@bethvogt The last few months I’ve experienced a few changes in my writing life. As I worked on producing an audiobook of Things I Never Told You, book 1 in my Thatcher Sisters Series, and self-publishing Unpacking Christmas: A Thatcher Sisters Novella, I spent a lot of time in 2021 praying about “what’s next?” The first answer to my “what’s …
Realizing What Gratitude Can Do For You
“Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented.” I hope today’s quote encourages you and that you’re able to lean into gratitude. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving. The holiday season doesn’t mean we can push pause on …
Choosing to be Present Today
I tossed several topics around for this blog post. Things like the Super Bowl halftime show or the president’s State of the Union address or how about the craziness of the Iowa caucus? Nah. I’m not about wading into controversy and ruffling feathers today. Instead, I came across these words by poet Maya Angelou: “Every day I awaken grateful. …
A Thanksgiving Prayer
O, heavenly Father: We thank thee for food and remember the hungry. We thank the for health and remember the sick. We thank the for friends an remember the friendless. We thank the for freedom and remember the enslaved. May these remembrances stir us to service, that thy gifts to us may be used for others. Amen. …
Honesty and Hope for the Holidays
@bethvogt I was still in elementary school when I learned that tragedy – sorrow, grief – doesn’t take time off for the holidays. All the houses in our neighborhood were decorated with lights, festive wreaths on the front doors, a few lawns decorated with statues of snowmen or reindeer or candles. All the houses, save one. One of the …
Celebrating How Friendships Deepen Our Stories
Being Brave Enough to Say Yes to Each Other @bethvogt I had a belated birthday party a few days ago. I gathered together a group of my special friends, who agreed to dress up and go out to dinner. My friend, Mary, even supplied me with a pink “Birthday Girl” sash, which ensured I was covered in glitter …
Choosing to be Thankful Now
So many people are posting so many things about Thanksgiving today. So many things have already been said about Thanksgiving. About being grateful. And today is a day to be present … yes, present in our less-than-perfect circumstances and choose to be thankful for something. For someone. Gratitude, if nothing else, is a choice. You are in my prayers today …
In Others’ Words: The Hardest Arithmetic
I’m not a math person. Start talking about any kind of math — algebra, geometry, statistics — and there’s instant white noise in my head. “I’m sorry but I can’t hear you any longer . . . “ But the challenge of counting my blessings? That’s the kind of math I want to conquer. Counting blessings … that should be …
In Others’ Words: Preparing for Tomorrow
Even as I prep this post, I’m mulling over the quote: “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” I agree with H. Jackson Brown Jr. . . . and then, part of me trips over the words “doing your best.” “Doing your best” doesn’t mean today went exactly as you planned. “Doing your best” doesn’t mean …
In Others’ Words: My One Word for 2018
Let’s talk about choosing One Word for the coming year. 2018 is just over a month away, but if you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, then you know that I gave up New Year’s resolutions over a decade ago. Why? All those good intentions — the “I wills” and the “I won’ts” — faded so quickly, and …