Love One Another

My heart breaks on so many levels with what is happening in our nation’s Capitol. Protests have their place. This is not a protest but a riot. To get to the point where there is complete disregard to the visible and invisible boundaries that have been established for centuries, built on God and respect for authority in our nation, is disturbing and sad.

As I’ve watched, I hear that nations are watching, yet you know who is watching as well?

Our children.

Our children are watching this.

What have they witnessed? Respected, sacred ground being taken over by people who have lost all respect and regard for authority. They are witnessing pride, power, and lies ruling hearts. They are seeing a President who refuses to stand up for what is true, right, honorable, and just. Our children are, once again, witnessing unprecedented circumstances.

No matter your political affiliation, I invite you to join me to ...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we choose to come together as Americans, human beings, and children of God; not for ourselves, but for our children.

God says in His word, a nation divided will fall. Let’s not give a divided nation to our children. May we commit today to say and do everything within our abilities to be part of the healing that needs to take place in our nation.

We need stop following people and get back to following God’s truth which teaches us - and our children - to treat one another with honor, integrity, respect, and to love one another as He loved us, with a selfless love.

With hope,

Shawn

Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. - John 13:34

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Hello!

With it being the New Year and having some new friends here, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, and share a few things so you can get to know me a little better.

1. My name is Shawn and I am an author, teacher and speaker.

2. I was born in Atlanta, GA, and moved to Connecticut when I was 4.

3. I still live in my hometown in CT with my patient husband, Stephen and our three courageous kids, Kate, 14, Gavin, 13 and Matt, 8.

4. We have a quirky black lab, Georgia, who loves to take long walks with me.

5. I love to encourage others to be who God made them to be.

6. I am the youngest of 4.

7. One of my favorite childhood memories with my brother and sisters is singing along to Van Halen’s “Jump” in the back of our VW Vanagon.

8. I have my undergrad in Health and Physical Education, my Masters in Health Ed., and a 200 hour yoga teacher certification.

9. I am in charge of games at all of our family gatherings.

10. I am young at heart with an old soul - I want to either play or have deep, meaningful conversations.

11. I find putting laundry away painful for some reason.

12. I have written and self-published three faith-based books. My fourth book is coming out soon!

13. I am a survivor of a rare cancer and have an artificial palate called an obturator that helps me speak and eat.

14. I am a morning person who thrives on routine and am 99% of the time dressed to workout or go on a walk/hike.

15. If I could have dinner with any three famous people it would be Jesus, Mother Teresa and Jimmy Fallon.

16. I teach spiritual strength and stretching classes, aka Christian Yoga (and am starting an online class soon!).

17. Tortilla chips are my “go-to” when I stress eat.

18. Blueberry Green, Earl Gray with lemon and honey, and Egyptian Licorice with peppermint are my favorite teas.

19. The Bible is my favorite book.

20. Writing is my therapy.

So that’s a little about me. Feel free to share something about yourself in the comments so I can learn about you too!

I am grateful to connect with you here. Yet if you’d like to be encouraged beyond social media, be sure to sign up for my encouraging weekly emails. When you do you’ll receive a pause. breathe. pray. winter printable in your email inbox. To sign up, visit at the LET’S STAY CONNECTED button below.

I look forward to walking beside you this year with God’s word and truth as our guiding light; step by step, day by day

With love and hope,

Shawn

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There is Value in Pausing

Word of the Week: Pause

Verse of the week: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” - Psalm 37:7

I heard a story once about a young woodsman who walked into a village seeking someone to challenge him in a tree cutting competition. Everyone turned to the elder of the village, who accepted the challenge.

The following day, the young and older man took their axes to the woods. They began cutting down trees. The young man kept going, going, and going. He laughed to himself when he saw the older man sitting on a stump. This didn’t happen just once, it happened every hour that the young man saw the older man sitting down. He thought to himself, I got this.

As the day came to a close, the young man was confident he won the competition. Yet when all the trees were counted, the older man had cut down more trees. The young man was shocked. He asked the elder from the village, “How did you win? You sat down every hour for a number of minutes?!” The elder replied, “Yes, I did. It was when I was sitting, I was able to sharpen my ax.”

May this story be a reminder as we enter our week, and year, to not just go, go, go, but the value of pausing.

I invite you to join me this week, to set a timer on your to remind yourself to...

pause. breathe. pray.

Lets take time to pause with God to sharpen our “ax;” our hearts and minds each day. May this pause give us what we need to meet our day with greater clarity, efficiency, and whatever else we need for our day.

With love and hope,

Shawn

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Invite God In As You Set Goals

As I sat yesterday to set my goals for 2021 I was reminded of this verse. You see, I have spent years making goals, and have continuously missed the mark on most of them. Yet something I hadn’t been doing was praying about the goals. I have a choice:

I could start this year setting goals on my own.

I could start this year inviting God into the equation and be more prayerful about what actual goals I need to set.

As different as it is, I am choosing to go with the latter. Having God as the third strand, with me and the goals, is what I believe is needed to make the right goals for myself this year.

I share this with you today if you too are setting your goals for the year. I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

Let’s take time in stillness and in silence with God and ask Him what He wants for us to focus on this year. We may get clarity, or not. If not, let’s recognize we may set goals that don’t align with God’s path for us. Let’s remain open to a change of course if/when needed.

