Podcast appearances and mentions of heather avis

It's 2025 and there are a few things we know are true… The world is chaotic. And we NEED more compliments. That's why our very own Heather Avis wrote her new children's book, “I Like You So Much: Celebrating What Makes You, You!” We're chatting all about the inspiration for this book and more today!What's the difference between saying “I like you” and “I love you?”When's the last time you gave a compliment that wasn't based on an accomplishment?How did Heather make sure that ALL children could see themselves in her new book?The reviews are in (literally!) and this book is a MUST-read. We hope you'll share it with a kiddo in your life who needs to hear just how very likeable they are.--SHOW NOTESOrder I LIKE YOU SO MUCH by Heather Avis on Amazon or anywhere books are sold.Get compliment cards, activity kits, and merchandise HERE.SPONSORSLearn more about Jack's Basket.Learn more about Enable Special Needs Planning.

Heather Avis shares her motivational story of adopting three children – two with Down syndrome – as an encouragement for listeners to consider what they can do to advocate for the God-given value of those who are often overlooked or neglected by society.    Receive the book Scoot Over and Make Some Room plus a free audio download of the program "Shouting the Worth of Every Person" for your donation of any amount!    Get More Episode Resources    If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback. 

We always have an invitation to learn from the wise ones among us, and the turtles and tortoises of the world may not be sexy, but they carry a knowing that just might settle our souls. When we're tempted to speed up simply because everything around us says to hurry, let's remind ourselves that this Lent we're living in Turtle Time. Slowing ourselves so that we can explore the questions that matter, pursue the life that truly satisfies, use our resources with wisdom and love for the people, land, and creatures among us.    Find Sy Montgomery's book On Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell By Shattered Shell  here.  Find Brian Doyles essay "Joyas Vladoras” in his collection One Long River of Song Here is Walter Bruggemann's book  A Way Other Than Our Own.  Micha will be hosting a weekly virtual book club for paid subscribers this spring, following the release of her new book. If you're interested, become a paid subscriber and support her work! Here's a link to learn more. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Find Micha on Instagram.  Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and "The Lucky Few" temporary tattoo. So fun! Jump over there and get your preorder in.

Repentance is the acknowledgment of our missteps, and the adjustment of our stance so we are in line with Divine Love. And this, according to Sarah Bessey, requires vulnerability and grief.  Can we get serious this week? Serious enough to acknowledge to ourselves, to God, and to one another how we have missed the path of Love? May we carry the weight of God's transformative kindness, believing Sarah's words: “There is no place you can go where you will outrun God's love and longing for your wholeness.” Find Sarah Bessey's new book Field Notes for the Wilderness here. Micha is offering a zoom workshop for her Substack paid subscribers this February 24. Today is the last day to sing up, Here's a link to learn more about it!  Micha will be hosting a weekly virtual book club for paid subscribers this spring, following the release of her new book. If you're interested, become a paid subscriber and support her work! Here's a link to learn more. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Find Micha on Instagram.  Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and "The Lucky Few" temporary tattoo. So fun! Jump over there and get your preorder in.

What makes Lent powerful is its insistence on not celebrating, on demanding a season of restraint. What makes Lent powerful is that it invites us to make a choice toward honesty with God and ourselves, a choice to get solemn about what we discover in our core, and live that restraint on the outside. It's a forty day invitation to move from the edges of our lives to the deep, heavy center of us.   Read Jesus's words in Matthew 23 Sarah Bessey's new book Field Notes for the Wilderness releases today! Brian McLaren's book is Faith After Doubt Micha is offering a zoom workshop for her Substack paid subscribers this February 24. Today is the last day to sing up, Here's a link to learn more about it!  If you're interested in participating in the workshop and/or future online interactive conversations with me, become a paid subscriber and support my work! Here's a link to learn more. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Find Micha on Instagram.  Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and "The Lucky Few" temporary tattoo. So fun! Jump over there and get your preorder in.

Ash Wednesday sounds morbid to some, but it exists to tell us the truth, to ask us to come close to the reality of this life: we are always transforming, growing toward wisdom. And it will end. But I love that in the Christian tradition death is understood as a both/and. It is a result of brokenness in the world and it is also a threshold, a transition to fullness of life. As the Apostle Paul wrote, death is still with us, but through Jesus it has lost its sting. Read Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most   Here's the “further up and further in” qote from CS Lewis. " a voice behind us whispering" comes from Isaiah 30:21 Micha is offering a zoom workshop for her Substack paid subscribers this February 24. Here's a link to learn more about it! If you're interested in participating in the workshop and future online interactive conversations with me, become a paid subscriber and support my work! Here's a link to learn more. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Find Micha on Instagram.  Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and a fun little gift. Jump over there and get your preorder in.

