Do What Matters Most (in the end)

As he laughed with his friends, he didn’t realize I was soaking up every moment beside him💝

My to do list and work I had planned yesterday are waiting for me today. They are always waiting for me. The opportunity to be a chaperone for my son’s first grade field trip won’t always be available to me.

I share this with you today in case you are in you are like me and can get stuck in your habitual patterns with your schedules and routines.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we take a step back from our routines/schedules and ask ourselves if there is someone we need to show up for today. May we lay down what can be done tomorrow and show up for that person today. 

And may we give thanks for these moments and memories, that in the end we will remember more than what was on our to do list today anyways💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

It's the Simple Things...

This was my Friday night. I sat beside my family, I listened to them laugh and made another memory simply being present with them.

There are so many opportunities for us to get up and go places together, and there are so many experiences I look forward to having beside my crew. Yet my favorite place with them will always be our time gathered together at home; around our table, in our family room, or in our yard.

I share this with you today as a reminder that the small things make a big difference in our relationships.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we enjoy the experiences we get with our loved ones outside the home. Yet may we always make time for the simple moments that bring such joy to our hearts and build strong relationships, like a low key Friday night on the couch.

With gratitude and love,
Shawn

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

The Survivor's Pause

This is my current reality.

I am back in Boston for the day. Another three month check up which includes chest ct scan, head and neck mri and meetings with my surgeon, radiation oncologist, oncologist and my obturator doctor.

A friend asked me yesterday how I was doing with this day on the horizon.

My response?

“I just am.”

What does that mean?

I don’t walk overconfidently into these appointments expecting I will definitely receive good news.

Yet I don’t walk in dreading that I will be told that I have cancer again. I know fear and worry won’t make the truth unfold any sooner but when they call my name, which they naturally do, I whisper back that they aren’t welcome with me at these appointments.

So I lay on the tables during the scans, I move from one chair to another, and I wait...and wait...and wait...

I share this today because this isn’t just my story. I write these words for every cancer survivor out there whose life gets interrupted every three, six, or twelve months for a day, or a week, when our lives need to pause for our scans.

We are reminded that cancer has been part of our story, and we hope it remains part of the past. 

Yet the truth is we don’t know the outcome until it is spoken to us.

So we wait doing our best to show up for life, but that looks and sounds different for all of us. 

What can you do for us?

Pause. Breathe. Pray. And simply sit beside us, whether near or far, and just be with us. You don’t need to try and make it better. Just walk beside us listening to our hearts if we choose to speak and accept our silence if that’s what we have to offer. And those messier moments of us being on edge, please don’t take it personally. Instead please meet us with great love and compassion as it’s what we truly need. We would really appreciate that.

And to every survivor waiting...

Please know you are not alone and you are being wrapped in love as you wait💕🙏😘

With love and hope,
Shawn

**I just received my results and my scans are clear💝 I am extremely grateful yet I know someone received the opposite results today so I hope you’ll join me in keeping those who have to fight (again) in our thoughts and prayers💕🙏💕

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

Simply Joys

🍂A little leaf pile fun warmed my heart this weekend🍂

It truly is the little things that bring us joy or as @CandacePayneOfficial says, it is the #simplejoys 
If you aren’t familiar with Candace, you may know her better as #chewbaccamom Her video left our family belly laughing in our kitchen, as it has over a hundred million of its viewers. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the link below!

I am excited to share that Candace is coming in November to a local church and I was invited to be the emcee for the weekend! 
If you will be CT November 9th or 10th, visit the link below to learn more about this women’s fall gathering. I hope you are able to join us for dinner on Friday, or brunch on Saturday, each followed by a talk with Candace focused on celebrating life’s 🍂Simple Joys🍂

And before you go, I invite you to join me to... Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And let’s think of five simple joys in our life💕🙏😊 Here are mine:
1. Holding hands with my husband
2. Being able to kiss my kids goodnight
3. Walk and tea dates with family/friends
4. Crisp fall air
5. My hands wrapped around a warm mug while snuggled in a soft blanket.

What are five of yours? 
List them in your head or feel free to share them here😊 Either way, I hope you embrace these simple joys today💝

With gratitude and hope,
Shawn

Candace’s website:

https://candacepayne.me

Candace’s video visit:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y3yRv5Jg5TI

For tickets visit:

http://www.valleycommunity.cc/ministries/adults/women

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

Reach Out Off the Island

Recently on a tea and walk date with a friend we went to a local lake. We sat and spoke, we walked around and appreciated the beauty around us. Our conversations are full of truth and honest reflections with one another as we encourage one another to grow more into the person we were made to be.

I took these three pictures while we were there. As I scrolled through my camera recently, these three pictures in particular popped out and spoke to me.

So many of us can feel like we are on an island in life, disconnected from others. Although we may be surrounded by others throughout our days, we can mentally or physically place ourself on an island, separating ourselves from connecting with others.

If you are feeling isolated and alone right now, I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we create a bridge from our heart to someone else’s. May we reach out, and let someone else in. May we come together in person, sit beside one another, talk, listen, and expose the truth of our heart. May we meet others, and be met with a reflection of God’s loving kindness to help heal our hearts and help us move forward. May we get off the island and get re-engage in life.

Life and time are too precious to remain on that island so let’s begin today and take a step on to that bridge...

