@bethvogt This is one of my “thinking out loud” moments and you – yes, all of you – get to listen in. It’s 4:10 a.m. when I’m writing this as I try to figure out something. Sometimes I do that by putting words on paper. This time, I decided to let my scribblings become a blog post. Last Wednesday I …
Realizing the Consequences of Stress-Induced Choices
@bethvogt I’ve been thinking about getting a puppy. This may come as a surprise to some of you have seen photos of our dog, Jo, in my Instagram feed or my Facebook page. This may also come as a bit of a surprise to Jo. Jo belongs to Christa, my youngest daughter, who’s heading off to college in seven weeks. …
Choosing to Make Room for Grace
@bethvogt I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office yesterday. My youngest daughter had an appointment – not me. Once we get all of her “Oh, wait! We need to do this before you go to college” appointments checked off the list, I’ll worry about my stuff. Anyway, back to sitting in the waiting room. There …
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 …
How Do We Navigate Between Winning and Losing?
How Do You Use Awards to Define Yourself? @bethvogt The first award I ever won was for an elementary school spelling bee. I remember standing in a line with my classmates against the chalkboard. Waiting my turn as the teacher called out different words. Silently spelling my classmates words. Concentrating, letter by letter, as I spelled the word I was …
Choosing Not to Brood About Turning 60
Let’s Choose to Live Well @bethvogt I turned 60 a few days ago. After blogging about this birthday back in January, I haven’t been brooding about it since then. It turns out being on deadline doesn’t leave you much time to brood. And then my youngest daughter had prom the day before my birthday – she’s a senior in …
Do We Prefer Perfection Over Grace?
Choosing to See Grace More Every Day by @bethvogt I haven’t had a perfect day in a long time. To be honest: I haven’t had a perfect day ever. Every day I get up with my plans for how the day is going to go. My plans? They’re not all that fantastic. It’s not like I’m shooting for the …
Uprooting Racism from Our Family Tree
Choosing to Love Someone for Who They Are by @bethvogt Last October, my son Josh remarried. His wife is a beautiful young woman named Meagan. I remember months earlier when my husband and I talked with Josh about his relationship with Meagan – about how we knew he was falling in love with her and yes, her three children. We …
Who Do You Think You Are?
Learning to Value Ourselves More by @bethvogt I didn’t participate in school sports. Oh, sure, I played the required PE activities where you wait to get picked for a team, hoping you’re not last. And I remember the games of kickball and dodgeball during recess in elementary school – back when schools allowed kids to play dodgeball. Kicking a …
Understanding Estrangement
A Few Truths I’ve Learned Living with Brokenness …