A Moment of Pause

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Half-day date with two of my four favorite people.  Mounds of laundry are on the bed and many other items on my to do list but this was a moment of pause to be present with those who matter most to me. 

I know the hustle and bustle are calling our names but I invite you to insert moments of pause during your day to root yourself back in with what matters most...and I personally find whether it’s a moment alone or with those who nourish me, when I take that pause and connect with love, I am more fueled for my day than when I allow myself to go go go until I am empty.

I invite you to join me and... 

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And let’s not allow our to do lists and calendars to take our eyes off of who and what matters most.  Let’s invite moments of pause into our day and gain perspective and fuel our hearts, especially for this season so we can live close to what matters most.

With love and hope,
Shawn

What Is

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On the way to the bus stop this morning, one of my children was full of "what ifs."

What if I miss the bus?

What if our neighbor misses the bus?

What if the bus driver came early?

What if the bus driver forgets to come?

What if...

It took me a number of questions in to realize the concern on my child's heart.  I stopped walking and looked at my child and said, "What if?" and paused.  I continued, "If any of those things happened you'd be okay, our neighbor would be okay.  We would just hop in the car and have a different way to get to school today.  We have plenty of time, there is no need to worry."

My child looked at me, smiled and continue walking towards the bus stop. (In hindsight, maybe stopping a child who thinks they will be late isn't the wisest choice:-/). Anyways.. 

Reflecting on that moment, I wish I had said, "What if you stopped thinking about those what ifs and instead thought about what is?"  

Because what is happening in the moment is what is real and what matters.  Our what ifs are the stories that take our mind away from the present moment.  They take us away from enjoying what is right there in front of us.

Today I invite you to take a moment with me and...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

Let's look inward and ask ourselves if we are living with any what ifs that need to be replaced with what is.  Personally, I have more scans next week.  I can choose live there in the what if and miss this day with my loved ones, or live today in the what is and meet that day when it arrives.  My practice will be in choosing the latter.

I invite you, whatever your what if may be, to join me and let's refuse to allow the possibility of tomorrows troubles rob us of today's joy.  This is the day God has made.  Let us experience the joy in it.

With love and hope,

Shawn

"Can by worrying you add a single hour to your life?" - Matthew 6:27

Double the Peace

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My peace mug is one of my favorites and I broke it recently on the way out the door to the bus stop.

For my birthday, I received two more peace mugs from my aunt and friends💝

When I saw them in the cupboard recently I thought about how often when something "breaks" in our lives, how it can weigh us down and break us.  

I believe that we have a choice, we can long for what was or trust that this can and will be turned into something better than before.

For me my peace (mug) was broken but then I received double the peace I had before😊

The same has been true in my life.  

Anxiety, depression, cancer have all been a part of my story and have all tried to break me, but I have seen that it is because of those things my life is richer and fuller than before.

I share this in case you are in that broken place.  You are not alone. It is a tough place to be in but I invite you to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And trust that this time isn't meant to break you but to transform you and your life into something better than before.

With love and hope,

Shawn

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. - James 1:12

Begin Within

Happy New Year!

What are your goals this New Year?  

Eating clean, exercising more consistently, etc.?

I get it.

Most of my life my New Year's resolution was focused on the outside of myself.  I thought if I took care of my outside, my inside would be at peace.  Yet I can look back at pictures when I was in the best shape of my life and on the outside I may appear well but on the inside I was still not at peace.

What I have come to learn is that to be well within, I needed to take time to work on the inside.

I am sharing this video to give you some food for thought...

(This video is from summer 2016)

To grow strong enough to do these 50 push-ups I started at 10 and then added 2 a day for 21 days.  I dedicated the time, used my energy purposefully and was disciplined daily.  And those small deposits I put in over time paid off.

The same is true for my spiritual growth.

When I started having a morning prayer time I would read a quick paragraph which took maybe a minute.  Day by day over the past seven years, my prayer time has grown in length.  

Why?

Because I have seen how taking the time to be still and nourish myself within has brought more peace into my heart than when I would wake up and workout first thing.

Now I am not saying I don't like to workout or eat well.  I was a Health and Physical Education teacher and a yoga teacher before becoming a writer.  Being active and eating well is part of who I am yet I do those to increase the quality of my life, not to be a certain size anymore.  I have come to learn that being at peace comes from an internal workout, one where I practice letting go and trusting in God. 

I now spend twice as much time in the morning cultivating my Spirit, mind and heart - through my readings, prayer, meditation and my gratitude journal - than I do working out.

I share this video to demonstrate what can happen when you choose to use your time and energy consistently; you grow stronger.  I can show you this growth physically but it is difficult for me to show the depth of internal growth. I hope this parallel encourages you to know that change IS possible yet it doesn't start on the changing who you are on the outside.  

True transformation begins within.

As you enter this New Year, I invite you to try something different for your New Year's resolution.  

Rather than focusing on the outside, why not choose to start within?

I invite you to join me and take time to learn how to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

I admit, hopping on the treadmill may be easier, and yes, working out and eating well are things I too will be hoping to practice consistently this year.

Yet I know from my own experience through my journeys with anxiety, depression and cancer that when you begin within, and allow yourself to transform from the inside out, your life will be more beautiful and richer in ways you couldn't even imagine are possible.

To start today, join my FREE facebook group HERE where you will receive encouragement and guidance for your journey.

And to be the first to learn about my upcoming classes (in-person and online), be sure to sign up for my blog BELOW.

Here's to a new day, a new week, a new month, a new year and a NEW YOU!

With love and hope,

Shawn

You Are Invited to Our Table

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a day of gratitude that brings joy into your heart🙏😊💗

As much as this is a day full of giving thanks I had a situation yesterday that is bringing new perspective to how some people may be experiencing this day.

