Happy New Year

We are finishing 2021 in quarantine like so many others. One of the many things this year has taught me is where I look matters. And for quite some time this year my eyes have been focused on the unknowns, the uncertainties, etc. Yet these past five days in quarantine have reminded me that there will always be wind and waves in life, yet we’re not meant to stare at the waves and wind, but above them.

And so as we close out this unique year, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

As we enter this New Year, 2022, may we give thanks for another year. May we aim to seek God first this year, above the wind and waves of the unknowns and uncertainties. For we will never have the peace we desire when we are focused on struggle. Yet we will find peace when we look to God, who is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.

Cheers friends to a year of wellness, health, peace, blessings and keeping our eyes fixed above our circumstances, on God.

Happy New Year!

With love and hope,

Shawn

Matthew 14:29-33

May Your Soul Know Its Worth

I have been listening to Christmas music for at least a month now. These lyrics caught my attention recently. I figured I would share them in case you sing along and don’t pay attention to half the words you sing, like I do most of the time.

I invite you to join me this Christmas Eve to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May these words remind us where our worth lies and that we have a reason to remain hopeful and rejoice, even when we are weary.

Merry Christmas Eve, friends!

With love,

Shawn

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - Romans 12:12

It's Okay to Be Broken

I am broken.

A dear friend said these words to me this week. In hearing my friend’s heart, I shared too that I had been feeling broken as well. I don’t share this for pity or sympathy for me or my friend, but to recognize and honor that people feel broken - even during the “most wonderful time of the year.”

In this raw and honest conversation, I heard my friend’s heart and I freely shared mine.

It was refreshing to stop trying to present myself as whole.

Everyday so many of us present ourselves as whole to our families, friends, co-workers, online, etc.

Yet what life has taught me is that we aren’t meant to be whole- in our attempt to be whole is part of what hurts us - rather than admitting our brokenness which is part of what will heal us.

This beautiful quote from has been on my heart since the conversation.

“The seed breaks to give us the wheat. The soil breaks to give us the crop, the sky breaks to give us the rain, the wheat breaks to give us the bread. And the bread breaks to give us the feast.”

- @annvoskamp , The Broken Way

These nourishing words remind me that there is beauty in the brokenness. God will take what is broken and use it for good, in time. We just need to invite Him into the brokenness and stop trying to be whole and doing it all on our own.

If you too are feeling broken, or know someone who is, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we allow ourselves to be broken. As Ernest Hemingway said, “We are all broken. That’s how the light gets in.”

We live in a broken world and are broken people. As I said to my friend, “there is always something going on with ourselves or someone we care about, right?”

But let us not lose heart in the brokenness. That is why Jesus was born. To bring light into the darkness. To bring healing and peace this world will not give us.

May we stop trying to be whole and allow ourselves to admit our brokenness. And into that brokenness, may we invite God in so His light of love can help us heal, and direct our steps.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Bring the Joy

Yesterday I had a student come up to me all excited. “Mrs. George, I brought joy to my friend!”

I repeated what I thought I heard to make sure I heard her right. “You brought joy to your friend?”

“Yes!” my student said excitedly.

Then she proceeded to share how she brought her friend joy by inviting her to read with her after her friend had been disappointed about something.

Bringing joy to others.

What a beautiful thought and practice.

I share this with you today to invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

In this season of giving, may we think beyond the thing in which we give, and consider if we are bringing joy to others. And maybe it isn’t even something we bring to someone that will bring them joy. Maybe bringing joy to someone is giving them our presence, and even reading beside them, as was the case with my students.

With love and joy,

Shawn

“And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

- Matthew 2:9-10

Surrender Expectations

Do any of you set unrealistic expectations for yourself?

Me too.

I found myself saying these words one day recently as I was overwhelmed by what I expected of myself. I realized I needed to surrender my expectations to reality and truth. When I stepped back and saw what I was expecting of myself and the reality of the amount of time I had, I saw how unrealistic my expectations were. The truth is God gave us a finite amount of time each day. He gave us enough time to do the things we need to do, but there isn’t always enough time to do all we want to do.

If you too find yourself having unrealistic expectations of yourself, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we come to prayer to have God help us sift through what we need to do versus all we want to do. May we surrender our expectations to reality and truth to give us a fresh perspective we can walk through this season with. And when our minds try and trick us that we can do all we want to do, may we remind ourselves we don’t have to do and be it all everyday. That’s not our job, it’s God’s.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. - Psalm 90:12

Our Story Magazine Winter 2021 Issue

As it is with life, one day one can have a heavy heart and another day a joyful one. Well friends, today there is joy in my heart as I get to announce a new project I am excited and honored to be a part of.

