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 …

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 …

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, …

Choosing to Make Less Stress a Priority

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, COVID-19, emotions, family, hope, Life, mental health, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress 14 Comments

@bethvogt I snapped a photo of a Good Housekeeping magazine article’s title – “15 No-Fail Stress Busters to Deal with This Year’s Chaos” – and texted it to my 3 daughters and one daughter-in-love. “I think I need every one on this list.” Ha Ha. They each responded with laughing emojis, but I’m certain they all felt the same way …

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 – …

Learning a Life Lesson from a Mission: Impossible Movie

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, perspective, stress, trust 8 Comments

@bethvogt Let’s talk about the movie Mission: Impossible 3, shall we? No spoilers, I promise, although the movie released in 2006. My family’s been watching the Tom Cruise series and my son-in-love says the third movie is his favorite. I’m all for a good chase scene and you’re guaranteed at least one of those in an M: I movie, plus …

Choosing to Gain a Healthier Perspective on Change in Our Lives

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, change, choices, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress 9 Comments

@bethvogt I’m going through a time of transition. To be honest, I don’t like it. I typed those words and stopped, wondering when was the last time I wrote about my struggle with change. Searched my blog archives and found a blog post dated July 24, 2019. Yes, I had to shake my head and smile. I was dealing with …

Being Honest About Worry

Beth Vogtacceptance, age, anxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, COVID-19, emotions, family, grief, Life, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Relationships 14 Comments

@bethvogt I worry about my mother-in-law every single day. I’m familiar with humorist Erma Bombeck’s assessment of worry: “Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.” Still, I find myself rocking away day after day. Ruth – “MiMaw” to her four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren – turns 102 years old in …

Choosing to Heal the Stress that Sprains Our Souls

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, crisis, Faith, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress 9 Comments

I stumbled across a new definition of stress the other day. Stress, according to author Richard Carlson, is a sprain to the soul. Yes, yes, it is. There’s no denying we’re all stressed right now about too many things. Carlson’s perspective reframed my understanding of the life we’re all living – stretched out of emotional proportion by the coronavirus pandemic, …

Choosing Honesty and Hope for the Difficult Days

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, Faith, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, prayer, Quotes, Reality, stress 15 Comments

@bethvogt I struggled to write this blog post. For the better part of Tuesday, I thought I just wouldn’t write anything. The hours kept ticking away, and I kept tossing aside possible topics. And at ten o’clock Tuesday night I started typing words. Just how honest would I be? Life’s been hard the past few days – the kind of …