Surrender is sometimes the work of naming my weaknesses and allowing them to drag me to the love of God, where I am fully known, and fully myself, with or without my abilities, usefulness, or performance.. Find “Lake Coatepeque” on The Brilliance's newest album Feel It. Read For the Life of the World by Alexander Shmemann Find Psalm 104 here Micha is offering a zoom workshop for her Substack paid subscribers this February 24. Here's a link to learn more about it! If you're interested in participating in the workshop and future online interactive conversations with me, become a paid subscriber and support my work! Here's a link to learn more. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Find Micha on Instagram.  Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and a fun little gift. Jump over there and get your preorder in.

Prayer is an act of intention where I don't deny the micro and macro ache of this life. The hurts that arrive in our lives or the lives of those we love, and the Greater Pain that lives in our societies and systems. And still we choose the thorny, winding path of hope. We choose it with eyes wide open, so we may see when we bump into God.   Find Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr. Read Hunting Magic Eels: Recovering an Enchanted Faith in a Skeptical Age by Richard Beck. Read Marilynne Robinson's novel Gilead. Read “The Sacrament of the Present Moment by Jean-Pierre de Caussade.  If you're interested in more on Epiphany a link to Good Shepherd New York's Epiphany Guide. Learn more about mini breaks here and here. Micha is offering a zoom workshop for her Substack paid subscribers this February 24. Here's a link to learn more about it! If you're interested in participating in the workshop and future online interactive conversations with me, become a paid subscriber and support my work! Here's a link to learn more. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Find Micha on Instagram.  Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and a fun little gift. Jump over there and get your preorder in.

Glory somehow shows up when we suffer, not because suffering is a payment, but because it's a truth-teller, a revealer. We need winter—for all its ache and ice and clarity—where Love has more space in all the sparseness to reach us.    Find Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr Read Psalm 27 here. If you're interested in more on Epiphany a link to Good Shepherd New York's Epiphany Guide. Micha is offering a zoom workshop for her Substack paid subscribers this Febrary 24. Here's a link to learn more about it! If you're interested in participating in the workshop and future online interactive conversations with me, become a paid subscriber and support my work! Here's a link to learn more. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and a fun little gift. Jump over there and get your preorder in.

There is no boundary around holiness: all of this world is worthy of God's holy smudge. In fact, the act of blessing is simply recognizing and marking what is already true. This is the task of Epiphany for us. We show up like the wise men, carrying our gifts. What we're invited to bring the Christ is almost always what we love. Blessing the people and things around us is just another way of saying that this world matters, that life is more than the edges of things; it's the white hot center where meaning lives. Blessing is saying that everything belongs there in the sacred space, that what we have to bring is a gift worthy of the Christ child.   Find An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor Here's a link to Good Shepherd New York's Epiphany Guide. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole for 40% off at BakerBookHouse.com from January 15, 2024 through the rest of the year. Just enter SLOWWAY at checkout. The first 200 people to preorder from Baker will also receive a signed copy of the book and a fun little gift. Jump over there and get your preorder in. Don't forget to use the code!

Can we allow ourselves to cease the relentless pursuit of doing enough, and instead choose to be kind to ourselves and one another—to make warm and generous meals, to sit with people we love under blankets, to dream, and to ask ourselves who we are if we're not proving ourselves? These are the spiritual practices of Epiphany, to be still long enough to see the revelation for all that is. Find Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. Here's a link to The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Letter on Substack. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.    

Heather Avis knows what it's like to step outside of her comfort zone. Heather shares about adopting three children—two with Down syndrome and one of a different ethnicity. She'll encourage you to make room for people who are often overlooked—and see their incredible God-given worth.

This Christmas, Jesus is making us whole through our longings, our longings for a world of goodness and peace, and also, our longings for things to be put right in our own lives. Find Jonathan Pennington's book The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing here.  Read the Beatitudes here. Find Phillippians 2 here. Read Isaiah 30 here. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.    

