Beth K. Vogt's Blog, page 64

In Others’ Words: Take Flight

There’s something to be said about trying.

And there’s something to be said about those times when whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish just happens.

Ponder this with me for a moment: that little baby bird standing at the edge of it’s oh-so-safe nest. And the next thing he (or she) knows, Momma bird shoves him over the edge because it’s time — it’s the right thing to do. Although I’m bettng that’s not what the baby bird is thinking as he’s flapping and falling . . .

And then he’s flying.

Not because he knows what to do . . . but because it’s what he’s made to do.

Until he left the nest — left this comfort zone with an unexpected shove from the one who represented safety and home to him — that bird didn’t know the sky was meant for him. He didn’t know that flying was effortless . . . that he didn’t even have to think about it.

I’ve had moments where God has shoved me from behind and said “Get out there . . . you’re not meant to stay here.”

Why is God forcing me to leave my nice, warm comfort zone – the place I liked best of all? I knew I’d fall . . . and then, I looked up, and all I saw were unexpected, wide-open horizons.

Joy.

In Your Words: When has God moved you into something unexpected — and you’ve found yourself flying, embracing the truth of who you are in a whole new way?

Bird Mentality: You Were Meant For This #lifequotes #Purpose
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Forget About Try . . . Do #lifequotes #purpose
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In Others’ Words: Prayer at Its Best

I always get to Friday and pause … look back to Monday’s post … and consider all that has transpired between the hopes of that “then” and the realities of today’s “now.”

Monday included moments of celebration — really? I finaled in a writing contest? — and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday included cold splashes of reality that brought me to knees. And yet, I determined to find a reason to say “this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it” even as I struggled to breathe through the ache lodged in my heart.

There were moments of laughter … and times when I sat on my kitchen floor and mustered the strength to scratch my dog’s ears because, well, there’s something comforting in petting a dog when life doesn’t make sense. Yep. Just sit and pet the dog.

There were too-late nights and early mornings … but the early mornings were ones that arrived with the coolness of a Colorado breeze through my bedroom window and the chance to walk with a trusted friend who listened and never, ever, tried to fix me, or what was broken.

I had work to do — too much at times — but work is good. It’s part of the dream.

And even in the midst of this week that derailed at times … there were moments where I could pray “thank you” … always moments where I could pray “thank you.”

And the biggest reason I can say “thank you” is that I am not talking to myself … or sending those two words out into the vacant universe … I’m not wasting my time or my breath … I am saying “thank you” to Someone who is listening, who cares, who, as I told my friend this week, “steps into our messy lives because he loves us that much.”

In Your Words: What prayer have your prayed this week? What does “thank you” express to you?

Taking Time for the "Best Prayer" #lifequotes #prayer
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No Matter What: Thank You #life quotes #prayer
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In Others’ Words: Courageous Steps

I used to think courage always had to be something big — like jumping out of an airplane or saying, “Yes, I’m crazy enough … I mean, courageous enough, to ride that wild bull!”

But I’ve learned that courage is often choosing to do the next right thing … choosing not to quit … choosing to say yes because it’s the right thing to do, not because it’s what I want to do.

Sometimes I’m courageous — and no one else will ever notice. I’m taking the next small step of freedom, of doing the right thing at the right time, and no one else is there to cheer or applaud or say, “Good job.” But I was brave because I stared down my private fears, my doubts.

Sometimes courage is believing in the possibilities instead of the IMpossibilies — and knowing that my choices, one decision at a time — makes all the differences.

In Your Words: What does courage look like to you? When you look back, what series of small steps equaled courage in your life?

Rethinking Courage: A Step at a Time #life quotes
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The Smallness of Courage #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: What Did You Expect?

I’ve sat here for quite a little while trying to figure out how to begin this post. All I have to do is share about being surprised by the unexpected in my life.

Yeah. Let me narrow that down to one thing for you.

Um. not going to happen.

Every time I thought I knew where my life was going, every time I had a plan …

somehow, someway, I ended up shaking my head and saying, “How did I end up here?”

I came to marriage with certain expectations and hopes for the happily ever after … and now my one word defintion for marriage is “work” – and I know that’s a good thing.

I became a mom and set the maternal bar to “perfection” — silly, silly me — and then I realized it was more about love and forgiveness. And guess who taught me that truth? My children.

And my relationship with God? Where do I start? Wanting to do something — everything I could — so that God would like me, approve me, love me … and realizing that I don’t have to do anything … anything at all except believe who he is, what he says about himself and what he says about me.

Yeah. I wasn’t expecting that.

In Your Words: How has life surprised you? When have you expected one thing and found something else — and that turned out to be a very good thing?

What Did You Expect? When Life Surprises You #lifequotes
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How Has Life Surprised You? #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: What Adversity is Not

There was a time in my life when I would handle problems this way:

I’d lay awake at night and think . . . and think . . . and think . . .

I just knew that if I thought long enough, hard enough — maybe prayed a bit about the situation — I would figure a way out of the mess.

I can’t tell you the number of times I thought to myself, “Just give me a minute and I will figure this out.”

What I didn’t realize back then was that my thinking, thinking, thinking was all wrong.

I wasn’t supposed to figure a way out of a problem. Or around it.

Sometimes … oftentimes … what I needed to do was face the reality that I had to go through the mess.

I thought a problem — mess, adversity, disaster, whatever you want to label it — was a sign that I was heading in the wrong direction. Or that somehow I was on some sort of crazy, unnecessary detour and I needed to get back on the right road, and headed in the right direction as soon as possible.

Adversity is part of real life … plain and simple. And  while I believe God accepts the fact that we ask why? and what did I do wrong? and when will this be over?, I’ve stopped trying to figure out how to avoid adversity or how to make it all better. Instead, I try to remember that God is with me in the good times … and the adverse times. I ask where are you, God? And then I go and get as close to him as I can get … so that I don’t lose my way as I continue to walk the path set out before me.

