In Others’ Words: Live Out Loud

Beth Vogtcreativity, In Others' Words, Quotes 5 Comments

  Whatever an artist creates, it is an echo of their life. When a reader turns the pages of one of my novels, if she listens closely, she’ll hear whispers of my life escaping from between the lines. Yes, I’ve plotted fictional characters facing obstacles that I placed in a specific order leading to “the end” of my design. But often, …

In Others’ Words: When the Clock Strikes Three

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, time 11 Comments

Time is a funny thing, isn’t it? There are times when it’s too early in the day to get things done. Then there are times when it’s too late in the day to do something. But that three o’clock time frame? It’s a killer. Lunch is several hours past, but you can’t quite see dinner yet … and the afternoon …

In Others’ Words: Seeing the Invisible

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, perspective, Quotes 6 Comments

Growing up can limit our vision. When we’re young, we imagine just about anything is possible. And what is imagination but seeing with our mind’s eye? We see the faraway lands in fairy tales … we envision all sorts of creatures and quests … and yes, we even see how our lives would be different, given the chance. But then …

In Others’ Words: The Best Season

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, summer 6 Comments

Summer vacation is over for some families. Others of us are counting down the few remaining days before kids head back to school. The joy of “It’s summertime!” is fading into school days and the realization that the next season is just around the calendar corner. Summer is a grand time isn’t it? Vacations, family visits, the 4th of July, …

In Others’ Words: Messy Moments

Beth Vogtbrokenness, In Others' Words, Quotes 7 Comments

I used to avoid messy moments. Hide my messy moments. Now I write about messy moments. And some of the messy moments in my novels aren’t imaginary — they’re just fictionalized. I understand that life is messy. I accept that life — my life — is messy. Acceptance doesn’t mean I always like life’s rough edges and unsettled seasons. And …

In Others’ Words: Rekindling the Inner Spirit

Beth VogtIdentity, In Others' Words, Quotes 2 Comments

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: What are You Looking For?

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, perspective, Quotes 2 Comments

My husband frequents the flower display at Costco.  Most days, there are some sort of flowers displayed in a vase on my kitchen counter or breakfast nook table: lush roses or a mixed variety of blooms or the occasional exuberant collection of sunflowers. On the one hand, there’s nothing fancy about a Costco buy-them-in-bulk bouquet, right? But it’s true that …

In Others’ Words: Don’t Beat Up Your Soul

Beth VogtIdentity, In Others' Words, Quotes 4 Comments

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: Time Requirement

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, success 10 Comments

  Each of us is striving toward a different goal, but whatever we want to accomplish requires the same thing: skill, and effort, and time.  Sometimes, more than anything else, the time required to reach our goals trips us up. We feel good about ourselves when we’re learning a skill. We feel good about effort of any kind. Pursuing a …

In Others’ Words: Finding Rest When You’re More Than Tired

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, perspective, Quotes 9 Comments

Some days you work hard and go to bed at the end of the day good and tired. And some days you’re worked over and go to bed at the end of the day more than tired. You know the difference, right? The days when you put in the work, hit the mark you were aiming for — or maybe …