Why Can We Be Hopeful When Our Plans Fall Apart?

Beth Vogtacceptance, challenges, change, choices, confidence, contentment, expectations, Faith, family, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Scripture, strength, stress, trust 11 Comments

@bethvogt I love it when a plan comes together, don’t you? (Yes, an obvious nod to the A-Team.) And when a plan doesn’t? I scramble to scoop up all the falling apart pieces into my hands. Wanting to find a way to make my original plan work. It was a good plan – or so I thought. I’m not wrong. …

Choosing to Appreciate Now

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, choices, contentment, creativity, gratitude, Life, perspective, Quotes 9 Comments

@bethvogt I’ve had a wind chime hanging in my office for years. I know, I know – wind chimes belong outside, not inside. I found this wind chime at a craft show, fascinated by the crafter’s display. Two copper tubes, along with a thin piece of agate, are suspended from a piece of burnt wood retrieved from one of Colorado’s …

Why We Need to be Encouraged by Honest, Trusted Friendships

Beth Vogtacceptance, Authors, dreams, Friendship, Fun, gratitude, laughter, Life, perspective, Quotes, Relationships, trust, Writing 12 Comments

@bethvogt I just spent three days in Florida with a group of writing friends and I’m once again reminded how friendship strengthens our hearts. Our time was bookended on both sides with hugs, mixed with liberal doses of encouragement and insight and lots of laughter. Getting together took planning and effort and yes, it cost us financially, too. But we …

Choosing to Believe in More Than Fairytales

Beth Vogtabuse, Beth K. Vogt, brokenness, Faith, Fear, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Scripture, suffering 8 Comments

@bethvogt I was the little girl who loved to get lost in books. I loved fairy tales. The magic of them. No matter the dark forests to be traversed or dragons to be battled or evil queens to be outwitted, each story had a fantastical happy ending. The authors of those stories, with their imaginary characters and magical overcoming of …

Choosing not to Fix Our Struggles with Nice Thoughts

Beth Vogtanxiety, Beth K. Vogt, bravery, challenges, childhood, choices, courage, Faith, Fear, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Reality, Scripture, strength, suffering, trust 12 Comments

@bethvogt When I was a child and had trouble falling asleep because I’d had a bad dream, my mom would sit beside my bed and comfort me by telling me to think nice thoughts. I’d remember swimming in the lake in Vermont during a family vacation. Or winning the class spelling bee. Or playing outside in the rain with the …

How Do We Find Hope When Our Life Doesn’t Go According to Our Plan?

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, COVID-19, dreams, expectations, Faith, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes 8 Comments

Has your life ever not gone according to your plans? Some of you are thinking, “Really, Beth? You’re asking me that?” Life rarely goes according to our plans. We all experienced the upheaval of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and we’re still affected by it just over a year later. The life we plan for ourselves gets derailed by all …

How Do We Choose Hope When Evil Frightens Us?

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, crisis, Faith, Fear, grief, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, Scripture, suffering 11 Comments

@bethvogt I’m determined to choose hope even as I struggle to comprehend another senseless act of violence, this time in Boulder, Colorado. Is there an act of violence that ever makes sense? My husband Rob and I spent a long weekend in Minnesota, visiting our youngest daughter whose spring break morphed into a volleyball pre-season. Good days. Good conversations. Lots …

Choosing to Conquer Our Challenges One Small Step at a Time

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, COVID-19, grief, hope, Life, perseverance, perspective, Quotes, stress 14 Comments

@bethvogt The subject of resilience came up last weekend during a text conversation with my friend Bernadette. We were discussing how a year has passed since COVID upended our lives. One whole year. Also, like so many others, Bernadette and I are walking through grief because family members died during the pandemic. “I don’t know about you, but I feel …

Choosing to Believe I’m not an Imposter

Beth Vogtacceptance, anxiety, Beth K. Vogt, challenges, change, choices, confidence, Faith, freedom, hope, Identity, Life, perspective, Quotes, success, Thoughts 14 Comments

@bethvogt This was my friend Jenny’s text to me yesterday morning at 6:12 a.m.: In life, and perhaps you overcame this, who did you believe you had to be accepted and/or approved by? By the way, good morning.  My reply: Oh my word! Do you want an alphabetical list? Jenny and I have conversations like this. All the time. Sometimes …

Choosing not to Fix Someone Who is Struggling

Beth VogtBeth K. Vogt, brokenness, challenges, choices, Faith, family, Friendship, hope, kindness, Life, Love, perspective, prayer, Quotes, Relationships, suffering 6 Comments

@bethvogt It’s so difficult to see someone we love struggle. When a family member or friend is hurting, so often we want to rush in and fix the situation for them. Figure out some way to make everything better. If we can figure out the magic equation to make everything better … Poof!  The difficult circumstances and devastating emotions overwhelming …