Beth K. Vogt's Blog, page 28

In Others’ Words: The Power of Kind Words

 

These days, my thoughts turn more and more to the need for kindness. Kind actions. Kind words. 

It is all too easy these days to judge another person harshly — to judge an entire group of people harshly. (And no, this is not a political post. Not going there.) I blogged a month ago about how I don’t want to be an angry person, centering my post on this quote by Corrie Ten Boom: The greatest remedy for anger is delay.

Another remedy for anger? Kindness. 

Kindness can change the course of our day. When someone motions for me to merge ahead of them in traffic or greets me with a smile in the checkout line instead of a blank stare or a frown, I’m encouraged. Even better, I’m motivated to pay that kindness forward.

And like Mother Teresa said, the echo of kind words goes on and on. A simple thank you that acknowledges your efforts on a project can make all the hard work worth it. And an unexpected compliment? Have you ever hugged someone’s kind words close, allowing the echo to wash over your heart and soothe the ache hidden there?

Today, let’s remember the power of kind words — and let’s look for the opportunity to speak kind words to others.

In Your Words: What echo of kind words came back to you as you read today’s blog post?

The Power of Kind Words http://wp.me/p63waO-2q7 #quotes #kindness

Click To Tweet

\”Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2q7 #quotes #MotherTeresa

Click To Tweet

 

 

 

 

 

In Others’ Words: The Serious Business of Joy

I often expect to find joy here. Now. 

And then I’m reminded that joy is other-worldly.

Oh, sure, we can catch glimpses of joy in our lives here on earth. As we love and are loved by others. And I always, always hear echoes of joy in the laughter of children.

But the love and grace and forgiveness of God provides joy that lasts longer than today or tomorrow. And there are days … many of them … that I need to remember this truth.

Joy, abiding joy, is God-given. 

In Your Words: I prayed for each person who would read this post. My prayer is that you would experience an extra portion of joy today as a blessing from God. What brings you joy?

In Others\’ Words: The Serious Business of Joy http://wp.me/p63waO-2q1 #quotes #perspective

Click To Tweet

\”Joy is the serious business of heaven.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2q1 #quotes #CSLewis

Click To Tweet

 

 

In Others’ Words: Go Ahead, Astound Yourself!

Right before school started for my daughter CJ, we spent the weekend in Breckenridge. It just so happened our time there coincided with the inaugural Colorado Classic bike race. My husband, daughter, and I stood with hundreds of other spectators lining the streets and watched cyclists speed downhill through the town.

I was astounded by the display of professional cycling. The speed. The intensity.

Don’t you love watching people do what their good at? Olympic athletes, maybe? Or NFL football players? (Pick your team!) Or attending a Broadway show and enjoying skilled performers? I find myself leaning forward in my seat, trying not to miss a dance step or a note sung.

What about the things you’re good at? Stop for a moment and think about what it’s like to get in the zone and use your talents, your gifts … utilizing the training that you’ve accumulated through the years. What about those times when you push yourself past what you thought you could do? When you surprise yourself by doing more … being more … and succeeding.

Astounding, yes?

Maybe, just maybe, we need to aim for the astounding moments more often. Remind ourselves that we are capable of doing more than we think. Set the bar just a bit higher — and then have fun (yes, fun!) aiming for that more challenging mark.

In Your Words: Who has astounded you lately? If you chose to aim a little higher, what would you do?

In Others\’ Words: Go Ahead, Astound Yourself! http://wp.me/p63waO-2pU #quotes #confidence

Click To Tweet

\”If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2pU #quote #confidence

Click To Tweet

 

In Others’ Words: The Everything of Family

There’s nothing quite like family rallying together in a crisis.

Yesterday, my family rallied round my almost 99-year-old mother-in-law after she fell in her bathroom and ended up being taken to the emergency room via ambulance — she said the trip wasn’t bad — and then spent the day getting x-rayed and scanned.

But they also rallied around one another in a time of concern … a time of “we don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’ll get through this together.”

I had a three-way conversation going via text with my husband, who was in Seattle visiting our son, and our two oldest daughters, thanks to my husband texting them. While I drove to the hospital ahead of the ambulance, my daughters’ “Do you want us to come?” texts quickly turned to “We’re on our way” messages, complete with offers to pick up food or drinks — whatever was needed. They ignored my “I’m okay” replies and met me at the ER waiting room because, well, that’s what family does at times like these: you rally round and help one another. You don’t wait to be asked … you show up. 

My two daughters were the ones to say we needed to call their younger sister, who was in school. No, she couldn’t do anything right then, but she deserved to be in the loop. And after school she chose to show up, too, and spend some time with her grandmother. Now that the my mother-in-law is home — broken ribs, but no broken hip or shoulder — my son is planning a phone call. And my two sons-in-love were available all day, too.

