Love Is Patient

This is a typical view on our family walks - Stephen walking beside Matt as Matt takes his time exploring the path we are on.

I admittedly at times want them to move quicker. Yet the reality is, I could be more patient myself and slow down for them and enjoy their pace, and company.

Love is patient.

Sometimes I forget to practice it.

I share this today in case you too find yourself being impatient with others, or yourself. I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we be a light of love by practicing being patient with others, and ourself. It’s a beneficial practice that can get us beyond the pull of the hurry and rest in the calm that being patient brings. Growing our patience may be just what we need to find the pace in life worth moving at so we will see the beauty that life has to offer, like Matt sees on our family walks.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

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Middle and High Schoolers, We See You and Are Here for You

This morning I saw something that broke my heart. I dropped my son off at middle school and I saw a kid get out of their car, put on their backpack and start walking towards the school. The thing was, this kid’s shoulders were drooped and her head was low, and you could tell it was more than the backpack that was weighing her down.

My heart broke for this kid as her external body displayed the weight of her internal world. Yet I know the next kid behind her who walked with his head up could be feeling the same way yet has trained his outer being to not show the truth of his heavy heart. (I know this from my own experience.)

I am sharing this today because I want every middle and high schooler to know that we understand how these years can be challenging. Layer on social media and now a pandemic, it may seem like an insurmountable feat to get through this season. Yet you can and you will get through this. Step by step, day by day.

Here are things I wish someone had told me back then and/or that I wish I believed. In hearing these, I hope they benefit you.

- Not every thought you have is true.

- You really do matter.

- Gratitude can shift perspective.

- It’s not a weakness to let someone in and let them know you’re not okay.

- There are people who truly care about you and love you for who you are.

- “Your value does not decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth.”

- Ask a close family member or friend to remind you of your true worth when you forget it.

- God is real and has purpose for you.

- Your future self will be so grateful you persevered through this season.

I wholeheartedly wish I could make every single one of you see yourself as the unique person you are who has divine worth.

Even though I can’t make you believe this, I pray you take a step closer to believing this truth, and away from any lies you’ve been believing in its place. So when you walk, your head is up looking forward to your future and the hope that it brings with a heart that believes that you add value and have purpose...because you do

With love and hope,

Shawn

P.S. To every person who is on the other side of middle and high school, I ask you to join me today to reach out to the teens in your life. May we be sure we let them know that we see them, we are here to listen to them, we love them and are not here to judge them. We care about them, and that they never need to navigate these days, or years, alone.

Feel free to share this with any middle or high schooler who may need to hear this.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” - Jeremiah 29:11

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Share the Love

Every February I turn our basement door into a place where we can write notes to each other to remind each other what we love about one another. My family says I am cheesy, and I am good with that and own my cheesiness.

So often we can think to ourselves what it is we love about others, but we don’t always share it with them. It is important to get those loving thoughts out of our heads and into the their hearts.

I share this with you because I know there are hearts, near and far, who would benefit from some loving words being poured their way.

I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we choose to share with others what we love and appreciate about them, not just in February but always. When we think a good thought about someone let’s share it with them. Yes, some people may think we are cheesy, but the reality is there is enough negativity out there. Let’s be the ones who speak love into others hearts

With love and hope,

Shawn

“Kind words are like honey–sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” - Proverbs 16:24

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Surrender and Trust

Every time we are on the trail, Georgia always pauses here; where her friend hops on the trail. Without fail, she pauses hopeful to see her friend coming over the top of the hill.

She waits with joyful anticipation and then when nothing happens, she continues on, making the best of her time of the trail.

There’s a lot I can learn from Georgia.

The reality is, most of us are waiting for something. Yet in the waiting we can get stuck and pause from any forward momentum because we hold too tightly to our desired outcome being the only outcome. If you can relate, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we hold on to what we hope for - but do so with our palms open. For when we get set on what we hope for and grip it, is when we can become stuck. Instead, may we wait for what we hope for with our palms up, trusting God with the outcome. By choosing to do this we can find ourselves surrendering our desires to His will. And when we do this, we will find ourselves no longer stuck but moving forward, making the best of the day we’ve been given, like Georgia.

With love and hope,

Shawn

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

- Isaiah 26:3

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Small, Consistent Deposits of Time

Matt: “Mom, I am going to go brush my teeth a few times before we go to the dentist.”

Me: “That won’t make a difference now. Remember ‘Small, consistent deposits over time are what make the difference’, not a one time effort.” - @andy_stanley

This was a conversation Matt and I had before we went to the dentist today. After I said this aloud to Matt, that wisdom I heard years ago was something I realized I needed to hear myself.

I am sharing this wisdom with you today too in case it would benefit you as well. Whether you are building a relationship with someone, working on schoolwork or a project for work, working on a goal like working out, eating well, wanting no cavities , or something else, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we reflect on this wisdom that small, consistent deposits of time are what make a difference, not a one time effort. May we choose to faithfully do what is needed and trust that the consistent time and energy we put into it will help us in the end; like Matt remaining cavity free

With love and hope,

Shawn

PS Do any of you remember these shirts from when we were kids?! We have a few of Stephen’s shirts from when he was a kid and Matt is proudly wearing it, now that it fits

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.”

- Ephesians 5:15

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Thank You, Custodians

This morning as I was dropping Gav off I saw the custodians directing traffic. It caused me to pause and give thanks for these men and women who often go under appreciated. When we pause to think about the work they do, 99% of us would rather not do it. Yet they do it, and to be honest the custodians I know do it with a smile on their face - while also often times bringing smiles to the faces of the students, staff and families they work with.

