Words of Wisdom

As we move into the week, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we take the time to reflect on these words of wisdom. God gave us enough time in the day, and week, to do what we need to do, but not to do all we want to do. May we gain insight and wisdom to the difference between those two and begin living this week in a way where we don’t long for our time off. Instead, let’s choose wisely how to spend our time each day, so we don’t live for our time off, but are able to live in each day as the gift it is.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. - Psalm 90:12

Quote by @careynieuwhof on the @andy_stanley leadership podcast

Leaving Cancer Behind

I have been struggling with something. Sometimes I need to come inward to pray, listen and learn before I am able to share.

A hard truth I realized a couple weeks ago is that cancer left my body in 2017, but I had yet to leave cancer behind.

With ACC, we are encouraged to be diligent and keep our eyes open yet this lead me to live in fear, constantly curious if/when the cancer would be back.

So I have been practicing leaving cancer behind.

I feel strange writing this as I am five years out. But I share this because I know I am not the only cancer survivor who has trouble leaving the cancer and fear behind.

And so I am sharing in case you can relate, or if know someone who has had cancer who many wrestling with this battle in their hearts and minds too. Or maybe you have had something from your past that you have yet to leave behind as well.

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we leave cancer behind and look look ahead to who and what is before us. May we stay up to date on our scans and trust if something needs to be found that it will be. May we let go of the fear of cancer returning and look ahead to the life ahead of us. Whether our past struggle was cancer, or something else, may we take what we learned from our experience and allow it help us focus our eyes and ears ahead of us with greater clarity and purpose. May we choose to spend our days enjoying this life we have been given and all that lies ahead of us.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Accept the Help Coming Your Way

One day I watched my high school daughter walk towards me after a game. She was carrying a backpack on her back filled to the seams with her school books and another full backpack on her front filled with her sports stuff. If that wasn’t enough, her hands loaded with a few extra items. When I saw all she was carrying, all I wanted to do was lend her a hand and help her. I asked her if she needed a hand but she said she was fine and continued to the car without receiving the help that was offered her way.

As we drove away my eyes were opened to how I am like my daughter.

Although I am not carrying around physical backpacks on my front and my back and extra items in my hands, every day I am carrying around all that I need to do as a wife, a mom of three, a teacher, and a writer. Yet that isn’t all I carry with me. I also carry around what is happening with our family, friends, and all that is happening in the world. I saw how I am like my daughter, going through the motions, carrying more than I need to, saying I am fine, and doing things on my own strength.

I know God sees me and wants to share the load and lighten the heavy. Yet I was humbled that day to see how I often can be towards God how my daughter was to me.

Can you relate?

I share this story with you because so many of us are carrying so much on our shoulders.

We do not need to go through life powering through on our own strength while feeling overwhelmed and depleted. That is not how God designed us nor what He wants for us.

We have a choice before us, to keep walking through our days with the weight of all we are carrying on our shoulders, or we can turn to God, who sees all that we are carrying, and accept the help he is offering us.

I invite you to join me to…

Pause. Breathe. Pray.

May we do the latter. For when we do invite God beside us to help lighten the heavy we will gain insight of what is ours to do, what is for others to do, and what is God’s to do- and we will have more rest in our souls.

And maybe when we do this, others, like my daughter, will follow our example and do the same, accepting the help offered their way.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Today Is A Gift

Five years ago yesterday I went to an appointment to get what I thought would be nasal spray for congestion. Instead I walked away from that appointment having learned that I had a malignant tumor in my nasal cavity that was growing into my palate.

As I reflect on that day and all the unknowns that came with it, I recognize how paralyzed with fear I was, understandably so.

Yet what also came from that day was clarity of who and what matters most in life; my faith, family, friends, community and choosing to love above one’s circumstances.

I wish I could say that clarity has remained with me since then but admittedly my sight grows cloudy at times as the mundane fights to hold my attention.

This week I am drawing close to this memory to help me remember that tomorrow is never promised and to unwrap the gift of each day.

If you too have found yourself in challenging circumstances and/or having clouded vision of who and what matters most, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we recognize that each day is a gift. May we take time to pause and give thanks for this day we have been given. May we pray we don’t take this day, or any day, for granted. Only God knows what tomorrow brings, so may we not fear tomorrow but choose to walk in faith instead. Fear holds us back from living where faith gives us the freedom to live as we trust -not in our circumstances - but in God who is above them, and beside us through them.

