No matter how busy I was preparing for the IT cutover, I still made time for photography. This is one of my anchors. A moment to pause, to see light, and to remind myself to keep going.
Excerpt
Once in a blue moon, beneath quiet light, I learned not to yield, but to stand and to fight.
Intro
There are moments in life that don’t come often. Rare, quiet, and almost unnoticed. This was one of them. A full moon above the temple, stillness all around, and a reminder that even in darkness, light remains.
Even in the middle of pressure, responsibility, and preparation, I found a moment to pause. To look up. To remember who I am.
Notes from Jesus Christ
“Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33
Perspective
Once in a blue moon, when the night closes in, When breath turns to fire and strength wears thin, When the body says stop and the mind wants to quit, That’s the moment you rise… you don’t yield, you don’t sit.
Through rounds that don’t end, through sweat and through pain, Through strikes in the dark that you take and sustain, Conditioned to stand when there’s nothing within, That’s when you remember… don’t ever let them win.
Slow is the rhythm where discipline begins, Each motion refined so no error slips in, For habits once formed will return in the fight, When pressure is highest and there’s no room for right.
In battles of code, where the pressure runs dry, Where systems break down and solutions won’t comply, No space for mistakes when you’re pushed to the edge, At the point of no return, there’s no time for a hedge.
No exit, no shortcut, no easy way through, Just grit in your soul and the will to stay true, When everything’s tested and all’s wearing thin, That’s where you are forged… don’t ever let them win.
Practice (today, not someday)
I move with intent, I refine and repeat, No rushed empty motion, no careless defeat.
Slow to build right, so when pressure begins, I stand on my training… and that’s how I win.
Final Reflection
Once in a blue moon, everything slows down enough for you to see clearly.
The struggle. The weight. The silence.
And yet… you’re still here.
No applause. No recognition. No visible finish line.
But you endured.
So I made a decision:
Don’t ever let them win.
Pocket I’m Keeping
Don’t ever let them win.
What I Hear Now
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God.” —Isaiah 41:10
A quiet morning at the Los Angeles Temple, where light meets stillness and reminds me that every day with Jesus Christ is a new beginning.
EXCERPT
A new year does not begin because the calendar changes. It begins because Jesus Christ makes change possible, again and again.
INTRO
January always feels like a threshold, but this year feels different. I am not stepping into 2026 only with goals, but with a deeper awareness of how much I still need the grace of new beginnings.
On a personal level, I began something in late December that has already humbled me. I enrolled in boxing training and quickly learned the truth of a saying I once heard, “Everyone can fight, but not everyone can box.” Since December 23, I have trained six days a week, three hours a day, discovering that boxing is not about force, but fundamentals. Footwork. Head movement. Timing. Discipline. Skills, technique, and speed matter more than power.
Watching the greats only deepened that lesson. Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division world champion, did not become legendary by relying on strength alone, but by mastering movement, adaptability, and relentless discipline. His career is proof that greatness is built on fundamentals refined over time.
The same principle echoes in Bruce Lee’s timeless words, “Be water, my friend.” To be adaptable. Formless. Fluid. To empty the mind and adjust to whatever shape life requires. Water flows around obstacles, yet can also crash through them when needed. That image has stayed with me in training. Every session feels like learning how to move with life rather than against it.
Professionally, 2026 brings its own kind of discipline. Major work lies ahead. Domain transitions. Intune migrations. Expanding responsibilities in Azure that will demand precision, patience, and steady endurance. These are not quick victories. They require humility, adaptability, and the willingness to begin again when plans change.
As I reflected on these personal and professional goals, Elder Patrick Kearon’s message from General Conference settled deeply in my heart. His words felt like the spiritual parallel to everything I was learning in the gym and at work.
“All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you.”
In that moment, I saw the connection clearly. Boxing teaches me to move with discipline. Work teaches me to adapt with patience. But the Savior teaches me something far greater.
No matter how many times I stumble, hesitate, or feel behind, through Jesus Christ I am never out of beginnings. This year is not just about improvement. It is about remembering that in every arena of life, spiritual and temporal, I am allowed to start again.
NOTES FROM ELDER PATRICK KEARON
Elder Kearon reminded us that when Jesus walked among the people, He did more than perform miracles. He restored hope. He reached those society avoided. He touched the diseased and comforted the weary. He taught liberating truth and called sinners to repentance.
To the blind, the lame, the grieving, the ashamed, and the broken in spirit, what the Savior offered was not simply relief from pain. He offered a new beginning.
Not once. Not rarely. But as often as needed.
Elder Kearon taught that baptism is not our only chance to start again. Through weekly sacrament and daily repentance, we are invited into continual renewal. This is not a church of one-time forgiveness. This is the Church of new beginnings.
PERSPECTIVE (DIRECT QUOTES)
“All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you.”
“With baptism by water and the Spirit, we are born again and can walk in newness of life.”
“These new beginnings can happen every day.”
“Jesus gives us as many new beginnings as we need.”
PRACTICE (TODAY, NOT SOMEDAY)
Today’s practice is choosing renewal over regret.
It is stepping into the gym again, even when yesterday felt like failure. It is opening the laptop again, even when yesterday felt overwhelming. It is kneeling in prayer again, even when yesterday felt heavy.
Faith is not demanding perfect conditions. Faith is trusting the Savior who makes imperfect beginnings holy.
Repentance is not fear. It is hope in motion.
FINAL REFLECTION
The Savior never gave up on His mission, even when the cost was suffering beyond measure. He endured so that I would never run out of beginnings.
Not just at baptism. Not just at major turning points. But every ordinary day when I choose to stand up again.
That is what faithful endurance looks like. Not perfection. But persistence with God.
POCKET I’M KEEPING
I do not have to wait for a perfect moment to change. I only need to choose to begin again, today.
WHAT I HEAR NOW
“All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you.”
“This is the Church of new beginnings.”
“Jesus gives us as many new beginnings as we need.”
