As I approach Lent 2025, I read the March 3 Gospel (Mark 10:17-27) about the man who approached Jesus saying, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ answer is both comforting and disturbing. The comforting part is basically, “Keep the commandments (Love God & your neighbor, honor your parents, do not […]
Living Lightly
Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantlyBrowsing Posts in Days 365+
With February being a traditional month celebrating couple love, I thought some of you might be inspired by an article I wrote a few years ago titled: Cheap Dates for Cheapskates. It fits with trying to live more lightly. In fact, one doesn’t need to be married or dating to do many of the date […]
Some things that I learned about living lightly from the recent Christmas/New Year holiday season are: Love deeply – The most important thing is the loving interactions among family members. It goes beyond presents. Sure, we gave gifts to family members and received some nice ones, but the most important part of Christmas was reconnecting with […]
Last month I blogged about letting go of stuff around the house (kitchen stuff, toiletries, beds, etc.) But today it gets more personal. Actually, I find that the harder stuff to let go of is intangible. I’ve led much of my life trying to be successful – even successful at decluttering my belongings. So…, what’s […]
In my ongoing effort to prune no longer needed stuff from our home, my most recent purges included: Kitchen Stuff – bowls, duplicate dishes, trays, lids… With fewer people living in our home now, we don’t need as many cooking supplies and storage containers, so I happily donated some extras to a local second hand […]
Beyond Halloween, October is the height of election season in the USA and this can be scarry. Political conversations rule the news and penetrate many of our conversations – with both friends and opponents. So how should decent, loving citizens listen to news and to each other? On one hand, we can stay in our […]
We all have to eat to live. Fine. But, what foods keeps me healthy, are environmentally sustainable, and socially just? On top of these basics, how do I balance my personal food consumption with the energy it takes to work on broader social justice issues like poverty, reducing environmental pollution especially from plastics and fossil […]
June was consumed with traveling to ancestral towns in Germany. So July meant it was time to take care of our “old Kentucky home.” My vegetable garden survived thanks to a neighbor watering it, but as I became friends again with my garden several spiritual insights bubbled up: Planting & Cultivating Plants – In the […]
Well, now it’s time to dig deeper into the unnecessary clutter that’s been hanging around our house waiting to be responsibly disposed of or taken to a better home. Our metropolitan curbside recycling service picks up metal cans, glass and plastic bottles/jugs, and paper and cartons weekly. Good. Done. BUT, the city doesn’t take plastic […]
This past Lent I focused more on my “inner spirituality” than giving stuff away. Once Easter 2024 arrived I figured I’d return to simplifying my life, i.e. serious decluttering. But…this inner spirituality period prompted a deeper self-evaluation. (See It’s Not My Fault entry.) Now it’s time to do something with the stuff I’ve been collecting […]
It’s been 3 months since my last post which I usually do at least monthly. Maybe you’ve noticed. Maybe you’ve been busy with your own life. Easter has come and gone and so have I. (Jim and I took a long-delayed trip to Australia and New Zealand with our youngest son and his wife. We […]
Well, plans have changed. As I pondered whether to give up plastic, clutter, or to give more stuff away for Lent, I decided that any of these sacrifices would be worthy, but it was probably more important to clean out my “soul” and my attitudes than to clean house. Sure, I will try to be […]
As observant Christians have no doubt noticed, this year Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday fall on the same day, Feb. 14. So, do we celebrate love, or do we sacrifice? Is there some way that these two “holy” days are connected? Personally, I plan to celebrate my love for my husband on Valentine’s Eve which […]
Make any New Year’s Resolutions? Have you broken any of them yet? Regardless, here’s chance to try something new to refresh, educate, and/or deepen your family life. Challenge your family to learn about a new country – ideally one you’ve never been to and know little about. *For a list of countries and background for […]
With Christmas usually comes presents – at least for those of us with enough discretionary income to buy and receive gifts. This is usually a joyous exchange. As I opened the presents given to me last week, I was happy to receive them but also realized that some of the gifts meant I no longer […]
WAITING: As Christians approach the season of Advent – the season of waiting again for Christ to be born – I am reminded about how hard it often is to wait. For birthdays, for your beloved to return home, for a healing. Yet, I remember that waiting for something important to happen is part of […]
What? How can one “Love the HUB”? Am I talking about hubcaps on a car. an internet hub, or something else? Well, for environmentally minded people in the Cincinnati area the HUB is short for Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub. It’s the go to place for many hard to recycle items. If you live in […]
I don’t know about you, but occasionally I get into a “Depression Funk.” It goes something like this: I’m tired. I’ve already taken a nap, but I don’t feel like tackling another thing on my To Do I’m tired of trying to save the world. Global Warming is way bigger and more complicated than what […]
I profess to be a Christian and thus believe that Jesus calls us to love one another – even our enemies. Of course this moral call transcends Christianity and most faith traditions have a comparable moral code. Even people of good will who profess no particular religion usually have an inner sense to try to […]
Anyone living into adulthood (and sooner for some) will inevitably encounter hardships and pain. It might be physical (an illness, broken bones), emotional (depression, self-doubt), relational (a hurting relationship, annoying people), or spiritual (Is there really a loving God? How to love myself or other difficult people?) Lately I’ve been thinking about such negative life […]
