Welcome to The Contender!

It is with immense gratitude that I welcome you to my Substack. As a member of Congress, I am always looking for new and better ways to communicate with people. This platform is a way for me to reach you directly as we navigate the complexities of policy-making, unveil the stories behind the legislation, and delve into the principles that fuel my commitment to public service. I invite you to join me on this journey. Below is my first post- I hope you enjoy it!

My husband was standing in our kitchen exasperated. He was trying to get our two young daughters, Claire, then around age 7 and Elaine, then around age 5, out the door to school. The problem was that he had lost track of them. As any parent of young children knows, getting the kids corralled and out the door to school can be very challenging. “Come on,” he called repeatedly, “we’re going to be late.” He was growing more and more frustrated as the minutes ticked by.

A couple of days prior to this, Dustin had given the communion meditation at our church. He had focused on Jude 1:3 which says, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” He encouraged our congregation to always contend for their faith. It is not enough to just believe, you must contend. You must fight for, strive for, work for and reach for your faith.

This is a lesson Dustin hoped to not only pass on to our church, but to our children. In this spirit, after church he took a sticky note, wrote the word “contend” on it, and posted it, as a simple reminder, on our door. The door from the kitchen. The one that leads to the garage. The one a couple of days later he was trying to get our kids to exit so they could get to school on time. 

As Dustin neared the height of his frustration, Claire came running up with a sticky note of her own. She stuck it on the door under the note that said “contend.” Claire’s note said, “work hard.” “That’s great, Claire,” he said, still frustrated, “but we have to go. We’re going to be late. Where’s your sister?” “Elaine!” he called angrily. Just then, Elaine appeared. She was carrying a sticky note. She stuck it on the door under the “contend” note and the “work hard” note. In the strained and crooked writing of a five-year old, Elaine’s note read, “and have fun.”

It brought Dustin to tears. He had been so caught up in the day to day duties of life that he couldn’t even see that his children were listening to him. He had been so frustrated with meaningless tasks that he was missing the big picture. The kids had read the note. They understood the message. They knew what it meant to contend better than he did, and they added two necessary ingredients—to work hard and have fun.

Since that day, Contend, Work Hard and Have Fun has been our family motto. It informs everything we do. We fight for what we believe in. We work hard at it. Yet, we never forget to put things in perspective. We have fun along the way.

That is how I approach everything in life, including my work in Congress. Through this platform, I hope to give you insight into that work. I’ll do that with stories like this one, with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, with articles on issues I’m contending on, and with spotlights on other people I see contending. I hope you find it interesting and entertaining, and I hope it inspires you to Contend, Work Hard and Have Fun. 

For updates, follow along on social media at @RepHouchin on all platforms.