Choosing to Open Our Hearts to Encouragement

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, confidence, expectations, Faith, grace, hope, In Others' Words, Love, perspective, prayer, Quotes, trust 14 Comments

@bethvogt Some stories are worth retelling. This is one of those stories. It’s a true story, one I love to share with others because what happened 21 years ago changed me and influences me to this day. Let me tell you why I love hummingbirds. *** After eight years living in Niceville, FL (yes, Niceville), my roots ran deep into …

Grandmotherly Advice as You Start College — A Conversation with My Daughter and Her Mimaw

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, confidence, courage, expectations, family, goals, guest post, Identity, In Others' Words, Life, perspective, Quotes 27 Comments

Guest Post by Christa Vogt Last weekend, my husband and I visited his 100-year-old mother. Our youngest daughter, Christa, came along to visit her “Mimaw,” since she leaves for college this week. When we arrived at the skilled nursing facility where Rob’s mom has been staying for the past two months (too long of a story for this blog post), …

Choosing to Love Louder

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, crisis, grace, In Others' Words, Life, Love, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, suffering 10 Comments

  This week has hemorrhaged heartache – and the week’s not even done yet. We’ve all watched the news or read the headlines, grappling with the horrific actions of others. And no matter how many times a news anchor or a journalist attempts to better explain the who and how of the tragedies, their words can’t strip away the pain. …

Being Intentional About the Home You Create for Your Family

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, family, home, Identity, In Others' Words, Life, Love, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 10 Comments

My son and daughter-in-love moved into their new house yesterday. Not to be overlooked at all, five days ago, Josh and Meagan had a little girl, Isabelle – their fourth child. And since then, they continued prepping for this anticipated move. Back to yesterday, when my husband and I brought dinner to them. The moving van parked in the driveway …

How Do You Conquer a Season of Transition?

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, family, In Others' Words, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 16 Comments

There’s a lot of change going on around me right now. My son and his wife are awaiting the arrival of their baby, which is due in early August. They’re also moving into a new home before then. Well, that’s the plan, anyway. We all know due dates are approximations, right? My middle daughter and her husband are moving back …

Being Strong Enough to Abandon the Idea that We are Less Than Anyone Else

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, bravery, challenges, choices, confidence, courage, Identity, In Others' Words, Life, perspective, Quotes, strength 24 Comments

  Most people don’t know I have a disability. Most days, I prefer it that way because I used to be afraid of how people would react. Today I decided to talk about it. About sixteen years ago, I was diagnosed with a hearing loss. I’d been frustrating my family with a lot of comments like “Huh?” and “What did …

Earthquakes, Aftershocks, and Choosing to Trust

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, bravery, challenges, choices, courage, crisis, Faith, family, In Others' Words, Life, Quotes, Reality, Relationships, strength, stress 9 Comments

@bethvogt I didn’t sleep last Friday. I stayed up all night long – by choice. It wasn’t all that difficult, considering I was in Colorado and my youngest daughter, Christa, was in California where there’d been not one, but two record-breaking earthquakes in a little over 24 hours. And let’s not consider the I-lost-cost-of-how-many aftershocks. I know staying awake all …

Realizing the Consequences of Stress-Induced Choices

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, crisis, emotions, In Others' Words, Life, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 15 Comments

@bethvogt I’ve been thinking about getting a puppy. This may come as a surprise to some of you have seen photos of our dog, Jo, in my Instagram feed or my Facebook page. This may also come as a bit of a surprise to Jo. Jo belongs to Christa, my youngest daughter, who’s heading off to college in seven weeks. …

Choosing to Make Room for Grace

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, childhood, choices, expectations, family, grace, In Others' Words, Life, perspective, Quotes, stress 8 Comments

@bethvogt   I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office yesterday. My youngest daughter had an appointment – not me. Once we get all of her “Oh, wait! We need to do this before you go to college” appointments checked off the list, I’ll worry about my stuff. Anyway, back to sitting in the waiting room. There …

Discovering Unexpected Opportunities for Kindness

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, crisis, family, gratitude, In Others' Words, kindness, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, stress, When Life Doesn't Go According to Plan 9 Comments

Remembering to Value Others in Stressful Situations @ bethvogt Life veered off course last week. I need to stop being surprised when life doesn’t go according to plan. Better yet, I should write “Realize things will not go according to plan” at the top of my weekly To Do list. Humor helps, right? You know what else helps when life …