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I don’t know about you, but I feel the rhythms of the seasons and the energy of each one and December seems like the perfect time to reflect on what has gone before and celebrate what is coming in the New Year.

I recently got a ten hour compilation video in my YouTube feed titled “Goodbye Christianity: Bible Scholars Leave Christianity,” with host Derek on his channel Mythvision. I watched it because I too have left Christianity, though not God, or believing that Jesus was an amazing teacher of love, forgiveness, and feeling the connection with all things. All of the scholars came from the Evangelical tradition. What made them leave was the contradictions in the Biblical texts. For them, coming from a tradition that believes the Bible is literally true, made them face the fact that they couldn’t reconcile the discrepancies about the life of Jesus. Almost all of them said they struggled with cognitive dissonance until they challenged the doctrines of their churches and got a new perspective on the value of the Bible. Most now see it as a great work of literary fiction with moral themes that we can use in our everyday lives.

That video got me thinking about my own journey and how no matter who you are, most of us come up against ideas that challenge long held beliefs. We have to decide what to do about how the old ideas conflict with new ones. We have to make sense out of the mishmash. That kind of deep self-examination is uncomfortable. So much so that there are people who won’t do it. They live with their contradictions. What the scholars described doesn’t apply only to religious convictions. Our political, social, or historical beliefs can be challenged and cause just as much inner turmoil once we are confronted with the unmistakeable fact that somethings we once believed contradict the new things we believe.

I was fortunate that the church I grew up in encouraged the members to create a personal relationship with God. That gave me a great foundation for my spiritual journey. Even though I don’t belong to that church any longer, I’m grateful for the foundationI received from them. I’m not alone when I struggle. I not only have spiritual support, but I had wonderful instructors in my Religious Studies program who gave me tools to process all the new information I was learning. They encouraged me to keep exploring no matter how painful if feels each time I go through a new round of challenges to my world view.

On another note, my father’s last remaining sibling died one day after his 91st birthday this past week. It’s sad to say that my Uncle led an unhappy life. I hope that he’s with my Dad, Uncle Joe and Aunt Bette having a grand ol’ time. My 91 years old Mom is now the last one left living of her generation in the family on both sides. After a great deal of struggle to find her a living situation that would nurture her, she’s finally in a great location not far from my sister. I hope she’ll be with us for awhile longer and I can see her before, or on her 92nd birthday this summer.

A week ago Friday, I got to meet one of my podcast guests in person. Lorraine Haataia and her husband Bob were on their way to Bisbee, AZ to spend the weekend. We had them stop by for some cranberry bread and tea. It was a lovely visit. I include Lorraine’s Story-Power episode here. She’s passionate about helping writers become part of a supportive community with her business Prolific Writers Life. If you’re a writer, you might want to check out the business. There are members who not only write, but have resources to help you with your projects.

This past week I started reading, Build the Life You Want, by Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey. Even though I’m fortunate to say that I’m pretty happy podcasting, writing my novel, and this blog, I can always cultivate more happiness. If I’m happy, I spread that to others without even trying and we can definitely use more happiness in the world right now.

Since both the December 20th and January 3rd Story-Power episodes are scheduled, I’m going to take this opportunity to work on my novel and add more past podcast episodes to my YouTube channel. You can subscribe for free to that. I’m working on episodes 51 – 60 this coming week and am narrowing in on getting caught up to the upcoming episodes.

That’s all for this post. I guess I’ll go make the birds and deer happy by filling the water trough and spreading birdseed for their afternoon snack.

Blessings to all you who read, comment, and like my posts. Spread a little love this season.

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2023

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I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast, Patreon Community, and Apple subscription so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. The Apple subscription is $3 a month, again with content not found on the Story-Power podcast. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Or, you can subscribe to the subscription on Apple podcast where Story-Power is published.

PodMatch

If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. I call them a dating service for podcasters. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.