“…at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story,” I whispered. It was 2 am. “...which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever.” The work of helping my dad into the next story was holy and heavy with love. And the words I spoke lived in the realest part of me. I think that's what it means to believe, even when doubt is ever present. Maybe it's strange to write about death during Advent, a season of waiting for a birth. But birth and death go hand in hand, and I've been thinking  we should consider them together more often. Last week I wrote about Mary's choice to give birth to a child from God, and how her consent led to her powerful song of liberation. How does consent lead to liberation? The same way that death leads to new life, the same way the end of a story leads to a story that goes on forever. This is the logic of Love. And the door to that Love somehow has to do with belief.  Find The Last Battle  by C.S. Lewis here.  This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.    

About The Guest(s): Heather Avis is an author, speaker, and advocate for individuals with Down syndrome. She is the founder of The Lucky Few, a foundation that aims to shift the narrative around Down syndrome and create spaces of belonging for everyone. Heather shares her personal experiences as a mother of three adopted children, two of whom have Down syndrome, and uses storytelling to challenge societal perceptions and promote inclusion.Summary: Heather Avis and Tim Villegas engage in a thought-provoking conversation about intentional inclusion and the power of storytelling in transforming perceptions. They delve into the challenges and progress in creating inclusive spaces for individuals with disabilities, as well as the need to address ableism within the disability community itself. Heather emphasizes the importance of intentional adjustments and thoughtful consideration to foster true inclusion. They also discuss the impact of the fight for inclusion on parents and caregivers, highlighting the need to prioritize the well-being and hearts of disabled individuals. Ultimately, the conversation centers around recognizing the full humanity and worth of individuals with disabilities, irrespective of societal expectations.Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/wjkXhhny49k-OJu1BbN1twhWThoKey Takeaways:Inclusion necessitates deliberate adjustments and thoughtful consideration of the impact of decisions.Storytelling is a powerful tool for changing perceptions and creating spaces of belonging.Addressing and dismantling ableism within the disability community is crucial for achieving genuine inclusion.The fight for inclusion can be emotionally taxing for parents and caregivers, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing the well-being of disabled individuals.Inclusion should extend beyond societal expectations and encompass the recognition of the full humanity and worth of individuals with disabilities.Win a copy of "Equitable and Inclusive IEPs" by Andrea Ruppar and Jennifer Kurth from our sponsor Brookes Publishing!Enter Here: https://bit.ly/brookes-giveaway-1223Heather Avis:Website: https://www.theluckyfew.co/Everyone Belongs: https://www.theluckyfew.co/collections/everyone-belongsMCIE:Website: https://www.mcie.org/Email List: https://bit.ly/MCIE-Email-ListFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkInclusive/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/think_inclusive/Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/think_inclusiveYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThinkinclusiveUsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusive-education/ Support Think Inclusive by becoming a patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Mary sings that God's justice moves us toward liberation for the ones who are discarded by society, allowing a girl like her, pregnant outside of marriage, to overcome the shame and humiliation her culture placed on her, to reverse the rules of who gets discarded, and who gets to matter. I am certain that Jesus's courageous and wise young mother taught him the power of a God who brings hope to the least of these, that it was her teaching that led him to the heart of the good news he came bringing.    Read The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope by Kelley Nikondeha. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.   Quick LinksGet Embed PlayerShare on SocialDownload Audio File  

Mystery is the core of my faith these days. Because no matter how many people prop a pine tree in water and twist twinkle lights through it, no matter how many Playmobile nativity sets are opened and play-acted by little ones, the story of baby Jesus is wild. When we allow ourselves to sit with it, to ask all the questions there are to ask, we are left with a choice—to either believe in just how marvelous it would be if the Creator came to us as a babe, or to embrace a season of gifts and cozy and connections, but write the Jesus part off along with most of our culture. What do we do with a story of God that lies beyond any modern, practical notions of how the world works?   Find Brian Doyle's book of essays, One Long River of Song here. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder Micha's new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

This Thanksgiving, can we think about the concept of gratitude beyond lists or feelings? Let's consider gratitude as a practice that begins in our own bodies, in our choice to stop, our choice to quiet our minds. When we learn to stop and get quiet so we can really look, our graittude becomes more than a feeling. It becomes something we carry into our ordinary lives.  Find the Ted Talk from Benedictine monk David Stendl-Rast here. Find the video A Grateful Day with Brother David Steindl-Rast here.   This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

We who believe in the one Breath can either spend our lives demanding it show up where we'd like for it to show up, or we can stand in the open air and let it blow when it pleases. Find Brian Doyle's One Long River of Song here. Find my previous Slow Way Letter inspired by Doyle's book of essays. Find more information on PROMPT speech therapy here.  This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

