Beth K. Vogt's Blog, page 13

How Do You Conquer a Season of Transition?

There’s a lot of change going on around me right now.

My son and his wife are awaiting the arrival of their baby, which is due in early August. They’re also moving into a new home before then. Well, that’s the plan, anyway. We all know due dates are approximations, right?
My middle daughter and her husband are moving back to Colorado from Georgia.
My youngest daughter is heading to college in less than a month.

“Change” for my family involves packing boxes and scheduling moving vans, as well as new life, new homes, new states, new jobs, and new friends.

Lots of adjustments.

And there’s no skipping any of it.

One thing I’ve learned: Transition is hard.

There’s no way to soften that statement or pretty it up. Even when you want the change – when the change is good and welcome and written on the calendar – transition is hard.

When we’re in transition, life isn’t what it was and it isn’t what it’s going to be. We’re caught somewhere in the middle, waiting for everything to settle out into the new “normal.” But until then, we’re uncomfortable.

And I don’t know anyone who likes to be uncomfortable.

Here’s my analogy for transition:

It’s like you were sitting in a familiar little boat named “Normal” that was tied securely to a dock. And then someone came and cut the boat loose from the dock. Now you’re floating downstream and you don’t know how long this voyage is going to last. You just want to get to the next dock, where you can tie your “Normal” boat back up and feel secure again.

 Of course, it helps ease the transition if we’ve chosen the change. The new baby or the new home or the new school. But sometimes, the shift is unplanned or unwelcome, making everything all the more challenging.

With time, I’ve learned to accept the uncomfortableness of all the flux with a little more grace than I used to. Picturing that little “Normal” boat floating downstream reminds me that, yes, we’re moving from the known to the unknown, and this helps me stretch emotionally as we navigate uncharted waters.

And just because something is hard, that doesn’t mean it is impossible. I remind myself that I’ve been through upheaval before – moves overseas, an unexpected deployment, health crises – and I’ll figure out how to manage life change again.

We’re either settled in our normal … or we’re in transition. Comfortable … or uncomfortable. Of course, normal is nice, but transition is not optional. We just need to remember it is survivable. Transition is movement … a progression – not a permanent place of residence.

 

How Do You Conquer a Season of Transition? http://bit.ly/30LMeF4 #change #encouragement
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' ... Transition, in labor, is the most painful time. Without change, there is no growth.' Quote by Mimi Kennedy http://bit.ly/30LMeF4 #transition #perspective
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The $1.99 e-book sale of Moments We Forget ends next Wednesday! 

Don’t miss the $1.99 #ebooksale of Moments We Forget by award-winning author @bethvogt! @PublishersWkly said readers will enjoy “this realistic story of overcoming adversity and tending to long-ignored familial wounds.”…
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Being Strong Enough to Abandon the Idea that We are Less Than Anyone Else

 

Most people don’t know I have a disability. Most days, I prefer it that way because I used to be afraid of how people would react.

Today I decided to talk about it.

About sixteen years ago, I was diagnosed with a hearing loss. I’d been frustrating my family with a lot of comments like “Huh?” and “What did you say?”  I saw an audiologist, expecting to be told something like I had an overabundance of ear wax.

Gross, yes – but easily dealt with.

Instead, I was told I had a “moderate” hearing loss, but a significant one for my age. I was in my early forties at the time. Y’all know how old I am now because I’ve blogged all about turning 60 last May.

The audiologist, who was probably in his seventies, chuckled as he said, “I have better hearing than you do.”

I wasn’t laughing. And I certainly didn’t laugh when he informed me that I needed hearing aids. Or when my husband filled out disability paperwork for me so that my first pair of hearing aids would be partially covered by insurance.

ME: I don’t have a disability.

MY HUSBAND: Yes, you do.

ME: Then make sure you fill out the paperwork for the handicapped parking permit, too.

MY HUSBAND (Unsure whether to laugh or sigh): That’s not how this works.

