Wonder and Mystery

Wild geese fly Joshua Hoehne Unsplash

Space: Both Mystery and Wonder

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | September 13, 2025

There are so many things in the universe that go beyond words to express and invite us to ponder. So I decided to start another blog category, called “Wonder and Mystery.” Maybe just a few glimpses of mine will invite you to think deeply about yours. Space brings instant wonder to me: not the crucial…

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Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | January 12, 2025

“Radical amazement”—Rabbi Abraham Heschel may have coined that term. January first is his birthday. He was an incredible Bible scholar and theologian whom I first met through my seminary studies. Here’s his basic response to life and to God: Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… Get up in the morning and…

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The Understory

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | October 19, 2024

I was moved by Rebecca Janzen’s article, “Healing from the ground up,” in the Nov. ’24 issue of The Christian Century. In it she reviews a new book called The Understory: An Invitation to Rootedness and Resilience from the Forest Floor. In The Understory the author, Lore Ferguson Wilbert, moves back and forth between personal…

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Overusing God?

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | July 17, 2023

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…

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As Wild Geese Fly

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | October 21, 2019

Stewardship is the how of living toward God – not the wheels on the bus, but the way the wild geese fly. The way the wild geese fly – not just instinct but also intention: the how of living toward God. The how of living toward God – using what I have for God’s goals:…

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