In Others’ Words: Living More Richly in the Moments

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, perspective, Quotes 7 Comments

Stress is getting the best of me these days. We all experience times where we get overwhelmed and a bit frantic. Moments race by with things left undone and our frustrations mount. I don’t want to surrender to these kind of moments, as author Anne Morrow Lindbergh suggests in today’s quote. “If you let yourself be absorbed completely to the …

In Others’ Words: What Suffering Requires

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, suffering 6 Comments

Everyone suffers. I don’t think anyone would argue with that statement. We might argue with with how much someone suffers — whether someone’s suffering is worse than another person’s … or ours. We might argue with the wrongness or rightness of the suffering. But no one get’s a bye on suffering. The question then becomes suffering plus what allows us …

In Others’ Words: I Must Write

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Quotes, Writing 14 Comments

It’s been a week of story.  Depending on the hour of the day, I’ve either been mulling over a story idea or talking about a story idea with my writing friend and mentor, Rachel Hauck, or writing out a story idea, a.k.a a synopsis … and repeat, repeat, repeat. The sentence in the quote, “I must write it all out, …

In Others’ Words: The Exhaustion of Insincerity

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Life, lifequotes 11 Comments

  I remember the first time I heard someone teach about insincerity. I was in a teen youth group, and a boy who I liked — a boy who a lot of the girls liked — spoke on being sincere. I thought he was witty and brilliant — and yes, really cute. A year or so later, I dated the guy. When …

In Others’ Words: Inner Grace

Beth VogtFaith, In Others' Words, Life, Uncategorized 26 Comments

The first time I read Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s quote about achieving a state of inner spiritual grace, I thought “Yes. I want that too.” I just didn’t know the journey I would need to take to “function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God” was going to be so arduous. Inner spiritual grace sounded so …

In Others’ Words: Joy

Beth VogtIn Others' Words, Life, Uncategorized 26 Comments

I like to tell people that I don’t aim for happiness because happiness is based on circumstances — and circumstances come and go so quickly that there’s no way to get a firm grasp on happiness. Instead, I’ve learned to search for joy, something deeper and more substantial than tissue-paper-thin happiness. Joy anchors me no matter what the day holds. …