In Your Words: How do you respond to adversity? And what questions do you ask when the path you’re walking takes an unexpected turn or detour? 

What Adversity is Not #lifequotes #RichardPaulEvans
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"Adversity is not a detour…" #lifequotes #RichardPaulEvans
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In Others’ Word: Looking for Proof

I may have mentioned this  before, so forgive me if I’m repeating myself.

Back when my first book released — my nonfiction book about late-in-life motherhood, not my debut novel — I had this thought: Maybe, just maybe, this will prove my value to them.

Now you don’t need to know who made up “them.” All you need to know is that I turned my dream into some sort of virtual measuring stick — and offered it to someone and asked, “Do I measure up now?”

I didn’t ask the question out loud — I wasn’t that desperate. But I did wait to see what “they” said — or didn’t say –about my book because they’re reactions were going to validate me.

But God doesn’t grant our dreams only to stand back and watch us sacrifice them on some altar dedicated to others’ approval.

Dreams, as Holley Gerth so wisely says, aren’t about us. God doesn’t birth a dream inside of me or you and say, “Here, I hope you feel better about yourself now.”

No.

God wants us to steep ourselves in his love so that we know that we are accepted, we are valued, we are loved — dream come true or not.

The challenge? Knowing who you are — and the value of your dream — no matter what they say … or don’t say.

In Your Words: How do you keep your dreams from becoming a virtual measuring stick, using your successes to evaluate your worth? Any tips for not letting dreams become about us?

DANGER: When a #dream becomes a virtual measuring stick #lifequotes
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Looking for proof in all the wrong places #lifequotes #dreams
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In Others’ Words: The Power of 10

I always look forward to Mondays.

I like meeting up here, starting the week with all of you, the readers of this blog — the ones who comment, and the ones who “lurk,” as we say in social-media-speak.

It’s always fun to think, “How shall we start the week? What quote should I share with them to set the tone for Monday — or maybe even the entire week?”

Sometimes I browse the Internet .. or a favorite book or two … or I post a quote someone has sent to me. And sometimes finding the quote takes a while — longer than I expect — while other days, almost before I know it, I discover exactly what quote I’m going to use.

Such was the case for today’s quote.

” … spend ten minutes each day thinking about the fact God loves you.”

In her book The Beauty of Broken, Elisa Morgan identified this as a new kind of “love dare,” originally presented in Made to Be Loved by Steve and Valerie Bell. 

And I thought: What would today be like if I gave 10 minutes to remembering that God really, truly does love me?

I’m giving it a try: 10 minutes thinking about the fact — the truth — that God loves me.

Want to join me?

In Your Words: What helps you remember that God loves you? Was there a time in your life when you knew, without a doubt, that God loves you? I’d love for you to share with us today.

The Power of 10 and Remembering that God Loves You #lifequotes
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What helps you remember that God loves you? #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Testing 1, 2, 3 …

 

Who do you think you are?

No, really: Who do you think you are?

I’ve learned that a person can look one way on the outside — calm, self-assured — and be battling a legion of insecurities on the inside.

No one else hears the voice the condemns, the voice that mocks, the voice that brings to remembrance past failures . . .

The voices that gang up on us and say, “Don’t forget this sin … or that one … or this embarrassing moment … because that’s who you really are.”

Why do we give them so much power over us?

Because we think they are telling us the truth.

We believe them and we become who they say we are.

We stop fighting back . . . we forget about grace and transformation . . . and we let someone else say you are “small and irrelevant and worthless” – and nothing more.

My life changed when I decided to be extremely particular about what truth I listened to. Not their truth about me. Not even my hoped for truth about me.

No, I wanted God’s truth about me.

He says I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
He says my name is engraved on the palm of his hand. (Isaiah 49:16)
He says he started something good in me and that he will complete it. (Philippians 1:6)
He says he loves me with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)

When I stand in the those truths, I know my true worth.

 

In Your Words: Who do you think you are? How have you stopped listening to the wrong voices and started listening to the Voice of Truth? Do you have a favorite verse that reminds you who you are in God’s eyes?

Who do you think you are? #lifequotes #ErwinRaphaelMcManus
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The Danger of a False Voice #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Good Day

Are you having a good day?

Are you sure?

How would you fill in this sentence:

You know it was a good day if you ________________.

In Your Words: I do hope you’re having a good day. I almost skipped the blog post today … and then I knew I’d miss connecting with all of you. I didn’t want the busy-ness of yesterday to interfere with the fun of today. So tell me, how are you doing? And what makes the day a good one for you?

What makes a good day good? #lifequotes
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Keeping it simple and savoring the good #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Risk Free

I used to think of risk as a bad thing.  Something to be avoided, if I was smart — and I certainly considered myself to be smart.

And then I realized there were things I wanted to accomplish, dreams I wanted to pursue … and they were just beyond my grasp. I had to push myself, I had to reach farther, so much so that I felt off balance … as if I might fall flat on my face. I might fail.

But the pursuit of the dream was worth the risk. There was no going back to being safe.

I’m in a place right now where I feel as if I’ve put it all on the line in some ways … living the dream, yes, but doing the hard work that the dream demands. And right now life is more hard work then daydreaming.

Reality is, there’s no going back now. I’ve said yes — opened my arms and my heart wide to this dream. I’ve made a commitment to it.

Risky business? Oh yes, yes, it is. But I’ve found there’s no turning back once you’ve exchanged safety for living life — real and risky.

In Your Words: When have you chosen risk over safety — and found the life, the dream, you longed for? 

When Has Risk Been Worth It? #lifequotes
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RISK: When there's no going back to safety #lifequotes
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