Sometimes the best thing to do when you’re facing an unexpected situation is to go looking for the humor in it.

Or … to not talk about it

And that’s how I’ve handled my hearing loss. I either laughed about it – When I first started wearing hearing aids I could hear my hair grow! – or I just avoided it.

It’s easy enough to hide my hearing aids beneath my hair. No short haircuts for me. And no one really notices if I say, “Pardon me?” once in a while because, well, don’t we all?

Sometimes my batteries stop working and I’ve perfected a little sleight of hand to switch in new ones. Some people do card tricks. I change my hearing aid batteries.

And sometimes when I’m in a crowded, noisy room I still struggle to hear conversations, even with my state-of-the-art hearing aids. I pretend I’m tracking what someone said. Or I give up and retreat to a quieter corner.

But the truth is, concealing my hearing loss isn’t easy.

Hiding the reality of who we are is exhausting – and I’m talking about all the things we want to keep hidden from others. Our physical disabilities. Our heart wounds. Whatever we think makes us “less than” who we want to be – or who we want others to think we are.

Yes, I have a hearing loss … but that doesn’t make me less than anyone. Of course, I don’t have to greet someone by saying, “Hi, my name is Beth and I wear hearing aids” – that would be overdoing it a bit, wouldn’t you agree?

But more and more, I’m accepting who I am and sharing honestly about who I am – my strengths and weaknesses – when appropriate. And I trust others will accept me, too. The ones who do? They’re the ones I call family and friends.

 

Being Strong Enough to Abandon the Idea that We are Less Than Anyone Else http://bit.ly/30B4GA0 #confidence #selfworth
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'Your problem is how are you going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued ... whether you are going to ... find out the truth of who you are.' Quote by Anne Lamott http://bit.ly/30B4GA0 #quote #perspective
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There’s still time to get an e-book version of Moments We Forget, book 2 in my Thatcher Sisters Series, for only $1.99! And I have to give a shout-out to my daughter Christa, who makes such fun graphics for me! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earthquakes, Aftershocks, and Choosing to Trust

@bethvogt

I didn’t sleep last Friday.

I stayed up all night long – by choice. It wasn’t all that difficult, considering I was in Colorado and my youngest daughter, Christa, was in California where there’d been not one, but two record-breaking earthquakes in a little over 24 hours. And let’s not consider the I-lost-cost-of-how-many aftershocks.

I know staying awake all night – a case of self-induced insomnia – didn’t keep my daughter any safer than she already was. Or wasn’t. And I wasn’t playing God by pulling an all-nighter. Or doubting God. I know what God is capable of … and what I’m not capable of.

And I also recalled the conversation I’ve had with my friend Wise Guy about God’s definition of safety being different than our definition of safety because, well, bad things happen, right?

And that’s another blog post.

And yes, even with that whole safety definition discrepancy, I choose to trust God.

But still. There was no sleeping for me last Friday night.

It’s an odd thing, this mom-gig. And it’s all the more unusual because I’m approaching a time of monumental change as a mom – an emotional seismic shift, you might say. In a few short weeks, there are going to be more nights when Christa is away from home at the end of the day than she is tucked in her bed right down the hall from me and her dad.

Not that there’s any “tucking in” going on in recent years. That’s just a mom turn of phrase.

And no, I won’t be sitting up all night once Christa’s off in Minnesota at college. I won’t be imagining that my “Mom Night Watch” somehow makes the world a safer place for her.

That’s not how life works.

Being a mom means we hug our child one-last-time-until-the-next-time and we let them go. We release our child into their future knowing the world’s not a safe place. Things happen, like earthquakes and aftershocks. And sometimes, our child sleeps through the upheaval. And sometimes we do, too. And sometimes, nobody does.

Sending a child off to college is another opportunity to be brave. Brave enough to believe in our child enough to let them go. And brave enough to believe in ourselves so that we can watch them, eyes wide open, as they walk away into the lives waiting for them. The calm days and the earthquake days.

