Tag: faith

Wouldn’t it be great if our most difficult days came with Hollywood-happy endings?

In the movies, when faced with the worst possible situations, our heroes rise to the occasion and find strength they never knew they had. But those who experience real-life traumas are just as likely to end up questioning their faith in God, their family and themselves.

In 1986, while my husband, two children and I were hiking in Casper’s Wilderness Park in Orange County, California, a mountain lion grabbed my 5-year-old daughter.

Self-doubt is a natural part of life. If it is allowed to take over your emotional state it can be the cause of every mistake or missed opportunity. Self-doubt has the potential to steal your belief and faith and rob you of your dreams. In order to live your life successfully you have to believe. You have to be able to turn your self-doubting thoughts into proactive opportunities. Learn to challenge your false beliefs.

David and I never discussed the topic of risk before we got married. I never even thought to ask David about his risk tolerance because I never thought that it would play such an important role in our lives. But nearly nine years after our first date, I can attest to the fact that how each of us handles risk has become a constantly recurring theme—and debate—in our marriage.

David tends to act impulsively. Taking risks doesn’t phase him. He’s constantly dreaming up new ideas, willing to try anything, ready to move forward even if he doesn’t know where forward will take him. Because he embraces risk, he left his apartment, his belongings and his family in Paris in 2001 and followed me to California. He was ready to risk everything for me even though, at that point, we had only been dating for two months!