We rarely get to finish, do we? Seventy percent. Good enough? Love and apologies and trying again. Hoping for grace to soften the edges of the thirty percent. What else can we do? Find Maggie Smith's You Could Make This Place Beautiful here. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

But sometimes prayer is the act of moving things around, recognizing what in our lives needs removing, and what in our lives needs transforming. The intricate system of our inner soil can be rich, or it can be lacking. And it can survive on its own for a while. But eventually, if we neglect it, the weeds spring up, the soil loses nutrients. Our lifeforce slumps.  Padraig O'Tuama's new book of prayers, Being Here, is available for preorder. It will release in January. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

Find Amber Haines' and Seth Haines' new collaborative book, The Deep Down Things here.  Ivanka Demchuk's icon of young Mary receiving the angel can be found here.   Click here to view Caravaggio's “The Incredulity of St. Thomas.” And see his “Madonna and Child with St. Anne” here. Erin Lane writes extensively about the concept of "mothering" as a verb rather than a noun in her book Someone Other Than A Mother. Read Mary's song of liberation in Luke Chapter 1.  If you're interested in learning more about prayer using icons, Henri Nouwen's book Behold the Beauty of the Lord is a great place to start. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.    

From Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey. “We praise you, O Lord, for our limits!  limits you have given us for our good and for your glory.”  The subtitle of Blessed Are the Rest of Us is “How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole.” I love that word “limits.” Limits speaks to more than weakness, more than failure, more than the ache in us for justice. Our limits in the presence of the divine is part of the core of who we are. Limits, as the prayer says, are for our good.   Find Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey here. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

How do we live, in all our moments, learning to emulate God's mercy? I can be frustrated with the world's lack of care, the intrinsic ableism in all of us that allows for casual complaints about kids and their need to get with the program of typical development. But, even in that hurt I am invited to curiosity and care. To be a mercy-emulator, to practice the way of Jesus.  To see the dignity and worth of every person I encounter, pausing in my frustration long enough to show interest in the real person, made in the image of God, longing for mercy.    Links:  Find Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey here. Click here to read Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

Ritual is part of our daily lives. Rituals are the ways we honor moments of significance. The special occasions that bring us into community with loved ones throughout the year. The carols we sing at Christmas, the blowing out of birthday candles, the first dance at a wedding, the pallbearers carrying the casket, the blessing of babies in our places of worship. We need rituals to make sense of the world. And we need rituals to make room for the holy in our presence, to recognize that the holy is already among us.   Links:  Click here to read Amy Davis Abdallah's new book Meaning in the Moment. Click here to find Shannon K. Evans on Instagram. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

Let me be set free by love, O God. Let me be set free to love. What if that's the thing? Settling into the reality of our lives, receiving it as it is. And being set free by love—the love of ourselves, the love of this season of our lives, the love of ones we're charged to care for, and the love of God?  Discerning the law of love in our hearts, and being set free by it.    Links:  Click here to find Celtic Benediction: Morning and Night Prayers. Click here to find  The Celtic Way of Prayer. Find last week's Slow Practice here. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

Are we paying close enough attention to look with the eyes of reverence, to make space in our imaginations for an image of God that stretches beyond our small experiences and into the “eternal current” of God at work in the world?   Links:  Click here to find the article "The Feminine Way to Wisdom" by David Brooks. This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

Wholeness is not asking for an entirely new way. It's simply asking us to take what's already there and press out the creases, a little at a time.   Links:  Find the full poem by Antonio Machado andTranslated by Robert Bly here. Find  Radical Acceptance: Embracing your Life with the Heart of a Buddha, by Tara Branch here. Find my instagram posts about the brain treatment Ace and I recieved here and here.  This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

Today's replay is from Episode 18, in which I shared about how, after my dad died, I went months without the debilitating migraines that defined my two years before his death. How, when I recorded that episode, I hoped those months of lightness without pain were a true healing. I had been worried to share that story, because what if I called myself “healed” and then the migraines came back?    Listener, they did. In the summer of 2022 they returned with a vengeance and have remained.     What do I believe about those sweet months in my deepest time of grief, when I was free of pain? Was it an answer to my dad's prayer, to mine? Was it a gift in a season of suffering? Was it relief from the stress of watching my dad suffer?    In her book To Be Made Well, Amy Julia Becker writes that, “to live in God's healing presence is like swimming in the ocean: immense, frightening, powerful, beautiful. Where, as the Psalmist writes: ‘deep calls to deep,' where answers don't come easily, where pain is exposed rather than covered over, where healing leads to transformation.”    Whatever healing means for me, I want my pain—both the physical and emotional—to be exposed rather than covered over. Healing as transformation.    Links: This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Click HERE for free downloads/printables  Check out The Slow Way online store Read more from @amyjuliabecker Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara. Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

