Be A Blessing

Yesterday I ran to Home Depot to get a few things. I had pulled my car up front and started loading the heavy items into my car. As I went to get the second round of items, a young man who worked there came over from the parking lot and asked if I needed a hand. I accepted his kind offer, and he and I worked together to load my car.

When we were done, I told him how much I appreciated his help. He wasn’t asked to help, he simply saw a need and chose to use his time and energy to help meet it. He said he had just finished bringing the carts in and saw me loading the car myself and just wanted to help.

Isn’t that what we all hope our kids grow up to be like?

By the way, his name was Jordan.

I share this story with you today because as we enter our week, we, like Jordan, will have our list of things to do. Yet I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Wherever we go this week, may we choose to keep our eyes and ears open for the needs around us. And may we, like Jordan, when able, choose to use our time and energy to bless someone else and lighten their load. It may not seem like much, yet that simple act of kindness may leave a lasting impression and inspire another person to pass along the kindness, as I am inspired to do.

With love and hope,

Shawn

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act." - Proverbs 3:27

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Quiet the Noise

Do any of you have trouble sitting to read a book because it takes a number of minutes for your brain to quiet down and actually focus on the words in front of you?

I noticed this was happening to me and it was one of the reasons I started doing social media free Sundays this year.  I’ve been taking a break from social media on Sundays for months now and I have to say the one day break has grown into my taking more breaks throughout my week.  I found my time on social media was depleting me and the more time I am off of it, the more alive and refreshed I’ve been. 

I share this in case you can relate and are also wanting to take some time off of social media to renew your mind, so you will feel more alive and refreshed too.  I strongly encourage you to join me this weekend either Saturday or Sunday to take a break from social media.  

I’ll be real, those first few weeks on my days off of social media I saw how I randomly picked up my phone and subconsciously pressed buttons.  I had a pattern I did every time I grabbed my phone that I wasn’t even aware of!  So know you’re not alone if you experience that.  Thankfully, I have growing in awareness and am growing more purposeful in my use of social media.

I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

Choose to go social media free on Saturday and/or on Sunday this weekend.  Its a refreshing experience and a gift to yourself!

By choosing to disengage on social media is one step we can take to live from the inside out and quiet the noise that it makes in our minds.  So the next time we go to grab a book to read, we will be able to sit and actually focus on the words in front of us.

And if this is what being off of social media does for us with reading, imagine the focus we can bring to the people around us too by this simple practice.

With love and hope,

Shawn

#socialmediafreesundays

Be still and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10

A Rainbow Moment

As Stephen and I drove away from Boston last week, there were beautiful blue skies before us and dark clouds behind us.

“There has to be a rainbow, there has to be a rainbow,” I repeated over and over again to Stephen. The brightness of the sun in front of us coupled with the darkness of the clouds behind us was the perfect setting for a rainbow.

And low and behold, to the side of our car was this beautiful rainbow. As I enjoyed its beauty it made me think of God.

We all have our struggles, aka the rain, in our lives. Yet I wholeheartedly believe with the help of God, aka the sun, He will make good of the struggles, in His time.

I share this with you not just because it sounds good, but because over and over again I have experienced this truth. From my walks with anxiety, depression, cancer, in my relationships, debt, work, etc. I have learned to say, “God, if what I am experiencing is something you need me to experience to help others and shine a light on your love, then please equip me for this journey.”

One rainbow moment I experienced is when I was passing another Mom at pick up and she stopped me. She said she wanted to thank me for writing my book, My Journey to Live from the Inside Out, about my struggles with anxiety and depression. She said, “After reading it I finally reached out and got the help I’ve been needing.”

Rainbow moments like that one are when I have seen how God took my struggle, and used it for His greater purpose. We are not to be ashamed of our struggles, but instead put them into God’s hands and ask God how we can pair with Him to use them to help others.

