Gratitude and Grace

Gemma Evans Colorful plants in pots on fence

Attitude, Cancer and Prayer

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | August 12, 2019

There’s no more stark realization than hearing cancer has attacked your body and you must defeat it to live. That happened to me four years and five months ago. So it’s a very moving experience every year when I attend the Relay for Life, celebrating that I’m a survivor/thriver, and joining hundreds of people from…

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Positive Self-Talk

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | July 16, 2019

What we inwardly tell ourselves is important. Although it’s not the only factor in physical performance, researchers and practitioners have seen positive results for a long time. We act on our perceptions and beliefs, whether we are aware of them or not. For example, those who believe it’s a dog-eat-dog world will see only one-upmanship…

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Growing Generous Souls Is Now Out!

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | April 13, 2019

I’m pleased to announce that my new book is now out: Growing Generous Souls: Becoming Grace-Filled Stewards! It invites church leaders and individuals to stop racing from one activity to another and instead to focus on being rather than on compulsive doing and consuming. The book includes reflection questions and resources to help people move…

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Center for World Thanksgiving

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Who knew there was a place called The Center for World Thanksgiving? Not I! But it exists, in Dallas, Texas. Back in 1964, four Dallas businessmen started talking together about how the Ancient World had squares and community gathering places where people could look beyond themselves, devoting themselves to spirit and worship. They decided they’d…

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Prayer for Generous Living

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Attributed to St. Ignatius   Lord, teach me to be generous, To serve you as you deserve, To give and not to count the cost, To fight and not to heed the wounds, To toil and not to seek for rest, To labour and not to look for any reward, Save that of knowing that…

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Christ Is for All!

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 5, 2019

Jesus Christ came to show God’s love for us all, with no exceptions! Despite the devastating decision of the recent United Methodist General Conference, thousands, even millions of us United Methodists gladly welcome LGBTQ people into every aspect of the church and ministry. In addition, there are currently 973 Reconciling Congregations across the U.S., and…

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A Radiant Grace

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | February 19, 2019

I often picture God’s grace as a multifaceted jewel, reflecting God’s Light from different angles, each in a different way from the vantage point of a person’s unique life and circumstance. Just think of all the facets, all the rays of light, for all of us human beings! It may shine amethyst in a person’s…

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Fear Not

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | January 14, 2019

Have you ever noticed how often, when the angels showed up in the Bible, the first thing they said was “Fear not”? I admit I’ve had some direct encounters with the Living God over the years, but I haven’t seen an angel so far. I mean the wings-and-light kind. If I had, I might be…

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Congruence: Eugene Peterson

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | December 17, 2018

               There was so much more to Rev. Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message, a version of the Bible, than I had known about him, despite years spent with that volume in daily devotions. I knew he was a Presbyterian clergyman who had pastored a church for decades, but I didn’t know he…

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Gratitude’s Three Foundation Stones

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | October 8, 2018

Gratitude is not just a feel-good approach to life. There I sat at a Greater Good Gratitude Summit, a gathering to promote the evidence-based practices of gratitude. Dr. Robert Emmons, coordinator of the event, said gratitude is “a heightened and focused intellectual appreciation” where we focus on the abundance of our lives instead of on…

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