This replay of Episode 34 from August 2022 considers the language we use when we talk about “seeking God.” What is authentic faith? And what does it mean for it to be a long-term, whole-hearted pursuit that involves the world around us, our stories, and our particular ways of being. Healthy spirituality needs the body. It can never be a mind-trick. It involves the kind of integration required in knowing our habits and motives and weaknesses, and connecting those to our pursuit of the expansive love of the Divine. Links: This reflection and practice were also published in my Slow Way letter Read The Sound of Life's Unspeakable Beauty by Martin Schleske Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly letter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.   Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

May the last late light of summer glow spread wide enough to stir your longing for whatever it is your body, your soul, your heart is asking you to notice. May you walk slower this week into the end of the summer so you can listen to the stirring. May you notice the nudge of the Spirit pointing to love even in the close of one story and the opening sentence of another.    Links:  I announced my new book and cover a few weeks ago on Instagram. So excited to share it with you! This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

“Inasmuch as we are dying,” Shannon K. Evans writes in her book Rewilding Motherhood, “we are also creating. Inasmuch as old things are passing away, we are also being made new. We are less of who we were and so much more of who we will be. . . God is all in all.”  For something to become new, the old thing must let go—a shadow lengthening, a leaf releasing from the branch, the earth tilting ever so slightly away from the source of light.  Links:  Here's a link to Shannon K. Evans' book Rewilding Motherhood I announced my new book and cover a few weeks ago on Instagram. So excited to share it with you! This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

We only get two billion heartbeats. We can hummingbird them, or tortoise them. The faster we zoom, the more our souls—our engines—burn. That doesn't always have to be a terrible thing. But it does matter.   Links:  Here's a link to Marjorie J. Thompson's Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life And here's a link to One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle. I announced my new book and cover a few weeks agoon Instagram. So excited to share it with you! This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

What does it mean to let our grief shape us into elders, choosing wisdom over bitterness? I'm certain the answer is in the circle of welcome: the magic of our fragile hearts holding one another's fragile hearts, and how, somehow, in this uncertain carrying we honor each other's experiences, loves, and sufferings. We learn to be vulnerable together, which just might be the hardest thing of all.   Links:  Here's a link to The Wild Edge of Sorrow And here's a link to One Long River of Song. I announced my new book and cover a few weeks agoon Instagram. So excited to share it with you! This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads.  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.   Quick LinksGet Embed PlayerShare on SocialDownload Audio File  

Much of life is a choice to fling or not to fling. Will we be extravagant with the love we've been given, or will we hold ourselves back because of fear, the chance that all our flinging might not make a difference, or that we'll be hurt in the process? “An abundant imagination feeds us courage,” my pastor Michael Rudzena said. “There is more than just one shot. There are seeds showering down all around us.”   Links:  Here's a link to some of Barbara Brown Taylor's sermon on this passage. And here's a link to my pastor Michael Rudzena's sermon on the same passage. I announced my new book and cover last week on Instagram. So excited to share it with you! This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads. (Who needs Twitter?!)  Micha's other (award winning!) podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

In his longest recorded sermon, Jesus taught about the importance of the process. “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Asking, I've learned, isn't a one and done process. Just as searching is a thing that keeps on going. We turn the room over until we find one treasure, and then—amazingly?— that treasure leads us to hunt for the next one.  Ask and search, Jesus said. Knock. And do it together. Ask and search and knock together.  Links:  I announced my new book and cover last week on Instagram. So excited to share it with you! This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads. (Who needs Twitter?!)  Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

I have a lot of regrets from my younger years of loving a God who seemed both demanding of sacrifice and somehow, simultaneously, filled with mercy. I didn't know how to reconcile the two. So I preached a message of both to myself. Struggling with how one might turn one's heart around without Love in the first place. Not knowing how, when I was most afraid, I leaned into the hollow how-tos, forgoing mercy when it felt too complicated. Sometimes exclusion is easier than the playful mercy of Jesus.    Links:  I announced my new book and cover yesterday on Instagram! So excited to share it with you! This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Threads. (Who needs Twitter?!)  Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Preorder my new book Blessed Are The Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and available everywhere books are sold.  

