@bethvogt A lot of people are counting down the days until Christmas. There are 73 days until December 25, my friends. But did you know there are 80 days until the start of 2022? If those 80 days race by like the other 285, then January 1, 2022 will show up on our calendars before we’re ready. I’ll admit I’ve …
What Helps Us Clean Out Our Mental Junk Drawers?
My friend Mary and I went for an early morning walk the other day. During our weekly walks, we take turns talking about life in an honest, here’s-what’s-going-on-with-me kind of way. Mary invited me to go first, so after discussing my latest ups and downs, I yielded the, um, sidewalk to Mary. As we neared the end of our …
Today … Tomorrow … Every Day … Let’s Focus on Hope
@bethvogt My friend Jeanne and I have May birthdays. We’ve developed a funny tradition around our birthdays: we never celebrate them with each other during our birthday month. Don’t get me wrong – we’ve tried many, many times to celebrate during May. We make plans to meet for breakfast or lunch or dinner. Inevitably, our plans get pushed back again …
Choosing to Value Others By Listening to Them
@bethvogt Listening, truly listening to another person, is both simple and hard work. I’ve focused on listening to others for the past 18 months, ever since choosing “Listen” as my One Word in 2020 and then again in 2021. The one lesson I’m going to remember when 2022 arrives and I move onto a new One Word is that …
Choosing to Embrace a Season of Waiting
Life often seems so much about doing, doesn’t it? We make our To Do lists, either before we go to bed at night or first thing in the morning. Maybe you like S.M.A.R.T. goals or a bullet planner or a yellow legal pad to organize all that you have to accomplish. Then there are the seasons of waiting. Waiting for …
Forget New Year’s Resolutions and Choose One Word to Focus on in 2021
I abandoned the tradition of New Year’s resolutions 15 years ago. Instead, I select One Word to focus on. I always look forward to sharing my annual One Word with family and friends, as well as finding out what One Words others select for the coming year. For only the second time in all these years, I’m repeating a One …
Choosing to Listen to Others and to Myself
@bethvogt When I chose “listen” as my One Word for 2020, I had no idea how this year was going to play out. None of us expected any of the circumstances of 2020. I’ve found ways to manage the ongoing chaos. I start each day by reading Psalm 91. Limit how much news I watch. Look forward to the …
Choosing to Face the Effects of Uncertainty
My youngest daughter, Christa, is home for spring break from college. Only it’s not the spring break she planned on. It’s not the spring break hundreds of thousands of college students planned on. After I wrote that last sentence my husband, Rob, Christa, and I paused to do some quick mental math and decided the sentence should read “millions …
Choose One Word to Change You in the New Year
As 2019 wound down and the new year – and the new decade – approached, I gathered words. One Words, to be exact. Let me back up. Many of you might be concentrating on a list of resolutions for 2020, but I abandoned that practice 14 years ago. Instead, I choose One Word for the year and center my heart …
Choosing to Listen to Our Children
@bethvogt My husband and I spent the weekend in Minnesota visiting our youngest daughter at college. I took thousands of photos of Christa’s volleyball team during practice and the two matches the team played on Friday and Saturday. We took her off campus for “real food.” But my favorite part? The time at the Mall of America. Let me …
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