Whatever goals we set, may it not just be about us and what we are working towards. May God be the third strand that either disconnects us from the wrong goals, or holds us together tightly with the right ones.

With love and hope,

Shawn

“A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” - Ecclesiastes 4:12

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

As you can see Matt was a bit excited for the new year just like the rest of us. Today I sat to reflect on the year ahead, I had a thought that made me pause.

What makes this day different from yesterday?

Yes, it’s a new year but the truth is, it’s another day. Yet today has something we didn’t believe about yesterday. Today is filled with hope and with the beliefs that we are able and that good things will come. It isn’t the day that changed, but our mind and belief around the day.

So as we move into this new year, let’s capture this mindset we have today and take time to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we ask God to remind us that each morning is a new day and our mindset for that day is significant. With God’s help, may we practice meeting each day with the hope and beliefs that we have today.

Who knows, maybe we will find ourselves jumping into our days like Matt jumped into this New Year

With love and hope,

Shawn

Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. - 2 Corinthians 10:5

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Happy New Years!

This is my favorite pause. breathe. pray. mug. It’s broken - the handle is detached at the top. It came this way and I had to keep it.

Why would I keep or use a broken mug?

Because it reminds me that even things that are broken can still be used for their purpose.

So I raise my broken mug tonight to invite you to join me to raise your glass or mug to this New Year. Together let’s...

pause.

Before we move into the new year, may we reflect on what was lost, and gained, this year.

breathe.

May we take a few deep breaths and give thanks to God for the breath in our lungs and for this day. May we also hold in our hearts those who are sick or are no longer with us.

pray.

May we spend time with God so He can remind us that although we may be bruised, scarred or broken by this year, He still has purpose for us in this new year. May we choose to take a step of faith into tomorrow with God by our side. May we use His word as the guiding light to navigate the days, weeks, and year ahead.

Here is to a New Year filled with purpose, healing, health and hope. Cheers

With love and hope,

Shawn

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

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Be A Light

Last night Gavin stopped me on our way inside and said, “look at the sky.” I paused and looked up, amazed at the beautiful sky and how one light can brighten up the darkest night.

Yet isn’t that the truth? One light, even a small one, gets rid of some darkness.

I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we ask God how we can be the light for him today. May we keep our eyes and ears open for where we can shine the light of His love. And if you are finding yourself in a dark place, I pray you move towards a light shining your way to help you through

With love and hope,

Shawn

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:14-16

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Here is to the joy and hope this day brings

With love and hope,

Shawn

“The weary world rejoices!”

For to us a child is born,

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.”

- Isaiah 9:6

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I Believe

Last night we watched Polar Express. At the end when then boy says, “I believe,” I was brought back to this moment in my life when I said, “I believe” to God.

At the end of 2009 I hit bottom in a pit of depression which took me months to work through with the help of family, therapy and meds. Yet there was something else in those months that came my way, my parents and dear friend, who was a Christian, encouraged me to pray. So I tried it on for size asking God if he was even there, and if he was, did he hear me? or care?

For months I was throwing up questions to God asking to help me, if that was possible and if so, to give me direction in life.

The one day in June 2010 I was in the kitchen cooking and Kate and Gavin were in there with me. Kate was four and Gavin had just turned three. Kate was practicing her letters and Gavin asked if he could practice his letters too. I handed him a piece of paper and a pen I had on the counter and I went back to cooking. Before long Gavin said excitedly, “Mommy, I wrote my name! Come and see!” He had never attempted to write his letters before so I stopped what I was doing to see what his interpretation of his name looked like. What I saw stopped me in my tracks. What he had written was...

God 7

I looked at it in awe, I was speechless. I gave Gav a huge hug and told him what he had written. He smiled and walked away, floating back into his three year old world while I sat there holding this piece of paper in my hand. I looked at it dumbfounded, G-o-d 7.

I had no idea what to make of the 7 but God, that was pretty clear to see (I later learned 7 is the most biblical number meaning completeness). That day, God worked through my son to capture my heart. I sat there with tears in my eyes and turned to God and said, “I believe”...and I haven’t looked back since.

I share this with you today because I know in my heart there is someone who is needed a message of hope today. There is someone who is asking, “God, are you even there?” like I was 10 years ago. And with Christmas on the horizon, I thought it is a fitting time to invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

I know it can sound out there and different but the truth of my heart is that choosing to believe in God, and His son, Jesus, truly transformed my life. And I know it will do the same for you. I invite you to look beyond the surface of what Christmas is all about, Jesus’s birth, and ask yourself, do you believe? If not, that’s fine. I get it as I’ve been there. Yet I encourage you to start your own conversation with God. He will be present, loving and patient with you, as He was with me. And I will be praying that as you try prayer on for size, you also find yourself saying the words, “I believe,” too.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? - 1 John 5:5

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Do What Is Needed

How are you doing this week?

Really?

I know for me, as we get closer to Christmas, it seems that the to do list is longer and time has shortened.

Can you relate? If so, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we remember that God gives us enough in the day to do what we need to do, but not enough time to do all we want to do. So many we sit down with our lists and pray to gain clarity on what we need to do, versus what we want to do. When we can do this and let go of some of those wants, we will find we will have more margin of time to get things done and hopefully also have more rest in our souls.

With love and hope,

Shawn

“There is only one thing worth being concerned about.

Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:42

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