I haven't written much about how I became LGBTQ+ affirming almost a decade ago. It was a slow process, one that was born of relationships with dear-to-me queer folks, revelations of the high percentage of LGBTQ+ people who have suffered deeply in the often abusive hand of the Church, and it was the work of Jesus in me, revealing the way of transforming love in a world where we cling to rules, even we see those rules destroying the lives of God's beloveds. This is about how I've come to know Jesus, how I've come to understand the movement of the Spirit of God in the world. It's not an argument where I try to convince anyone of my reading of particular verses that seem to reject LGBTQ+ relationships. Changing one's mind on this particularly thorny subject in the Church is not about finally understanding the original Greek of Paul's letters, or reading the right scholar. It's about perspective, experience, lens. I can't convince anyone that I'm right, and that's not my job. But I did feel joy in telling the story of how I put on my Jesus glasses, saw my queer siblings in the way I believe God had been inviting me to see for a long time, and learned to imagine scripture in a way I never had before. Mostly I wanted to tell you about the the quiet and holy sweetness of finally listening to my own conscience and finding that my relief was the voice of God there with me: “Hi, honey.” God said. “I've been here the whole time. You can trust me.” Links:  This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Twitter Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer is available everywhere books are sold.  

On the Southern Baptist Convention's vote to expel churches with women pastors, my calling to pastor (and the complicated denial of that call by my community and by me), and why I left the Southern Baptist church when I was twenty two, but still find myself brokenhearted for what could have been. Links: Read about the Southern Baptist Convention's recent vote here. Find Martin Laird's book Into the Silent Land here.  This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Twitter Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer is available everywhere books are sold.  

For years I've told myself that the Jesus I saw mass produced in mega churches, political stages, and trotted out as social capital by the Church-As-Corporation was just a confused version of Jesus. That somewhere along the line leaders had gotten their eyes all fuzzy when they read scripture so they missed some massive portions of teachings from the Son of God who started the whole shebang. But, friends, there was some clarity for me this week as I watched this Hillsong docuseries, which really didn't say anything new. We have all seen how reckless power, immaturity, and self-preservation practiced in the context of religious authority literally destroys lives, particularly the lives of the vulnerable under the spiritual care of those immature and reckless leaders.  But this time as I watched this Hillsong series, I thought: Oh. They actually don't love the Jesus of the Bible. They love a different Jesus.  On Unsexy Jesus: the small, downward, ordinary ideas that got Jesus in trouble. And might just save the Church.   Links: This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Twitter Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer is available everywhere books are sold.  

I've thought a lot about the way that water heals us, how we need its power. There've been scientific studies that show how even the sight and sound of bodies of water can increase neurochemicals in the brain, increase blood flow, which ultimately leads to relaxation. So maybe the ocean is talking to Ace, or maybe my child is uniquely designed to be more in touch (this is my suspicion) with the ways we humans are naturally oriented by our Creator toward goodness. We long for the beauty and power of water. We long for adventure. We long to be held and carried, to be released from the weight of our land-locked lives.  Maybe the water reminds us that the really real is always here among us. I'm pretty sure that the ache and the grace of seeing it are two sides of the same coin. Call it magic. Call it joy. Call it divine. See it in the ocean talking or the autistic boy who conducts the waves with his own arm flaps. Either way, the invitation is to pay attention, to allow ourselves space to see it.    Links: This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Twitter Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer is available everywhere books are sold    

Our desire whispers how the world is not as it should be, even as we move through our daily rhythms of work and dinner-making and dish-washing and Netflix-binging. What will we do with our unrest?   Links: This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Read The Holy Longing: The Search For Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser Read Psalm 139 from The Message here Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Twitter Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara.  Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer is available everywhere books are sold  

You're listening to Voices of Your Village. And today we get to hang out with my pal Heather Avis from the Lucky Few Foundation. Maybe you follow The Lucky Few Official on Instagram. Fantastic follow. Heather wrote one of my absolute favorite children's books. It's called Everyone Belongs. And I honestly, I cannot read it without crying. It's so good. It's one of my favorite gifts to give at kids' birthday parties. And today we get to dive in with her on how to build a culture of inclusivity at home. I love Heather's approach and work and influence in this space. And it was truly a dream to get to sit down and chat with her and I'm so excited to bring this conversation to you.    Follow along with Heather Avis at: https://www.heatheravis.com/ https://theluckyfewfoundation.org/tlf-cover https://www.theluckyfewpodcast.com/   Love this podcast? Scroll down to leave a review! I read every one and they fill my heart with joy.   Connect with us on:   Instagram: Tiny Humans, Big Emotions (@seed.and.sew)   Podcast page: Voices of Your Village Music by: Bensound   Seed and Sew's Regulation Quiz: Take the Quiz

