I published my first post on this blog 13 years ago. Since then, I have largely written about my faith journey… again and again and again!
Continue readingChristianity
Grace in the small moments
I sat at a booth in the diner, chatting with the stranger across from me while the scent of rich coffee wafted past. Both of us, neither knowing the other’s name, were having a lively debate about a banal topic: Pacific Northwest winter weather. He was waiting for his to-go breakfast order to be ready, and so was I. We were surrounded by twinkling Christmas lights, decorations, and a fair amount of holiday cheer – fueled by the excellent coffee served at this little, small-town diner.
Continue readingLet’s talk bibles!
Let’s chat about bibles. The purpose of this post is NOT help you discern what translation is the best one because 1) My opinions are my own and; 2) Let’s be honest – the BEST bible translation is whichever one makes you pick up your bible, open it up, and start reading. Instead, I want to talk about bibles, in general. I have inadvertently started bible collection. It wasn’t on purpose, but I’ve discovered that I love exploring different translations and bibles that are focused on a specific topic.
Crying out to a God that listens
I’ve been in painful health sojourn lately, and while it physically broke me, my cries to God were heard. Not in the way I hoped, but we don’t always get the answers to the questions we ask….
Backstory first, of course: I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis, an auto-immune disorder, in January 2015. In the subsequent 7+ years, I have only been in a brief remission once, have damage in dozens (or even hundreds of joints), have failed off every medicine available out there, and have had my diagnosis changed to the following: Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Pseudo-RA, and Pseudo-Gout (only with calcium crystals instead of uric acid).
Continue readingComing clean
On this final day of 2021 (while mourning the loss of Betty White), I’m posting for the first time in months. Why? This is my post to finally “come clean.”
You see, we celebrated our first Christmas in six years just a few days ago.
Just what I needed
The mezuzah on the door post and Magen David hanging by our front door.
For the last couple of months, two ladies who are Jehovah’s Witnesses have been stopping by our house every third week or so. They are very aware of my status as a Jew because the posts by my front door make it clear where I land on matters of the spirit.
While I am firmly rooted in my “religion” (I put that word in quotes because Judaism is so much more to me than just a religious practice), I also believe in being kind.
Waiting
My dad believed in visitors from the afterlife. He was also a man of stories, and one of his frequent stories was a memory from when his younger brother, John, died as a teenager in the early 70s. The story goes like this: John was in his hospital bed, comatose in the very last minutes of life. My dad had rushed to his bedside from several hours north, barely making it in time. Right before John succumbed to cancer and died, my dad looked up and saw, floating near the ceiling in the corner of that hospital room, ethereal versions of his grandmother, grandfather, and an aunt. Dad said it was as if they were there to greet John’s spirit on the other side. Continue reading
Divergent journeys
Call me naïve, but I really thought that when I became Jewish, people would understand what that meant. Continue reading
Life on Wild Hare Farm 