And like I had to learn to do five years ago, may we let go and trust God with our lives. It is in His presence where we will be richly supplied with what we need, no matter what the day brings. And He will help renew our sight so we will see each day the gift it is and who and what matters most, whether we are walking through a mundane day or fighting the toughest battle of our life.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Teach me to number my days so I may gain a heart of wisdom. - Psalm 90:12

5 Years Alcohol Free

This morning I’m raising my mug to being 5 years alcohol free!

I stopped drinking not because I drank too much but because when I was diagnosed with ACC & learned a primary recurrence site is the liver I thought, “I may as well do what I can to keep my liver healthy.”

Over the past 5 years, with only a mug of tea in my hand, I have walked with cancer, lost my palate, lost a loved one, have dealt with anxiety and scanxiety. I have walked beside friends going through challenging times, have been dealing with this pandemic, along with all the other challenges life throws at you at home as a wife & a mom of three. Plus at work I’ve being rejected by multiple literary agents & recently started a new job outside the home & am juggling the home/ work responsibilities.

I am sharing this not to be prideful but to let others know that yes, life is hard, but a drink isn’t needed to help us through.

The three words on this mug have been my saving grace through life’s challenges. Yes, drinking tastes good & is fun, yet I know for me I don’t miss the night sweats from a glass of wine, feeling crappy the next morning, or regretting something I said after having a drink.

I’ll admit, practicing these three words consistently isn’t easy. Yet they are my go to as they have helped me move my mind from quick sand to solid ground over & over & over again.

So if you have ever considered drinking less or stopping drinking, I invite you to join me today to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we celebrate this life we have this morning. The breath in our lungs, the sun shining, and the warm home we are sitting in. May we come to terms that in life we will have struggles, but may we take heart that God is more powerful than a drink to help us through. All we have to do is invite Him into the challenging times with us. I wouldn’t say this if I hadn’t experienced it myself but He is enough to help calm the storm within us & lead us to a more peaceful place.

With love & hope,

Shawn

(originally posts 1/23/22)

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

When Will We Rest?

What if we entered our weekends asking ourselves, “when will we rest?”

I am loving teaching HS Health, and as I teach kids about ways to care for themselves, we have talked about rest. Not sleep, but rest; when we stop moving in our day to renew our minds and refresh our souls, offline.

I thought I’d share this with you as we entered the weekend and look at the days we have ahead. I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we fast forward to Sunday night and think about how we want to feel about entering the new week, rested or depleted? If our answer is rested, may we be sure to take steps we need to in that direction. This way when Sunday night comes, we can give thanks for all we did, including what we chose to do to care for ourselves within.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28

Build What Is Beneficial

This weekend we went the Lego store. While we were at the store, Matt was particular about what pieces he was choosing.

Why?

He knew what he wanted to build and only chose the items that would make his design become reality.

This truth spoke to my heart and made me ask myself, “what am I building in life?”

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

And ask yourself that same question too, “what are we building in life?” Our character? A firm foundation for our lives to stand on? Strong relationships? Our faith? Etc.

Whatever it is that we are building, may we be as particular while making our own choices as Matt was that day while picking out legos. May we avoid what is not beneficial and may we make choices that will be building blocks for our journey.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.

- 1 Corinthians 10:23

Encircled With Love

Did anyone see the circle around the moon last night? It was beautiful and reminded me of how we are all encircled with love.

I know it’s not something we think about often but something I wanted to speak to today.

Why?

Between this continued journey with the pandemic to our individual trials, I just wanted to remind us all, myself included, that there are circles of love around us that we can lean into to help us in trying times. May we lean into these circles of love when we need to, starting with the first circle of love around us, God.

I know it’s hard sometimes to lean into someone we can’t see. Yet God is so gracious. He gives us our family, friends, our communities and more - who we can see - that are the other circles around us who we can lean into.

Also, what is beautiful is that we get to be a person God is using in someone else’s circle of love.

Whether you are needing a circle of love to lean into or want to be that circle of love for others, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

It’s a unique time we are living through, coupled with other challenges in life. May we remember to lean into our circles of love when we need the support and may we be that circle of love and support for others who need it. May these circles of love grow larger, uniting us all in love, and God.

With love and hope,

Shawn

…serve one another humbly in love. - Galatians 5:13

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