I am curious lately -- my hands pulling worm after worm out of my compost as I move the new soil from bin to vegetable garden -- about a God who might love the world enough to call plants and worms “kin.” What if we did the same? How do we gain tenderness toward the earth we live in, becoming those most passionate about seeing the earth cared for, nourished and returned to what's right?  Perhaps that starts with our own hearts, with seeing the natural world as God sees it. Today we're asking the question: What if our neighbor is not only the human next door, but the living beings all around us?   Links: This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Read Sing, Wrestle, Spin by Jennifer Grant Read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer Listen to and watch "Sycamore, Sparrow" by Good Shepherd Collective Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Twitter Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara. On this week's episode they interviewed Noah Matthews Matofsky, Disney's first actor in a film with Down syndrome, who stars as the leader of the Lost Boys in the new movie Peter Pan & Wendy. Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer is available everywhere books are sold  

Heather Avis, author of Everyone Belongs and Down Syndrome advocate, joins us this week on the Rhythms for Life Podcast to share how she has overcome the challenges of parenting two kids with special needs and has learned so much about facing adversity and building resilience from her two children with Down Syndrome.Pre-Order Building a Resilient Life today and receive $97 in free bonuses at https://www.rebekahlyons.com/rlbook.Join Rebekah's Launch Team for Building a Resilient Life and join Rebekah for three mentoring sessions on relationships, mental health, and calling. Join the launch team at https://www.rebekahlyons.com/launchteam.Thank you to our sponsors, Pinecove Summer Camps. Pinecove is giving Rhythms for Life listeners $250 off at their Pinecove Springs Camp. Check out pinecove.com/springs and use the code: RHYTHMS250 for $250 off a first-time overnight youth camp registration.

Best-selling author, podcaster and Down syndrome advocate Heather Avis joins Blake to talk about creating a more inclusive world where everyone belongs. In her book, she reminds us that it is possible to make room for all people and all abilities, and that life is brighter when we give every person a chance to shine. Listen in as they talk about making a decision to step into an uncomfortable place to break down the barrier and what it looks like when you have the tools and the opportunity to love well. Heather is the author of Everyone Belongs - available everywhere now! To connect with Heather: Website: theluckyfew.com | heatheravis.com Instagram: @theluckyfewofficial | @heatheravis

On Monday, I sat down with Heather Avis. Heather is a New York Times bestselling author with her book, "Different - A Great Thing To Be," and an active Down Syndrome advocate, after adopting two children with Down Syndrome into her own family. Today we are giving you a quick breakdown on how to begin fully taking the steps to nurture belonging and inclusion in all aspects of your life. Throughout our conversation, Heather touches on three ways you can start fostering belonging with your children in your home and overall community...1. Assume competence2. Extend an invitation3. Be willing to adjustHeather is the brightest beacon of light and I feel truly so inspired after talking with her. Be sure to go back and listen to Monday's episode with Heather to get a deeper dive into her incredible life story!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heather Avis is the founder of The Lucky Few, a New York Times best-selling author, podcaster and a Down syndrome advocate, working to create a more inclusive world where everyone belongs. For more than a decade, she has led this effort by shouting worth, shifting narratives, and reimagining what it looks like when we embrace our differences. Heather just released her 3rd book called Everyone Belongs, a children's book that teaches kids about being loving and inclusive especially to those who have disabilities. Heather patiently and graciously talked through all my questions about what it's like to be a mom of kids who have Down syndrome and gave beautiful advice on how we can teach our kids to be more inclusive and why she believes it starts with our kids. I learned so much from this interview and was left feeling so uplifted and I know you will too.   Time Stamps: [00:59] - Heather Avis talks about The Lucky Few and where the phrase comes from. [02:22] - How can we tell a “truer story” about Down syndrome? [05:19] - Who is Heather's “Scariest and Best Yes”? [07:04] - “You can't know what you don't know.” [09:27] - When speaking about people outside of our own community, we should get our cues from that community. [12:17] - Heather shares the spark she felt the moment she read this email from a social worker. [14:54] - What was it like to finally complete the adoption? [16:39] - How did Heather's family react to the decision? [19:22] - Heather talks about dealing with society systems that try to put a limit on who her children are as people. [21:04] - Every person is already valuable, even when in pursuit of better. [24:02] - What made Heather decide to say “yes” to another baby diagnosed with Down syndrome? [26:50] - Parenting is one step at a time for every parent. [28:11] - Everyone belongs. [30:56] - Heather shares examples of how parents can have open conversations with their kids around disability and differences. [33:47] - You are equipped to handle your journey, and there is a community here to help you. [36:14] - “Exactly who you are is exactly who we pick.”   Supporting Resources: Heather's Website: Heatheravis.com “Everyone Belongs” Book by Heather Avis