With love and hope,
Shawn

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

#worldmentalhealthday

Some people see me where I am now and think I’ve always stood on solid ground. The truth is, I have had to journey through anxiety and depression in life to get where I am today. In honor of #worldmentalhealthday here is an excerpt from my book, My Journey to Live from the Inside Out, that shines a light on the heaviness one can feel when weighed down in depression.

Please remember, if you are in a low place, you are never alone. Reach out to someone, a loved one, a friend, call 2-1-1, etc. Invite someone into the struggle with you. There are people waiting to walk beside you through this...and I am living proof there can be another side to the struggle.

And for those who don’t understand it, you don’t need to. Simply choose to love and listen. 

“Never look down in someone else unless you are helping them up.”

With love and hope,
Shawn

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

It's Hard Truth and Ridiculous Grace

These three bring me so much joy yet the reality is parenting them is the most challenging thing I have done or will ever do. They each came with their beautifully unique personalities and learning to bridge hearts with each of them is something I aim to do on a daily basis but am not always successful at doing. I don’t share a lot about parenting because the stories I have are not just mine to share, they are their stories too. In 15 years or so I’ll put together a book about these years to encourage others😊

Until then I will walk beside you as I learn and grow as a Mom. I will also share nuggets of wisdom I learn along the way that encourage me, in hopes they encourage you too. 

This morning I heard a song and it’s lyrics really captured my heart.

“It's so unusual it's frightening
You see right through the mess inside me
And you call me out to pull me in
You tell me I can start again
And I don't need to keep on hiding
I'm fully known and loved by You
You won't let go no matter what I do
And it's not one or the other
It's hard truth and ridiculous grace
To be known fully known and loved by You” - @taurenwells 

Though the song is about God’s love for me, it reminds me of who I need to be as a Mom; a reflection of God’s love to my children. I want my children to know that they are fully known, loved and there is nothing they can say or do that changes my love for them. And offer them ridiculous grace as they learn and grow into the person they were made to be.

If you too are a parent, I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we read these words and absorb them. May we see the truth in how God loves us, and may we aim to be a reflection of His love to our children today. And when we have hard moments and wish there was a do over available, may we remember there is ridiculous grace waiting for us too.

With love and hope,
Shawn

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

What Have I Not Grieved?

In my morning walk with Georgia I listened to a podcast that left me asking myself the questions:

What have I not grieved?

Have I moved forward in life and put an experience in a box within my heart that will remain unopened? - or - Have I cleaned out the box leaving my heart open to receive more of what life has to offer?

I share this with you today too in case you have a closed box from a life experience you’ve stuffed away in your heart. I invite you to join me today to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we be courageous enough to open the box and grieve what is in there. - the hurt, the pain, the loss, the anger, the sadness, etc. 

Why would we choose to do that?

Because if we never grieve the losses we experience in life, we are holding ourselves back from allowing God in fully into our hearts, minds and lives. And therefore, we are holding ourselves back from experiencing life as fully as we were made to. So let’s choose today to clear out our cluttered heart and make room for love to dwell there instead.

It may not be easy, but it will be worth it💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn

P.S. To listen to the inspirational message I heard his morning, check out North Point Community Church Clay Scroggins message, visit: http://northpoint.org/messages/its-fine/good-grief/.

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

Know Where You Are

We had an aMAZing day as a family this weekend😉💝 Yet within minutes of entering the corn maze we were lost. We couldn’t figure out where we were in the maze map🙃 After trial and error we...okay, actually it was Stephen...figured out where we were.

He said, “once you know where you are, it’s easier to get where you want to go.”

Isn’t that true about life?

If we don’t know where we are, how do we know how to move forward to where we hope to be?

If you are feeling a little lost today in any area of your life, I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we stop moving around and around and choose to be still. Let’s establish where we are today, in our personal and/or professional lives. Once we know where we are, coupled with where we hope to be, we can better determine what our next step forward is.  

With love and hope,
Shawn

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS

Say and Do What is Ours To Say and Do

As you are well aware, there are a lot of struggling hearts in the world, near and far, mine and yours. 

Everyday I have been waking up reminding myself that I have a choice of who holds my heart. I can give it to the hurt, the pain, the frustration, the anger...OR...I can give it to God. 

I choose to give it to God. 

Why?

Because it’s the only way I have found I can live more fully in this world full of dis-ease.

So what do I do?

Daily I ask God, “what is mine to say or do today that will help me bridge hearts with someone else and let them know they are seen and heard, known and loved?”

Yes, I read the news and yes I am disheartened often by it. Yet I can’t live in that space. It doesn’t serve me and doesn’t help me serve others. Just as I can’t live my days thinking of a possible reoccurrence of cancer, I can’t live my days weighted by the bad news out there. If I live there, I will get stuck and not move forward in my day, or life. Instead, I choose to live by figuring out what I can say, what I can do, today, from where I am to walk beside others in life and help them rise up into the best version of themselves. 

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

What we say and do will look and sound different for all of us . May we start our day and week giving our hearts to God. May we each ask what is ours to say and do today so we can scatter seeds of love into the hearts of others, and be a part of the change needed in our homes, communities and society.

Let’s not get stuck in the dis-ease that is out there. Instead let’s take one step forward by living out love today and bridging hearts with others.

With love and hope,
Shawn

P.S. Thank you @valleysimsbury for having me scatter seeds of love to your community last night

LET'S BE EMAIL FRIENDS