a few weeks ago, i decided to embark on a spiritual journey with one of my favorite authors, lauren winner. she used to be an orthodox jew, and eventually converted to christianity. she has a great story, and i have deep admiration for her. she is also an over-thinker, like me. lauren (i'm gonna go ahead and assume we're on a first name basis at this point) wrote a book called mudhouse sabbath, which covers several jewish customs/spiritual practices and how they can be included in one's christian disciplines. i decided that i would study each spiritual discipline one week at a time and offer some of my own thoughts.
it's not a secret that i'm a lover of the study of religion. i was a religious studies major in the college, and then i went on to earn a masters in theological studies. i love religions. i love studying how different cultures and different people create doctrine and structure worship practices and rituals to make sense of the "something bigger" they feel around them. i believe each religion offers a Divine revelation that brings us closer to God, and it would behoove us people of specific faiths to at least learn about the faiths and practices of other communities of faith.
i think a part of me is a student (translation: geek) at heart, and going through this journey of spiritual disciplines is partly because i miss being one. in a way, writing about jewish disciplines and practices sort of helps me attain the new year's resolution of being more than just my job. instead of a young professional, i can be a student again (without paying all this money for a degree!). the journey will begin next week, when we talk about the Sabbath. i hope you'll tune in and take this journey with me. below is a picture of all my reference materials i'll be using as learn more about the jewish faith and its spiritual disciplines.
hope you'll come back next week!
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