And then we choose to say our prayers, to trust, and to go to bed at night, close our eyes, and go to sleep. And we choose to do it all over again the next day and the next, until it feels normal.

Earthquakes, Aftershocks, and Choosing to Trust http://bit.ly/2S50SnB #parenting #perspective
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'Having faith doesn't mean I have all the answers. It means trusting God especially in the midst of uncertainty.' Quote by @LysaTerKeurst #trust #faith
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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. Seven weeks.

Yeah. Not thinking about that right now.

Back to Jo. Jo is named for Josephine March of Little Women fame. Jo was a rescue puppy, found in an alley in a box during a rainstorm, along with her three sisters and brother. The puppies were named: Meg, Jo, Amy, Beth and – wait for it – Chubbs. For those of you who’ve never read Little Women, there is no Chubbs in that novel.

Christa is Jo’s person, but when my daughter’s not around, Jo hangs out with me while I write. Or snuggles up with me when I nap. Or goes along on walks with me and Christa’s dad.

So why … why … why, when we have Jo, am I thinking about getting a puppy?

Some people respond to stress by eating chocolate. Or going shopping. Or exercising more. Or getting a massage.

I’ve done all of these things in response to increased life-pressures.

But when my worries bust the ol’ stress-o-meter, I want a puppy. The thought of cuddling a bundle of fur in my arms just seems like the perfect anxiety antidote.

I’ve gone online and looked at rescue sites. This week I even texted my vet and asked him if he knew of anyone who had puppies available for adoption. I’ve discussed whether I want a rescue versus a particular breed.

But so far, I haven’t gotten a puppy.

Why not?

Because I’m trying not to let stress make decisions for me.

It’s not about getting a puppy or not getting a puppy. It’s about who’s in charge of my life right now: me or the stress?

Stress has a funny way of wanting to drive our decisions. Of yelling loudly, “Do this. And this. And this. And do it right now!”

But the consequences of making stress-induced choices is rarely pleasant like a cuddly puppy. Or fun. Or humorous.

We do things like deciding to get a super-short haircut after a bad breakup. (Not that I would have any experience with something like that. And besides, I was 19 at the time.) Or overspending the budget. Or overeating. Or saying words that can’t be unsaid.

The truth is, puppies are adorable – and they also have to be housebroken and trained to sit and to stay and to not to chew our favorite shoes. And all of that is its own kind of pressure.

And so, while in the moment, a puppy sounds so right … right now it’s the stress talking.

And I’m going to plug my ears and ignore every time the stress whispers, “Get a puppy. You’ll feel better.” I’m choosing to concentrate on managing my stress – and one of the best things to do is to not say yes to another thing – especially something that needs me to get up with it in the middle of the night.

Realizing the Consequences of Stress Induced Choices http://bit.ly/2RQ1b5C #stress #perspective
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'You can't always control what goes on outside, but you can always control what goes on inside.' Quote by Wayne Dyer http://bit.ly/2RQ1b5C #stress #choices
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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 were other people in the room, including a mom with her two young children. Isn’t there always a mom with young children in every doctor’s waiting room? For a while, all was calm. Quiet. The young boy and girl – I pegged them at preschool to early elementary school age – were distracted by the toys and books in the kids’ area.

But only for so long.

Then the whining started. The crying. The wrestling against the mom’s gentle physical restraint.

This mom tried. She probably thought she tried and failed because her children weren’t behaving. 

But that’s not the truth at all.

The truth is, waiting is no fun for anyone. We adults have learned to deal with time passing without things happening like we want it to better than kids do. Usually.

And before any comments digress into a discourse about how doctors are always late, I should let you know my husband is a physician. And he hates being late for appointments, too. If he’s behind schedule, it’s usually because he’s taking care of an unexpected medical need. Or an emergency. So there’s that.