Was today hard? Yes — mostly for my mother-in-law. But she knows her family loves her no matter what.

Family trumps everything … and you show up when someone is hurting. 

In Your Words: When have you seen the truth that “Family is Everything” lived out?

In Others\’ Words: The Everything of Family http://wp.me/p63waO-2pN #quotes #family

Click To Tweet

\”Family is not an important thing. It\’s everything.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2pN #quotes #family

Click To Tweet

 

 

 

In Others’ Words: Start Writing, No Matter What

I’m in a “not writing” phase at the moment.

Except the moment has stretched over a number of days. And, while I’m not on a hard deadline, I do have things to write.

I have written blog posts … my In Others’ Words posts and other blog commitments. But that’s one type of writing, as opposed to working on fiction ideas. I’m a novelist. I write stories … except when I don’t.

Not writing for several days in a row is like deciding not to show up for work because I don’t feel like it. Imagine how long I’d keep a “real” job if I did that. Only writing is my real job — not a hobby. I get paid to write. I signed a contract for a 3-book series, and it’s time to work on book #2.

Today’s “Start writing, no matter what” quote provided a not-so-subtle kick in the pants to act like a real writer and write. Sure, it might be nice to toss my new novella idea around with a few writing friends. And yes, it’s always fun to Skype with other writers — getting face-to-face time while we talk about pitching at an upcoming conference or fast drafting a book. 

But talking is not writing. Putting words on the paper only happens when I get past all the reasons why I’m not writing — a busy schedule, I’m tired, my daughter’s volleyball games — and produce actual words that become sentences that become paragraphs that become pages that become the stories I want to write.

To be honest, I’m writing this blog post as a wake-up call for me. But I’m also challenging any other writers out there — pre-published or published — to “turn the water on” and get writing. The simplest definition of a writer is someone who writes. 

If you’re not a writer, what is your dream? Are you pursuing it or do you need to get started, no matter what?

In Others’ Words: What do you do to get the water flowing again if you’re not feeling inspired to pursue your passion or goals?

In Others\’ Words: Start Writing, No Matter What http://wp.me/p63waO-2pG #quote #amwriting

Click To Tweet

\”Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2pG #quotes #amwriting

Click To Tweet

In Others’ Words: Leap of Faith

“Mom! Don’t take his picture!”

I was walking around Breckenridge, CO with my husband and 16-year-old daughter. I had one camera and my daughter had another as we captured images of the town. But my daughter whispered “Don’t!” when I stopped to photograph the painter standing near a bridge, intent on the hanging basket of multicolored flowers.

How could I not take a picture of a fellow creative, so caught up in his craft? 

So many questions ran through my mind:

What about this particular scene captured his attention?
How long had he been painting?
What other images filled his artist’s sketchpad?
Did he ever doubt himself as an artist? Hesitate to put brush to canvas?

 

Yes, every creative act is a leap of faith. Composing a song. Directing a play. Performing ballet. Drawing a portrait or still life. And yes, writing a book. You must have faith in your unformed vision — that what you imagine is enough to help you leap … enough to begin your journey. And you need faith enough to continue when the initial creative surge wanes and you forget why you started. When you lose sight of where you’re going … when you can’t see the end goal.

Sometimes you take that leap of faith by yourself. Sometimes you leap, holding hands with others who believe in the dream with you. My leap of faith as an author is always taken with faith in God, who promises to be the stability of my times, come what may. (Isaiah 33:6) But to go from blank page to the opening sentence of a new story, I have to believe in the creative process … and leap.

In Your Words: What and/or who helps you take that leap of faith toward your creative dream? 

In Others\’ Words: Leap of Faith http://wp.me/p63waO-2pA #quotes #creativity

Click To Tweet

\”Creativity is always a leap of faith. You\’re faced with a blank page …\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2pA #quotes #creativity

Click To Tweet

 

In Others’ Words: The Problem of a Fast-Paced Life

I had a lunch date with my husband yesterday. While we were talking, he mentioned the year anniversary of someone coming to work at his office. I stopped him and said, “Has it really been a year? That time went by fast.”

Life moving fast? That happens a lot. 

I start counting down to something special, something weeks or even months away — like a writers conference or visiting a friend in another state or a vacation trip — and when the day arrives, I think, “How did that get here so quickly?”

Or children growing up … that always happens fast. As my oldest daughter likes to say, “Long days, short years.” Yeah, she’s the mom of a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old, so she understands how quickly time passes.

How do we stop life from rushing past us?

