Friendships are Risky Business

Beth Vogtacceptance, encouragement, Friendship, gratitude, hope, kindness, Life, Love, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, trust 15 Comments

@bethvogt   My friend Scoti called me after I’d posted my blog “Don’t Believe Everything You Think” last week. The one where I confessed to losing a wrestling match with my thoughts for 48 hours. And how connecting with a friend and focusing on the Truth helped me win the victory. Scoti: Are you okay? I’m worried about you. Me …

Don’t Believe Everything You Think

Beth Vogtanxiety, challenges, choices, emotions, encouragement, Faith, Fear, Friendship, grace, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Scripture, Thoughts, trust 12 Comments

@bethvogt   I mulled over this blog post for quite a while. Started one topic. Erased it. I wanted to think of something funny. Something light. Put a spin on things so my words were encouraging from the get-go. But it was a bit of a fractured start to the week, one where I fought to find a good rhythm …

Reaping the Benefits of Intentional Conversations with Family

Beth Vogtacceptance, choices, dreams, encouragement, family, Friendship, Fun, goals, gratitude, hope, laughter, Life, listen, Love, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 10 Comments

  A week ago, I exchanged my usual daily outfit of leggings and a Life is Good T-shirt for a casual-nice outfit accessorized with jewelry and a touch of makeup. The occasion? A girls’ night out with four of my favorite people: my daughters, Katie Beth, Amy, Christa, and my daughter-in-love Meagan. We’d reserved a table several weeks in advance …

Today … Tomorrow … Every Day … Let’s Focus on Hope

Beth Vogtchallenges, choices, confidence, encouragement, Faith, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, strength 6 Comments

@bethvogt My friend Jeanne and I have May birthdays. We’ve developed a funny tradition around our birthdays: we never celebrate them with each other during our birthday month. Don’t get me wrong – we’ve tried many, many times to celebrate during May. We make plans to meet for breakfast or lunch or dinner. Inevitably, our plans get pushed back again …

Choosing to Own Our Days

Beth Vogtacceptance, age, change, childhood, choices, confidence, contentment, expectations, gratitude, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, time, trust 9 Comments

  I wake up several times each night. I know I’m not alone in this repeated I’m-asleep-now-I’m-awake middle of the night routine. The first thing I do when I wake up is glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table. It’s an illuminated model with oversize red digital numbers I purchased several years ago for my mother-in-law who battled …

Choosing to Value Others By Listening to Them

Beth Vogtchoices, Faith, family, Friendship, hope, kindness, Life, listen, Love, One Word, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 14 Comments

@bethvogt   Listening, truly listening to another person, is both simple and hard work. I’ve focused on listening to others for the past 18 months, ever since choosing “Listen” as my One Word in 2020 and then again in 2021. The one lesson I’m going to remember when 2022 arrives and I move onto a new One Word is that …

Choosing Not To Let Stress Run Our Lives

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, emotions, gratitude, health, hope, Life, mental health, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 10 Comments

@bethvogt I’ve been in an ongoing tug-of-war with stress … and right now stress is winning. I stared at that sentence and considered deleting it, one letter at a time. Choosing another topic for today’s blog. But I’ll go with the reality that, despite my best efforts to “Go placidly amid the noise and haste” … well, I’m not. I’m …

Leaning Into Grace As Life Goes On

Beth Vogtacceptance, challenges, change, choices, expectations, Faith, family, grace, health, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, sports, stress 10 Comments

@bethvogt My youngest daughter Christa is having ankle surgery today. Surgery and rehabbing her ankle were not part of her original plan for the summer. I talked about how her Plan A fell apart in my blog post “Why Can We Be Hopeful When Our Plans Fall Apart?” Christa got through the last weeks of her spring semester at Bethel …

Choosing to Keep Christmas All the Year … or Not

Beth Vogtchange, choices, Christmas, COVID-19, expectations, holidays, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes 12 Comments

@bethvogt It’s time to take down our Christmas tree. I know, I know, some of you are thinking, “It’s long past time to take that tree down, Beth!” After Christmas, my husband Rob decided we needed light in our lives. Keeping our Christmas tree up was a perfect way to accomplish that. We also left our Christmas star up outside …

Choosing to Embrace a Season of Waiting

Beth Vogtacceptance, challenges, choices, contentment, expectations, Life, perspective, Quotes, time 6 Comments

Life often seems so much about doing, doesn’t it?  We make our To Do lists, either before we go to bed at night or first thing in the morning. Maybe you like S.M.A.R.T. goals or a bullet planner or a yellow legal pad to organize all that you have to accomplish. Then there are the seasons of waiting. Waiting for …