(Update: Alice Hodgkins has won this giveaway–much thanks to Alice and all the others who helped share the news about the book!) I am thrilled to announce the official release of my new book, A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations and a Little Girl Named Penny (Bethany House). It should be available in bookstores today. (Of course, plenty of bookstores might not actually stock the book until it is requested by many, so I encourage you to make... Read more
A few nights back (in fact, in the midst of Hurricane Irene, an inauspicious choice) William said, “Mom, can you take my passy away?” (He still uses a pacifier to go to sleep, and if I were to let him walk around with it all day long, he’d carry it willingly.) “Sure, William,” I said. “Why don’t I put it here on this table so you can reach it if you change your mind?” “No, Mom. Can you put it... Read more
I’ve written here on a number of occasions about my hopes (and fears) for Penny when it comes to making friends. I try to arrange playdates. I talk to her teachers about her social skills. We practice “using her words” and looking people in the eye. We bemoan how often she just wants to crawl into an adult’s lap and cuddle instead of running around with other kids. And, quite frankly, we generally blame Down syndrome for this behavior. I... Read more
Lots more information to come as the week progresses, including an excerpt and a video clip. But for today–you can order your copy of A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith Expectations and a Little Girl Named Penny. Please spread the word on Facebook and Twitter, through email and good old fashioned word of mouth! Go to my website, amyjuliabecker.com, to read an excerpt from the book (Click on the link on the Home page to Chapter Four). A few things... Read more
Who knew that a tropical storm could do this much damage? So here I sit, by candlelight, eighteen hours after we lost power (I’m writing this at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday night, but I can’t actually post it now because we don’t have Internet capabilities at the moment), wondering what the week ahead will hold. I know what I intended: a tight schedule of blog posting, emailing, and preparations for the launch of A Good and Perfect Gift, which officially... Read more
Siddharta Mukherjee wrote a column for the New York Times Magazine about his experience watching funeral pyres in India as a boy, his experience as an oncologist watching Americans die of cancer, and the problems with the American way of death. The contrast between a body in flames as it passes from this life and a body in a dress and lipstick on display in a funeral parlor makes for an essay worth reading: “The Letting Go.” Also from the... Read more
I’ve always assumed that if I ever wrote and published a book, I would then embark upon a cross-country book tour. Peter envisioned a Winnebago with the kids in the back, stopping in every major city from Boston to Seattle, down the West Coast, and back again. We’ve abandoned the Winnebago idea, and I’ve realized that my touring abilities are rather limited. First, we’ve got three young children, and they can’t adjust their lives too much to accommodate their mom’s... Read more
In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” It’s easy to settle for a less-than-full life, whether by assuming that relationships will end in disappointment, or that God doesn’t really answer prayer, or that human beings can’t really change their ways. But I return to Jesus’ promise, and I once again believe that full life is possible, if only... Read more
Our daughter Penny was born five and a half years ago. She was our first child, and we found out two hours after she was born that she probably had an extra 21st chromosome. For us, the first twenty-four hours were the hardest, although it took me about a year to fully receive her for who she was, without reservation. From the start, I loved her fiercely. When she was in my arms, my fears and doubts dissipated. And yet... Read more
I wrote last week about a disturbing article in The New York Times Magazine that related stories of women who chose to “reduce” their pregnancies from twins to singletons. From my vantage point, the article raises two sets of ethical questions–one surrounding the ethics of abortion and so-called pregnancy reduction (not exactly an abortion since the fetus is killed in utero and then remains in the womb until delivery), the other surrounding IVF and other reproductive technology. Although some of... Read more
Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability
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