We all grow up knowing our place in our families. And that “place” determines our identity. Firstborn. Middle child. The baby. Sometimes we’re the only child. Among my two brothers and two sisters, I was the ugly one. Now before you say something like, “Surely you exaggerate,” let me assure you I’m not. I knew my place in my …
Being Intentional About the Home You Create for Your Family
My son and daughter-in-love moved into their new house yesterday. Not to be overlooked at all, five days ago, Josh and Meagan had a little girl, Isabelle – their fourth child. And since then, they continued prepping for this anticipated move. Back to yesterday, when my husband and I brought dinner to them. The moving van parked in the driveway …
Success is not Who We Are
Know Your Values to Succeed by @bethvogt Success is serious business to a lot of people – to just about everyone. People spend a lot of time defining success. Redefining it. Pursuing it. Achieving it. Set your sights on any sort of goal – academic, athletic, creative – and the question pops up in some form or another: Are …
In Others’ Words: Look and Find
How good are you at looking at yourself and liking yourself? Me? For years, I struggled with looking at myself and liking what I saw. I couldn’t see anything positive because it was blocked by a whole lot of negative self-talk. How we see ourselves is often affected by what we’ve heard others say about us. Finding positives about ourselves? …
In Others’ Words: Rekindling the Inner Spirit
Life can be hard. Perplexing. Frustrating. Things happen that discourage us. Maybe someone’s words wilts our spirit. Or maybe someone’s actions — their decision to mock us or to ignore us — wounds our hearts. And our belief in ourself — our inner fire — is snuffed out. But then we connect with someone who rekindles our inner spirit because …
In Others’ Words: Don’t Beat Up Your Soul
I don’t know what a person’s soul looks like, but I do believe there is no one-size-fits-all version. And yet … and yet, there have been times I’ve treated my soul like a ready-to-wear garment found in a store. I like what I have, until I see what someone else has … and I think, “Hmmmm, I like that style …
In Others’ Words: Whatcha’ Gonna Be?
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: The Honest Truth
Which would you choose: acceptance achieved by pretense or rejection caused by honesty? Living honestly? It’s risky business. Wear a mask and be well-liked. Conform to the expected behaviors and earn a pat on the back . . . a place at the table . . . a “welcome to the family” — whatever equals acceptance for you. Or replace …
In Others’ Words: Blind “I”
We so often talk about centering ourselves. Finding our inner strength. Searching for, and finding, the person we were meant to be. Well, bravo that. But what about getting out of our own way? How often do we consider that as a path to success, to fulfillment? Not often enough. As a writer, I often plumb my own life …