And yes, I digressed a bit.

Back to the mom in the waiting room …

I remember all the years I was that mom of cranky kiddos who were tired of waiting. Maybe you remember being that mom … or you are that mom. Or you’ve sat beside that mom in a waiting room. Or walked past her in a store aisle, averting your eyes.

Here’s the thing: More times than not, that mom is a good mom. And more times than not, her children are good kids. Yes, I get that there are parents who let their kids run wild. They are the mom-minority.

So the quiet waiting room was disrupted for a bit by bored children. Ever been a bored kid who didn’t want to be in a doctor’s office on a summer day? Or a bored adult just tired of waiting? What’s needed at times like these is grace, not judgement. Believe me, the mom wished her children were being quiet more than anyone else in the room did.

And someone offered that mom grace. The person happened to be my eldest daughter, who’d stopped by to say hello while I waited for her youngest sister. A mom of two young girls herself. As the now clearly harried mom was called back for her appointment, my daughter walked over to her. Offered her a smile and a gentle touch on her arm. And then said, “You’re doing a good job.”

The tension left the mom’s face, replaced with a smile. The tightness in her shoulders eased. All it took was a moment of grace to change that mom’s day. To remind her that being a good mom has nothing to do with being perfect or having perfect children. Moms need to know that hard moments happen. They need to remember to love themselves and their kids through the ups and downs of every day.

Come to think of it, that’s a good reminder for each one of us, isn’t it?

Choosing to Make Room for Grace http://bit.ly/2NaYzkb #perspective #motherhood
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'The meaning of life. The wasted years of life ... God answers the mess of life with one word: grace.' Quote by Max Lucado http://bit.ly/2NaYzkb #grace #perspective
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Discovering Unexpected Opportunities for Kindness

Remembering to Value Others in Stressful Situations

@ bethvogt

Life veered off course last week.

I need to stop being surprised when life doesn’t go according to plan. Better yet, I should write “Realize things will not go according to plan” at the top of my weekly To Do list.

Humor helps, right?

You know what else helps when life careens off the road, onto the shoulder, and appears to be headed for rough terrain?

Kindness.

But let me back up for a moment.

My mother-in-law’s life got sidetracked last week. She’s 100 years old. Amazing, right?

Well, yes … and no.

Being 100 years old means she has a fascinating history. My mother-in-law was born in a one-room log cabin built by her father, who was one of the last homesteaders in Montana. She and one of her brothers rode a horse to go to school in a one-room schoolhouse. She married at 18 and was widowed when her son (my husband) was five. Remarried when he was eight. She’s the only woman I know who has celebrated two 25th wedding anniversaries. She started out as an office manager and finished her career as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill.

But being 100 also means her body is ailing. Severe macular degeneration has stolen her eyesight. She is frustrated with the loss of her hearing. Last week within 48 hours she was transferred from her assistant living facility to rehab because she’s requiring more help to stand and walk.

Sudden change is difficult for anyone. Sudden change when you’re 100 is disorienting and distressing.

We’re finding ourselves traveling an unexpected, unfamiliar road. And this is when kindness makes a difference. Like metal guard rails that protect us from going over the side of a steep embankment, kindness protects us from heading in the wrong direction during stressful situations.

Did I mention my husband is out of town? We planned for his trip, not for his mom’s relocation to rehab. Since he’s gone, I’ve been talking to a lot of people about my mother-in-law’s care. Discussing her meds. Her therapy. And sometimes I have to remind myself that I can be both assertive and kind. I remind myself that I’m talking to a person who might be just as stressed as I am. I remind myself to say “thank you” even if I didn’t get all the answers I needed.

And then there are the times I’m met with kindness and I force myself to slow down and appreciate what just happened instead of rushing on to the next thing that needs to be done. I say thank you because someone who doesn’t know my 100-year-old mother-in-law and her amazing history – who only sees how she’s struggling – has been kind to her. Perfect example: the woman who oversees therapy who took the time out of her busy day to go visit my mother-in-law because she understood the importance of a personal connection. Or the kindness of family and friends who’ve asked me how I’m doing with all this.

