Sometimes We Need to be Reminded There’s Always Hope

Beth Vogtanxiety, brokenness, challenges, choices, crisis, encouragement, expectations, Faith, grace, grief, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Scripture, suffering, trust 10 Comments

@bethvogt “There’s always hope,” my daughter Amy said. “I’ll hope in a minute,” I told her. I was sitting down, leaning over, grappling with some unexpected news. Unwanted news. The kind that takes your breath away, even as your eyes sting with tears. You know what I mean, right? For just a minute, you lose your grip on hope … …

What Helps Us Clean Out Our Mental Junk Drawers?

Beth Vogtacceptance, anxiety, brokenness, challenges, change, choices, crisis, emotions, encouragement, expectations, Faith, family, Fear, Friendship, grace, grief, hope, Life, listen, Love, mental health, perseverance, perspective, Reality, Relationships, Scripture, stress, suffering 12 Comments

  My friend Mary and I went for an early morning walk the other day. During our weekly walks, we take turns talking about life in an honest, here’s-what’s-going-on-with-me kind of way. Mary invited me to go first, so after discussing my latest ups and downs, I yielded the, um, sidewalk to Mary. As we neared the end of our …

What to Do When You’re Heavy-Hearted

Beth Vogtanxiety, brokenness, challenges, choices, emotions, encouragement, expectations, Faith, Fear, Friendship, grief, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Scripture, strength, stress 10 Comments

@bethvogt I’ve heard the term “heavy-hearted” quite a bit recently. People are heavy-hearted about their life circumstances – from family struggles to friends’ setbacks. People are heavy-hearted about life “out there” – events playing out across the world via nonstop news headlines every single hour of the day. How do we counterbalance the ongoing challenges that weigh our hearts down? …

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 …

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 not to Fix Our Struggles with Nice Thoughts

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, bravery, challenges, childhood, choices, courage, Faith, Fear, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Scripture, strength, suffering, trust 12 Comments

@bethvogt When I was a child and had trouble falling asleep because I’d had a bad dream, my mom would sit beside my bed and comfort me by telling me to think nice thoughts. I’d remember swimming in the lake in Vermont during a family vacation. Or winning the class spelling bee. Or playing outside in the rain with the …

Choosing to Believe I’m not an Imposter

Beth Vogtacceptance, anxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, confidence, Faith, freedom, hope, Identity, Life, perspective, Quotes, success, Thoughts 14 Comments

@bethvogt This was my friend Jenny’s text to me yesterday morning at 6:12 a.m.: In life, and perhaps you overcame this, who did you believe you had to be accepted and/or approved by? By the way, good morning.  My reply: Oh my word! Do you want an alphabetical list? Jenny and I have conversations like this. All the time. Sometimes …

Recognizing We’re Afraid … and Choosing to Do What Needs to be Done Anyway

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, courage, grief, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, trust 16 Comments

@bethvogt I had a dental appointment yesterday. I dreaded it so much I’d put it off for five months. But yesterday, I “adulted” and went to the dentist. A lot of people are afraid of the dentist – maybe you’re one of them. If you are, I empathize with you. You’re welcome to share your story in the comments. I …

Choosing to Reset Our Thoughts When We’re Anxious

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, courage, COVID-19, crisis, emotions, hope, Life, mental health, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress 10 Comments

@bethvogt I’m keeping today’s post straightforward. As I write these words, tallies are coming in for the 2020 U.S. presidential election. I have no idea what news tomorrow will bring — about the election or anything else I’m concerned about, for that matter. And I do have other things I’m worried about. I know a lot of people are anxious …

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 …