Choosing Kindness Over Being Right When It Comes to Politics

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, hope, kindness, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, stress 8 Comments

@bethvogt People are talking about both of the who’s and all of the what ifs of the upcoming presidential election. I’m not going to be one of those people. Not here on this blog. Not on any social media platform. And very rarely with family and friends. There’s the oft-repeated saying, “Never talk about politics or religion in polite company.” …

Keeping the Conversation Going about Suicide

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, crisis, family, grief, Life, mental health, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, stress, suicide 11 Comments

@bethvogt This isn’t the blog post I’d originally written for today. Seven weeks have passed since my friend’s death by suicide. My sadness is sometimes a dull ache; at other times my heart breaks all over again. Last night I realized September is National Suicide Awareness Month, also known as Suicide Prevention Month. I couldn’t ignore the God-prompt to set …

Choosing to Ignore Others’ Negativity About You

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, confidence, emotions, family, Friendship, Identity, Life, mental health, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 8 Comments

Have you ever been treated like someone’s personal fly paper? Not sure what I’m talking about? I can explain. Last week, my daughter, Christa, who is back at college, texted and said one of her friends wanted to “chat.” Anybody else see an instant red flag when a friend says, “Can we chat?” but gives no hint as to what …

Choosing to be Honest About Depression

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, emotions, health, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes 29 Comments

@bethvogt   A few weeks ago, I applied for long term health insurance. After all the ups and downs we’ve had with my mother-in-law’s care, my husband, Rob, and I want to do as much as we can to ease things in the future for our adult children. Last week, the company denied my application. Okay then. Then the real …

Choosing to Stress or Choosing to Trust

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, expectations, Faith, health, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress, trust 13 Comments

@bethvogt Life stopped abruptly for me last week, thanks to unrelenting muscle spasms in my jaw. Forget powering through the pain – sleeping was the wiser choice, curling up in my bed with either a heating pad or ice pack pressed to my face. Not how I planned to spend the week. Several days in, I was in bed – …

Choosing to Believe We’re Never Lost in the Crowd

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, Faith, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Scripture, trust 6 Comments

@bethvogt Yesterday I was praying about this blog post, having pretty much determined I wouldn’t write one for today. And yes, I always pray about my blog posts. I told God if I didn’t have an idea by five o’clock, I wouldn’t write one. No harm, no foul. I’d just figure he was giving me the week off. Five minutes …

Doing the Hard Work of Reconciliation

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, family, forgiveness, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, trust 8 Comments

@bethvogt My youngest daughter, Christa and I had an argument two weeks ago. Arguing is unusual for us. It’s unusual for me to argue with any of my adult children. That said, a rather intense verbal wrangling occurred, with both of us saying, “You wanna’ go?” at some point. It sounds better when an almost 20-year-old says it. Christa here. …

Wading Through the Grief Caused by Suicide and Choosing Hope

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, crisis, family, grief, hope, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Relationships, suffering 32 Comments

@bethvogt   There are times grief throws us to our knees. We gasp for breath even as we try to grasp hold of what we’ve heard. It can’t be true. It can’t be . . . A longtime friend, someone I love and respect – someone who has shown me kindness again and again – died by suicide a few …

Recognizing That Healthy is Hard

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, expectations, failure, health, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes 14 Comments

@bethvogt I was talking with my daughter-in-love, Meagan, when she said, “Healthy is hard.” Her three-word statement was one of those “This is so true!” moments. You know what I’m talking about, right? You’re in the middle of a conversation with someone and they say something that reverberates inside you as if someone hit a massive gong with a hammer. …

Choosing to Gain a Healthier Perspective on Change in Our Lives

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, change, choices, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress 9 Comments

@bethvogt I’m going through a time of transition. To be honest, I don’t like it. I typed those words and stopped, wondering when was the last time I wrote about my struggle with change. Searched my blog archives and found a blog post dated July 24, 2019. Yes, I had to shake my head and smile. I was dealing with …