I just wanted to take a moment today to share my appreciation for who they are and all they do usually, especially in these times. I’ll reach out to them directly but I wanted to raise awareness that they are such an essential part of our school communities.

I also feel compelled to share one of the best life lessons I learned which was from Big J, a custodian at the school where I was a PE teacher.

Big J was such a content person. I was in my twenties when I worked with him and was curious what made him so content, especially when I saw him cleaning up the messes in the school daily. So one day I asked him.

He told me, “I love my simple life. While other people want more, I have saved up enough to retire. I have what I need to live a good life. I don’t need much, just gas in my truck, food on my table and to go fishing when I want to.”

I share this today because I have carried Big J’s words of wisdom with me all these years. And when I looked at all the cars driving in and out this morning, I was curious how many of us are content like Big J, living a simple life with what we need, or are we striving for more?

Either way, I invite you to join me today to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we give thanks to the custodians in our lives; not just in our hearts but let’s send a note or drop something off their way as an act of love to remind them what a valued member of our community they are. And may we also consider Big J’s wisdom, and that the path to a content life may not have to do with gaining more but in living with less and being thankful for what we have.

With love and hope,

Shawn

As it is, there are many parts, but one body. - 1 Corinthians 12:20

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When We Fall, Seek God

Recently I have had a number of conversation with people going through really tough times. My heart and prayers are with them and with any of you who are experiencing tough times as well.

Something that came on my heart this morning to share is something I do when I am experiencing a heavy season. I read the book of Job from the Bible.

Why?

Because Job’s life was attacked from every angle and something he chose to do is so powerful.

Job lost almost all of what he had, including his kids, in one day. The news of this great loss caused him fall down to the ground. Yet it is what Job did next that captures my heart every time I read it.

When Job fell to the ground, he worshiped there.

Worshiped? Wouldn’t it be more natural to yell at God or blame Him for everything?

Yet he didn’t blame God. He didn’t even turn away from God. He actually chose to turn towards God.

Job’s story inspires me to do the same.

I share this with you today as we all have something heavy on our hearts. Something we have in common is that we are still dealing with a worldwide pandemic. There may be other layers we are dealing with too. If so, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

Whatever it is that is heavy on our hearts, may we know it’s okay if it brings us to our knees. Yet may we choose to follow Job’s example and not turn away from God, or blame God but turn towards Him. I know it’s easier said than done yet it is a worthwhile practice that has helped me on rough days and through tough seasons and I wholeheartedly believe it will benefit you too.

With love and hope,

Shawn

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and...fell to the ground and worshiped there...

through all of this Job did not blame God.”- Job 1:20&22

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Listen to God's Truth

I know the lies can grow louder at times in my mind and it’s a practice to keep my ears and ears tuned into God’s truth. If you too can have the lies grow louder than the truth, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we pour in God’s truth today. May we do this to help us weed out the lies that try and take root in our minds so we can more fully live in this day we have been given

With love and hope,

Shawn

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

- John 8:32

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4 Years NED!

Four years ago today I had an appointment with an ENT. I almost canceled the appointment because, I figured the problem would go away and there were other things that were more important for me to do. Yet something inside of me said to go and I am forever grateful I listened.

It was this day four years ago the tumor was found in my nasal cavity and palate- and the following week when I was diagnosed with cancer.

This day brings with it joy because I am still NED and get to be with my family. It brings gratitude for the breath in my lungs, for my family, friends and for all the people who were there beside us during our walk with cancer, and since.

Yet it brings something else that I hate to speak of but it’s my truth. It brings up fear. I read something soon after I was diagnosed that caused me to close my computer and no longer read any more about Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma.

The stat I read that day is that the survival rate for ACC is 40% at 15 years. I pray with all my heart and soul to be in that 40%, and I humbly ask, if you think of it, to also pray that I get to be too.

With most cancers, the further away you get from your treatment, the more in the clear you are. With ACC the reoccurrences happen further out from treatment. So as grateful I am to be four years out, there is also a fear I need to wrestle through today.

I know my story in written in God’s book and not found on Google. My head knows that yet the reality is I have had trouble erasing this stat from my memory. Most days I don’t think about it, yet it’s on my heart today.

Even so, I will choose to celebrate the gift of being here and these four years I’ve been given. Yet you may now understand why I stay so close to God in my days. I need His truth and wisdom to lead me, and not my own emotions. I need to trust what He says over Google. I need to let faith, not fear, rule my heart.

My hope each day is to live close to God so that every day I am given I live with purpose; loving others as He loves me. I pray that as time passes, my memory of this stat will pass too, and that there will be more funding and research to help find a cure for our ACC family.

To help put away the fear today I am going to live out love towards my ACC family. As a family we will continue our donations to ACCRF, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation to help fund the research we need to find a cure for this rare cancer.

I wanted to reach out and ask if you would join me today in one of three ways to live out love towards our ACC family:

1. Donate to ACCRF at

https://www.accrf.org/donate/

2. To go to Amazon smile and choose ACCRF as the organization you donate to every time you purchase from Amazon smile

3. Do both

Our ACC family sincerely appreciates anything you are able to contribute towards finding a cure for ACC.

And before I go, I also want to add, that if you have been hesitating making an appointment, or have put your well being on the back burner, please remember that we don’t get two chances at this one life we’ve been given. Please make that wellness checkup for yourself today to be sure all is well

With love and hope,

Shawn

PS To hear more of my story watch video with my dear friend Melissa Cole at HERE

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:13

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Promises of Your Future

With love and hope,

Shawn

You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

- Colossians 3:9-10

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