Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “challenges”
@bethvogt My son-in-love David was offered his dream job last weekend – the opportunity he’s wanted since he stepped into his chosen career field seven years ago. He wasn’t floating his resume around, looking for a new job. Now wouldn’t be the time to do that, not when he and my daughter, Amy, have a newborn daughter. Saying yes …
@bethvogt I went to a restaurant for the first time yesterday, after saying “yes” to my friend Shari’s spontaneous invitation to lunch. As I drove to the Thai restaurant, I realized this was my first time eating out since Colorado closed down because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been almost 3 ½ months since the World Health Organization (WHO) …
@bethvogt My son Josh and daughter-in-love Meagan stopped by our house on Monday. “How are you?” A simple enough question, right? Not these days. My son Josh is white. My daughter-in-love Meagan is black. Meagan backed away from me. From responding. “I don’t want to cry. I can’t cry … I won’t stop crying …” And then I held …
@bethvogt Sometimes I think my now-adult children believe I didn’t want them to grow up. Yes, there are days I miss their toddler voices. The funny ways they mangled words and their odd preferences for a particular food or a stuffed animal or a certain pair of pajamas. I’ll even admit to saying, “Why you want to leave …
I stumbled across a new definition of stress the other day. Stress, according to author Richard Carlson, is a sprain to the soul. Yes, yes, it is. There’s no denying we’re all stressed right now about too many things. Carlson’s perspective reframed my understanding of the life we’re all living – stretched out of emotional proportion by the coronavirus pandemic, …
@bethvogt I struggled to write this blog post. For the better part of Tuesday, I thought I just wouldn’t write anything. The hours kept ticking away, and I kept tossing aside possible topics. And at ten o’clock Tuesday night I started typing words. Just how honest would I be? Life’s been hard the past few days – the kind of …
I asked my friend, Casey, how she was doing with the extended stay-at-home order in Colorado Springs. “Hanging in there. Trusting God,” she said. “But limbo is a hard place to hang out in.” Yes, yes, it is. And that’s what’s wearing on all of us right now: we’re stuck in limbo, waiting for someone to set us free. The …
Have you heard about people putting up their Christmas decorations during the coronavirus pandemic? I hadn’t considered hauling out my decorations and decking the halls – until yesterday. I don’t know about you, but I’m still adjusting to life in the midst of COVID-19. It’s a daily tug-of-war between my expectations and reality. Between my emotions and my faith. My …
I’ve been grumbling a lot this past week. Out loud and often, about one particular thing I’m frustrated about. It doesn’t matter what I was complaining about – although some of you are nodding your heads and thinking, “I’ve been listening to your grousing. Enough, already!” It’s so easy to get upset about things, especially when we feel so right, …
I spent some time yesterday talking with a new friend about forgiveness – both what I’ve learned and what I’ve un-learned about forgiving someone who has hurt me. As we talked, she mentioned the words, “Forgive and forget.” I’m not a fan of those three words. Please, don’t misunderstand me. I value forgiveness. Reconciliation is my favorite word in the …
