Showing posts with label Social Media Image. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Media Image. Show all posts

Saturday, February 18, 2017

The Contrasts of Life

We are a people defined by contrast. We judge good by bad, abundance by lack, happy by sad. We can't even imagine one without the other—think I'm wrong? Try to picture a coin with only one side. Not possible, is it?

Often my most treasured times follow my most trying times. What about you?

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness. - John Steinbeck

Saturday, February 11, 2017

The Riches of Love

"Who, being loved, is poor?" Oscar Wilde
by Beth Vogt @BethVogt


When my husband and I were first married, we had very different views when it came to money. If the bills are paid — and they always were — and there was no money left in the bank, as far as Rob was concerned, we were fine. Nowadays, there’s always money left in the bank. When we were first married … well, that was another story.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

No Matter What, Choose Hope

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

No matter where we are, we don't have to go through life alone God is always here with us. 

TWEETABLE
No matter what comes, choose #hope. Romans 12:12 - @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Finding Peace in Spite of the Pace of the Season

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

I love the holidays—the gatherings, the sparkle, most of all the gatherings of family. But even for me, there are times when the pace gets to be too much. I have to refocus on what's important and take a breather from all the chaos. 

So I'm curious.
How do you cope with the pace of the season? 

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Share your thoughts in the comment section below. 

I also invite you to use this image any way you like online. Post it to your blog, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, anywhere you'd like. All I ask is that you keep it intact, with my website watermark visible.

Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Living in the Moment

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Forever is composed of nows. - Emily Dickinson

In these days of instant access to cameras and social media, it's easy to get caught up in recording the moment instead of living in the moment. How do you combat that danger?

Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

I invite you to use this image any way you like online. Post it to your blog, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, anywhere you'd like. All I ask is that you keep it intact, with my website watermark visible.

Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

Saturday, September 10, 2016

What Patience Brings

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

Sometimes the situations we are in don’t change. We look and we look, and there’s no door marked EXIT.

Okay, yes, I’ll make this blog post personal.

I’m dealing with several ongoing situations that, by definition — ongoing, right? — haven’t changed. Circumstances haven’t budged for months.

Chronic health issues? Still here.

Strained relationships? Still here.

Some things I can’t fix. I can’t demand an end date. I’m on hold … waiting … learning patience, yes. Or, as Henri Nouwen said: I’m learning to be willing to stay where I am and live these situations out to the full believing that something hidden here will be revealed. 

Willingness is an odd combination of faith in God’s presence in the midst of these difficulties and releasing my preconceived ideas about my life. Holding on to trust and letting go of expectations. An uneasy balance, that.

One of the things I’ve learned in all this waiting is to stop being so quick to take the blame for everything … and to stop being just as quick to cast blame. Shouldering blame or expecting someone else to bear the burden of blame are equal sins. I’ve taken far too much credit for far too many problems, which has separated me from God, from others, and from a true estimation of myself.

Yes, I need to own up to my wrong actions. But guilt is not a mandatory and I do not need to carry that weight every time someone offers it to me.

And the waiting times? That’s often when God does His best work in my life — if I let Him.


In Your Words: What hidden things have been revealed to you during times of waiting? 

TWEETABLE


Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” 

A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Rest

By Edie Melson @EdieMelson



How do you find rest? Kirk and I live to retreat to the mountains- or sometimes the seaside.


Share your answers in the comment section below.

I also invite you to use this image any way you like online. Post it to your blog, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, anywhere you'd like. All I ask is that you keep it intact, with my website watermark.


Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Just You Wait

By Beth Vogt @BethVogt


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?

TWEETABLE
Oh the waiting games we play - thoughts from author @BethVogt (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” 

A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

One Little Step Forward

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

"To be courageous means to be afraid but to go a little step forward anyway."
Beverly Sills (1929-2007), American operatic soprano

I believe that being courageous happens at the same time you are fear-filled.

You don’t wait for the fear to vanish, gather courage in your fists, and advance. No, true bravery manifests when someone whispers, “I’m scared” and then doesn’t back down from whatever enemy stands before them.

I also know that winning the day doesn’t always mean total victory. Sometimes it’s holding the ground you’ve already won. Or risking one … step … forward … and saying, “Tomorrow I will try again.”

I hang around a lot of courageous people. Some of my closest friends and I like to sing “Brave” by Sara Bareilles — it’s a vocal reminder to be brave, be ourselves, to step up, step out … to go for it, to go forward.

In Your Words: How’s your week been? What opportunity (or opportunities) did you have to be brave?

TWEETABLE

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” 

A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

That Autumn Time of Year

What's your favorite part of this fall season?



Share your stories in the comment section below. 

I also invite you to use this image any way you like online. Post it to your blog, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, anywhere you'd like. All I ask is that you keep it intact, with my website watermark visible.

Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Is Life a Habit or a Marvel?

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

"Life never becomes a habit to me. It's always a marvel." -Katherine Mansfield
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?

TWEETABLE

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” 

A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Poetry of the Earth

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

The Poetry of the Earth is Never Dead. -John Keats
I invite you to use this image any way you like online. Post it to your blog, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, anywhere you'd like. All I ask is that you keep it intact, with my website watermark visible.

Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie