Sarahbeth Caplin's Blog, page 3

An uncommon pariah in an unsafe world

There’s a line from my memoir that goes like this: “Christians are called to be pariahs, to go against the ways of this world. But I am a special kind of pariah.” It refers to the biblical mandate that Christians are to be “not of this world.” Gospel values are always going to make us… Continue reading An uncommon pariah in an unsafe world

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My Jewish background and the Ten Commandments in schools

Growing up, I attended a public school system that regularly bent the rules as far as what was permitted under freedom of religion. Football coaches prayed with students before games. Teachers discussed matters of faith with students in the classroom. Faith-based groups visited my health class to discuss abstinence.  I didn’t know yet that Jesus… Continue reading My Jewish background and the Ten Commandments in schools

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Infertility and loss were hard. But so is parenthood.

After nine months of unending anxiety, Amelia Jane was born healthy on May 12th, 2024 – Mother’s Day, of all days, which feels so redemptive after a year of grief and loss. For all my Googling about everything that could possibly go wrong, my pregnancy was actually quite boring, medically speaking.  A brief summary of… Continue reading Infertility and loss were hard. But so is parenthood.

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The search for an “authentic self” is just making us miserable

I found this article from Quillette, “You Can’t Buy An Authentic Self” by Freya India, interesting at a personal level. It speaks about a generation that grew up with social media influence more intimately than mine did; specifically, a subset that is being told they can “become their authentic self” through artificial means like gender… Continue reading The search for an “authentic self” is just making us miserable

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On baby naming anxiety

This post was originally published in Business Insider My love/hate relationship with my name began at the age of 6 when my life goal was to be famous. However, I quickly learned that having a common name was going to make that difficult.  There were enough Sarahs in my school to enact a small army. Had I… Continue reading On baby naming anxiety

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“Is this your first?”

Now that I’m more than halfway through pregnancy, I get semi-frequent questions from strangers, starting with: “Is this your first?” It’s a hard question for me. I’d almost rather be asked about breastfeeding or vaccines or other controversial parenting decisions.  There’s a distinction in my response to this question, which most people don’t clarify. Lord… Continue reading “Is this your first?”

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Revisiting my memoir at church book club

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

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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?

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Horrified but distracted. Empathetic but numb.

While a terrorist group attacked innocent civilians at a concert in Israel, I was probably sleeping. At seven weeks pregnant – the size of my first baby when she was discovered lifeless in my womb at eleven weeks – I was dealing with a fair amount of personal anxiety. And nausea. On a progesterone supplement… Continue reading Horrified but distracted. Empathetic but numb.

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Here comes the sun

There was a beautiful double rainbow the afternoon we first saw our baby’s flickering heartbeat. We found out we were expecting again the same week that Hope Elizabeth was supposed to be due. I started the second trimester on my birthday- could not have asked for a better gift.  It’s strange to hold grief and… Continue reading Here comes the sun

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