🎈🎁🎉Today we are celebrating our adventurous, loving and radiant Kate turn 14!🎉🎁🎈
May the greatest gift she ever receives is to know how greatly she is loved by God, her family and her true friends.
In all these years of parenting, God has clearly showed me that although I am her Mom, and Stephen her Dad, we are not Kate’s (or our boys) only teachers in life. From our family and friends, to her teachers and coaches, there are others helping her grow into the future adult she is becoming.
I share this with you today to invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
I wanted to ask what wisdom you have to share with Kate as she steps into this new year, which will include going to High School?!
I appreciate the words of wisdom you have to offer our girl to help her grow into the person she was made to be.
With love and gratitude,
Shawn
Be a Bridge
On Sunday my daughter wasn’t feeling well so we left church. After we left she said something to me that struck me. She said, “Mom, I am sorry I took you away from church.”
The truth was, leaving church didn’t cross my mind. What her question did was make me pause, and see that from her perspective she may have thought I valued being at church as more important than helping her.
I responded letting her know that her being well was more important than being at church. Church is a place where we grow in faith but the truth of our faith is seen in our words and actions; by whether we choose to live out love towards others, no matter where we are. And if I chose to stay at church over choosing to help my daughter when she felt sick, the message our faith is founded on would have been lost, on me, and on her.
I share this with you because this short interaction with my daughter really captured my heart. It made me see that I will be a wall, or a bridge to faith for others based on my choices.
I won’t pretend that I have gotten, or will get, this right every time. Yet I clearly see from this brief conversation with my daughter that my words and actions could be a wall or bridge for her to faith.
I pray to be a bridge.
I share this with you because it is an important reminder to all of us that our words and actions may be the bridge someone needs to God, or we could be creating a wall between others and God. I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we be a bridge for others to God, reflecting the truth of God’s love and character, through our words and actions.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Life Is Beautiful
The other night I found myself on the sidelines of one of my kid’s practices, sipping my tea and talking with some friends. It hit me that these moments are what make life beautiful. Living fully isn’t about having the grandest experiences, but it is about fully showing up for the people and moments in the day.
And for me, that day it was showing up to drive the kids to and from places, doing the loads of laundry that were needed to be done, etc.
I think there is an expectation many of us hold, myself included, that our life needs to be full of things and experiences.
But what if in different seasons in our lives these little moments in our day are really the bigness life has to offer us?
I admit, these moments were becoming more of a checklist item than a joyful moment I was experiencing. Yet with this renewed lens I am seeing life through after my scans, I realized the fear of the cancer coming back had to do with not being able to experience these little moments with my loved ones.
I share this with you, in case these day to day moments have become tasks for you too. I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
May we recognize these little moments beside our loved ones are really the big things that make our lives beautiful.
With gratitude and love,
Shawn
A Truth About Scanxiety
Yesterday I thought I was going to implode at one point. I had my scans yesterday. The angst within started about two weeks ago, wondering if the scans would be clear or not.
The stories in my head were many; some freeing but many paralyzing. I had to sit with the unknown. I was praying through it but the unknown was like a thick wall that my prayers didn’t seem to break through.
Was it going to be back? Would I have to walk with cancer again? What did the future look like for me? For my family?
I had been shoving all of this down and then when I laid on the MRI table yesterday I just cried my heart out.
Literally.
To Mike, the MRI guy.
And once I laid down, to God.
I had never met a scan with this much fear. Usually I am able to lay there resting, palms up, trusting that whatever the outcome will be that God has it, and all will be well.
My head knew that truth, but it was not sinking beneath the surface. The fear, rather than my faith yesterday, was wide, long and deep.
I kept wavering between faith and fear. I had never been on such a seesaw of thoughts before. There was such a battle for my mind. Usually faith wins but yesterday fear gave its best fight yet.
When I got out of one scan, I moved to the next one. I dissected the words of the technicians. Knowing they can’t tell me anything, were their words telling me something?
My mind was a mess.
And then, once the scans were done, I needed to wait for the results. Thank God I needed to only wait an hour until I found out and for Stephen being there beside me to help me through it.
I sat in the doctors office unsure of what I’d hear. Unsure of what I’d have to tell our kids. Unsure of what tomorrow held.
With Stephen beside me every step of the way, he sat with me as the doctor said, “your scans look good.”
“What?!”
“Good?!?! Really? You are sure? My head? Neck? Chest? It’s all okay?!”
“Yes, it is,” the doctor shared.
And the tears of gratitude flowed.
The relief I experienced yesterday was unlike any I’ve known before. This morning I woke up and told Stephen I felt like I was walking on a cloud. I had no idea how much heaviness I had been holding on to leading up to those scans yesterday.
But I had been. And it was real. And it was heavy.
I am sharing this with you today because this is not just the truth of my heart, but the truth for many cancer survivors, scanxiety, as it’s called, is a real thing.