Our Story Magazine is a brand new, faith based magazine designed to bring you hope and inspiration in the different seasons of your life.

This magazine is filled with words, pictures, poems, recipes and more that will nourish your mind and soul. I am so grateful to have been asked to contribute and have a pause. breathe. pray. section!

If you are looking for a special gift to give to a loved one, or need a small gift to add to your own list, consider getting a digital or print copy of Our Story Magazine!

To celebrate this joyful occasion, I’d love to give two copies away to two of you. If you are interested in being put in the raffle, put a heart in the comments of this post by this Tuesday night. I will post in these comments on Wednesday who won the two free copies.

Thanks for celebrating this exciting day with me and if you choose to, sharing these words of hope and inspiration with others!

With joy and hope,

Shawn

To order a copy of Our Story Magazine visit:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MJW8ZCS?ie=UTF8...

To learn more about Our Story Magazine, visit: https://www.ourstorymagazine.com

Faith Over Fear

Yesterday was a rough day for me. I often hesitate to share this side of my story. I am choosing to share this today so others know they aren’t alone and to raise awareness of the reality of what being a cancer survivor can be like.

The other day I noticed something looked off on the side of my tongue in the back. I compared it to the other side and they looked different. The rational side of me said it’s probably nothing but my anxious mind grew louder than the logic and my thoughts started to snowball…

Oh my goodness, what if it’s back?

I made an appointment with my dentist to be diligent and get eyes on it that would be able to tell me the truth. I had my appointment yesterday. After my dentist looked at my tongue he thought it was best that I go to an oral surgeon to have it checked out. Thankfully I was able to get in with a local oral surgeon yesterday afternoon.

As I waited for those couple hours in between appointments I prayed a little but my anxious thoughts hijacked my mind.

What if it is back? And in my tongue? Will I be able to talk? Will I be able to teach?

Relax, God’s with you and will help you no matter the outcome.

But what if it is back will I be around to see my kids graduate from High School? College?

And on and on the layers of questions came flooding in more than the prayers.

Tears fell from my eyes as I sat there with the oral surgeon and he confirmed that all was well and no biopsy was needed.

Words can’t describe the relief I felt.

I know what it feels like for my faith to be bigger than my fear. It wasn’t yesterday. I pray for the fear of a recurrence to go away. I pray that my trust in God, and His peace, rule my heart and mind everyday. It’s easier said than done, yet I know it’s possible with God’s help.

Please know I don’t share this for sympathy. I share this in case you are a cancer survivor and have had these moments too. Please know you aren’t alone. And for those who have a loved one who is a cancer survivor please know that the fear of a recurrence is real for many of us.

They say the fear passes eventually. I pray it does for any of you, and for me.

In the meantime, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we be diligent about our health yet may the fear of a recurrence not rule our hearts. May we give God the fear today (and as often as needed) and chose to put our energy into trusting God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. For when we allow our trust in God to be greater than the fear we will live more freely in each beautiful day we’ve been given.

With love and hope,

Shawn

-Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust in me also. - John 14:1

Pause and Look Around

Today I drove my typical route from work to get Gav at school. On the way I turned my head to the left and saw this beautiful, open field.

I have driven this route almost daily since September and I had never noticed this field.

It made me pause to realize that I am often on my way to where I am going but am not fully present where I am.

When Gav got in the car I told him the story. His response to me was “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Cleverly quoting Ferris Bueller.

I share this with you in case you too find yourself on the go, moving fast and missing what’s around you. I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we consider these wise words. Even though life moves fast it doesn’t mean our minds need to. May we do our best to stop and look around where we are so we don’t miss the beauty, or wisdom, around us.

With love and hope,

Shawn

The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

- Matthew 6:22

Let's Have More Experiences Than Excuses

Dedicated to the tradition, even in the rain

This morning we admittedly had a moment where we thought about postponing getting our tree today due to the rain. Yet we unanimously decided to go.

When I pause to think about my hesitancy, I saw how it’s so easy it is for me to come up with an excuse to not do something rather than equip myself to go and do it.

Can you relate to being this way at times in life? If so, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Everyday there are experiences God has waiting for us. May we pray to be equipped for the experiences instead of making up excuses. For at the end of the day when we choose to lay down the excuses we often find ourselves grateful for the experiences, as our family will tonight.

With love and hope,

Shawn

PS Local friends, if you don’t have a place you go cut trees down at, visit @holidayfarmct in New Hartford. We go every year and have never left disappointed

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

- Psalm 95:2

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

There are so many people and things to be grateful for. One thing I am grateful for is being able to get together with my family this past weekend after not all being together for 2 1/2 years.

Time is the best gift we can give one another. May we give thanks for - and treasure - our times together.

With gratitude and hope,

Shawn