Today Is A Gift

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I woke up this morning a little emotional yet full of gratitude.  

It's my birthday.  I get to be 39💗🙏😊

I have never been one to tell people that it's my birthday.  Today I want to shout it from the rooftops!

After being diagnosed with stage 3/4a cancer back in January, I realize that another birthday is a gift.  I am post treatment and doing well, yet I know that cancer in general, and my type, adenoid cystic carcinoma, specifically, leave you unsure if you will get a reoccurrence and how many birthdays you really have left.

The reality is, tomorrow is never promised cancer or not.

Today is a gift, not just because it's my birthday, but because I am here to live this day with those I love.  Today is truly a treasure.

God's gift to me is my life, and this day.

My gift to God is what I do with them.

I pray I use everyday I am given to do two things, to love God and to love others as God loves me, unconditionally.

I am so grateful for this day and for the loved ones I get to spend it with.  

Whether it's your birthday or not, today is a gift God has given to you too.  I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And let what we do with this day be a gift to God as a thank you for the gift of this day, and this life, we have been given.

With gratitude and love,

Shawn

"Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself." - Luke 10:27

Putting Truth Into Practice

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When one of your favorite mugs breaks on the way out the door to the bus stop you...

Pause.

Remember little eyes are on me...

Breathe. 

Remind myself I can choose anger or love as the example I set...

Pray.

For wise words and actions to flow from me.

Live out love.

Choose to calmly articulate that it's just a mug and people are more important than things.

As my mug read...

Peace.

It is not where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  It is to be in the midst of those things and be calm in your heart.

Thankful to have passed along love this morning, and not anger💕🙏😊

With love and hope,

Shawn

P.S. This happened the same morning as the post below.  Love how quickly I was given the opportunity to put into practice this truth;-)

Pass Around Love

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NYC.  Our hearts ache again.

A few weeks ago I heard a child say that kids were “passing around anger” to each other.  They said that one person pushed this person, then the next person pulled at the next person and it continued down the line, child after child, one “passing anger” to the next. 

Passing around anger.  

It made me think of us adults and how much anger gets passed around in this world by us.  When we have a bad day, do we work through those emotions or pass it along to our loved ones, acquaintances, colleagues, or strangers? When anger and frustration grip us, do we try to defuse it or call a person who will help fuel the fire?

Passing around anger.

Is that what we want to be doing?  Is that the example we want to set for our children, our nieces, nephews, our grandchildren, etc.?

Not me.  Yet I admittedly have done it.

Today, I invite you to join me to…

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

Let’s make a commitment to ourselves, and to the children in our lives, and in this world, to let the anger stop with us.  When we get angry or frustrated, let’s figure out a way to let it go and in its place choose to live out love.

We see where anger leads.  

Let’s see where love will take us, and our children.

With love and hope,

Shawn

"Let all that you do be done in love." - 1 Corinthians 16:14

 

 

Do Nothing

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The other day while I was on a walk with friends one of them stated that on her to do list she sometimes writes "nothing." What a wise thing to do (or not do😉)! This morning as I sit here planning the day, I am using this new found wisdom and applying it in my life. 

To infuse moments of pause in my day will nourish me in ways the busyness of life never will.

I share this with you in case you too are writing your to do list for the day. 

I invite you to join me and...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we add 'nothing' to our to do lists as a reminder to be still today to renew ourselves in mind, body and Spirit.

With love and hope,

Shawn 

"Be still and know God." - Psalm 46:10

Purposeful Seasons

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Every season has its purpose; winter, spring, summer, fall.  We can appreciate their uniqueness, see their beauty and find gratitude for their purpose. And even when we are ready for the season to end, we have hope for the next season that follows.

What if we took that same perspective and applied it to the different seasons of our lives? 

What if we viewed every season in our lives as one that had purpose?  What if we appreciated their uniqueness and looked for the beauty in them? What if instead of resisting them - especially the tough ones - we found gratitude and trusted they have a purpose?

Such a perspective would give us hope through the trials, the struggles, the changes.  

No matter what season of life we are in today, I invite you to join me and...

Pause.  Breathe.  Pray.

May we believe that there is purpose in this season, even the challenging ones, and trust we need to go through this season for us to be prepared for the next; just as fall leads into winter, planting and nourishing the seeds for spring.

With love and hope,

Shawn

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

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