Second Chances and the Chance of a Lifetime

Beth Vogtbravery, challenges, change, choices, confidence, courage, dreams, encouragement, grace, hope, Life, opportunities, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, success 10 Comments

My husband Rob and I are Guy Fieri fans. Fieri is American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award-winning television presenter. Rob and I first got hooked on his TV show “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” segued to “Guy’s Groceries Games,” and our favorite is now “Guy’s Ranch Kitchen,” where his chef-friends come to his ranch and cook themed meals. Which brings …

Five Inspiring Quotes to Help You Discover the Beauty of the Fall Season

Beth Vogtautumn, change, encouragement, gratitude, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Thoughts, time 6 Comments

@bethvogt   I’ve always said summer is my favorite season of the year, but I may be changing my mind. So many of my friends declare autumn is their favorite time of year—and there certainly are quite an assortment of quotes about this time of year. Here are a few new ones I discovered. Tell me: how do you feel …

Life is Hard … and There is Still Reason to Hope

Beth Vogtchallenges, choices, crisis, encouragement, expectations, grace, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress, suffering, trust 17 Comments

@bethvogt   I’ve backed away from this blog post numerous times. I’ve rethought the topic, but the theme continues to sit there and stare at me without blinking. Life is hard. Yes, I’m the same woman who just blogged about wearing Life is Good T-shirts as a reminder to look for the good in life. But sometimes circumstances weigh us …

Judge Not Lest You Be Blind

Beth Vogtchoices, encouragement, grace, hope, kindness, Life, Love, mental health, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Relationships, sports, story, stress 15 Comments

@bethvogt Sometimes we just don’t know. That’s my takeaway from all the news swirling around Simone Biles. Sometimes we just don’t know the entire story and we need to be okay with that. Simon Biles is an American Olympic gymnast. The GOAT — the Greatest Of All Time. People love her. Love her story. She’s a gymnastics powerhouse and when …

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 Offer Ourselves Grace

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, change, choices, expectations, Faith, grace, hope, kindness, Life, perspective, Quotes, stress 12 Comments

@bethvogt     Some days are going to be harder than others. Just typing that simple sentence made me feel a whole lot better. I’ve been slogging uphill against my expectations and emotions this past week. Looking back, I see reasons why the past seven days have been challenging – everything from anxiety before, during, and after some dental work, …

Recognizing That Healthy is Hard

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, expectations, failure, health, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes 14 Comments

@bethvogt I was talking with my daughter-in-love, Meagan, when she said, “Healthy is hard.” Her three-word statement was one of those “This is so true!” moments. You know what I’m talking about, right? You’re in the middle of a conversation with someone and they say something that reverberates inside you as if someone hit a massive gong with a hammer. …

Reading Between the Lines of the Serenity Prayer

Beth Vogtacceptance, anxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, courage, crisis, Faith, grace, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, prayer, Quotes, strength, stress, trust 8 Comments

@bethvogt (With acknowledgement to Reinhold Neibuhr (1892-1971), who wrote the Serenity Prayer.) God grant me the serenity  Help me to stay calm. To not yell at my family no matter how much longer we’re quarantined together or say out loud all the snarky comments I’m thinking, even if I do think they’re funny.  to accept the things I cannot change …

How Do We Choose Love and Grace Over Being Right?

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, expectations, forgiveness, Friendship, grace, Love, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 15 Comments

Sometimes I just like being right. And that’s when I usually end up saying the wrong thing. Yes, I’m telling you this because I “righted” myself into the wrong corner a few days ago. I didn’t realize how my conversation with my friend Gianna had veered into unexpected territory until she said, “You’re angry with me, aren’t you?” I stopped …