A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of going to Pine Grove School with Jan, the illustrator of A Place for Sam, to encourage the students. I love seeing their smiling faces as they hear that they are unique, valued, loved and their puzzle piece matters🧩 What I wasn’t expecting is to have an adult who was there come over to me and tell me that this what just the message she needed to hear right now. I won’t share more of her story, because it’s not mine to tell. Yet after hearing what she shared my heart smiled knowing being there with her was a divine appointment.
I share this with you today, yes to celebrate the joyful day we had, but also as a reminder that when we feel called by God to do something, even when it doesn’t make sense, do it. My background is a Health and Physical Ed teacher, not a writer. Yet when these words came to me 7 years ago, I knew they needed to be shared. And here we are 7 years later and the timeless message in these pages continues to bridge hearts with those reading, kids and adults.
So if you too feel like God has placed something on your heart to say or do, no matter the size of the ask- from walking to the neighbors to say hi to writing a book- I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
May we be willing to take a step of faith forwards, and trust God’s hand is in it and that He will do something from our act of love- even years later like He is doing with A Place for Sam💗🙏🧩
With love and hope,
Shawn
Trust God With the Detours
(original message sent via email 10/23/23)
Recently I was reflecting on when Kate and I were headed to spend the day together in Boston this summer. I have been there 1,000 times over the past 6 years because that is where my doctors are. Yet in all the times I traveled to Boston, I took the same route and was never once detoured…until this ride with Kate. We were traveling the Mass Pike and the GPS told us take an exit. I was confused because this had never happened. I took the exit but was getting a little unsettled because this was out of the ordinary. Kate could see I was unnerved by this detour and said, “This just means God has another route for us today, Mom.” I initially wanted to react and say something but instead I sat with the wisdom she shared with me.
God has allowed me to go on detours before in life, and I trusted Him then. Why would I not trust Him with this detour off the highway?
Psalm 25:4-5 Says, “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
This verse is a reminder that God has a path for me, and you, in life. The wisest choice is to do our best to align with His paths for us, rather than determining paths for ourselves.
Admittedly, this practice isn’t just a switch that flicked inside of me, or you. And that day with Kate, even after I heard what she said, rather than resting and trusting God, I double checked our destination to be sure we had the address in the GPS correctly. After that, I prayed through the unsettled feelings I had, asking God to guide me, as this Psalm reminds me to do. I realized that worrying and gripping to the usual way wasn’t going to benefit me, or my time with Kate. So I chose to let go of the normal route, trusted God - and the GPS. Kate and I ended up driving through beautiful towns we had never seen before and ones we would have never seen if we were on our normal route on the highway. After a following this new path, we arrived at our destination on time.
I share this with you today in case your days, or paths, ever get detoured like mine do. I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
When we get detoured in life, may we notice our natural reaction - which for me usually doesn’t include God and instead a lot of emotions. Then, let’s choose to invite God into the detour with us, as Kate reminded me to do on that drive to Boston. May we remember that detours may not be convenient but they are opportunities for us to rely more on God, and less on ourselves. As we move into this week, let’s pray for God's guidance to help us follow His paths for us, rather than our own.
To help you remember this week's message, click HERE for a FREE printable of this week's verse, and listen to this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE.
I pray you have a blessed week, friend!
With love and hope,
Shawn
The Intersection of Joy and Sorrow
(original message sent via email 10/16/23)
We had a wonderful weekend at a family wedding. As much fun as we had, there is also a weight on my heart knowing that there are others right now in the fight for their life. This dichotomy stops me in my tracks sometimes and brings me back to the question, "how can one day be filled with pure joy and at the same time there be such unimaginable sorrow?"
This is a question I asked a wise friend a couple of years ago. The response my friend shared with me that day will stay with me forever. I am sharing his wise words with you today in case you struggle with this dichotomy as well. I pray that what he shared with me will help you too.
What he said to me that day is, “what you are describing is the cross; the intersection of where joy and sorrow meet.”
Let me pause for a moment.
I know a number of years ago if someone said this to me I would have said, “what?!” in my head, and then just nodded my head politely to someone talking about the cross like this to me. So please know I completely get it if that’s where you are today and what you want to do right now while reading this. Yet I also know some of you are nodding your head in complete agreement with my friend's wise words.
