@bethvogt A lot of people are counting down the days until Christmas. There are 73 days until December 25, my friends. But did you know there are 80 days until the start of 2022? If those 80 days race by like the other 285, then January 1, 2022 will show up on our calendars before we’re ready. I’ll admit I’ve …
Sometimes We Need to be Reminded There’s Always Hope
@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 … …
Five Inspiring Quotes to Help You Discover the Beauty of the Fall Season
@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 …
What Helps Us Clean Out Our Mental Junk Drawers?
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 …
Making Today and Every Day an Opportunity to Encourage Others
@bethvogt Did you know that September 12 was National Day of Encouragement? That it’s an annual national holiday? I didn’t. With just a bit of research, I discovered National Day of Encouragement started when a group of high school students attending a leadership forum were asked: what was the biggest problem young people were facing what’s a solution for the …
Life is Hard … and There is Still Reason to Hope
@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 …
What to Do When You’re Heavy-Hearted
@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? …
Life, Reality, and Pondering the Credibility of a T-shirt Motto
@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 …
What Do We See When We Focus on the Haze?
A heavy brown haze has hung over my hometown of Colorado Springs for several weeks now, often completely obscuring the view of Pikes Peak. Smoke has blown in from the wildfires in western states, particularly the Dixie Fire, which is now the largest single fire in California history. The weather app on my phone includes an air quality alert, just …
Choosing to Hold Our Pace When We Can’t See a Way Forward
@bethvogt It’s been another week of watching the Olympics for me and yes, another athlete’s experience in Tokyo taught me a life lesson I’m going to remember for years to come. Rob and I were watching one of the heats for the men’s 800 meter. (Can I just say track and field has a lot of heats?) USA’s Clayton Murphy, …