In the Wait...

What to do in the wait, when things are uncertain, as we are experiencing today?

As someone who has experienced waiting, and not knowing the outcome of results more than I’d like to, here are three tools that help me, that I pray help you too.

1. Pause
We need to press pause on the stories, the fears, the worries, the google searches, refreshing websites, the scrolling social media. Instead may we choose to read, listen to, watch or do something that will diffuse the heavy and nourish our minds with truth and peace.

2. Breathe
May we take deep breaths and give thanks for the breath in our lungs. May we remember it is a gift to be here on this day. May we not allow the external circumstances that are out of our control to rule our hearts and minds and rob us this beautiful day we have been given. Instead may we take deep breaths to decrease the stress and increase our calm.

3. Pray
May we pray and have a conversation with God, sharing the realness of our hearts and the hope of the outcome we desire. Yet may we then open our hands and hearts and not cling to our desired outcomes, instead trusting His will.

And whatever the outcome is, may we go to God with whatever emotions we experience so we can sift through them. May we harness those emotions for good, and not harm. And may we remember that no matter our circumstances, our purpose to love God and love our neighbors remains the same💕🙏💕

With love, peace and hope,
Shawn

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7

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Let Love Rule

💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”
— Colossians 3:15

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Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween🎃

Love,
Georgia🐾

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Wonder and Joy

Sometimes it requires taking a step back, and seeing life through someone else’s eyes, to discover the wonder and the joy in the day❄️🎃

With love and hope,
Shawn

“And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
- Luke 5:26

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Palms Up

Whatever we are going through today, may we...

pause. breathe. pray.

And do our best to live out this truth while holding on to hope, that will anchor our souls.

With love and hope,
Shawn

Trust in God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him so He will make your path straight.
- Proverbs 3:5-6

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Choose to Love

Today I had to get a ctscan for my sinuses. It’s not a big deal. The lingering effects of radiation, yes, even three years later, are giving me sinus issues which I need to deal with.

As I walked down the hallway to get the scan, I passed these chairs marked, MRI, CTScan, XRay, etc. As I walked by the people in these chairs, I prayed for them.

Yet moments earlier I was sitting in the waiting room with people and didn’t think to pray for them.

What I realized is that seeing these signs on their chairs gave me a glimpse into their reality, and a reason to pray for them.

The truth is, every person we pass throughout our day has something they are going through. The thing is, there isn’t a sign on their chair, or on their back, telling us what they are going through.

I share this with you to invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

We do not need a sign to remind us that each person we pass throughout our day is going through something. May we visualize a blank sign on each person, know God knows their hearts, and pray for them. Even though we will never know the power of our prayers, we will know the transformative power of choosing to love others, even when we don’t know their story.

With love and hope,

Shawn

P.S. Give this a try...maybe even while waiting in line to vote🤷‍♀️💕🙏💕

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Mark 12:31

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Exciting News!

This news brought tears of joy to my eyes!

As a rare cancer survivor who fears having a recurrence, knowing there will be a place where people will be specifically working on treatments for these rare cancers is huge!

I am so grateful that @danafarber saw the need and took action to provide more options of care for these rare cancers. This is one of the first centers in the country dedicated to this💝

I didn’t think I could love Boston more, but I do💙💛

And although I pray it never comes back, just knowing this center will be there working towards specific therapies to help those who are fighting, brings a wave of gratitude and hope to my heart today.
💕🙏💕

With gratitude and hope,
Shawn

To learn more visit:
www.dana-farber.org/rareHNcancer

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Celebrate Other's Successes

Today my youngest was sitting at the computer and I heard him excitedly say, “wow, level 37!”

I asked him what he was talking about and he said, “someone in my class is at reading level 37. That’s epic!”
(He slid humor in there as he always does as the program they used is called Epic👏).

He sat there smiling, happy for his classmate, no judgement towards himself or jealousy showed. He simply was celebrating his classmates success with contentment with where he is.

I share this with you today because it was a beautiful thing to witness and a lesson so important for us to practice; celebrating one another’s successes.

I invite you to join me today to...

pause. breathe. pray.

The next time we hear of someone’s good news, may we notice that judgement towards ourselves, or jealousy, may naturally creep in. Yet instead may we pray for God to take those captive and instead choose to celebrate their success with them, and feel the joy and contentment in our heart, as Matt did.

With love and hope,
Shawn

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence...” - Psalm16:11

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Be Present with God

“God is with you wherever you go.”
- Joshua 1:9

#pausebreathepray #liveoutlove #livefromtheinsideout #actsoflove

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The Calm of God's Truth

Are you carrying around tension more and more these days?

I was too to the point my doctors told me I was stuck in the fight or flight response. I have been working for months to get out of it, mentally and physically.

Acupuncture has been a tool to help me undo the tension physically and a space where I can lay and pray aligning myself back with God, releasing the mental tension.

Something my acupuncturist shared with me which has been helpful is to think about how “The strongest and most consistent energy will be the most influencing energy.”

I share this to ask you the same question I have asked myself, “whose energy is influencing you today?” Is it your kids, your significant others, a person outside your home, or online? Is it fear, worry, frustration, anger?

If so, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we recognize that at the moment we are no longer attending to our own internal world, and allowing our relationship with God to be our strongest, most consistent and influential energy, we’ve given permission to allow other people’s energy to influence our internal world. May today we grow in awareness of this. Then let’s take a step away from letting other’s energy be what influences us. Instead, may we come back to the steady, calm of God’s truth, wisdom and love to dissolve the tensions within.

With love and hope,
Shawn

PS If you know someone who may benefit from this message today, tag them or send it their way💕

“He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, so He guided them to their desired haven.” - Psalm 107:29-30

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