Choosing to Own Our Days

Beth Vogtacceptance, age, change, childhood, choices, confidence, contentment, expectations, gratitude, hope, Life, perspective, Quotes, time, trust 9 Comments

  I wake up several times each night. I know I’m not alone in this repeated I’m-asleep-now-I’m-awake middle of the night routine. The first thing I do when I wake up is glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table. It’s an illuminated model with oversize red digital numbers I purchased several years ago for my mother-in-law who battled …

Choosing to Embrace a Season of Waiting

Beth Vogtacceptance, challenges, choices, contentment, expectations, Life, perspective, Quotes, time 6 Comments

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 …

Redefining Balance So We Stop Thinking We’re Doing Life Wrong

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, expectations, In Others' Words, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, stress 12 Comments

  I have a certain morning routine. I typed that sentence and immediately – immediately – thought of the many ways my “certain” morning routine is interrupted on any given day. I walked away from this blog post and made myself a cup of tea. Came back, started typing again, all the while laughing out loud so that my husband …

In Others’ Words: Coming to Grips with Age

Beth Vogtage, In Others' Words, Quotes 41 Comments

Jamie Lee Curtis, Barbie, and Me @bethvogt   Did you know Jamie Lee Curtis, one of my favorite actresses, turned 60 last November 22? And Barbie – yes, that Barbie, whose real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts – turns 60 in a few short months on March 9. And then there’s me. On May 5, I’ll be 60 years old. …

In Others’ Words: The Basic Ingredients of Christmas

Beth VogtChristmas, In Others' Words, Quotes 8 Comments

Here we are in the first week of December, with Christmas 3 weeks away. My youngest daughter turns 18 on Christmas Eve. 18 years old! And 2019 is 4 weeks away. I have to agree that time and love are the basic ingredients of a merry Christmas — the best parts of Christmas. And with that in mind, I’m signing …

In Others’ Words: An Opportune Time

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, opportunities, Quotes 6 Comments

  So often we look at the time we have and think of what we’re not accomplishing.  And we stress out. Maybe we could change how we think about the time we have. Be more positive about our days — the hours and minutes we are blessed with.  Today is an opportune time to: be kind.  laugh with family and …

In Others’ Words: A Work in Progress

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, perspective, Quotes 10 Comments

As I moved the graphic over into this blog post, two words stood out to me in the quote: in progress.  “In progress” means motion. Forward motion. We’re moving toward something — a goal. A dream. There’s action happening. When I was deciding on the graphic to use for the quote, I skimmed through lots of photos of staircases and …

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: 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: 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 …