Remember Your Why

Writing and publishing your own book means taking the computer with you to get your oil changed😊

It may sound like fun but truth be told, it’s a lot of patience, perseverance, determination and endurance because it isn’t an easy journey.

Yet my hope is this book will someday encourage someone whose heart is struggling and remind them that their struggle has purpose too.
And it’s that hope that is the fuel in my tank⛽️

And if you too have a goal you are working towards, take a moment to remember your why.

My why is that someday my kids and grandkids will have these words as an encouragement for their hearts when they needs it.

When we uncover our why, we can overcome the obstacles and move towards goal with greater focus.

I invite you to join me to..

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And may we all remember it’s not what we are working towards, but the why behind it that will get us there.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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It's Okay Not To Be Okay

I posted this on my wall yesterday.

Why?

I woke up feeling dizzy but instead of going back to bed, I got up and did my usual routine. When Stephen woke up and realized I wasn’t feeling great he insisted on my going back to bed. I said I was fine...

And then my mind flashed back to Sunday. I had shared at a talk that one of my children scraped their knees really bad this winter. Their knees were bleeding and purple...but they insisted they were “fine.” 🙃They weren’t fine! I used this story to encourage the people listening that it’s okay to not be okay.

Also, another story I shared was one I heard last week by an inspiration guy, @bobgoff. He shared in the sermon I was listening to how he gave a sermon one day about practicing immense patience. The next day when he went to return his rental car the person was v-e-r-y s-l-o-w. By the time the person got to him, he’d missed his flight. Yet when the rental car person said goodbye to him he also said, “great sermon yesterday.” He has taken his message about immense patience and although tempted to lose it in the rental car person, he chose to live out immense patience towards him💝

When I said “I’m fine” to Stephen in a flash I heard my child say they were fine when they were not and I saw that I was not practicing what I preached. I was not okay.

Humbled, I walked myself back to bed and I wrote myself this note.

It’s okay to not be okay.

I share this with you in case you need permission, as I guess I did, to not be okay. And maybe like me yesterday, you too need to spend the day in bed, or doing whatever you need to do to move towards healing.

I invite you to join me to....

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we know it’s okay to not be okay and may we also set the example to those who are watching and listening to us that it’s okay for them to not be okay too and to do what is needed to move towards healing.

With love and hope,
Shawn

P.S. The rest helped and I am truly okay today

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Free To Live

Yesterday I was driving down the road in our minivan listening to songs with my middle child who was playing dj. He popped on Kenny Chesney’s new song, Get Along.

As we drove along listening a couple of lyrics really gripped my heart as we sang...

“Scared to live. Scared to die.”

Wow.  

I hadn’t realized it until that moment but it hit me that I am scared again.

What do I mean?

Through my walk with cancer I arrived at a place where faith consumed me and I had let go of the fear of dying. I know this is strange to say but I lived in the most peaceful place in my heart when I had cancer. I felt free to love with no excuses and write whatever was on my heart without fear of someone’s response to it.

Yet as I have moved further from treatment I am seeing how fear is slowly trying to weave itself back into my heart and mind and yes, I can say in some ways, I am afraid to live fully as the person God made me to be.

When I heard those words, “scared to live, scared to die” it hit me that if we live in this place, we will never live the full lives God has planned for each of us.

Life is too precious for fear to be a part of my life...and yours. I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we let go of any fear that has woven its way into our hearts and minds. May we root ourselves deeply in faith so we may live this life fully, with meaning and purpose. When our time does come, may we have lived so close to the purpose God has for us that we have no regrets. And when fear tries to creep in, making us scared to live, may we instead choose to “always give love the upper hand.” For me, God is love and therefore another way of saying this is to always give God the upper hand.  

I know that a life of freedom and peace exists. I experienced it. I know what it is like to not fear living or dying. And it is a beautiful place. My hope for each of us is that we will live a full life, close to our God given purpose and that we all ‘get along’, encouraging each other on our unique paths along the way💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn
 

“Do not fear, I am with you.” - Isaiah 41:10

They Inspire Me

Twelve teens slept in the rain last night in cardboard boxes to experience what a homeless person has to do everyday. They have been fasting as well for 30 hours, uncovering a strength within themselves they may have not uncovered otherwise.

I am inspired by their dedication, patient perseverance and willing hearts.

I had the privilege of speaking truth into their hearts this morning. 12 more teens now hold a piece of this puzzle as a reminder that their piece of the puzzle matters.

I hope you will join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

That these teens grow into the people they were made to be and use their unique gifts to shine their light into this dark world.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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Focus On What Is Important

My little guy asked to ride his bike to school today. It was drizzling. The old me thought, nope, another day. The new me thought nope, and then shifted to why not?!

So he geared up and I got Georgia and the umbrella and off we went.

About a 1/4 mile in, between helping him start riding once he stopped, holding the umbrella and keeping Georgia close I thought to myself I can’t do it all. Something has to give. 

