Narrow Path, Spacious Life {new episode with Rich Villodas}

What if the way we’ve imagined success leads us away from the life we long for? (Plus 2 new recommendations for you!)

LAST CHANCE: Registration is closing soon! Use code FAMILY20 to get 20% off of the Reimagining Family Life with Disability live workshop. It starts on September 18. Learn more about this live, online workshop and secure your spot today!

Have questions about the workshop? Maybe you’re asking…

What will I get if I register?

I’m glad you asked! You’ll get:

• Four sessions of online, LIVE teaching with me!

• Opportunities each week to have YOUR questions answered

• Session recordings, so please register even if you know you’ll have to miss a session!

• A comprehensive workbook download

Sessions include:

• Reimagining Family Life

• Changing the Mindset Around Disability

• Building a Team of Support

• Taking Steps Toward a Good Future

Or maybe you’re asking… 

What if my family isn’t affected by disability?

You can still be involved by simply sharing this workshop (as easy as forwarding this email or sharing this link: https://amyjuliabecker.com/workshop/).

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Finding a life that satisfies

We imagine that success—whether it’s more wealth, social media followers, recognition, or power—will lead to a life wide open with possibilities. 

But what if the way we’ve imagined success actually leads us away from the abundant, spacious life we long for? 

Pastor Rich Villodas, author of The Narrow Way, joins me on the podcast to examine how the Sermon on the Mount challenges prevailing ideas of success and invites us to reimagine faithfulness to Jesus.

Yes, “narrow” sounds restrictive, but Rich points out that the narrow path actually leads to the spacious life we’ve always wanted—full of wholeness and love and possibility—a life of true fruitfulness and love.

Rich says,

“I think what Jesus is offering us is a different kind of imagination of what is possible in the world. What is possible from the perspective of love? What is possible from the perspective of peace and joy and satisfaction and wholeness?”

Rich and I also discuss:

• Reimagining success, morality, and individualism

• Interior examination and the integration of love

• Practices for reimagining the good life in a world of distractions

Enemy Love

“Lots of people have not liked me over the years of me being a Christ follower, not because I was reflecting Jesus, but because I was being a jerk.”

I loved Rich’s honesty as he asked the question, “What does faithfulness to Jesus look like in a world where everyone is claiming faithfulness?”

His answer:

“One of the elements of faithfulness to Jesus is enemy love.”

What kind of enemies did Jesus have? Rich points out that lots of people didn't like Jesus. Why? He was questioning and subverting the ways that power was used to hurt people who were already on the margins.

“When our lives are marked by holding onto grace and truth, when our lives are marked by seeking to serve those who are culturally often overlooked and marginalized, I think we're going to bump up against some resistance and some enemies. Those are the kind of enemies I think are consistent with what Jesus had, not the kind of enemies that emerge because, quite frankly, we're not kind, we're not exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, we're hard to be around.”

Listen on Apple🎙️ | Listen on Spotify🎙️ | Watch on YouTube🎬

I hope you’ll watch or listen. This conversation about the narrow path is full of possibilities for a spacious life.

Blessings,
Amy Julia

P.S. Keep scrolling for 2 new recommendations (a book and a movie!).

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Two Recommendations

Genesis by Walter Brueggemann.

Okay, I don’t usually recommend books that only Bible nerds like me might like, but I have to mention this one. I love the way Brueggemann takes the Hebrew text seriously and integrates his Christian faith into his reading of it. For anyone who wants a deep dive into Genesis, start here!

Wildcat.

I also finally had a chance to watch Wildcat, Ethan Hawke’s film about Flannery O’Connor. It was weird and arresting and challenging and contained everything I love (and also kind of hate) about O’Connor’s writing. If you want to challenge your assumptions about the good life, this film is a great place to start!

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