Posts by Betsy Schwarzentraub
Covenant Sunday in Christmas
Happy New Year! Covenant Sunday comes at the very end of the Christmas season, on the Sunday closest to January first. Back in 1755, John Wesley, English founder of the Methodist movement, held his first Covenant Service of worship. Ever since then, Methodists have been encouraged to begin each new year with a portion of…
Read MoreThe Twelve Days of Christmas
In recent decades across much of the world, the phrase “the twelve days of Christmas” refers to the twelve days before Christmas – as in shopping days to buy presents before Santa’s Big Day. But from ancient times, that proverbial phrase has referred to the days after Christmas Day, together making up the worship season…
Read MoreAll Saints Day in Pentecost
One special day in the season of Pentecost is All Saints Day. Most Christians around the world celebrate it near the end of Pentecost on November 1 or 2.** So who are the “saints,” anyway? While some denominations have an official process of recognizing them, many Christians around the globe see saints as everyday people:…
Read MoreAdvent: A Blue Christmas
It seems odd that the New Year for Christians starts in the winter, not in the spring. Springtime would be a natural season for new beginnings when nature is filled to bursting with buds and blossoms of new life. For example, a branch from the Jacaranda tree would be an outstanding symbol of transformation to…
Read MoreMore About Those Easter Eggs
When you color eggs with your kiddos this year, you are making a long-time historical connection. In ancient times, both Egyptians and Persians dyed eggs to give to friends, much like many Muslims today give colored eggs to their Christian neighbors. In the Middle Ages, people who had kept themselves from eating eggs during the…
Read MoreKairos Time
There are two specific terms for time in the New Testament language of Greek. One is chronos: linear time that moves from past to present to future. It’s symbolized by the newborn baby that ushers in the New Year and finishes the year as grizzled, old Father Time. That’s the only way most folks in…
Read MoreBible Times Before Jesus
Beginnings of the Hebrew People 1850 BCE Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph 1450 BCE Moses, Exodus from Egypt 1200 BCE Joshua, Conquest/Settlement of Palestine The Old Testament Kingdoms 1020 BCE Saul, David, Solomon – the United Kingdom 930 BCE The Divided Kingdoms: Israel and Judah 721 BCE Northern Kingdom (Israel) ends – Isaiah, Micah 586…
Read MoreChristmas: Madeleine L’Engle
“When we celebrate Christmas,” says awesome author Madeleine L’Engle, “we are celebrating that amazing time when the Word that shouted all the galaxies into being, limited all power, and for love of us came to us in the powerless body of a human baby. My faith is based on this incredible act of love, and…
Read MoreThanksgiving Prayer
Here is a beautiful prayer we can use as the grace at our Thanksgiving table or as a prayer to give thanks any time of the year. Delightful stewardship consultant Cesie Delve Scheuermann shared it in her Inspiring Generosity column on November 24, 2021. Prayer of Thanksgiving By Vienna Cobb Anderson …
Read MoreThe Bible in Time
I The Age of the Earth II The Age of Human Beings III The Age of the Written Word Prepared By Robert W. Moon, 1980
Read MoreGod’s Heart is Forgiving . . .
“God fashions the hearts of them all” Psalm 33:15 God has made every one of us to live as a part of God’s entire creation. Life itself is a wondrous gift given to us moment by moment, to shape and to use as we see fit. This is stewardship: whatever we do on God’s behalf…
Read MoreConfessions of a Downsizer
Okay, I admit it: I have been obsessed with things, especially in this past year or more. For the last several years, we have looked forward to major downsizing. So we did it – moved from a rural paradise that requires constant hard work beyond our current sustained efforts, to a house half the size…
Read MorePrayer for an Open Heart **
Lord, grant me a simple, kind, open, believing, loving, and generous heart worthy of being your dwelling-place. ** — From prayer by John Sergieff, 1829-1908, in The Harper Collins Book of Prayers: A Treasury of Prayers Through the Ages (HarperSanFrancisco, 1994); cited in When True Simplicity Is Gained: finding Spiritual Clarity in…
Read MoreTen Reasons to Choose a Simpler Lifestyle
We can choose to live a simpler lifestyle as an act of: Personal integrity and commitment to a more equitable distribution of wealth in the world. Self-defense against the mind-numbing effects of over-consumption. Sharing with others what has been given to us, or returning what we have unequally received at the expense of others around…
Read MoreTen Reasons to Choose a Simpler Lifestyle
We can choose to live a simpler lifestyle as an act of: Personal integrity and commitment to a more equitable distribution of wealth in the world. Self-defense against the mind-numbing effects of over-consumption. Sharing with others what has been given to us, or returning what we have unequally received at the expense of others around…
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