Wishing You the Hope of Christmas

Beth VogtChristmas, encouragement, Faith, grace, holidays, hope, perspective, Quotes 10 Comments

@bethvogt There’s no denying I love quotes. Quotes about Christmas? They’re some of my favorites. So many people have different perspectives about Christmas and, yes, I skip over some of them. But, for the most part, the quotes I read inspire me. Encourage me. Uplift my heart. Guide me through the season with the right attitude – one of gratitude, …

Life, Reality, and Pondering the Credibility of a T-shirt Motto

Beth Vogtbrokenness, challenges, choices, encouragement, Faith, Friendship, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Reality, suffering 18 Comments

@bethvogt My walking buddy Mary told me to write this blog post about our conversation yesterday. “Write a blog about it. See what your readers say.” So, yes, you may thank Mary for today’s post – and yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts about … my choice of T-shirts. At the end of our hour-long walk yesterday, Mary commented …

Choosing to Do the Work to Reap the Benefits of Marriage

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, expectations, failure, family, forgiveness, grace, hope, Life, Love, perfectionism, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Relationships, trust 10 Comments

I blew it with my husband, Rob, the other day. To be more specific — I blew up at Rob over the most trivial thing. Rather than dealing with the unexpected interruption to my day – I did say it was minor, right? – I called Rob and made sure he knew I was upset. That I didn’t appreciate what …

What Do We Do When Thanksgiving and Grief Collide?

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, COVID-19, crisis, family, grace, grief, holidays, hope, Life, mental health, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, suffering 14 Comments

@bethvogt   Our Thanksgiving holiday is complicated this year. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. It is 2020, after all. A world-wide pandemic doesn’t take a day off so we can observe our annual holiday traditions. Some of us have already decked our halls with fa-la-la-la-la because we just need a little Christmas right now – not later. Then in …

Choosing to Believe Love Conquers COVID-19

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, COVID-19, Faith, family, grief, hope, Life, Love, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Relationships 22 Comments

My 102-year-old mother-in-law was diagnosed with COVID-19 in October. Our family kept the news off social media, told some close friends, and prayed a lot. We also predicted that, in her typical determined fashion, she’d beat the virus. I’ve always said that if my mother-in-law was run over by a Mack truck, she’d stand up, brush herself off, and proclaim, …

Choosing Not to be Afraid of the Dark

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, bravery, challenges, change, childhood, choices, courage, emotions, Faith, freedom, hope, Life, mental health, perseverance, perspective, Quotes 11 Comments

I was afraid of the dark when I was a child. Truth is, I was afraid of the dark when I was a 21-year-old newlywed. That was a bit of surprise to my husband. I had both real and imaginary reasons to be afraid of the dark.  Make believe monsters are scary enough. The real-life ones? Those are harder to …

Choosing to be Honest About Depression

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, emotions, health, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes 29 Comments

@bethvogt   A few weeks ago, I applied for long term health insurance. After all the ups and downs we’ve had with my mother-in-law’s care, my husband, Rob, and I want to do as much as we can to ease things in the future for our adult children. Last week, the company denied my application. Okay then. Then the real …

Choosing to Stress or Choosing to Trust

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, expectations, Faith, health, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress, trust 13 Comments

@bethvogt Life stopped abruptly for me last week, thanks to unrelenting muscle spasms in my jaw. Forget powering through the pain – sleeping was the wiser choice, curling up in my bed with either a heating pad or ice pack pressed to my face. Not how I planned to spend the week. Several days in, I was in bed – …

Facing the Reality That Peace Isn’t Always Possible

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, expectations, Faith, family, forgiveness, Friendship, grace, grief, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, sisters 23 Comments

@bethvogt I spent the past four years writing a “Little Women gone wrong” women’s fiction series about a trio of sisters trying to discover if they can move from a truce to trusting one another. Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. Magicians don’t reveal how they do their tricks, right? And authors don’t reveal what’s hidden between the covers of …

When It’s Not a Happy New Year

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, crisis, expectations, family, Life, New Year, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 19 Comments

We’re eight days into the new year and may I just say I’d like a do-over? Of course, I know that’s not how life works. There’s no rewind button in life. No pause button, either. We do life in forward motion – sometimes fast-forward. Circumstances? Well, they are often beyond our control. The first week of this brand-new year has …