Must We Forget to Forgive?

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, brokenness, choices, forgiveness, grace, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 17 Comments

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 …

When It’s Not a Happy New Year

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, crisis, expectations, family, Life, New Year, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 19 Comments

We’re eight days into the new year and may I just say I’d like a do-over? Of course, I know that’s not how life works. There’s no rewind button in life. No pause button, either. We do life in forward motion – sometimes fast-forward. Circumstances? Well, they are often beyond our control. The first week of this brand-new year has …

Making Room for Each Other This Holiday Season

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, Christmas, expectations, family, grace, holidays, In Others' Words, kindness, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, stress, Thanksgiving 9 Comments

@bethvogt   The holiday season is fast-approaching. Thanksgiving? A mere 22 days away. Christmas? Only 48 days. New Year’s Eve? Counting down 54 days. We all have our do’s and don’ts when it comes to celebrating the holidays – or not celebrating the holidays because, let’s be honest, some people aren’t thankful for all the fa-la-la-la-la. I’ve never hated the …

When It’s Wise to Take Responsibility for Our Anxiety

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, emotions, family, In Others' Words, perspective, Quotes, stress 13 Comments

@bethvogt I’m sharing one of my less-than-stellar mom moments today. That’s always fun. Okay, so sharing the time I went a little “cuckoo mama” on one of my kiddos isn’t fun – but it is honest. My youngest daughter Christa headed to college in Minnesota a few months ago. We dropped her off early for volleyball tryouts on August 16, …

Redefining Balance So We Stop Thinking We’re Doing Life Wrong

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, expectations, In Others' Words, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 12 Comments

  I have a certain morning routine. I typed that sentence and immediately – immediately – thought of the many ways my “certain” morning routine is interrupted on any given day. I walked away from this blog post and made myself a cup of tea. Came back, started typing again, all the while laughing out loud so that my husband …

When Do We Stop Worrying About What People Think of Us?

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, change, choices, confidence, contentment, emotions, expectations, Faith, grace, Identity, In Others' Words, perspective, Quotes, writers conference 16 Comments

@bethvogt This is one of my “thinking out loud” moments and you – yes, all of you – get to listen in. It’s 4:10 a.m. when I’m writing this as I try to figure out something. Sometimes I do that by putting words on paper. This time, I decided to let my scribblings become a blog post. Last Wednesday I …

Realizing the Consequences of Stress-Induced Choices

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, crisis, emotions, In Others' Words, Life, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 15 Comments

@bethvogt I’ve been thinking about getting a puppy. This may come as a surprise to some of you have seen photos of our dog, Jo, in my Instagram feed or my Facebook page. This may also come as a bit of a surprise to Jo. Jo belongs to Christa, my youngest daughter, who’s heading off to college in seven weeks. …

Choosing to Make Room for Grace

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, childhood, choices, expectations, family, grace, In Others' Words, Life, perspective, Quotes, stress 8 Comments

@bethvogt   I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office yesterday. My youngest daughter had an appointment – not me. Once we get all of her “Oh, wait! We need to do this before you go to college” appointments checked off the list, I’ll worry about my stuff. Anyway, back to sitting in the waiting room. There …

In Others’ Words: Two Ways to Be Happy

Beth Vogtexpectations, In Others' Words, Quotes 7 Comments

I shared with a friend this week how my emotional margin is depleted and how, at the same time, I’m pushing to meet some self-imposed goals. She listened. This friend always listens. And then she spoke some much-needed truth to me. About how my circumstances probably weren’t going to change right now. And that maybe, instead of pushing against the …

In Others’ Words: Life Anchors

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, perspective, Quotes 6 Comments

  “You have to be careful what you anchor your emotions to.” I was talking to a friend  a few weeks ago when those words came out of my mouth. She looked at me and said, “That’s a blog post!” And I’ve been mulling what I said ever since then — about how I need to be careful what I …