Sarahbeth Caplin's Blog, page 4

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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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

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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

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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

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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

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