Moments of Peace

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My current view🐶🎄

I am grateful for the moments of peace that call my name in the midst of a busy minded day. If your mind (and body) have been going too, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we seek moments of stillness to renew our mind. Wherever we are, standing, sitting or laying down, may we pause and connect to our present space in mind, body and Spirit.

May we take a breather from the chaos, even if it’s only in our minds, and breathe and be, even if for a moment...

With love and hope,
Shawn

Beautiful Work

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❄️Just like life, the snow is beautiful and there is work to do❄️

Practice Gratitude

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May our practice of gratitude continue today, and every day💕🙏💕

I hope you had a lovely day yesterday with loved ones, as we did. As much as I enjoyed the time with loved ones, there were a number of people on my heart who I know are having a challenging time this holiday season. For example, one person I know is having their first holidays without their loved one, and another shared how the holidays trigger her loneliness. These friend’s stories, along with others, remind me that the holidays aren’t all what we hope them to be for everyone.

I am writing to ask you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we pray for those who are struggling with the holidays season being here. We may not know everyone’s story but may we send love their way. And if there is something we are able to do to lift someone’s spirit during this season, may love move us into action.

With gratitude, love and hope,

Shawn

Show Me the Way

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On a family hike, I captured this moment when Stephen was pointing out directions to our youngest.  Matt stood there listening and absorbed all Stephen was sharing with him.

This moment captured my heart.  Just as Stephen took the time to be a guide to Matt, I was reminded that God is there for us to direct and guide us everyday.

We need only be still and listen.

That sounds lovely right?  But so much else calls for our attention, including our struggle, which makes the practice of living this out challenging. 

Yet where is our attention best spent to experience the peace and joy this day has for us; staring at the struggle, or on God and His truth?

Experience has shown me, the latter is where my time is best spent.  I know all the other things are already calling our attention today so I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we be directional with our time today and take the time to be still with God, even if it’s for a minute.  May we grow this practice every day so rather than allowing ourselves, our struggles, or our schedule lead us, we can get back to God being the guiding light in our days.

With love and hope,

Shawn

“Show me your ways, God, teach me your paths.” - Psalm 25:4

All Will Be Accomplished In His Timing

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Tonight when I sat down for a cup of tea I saw this quote and the truth in it made me smile💝

If you, like me, try to hurry things along, consciously or subconsciously, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we surrender our timing to God’s. In our world of instant gratification, may we practice patience and delayed gratification. May we let go of what isn’t ours to do and seek what is ours to do in the process. May we trust that God is working and that in time all that needs to be accomplished will be. And from choosing to believe, and live out, these truths, may we find ourselves more at peace within💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn


“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Surrender and Trust

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Two things I have chosen to lean into recently are trusting God and surrendering my desired outcome to His will.

What does this mean?

When I was walking with cancer, I vividly remember sharing with God my honest, raw heart of what I wanted, yet then I told God that even though I wanted a certain outcome, I trusted His will was best.

This truth I learned in my walk with cancer is still true in any current struggle of mine, and yours.  Yet sometimes I can be so thick in the midst of the struggle, I unknowingly allow the struggle to rule my heart instead of God.

If you can relate, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we acknowledge that maybe we have been in the thick of our struggle that we forgot to really let God in.  May we take our eyes and ears off the struggle and turn them back to God.

May we know that God loves us enough that we can bring our honest, raw hearts before Him and He hears us and still loves us. May we then lay down our struggle and our desired outcome before Him.  May we know our job isn’t to take control of our lives, but to bring our lives before Him.  Then may we...

“Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, in all our ways (may we) acknowledge him and He will make our paths straight.”- Proverbs 3:5-6

May our trust and surrender to His will comfort us and then may we see our best next step forward.

With love and hope,

Shawn

The Bare Season Will Pass

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The past week and a half have been challenging. I won’t be sharing the details as they aren’t just mine to share. My inner world has felt much like this scene, bare.

I have been wrestling through heavy emotions and seeking God to show me His truth and the lessons I am learning through in this season.

Some days my heart is filled with hope and other days I get stuck in the negative thought patterns.

This is the truth of my heart. 

Yet I know I am not alone, as there is someone out there right now in the same struggle. I share this with you today, not for sympathy, but because we need to know others go through this too. And yes, although I spend my days encouraging others, the truth behind my words of encouragement come because of I have experienced struggles, not because I have been without them.  And so a new struggle is before me and I know God will get me through, in time.

Whether you or someone you know has moments, days or is in a season of emptiness, I invite you to join me to... pause. breathe. pray.

As I walked along the bare trail this morning I felt like God was showing me that this emptiness I have experienced recently is preparing me for something new to grow, in time.  Just as in time this trail will once again will be bursting with life, the same is true for you, and for me.

As hard as it may be to be thankful through the struggles, may we practice gratitude and give thanks for the bare seasons and what they teach us.  Rather than letting our emotions rule us, may we seek God’s truth as our compass, and the lessons we are learning. May we do this so when the time comes, we can use this experience to help someone else and scatter the seeds of truth and love we have learned their way.  May our experience then give hope to others that their bare season will pass in time, and something new will grow for them too.

With love and hope,

Shawn

“...Be transformed by the renewing of your mind...” - Romans 12:2

Use Your Time Wisely

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“You only have a certain amount of time, use it wisely,” were words that I heard come out of my mouth this morning.  I was trying to encourage my youngest to get ready so we’d make it on time for the bus.

Yet as soon as I heard those words, I realized they were for me too.  I am sharing them with you in case some of you also need to hear these words this morning.

I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

We only have a certain amount of time in this day, in this week, in our lives.  May we choose to use our time wisely.  May we make a list of who and what matters most to help give us direction on what to say yes to and where we need to say no.  May we know where we need to be versus where we want to be.  May we do this so when we get to the end of our day, our week and our life, we will look back with a content heart not wishing we had done things differently.💕🙏💕

With love and hope,

Shawn

When It Matters to Someone You Love...

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Sometimes you need to do something you don’t want to do because it matters to someone you love🎣💝