Gratitude and Grace

Gemma Evans Colorful plants in pots on fence

An Intrinsic Writer

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | September 11, 2023

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,…

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Not for Wimps

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 22, 2023

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…

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Trust: An Opening Heart

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | September 27, 2022

Trust makes us vulnerable, but it opens the heart to the riches of each moment. A dear friend, Brenda Sue, gave me The Book of Awakening by poet Mark Nepo. In it, each day of the year has a written reflection, but sometimes I choose to range through the daily pages like a treasure hunter…

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“Give Thanks in All Circumstances”

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | September 16, 2020

St. Basil the Great was born in 329 A.D. An influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed, he was one of the Cappadocian Fathers and a doctor of the Eastern Church. He was known for his prolific writing and his care for the poor. Basil lived out his deep faith in humble service. He taught…

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Helping Children Be Thankful

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | July 15, 2020

Almost every parent has been there: pressuring their young child to write the obligatory thank-notes to Aunt Charlotte and the next-door neighbor after Christmas or their birthday. But does sending those notes under mild duress make your kids really feel grateful? The fact is: we cannot make children be thankful. We can only make them…

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Helping Children Be Thankful

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | July 15, 2020

Almost every parent has been there: pressuring their young child to write the obligatory thank-notes to Aunt Charlotte and the next-door neighbor after Christmas or their birthday. But does sending those notes under mild duress make your kids really feel grateful? The fact is: we cannot make children be thankful. We can only make them…

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Live Gratefully, Live Generously

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | July 1, 2020

Generosity is grounded in a real sense of gratitude, says Rev. Scott McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Horizons Stewardship Company. He saw it firsthand on a mission service trip to Malawi, in the midst of a famine there. The villagers they had helped – themselves on the edge of starvation – danced and sang and…

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A Cycle of Grace

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | June 6, 2020

Written for Voices and Silences, 2003 Grace, Giftedness, Giving and Growth – these four words, from Clif Christopher and Herb Mather’s book, Holy Smoke!, prompted me to reflect on these themes in my life. For me, they flow in a cycle, a deepening spiral, which begins and ends with God’s grace. From God’s side, it’s…

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Why Good Things Happen to Good People

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | April 13, 2020

Written for Giving magazine, Vol. 20 By the Ecumenical Stewardship Center  Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by the Simple Act of Giving By Stephen Post and Jill Neimark  “Giving is good medicine,” say Stephen Post and Jill Neimark, authors of Why Good Things Happen to…

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Signposts for Wisdom

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | September 16, 2019

We can grow in wisdom if we reflect on and learn from our experience. After writing the chapter on “Growing as Becoming” in Growing Generous Souls, I thought about wisdom as less of an achievement or endpoint, and more as a process of becoming the wise person each of us is meant to be. A…

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