Your Perspective Matters

Where are you heading today?

Before you head out I wanted to share something I heard on my walk with Georgia this morning.

It is a parable about a farmer who was greeted by a person walking down the road. The person asked the farmer, “what are the people like in the village ahead?”

The farmer responded, “what were they like in the last village you passed through?”

The person responded, “they were very nice, friendly and generous.”

The farmer replied, “that is what you will find in the next village.”

A while later a second person approached the farmer. He too asked what the people were like in the village ahead.

Once again the farmer inquired, “what were the people like in the village you just came from?”

The person said, “they were rude, mean and not helpful at all.”

The farmer then replied, “that is what you will find in the village ahead.”

I loved this story and it’s core message of how our perspective is significant to the interactions we have throughout our days.

It also made me think of this time of year and the hustle and bustle that can come with this season.

So before we head out today, I wanted to invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we check the lens we are looking through right now. Are we more aligned with the first person in the parable or the second?

May we choose to align our lens with the perspective of seeing the good in others. And if we meet someone who gives us every reason to shift our perspective, may we choose to live out God’s love to them by practicing patience, kindness, being slow to anger, etc. It may be challenging but by choosing to stop the anger and pass along love instead is transformative for our hearts - and theirs.

Often it isn’t who is around us that can make or break our day. It is the lens we are looking through.

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” - Colossians 3:2

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Walker or Runner?

Are you a walker or a runner?

On the trails I am a walker. Yet my pace in life has picked up and I am running around more this time of year rather, than walking through my days.

Often I find when I am feeling overwhelmed, it is because I neglected to involve God in the planning of my day.

Yet when I choose to pause to pray and invite God into my day, I find my days are less cluttered and more productive.

Being busy and over scheduled seems to be celebrated in society. I encourage you to join me to start celebrating what will nourish us, which is a slower pace. 

During this busy season, I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

Let’s ask God what purposeful steps forward we need to take today. We can keep running around or we can choose to invite God to walk beside us to give us wisdom and insight along the way.

Will you be a walker or a runner today?

With love and hope,
Shawn

“We make our plans, God directs our steps.” - Proverbs 16:9

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Everybody Belongs

When we realize that we are meant to help each their rise up, purpose is breathed into us.

Thank you Beanz & Co. Café for the inspiration and for creating a space that celebrates helping people of all abilities rise up💝

With love and hope,
Shawn

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The Giving Tree

A truth I am learning more and more is that my life is best spent not centered around me. So for my 40th birthday last month I had pondered ways I could help someone else💕 I had shared with a friend that I would love to collect winter gear for those locally who need it. Then...

One day I came home to this giving tree that my family and dear friends surprised me with😍 They even had reached out to others inviting them to drop off items for the tree for my birthday💝

This past month our community rallied (as they countless times have) and we collected well over 100 items (some even hand knit!) in our breezeway. Today our family was able to give them away to local families, refugees and to men and women who are homeless who need them this winter.

I share this with you today because giving used to not be a part of my vocabulary and now it is a core value. I am not sure where you personally fall in the spectrum of giving but I offer for you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we choose to make giving a core value, not just in this season of giving, but woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. As much as it’s nice to receive, there is nothing that will make you feel more alive than being able to provide for someone else’s need. The truth is, in the end, it’s not about what we have, it’s about how much love we gave to those who needed it.

With gratitude and hope,
Shawn

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A Clear View

As I watched the fog lift from the trail this morning, it made me think of this time of year. We can be so busy, with cluttered, foggy minds from all there is to do.

I wanted to invite you to join me today to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we create space in our day, even if a brief minute or two, to be still. As the sun helps lift the fog, may we invite God in to lift the fog in our minds and reveal to us what we need to do versus what we want to do.

God gave us enough time to do all we need to do, just not all the time for the extras that may be calling our name. May we gain clarity and be able to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ as needed so we have less foggy moments moving ahead. By choosing to be still with God, may we all see more clearly this beautiful season before us.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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A longer road than expected...

It’s a longer road than expected...

This morning I had the chance to coach one of my children’s basketball teams. As the game approached I found myself with a flashback to the last time I coached, which was when I was diagnosed. And our color of our team then? Yellow. Our teams color this year? Yellow.

I know it may sound silly to some but to those who, like me, have experienced triggers that can cause panic attacks, or for me today, trigger a memory of being diagnosed, I was struggling a bit internally this morning before going.

The road of healing is longer than I thought it would be. Treatments end. Life moves one. But there are still random triggers and healing that need to occur.

What did I choose to do? Show up.
I have learned in my journey with anxiety and cancer is to not believe the fears that try to grip my heart. To face them and tell them that my faith is bigger than the fear.

