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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

#TuesdayTreasure: Special Guest Post by Beth K Vogt!

Good Morning from Nacogdoches, TX!

I drove up yesterday to spend a few days with my son who is the Spirit Coordinator/Dance Coach for Stephen F Austin State University. He's busier than I am, LOL!

But never too busy for a special guest to share with us something she treasures....

The Treasure of Home

“There’s no place like home…”

In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy whispers this phrase to herself as she taps together three times the heels of those magical ruby slippers. She repeats the phrase when she returns from the Land of Oz saying, “Oh, Auntie Em – there’s no place like home!”

That fictional Kansas farm girl was right. There is no place like home.

And yet, home – returning home, being home, finding home – can be a complicated process.

You’ve probably also heard the phrase, “You can’t go home again.” It comes from the title of a novel by Thomas Wolfe, and in part, the book deals with how the passing of time prevents the author from going home again.
Not being able to go home again – that struggle is true for a lot of people. Sometimes they’ve been uprooted so many times – like the heroine in my novel, Crazy Little Thing Called Love – there is no “home” to point to. Maybe home disintegrated because of divorce or death. Or maybe their childhood home was a place of pain. Why would they want to go back?

Right now, I have to accept that I can’t go home again. Unforeseen circumstances have separated me from my family of origin. I never imagined this heart-pummeling heartache. I have to trust that God knows what’s going on right this moment – and that He also knows how things might change for the better in the future.

I am thankful that, even as I face the unwanted reality barring me from that one sense of home, He has provided me home here and now – with my husband and our family.


This home is where I belong. There’s no need for pretense or defense. This is where the comfy clothes go on and masks are to be left outside. 

I bought this wooden sign a couple of years ago. It hangs on a wall in my home in the midst of family photos. It describes home best:

In this home …
We do second chances.
We do grace.
We do fun.
We do mistakes.
We do I’m sorrys.
We do loud really well.
We do hugs.
We do family.
WE DO LOVE.

There is no other place like this home in my life. No matter where I go, coming home is the best part of any trip. Walking through the front door, I whisper, “I’m home.”


And all is well.

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author who said she’d never write fiction, the wife of an Air Force physician who said she’d never marry anyone in the military and a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “never.” A 2015 RITA® Finalist and a 2015 and 2014 Carol Award finalist, her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Rob, and their youngest daughter.

For more information about Beth, visit her website, become a fan on Facebook or follow her on Twitter and Pinterest.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love can be purchased at Amazon for Kindle, in Hardcover and Paperback.


Sounds like the perfect read and so appropriate since I am not at home right now LOL!

Here's wishing YOU a Blessed day!

Check back often for Thursday Thoughts, Saturday Spotlights and more Tuesday Treasures.

PamT

5 comments:

Susan Coryell said...

It is indeed a complex issue--going home. My husband's home disappeared! It was apparently leveled by a church project. My 100+ years old home is being torn down and re-built. Makes going home a bit spooky. Thanks for a thoughtful post and best wishes with your work, Beth.

marilyn leach said...

I enjoy your sentiments about home. It makes me think of the refugees who are fleeing their war-torn lives in search of a new home. I pray they find a place of rest and peace that they can call home. Cheers

Hope Toler Dougherty said...

I agree with Susan--complex issue indeed. I moved to my hometown in 2004 with husband and four children who'd never lived in a small village before. Old friends kept asking me, "Aren't you glad you're back?" The truth was--no. I mourned for the life I left in Pennsylvania. Knowing we were square in the middle of God's will didn't always make the moving pains easier. Thank you for sharing about your treasure, Beth.

MJ Schiller said...

I'm sorry about the pain your experiencing, but I'm glad that you could share it with us. I love the sign you have, especially the "we do loud" part. I hear that! We have four kids, our oldest is two years older than her triplet siblings. Loud we get. I would always notice our poor visitors' shell-shocked faces when they were all talking over each other to be heard. Someone new to listen to us! Ha! Now they have all left the nest and it is quiet, but I have found that is okay. Quiet is good, too.

I love the cover of your book and it sounds like a winner! Best wishes for CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE! (You can't go wrong with a little Queen in the title!)

Leah St. James said...

Beth, I was just talking about something along these lines with a co-worker today. She's from the U.K. and at least one of her daughters is there. She misses them and wishes she could go home. But then she'd miss things she's come to love about the U.S., like our brilliant blue skies. I'm glad God has given us a universe rich in so many treasures (not just physical beauty, but the love of a spouse and children) so we can make a home for ourselves no matter where we are. Hoping you find happiness in your new home, and comfort in keeping in touch with your family the best you can.