For me, it’s about being intentional. Reminding myself that right here, right now is just as valuable as that moment I’m counting down to. I choose not to multitask, but to instead focus on one thing. One person. I turn off the TV because even if it’s just “background noise,” it still intrudes on the time I spend with my family. I silence my cell phone when I’m having a face to face conversation with someone.

Life is both fast-paced and moving past us so quickly … and there’s a difference. The decision is ours to determine our pace. Or not. And to realize who or what we are missing.

In Your Words: When was the last time you realized life “moves pretty fast,” as John Hughes says. How do you ensure that you don’t miss the parts of life you value the most?

In Others\’ Words: The Problem of a Fast-Paced Life http://wp.me/p63waO-2ps #quotes #choices

Click To Tweet

\”Life moves pretty fast; if you don\’t stop and look every once and a while, you could miss it.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2ps #quotes

Click To Tweet

 

 

 

In Others’ Words: The Essence of Love

[image error]

Kindness is such a beautiful expression of love.

A kind word. A kind action. Kindness negates self-centeredness because we’re considering someone else’s needs before our own.

 Sometimes it’s easier to be kind to a stranger than it is to be kind to a family member or friend. We let someone go ahead of us in the grocery line. Or we buy coffee for the driver behind us in the Starbucks or Dutch Brothers line. 

But those closest to us? There are times we need to slow down long enough to remember that yes, we love them too — and that love is kindness. (1 Corinthians 13:4)

It’s not about waiting for someone to be kind to us … it’s about stepping out … speaking up … being kind today as an expression of our love to those around us.

In Others’ Words: When has someone’s kindness lifted your spirits? Who can you be kind to today?

 

***

I apologize for this blog post being late. My website was down — when I went to post the blog, I was met with a “FORBIDDEN” message. But my web guru got things up and running again!

 

In Others\’ Words: The Essence of Love http://wp.me/p63waO-2pl #quotes #kindness

Click To Tweet

\”The essence of love is kindness.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2pl #quotes #love

Click To Tweet

 

In Others’ Words: Adjusting our Emotional Tides

For me, it seems I always come back to gratitude. 

There are certainly a lot of other emotions that demand my attention — wanting dominance in my life. And yes, I started to list them off and then deleted the list because why name all the emotional ups and downs I experience any given day?

Disappointment can be one of the most unrelenting of emotions — even when it only whispers in my ear, “Don’t you feel bad that (whatever it is) didn’t happen?” Disappointment, often dressed up as discouragement, just doesn’t want to let go, does it?

But gratitude . . . 

Gratitude weakens disappointment. Being grateful for any and all things insists that disappointment move on.

Be thankful for the sunshine or rain — whatever your preference.
Be thankful for the chance to walk and talk with a close friend or a spouse.
Be thankful for a decadent slice of cheesecake or a fresh piece of fruit.
Be thankful for a nap or the quiet hours of the night (or morning) to write … or read … or paint … or hold an (at last!) sleeping baby.

And yes, it’s true that when gratitude replaces discouragement, love also shows up. We can love ourselves again. We can love someone who disappointed us — or who is disappointed in us. We can speak a loving word to another person who needs to hear one because they, too, might be struggling with discouragement.

In Your Words: What do you do to overcome discouragement? 

In Others\’ Words: Adjusting Our Emotional Tides http://wp.me/p63waO-2p8 #quotes #gratitude

Click To Tweet

\”When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out…\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2p8 #quotes #perspective

Click To Tweet

 

 

 

In Others’ Words: The Anger Remedy

 

The other night I decided to enter into a controversial debate . . . a conversation on Facebook, something I just don’t do. I wrote out my comment, editing it here and there, and then read it out loud to my husband Rob and my sixteen-year-old daughter, CJ.

Here’s how the conversation went afterward:

CJ: Can I say something?

Me: Sure.

CJ: You’ve told us if we’re angry about something, we should sleep on it and then decide the next day if we what we’d planned on saying is what we still want to say. 

Me: Silence.

CJ: And you sound like you’re angry, so maybe you should sleep on it . . .?

Rob (nicely) agreed with her.

We talked some more and here’s what I decided: It’s not about me being right or wrong in an argument or debate or “heated conversation” — call it what you will. Who is right and wrong will always change. The one thing I do know is that I don’t want to be an angry person.  Now that — being angry or not —  is a choice I can make every day, minute by minute. 

Rob and CJ and I talked for a while about caring more about not being angry than about being right. I thought of Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch watchmaker who, along with her family, helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during WW11 — and who was sent to a concentration camp because of her actions. She must have chosen to let go of her anger over and over again. How else could she have forgiven one of the concentration camp guards when, years after the war, he asked for her forgiveness?

Stepping away from anger is a choice — and sometimes it starts by delaying it.

In Others’ Words: When has delaying saying something or doing something released you from anger?