Kindness dissipates the stress, protecting me from falling into overreaction and anger that could make a challenging situation worse. Kindness changes my perspective, helping me see past difficult circumstances to the people who deserve to be valued.

 

Discovering Unexpected Opportunities for Kindness http://bit.ly/2WL7tEw #perspective #relationships
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'Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.' Quote by Seneca http://bit.ly/2WL7tEw #choices #stress #quotes
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Today is the LAST DAY of the Thatcher Sisters’ Favorite Things Giveaway! Enter for a chance to win a prize package worth $200!

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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 for most of the night.

My husband was involved, but only as the driver of the 12-passenger van (in lieu of a limo). He wore his tuxedo T-shirt and ferried all 11 of us back and forth to Carlo’s Bistro, where we spent several hours savoring absolutely scrumptious food and good conversation.

The funny thing is, the celebration that night wasn’t about me. My friends might argue about this. And yes, they did sing a beautiful rendition of “Happy Birthday” to me, right before I blew out a single candle decorating a delicious dish of crème brûlée.

Some of my friends knew each other. Some didn’t. Some friendships spanned decades. Some friendships are only a few years old.

And that is what was celebrated: friendships. How our lives, our stories, have intersected and blended into a richer, deeper story all its own.

I often say a girl needs her girlfriends. One of the things I’ve tried to teach my daughters is the value of true friendships, where we allow each other to be our honest selves, and that changes us for the better.

I am who I am today because of the influence of each one of the women who dressed up and joined me for a meal a few days ago.

One of the things I looked forward to the most was the opportunity to introduce each woman, sharing a bit of “our” story – the briefest glimpse of our friendship.

My friend Renee and I met when we were both pregnant with our first child. We were due at the same time. My son was born the day before her daughter.
My friend, Fran? Our families were stationed at not one, but two different military bases together. The first time I met her, she smiled at me and I thought, “I could be friends with her.” I’m so thankful I was right.
My friends Gianna and Starry moved past being volleyball moms, choosing to talk about real life, instead of staying within the comfort zone of talking about game times and out-of-state tournaments.

Each memory signified the same thing: we’d said yes to each other. We’d been willing to include each other in our lives. To make space for one another. We’d chosen to risk being known.

And in doing so, our stories merged. It’s impossible to separate who I am from these friends because they’ve taught me so much. About life. Faith. Marriage. Motherhood. Courage. Perseverance. Laughter.

The evening was a celebration of gratitude – an opportunity to be with women I am so thankful for because I am a better “me” because of them. Could we have done the same thing in jeans and T-shirts, while drinking coffee and tea? Sure.

But sometimes … sometimes we need to take the time to celebrate the good things in our lives. And, as the saying goes, we need to recognize the best things aren’t “things” – they’re people.

 

Celebrating How Friendships Deepen Our Stories http://bit.ly/2XAWij6 #perspective #relationships
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'The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.' Quote by Elisabeth Foley http://bit.ly/2XAWij6 #friendship #change #perspective
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Signed hardcover copies of Things I Never Told You and Moments We Forget, books one and two in my Thatcher Sisters series
a Power of Hope bracelet by artisan Lisa Leonard
a $50 NFL online store gift card
a Colorado sunset print by photographer Lars Lieber
the board game CodeNames

Three additional winners will receive signed copies of Moments We Forget. 

Enter @bethvogt's Thatcher Sisters' Favorite Things #Giveaway! Win prizes worth $200, including a hope bracelet by @lisaleonard, a Colorado photograph by @LarsLieber, and a $50 gift card for @OfficialNFLShop. https://buff.ly/2wPcfq4? @Crazy4Fiction…
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Fighting Against Family Favorites

Choosing to Love Our Children for Who They Are

@bethvogt

 

Let’s talk about favorite things.

