Welcome!
I’m so grateful you’re here.
My name is Shawn. I’m an old soul who is young at heart. I love meaningful, beneath the surface conversations just as much as I love singing at the top of my lungs, playing games with my family, or dancing in the kitchen.
I’m married to my patient husband, Stephen, and we have three fun-loving kids, Kate, Gavin, and Matt. We also have two labs, Georgia, who is afraid to her own reflection in the oven door, and Frankie, who isn’t afraid of anything. We live in my hometown in Connecticut, and from the outside looking in, life might appear picture-perfect.
But reality is, we all know that everyone has their story of hardships.
The Valleys That Shaped Me
From the inside out, I have walked through some deep valleys, including anxiety, depression, and a rare cancer diagnosis, adenoid cystic carcinoma.
My cancer journey included the loss of my palate and learning to speak again with the help of an artificial palate called an obturator. This experience did not silence my voice. If anything, it strengthened and clarified it.
I have also become a runner and advocate for rare cancer research, completing two marathons to raise funds and awareness, turning pain into purpose and showing that small, faithful steps can create meaningful impact. I’ve learned that consistent deposits of faithfulness, in healing, hope, and generosity, truly add up over time.
Those valleys reshaped how I see wellness, faith, and purpose.
What I’ve Learned About Wellness
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education, a Master’s in School Health Education, and a 200-hour yoga teacher certification. For years, being in the wellness field, I believed that if I looked healthy on the outside or balanced all the moving parts of my life, then I would be well within.
But God gently showed me something deeper:
True wellness begins within, starting with our relationship with Him.
It’s possible to be strong while feeling weary.
It’s possible to achieve much and still feel empty.
And it’s possible to walk through unimaginable hardship and still live with deep-rooted hope.
Wellness is an inside-out journey.
Faith That Grew From a Question
My relationship with God didn’t begin with certainty. It began with a simple, honest question in the midst of a season of depression:
“Are You even there?”
That honest prayer led me into my faith in God through Jesus that now anchors my life.
So wherever you are on your journey, questioning, seeking, struggling, or rooted, please know you are welcome here.
Why I Share
I write, speak, and teach because I believe our struggles can become stepping stones. When we allow God to meet us in our valleys, He uses them to shape our character, deepen our compassion, and lead us into our purpose: to love Him and love others well.
My prayer is that the words shared here will encourage you to…
pause. breathe. pray.
And live from the inside out by…
Drawing closer to God.
Using His Word as a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.
Seeing your struggles through a lens of hope.
Stepping fully into the person He created you to be.
Life will always have twists and turns yet we are never without hope.
I’m grateful you stopped by. Take a look around. I pray you leave here inspired, encouraged, and infused with hope.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Inside-Out Prayer
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
- Ephesians 3:16-19
Inside-Out Verses
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16
The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
- 1 Samuel 16:7
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
- Psalm 51:10
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
- Romans 12:2
First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
- Matthew 23:26