A few weeks ago, while washing the dishes, something illuminated me. I love a challenge. Sometimes it's as small as "Can I finish the dishes in the next fifteen minutes?" And sometimes, it's life's challenges themselves. Once I noticed that many things I do in life I add a little challenge to it, be it through a deadline, efficiency, or a better way overall, it might be the reason how to better cope with life's challenges we didn't ask for. To extend my personal challenges, I

In this picture, we just completed a 1.5-mile hike to the summit of Mt. Ryan at Joshua Tree National Park, gaining over 1,000 feet of elevation. The shoes I wore were new, and I never walked in them more than around the house. My pinky toes had blisters halfway up. I still had to make it to the top and back down again. All I was focusing on was putting one foot in front of the other. Even though my blistered toes were still there, once I reached the top, I experienced a sense

November is an exceptional month in our household. This is the month I met my spouse twenty years ago and my son the exact same day,...