The Climb is Worth the View

I was reminded again today that sometimes the breathless, uphill climb can lead to something beautiful on the other side.

I share this with you today because I know everyone has their own uphill story to share. If you are feeling breathless recently about what you - or others - are going through, I wanted to invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Rather than keep moving, let’s take a moment to pause and catch our breath. Let’s invite God in to help equip us with what we need to persevere and endure on the path ahead. And even when we can’t see what’s on the other side, may we trust that God will show us the beauty on the other side, in time.

With love and hope,
Shawn

Prepare the Heart and Mind

Preparing the heart and mind.

This is something that’s been on my mind recently. It’s been so lovely having everyone home this summer, but soon that will change when Kate and Gavin head off to college next month.

It’s easy to be in the moment and soak up the goodness of time together with our crew.

Thinking of what’s to come is something I could easily avoid addressing. Life has taught me, though, avoiding what needs to be addressed isn’t beneficial.

So instead of avoiding the inevitable, I allow myself to have moments as they come, knowing the time together now is precious and fleeting. And I pray for God to prepare all our hearts and minds for what’s to come. Each of our experiences will be different, and as life does, there will be highs and there will be lows.

Inviting God in to prepare our hearts and minds is my way of saying that though this process may be wavy, God is like the horizon we can look to as a steady calm to help us along the way.

I share this with you today if you too are in a transitional time, or have one coming. I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Let’s not avoid what we need to address. May we ask God to prepare our hearts and minds for what’s to come and trust, even when we don’t see things working, He is at work within us.

With love and hope,
Shawn

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. #philippians 4:5-7

Let's be willing to be refined, from the inside out

Please don’t let the shirt fool you. I am a work in progress. The truth is it took me thirty minutes to get out the door today for my training run.

The inner resistance is real. Staying home and following my excuses instead of the training plan is ridiculously tempting.

But staying comfortable will not help me strengthen and refine my mind, body, and soul.

Choosing to do what is uncomfortable and pushing towards the resistance is where refinement and growth happen.

I share this with you today in case you’ve been talking yourself out of something you know is beneficial for you. If so, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Let’s remember that temptations and excuses will always be there. But often what is easier in the short term will lead us further from where we seek to be in the long term.

May we invite God in to give us wisdom, strength and whatever else we need to take the harder, wiser step forward. And like the run this morning, may we allow ourselves to be refined from the inside out, so that we can grow more fully into the resilient person God made us to be.

With love and hope,
Shawn

A Place for Sam was read to kids in Kenya this summer!

Yesterday I received this beautiful picture from Jan, the illustrator of my children’s book, A Place for Sam. Her daughter is teaching in Kenya this summer and shared our book with the kids, and they loved it! Seeing this picture made me happy cry to see the joy in the children’s faces. They heard, but more importantly received the message in the book that they are each unique, valued, loved, and every one of them matters in their home, community, and beyond🌎

It’s such a blessing that our book’s message continues to reach kids’ hearts, near and far🙏

I wanted to share this joyful picture with you and remind you that God made you on purpose, with purpose, and your “puzzle piece” matters as well🧩

I pray whoever reads this post, or A Place for Sam, receives this truth. Also, let’s choose to speak this truth into others’ hearts, through our words, and by our actions. May we, like Sam in the story, recognize that we are here to connect to those beside us and come together to make a difference. Let’s spend our time and energy speaking truth and life into one another. Let’s build each other up, from the inside out, so that we live more fully as the people God made us to be, while encouraging others to do the same.

With love and hope,
Shawn

PS To read A Place for Sam, CLICK HERE. Listen. Absorb the message. And feel free to pass the link along to anyone that comes to mind who needs to hear the book’s message, no matter their age💕🙏🧩

A Humbling Experience

This morning was a 12 mile run with these two lovely ladies for the marathon training.

Running is humbling in itself. Running with others is a humbling experience in its own way. I prefer to run alone usually but the heart of that is because I fear failing in front of others and having others seeing my flaws. Yet growth happens when we allow our true selves to be seen by others.

And a beauty in life is when others see that side of us, and they accept and love us where we are and for who we are.

I share this with you to share this milestone in training and more importantly as a reminder that we weren’t meant to do life alone.

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

We were made to be in community. And yes, that may require our weaknesses and flaws to be exposed but there is beauty in being seen, heard and accepted for who we really are, flaws and all.

May we be willing to be seen for who we really are, and also, be the people that choose to love - and not judge - others for who they really are.

With love and hope,
Shawn

Happy 13th Birthday to Matt!

🎉I can’t believe I am saying this but it’s official, Matt’s a teen🎉 Happy 13th Birthday to Matt!🥳

Today Matt got a card from a good friend. In the card his friend gave him advice about being a teen. He told Matt the most important thing is to keep being himself. And if he finds himself not being able to be himself around others, they probably aren’t the right friends for him.

I loved that advice and thought it wasn’t just relevant for Matt, but for all of us.

I pray Matt takes these wise words, and we do too, to heart, so that we live fully, and freely as the person God made us to be. And Matt continues to be the fun-loving, adventurous, creative, thoughtful, witty old soul he is.

With love and hope,
Shawn

An Unexpected Joy Within

Yesterday when I picked Matt up from camp it was pouring. As we drove away I saw a few younger kids puddle jumping and laughing.

The beauty of innocence.

Those kids didn’t think about the rain as a hindrance, but only how they could make good of it.

The innocence of life has left the building a long time ago for many of us but there is something we can learn from those kids.

Trials, like the rain, will be a part of our lives.

Maybe, we, like the kids, need to focus on how we can harness those trials for good, in time, whatever the they may be.

This isn’t to negate the trial and the emotions that come with it but a perspective that can help us get through it. I remember in 2009, at the depths of depression, I had this thought, “once I get through this I wonder if what I’ve learned can help someone else.”

This thought gave me hope, and I’m sharing it in case it brings hope to you too.

I’m not sure what’s on your heart today, or if the weight of what others are going through is weighing on you, as it is me. If so, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we remember that in this life there will be trials. When they come for us, or others, let’s pray for a renewed view so that instead of the trials weighing us down, they fuel us with purpose to move into action. And my prayer is that when we are able to do this, in time, that we experience an unexpected joy within, like the joy I saw in the kids playing in the rain yesterday.

With love and hope,
Shawn

“The Father of compassion and the God of all comforts, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Ever have a cloudy mind?

Ever have a cloudy mind? I do. If you do as well, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Prayer isn’t something I’ve always believed in or even always remember to do. But when I choose to be still to be with God, it’s amazing how He can help clear away the cloudy mind and help me gain perspective and clarity. And I wholeheartedly believe, prayer can do the same for you.

With love and hope,
Shawn

PS Click on video to watch it.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. -Colossians 3:2 moving forwards


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