Two nights ago I woke up in pain.  I tossed and turned for a while, growing frustrated that I was going on a week of enduring the pain from my new obturator.  Eventually I got up and did something I have never done before, I took my obturator out for the night to relieve the pain.  It worked... but by morning my mouth was so inflamed from the irritation of this past week, I couldn't get my obturator in.  

I tried and tried. 

And failed and failed.  

The reality of not getting it in hit me - I will not be able to speak articulately or eat or drink with ease until I get it back in with my dentist in Boston next week. Oh yeah, and I can't even pick up the phone to call Stephen - or any doctors - because they won't be able to understand me.  

Between the physical pain of trying to get it in and the mental energy of preparing myself to have to go for days without my obturator I finally surrendered trying to figure it out myself and reached out and ask for help.  I texted with Stephen and my family.

I thankfully got in to see a dear family friend who worked with me for a couple of hours and eventually was able to get it back in.

I left with tears of gratitude and joy.

Yes, I am thankful I get to sit around the table and speak and eat with my family today.  Yet as I lay in bed last night I realized that there are other people whose pains will not be gone today.

Maybe it's the first Thanksgiving without a loved one or it's the first holiday without a drink.  Maybe it's the day after surgery or a loved one is serving overseas. Maybe you are still in the whirlwind of a diagnosis or you learned the adoption isn't going to work out.  Maybe it's your first holiday after the divorce or you are celebrating today knowing this may be your last Thanksgiving with a loved one.

Whatever your story may be, I just wanted to invite you all to come and gather around the table and let you know there is a seat for you here.  At this Thanksgiving table is where experiencing pain and giving thanks can coexist.  And if today you are having trouble giving thanks, we are here beside you because it's okay to be in that place, even on Thanksgiving.

No matter your story, I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we close our eyes and picture all of us, near and far, who are seated at this table.  May we patiently persevere during this time.  May our strength of heart and mind grow our endurance.  May our faith be bigger than our fear. And on this day of Thanksgiving, may we choose to seek what we have to be grateful for so we may experience joy (even a blip) in our hearts today.

With love, gratitude and hope,

Shawn

"Thanks to the God of comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Growing Gratitude

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Admittedly I have been experiencing pain as my mouth adjusts to my new obturator. Something my journey has taught me is that the more I focus on the pain and the struggle, the more amplified it becomes.  

When I am able to look away from the struggle and focus my eyes on what there is to be grateful for, my perspective changes and the pain becomes secondary; and I am even able to experience joy while in pain.

I share this with you in case you too are in pain, physically, mentally, emotionally, etc.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And choose, for even a moment, to take your gaze off your struggle and seek something to be grateful for.  Then do it again...and again.  The more we practice gratitude, the more joy we can experience even while the pain is present.

If I hadn't looked up from my pain yesterday I wouldn't have experienced this memory and captured this moment of my boys seeing the beauty in a double rainbow💝

My hope for all of us is that we don't allow the pain to take us away from experiencing moments of gratitude and joy in our lives.

With love and hope,

Shawn

"Give thanks in all circumstances." - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Invisible Wounds

Yesterday I got teeth!  In March I lost three teeth and the gums above them when I had the operation to remove the tumor from my palate. Yesterday I received my new obturator that has my new teeth on it.

It took me a while to share a picture with you of my obturator because it was too intimate at the time to expose this part of my journey with you.

Now I am at a place where I am able to share what it looks like with you.  My obturator is the removable device I need to wear in order to speak articulately and eat/drink without things coming out of my nose.  It is a gift to me and to all the others who have had similar surgeries.

I am sharing this picture with you as a reminder that appearances can be deceiving.  On the outside people may appear well but on the inside people may have wounds invisible to the eye.  It is these invisible wounds that may impact a person's heart and therefore impact the way they act.  

This is why living out love and kindness is so important.  Everyone is dealing with something, it may be visible, it may be invisible.  We need to remember that our words can be fuel on the fire in people's hearts or can help defuse the fire in their soul.

My hope in sharing this is that we may...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And when interacting with others, from family to strangers, may we honor each other's visible and invisible wounds.  Imagine the difference it would make in the hearts of others, and in the world, if we saw everyone as the wounded warriors we are and treated one another with love and kindness. 

With love and hope,

Shawn

"Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves." - Romans 12:10

Selfless Service

My Dad gave me this picture the other day for my birthday.  It brought tears to my eyes.  He captured this moment when we were in Acadia this summer, a couple months after my treatments ended.

This picture says so much about my husband without me saying a word💝

His selfless service didn't end when he left the Navy.  He continues to serve and protect our family everyday, in different ways.

I am so grateful to my husband and to all veterans for your selfless service, then and now as you serve in other ways.  

I know a thank you is enough yet I also know that there are veterans out there who could use more than our words and prayers to support them.  

There are wonderful organizations we can donate our time, energy and/or money to, such as:

Team RWB- Team RWB’s mission is to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity.

Team Rubicon - Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams.

Home Base Program - Who offers world-class clinical care, fitness and mind-body wellness programs for Service Members, Veterans and Families who struggle with the Invisible Wounds.

The Travis Mills Foundation - An advocate for veterans and amputees, The Travis Mills Foundation supports combat injured veterans and their families through long term programs that help these heroic men and women overcome physical obstacles, strengthen their families, and provide well-deserved rest and relaxation.

22 veterans a day commit suicide.  

This number is heartbreaking and unacceptable.  

I invite you to take a moment to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And to come beside Stephen and I and do what you can to make a difference in the life of a veteran today.  

They may never know your name...

and we may never know theirs...

but that is what selfless service is all about.

With gratitude, respect, love and hope,

Shawn

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;-)

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