Wherever you are on your faith walk, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
What my wise friend was sharing with me is that the cross, where Jesus died, is where joy and sorrow intersect. In the moment Jesus died, there was great sorrow for his death yet that same moment was also filled with immeasurable joy for his selfless sacrifice for you, and for me; freeing us from our sins and giving us life. (And if the word sin is a little much for you, I get it, as it used to be for me. What helped me understand sin better was to see that it means what we say and do that isn't in alignment with God.)
So when I am in a day where I see joy and sorrow happening at the same time, I now look to the cross. For at the cross, I see that Jesus gave us a gift - the example that days like this would exist, and that joy and sorrow will have to exist together for us to truly experience the fullness of life.
Yet that is not the whole story.
There is also hope.
You see when Jesus died, the people thought that was the end of the story, but it wasn't. And so when I hear and see of inexplicable sorrow, it makes me turn to the cross, and remember, God is working at all times, and often we cannot see what He is doing. May we look to Jesus' life, death and resurrection as a reminder that there is hope even when all seems hopeless.
And so today I choose look to the cross and to hold on to hope to anchor me on these days, and in these times, and I offer for you to do the same to help you through.
To help you remember this week's message, click HERE for this week's FREE printable: Hebrews 6:19, and listen to this message on this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE.
I pray you have a blessed week, friend!
With love and hope,
Shawn
Let's Not Do What is Wrong to Belong
(original message sent via email 10/9/23)
Before I share this week's message with you, I wanted to invite you to join me to pray for Israel, however you feel lead to pray...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thank you.
.
.
.
Below is this week's encouraging message for you.
Recently I caught myself making a poor choice and at the heart of my decision, I was trying to avoid this person's disapproval of me. I walked away knowing that I avoided saying what was best just to please the person.
Have you ever done that?
After making this choice, I remembered something my eyes were opened too at a women's group I attended this summer. During one of our group discussions, something really hit my heart. I realized that sometimes we may do what is wrong to belong, and avoid doing what is right in God's sight. This realization hit me as a person, and as a Mom. The desire to belong in life can be so strong, at any age, that we sometimes choose to go against our values and say or do things - or avoid saying or doing things - with the hope of gaining belonging/approval of a certain person, or a group of people. Since realizing this, it has helped me grow stronger within and more compassionate towards others, especially my kids. (Now I clearly see how some of their choices through the years has been about their longing to belong - which I admittedly didn't see at the time.)
I share this with you today in case you can relate on a personal level, and/or if you have kids - to better understand the why behind some of their choices. I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
May we remember that the desire to belong is innately in each of us. The truth is we already belong, as we are a member of God's family (-Ephesians 2:19). What can be challenging is that God is invisible and the people in front of us are visible. Therefore, it's very natural, and understandable, for us to seek to belong to what is seen rather than what is unseen. Yet moving forward let's flip it and pray to have a heart towards God first so He can help us make wise choices with our interactions with the people who are in front of us. This is easier said than done, but worth the practice.
As we move into this week, may we ask God to help us recognize when we find ourselves saying and doing things to belong or gain the person's approval - and open our eyes when we start avoiding saying and doing things to avoid a person's disapproval. May we pray to have the wisdom and strength to say and/or do what is right in God's sight, trusting nothing we say or do will change our belonging to His family.
And most importantly, if there is anything you keep in your heart this week is to remember that you already belong, in God's family...and in our Live from the Inside Out™ community.
To help you remember this week's message, click HERE for this week's FREE printable: 3 Questions to Ask Ourselves to Help Us Do What is Right In God’s Sight, and listen to this message on this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE.
I pray you have a blessed week, friend!
With love and hope,
Shawn
Set Our Minds on Things Above
(original message sent via email 10/2/23)
On a recent family hike, at the top of the mountain there was a tower that you can climb up to to view the valley below. We climbed up the tower and as I looked out, I saw how the sun was shining over the valley below and how some clouds were scattered in the sky. I was thinking about how the people who have no clouds above are experiencing a sunny day, but those below the clouds are experiencing a cloudy moment in their day.
From this mountain top perspective, I could see that it was a sunny day and the clouds were only temporary.
