Peace Be with You: Tools and Thoughts to Guide You from Anxiety to Serenity

By Rev. Dr. Garrett J. Andrew and Linda Abbott Trapp PhD

“Peace be With You is a timely treasure, certain to help heal today’s troubled hearts and minds. ­ This remarkable team, a psychologist and a minister, uplift the reader while providing solid expertise and insight ...and not shying away from revealing their own very personal, even intimate, life challenges.”

— Grace Bubulka, RN, MSN and author

Her published books include Heartstrings, a teen novel about sexual abuse, and Beyond Th­is Reality, a personal account of a near-death experience

“As an artist, my work is designed to enhance the viewer’s understanding of, and love for, animals and to support conservation initiatives. In Peace be With You, Linda’s art performs a similar function, echoing the healing power of the text, offering insight, calm, and inspiration. Art can touch us in a deep and moving way, providing a feeling of spiritual well-being, strengthening and hastening our healing process.”

— Gemma Gyling Highly awarded and widely known wildlife artist Best in Show, Artists for Conservation, 2022 and Best in Show, Colored Pencil Society, 2017, Featured in Color Magazine and Featured in Artists for Conservation, among many awards

 

Are you depressed, anxious, or just fed up? You are not alone! ­

The statistics for the mental and physical health of Americans are terrifying. ­ The news of our days is filled with war, economic turmoil, political dysfunction, and environmental catastrophe. “Peace Be with You,” is a book that honestly confronts these issues with hope that comes from the combined experience of two different authors with experiences in counseling, coaching, preaching, writing, and leading people on journeys to peace. ­

This timely and short book can be used as a workbook in small groups, or read individually, and offers practical tools combined with deep wisdom to help guide you from anxiety to inner peace and serenity.

Start your journey toward peace today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Mar 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781489746542

Rev. Dr. Garrett J. Andrew

Dr. Trapp is a retired educator and counselor, as well as an active artist. She has held numerous faculty and administrative positions, most recently, as Dean of Students and Associate Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno. She later owned the Management Consulting Firm, Abbott & Associates, and personally delivered in excess of 3300 workshops, speeches, retreats, and coaching sessions for business, academic, and governmental leaders over an 18 year period. Born in upstate New York, she has lived and worked in many states, as well as in Ethiopia, Mexico, and briefly in Siberia. Her published books include: Fresno, Valley of Abundance, Ornamental Plants and Flowers of Tropical Mexico, Letters to my Granddaughters, and Intentional Living, as well as over 200 published articles in the fields of psychology, business, and travel. Her Doctorate is from Iowa State University, and her prior studies took place at Hope College, Harpur College, and the University of Colorado. Her art work has been similarly wide-ranging, with her pottery, weaving, and woodwork in a number of private collections. For the last 20 years, however, she has been primarily working in watercolor, and finds it best expressed her soul. She has four grown children, and five grandchildren. She currently lives in California with her husband Robert and their pets: Witney, a Golden Retriever, and Jeffrey, a quite independent grey tabby cat. Her artwork can be seen at: www.lindaabbotttrapp.com. Rev. Dr. Andrew is the pastor of Nipomo Community Presbyterian Church, with experience in diverse church and religious settings. A seasoned and award winning preacher, he has an ability to make Scriptures come alive and speak to the lives and situations of those who hear him and read his writings. He has broken down the walls of race in church settings, and has been invited to preach in historic African-American congregations. He has led prayer vigils with Muslims and Hindus, has spoken at colleges about inter-faith issues and Christian history, and regularly writes “A Thought for the Day” that is shared widely. With degrees from Chapman University, San Francisco Theological Seminary, and McCormick Theological Seminary, Garrett is considered a scholar, preacher, and writer who speaks with honesty and hope. He lives in Nipomo, California with his wife Melinda, and their two school-aged children, Langston and Kensington.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Rev. Dr. Garrett J. Andrew and Linda Abbott Trapp, PhD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

LifeRich Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.liferichpublishing.com

844-686-9607

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Front Cover Art: A Moment of Peace, Watercolor, Linda Abbott Trapp

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of

Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-4897-4653-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-4655-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-4654-2 (e)

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 03/15/2023

7643.png

Contents

Chapter 1 - Is Life a Zero-sum Game?

Chapter 2 - The Need for Hope

Chapter 3 - The Mystery of the Other

Chapter 4 - The Mystery of God

Chapter 5 - Moving from distress to calm; the ways of Peace

Chapter 6 - Making Peace with Your Past; Making Peace with Your Future

A Pastor and a Counselor walk into your gloom;

Bringing Love, Hope, Know-how, and Boom!

Your brain grows stronger, your spirits rise;

You know what to do; there are stars in your eyes!

Introduction:

In the following pages you will find the voices of two very different people with a similar goal. We, Linda and Garrett, are of different generations, different life experiences, different professions, and yet are teaming up here with a hope of guiding you on a transformative journey of peace during times that are anything but peaceful.

