The GoodHard Story Podcast

If The GoodHard Story Podcast has encouraged you, consider joining us on Take the Next Step.

Each week, Amy Julia Becker interviews disability experts, advocates, and parents about practical next steps for families with disabilities to build connection, belonging, and delight—at home and in community.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Take the Next Step is a part of the Hope Heals Network, a collective of Christian thought leaders offering honest conversations and hopeful wisdom to help people flourish in the good and hard parts of their stories.

My guest today doesn’t get a break from physical pain. And because she’s living with pain that never ends, she stopped waiting to find joy on the other side of her suffering. 
K.J. Ramsey is a therapist and author inviting people into the lifelong process of acknowledging and recovering from trauma of all kinds. She joined me to talk about loving the bodies that feel like they’re failing us, resisting the deeply human urge to rush past our pain, and exercising agency in uncontrollable circumstances.
Show Notes
What we mentioned:
The Place Between Our Pains: A Memoir of What Joy Can Survive by K.J. Ramsey
Say Yes Scott Erickson - https://youtu.be/DkOP2K1ohTQ?si=P8rNfxmrGo4Tcwha
This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers by K.J. Ramsey
Where to find K.J. online:
Website: kjramsey.com
Instagram: @kjramseywrites
For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me: https://hopeheals.com/
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠
Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb
Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, a monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content: http://eepurl.com/gGUnlf
Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/spaces
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
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Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

There’s a lie circling around out there that we have to fall into a binary. Life can either be good or hard. We can choose grace or truth. Our politics can be either progressive or conservative. And if you know me, you know I don’t really buy into the “either/or” thing.
My guest today is Justin Giboney,  an ordained minister, attorney, author, and political strategist who is breaking out of the binary by inviting Christians to be faithful in the public square WITHOUT joining the culture war. For the last decade, Justin has led the AND Campaign, a non-partisan Biblical framework for civic engagement. He believes it’s possible for Christians to live with both compassion and conviction—and, my goodness, is it refreshing. 
If you feel like you don’t quite fit into a single party or you’re fighting the temptation to become politically apathetic, spend an hour with Justin and me. You’ll leave motivated, educated, and equipped to steward your public witness well.

What we mentioned:
“We All Have a Seat at the Table” - https://mendcoffee.shop/products/mend-mug
Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around: How the Black Church's Public Witness Leads Us out of the Culture War by Justin Giboney 
Ep. 74 with Sho Baraka - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/NzNiOWM1ZjAtZDEyNS00NzdiLWI0YmYtMDcxODFjMzEzNDAx
Amy Julia Becker’s interview with Justin Giboney - https://amyjuliabecker.com/culture-war-faith-justin-giboney/
Church Politics Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-church-politics-podcast/id1289898626
Justin’s recommendations for spiritual and political influences:
Gardner C. Taylor
G.K. Chesterton
Ross Douthat
Damon Linker
Esau McCaulley 
Alan Noble
Lisa Fields
Charlie Dates
Unherd (TV Show)
Breaking Points (TV Show)

Scriptures we mentioned:
Luke 18

Where to find Justin online:
Instagram: @justinegiboney
The And Campaign - https://www.andcampaign.org/

For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me: https://hopeheals.com/
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠
Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb
Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, a monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content: http://eepurl.com/gGUnlf
Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/spaces
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.com/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

Today I’m sitting down with a woman who is living out the message of this podcast: Suffering is not the end of your story. It’s the beginning of a new story.
My friend Courtney Pray Duke became a widow when she was just 29 years old. She was left to raise three small children all on her own. Courtney has experienced the deepest kind of loss, yet she never misses an opportunity to proclaim the goodness of God. 
If you’re navigating a situation that feels hopeless, let Courtney be a voice of authority in your grief and disappointment. Her life is proof that God has the power to redeem even the most broken stories.

Show Notes
What we mentioned:
And She Got Up: Shattered by Loss, Restored by Jesus by Courtney Pray Duke
Louie Giglio’s message from Passion 2013 - https://passionequip.com/talks/raised-to-life-by-the-breath-of-a-living-god
Never Alone Widows - https://www.neveralonewidows.com/
Scriptures we referenced:
Ezekiel 37
Psalm 68:5
Isaiah 43:19
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Where to find more from Courtney:
@courtneyprayduke
courtneyprayduke.com
For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me: https://hopeheals.com/
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠
Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb
Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, a monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content: http://eepurl.com/gGUnlf
Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/spaces
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.com/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

J.S. Park has spent over a decade at the bedsides of the sick and dying as a hospital chaplain. He passes his days in the valley of the shadow of death, and he hasn’t left empty-handed. He was generous enough to share what he’s learned about the utility of grief, the ministry of presence, and faith shaped by experience.

Show Notes
What we mentioned:
As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve by J.S. Park - https://a.co/d/04AUzjhF
The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss by Mary-Frances O'Connor - https://a.co/d/03pTkAz7
We Are Made of Us: Uncovering Our Hidden Family Dynamics, Rewriting Our Stories, and Returning to Ourselves by J.S. Park - https://a.co/d/06lrj9A3

Where to find J.S. Park:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jspark3000/
Website: https://jspark3000.com/

Scriptures we referenced:
John 16:33

For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me: https://hopeheals.com/
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠

Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb
Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, a monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content: http://eepurl.com/gGUnlf

Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/spaces
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.com/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/