Winner, Lauren F. Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline. Paraclete Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-1-55725-532-7.
Meet the Author
Lauren F. Winner is Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality and Duke Divinity School. She is the former book editor for Beliefnet and the author of three books: Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity. She has appeared on PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, and Christianity Today. For more information visit her faculty page or website.
Book Basics
Mudhouse Sabbath lives up to its subtitle: an invitation to a life of spiritual discipline. Winner, an adult convert from Orthodox Judaism to Protestant Christianity, writes this book as a way to connect some of the rich traditions and practices of her Jewish heritage with her Christian journey. While she suggests that “practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity” (p.xi) she also recognizes the rich traditions of spiritual disciplines in the Christian faith. The eleven chapters are all accessible and each focuses on one of eleven disciplines: Sabbath, fitting food, mourning, hospitality, prayer, body, fasting, aging, candle-lighting, weddings, and doorposts.
So What?
Most readers will lack familiarity with many of the Jewish practices that Winner seeks to baptize / Christianize / integrate into her Christian journey of faith, but will benefit from her story and suggestions. During this season of Lent as we seek to be more intentional about spiritual practice, I encourage you to read this book or the book of your choosing on spiritual practices.
While many people think of Lent as a time to forgo something, it is increasingly common to think of it as an opportunity to add. I invite you to join me in adding a spiritual discipline to your Lenten experience.