In our world, no one is immune from bouts of fear, depression, and anger. Although the more fortunate among us can occasionally take a time out from the unending drumbeat of sad or frightening news, most cannot. The result of living in this constant crisis mode is that we are all exhausted, fearful, devoid of trust, and more than a little fed up. So we are here to offer caring and support. We may be an unlikely pair of authors, but we both are of the opinion that our differences in age and experience, combined with our past success in providing comfort to depressed and struggling people, can and will be a benefit to those who encounter this book.

We are a young and highly-regarded pastor (Garrett), and a retired educator and active artist with intensive counseling and coaching experience (Linda). We are both seasoned by suffering, and remain dedicated to providing the most helpful tools we have found and used to serve others. We are different by age, call, education, and experience, but united in empathy for those we have served, and those to whom we wish to extend help and encouragement.

We are both people of strong faith. Garrett has expertise in the what questions of life, or the overarching meaning and goals people try to understand and employ. Linda is seasoned with deep experience in the how questions of life, with thousands of training and counseling sessions that have helped people find transformation. Neither of us has any hesitation in using our life experiences and our deepest convictions in the service of helping those of you who read this text find a deep and lasting peace in these troubled times.

The title of this book, Peace Be with You, comes from ancient greetings that are still common in many religious traditions. Whether you go to church and hear, Peace be with you as a part of service, or know of ancient stories where Jesus says, Peace be with you to those he encounters, or simply meet Jews who offer Shalom (the Hebrew word for peace), or Muslims who offer As-salamu alaykum (the Arabic for peace be upon you), the ancient desire for peace is part of our human experience.

This simple book is written to be used either alone or with groups. There is a questionnaire that will begin your journey to peace, through an honest examination of your emotions and understanding in this moment. There are also questions after each chapter that allow you to take what you have read and begin to make it a part of you.

Each chapter has two parts, one written by each of us. You will find that they speak with our different voices and experiences. You may even feel like we are coming across these sensitive topics from completely different places. We are, but we are headed in the same direction! Use what works for you, don’t use what doesn’t work for you. And, peace be with you!

Questionnaire:

For any journey, including this one, it’s important to be aware of your starting place. After all, you can’t calculate the distance you’ve traveled at the end of the journey unless you know where you came from. So, to establish something of a starting point for yourself as you consider increasing your knowledge of and access to a state of peace, we’re providing a few self-assessment questions. Taken together, they should give you a reasonable sense of where you are now on the issues we consider that lead to peace, both internal and in the social world of friends, work, and activities. We recommend that you make a note of your beginning score and re-take the quiz after you have read and considered the essays and questions in the book. That will tell you, in a fairly scientific way, if you have gained insight and skills to help you in your continuing journey.

How to use this questionnaire:

For each question, rate your response from 1-5:

1 means never

2 means rarely

3 means about the same as others I know

4 means quite often

5 means most of the time

After you answer all the questions, add up the numbers you entered after each one, and that will be your total score.

1. How often do I feel restless and anxious? ______

2. Do I believe that most things are rigged, and that I don’t have a fair chance at success?______

3. Do I avoid people who don’t have the same opinions I do, because I think they might be stupid, or dangerous, or just argumentative? ______

4. Am I usually discouraged by the way things are in my family, my community, and my country?______

5. Have I lost my sense of hope about the future? ______

6. Do I sometimes feel like I don’t belong spiritually to anything/anyone bigger than myself?. ______

7. Do I think the children I know have less of a chance at a good life than I did, or than my parents did? ______

8. Do I believe we should take care of ourselves, and let others take care of themselves? ______

9. Do I think that if people knew what I really believe, I would not have many friends? ______

10. Do I think it’s safe to speak to strangers, especially if they look or dress differently from me or my family? _____

11. Am I disappointed by the way my life has turned out? ______

12. Do I want much more than I have, financially, socially, spiritually, and emotionally? ______

First score, before reading the book:

The questionnaire is repeated at the end of the book. After reading the chapters and working with the thought/discussion questions, take it again, and see if you have changed your score through what you have learned, discussed, and thought about.

Chapter 1 - Is Life a Zero-sum Game?

(Linda)

Definition of Zero-sum: a situation in which one person or group can win something only by causing another person or group to lose it. Dividing up the budget is a zero-sum game. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Maybe you were expecting a different kind of opening from a book about peace. Zero-sum game? Really? Maybe you are upset. I don’t blame you for being upset. Here you are, opening a text you hope will be helpful, one that might show you a way out of your current mess, give you some reason to go on, and you find this slightly academic topic instead. I can hear you saying. Ask me if I care whether life is a zero-sum game! Help me! Bear with me for a moment, for I truly want to help, and I think the topic of fairness, zero-sum games and all, is highly relevant to whatever situation you find yourself stuck in.

Is much of life rigged? Yes. We have been taught, through experience and the machinations of various con artists, that there are few winners and many losers in life. So, unless we’re a football star, or a tech millionaire, or.... Well, you get it – there aren’t enough top prizes to go around, and the rest of us have to make do with the leftovers; leftover money, health, love, prestige, and so on. Unless we’re a sports or TV superstar, or have a huge following as an influencer, we don’t much matter, or so the theory goes. In the zero-sum system, there are only a few winners