Please welcome back Heather Avis to the Rise Together podcast! If you don't already know, Heather is a New York Times bestselling author, popular Instagrammer, and mom of three adopted children. Heather's new book, Everyone Belongs, is available now wherever books are sold! Everyone Belongs is a joyful rhyming picture book that encourages children to not only value all people but also make room for their differences in order to make a better, brighter, and more beautiful world. It is an important reminder that it's possible to make room for all people and all abilities—and that life is brighter when we give every person a chance to shine. To keep up with the amazing things Heather and her family are doing, give them a follow on Instagram! -------- Imma keep some healthy space from social for a bit and am bringing it on email. Feels right, and actually a little more personal, tbh. We're basically one-way pen pals when you follow this link and drop your email here. —> mrdavehollis.com Dave's book Built Through Courage is available now! Dave was recently confronted with the fact that he was living the life someone else wanted for him. After weathering a highly publicized personal crisis amid the backdrop of an international pandemic and navigating the enjoyable but unpredictable waters of being a single father to four kids, he has been forced to become the captain of his own life and is ready to teach others how to do the same. I want to be your coach. Yes, YOU! Join me at Growth Day, not for pre-taped lessons, but for weekly LIVE coaching. Click the link and gain access to my coaching + some of the world leaders in personal growth like Brendon Burchard, Jenna Kutcher, Jamie Kern Lima, and more! -> http://bit.ly/daveatgrowth To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a super special week on Rise Together because our interviewee is...Dave Hollis! Dave sits down with his good friend Jon Acuff and reflects on the past 5 years, his experience with treatment and sobriety, and what the future holds as he continues on his journey of figuring out this thing we call life. -- National Angels is working to ensure that every single child/youth who experiences foster care has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential and every family who fosters is radically supported in their journey. You can join me in helping to change the statistics this May for National Foster Care month by clicking here —> https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTUwMjcy Founded by New York Times best-selling author Heather Avis, The Lucky Few Foundation is a global storytelling movement, shifting narratives to create a more inclusive world where everyone belongs. The Foundation ensures that family members, friends, and loved ones of a person with Down syndrome have the opportunity to share their stories and everyone else has the opportunity to access those stories as a bridge to relationship, ultimately strengthening our collective humanity. Learn more about The Lucky Few Foundation here --> https://theluckyfewfoundation.org/ -- Our next Get Fit 60-Day Challenge starts May 9 with a week-long pre-party just kicking off and Heidi and I would love to have you join! If you've been looking for a community online that invites you to not only come as you are but celebrates you for being exactly who you are and where you're at in your journey, this is absolutely for you. This community has become my safe, reliable soft landing on the days I struggle as well as accountability cheerleaders when I get on a roll. As much as people come to get into better shape, they stay because of feeling part of something unlike anything they've ever experienced. Everyone has access to daily workout programs with individual tracks that you can jump in and out of: in the gym or at home, programs for men and women, at every fitness level with modifications to meet you where you are. Beyond the physical challenges, the weekly lives also feature experts in nutrition, dance, breathwork, cooking, yoga, and more, all of whom interact and answer questions in the community regularly. This celebration of what our bodies can do is equally supported by creating space for the mental and emotional components of transformation, all in a private Facebook community that loves and supports you as you are, right where you are. For me, in this window of life, this community has become the only place I interact online because of the way it pours positively into me and every other person there, every single time I'm there. Heidi and I would love to see you become part of this amazing family as well. Learn more by clicking this link --> http://mrdavehollis.com/showup Imma keep some healthy space from social for a bit and am bringing it on email. Feels right, and actually a little more personal, tbh. We're basically one-way pen pals when you follow this link and drop your email here. —> mrdavehollis.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices