Beth K. Vogt's Blog, page 62

In Others’ Words: Remember Me?

What makes a person memorable?

Is it what they do? Hey, look at me! For my next trick, I’ll become the rabbit pulled out of the magic hat …

Or is it what they say? Talk … Talk … Talk …

And does saying more actually add up to less and less?

I’ll admit it: there were years in my life when I was all about words. Just let me have my moment. Just let me have the floor. Just let me have my say. Given the chance, the words would f-l-o-w.

I was eloquent. Verbose, even. Memorable? Probably not.

Nowadays I’m more likely to abide by the “Silence is golden” rule. Listen more. Talk less. And wait and see if I have anything worthwhile to say — or not. And really, I don’t know if I’m remembered all that much better than I was in the past … but I do know that I get to know others so much more now. And yes, I remember them.

In Your Words: Who would you say is a memorable person is your life? Is it because of what they did or what they said? 

What makes someone memorable? #lifequotes
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Talk More - Remembered Less? #lifequotes
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Coming Next Week: I ♡ ROMANCE #GIVEAWAY #iheartromance
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In Others’ Words: Just You Wait

Oh, the waiting games we play.

The I’m-not-ready games.

The let-me-practice-a-little-longer games.

The let-me-read-one-more-book-or-attend-one-more-conference games.

The you-go-ahead-of-me games.

We can stall … and practice … and puff ourselves up with knowledge … and even be polite and let someone else proceed ahead of us to success …

but we’re missing out on our lives. Our dreams. Correction: Our dreams coming true.

Could we fail? Yes! But that’s only an indication that we should regroup, rethink, and try again. Failure doesn’t mean we’re wrong. Failure just means our technique was off.

In Others’ Words: When have you been thankful you didn’t wait? What helped you get up and go after what you wanted: a dream, a job?

Avoiding the Myth of "Just You Wait" #lifequotes
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Are you waiting for "just right"? #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: The Choice Between Habit and Marvel

Habits are highly effective — or so they say.

But there’s something to be said about allowing life to surprise us. Remembering to be wide-eyed. Taking time to marvel at things around us. Or the people we meet during the day.

I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In the midst of running my errands, living my oh-so-daily life — you know, falling into the familiar habit of it all — I can forget to look up and see Pikes Peak rising just beyond the foothills. It’s right there, waiting for me to notice it, every single day.

But I’m so used to Pikes Peak, I forget. It becomes nothing special and fades into the background. Just another mountain. Nothing to marvel at.

Today’s quote made me stop and think: If I had a choice, would I rather live life as a habit or a marvel? I’d pick marvels over habits every time.

It seems as we grow older, life demands that we spend less time marveling — over a rainbow or a hummingbird or the kindness of a friend or the comfort of silence. Instead, to succeed we must work harder to establish habits: being diligent and proactive and good communicators.

And yet, in the pursuit of helpful habits, what if we lose the spark, the wide-eyed wonder, of seeing life for what it is? A gift. A blessing. A reason to be thankful — every day.

In Your Words: If you had a choice, would you rather live life as a habit or a marvel? What marvelous experience — event, person, thing — jolted you out of your ordinary recently?

 

The Choice Between Habit and Marvel #lifequotes
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Looking for the Marvelous #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Your Own Worst Enemy

I thought self-doubt was normal. You know what I mean? You grow up and along the way you realize you’re not perfect. Less than. Unworthy. Why? Because school teaches you that. And sometimes parents tell you that. Or friends. Or enemies.

Or all of the above.

And self-doubt arrives and takes up permanent residence in your head.

Maybe you can’t. As a matter of fact, you probably can’t. What if you try and fail? What if you’re not good enough? Wait … you already know you’re not good enough, but what if someone else — or everyone else — finds out? 

You live with these kinds of thoughts, these doubts, long enough and they become normal. Accepted. You believe them.

You’re your own worst enemy.

Let’s be honest: there are plenty of people willing to gang up on us. Willing to tell us where we are wrong. Or not good enough. Or less than. Plenty us people to throw doubts our way. Why do we help ‘em? And why do we even lead the way?

In Your Words: How do you combat self-doubt? I’d love to hear something positive you heard about yourself this week: a compliment, an affirmation … something that spoke worth into your heart and mind.

Self-Doubt: Being Your Own Worst Enemy #lifequotes
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Does self-doubt have to be normal? #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: The Good God

Words are powerful.

Actions are powerful.

And then there are the times that a person speaks and acts … and his life changes another person in unimaginable ways, for years to come.

Earlier this week, Ann Voskamp shared the story of Maximilian Kolbe, who sacrificed his life in Auschwitz for another prisoner. And yes, reading his story was profound. But what stayed with me were the words he’d written to his mother just days before:

“Dear Mama, I am in the camp of Auschwitz. Everything is well in my regard. Be tranquil about me and about my health, because the good God is everywhere and provides for everything with love.’”

A man is in Auschwitz, a death camp … and is able to say Everything is well in my regard?

That, my friends, is faith that transcends circumstances. That is a man who trusted in God, in God’s goodness, in God’s love, no matter what. Maximilian Kolbe believed that nothing could separate him from the love of God — not even Auschwitz.

The last few days I’ve dealt with some difficult circumstances. No, nothing like Maximiliam Kolbe faced. But I often remind myself and others that it’s never a comparison game when it comes to troubles. And I’ve repeated these words to myself:

Be tranquil … the good God is everywyhere and provides for everything with love.

In Your Words: How has God provided for you in a difficult time? How has he revealed his love for you? 

The Good God is Everywhere #lifequotes #faith
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Facing Life with Faith & Tranquility #lifequotes @AnnVoskamp
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In Others’ Words: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

 

There are days that are easy, when the proverbial wind is at my back. No real effort seems to be needed on my part. The words flow … or the To Do list disappears in almost magical fashion.

And then there are those other kinds of days. You know the kind I’m talking about. It’s all row, row, row my boat … not a single breeze to refresh me. No wind to do the work for me.

And that’s life.

Sometimes it’s wind … and sometimes it’s work.

I can be thankful for the one and I can grumble about the other, but really, shouldn’t I be thankful for both the wind and the work?

Sometimes I remind myself that there will come a time in my life when I will have nothing to do — or at least I will have much less to do. I will wish for the deadlines, the long days of writing, the “how ever am I going to accomplish all of this” pace of life.

Life is a mix of wind and work … being thankful for the time when there is a strong wind in our sails, yes, but also thankful for those days when God gives us strength to pick up the oars and row our boats.

In Your Words: How’s it going for you right now? Is the wind serving, or are you row, row, rowing your boat? What gives you strength to take the oars?

Rowing Your Boat: Finding Strength Each Day #lifequotes
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Being Thankful for Wind and Work #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Lesson Learned

 

 

I thought it would be fun to talk about lessons learned this week.

I could share about learning the lesson “Don’t try to get up and walk around when your foot is completely numb” — yeah, still recovering from that lesson.

But it’s Friday. And this quote from Larry King struck home in a “Huh. Ain’t that the truth!” kind of way:

I never learned anything while I was talking. 

Me, either.

In Your Words: So tell me, what have you learned this week? Join the conversation. We’re listening.

"I never learned anything while I was talking." #lifequotes #LarryKing
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Talk Less. Learn More. #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Unexpected Setbacks

This is not the blog post I expected to write.

Of course, things kind of spun out of my control yesterday.

And there’s the truth of it: I made the mistake of thinking I had the day all under control, hemmed in, thanks to my all powerful To Do list.

Yeah, that’ll do it.

My plans for yesterday: write, write, write … and interrupt the writing to go get my hair done.

Not in the plan: falling down, with sound effects no less — something like SNAP, CRACKLE, CRUNCH — as my foot folded underneath me. Laying on the floor and thinking, “This is bad” and hoping that I wouldn’t throw up.

Yeah. It hurt that much.

The rest of the day was out of my control. Let’s just say, nothing’s broken, but torn ligaments are pretty painful. And I won’t be racking up 7 miles a day walking anytime soon.

Do I like these circumstances that I, um, fell into? Nope.

But can I find value and fulfillment in them?

I guess that choice is up to me, isn’t it?

I could play a round of the “It could be worse” game. Yes, that’s true — and that is also not the point. This is where I am. This is what I’m dealing with. The question is: do I believe that there are new and positive possibilities to be discovered in this unexpected setback?

I have a choice: I can grumble, complain, worry . . . and none of that is going to help me or anyone else. I believe it’s okay to be honest. I do not like this. At all. But I am not parking my brain there. I am going to trust that God is in even this … and look for the positive possibilities.

I’ll keep you posted.

 

In Your Words: When have you discovered new, positive possibilities in unexpected setbacks? I’d love to hear your stories today!

 

Choosing to Find Value in Every Circumstance #lifequotes
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Finding the Value of Unexpected Setbacks #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Pick Your Size

 

Perspective is a valuable commodity.

The challenge is, perspective is earned — through trial and error. Over time. You experience enough life, you gain clearer perspective.

When you’re younger, life can be all about the big happiness:

a birthday

Christmas

turning 13 … or 16 … or 18 … or 21

buying your first car

sharing your first kiss

graduating from high school … graduating from college

getting married

landing a book contract

Big happinesses, one and all.

But what comes between?

The small joys. Yes, the small joys:

shared laughter

sunrises … sunsets

game nights

family meals

silence that understands

first steps

a peaceful night’s sleep

I’ll be looking for the small joys this week. Join me?

In Your Words: What “Big Happiness” are you pursuing? How do you make sure you don’t overlook the “small joys”? 

Big Happiness or Small Joys? #lifequotes
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Pick Your Size: Big Happiness or Small Joys?
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In Others’ Words: Already Loved

When I read this quote, I knew I wanted to share it on my blog sometime soon.

It’s one of those “etch it in stone” kind of quotes. The truth is so important you don’t want to forget it . . . and yet, we do, on a daily basis.

We forget we’re already loved. (Jer. 31:3 NIV)

We forget we’re already approved. (Eph. 2:8-9 NIV)

We forget we’re already seen. (Gen. 16:13 NIV)

We forget we’re already known. (Psalm 139:1 ESV)

And instead of resting in the safety of that love and approval and seeing and knowing … we run around searching for it.

So just for today, remember: You are already loved, approved, seen, and known.

Rest in that.

In Others’ Words: When have you felt safe in God’s love? When have you felt wrapped in his approval? When have you known God saw you . . . and smiled on you? When have you felt known by him?

You Are Already Loved #lifequotes @dukeslee
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Etched In Stone: Loved, Approved, Seen & Known #lifequotes
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