I pray that for my next scans, in six months, I will have more peace like I have had at my previous ones, and not be gripped with fear like I experienced yesterday. Yet I know today there is someone walking in the same shoes I was in yesterday.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
...for those are getting scans, and especially for those whose received news that they have to fight for the first time, or again.
May my sharing this truth give sight to see into the life of a cancer survivor. When treatment is done, the journey doesn’t end. I share this to raise awareness so when you hear someone is going for scans, on the outside it may not seem like much, yet on the inside, there may be a struggle of the heart and a battle in their mind, to find peace in the process.
And for me, I am breathing deeper today, giving thanks to God for the freedom this news brings. I realize, the past couple of weeks, I haven't really been living and now intend to do just that; live the fullest life I can. Because cancer or not, we never know what tomorrow brings. So let's go make the best of this day we have been given. 💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled
My heart and mind needed to hear this this morning and I thought I’d share in case you needed to hear this too💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
Share Your Story
Don’t be afraid to share your story with others. You will never know how your story may benefit those who hear it until you share it.
Take a moment to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
Who is someone that would benefit from hearing your story? Consider sharing it with them as it may be helpful for them, and healing for you.💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
You are Never Alone
Last night I shared my story with a group of people to encourage them that our struggles can have purpose. At the end of the conversation one of the attendees said to me, “you talked about circles of love around you, but my family is gone, and I don’t have those circles.”
My heart broke.
This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last that I hear this. And what breaks my heart is that I know there are people ready to be this person’s circle of love & yet there this person sat, in a room full of people, feeling alone.
I share this with you today because there are people we may pass every day, or we are that person, who feels alone & that there aren’t circles of love around them.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
As hard as this truth can be to hear, may we recognize there are people who feel this way; alone on a island. There may also be people who do have people around them yet who still feel alone. We may not know the truth of someone’s heart so why not do what we can do to shine a light of love into the hearts we pass today in case they may be hurting?
May we give that smile to the person we pass by, say hello to the person beside us in line, engage in a conversation with someone we see often but have not taken the time to be present with them, invite our neighbor over, remind loved ones that we love them and are thinking of them, & are here for them, if/when they ever need it, etc.
If you are the person feeling isolated & alone, please hold on to hope & reach out for help; whether it is to your local social services department, calling a warm line in your area to be able to talk with someone, stop by a local church/place of worship, etc.; know there are people who are ready your circles of love. It may be a hard first step to reach out but please do it.
May we also remember that God stands at the door of our hearts knocking, ready for us to invite Him in to be that inner circle of love for us every day. For when we do, no matter whether we are in a room with 100 people or by ourselves, by opening that door & growing that relationship, we can come to know, & trust, that we are truly never alone.
With love & hope,
Shawn
Today Is A Gift
This week I have had a number of conversations with people whose stories are hard to swallow; from a mom who shared she lost a child to suicide, a friend with ACC who has it for the second time, a mom whose child has a rare brain cancer, to a teen who is so stressed out its hard for them to meet each day.
Hearing their stories is heavy, yet We are here to love one another and walk beside each other through the sunny and stormy days in life. And speaking with each of them reminds me of this simple truth that can escape us when when we are in the sunny days.
This day is a gift.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
We do not know what tomorrow holds. And when we aren’t close to the edge ourselves, or near others who are, we can easily get swept away in the busy and miss the simple truth that today is a gift. May we take this moment to slow down. To feel the breath in our lungs, our feet on the floor, and really look at the person beside us. May we be present in this day, as a gift to ourselves, and those around us. May we walk through this day unwrapping every breath, smile, and interaction as the gift they are💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
“Teach us to number our days so we may gain a heart of wisdom.” - Psalm 90:12
Happy Valentine's Day
Love is...
patient,
kind
Love does not envy
Love does not boast
Love is not proud.
Love does not dishonor others
Love is not self-seeking
Love is not easily angered
Love keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Love always...
protects,
trusts,
hopes,
perseveres.
Love never fails.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
May we choose to live out love towards ourselves, and every person we interact with today, and everyday.
And even though we may not be perfect at living out love, wouldn’t it be beautiful if this was the foundational norm for us all?❤️🙏❤️
Happy Valentine’s Day, friend❣️
With love,
Shawn
Walk with Confidence and Care
I took this picture back in the fall on a family hike. Our youngest always takes the more challenging path when we are on our hikes.
Where there is a smooth trail, you’ll find him on the rocky trail next to it.
When there is a marked path, he will be trailblazing his own.
When there are stairs to the top, he instead finds the wall to climb.
I share this with you today in case you find yourself on a rocky trail, an unmarked path or climbing up a mountain in life.
What I have witnessed with Matt is that he never questions if he can is able to handle those challenging paths, he walks with confidence and care on them as if he is equipped for them.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
Whatever challenging path we are currently on, may we, like Matt, walk with confidence and care trusting God made us able for this path ahead of us.
With love and hope,
Shawn