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 …
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? …
Judge Not Lest You Be Blind
@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
@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 …
Leaning Into Grace As Life Goes On
@bethvogt My youngest daughter Christa is having ankle surgery today. Surgery and rehabbing her ankle were not part of her original plan for the summer. I talked about how her Plan A fell apart in my blog post “Why Can We Be Hopeful When Our Plans Fall Apart?” Christa got through the last weeks of her spring semester at Bethel …
Why Can We Be Hopeful When Our Plans Fall Apart?
@bethvogt I love it when a plan comes together, don’t you? (Yes, an obvious nod to the A-Team.) And when a plan doesn’t? I scramble to scoop up all the falling apart pieces into my hands. Wanting to find a way to make my original plan work. It was a good plan – or so I thought. I’m not wrong. …
Choosing to Conquer Our Challenges One Small Step at a Time
@bethvogt The subject of resilience came up last weekend during a text conversation with my friend Bernadette. We were discussing how a year has passed since COVID upended our lives. One whole year. Also, like so many others, Bernadette and I are walking through grief because family members died during the pandemic. “I don’t know about you, but I feel …
Choosing to Offer Ourselves Grace
@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 Reset Our Thoughts When We’re Anxious
@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 …