The Kid starring Bruce Willis is one of my all-time favorite movies.

Crème brûlée is my favorite dessert.

Green is my favorite color.  Not neon green or lime green or olive green, but a rich forest green.

L.M. Montgomery is one of my favorite authors. And so is Georgette Heyer. And . . . well, talking about favorite authors is a whole other blog post.

It’s fun to talk about favorite things. I’ve shared a few of mine, and yes, it’d be fun to hear some of yours. The only time I’m not a fan of favorites is when parents start talking about having a favorite child.

I remember the first time I was blindsided by the whole “who’s your favorite?” question. My first three kiddos were young – probably in elementary school – and a friend asked me, “So who’s your favorite child?”

I paused for a few seconds before answering, thinking I misunderstood the question. “I don’t have a favorite.”

“You’ve got to have a favorite,” my friend insisted – and then proceeded to suggest reasons why I might favor one of my children over the others.

Our conversation ended in a stalemate, with me adamant I didn’t have a favorite child and my friend just as certain that every parent – me, included – had a favorite child.

I’ve run into this “every parent has a favorite” kind of thinking again and again through the years. Maybe you have, too. I’ve even read articles about it, where experts insist moms and dads have a favorite child. But I still maintain my “no favorites” stance.

Why do I fight against family favorites? Two reasons:

A child knows if they’ve been chosen as the favorite child – and that’s a huge burden to bear, a designation that separates them from their siblings.
A child also knows if they’re not the chosen favorite – and that’s its own kind of burden, one that marks someone for life. They can’t ever do enough, be enough. First place has been taken, and they’ll always be second-best.

While I don’t like having favorites, I’m all for acknowledging the specific things we like about our children – the characteristics, talents, personality traits that make each child unique. Who are children are – what they like, what they excel at, what makes them tick – doesn’t make them better than anyone else in the family. Different, yes – but not better.

I’m sure we’ve all seen those T-shirts that proclaim, “Mom likes me best.” My hope is that every child in a family would be so loved that they would feel comfortable wearing that T-shirt. A child should never wonder where they rank among their siblings. Worse yet, no child should grow up knowing they’re not the favorite child, and have to live with that less-than feeling all their life.

 

Fighting Against Family Favorites http://bit.ly/2wEf7pM #relationships #favoritism
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'If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.' Quote by Mother Teresa http://bit.ly/2wEf7pM #family #perspective #love
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FREE DOWNLOAD: Read the first two chapters of my newest book, Moments We Forget for FREE! You can click the image above or click here.

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 given. Something like “butterfly.” B-u-t-t-e-r-f-l-y. Butterfly. Exhaling when I was right, a warm thrill coursing through my body, surpassed only by ultimately winning the entire contest.

Here’s the thing about awards: Sometimes you win. Sometimes you don’t.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?

But it’s not.

Awards are tricksy.

My daughter just graduated from high school. The academic year ended with, what else? Awards. At every awards ceremony there are certain students who make repeated trips to the stage. And you have others who remain seated the entire time, their names never called.

And yet, they still graduate, right? Their futures are no less bright, no less promise-filled than the students who gathered a few extra honors on their way to walking across the stage and switching their tassels from one side of their caps to the other. Some people would say a high school diploma is an award. Think about it. Graduates are “awarded” those, right?

Right now it’s contest season for writers – when we find out if we finaled in an almost endless variety of contests for both pre-published and published writers. We submitted our manuscripts or books earlier in the year and now, we’re finding out if we made the cut to finalists on our way possibly winning awards.

It’s all part of the profession. Awards give us credibility with publishers and peers. For a few moments during the awards ceremony, we’re up on stage receiving a certificate or plaque or statue that confirms yes, we can do this – and do it well.

But again, awards are tricksy. Because sometimes you win. And sometimes you don’t.

