Posts by Betsy Schwarzentraub
No Chicken Little
I’ve never been the Chicken Little type of person to cry, “The sky is falling!” But I do believe in taking a sober look around when necessary to reassess the situation, in order to search for some genuinely good news. That’s why now is an essential time to reassess our need for a stronger foundation…
Read MoreAn Intrinsic Writer
Yesterday was the twelfth anniversary of my mom’s passing. I’m proud of her vibrant legacy. She was an intrinsic writer infused with high-energy living. Officially a traditional homemaker until she was fifty. Mom was basically a community advocate and organizer whose commitment arose out of following that radical1 Jesus. She entered Stanford at age sixteen,…
Read MoreWalking the Path
“Walking the Path” is the name of a meditation in The Book of Forgiving by Archbishop Desmond Tutu1 and his daughter, Mpho Tutu. I took the words seriously because the authors both struggled with judging the civil conflict, violence and racial oppression of South Africa’s apartheid system on a personal and massive scale. “Walking the…
Read MoreReading Wide
I read an interesting book review in the Christian Century encouraging Christians to read – and not just the Bible. It was Erik Hoeke’s review of Jessica Hooten Wilson’s new book, Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice. It’s a good bet that readers of the Christian Century, the…
Read MoreOverusing God?
Overusing God? What could that mean? A momentary struggle with that phrase led me to wonder and to worship. I learned a long time back that our language not only reflects our thoughts, but also shapes them. For example, if we think “friend” as our default language, we’ll begin with a positive attitude toward another…
Read MorePentecost Prayer
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that…
Read MoreRun With Focus
Something has led me to start researching a new book, tentatively called Time to Forgive? There’s a question mark in the title because I want it to be honest about how brutal the call to forgive can be, as well as how important it is to work toward, and how different people have moved in…
Read MoreResurrection and Wild Waves
Okay, I admit it: ever since COVID and writing my book Tossed in Time, I’ve been partial to Matthew’s story of Jesus walking on the stormy water – and Peter’s crazy request to walk on the wild waves with him! (Matthew 14: 22-33) A fisherman by trade, Peter clearly knew those nighttime storms could mean…
Read MoreNot for Wimps
Let’s say we believe deeply in God, as many of us do. More than that, at some time we might have prayed for God’s guidance, have experienced God’s presence, and/or have felt and responded to God’s love. What then? How can we stay in love with God?1 In 18th Century England, Christian reformer John Wesley…
Read MoreLiving Water
I’ve been thinking a lot about water lately. That’s partly because our congregation is exploring the theme of “Creation Care and Climate Justice” in this worship season. The Holistic Stewardship Team, which I lead, initiated it. But it’s an important topic for global, more official sources, too, such as the Revised Three-Year Common Lectionary, 1…
Read MoreA Worshipful Soul
“To worship God in truth means to worship God with our whole being,” says the pastor of the Church of the Resurrection Online Congregation. This statement fits the Christian understanding of one’s “soul” as the whole of who we authentically are, living in relationship to God. Worship is our whole-person response to God’s grace. The…
Read MoreDisciples and Disciplines
I never was a fan of the word “discipline.” It sounds too much like “punishment” to me. Not that my parents disciplined me very much. But the term used to leave a bad taste in my mouth, nevertheless. But not any longer. Actually, “discipline” comes from the word for “disciple.” Ah, that makes a huge…
Read MoreWeek of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023
I didn’t grow up celebrating a bunch of special Christian days, but I’m finding some of the basics reassuring in these uncertain times. One of those is a hundred-year-old tradition called the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It lasts for eight days, usually Jan. 18-25. That’s this week. Even the phrase “Christian unity” may…
Read MoreThe Map or the Boat?
Author Mark Nepo tells the story of a troubled man who asked for help from a sage.1 The wise man offered him a choice. “Do you want a map or a boat?” The supplicant looked at the many other suffering people around him and answered, “I want the boat.” So the monk told him, “Go,…
Read MoreAdvent: Time Limits
“The unforced rhythms of grace” – that’s a lovely phrase in The Message version of the Bible for Matthew 11:30. Here are the verses that lead up to it: Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to…
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