When a Dream is Inconvenient

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, change, choices, courage, dreams, family, goals, Life, opportunities, perspective, Quotes, success 15 Comments

@bethvogt   My son-in-love David was offered his dream job last weekend – the opportunity he’s wanted since he stepped into his chosen career field seven years ago. He wasn’t floating his resume around, looking for a new job. Now wouldn’t be the time to do that, not when he and my daughter, Amy, have a newborn daughter. Saying yes …

Knowing Our Values So We Know What We Want To Do in the Days to Come

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, COVID-19, crisis, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, success 7 Comments

@bethvogt   I went to a restaurant for the first time yesterday, after saying “yes” to my friend Shari’s spontaneous invitation to lunch. As I drove to the Thai restaurant, I realized this was my first time eating out since Colorado closed down because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been almost 3 ½ months since the World Health Organization (WHO) …

Facing the Reality That Peace Isn’t Always Possible

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, expectations, Faith, family, forgiveness, Friendship, grace, grief, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, sisters 23 Comments

@bethvogt I spent the past four years writing a “Little Women gone wrong” women’s fiction series about a trio of sisters trying to discover if they can move from a truce to trusting one another. Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. Magicians don’t reveal how they do their tricks, right? And authors don’t reveal what’s hidden between the covers of …

Choosing to Listen to Others and to Myself

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, One Word, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 12 Comments

@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 …

The Fight Against Racism Starts Within Our Families

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, bullying, challenges, change, choices, crisis, family, Identity, Life, perspective, Quotes, racism, suffering 41 Comments

@bethvogt   My son Josh and daughter-in-love Meagan stopped by our house on Monday.  “How are you?” A simple enough question, right? Not these days. My son Josh is white. My daughter-in-love Meagan is black. Meagan backed away from me. From responding. “I don’t want to cry. I can’t cry … I won’t stop crying …” And then I held …

Giving Each Other Room to Grow Up

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, change, childhood, choices, expectations, family, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships 8 Comments

  @bethvogt   Sometimes I think my now-adult children believe I didn’t want them to grow up. Yes, there are days I miss their toddler voices. The funny ways they mangled words and their odd preferences for a particular food or a stuffed animal or a certain pair of pajamas. I’ll even admit to saying, “Why you want to leave …

Choosing to Believe that Life is Good When We’re Waiting

Beth Vogtacceptance, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, contentment, dreams, expectations, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, success, time 7 Comments

@bethvogt   A long-time wish came true for me two weeks ago. My family transformed the back corner of our yard into a hummingbird garden for me. It’s the barest beginnings of what will one day be a glorious garden with a ceramic bird birth, complete with a solar powered water fountain, two feeders, and yes, the proper plants and …

Quotes Worth Remembering from a Commencement Conversation for the Class of 2020

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, confidence, courage, dreams, expectations, failure, goals, Life, lifequotes, opportunities, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, success 8 Comments

@bethvogt I attended a graduation ceremony on Monday. It was a virtual ceremony, hosted by actor John Krasinski, via his Some Good News (SGN) YouTube channel. One of the fun things about the ceremony? People were graduating from kindergarten right on up through college, all across the globe. I also loved how, while John highlighted several valedictorians, he opted out …

Choosing to Heal the Stress that Sprains Our Souls

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, choices, crisis, Faith, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress 9 Comments

I stumbled across a new definition of stress the other day. Stress, according to author Richard Carlson, is a sprain to the soul. Yes, yes, it is. There’s no denying we’re all stressed right now about too many things. Carlson’s perspective reframed my understanding of the life we’re all living – stretched out of emotional proportion by the coronavirus pandemic, …

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 …