You will also find three different discussion guides.

The first two guides are opportunities to gather a group of people to consider the themes of White Picket Fences and how to respond to social divisions with our whole selves.The final discussion guide is longer. It is both a discussion guide and a Bible study that looks at themes of social division and social healing in the Bible, designed to be used over the course of seven weeks.The Next Small Steps

None of us can heal our society by ourselves. But we can each take the next small step towards love. I hope this book, Action and Discussion Guides for White Picket Fences, is one such step, and that you will find an invitation to the next small step within its pages.

Purchase Paperback: Action and Discussion Guides $8 Discount for Bulk OrdersUse discount code ACTION20 to take 20% off orders of 10 books or more.Free PDF Resources

The action and discussion guides found within in this book are also available to you as free resources in PDF format. 

Free PDFs: White Picket Fences Resources

Continue reading with Amy Julia:

Announcing Head Heart HandsWhite Picket Fences resourcesSeason 4 | Head, Heart, Hands

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

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How Community Promotes Flourishing

Where do you want to be in five years? Who do you want to be in five years? What do you want to be true of your everyday life in five years? These were the questions a group of people—teachers, counselors, family members, youth pastor, and friends—came together (on Zoom) to address with Penny as a part of her school-sponsored PATH meeting. They came together as a community to promote flourishing for our daughter who has Down syndrome.

We started with Penny’s strengths and abilities. She’s hard-working, caring, consistent. She’s good at reading and dancing. Good at keeping in touch with people. A “self-starter” who loves to give encouragement. And more.

She articulated some hopes and dreams for the future—living with friends in a city, working at Chipotle or as a party planner, going to college. 

Community Promotes Flourishing

Together we stated a vision of what could be true for Penny in five years and how we could support her in achieving those goals. We’ve come up with a list of self-care skills to work on, like making doctor’s appointments on her own and learning how to cook dinner. We’ve got an appointment to talk to the local head of special education about college possibilities.

But most of all, we have a commitment from our community—school, church, family, and friends—to support this young woman as she learns and grows. To encourage her giftedness and care for her where she has needs. To offer help and to encourage independence. We have a commitment, essentially, to love her as she grows up. 

A Committed Community

Peter and I often receive praise for our parenting when people meet Penny. That’s all very nice, but meetings like these make it clear to me that our parenting is not the only reason Penny is who she is. Penny is growing up in a community committed to knowing and loving her for who she is, to supporting her as she becomes the full and vibrant human being she was created to be. And that community makes all the difference—a community that promotes flourishing.

{Shared with Penny’s permission.}

Continue reading with Amy Julia:

Missing Out on Beautiful, Part 1: 7 Essays About Raising a Child with Down Syndrome – Find in ResourcesMissing Out on Beautiful, Part 2: 8 Essays About a Child With Down Syndrome Growing UpHappy 15th Birthday, Penny!Penny Heads to High SchoolIn Her Own Words: Penny on Being a BridesmaidWhen Your Child Becomes a Teenager

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

The post How Community Promotes Flourishing appeared first on Amy Julia Becker.

AJB Recommends: Podcasts for Understanding the Black Experience

One of my greatest challenges is getting out of my own homogeneous demographic bubble and really finding opportunities to listen to voices from perspectives different than my own. It isn’t a problem of accessibility—there are plenty of those voices and perspectives out there. But if I don’t stop to think about it, I end up populating my heart and mind with people who have look like me, believe like me, and think like me. I want, however, to be engaged with and challenged by other perspectives, and listening to podcasts by people of color has been one way I’ve been able to gain a broader understanding of myself, my faith, and our nation. Here are a few podcasts for understanding the Black experience. I appreciate the perspective they offer.

Podcasts for Understanding the Black Church

This episode of The Bible Project with Esau McCaulley is really really good for anyone who wonders how Black Christians have understood the Bible as a story of hope and redemption. Esau is the author of Reading While Black, and he also hosts The Disrupters podcast.

Pass the Mic is the podcast of The Witness, a Black Christian collective, hosted by Tyler Burns and Jemar Tisby.

Be the Bridge, hosted by Latasha Morrison, looks at the possibilities for bridging our racial divides. 

The Jude 3 project is a podcast dedicated to exploring what Black Christians believe and why. 

Podcasts for Understanding the Black Experience

I also listen every week to Brooks and Capehart, a Friday-evening reflection by David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart on the week’s news. Capehart also has his own podcast, Cape Up, with excellent conversations with leaders like Stacey Abrams (that episode was my favorite of his ever) and author Angie Thomas. These aren’t Christian/spiritual per se, but they again offer me a broader perspective on news and culture than I might otherwise receive.

Continue reading with Amy Julia:

More AJB RecommendsAJB Recommends: Resources for Black History MonthAJB Recommends: Three Podcast Episodes About Addressing RacismThe Biblical Story of Overcoming Social Divisions

If you haven’t already, please  subscribe  to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  Twitter,  Pinterest, and Goodreads, and you can  subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.

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