I share this with you today for anyone else whose has trigger moments that attempt, or do, paralyze us from moving forward.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

If the trigger is paralyzing you, extend yourself grace for where you are. But I encourage all of us to remember the trigger memory is a past event and isn’t necessarily the truth of our future experiences. When we are able, may we allow our faith to be big enough to face our fear. And like I experienced today, a new memory be born showing me I am moving forward and taking one more step away from the past. The road may be long, windy and bumpy, but may we keep moving forward, one step at a time.

And to these kids who are on my team, they may never know, but by showing up to encourage them weekly, they are a part of my continued healing. And I will be forever thankful to them for that💕🙏💝

With love and hope,
Shawn

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Lift People Up

Sipping on some tea as I wait in the car for my son to come out of practice. I just love what this says and in my heart truly believe we are here to do just this; encourage one another and lift each other up.

I hope you’ll join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we each absorb these words. For wherever we are headed, be it home, work, school, etc., how much more potent is our purpose there when we meditate on these words before arriving? May we let it sink in that we are here to help others rise up into who they were made to be. We may not be perfect at it but why not give it our best shot?

With love and hope,
Shawn

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Express Gratitude and Live Out Love

Two things God has taught me to practice that bring joy to my heart, especially when it is feeling heavy is to...

Express gratitude and live out love.

I share this with you as I am needing a shift in my thoughts today and in case some of you may need to shift your thoughts too.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we take time to write down or verbalize what we have to be grateful for. And if there is someone we are grateful for, lets let them know by telling them in person, in a text or by giving them a call. Yet if your heart is really heavy and you have trouble thinking of anything, start by giving thanks for the basics; clothing, food, shelter, etc.

And no matter our circumstances, may we choose to find ways to live out love towards others. I find when I can make someone else’s heart smile, my own heart smiles too. It doesn’t have to be anything big, a simple smile, sharing the compliment we are thinking, spend time with someone, lend a helping hand where it is needed, etc.

As we express gratitude and live out love we are living out purposes God has for us; to give thanks and to love others. I find when I let God lead me and practice giving thanks and living out love towards others, I experience more joy within.

I hope the same for you💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn

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Why Me?

Numerous people have asked me if I asked myself “why me?” when I was diagnosed with cancer.

My response has been, “better me than someone else.”

Yet today I asked myself, “why me?” as I attended a funeral of a husband and dad who is gone too soon.

Yes, I believe God has a purpose and a plan but it often doesn’t make sense to me. Why did he have to go and I get to stay? Why does my husband still have a spouse and my children a mom while others lose their loved ones?

I will never know the answers to those questions but I don’t take it lightly that I have been given this day and this life to live when others have fought hard yet lost their battle with cancer.

I hope you’ll join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we pause to hold every family in our hearts who has had a loved one pass. 

May we take a deep breathe and remember that there is life in us and to not take that for granted.

May we pray for the ones who lost their loved one and the path ahead of them. May we also pray that we live this day, and every day, in memory of every spouse, father and mother gone too soon. And may their families know that their loved ones may be gone but are not forgotten; their memory continues on in our hearts, giving us greater purpose and clarity to live out our days.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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Circle Back

Circle Back

We were back in Boston this weekend...for fun!

Yep, no appointments, no doctors just me and my crew enjoying the city that will forever hold a special place in my heart for being an important part of my healing💕🙏💕

As we walked the streets together, I was filled with gratitude towards this city, it’s people, and for how it was such an important role in my healing and our families healing. I will forever be grateful for my time here.

Yet it is time for our family to circle back to this beautiful city and see new sites and make new memories here. To watch them enjoy this space without the cloud of cancer over us was the best site for me to see.

And last night on our way home from exploring the North End when our youngest asked for a piggy back ride I had him hop on. And as I carried him around, skipping at times along the side walks because of the joy I felt in my heart, I reflected back to the last time I gave him a piggy back in Boston. It was when we all walked together to my last treatment together. (Yes, I gave him a piggy back on my way to my last treatment - it was pure adrenaline friends)

Yet now we have a new piggy back ride memory we made together and one that doesn’t involve cancer. Yesterday was about our family in Boston exploring this beautiful city and all it has to offer besides my corner of healing.

I share this with you today in case you too have a place that’s your Boston. Where cancer, or something else, became the central part of your memories there.

I invite you to join me to...

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

And when the time is right for you, I offer for you to consider circling back. May you choose to make new memories, not to negate the old but to take another step forwards. May we look at the past...

“Not as a anchor the drags us but as a rudder that guides us.” - Warren Wiersbe

May we keep moving forwards beside the ones we love.

With love and hope,
Shawn

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