This month, my church chose my first book, Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter, for its book club. I hadn’t volunteered the fact that I had written a book, and it was published under my maiden name, so I was surprised that someone managed to find it. I’m not sure how common it is for authors… Continue reading Revisiting my memoir at church book club
Tag: Christianity
Is blowing a shofar in church worth a compromised witness?
Recently on Instagram, I came across a post from a pastor and author I follow. He was pictured blowing a shofar from the pulpit, and explained in the caption that this is a tradition he “borrowed” from the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. He uses his shofar during the first Sunday service of a new year.… Continue reading Is blowing a shofar in church worth a compromised witness?
Deconstruction: a topic that’s too big for words
“I’m not walking away from Jesus, but I’m done with the church.” Perhaps you’ve heard this statement, or made it yourself. I sure have. Fed up with what seemed to be a culture of hypocrisy, I concluded that the Holy Spirit must not be real if so many Christians who claimed to know Christ were… Continue reading Deconstruction: a topic that’s too big for words
Grieving antisemitism as a Jewish-born Christian
There’s a strange irony in being a Jewish convert to Christianity. The former community no longer considers me a member, yet the Nazis would. And now, more recently, so would the terrorist group Hamas. I struggled for years with needing external validation for who I am and where I belong. Though accepting it from hate… Continue reading Grieving antisemitism as a Jewish-born Christian
The annoyingly non-linear process of grief
“It won’t always be like this.” I’ve said that to myself, and heard it said to me many times before. But sometimes the recovery feels worse than the impact. It’s something I’ve found to be true in figure skating when learning a new trick that lands me square on my butt, and in life when… Continue reading The annoyingly non-linear process of grief
The Church needs the questions that progressives are asking
Books introduced me to Christ, and it was books that led me back to him after deconstruction. But it wasn’t the writings of C.S. Lewis or Charles Spurgeon or any of those “spiritual giants.” I was re-introduced to Christ through Rachel Held Evans and Peter Enns and Sarah Bessey, leaders of progressive Christian thought whose… Continue reading The Church needs the questions that progressives are asking
Thank God I’ve changed
There have been two major shifts in my faith so far. The first, and most obvious, is the shift from Jewish to Christian. The second is more recent. Around the time I dropped out of seminary in 2013, my faith started falling apart. I had been a believer for about five years at that point,… Continue reading Thank God I’ve changed
The condensed “confessions”
My bat mitzvah, November 2001 I recently found a Word doc called "Testimony" that I had written to share with my church small group a few years ago. Consider it a condensed version of Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter...even at 2000 words! *** For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with reading… Continue reading The condensed “confessions”
On waiting well
I’ve been married nearly a decade, but still vividly remember being single all through college. I remember having one friend after another pair off, wondering when it would be my turn. I heaped so much shame on myself for not being able to find satisfaction in God alone. Everyone at Bible Study told me that’s… Continue reading On waiting well
A Jew-“ish” Christian goes to Poland
Last month my family went on a trip to Poland to celebrate my mom’s birthday. Why Poland, you ask? My mother’s side of the family is from there. This trip was a deep dive into our Jewish ancestry, as well as a quest to find the best pierogies in every city we stayed in. It’s… Continue reading A Jew-“ish” Christian goes to Poland