This season I put too much on my plate and I am spread thin. I am learning from it yet am still in the thick of the busy most days for a few more weeks.
The other day I read something that referenced this picture titled, “Grace.” This picture hung in my kitchen as a kid. A few years ago I saw it in my parent’s attic and asked if I could have it. It has been hanging in our dining room since.
Yet, like many things, just because it’s there, it doesn’t mean I pause to appreciate it’s value.
So when I read about the picture I walked into the dining room and just paused to look at it.
The simplicity.
The gratitude.
The lesson.
Grace.
I share this with you today, in case you too are in a busy season. I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we pause to look at this picture and capture its depth and richness. Even if things aren’t simple right now, may we pause long enough to see what we have to be grateful for. And as we look to the next season ahead of us, if simplicity is something we need for ourselves and/or those around us, may we do what is ours to do to make that happen.
Gratitude. Simplicity. Grace.
May they nourish our souls.
With gratitude and hope,
Shawn
Celebrate Someone Else
In their last social media posts, Kobe Bryant and his daughter both were celebrating someone else’s success.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we each take a moment to see if there is something we can learn from that truth.
With love,
Shawn
💕🙏Prayers to all who have lost loved ones this week publicly, or privately🙏💕
Future Promises
Three years ago today my ENT found my tumor. When I replay that day in my head, so many emotions come up. I have allowed myself to be in those for a bit this morning. Yet I won’t allow myself to live there all day because, as I have learned, this day is a gift, as is every one we get. The one emotion I am going to choose to hold onto is gratitude. I am beyond grateful to be here today to experience this day with my family.
I share this with you today for the awareness that survivors, of all kinds, have days like this. Where a date can bring us back to our past and have us replay in our heads hard moments. Please just be present with us on these days, and know you don’t need to fix things, or try to make it better. Sometimes we just need to move through these moments, as a continued part of our healing.
And for those of you who have these days, like I do, I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
And may we live out the truth in these words. May we allow ourselves to go back to that day but may we not allow the pain of our past to speak louder than the promises of our future. And for those who can still get paralyzed at the idea of what our future looks like, like I can sometimes, may we trust in God’s plan and promises, more than our own plans or expectations. By trusting in God’s promises may all be well in our soul so we can make the best of this day, and life, we have been given.💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.” -Proverbs 3:5-6
Last Drink
Three years ago today Stephen and I sat on these chairs. We were on our first trip to Nashville and enjoying a drink together on our last night.
What we didn’t know at the time, was that the trip was a gift, the calm before a storm in life, and that that drink would be my last. The day after we got back from this trip is when the doctor found my tumor. I was determined to attack cancer from every angle, which for me included no longer having alcohol.
I wasn’t much of a drinker to begin with but I’d have one here and there. After making this choice three years ago, I have not invited alcohol back into my life.
Why?
Because what I’ve recognized is the only time I have considered having a drink over the past three years is when I am overwhelmed with life’s circumstances.
For example, this summer when I thought the cancer may be back, and I had a couple of other extra life layers that were heavy on my heart, I found myself wanting a drink.
I realized that if I chose to have a drink, it would be to escape reality. Yet that same reality would be there for me after the drink, so having the drink wasn’t the solution. The one thing that I have found to turn to that actually helps lighten the heavy is to pause. breathe. pray.
Also, just as I noticed with my walk with cancer, my kids are watching me and how I respond to life’s challenges. And if it’s true that our children are more likely to do as we do, and not as we say, then my hope is to have them see me pray when life circumstances overwhelm me, and not me turning towards a substance; in hopes they may make a similar choice one day.
I am choosing to share my story today in case any of you can relate to what I have witnessed about myself over these three years, and you too are tempted to turn to a drink when the layers of life feel too heavy.
I invite you to join me, and the next time you are overwhelmed by life's circumstances and you have the desire to turn to a substance, like alcohol, to lighten the load, rather than reaching for it, consider...
pausing. breathing. praying.
And not pick it up. Instead, I invite you to sit with me in the heaviness and patiently persevere through it. May we be courageous and invite others in to help and support us through it as well. I know this isn’t the easier choice in the moment, but I have found it is the choice that leads to greater freedom within, in the long term.
Please know I am not here to judge any of your choices. I am simply sharing my story to show another path is available, other than turning to a substance, as an option to handle life’s heaviness.
May we recognize that life will have its challenges. In the heavier times, and in the lighter times too, may the choices we make lead us onto solid ground. Yes, the best choices for us may be the hardest ones to make in the moment, but may we create a support system around us to help us and trust the long term freedom we can have is worth the short term struggle💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
PS If you think you may be addicted to alcohol, or another substance, please hold on to hope and reach out for help to those you love and/or to places like SAMHSA’s National helpline at 18006624357. Also, there are sobriety coaches like my friend Laura Ward Coaching who have walked the walk and are on the other side helping others stay sober. It is humbling and hard to ask for help yet if you know you need help, please take that first bold step towards your healing. With love and hope, Shawn
Find My Soul
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” - John Muir
Sign of Wisdom
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