It can’t be the child, or the dog, so the umbrella rested against the fence while we continued on.

Isn’t that so true about life? We try and juggle a few things at once, we feel discombobulated and aren’t able to give our full attention where it is needed?

I share this with you in case any of you feel like I did today, taking on too much and not being able to focus on what’s most important.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we choose to lay down what isn’t necessary so we may focus our attention on what is necessary and important.

After patiently persevering, Matty, Georgia and I arrived at school. I am thankful for this memory and for this awareness. I hope to carry it with me moving forward, starting first by putting my phone down now and spending time talking with Stephen😊

With love and hope,
Shawn

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Find Joy In The Ordinary

My five year old: “Mom, what did we do this weekend?”

Me: “We had a relaxing weekend at home.”

My five year old: “I need to write about something we did this weekend at school today.”

Me: “Okay, let’s go through our weekend together and see what you can write about.”

Together we can up with all the things we did...

- family pizza and movie night
- mulching and planting
- riding his bike
- family basketball game
- coloring
- game time with Dad
- listening to music
- family meals
- telling jokes
- Etc.

We laughed and smiled together as we remembered the ordinary events that made up such a joyful weekend together.

I share this with you because so often nowadays the ordinary seems to be not enough.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray. 

And may we remember that it is the joy we find in the ordinary that make up our extraordinary lives.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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She Is Determined

Today I spent part of the afternoon with my daughter and her friends outside the grocery store so their team could raise money for Relay for Life later in May.

When I talk about our struggles having purpose, this is an example of the good that came out of our family going through our walk with cancer last year.

Soon after I was diagnosed my daughter heard about the Relay for Life event and was determined to create a team with her friends and raise money for fight this awful disease.

Did I want cancer? No.

But am I grateful that my eleven year old daughter took the hand she was dealt and was intrinsically motivated to make a difference? Absolutely!

On the outside, my now 12 year old daughter, radiates joy and on the inside she is one of the strongest, most determined and resilient, caring, loving souls I know.

I have had people say that the money she raises doesn’t go to ACC and the percentage collected that goes to research is minimal. I hear that, but listen...I am not going to stop her when she is intrinsically motivated to make a difference in this world. 

Instead I choose to stand beside her and encourage her. Why? Because when our kids choose to be a part of making a difference and want to be a part of the solution, they are on their path towards their greater purpose in life and I refuse to be a stumbling block on her journey.

I share this with you because at one point or another we are all dealt a bad hand. Yet I invite you to take a moment to join me to ...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And like my daughter, may we see our struggles as an opportunity to be a part of the solution. Even if not for ourselves, for the next person in line. May we see where there is a need and go close to it. May we be intrinsically drawn closer to our greater purpose ~ to be the change we need to see in the world. 

And as parents, even though we may see things from a different angle, may we meet our children where they are with love and walk beside them and support them while they do the work that is theirs to do to be a part of the solution to things like finding a cure for cancer.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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The Manuscript is Off

Like all of us, this is a work in progress. I can’t wait to share it with you in June! I sent it off to the editor last night📝 This is the copy I will be working my way through to be sure I bring you the most significant lessons I learned that will enrich your life💕🙏😊

With love and hope,
Shawn

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My First TV Interview!

CLICK ON PICTURE TO SEE THE INTERVIEW

Hi friends, 
I wanted to share with you my first television interview😳

Thank you to my dear friend Melissa Cole for creating this wonderful story and sharing it today on Better Connecticut.

Here's to hoping that by being transparent with my story someone else may view their struggle through a new lens. May they too find a deeper purpose in their struggle.

And to learn more about my upcoming new book, Our Struggles Have Purpose, 50 Life Lessons from my Walk with Cancer, sign up below to receive the *Bonus Lesson* today!

Lastly, for any locals in the CT area, if you are looking for an ENT, I know a great one. Dr. Tessema has been a gift to our family and I am sure he will be one to yours too.

With gratitude and hope,
Shawn

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It's In Great Hands

Where is the other half of this puzzle you may wonder? 

It’s in good hands.  

No, it’s in great hands.

This morning I had the opportunity to speak with 24 high school students. I was able to share with them that who they are today, is enough, inside and out. That they need to stop trying to change who they are and start looking to become who they were made to be. I was able to share that yes, they may have struggles within but that those struggles aren’t meant to weigh them down in life but they are there to help them rise up in life, refining them into their best self. I was able to speak truth into their hearts and let them know that they each are needed to bring their unique gifts into the world and that their piece of the puzzle matters.

Each one of those students now has a piece of this puzzle as a reminder that they are unique and valuable members of their families, our community and the world.

I know sometimes we worry about where the world is heading but when we choose to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And empower our youth by coming beside them to let them know that they are needed and are valuable just as they are and infuse hope into their hearts, I wholeheartedly trust our future, and these puzzle pieces are in great hands.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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