If there is a struggle on your heart today, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Like the rain and the sun working together to bring us the beauty of the rainbow, may we take our struggles to God and trust that He will make something good come from them, in time. May we be patient with God, and ourselves, as we wait to see how the rain of our struggles when given to God, can be made into a rainbow moment.

With love and hope,

Shawn

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose.

- Romans 8:28

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You are Beautifully Unique

Yesterday while in Boston, Stephen and I walked through the Commons as we always do. We came across this patch of tulips and I couldn’t help but think of the Dr. Seuss quote, “why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

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

pause. breathe. pray.

May we remember that God made us each so wonderfully unique. May we not fall into the temptation to try and conform to be like others. Instead may we choose to embrace the unique person He made us to be. May we follow the unique path He has before us and use our unique gifts with others.

For the beauty in life, and in this picture, is not found is everything being the same, but in the wonders of what is different and unique.

With love and hope,

Shawn

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

- Psalm 139:13-14

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The Edge Brings Perspective

You don’t really get the full view until you come to the edge. 

Recently on a hike I walked to the edge, although it’s scarier there, the view is so much more beautiful.  I was able to see things I wouldn’t have seen had I not walked to the edge.

It made me think how the same can be true in life.  For example, I have been brought to the edge once again.  Last week I went to the dentist for a regular check up and long story short, I was in Boston today for a scan. (Thank God all is well.)

These expected and unexpected scans have been a part of my life for almost four years now.  I have not gone more than six months without a scan, and in many ways I am thankful to have thorough drs, access to scans and have the healthcare that is available to us. To be honest though, I am also growing a little weary of meeting the edge this frequently.

Yet as I saw on the hike and I see today, the edge, though scary, brings with it a closeness to God and a renewed perspective I wouldn’t receive any other way.  When life floats back into normalcy I can lose the view of who and what matters most. The edge always brings those into clear view. What is nonessential falls away and what is most significant rises into clear view. 

I share this with you today as a reminder that the edge, although scary, can also bring with it a renewed, beautiful view.

I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

If you are on the edge in some way, I pray that you draw close to God so He may help you see beyond the clouds of your circumstances and give you renewed perspective.  And if you aren’t near the edge, yet are needing a shift in perspective, I offer for you to sit beside someone who is.  Sometimes just sitting beside someone who is going through things helps us have a renewed view of life that we wouldn’t see unless we were sitting on the edge with them.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. - Colossians 3:2

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Thanks, Mom

She walked with me as she cradled me in her arms.

She walked behind me encouraging my first steps.

She tucked her feet beneath herself as she taught me to pray.

She has faithfully walked beside my father's for 50 years. 

She lovingly walks beside my brother, sisters, and I guiding us with her love, wisdom and care.

She walks beside her grandchildren, teaching them and inspiring them with her unfailing love. 

She walked beside each of her students as she taught them, hopeful for each of them and their path in life. 

As she walks she carries the burdens of others with her yet rather than letting them weigh her down, she does all she can to lift others up.

She walks beside me on the hilltops, through the valleys and along the plateaus in life.

She walks beside us, if not in person in Spirit, loving us through her words, actions and prayers.

She walks in love.

Thank you, Mom for always walking beside me, and our family. I pray to be a reflection of God’s love, as you are, and walk beside others as you so beautifully do.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there!

With gratitude and love,

Shawn

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

- Proverbs 31:25-30

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What We Plant Is What Grows

What we plant is what grows.  

It’s easy to see it with plants yet we don’t often pause to consider that our minds and hearts are sacred ground and everyday we are planting things in them; from what we look at and to what we listen to.

What we put in our eyes and ears matters. So what is it that we are planting in our hearts and minds today? I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we take a step back and become a witness to what seeds we are planting within throughout our days.  May we then ask ourselves, are these seeds going to help us grow more aligned with God, or less aligned? Are we planting seeds, or weeds? 

