Forming a Biblical Vision of the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

What if your child doesn’t “fit the mold” of what is considered successful and flourishing?

Christian parents in today’s culture can get swept up in the pursuit of achievement, perfection, and performance. They often feel pressure to measure their children’s success by grades, behavior, or milestones. But what happens when your child doesn’t hit those marks—or when you begin to question whether those marks matter in the first place?

In this powerful episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, host Sarah Cowan Johnson welcomes Amy Julia Becker—author, speaker, and mother of three—for a profound conversation on parenting, disability, and what it really means to live the good life. Amy Julia is the author of To Be Made Well (amzn.to/4km5ktQ), White Picket Fences (amzn.to/3I7zrrk), Small Talk (amzn.to/40sj6DW), and A Good and Perfect Gift (amzn.to/4l6gd3Y), and the creator of the Reimagining Family Life with Disability workshop. Through her writing and podcasting, she helps others explore how disability, faith, and culture shape our vision of wholeness.

Amy Julia opens up about how her vision of the good life, once shaped by merit, achievement, and perfection, was undone and lovingly rebuilt. Through formative moments such as her own health crisis, the loss of a loved one, and the birth of her daughter Penny, she began to see that limitation is not a flaw to be overcome but a deeply human experience that can draw us closer to God. Sarah and Amy Julia reflect on how parenting through the lens of disability reveals the hidden values we carry, and how belovedness—not performance—is the foundation for true identity and growth.

Whether or not disability touches your family directly, this conversation offers a deeply human invitation to embrace limitations, see God’s image in every child, and parent with grace rather than pressure.

Tune in now to reimagine family life through a lens of grace, humanity, and spiritual formation—one that embraces both gifts and challenges, and makes room for every child to flourish.

This episode highlights the following themes:
✅ How cultural narratives about success distort our vision of the good life
✅ Why every child—regardless of ability—bears the image of God
✅ How to shift from performance to belovedness in our parenting

Links from the episode:
✅ Learn more about Amy Julia Becker (amyjuliabecker.com/)
✅ Read Amy Julia Becker’s books: To Be Made Well (amzn.to/4km5ktQ), White Picket Fences (amzn.to/3I7zrrk), Small Talk (amzn.to/40sj6DW), and A Good and Perfect Gift (amzn.to/4l6gd3Y)
✅ Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson (www.ivpress.com/sarah-cowan-johnson)
✅ Read Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowan Johnson (ivpress.com/teach-your-children-well)
✅ Read the transcript here (drive.google.com/file/d/1sKl_nBVfP-2HKLKW7ARUeezorZntmfV4/view)
✅ Take the survey here (forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx)

Credits
✅Special offer: Visit ivpress.com (ivpress.com) and use the code IVPTEACH25 for 25% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.
✅Producers: Helen Lee, Kaitlin Borek, and Travis Albritton
✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts (honestpodcasts.com/)
✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne
✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard
✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

=== Time Stamps ===

00:00 – Introduction
02:26 – About Amy Julia Becker
04:29 – Reimagining the Good Life
07:39 – When Achievement Isn’t the Goal Anymore
11:27 – Encountering Limits, Not as Failure but Formation
15:04 – What It Means to Be Beloved
19:39 – Cultural Messages About Disability
23:27 – Unhelpful Theologies in the Church
27:11 – How Disability Can Image God
33:38 – Why Disability Matters for All of Us
36:52 – Mutuality, Gifts, and Challenges in the Home
39:44 – Listener Question: How Do I Talk About Disability with Young Kids?
42:24 – Steal This Idea: A Family Practice of Gifts and Challenges

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

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