I hate to spend money even on things that I know are going to be useful to me.  Which means that spending money on things of uncertain value is even harder for me.  And if there's one thing I've learned as a lifelong reader, it's that there are far more books of no value than there are books of good value (in terms of me - others might find them highly valuable, in which case, I'll sell you my copy!).  

Sometimes though, my cheapness requires me to take risks.  Paying $80 a year to join Amazon's Prime membership club and get free shipping is questionable, as I can never be *sure* that I will save at least $80 in shipping charges in any given year.  Particularly since Amazon offers free shipping on many of their products if you are willing to have them shipped slower.  This option requires a minimum $25 purchase though.  

So it was that I came to purchase Lauren K. Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Disciplines because it enabled me to get free shipping on some other stuff that I needed to get.  I grabbed it spontaneously.  I've been fascinated with Orthodox Judaism since falling under the spell of Chaim Potok in high school.  And I find that the almost total break that modern Christianity has made with traditional Judaism seems at the least regrettable, if not outright problematic.  How do we understand almost 70% of Scripture if we have no functional link to our Jewish theological heritage?  And how do we understand best the New Testament - written by Jewish converts to Christianity - without this heritage? 

So I took a chance that Ms. Winner would have something of interest to say on this topic, and I was pleasantly surprised.  She does.  She writes well.  She's charming and engaging in a young womanly sort of way (you can almost hear her giggling as she discloses first her dating relationship with one of the characters in the book, and then her eventual engagement to him).  But this isn't a book that needs to be categorized by gender.  She writes well and what she has to say and share can be beneficial to anyone.

Her basic idea is that having grown up as an observant Jew, some of the traditions and rituals and practices of Judaism have some useful application to Christian devotional life.  I agree.  I agree in large part because I was already familiar with many of the traditions she discusses.  But also because I believe that we are created as kinesthetic creatures.  Our hearts and minds and bodies are bound up together, and if we focus merely on intellectual or devotional practices without engaging our bodies and senses, we're missing out on a great deal.  

Ms. Winner's Christian faith seems well-rooted.  She doesn't present these spiritual disciplines in a legalistic or pietistic fashion.  They are helpful for her.  Perhaps they can be helpful to others.  She offers her experiences and observations in the spirit of Romans 14:1-12, neither judging nor despising.

If you feel that your devotional life and spiritual disciplines could use some freshening up, this might be a useful contribution towards that process.  If you're curious about aspects of the Christian faith that have been informed by our status as basically a Jewish sect, this book might be helpful to you.  It's a short, easy read that provides a lot of food for thought.