We have to know how to handle both the winning and the not winning. We have to determine that who we are isn’t defined by either a win or a loss. Life is winning and losing and winning and losing, over and over again. We need to decide that who we are – come accolade or accusation – is anchored in Truth stronger than someone deciding by an arbitrary judge’s scoresheet whether we’ve won or lost.

If we win, we hold the joy loosely. We remember no award replaces the Truth that ultimately defines us.

If someone else wins, we celebrate them. (Celebrating someone else’s achievement is a great antidote to jealousy.) And we also remember someone’s else’s success doesn’t define us as a loser.

 

How Do We Navigate Between Winning and Losing? http://bit.ly/2KbkdSj #awards #perspective
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'A lot of times, we believe ... what our awards or accolades say about us instead of what God says about us.' Quote by @lecrea http://bit.ly/2KbkdSj #perspective #Truth
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This fun Moments We Forget Giveaway by Crazy4Fiction (Tyndale House Publishers), ends Thursday, May 30th. 

 

The Moments We Forget Giveaway via @Crazy4Fiction ends Thursday, May 30! Enter for a chance to win two of my novels, Things I Never Told You and Moments We Forget, a Colorado mug and cozy, and other fun prizes! https://buff.ly/2HH4wAw…
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Three Things to Consider as You Graduate from High School

Graduate — and Keep Dreaming

@bethvogt

My youngest daughter graduates from high school on Friday.

Christa is my caboose kiddo. She was born 12 ½ years after my husband Rob and I were finished having children, when her older siblings were 17, 14 and 12.

Her arrival was one of those unexpected blessings of life that initially make you think, “Wait … what?!” And then you realize the deviation from your oh-so-carefully organized life plan is going to be good for you in ways you never imagined.

When she was born, I knew Christa would grow up fast. I’d seen it happen with her older brother, who was a senior in high school when Christa was born, as well as with her two older sisters.

And I was right. Despite my determination to be more aware of the passage of time, to somehow slow it down if I could, the years slipped by again. Another one of my children grew up far too quickly. There’s no way to slow down time.

I remind myself that, of course, we want our children to grow up. That’s what parenting is all about: helping our children to become less dependent on us as they discover who they are. Their talents. Their abilities. Their strengths. Their dreams.

Which brings me to this week, when my daughter will walk across the stage and receive her high school diploma. Teachers and administrators and classmates will give speeches. I’ve thought about what I’d tell those graduating seniors, given the chance. I’d keep it simple. Something like this:

High school graduation is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations. May I offer three things for you to consider?

These weren’t the best years of your life. I hope each of you have some great memories from your high school years. But the past four years aren’t the best years of your life. If high school was hard, then consider graduation as a huge reset button. If high school was good, then build on your successes. Most likely, for most of you high school was a mix of good and bad experiences. Decide that what comes next is going to be better – and that your future holds the best to come.
Graduate – and keep dreaming. Remember when the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was a fun question? When you could dream about being anything – a ballerina, a firefighter, the president of the United States – and people believed you could do it? Don’t think graduating and growing up means you have to limit your dreams.
You don’t need to have it all figured out yet. That diploma you earned? It doesn’t mean you have to know all the answers to all of life’s questions. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know” when someone asks you “What are you doing next?” or “Where are you going to college? or “What are you majoring in?” Sometimes you have a plan. And sometimes … sometimes the best thing that can happen to you is when the plan is interrupted. Trust me, I know.

Three Things to Consider as You Graduate from High School http://bit.ly/2JyxeFP #dreams #Classof2019 #success
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'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.' Quote by Eleanor Roosevelt http://bit.ly/2JyxeFP #quotes #Classof2019 #dreams
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This giveaway from BookSweeps ends Friday, May 24! If you haven’t already entered, don’t miss your chance to win 30 Christian & Inspirational novels, plus a brand new eReader — just for following me and other great Christian & Inspirational authors on BookBub. Enjoy and good luck!

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