The Pebble in My Shoe (And Why We Ignore the Small Things) The other morning, I was running late. I was rushing out the door to go walking with a friend, frantically tying my sneakers, when I felt it: a tiny, sharp little pebble right under my foot. Immediately, my brain went into a mini-argument with itself: - Thought A: "You should really take two seconds, sit down, and get that rock out." - Thought B: "You're already late! It’s just a tiny pebble, you’ll be fine. Just power through." As I stood there at the door, I realized this silly little rock actually gave me a choice. I could leave it in, but what would actually happen? - I’d probably spend the whole walk focused on my foot instead of enjoying the conversation with my friend. - It would get more and more irritating with every step. - By the end of the walk, I’d probably end up with a blister or a scraped foot—all because I "didn't have time" to fix it. Or... I could just sit down. Take one minute, unlace the shoe, dump the pebble, and actually enjoy my morning. My foot would be fine, my workout would be great, and I could be 100% present with my friend. (Spoiler alert: I took the shoe off. And the walk was awesome.) The Bigger Picture As I was walking, it hit me how often I do this exact same thing in my everyday life. Instead of taking a few minutes to take care of myself, to love myself, or to address a small boundary, I just let things slide. I tell myself, "It’s fine, I don't have time to deal with this right now." But here is what usually happens when we leave the "pebbles" in our lives: - The small stuff festers. That tiny irritation doesn't stay tiny; it feels bigger and heavier as the day goes on. - It steals our joy. We end up distracted, annoyed, and totally checked out of the present moment. - It affects how we treat others. When we are secretly suffering from a preventable "blister," we don't have the energy to truly show up for the people we love. Choosing the "One-Minute Fix"

Have you ever stopped to wonder: "What if your life is actually perfect exactly the way it is right now?" It's so easy to focus on what doesn't seem to be working. We scan our lives and instantly spot the "flaws": - Our weight - Our relationships - Our children - Our finances We look back at childhood and think: - "My dad was too strict" - "My mom let us do whatever we wanted." The list goes on. Even day to day, we complain that it's raining instead of sunny. But what if everything around us is exactly as it should be? THE ILLUSION OF OUR BELIEFS We are who we are today because of our parents. I know I would not be the person I am without mine. And God says that I am His, perfectly made. What if the negative things we perceive around us are just illusions? What if they only exist because of our beliefs? If that's true, it leads to a much more powerful question: - What if those beliefs can be changed? REWRITING THE SCRIPT IN AN INSTANT I'm starting to believe that in an instant, in the blink of an eye, our lives can become more abundant. - Our relationships can improve. - Our financial situations can turn around. - We can find deep happiness in our work. - We can experience richer connections with our children, our spouses, and our neighbors. We are the ones who choose. "In an instant, in the blink of an eye, our lives can begin to be more abundant." But to get there, we have to be willing to make changes. If things always seem to stay the same, if we find ourselves stuck in the same habits and cycles, it's because we need to retrain our brains. We have to alter how we've been thinking all these years. We need to change the pathways of our minds, change how we view the world, and change how we speak. A SEED OF HOPE Is anything possible? Yes. Can we change in an instant? I believe the answer is yes. But the real questions we have to ask ourselves are: 1. Are we willing to make those changes? 2. Do we truly believe change is possible?

For 15 years, I lived my dream. I wanted to be an amazing stay-at-home mom, to support a husband, and to raise my children with everything I had. And I did exactly that. But somewhere along the way, I fell into a common trap: I thought that being "amazing" required me to give up pieces of myself. I sacrificed until I felt there was nothing left to give. I found myself tired, worn out, and running on empty. I had forgotten a simple truth: You cannot pour from an empty cup. By saying "no" to my own health, my own rest, and my own joy, I wasn't actually becoming a better mother or wife. I was becoming less fulfilled and, ultimately, less effective in the roles I loved most. Today, I am changing the narrative. Today, I am saying YES to me: • Yes to health and movement. • Yes to rest and self-care. • Yes to friendship and connection. • Yes to asking for help. By choosing to love myself, I am not taking away from my family. I am ensuring that when I show up for them, I am showing up as my full, vibrant self. To my fellow leaders, parents, and caregivers: What is one "Yes" you can give yourself today?

It is so easy to start a day wanting everything to be perfect, only to find yourself viewing the world through a hazy lens. I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately, where things feel a little darker and more negative than I’d like. When you’re in that headspace, it’s hard not to focus on the faults and the things that annoy you, but I’ve realized I don’t want to be the person who only looks for the bad. I recently came across a phrase that really hit home: **"And they found that which was good among them"**. It made me stop and think about the kind of person I want to be—someone who actively looks for the light in others and the beauty in my surroundings. I want to move away from judgment and toward a place of love, giving people the benefit of the doubt instead of looking for their flaws. I’m starting to see how this works in the smallest moments, like when a child spills a glass of milk. Instead of getting upset at the mess, I can choose to see their independence and the fact that they took the initiative to do it all on their own. It’s about seeing the growth and the effort behind the mistake, then simply teaching them how to clean it up so they’re ready for next time. At the end of the day, we never truly know what someone else is going through until we’ve walked in their shoes. I want to be the one who finds people’s strengths rather than their weaknesses. My goal is to be a person who lifts others up and finds the good, even when the world feels a little heavy. Sarah