In Others’ Words: Surprise!

Beth VogtFaith, In Others' Words, Life, quote about life, Quotes, Uncategorized 11 Comments

Oh, there are so many ways I could go with this blog post. Has life surprised me? Oh yes, yes indeed. I just went upstairs and kissed goodnight one of the most a-ma-zing surprises in my life: my caboose kiddo. The child who astounded me by showing up when my husband and I were parenting three teenagers. True story: My …

In Others’ Words: If …

Beth VogtFaith, In Others' Words, Life, Quotes 22 Comments

Sometimes it’s good to go back to the anchor truths that hold me steady. The faith-realities — no contradiction there — that I turn to over and over again when doubt whispers in my ear or failure taunts me or an invisible someone insists I’m not good enough. God is with me. His very name is Immanuel, God with us …

In Others’ Words: Blocked

Beth VogtFaith, In Others' Words, Life 19 Comments

Have you been dreaming lately? I’m not talking about the now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep kind of dreaming. No. I’m talking about the eyes-wide-open dreams. The ones requiring planning. And effort. And waiting. And praying. Those kind of dreams. If you’d asked me if dreams involved hope, I would have said “Yes, absolutely” without pausing to think about. Dreams demand massive amounts of hope. …

In Others’ Words: Best

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Life, quote about life 21 Comments

It’s Monday and I’m staring down my week. There’s so much I want to give my best to: my relationships, my writing — me, even, when I think about my health. Sometimes I spend part of one week thinking about what’s going to happen next week. A deadline looms over every day leading up to the due date. I’m living …

In Others’ Words: Fall

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Life, quote about life 13 Comments

I took karate a number of years ago — okay, a lot of years ago. It’s how I met my husband. He swept me off my feet in a karate studio. To be completely honest, he knocked me down. Yeah, so romantic. But here’s the point: In karate, you’re taught how to fall. You practice falling down and getting back …

In Others’ Words: Just the Right Color (Guest Post by Author Susan May Warren)

Beth VogtFaith, In Others' Words, Life, Uncategorized, When Life Doesn't Go According to Plan 3 Comments

It was my husband Andrew’s idea. We were missionaries in Far East Russia, and we’d experienced an endless winter against a pane of cheerless Siberian skies. My four children and I all felt the restlessness that creeps under the skin after a monotonous schedule and needed a change of scenery – something to brighten our landscape as we plodded into …

In Others’ Words: Eyes Wide Open (Guest Post by Author Rachel Hauck)

Beth VogtFaith, In Others' Words, Life, Reality 6 Comments

I’m a big sister. The second oldest of five kids with an older brother, two younger and a baby sister. At the age of eight, I’d mastered changing cloth, double diapers held together with stick pins! At ten, I went to my first babysitting job. It was the family next door, but still … I loved children. They loved me. …

In Others’ Words: Making Plans (Guest post by Author Cynthia Ruchti)

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Life, Reality, When Life Doesn't Go According to Plan 27 Comments

One of the pieces of “sage” wisdom—which is different from hunter green or celadon, as we all know, and not even close to kiwi—that I give young moms is “Write your schedule on your calendar in pencil. That way it won’t be so annoying when you have to erase it because of the kids’ flu/ear infection/pink eye/head lice/field trip/allergy appointment/soccer …