I say this as I was growing weeds in my heart and mind recently.  I needed to take a step away, particularly from social media, and step towards God to remind me who I am in Him.  As I am reengaging online, I pray to be more intentional and directional with what I put in my eyes and ears.  To do that I am sifting through my social media feeds and choosing to follow pages that encourage me to be who God made me to be, and if pages start me down the rabbit hole of negative self-talk, I unfollow those people or pages.  Also, I am spending less time online, and more time in books which is helping me plant more seeds than weeds.  I share this to encourage you to consider what the wisest choices are for you.

Also, I pray that when you read what I write, that the words are seeds of love that will nourish you from the inside out and help you grow closer to God, and who He made you to be. 

Lastly, in the past there were more boundaries out there to help guard our eyes and ears from things that were not beneficial for us.  Now more is available for us to consume, yet it’s not all beneficial for us, or for our kids.  So may we choose wisely what we watch and listen to so we may grow less weeds and more fruit within, particularly the fruit of the Spirit; love, peace, joy, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

With love and hope,

Shawn

You will reap what you sow.

- Galatians 6:7

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Give Thanks for the Bumpy Path

I know I am not alone in wanting a smooth path in life yet inevitably we meeting obstacles along the way.  Whatever obstacle you are facing today, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

As natural as it is for us to look at the obstacle, the reality is, that won’t benefit us.  Instead may we choose to look to God, who will help us navigate our way.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith - Hebrews 12:2

Beauty from the Broken

Spring is in bloom and as much as I love to look at the flowers, when I see them, I can't help but think of the broken seeds they came from.  

It took the seeds breaking for them to grow to be what God made them to be.

The same is true for you, and for me.

We can try and remain whole or we can look outside at the flowers and take a moment to...

pause. breathe. pray.

And be encouraged as we are reminded of God's goodness and how he shows us time and time again, season after season, year after year, how He can take what is broken and turn it into something beautiful.

May we bring to God whatever brokenness we are experiencing in our lives. And may we hold on to the hope He gives us and trust in His time, He too will make something beautiful from our brokenness.

With love and hope,

Shawn

The seed breaks to give us wheat. The soil breaks to give us crop, the sky breaks to give us the rain,the wheat breaks to give us bread. And the bread breaks to give us the feast… Never be afraid of being a broken thing.” - Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way

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Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated

Yesterday I went for routine bloodwork and when I got home I had to call customer service for a return.

I am sharing this because when I thanked each woman, the one doing the blood work and the customer service rep, for their help they both were surprised to hear “thank you” and ended up sharing stories with me about how patients/customers end up yelling at them.

The woman doing the bloodwork shared she was ready to find a new career because of it. The customer service rep shared that at her old job she use to go home and cry after work because of how often she was yelled at by customers. Now that she works at home she can now just hang up and just cry.

Isn’t this hard to hear?

Two human beings doing their jobs getting yelled at by their patients/customers for things that are not in their control to change/fix.

For example, this was my third time back to get bloodwork because every time I went in there was paperwork missing. Is that annoying? Yes. Does that give me the right to yell at this person? No.

This customer service rep was awesome yet I do get the cold calls from people, not robots, who keep talking even after I’ve said, “thank you but we are all set.” Is it frustrating they ignore me? Yes. Does that give me permission to treat them poorly? No.

These people are simply doing their jobs.

I know we can walk into appointments or call customer service frustrated or annoyed. Yet why not treat those helping us with dignity and respect even if we are frustrating or annoyed?

It’s okay to be frustrated, annoyed or angry yet what we do with those emotions matters. We can pass along those emotions and tear others down along our path, or harness them and choose to use them to be productive with our words and actions.

I invite you to join me today to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we ask God to help us harness our emotions and not use them to tear others down along our path. Instead may we choose to give thanks to people along our path and see them as a human being who is besides us in life. May we treat others the way we would want to be treated if we were in their shoes. You never know how choosing this path will positively impact another’s heart and lift their spirit, instead of breaking it.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Treat others the way you want to be treated - Matthew 7:12

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