I saw this while driving this morning and stopped to capture these powerful words.
I am passing them along to you as I thought you’d appreciate them as well.💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
Focus on the Light
Recently on my walk with Georgia I was sorting through all the heavy things going on in life, in my world and in the world. I know for me, if I keep my eyes and ears focused on these things, it can weigh me down and I can get stuck.
What I need to do to offset the dark is to shine some light on it.
How?
By focusing my eyes and ears on God’s truth. It helps calm the storms that can stir in my mind and sets my feet on a solid foundation to live from; rather than in the quick sand I can feel like I am in when I allow fear, instead of faith, to lead me.
I share this with you today in case you too are feeling the weight of things happening in your world, and/or the world. May we take a moment to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we take a step back and look, without judgement, at what our eyes and ears have been focused on. May we ask ourselves, “is it serving us well?” If the answer is no, may we reassess how we can be more intentional and directional on letting the light in. For me, that is to focus in on God’s love and truth. When we are able to take our gaze off the darkness and focus on the light of truth, it will shine hope and perspective into the darkness, allowing the heaviness to lighten, and give us more peace.
With love and hope,
Shawn
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
-John 8:12
Positively Impact Others
Our youngest is doing a report on Jackie Robinson. He found this quote and shared it with me today.
I thought I’d share it with you as the wisdom it speaks is meant to be shared.
What if impacting others in a positive way became a primary focus in all our lives?
How would that impact our world?
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we give thanks for the wisdom in these words. May we live out their truth and positively impact other’s lives; within our homes, in our communities, while at work and beyond.
And may we recognize that as much as we hope to help our kids rise into their best self, they may have things to share with us that help us rise into our best self too.💞
With love and hope,
Shawn
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” - John 15:12
Pour Truth Into Their Hearts
Today we had three basketball games for our three kids. I get to be head coach for one of our kids, and an assistant coach for another. There is something so rewarding about coaching our kids, and their teammates.
Why?
Because as a coach, we get to teach them about life’s truths by playing the game. Life truths such as...
- show up & give your personal best
- help your teammates rise up to do
their best
- work together
-communicate with one another
- have fun
-stop making excuses and find solutions to what isn’t working
- do the little things to make the big
things happen
- at the end, make sure you gave it
your all
- and more
I share this with you in case you get a chance in some way to pour life’s truth into the hearts of those next in line. I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
Let’s seize these opportunities that come our way. May we do what we can from where to are to positively impact the next generation and speak life’s truths into them. May we let them know we are for them and want to help them realize their true potential, on and off the court.
With love and hope,
Shawn
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3-4
Be Lead By Wisdom
Leaning into this truth has been transformative for me in so many ways; as an individual, a wife, a mom, and more.
I share it with you today in case you needed to hear it as well.
There will be moments, days, and seasons that challenge us. In those times, may we...
pause. breathe. pray.
And not allow our wavering emotions lead us but instead stand on the solid truth of wisdom as our guide.
With love and hope,
Shawn
"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you." - James 1:5
Something New Is Growing
This scene describes where I was 10 years ago. I was in the pit of anxiety and depression feeling bare within. At the time I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get out of the pit.
Yet in that raw season, with the help of the love of my family, a therapist, meds, and a walk back to faith, I recognized that I had always been following other people’s paths in life and had never actually tried to find my own.
It was in this trying season 10 years ago I made the commitment to myself to start seeking my path in life and stop following other people’s.
I share this with you today in case you too find yourself following other people’s paths, and/or the trends of culture around you, yet feel bare within.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we recognize that, like these trees, there is something within us waiting to grow. May we stop following other people’s path and start following our own. May we nourish ourselves from the inside out with knowledge, wisdom and courage so we may follow the path God has for each of us so we may grow into the person we were made to be. And may we encourage others to do the same.💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”- Psalm 119:105
🎉 Happy New Year🎉
🎉 Happy New Year🎉
May we each enter this new year doing what is ours to do, and make sure we take time to...
pause. breathe. pray.
to be sure we give room for God to do what is His to do.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Merry Christmas
May the reason we celebrate this special day be the foundation of our day today, and every day. And may we give thanks for the gift of sharing this day with our loved ones, whether they are near or far...or for the gift of the memories we have of our loved ones that live in our hearts.
Merry Christmas🎄🙏✝️
With love and hope,
Shawn
Pray for Others
This week I went to a new dentist, and had a new hygienist, as my old dentist retired. It may not seem like a big deal to many, yet when you have a mouth like mine, without a palate, and have to expose your wounds to a new person, it stirred up some anxiety within me.
As I laid on the chair, I circled back through many of the techniques I learned through my walk with cancer to help bring calm to the storm of my mind; putting my palms up, picturing the circles of love around me, praying for others, etc.
As I put those tools into practice, my mind grew quiet enough to hear the voices nearby. What I heard captured my attention immediately. A person was told they needed to go and get a ct scan that day to check out something.
My heart dropped. I’ve been the patient who was told they saw something and to get a ct scan that day.
It was in that moment that I knew that I was in that chair in this new space for a reason that day. I was there to pray for this person nearby. Though I never saw his face, and he’ll never know I was praying for him, God gave me enough peace of mind to tune out my anxiety to tune into to someone who needed love and prayer.
I share this with you today in case you too are experiencing anxiety of some kind and/or your thoughts are circling around and around a situation. I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we recognize that sometimes our angst keeps our minds circling and our eyes on ourselves. This is normal and natural. Yet what I have learned in life is often our angst can take us away from our purpose, to love others beside us.
The truth is someone beside us needs love today. Whether it is someone in our family, a friend, or a stranger you may overhear saying something close by.
May we do what we can to lift our eyes up and be a light of love their way, even if it’s a prayer in the silence of our hearts. May we be part of their healing, and allow them to be part of ours.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Circling Back
I was invited back to my High School to speak with the students and staff about how our struggles can lead to our purpose.
To be given the opportunity to speak into the hearts of the people in our community allowed me to come full circle. When I walked the halls of this school, as friendly as I was on the outside, I struggled within with anxiety and depression. To be able circle back to share my story with the students there and let them know it’s okay to not be okay, but there is hope and help, is something I will forever be grateful for.
I know culture tells us to go big or go home. Yet I am thankful to go home, because the people in our own communities matter. When we build one another up, in our homes and in our communities, we are living as we were meant to; loving others and doing what is ours to do to help others rise up into their best self.
I share this with you today because you too have endured struggles.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we consider seeing what we have learned from our struggles and circle back with someone who is going through a similar struggle and share those lessons with them. By doing this may they know they are not alone and may it give them hope to hold on to to anchor their soul. May we see that our struggle may have lead to this purpose; to help those beside us and those next in line.
And if you are in the midst of a struggle, I get you may not be in the place to help someone else right now. Please know it’s okay to not be okay. Hold on to hope and please reach out for help. You matter💕🙏💕
With gratitude, love and hope,
Shawn