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Michelle Van Loon
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2026 Reading Challenge

Michelle Van Loon

Goodreads Author


Born
in The United States
July 04

Website

Twitter
michellevanloon

Genre
Christian, Spirituality, Nonfiction

Member Since
May 2014


Michelle Van Loon’s Jewish heritage, spiritual hunger, and storyteller’s sensibilities have been informing her writing and shaping her faith journey since she came to Christ at the tail end of the Jesus Movement. She is the author of eight books, as well as numerous articles, and several full-length plays for the educational market.

She's been a church communications director, served on staff at Trinity International University, and been the U.S. Administrator for an educational ministry based in Jerusalem. She earned a graduate certificate from Northern Seminary in 2017. She's married to Bill, and is mother to three and grandmother to two. ...more

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Hi Michelle. The chapter in your book that deals with Jesus's genealogy is provocative to me, because I think the two different genealogies (Luke and Matthew) are "both Joseph's," and simply contradictory. So if I were to teach a class using your book, I would talk about how our personal genealogies often are put to apologetic ends--wanting to prove a Mayflower descendant, etc., then later prove to be partly invented?
Michelle Van Loon You are not alone in that assessment of the genealogies of Jesus. Some other scholars have posited that view. And while I have landed in a different p…moreYou are not alone in that assessment of the genealogies of Jesus. Some other scholars have posited that view. And while I have landed in a different place on the question, I do like your thesis about how our personal genealogies can be used to serve other ends, whether it is in seeking social status (joining the DAR, for example) or assimilating into US society (some of my husband's relatives hid their Jewishness so they could integrate into majority Gentile culture). Consumer DNA testing has challenged some but not all of those old narratives. If you ever teach a class using my book as a point of discussion, please invite me to visit via Zoom! :)
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If you were to pick your favorite of books you've written, which would it be? (If it's Moments and Days, please let me know your second favorite. I just finished reading it the first time through and am now going to re-read it at a slower pace.)
Michelle Van Loon What a fun question, Marcia! I'm so glad you liked "Moments & Days"!

This is going to sound like a dodge, but honestly, it's not. My favorite book is …moreWhat a fun question, Marcia! I'm so glad you liked "Moments & Days"!

This is going to sound like a dodge, but honestly, it's not. My favorite book is the one I'm praying and dreaming of writing next. I cherish every single one of the books I've had the honor of writing. But if I was going to suggest a good follow-up to "Moments & Days" to a reader, it would be "Born to Wander" because it captures another facet of what it is to follow God here and now. (less)
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Average rating: 4.06 · 488 ratings · 163 reviews · 14 distinct works • Similar authors
Born to Wander: Recovering ...
3.85 avg rating — 149 ratings — 6 editions
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Becoming Sage: Cultivating ...
4.14 avg rating — 127 ratings — 3 editions
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Moments & Days
4.08 avg rating — 109 ratings — 3 editions
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Translating Your Past: Find...
4.18 avg rating — 38 ratings — 4 editions
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If Only: Letting Go of Regret
3.91 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions
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Downsizing: Letting Go of E...
4.70 avg rating — 23 ratings — 3 editions
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Uprooted: Growing a Parable...
4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions
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From Heart to Page
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions
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Parable Life: Living the St...
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2005 — 2 editions
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Listen for his voice: Three...
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Michelle Van Loon's Blog

Blog 3.0

I’ve been blogging for a long, long time. Digital platforms come and go (anyone reading this who had a MySpace site?), but the human need to connect and communicate is hard-wired in us by our Maker. I wrote a little bit about my history as a blogger here as a way of announcing that I’ll now be sharing blog posts and news from my Substack site: https://michellevanloon.substack.com/

I’d love to have

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Michelle is Currently Reading

Rewire Your Anxio...
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Living From The H...
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The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Giving Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts #20)
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The Ghost of Hannah Mendes by Naomi Ragen
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
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Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Catherine M. Pittman
Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to Overcome Anxiety, Panic, and Worry
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The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
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Living From The Heart Jesus Gave You by E. James Wilder
Living From The Heart Jesus Gave You: 15th Anniversary Study Edition
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The War Against the Bible by Rabbi Elie Mischel
The War Against the Bible: Ishmael, Esau and Israel at the End Times
by Rabbi Elie Mischel
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Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
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The Blurred Cross by Richard Bauckham
The Blurred Cross: A Writer's Difficult Journey with God
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The Lost Shtetl by Max Gross
The Lost Shtetl
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Quotes by Michelle Van Loon  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“You and I are not the measure, or the focal point, or time. God is.”
― Michelle Van Loon, Moments & Days
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“Shabbat simultaneously pointed backward to the first day in Eden and forward to the final day when all of creation will find wholeness and rest in unbroken fellowship with God.”
― Michelle Van Loon, Moments & Days
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“[Jesus] was crucified before the beginning of the Sabbath and resurrected after the Sabbath had concluded. Jesus not only fulfilled God's intention for the Sabbath but also became our Sabbath.”
― Michelle Van Loon, Moments & Days
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Lost Challenges: This topic has been closed to new comments. Reading the Seasons - Fall 2019 101 87 Dec 28, 2019 07:44PM  
The Lost Challenges: Opposites Attract 123 194 Jun 25, 2023 08:27AM  
The Lost Challenges: Seven Continents Spell Out 156 131 Apr 02, 2025 01:13PM  

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