When Faith Doesn’t Solve Everything

Guest Blogger: Beth Vogt

***For the first three weeks in May, I want to introduce you to three author friends. They have books that have just released, and each of them has wisdom they’ll share in their posts that guided their stories. I am including links to their books, should you want to learn more. And no, I’m not earning anything from sharing them. I just want you to get to know these authors. Enjoy!***

Some friendships are for a season, and some last a lifetime. Beth Vogt is a life-friend. We’ve walked many seasons together. She was the first person I shared with that God had given me a story. Instead of telling me to wait until my sons were older, she encouraged me to write it. And, she directed me to helpful resources to learn how to write a novel. She’s an encourager, a truth-speaker, an amazing author, and one of the most authentic people I know. I am so pleased to share her words here today. Please help me welcome Beth Vogt!

Last week’s winner of The Joy of Falling is: Anita Ojeda! Please contact me within the next week to receive your book.

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I was 21 years old when I embraced living by faith, instead of living by the familiar structure of my religious upbringing. 

I’m thankful my parents taught me to believe in God. But I’m even more grateful my then-future husband told me how important his faith was to him. I’ll admit that, at the time, I wondered why he talked so much about Jesus and the Bible. Both topics are a bit extreme for me—especially since we were on our second date.

Understanding that faith was more relationship than rituals altered my life. Hope began to seep into the parched corners of my soul and expanded who I thought I could be. 

Normal: 7 Ways to Nurture Peace When Nothing Feels Normal

@JeanneTakenaka

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you’ve discovered that I like schedules. I like plans and knowing what’s going to happen in a certain day, how to prepare to walk through each day well.

Of course, small adjustments are sometimes necessary . . . a kid calls from school and needs to be picked up, the spouse locked keys in the car . . . but what about the erasure of “normal” from our days? 

How do we adjust to the life-shifts this pandemic has dictated? 

Control: 4 Truths to Hold Onto in Uncertain Times

@JeanneTakenaka

Who knew a headline would set my heart to racing? “California Orders Lockdown for State’s 40 Million Residents.”

How long before other states follow California’s example?

I’m not a woman normally given to fear. And yet, with all the talk of the high toll on human life this virus has the potential to steal, my heart is on edge. With all the uncertainty of this time, my mind has trouble shutting off. I’m trying not to fear, and to trust the Lord. And the smallest happenings seem to amplify my feelings, unsettling my thoughts.

Fear: We Always Have a Choice

@JeanneTakenaka

First of all, I am so, so excited to share a free ebook I’ve created for newsletter subscribers. Want to learn more? Click this link.

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Have I mentioned that I. Don’t. Like. Change?

Life as we know it . . . 

Choir concerts

Church activities and services

Writing conferences

Work trips

Youth retreats

School (my kids’ spring break was extended to two weeks due to the virus)

And many other activities . . . 

Have come to a jarring halt. 

With the concerns about the latest virus, I’ve vacillated between fear, frustration, and resignation. I know there are fewer cases and deaths from the coronavirus than we normally see from Influenza. But, this virus has made national headlines for weeks. The numbers sound so ominous.

Settle: 4 Thoughts for When We Want More

@JeanneTakenaka

We’d no sooner lugged all our stuff into the hotel room and the boys were plugged into their devices. Hubs made some coffee, but I . . . I yearned to grab my camera and snap some pictures of the amazing mountain views across the highway. 

I walked up the road, my eyes riveted by the snow-covered peaks. I kept searching for the perfect angle, but always there were wires or buildings or cars making the scene less than what I wanted to convey. 

Perspective: Six Thoughts for Overcoming Perfectionism

@JeanneTakenaka

I have a love-hate relationship with perfectionism. I want to do things perfectly. I feel good when I do things perfectly, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to.

Too often, that fear has dictated how I do—or don’t do—important things. Too often, I’ve stuffed my brave into a small closet as fear declared I couldn’t do it.

Recently, I was trying to write my first email for a newsletter. The words wouldn’t come together. So, I organized electronic files. I watched snow drift outside my window. 

And I ignored the blank screen on my laptop.

Focus: Where are We Living?

@JeanneTakenaka

Does a song ever speak to you? We’ve been singing, “You Reign Above It All” for the past few weeks at church. This song speaks so vibrantly of how big, how powerful our Father is. It brought to mind an event where God began showing me the truth in this song.

Years ago, I walked into my women’s ministry office one Sunday morning after service. My heart pounded in indignation when I saw one of our volunteers sitting at my desk and rifling through some files for an outreach she and I were coordinating. 

What was she doing in my office? 

Without even asking?

Perspective: When We Walk Through Suffering

@JeanneTakenaka

“We recommend further testing.”

A number of years ago, these words accompanied the news that I had an ovarian cyst that looked “suspicious.” As I grappled with the waiting for the doctor’s appointments to be scheduled, for the tests to be run and translated, my thoughts were never far from “the C word.”

Cancer? Me? But I was a mother of very young children. I couldn’t have cancer. I feared walking through the suffering of the disease. The not-knowing, the waiting clawed at me, shortened my breaths, made my heart pound hard.

Waiting: When the Waiting is Hard

@JeanneTakenaka

Many years ago, our oldest wouldn’t wake up one morning. It wasn’t stubbornness on his part. He was feverish, lethargic, and simply couldn’t stay awake. I let him sleep. But as the clock ticked toward noon and I couldn’t rouse him even for a drink of water, my mama’s heart revved as worry dug in deep.

God allowed us to get a same-day appointment with our doctor. I hefted my unconscious boy into his office. Long story short, he thought it would be best to take Peter to the ER. 

Gratitude: Thankful for the Little Things

@JeanneTakenaka

The phone rang. It was Hubs. “Honey. I’m in a bit of a panic. I’m at my first flight layover, and I can’t find my passport. Can you check my desk to see if it’s there?”

My husband, world-traveler that he is, had made this trip to the far East many times. My heart dropped when I heard his words, and I sprinted to his office. The edge of his passport peeked out from beneath a short, elevated pile of papers.