Choosing Honesty and Hope for the Difficult Days

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, Faith, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, prayer, Quotes, Reality, stress 15 Comments

@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 …

Honesty and Hope for the Holidays

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, Christmas, crisis, family, grace, gratitude, holidays, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Relationships, suffering, Thanksgiving 8 Comments

@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 …

Being Strong Enough to Abandon the Idea that We are Less Than Anyone Else

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, bravery, challenges, choices, confidence, courage, Identity, In Others' Words, Life, perspective, Quotes, strength 24 Comments

  Most people don’t know I have a disability. Most days, I prefer it that way because I used to be afraid of how people would react. Today I decided to talk about it. About sixteen years ago, I was diagnosed with a hearing loss. I’d been frustrating my family with a lot of comments like “Huh?” and “What did …

Identifying Unclaimed Emotional Baggage

Beth Vogtchange, choices, courage, freedom, Identity, Life, perspective 18 Comments

Being Brave Enough to Deal with Our Stuff by @bethvogt Last weekend one of my closest friends texted me this question: When does all the baggage stop bubbling to the surface? Her question is a bit of a mixed metaphor, yes, but still it brought to mind a vivid image: a murky lake filled with suitcases bobbing to the the …

In Others’ Words: Realistic Boundaries

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, Reality 8 Comments

I love the honesty of this quote.  Oh, sure, there have been times when I wanted to believe I could do it all. But thinking I was some amazingly talented Superwoman was, at the least, unrealistic. Put it another way, that kind of thinking was just plain ridiculous. Life became much more livable when I realized my boundaries: what I’m …

In Others’ Words: Eliminate Hurry

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, perspective, Quotes 6 Comments

I almost … almost made this a one word blog post. The one word would have been “How?” How do we “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry”? Dallas Willard’s statement is grand — Stop hurrying — and show no mercy toward anything that stands in your way of slowing down! — but let’s be honest with one another. Eliminating hurry from our lives …

In Others’ Words: When Story Conquers Fear

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, story 10 Comments

I sat across from my trusted friend Wise Guy recently and told him, “My heart seems smaller.” Had unrelenting circumstances — mine and others’ close to me — turned me into some emotional Grinch and downsized my heart? As I talked some and listened more, I realized that yes, fear had crept in and silenced me … that unknowingly I …

In Others’ Words: Whatcha’ Gonna Be?

Beth VogtIdentity, In Others' Words, Quotes 10 Comments

Be silly. Be honest. Be kind. Which one of those “Be’s” jumped out at you today?  There are so many things we want to be — smart, pretty, successful, well-liked, athletic — that sometimes we get lost along the way to being. We have so many “be’s” to choose from, we lose track of the important ones. Or someone tells …

In Others’ Words: Surrounded by Story

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, story 20 Comments

More and more, I have come to love story.  My life story — and other people’s life stories, too. To be honest, there are times I see someone and, at first, I’m closed to their story. Maybe they seem a little too different from me … and I’m put off. But I’ve learned to say to myself, “This person is …

In Others’ Words: Who are You?

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, Relationships 10 Comments

Honest relationships are the best … and honest relationships are hard to come by.  I have to choose to completely trust someone before I open up to them and show them who I am — the good, bad, and the broken. And when I do that, I hope the other person respects what I’ve shared by believing me. I don’t want to …