When I paused to process this, it made me think about God's point of view of our lives. From His vantage point every day is sunny and He can see that any "clouds" we are experiencing are temporary and will pass, in time. And even in the evening, when we see the night sky, the sun is still shining, we just don't see it from where we are, but God does.
Reflecting on this made me see how I can sometimes be "under clouds" or "in the dark" and I may forget to look up and consider what God sees from His perspective. God is the one who sees the whole picture and how whatever it is I am experiencing is temporary - although temporary in our lives may not always feel temporary.
Colossians 3:2 reads, "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." This verse reminds me that I can get focused on the clouds, or dark moments, and that it's best for me to seek God first to help me with whatever it is I am going through. I need to remember that there is good in every day, and whatever the clouds are that I may be experiencing, it's best to look at them with God beside me, rather than try to tackle them alone. I am sharing this with you today in case you too can get fixated on the clouds and forget to invite God in. I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
Whether we are experiencing a good day or a bad day, may we pray to seek God above all else. May we give thanks to God for the good days, and the good in each day, and if we are having trouble seeing the good, may we pray that God helps us see it. And if we are experiencing a cloudy or dark day or season, may we remember that God is with us and sees the bigger picture. Instead of trusting in ourselves, which I admittedly do, may we place our trust in God and do what we can to help keep our eyes and ears on God, above all else, so our perspective broadens, as mine did that day on that mountain top.
For more encouragement, click HERE for this week's FREE printable: 7 ways to help keep your eyes on God, and click HERE to listen to this message on this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Sometimes It Takes A Journey Away for Find Our Way Back Home
(original message sent via email 9/23/23)
While we were away on vacation this summer in Nova Scotia we had stopped off at this restaurant to pick up some food for dinner. While we were waiting for the food to be ready, we sat in the bar area and listened to a local musician who was playing. As he strummed his guitar and shared stories through the lyrics, I felt like I was at a session at a pub in Ireland. After one of the songs he took a small break and came over to say hello. As we were talking I asked him questions including how long he had been playing, and if he was from Nova Scotia? He shared that he had been a musician for over 20 years and had traveled to many to many places and had recently moved back home to Nova Scotia, where he grew up. As we walked away from our conversation with him, I was thinking about how he started his life in Nova Scotia but he journeyed away, and after having many adventures he realized that he wanted to be back home in Nova Scotia.
Reflecting on this, made me think of my own journey, not one of moving around as I still live in my hometown, but my journey of faith. I was raised in a family of faith. We went to church on Sundays and we said our prayers before bed at night. Yet once I left home I really didn’t think about God or lean into my faith much. I do remember when Stephen went off to boot camp I found myself going back to church as there was something comforting about being there for me. But my attendance at church didn’t last long. I was on a journey in life and it wasn’t until 2009 that I truly started thinking about going back to my roots and explore my relationship with God.
It makes me think about how so many of us were raised going to church who journeyed away. Or maybe maybe you weren’t raised in church and God has never been a part of your life and now you are curious. Either way, we are all on this journey in life, yet often we don’t think about where we are headed. My walk with cancer was a time where I realized I was heading somewhere, and there was no place I wanted to be more than to be home with God on this journey.
Psalm 90:1 reads, “Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!”
No matter where you are on your faith journey, my prayer over you, and me, is that our steps continue to lead us home - to the one who truly knows us, who loves us as we are - God.
I think depending upon how we were raised in church, we might think we have to be a certain way to be seen and loved by God but on my own journey to live from the inside out, I have learned that God sees me as I am, loves me as I am, and welcomes me as I am. I don’t need to be a tidy, perfect package. And the same is true for you!
So wherever you are on your faith journey, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
Like the musician in Nova Scotia, may we recognize it may take a journey away before we find our way back home to God. Let’s pray that no matter where we are in our faith journey, this week we choose to take one step of faith towards God, even if that step is asking God, if He even exists. And may we also remember, we all have loved ones who have their own journey. For those of us who are walking with God, may we choose to love and never judge where others are on their journey back home. Instead may we ask ourselves if we are being stumbling blocks for others to know God, or a bridge for them to get to know God. Whatever the answer is, this week may we purposefully meet others wherever they are with love, patience and compassion, walking beside them on their journey back home, just like God does for us.
For more encouragement, click HERE for this week's FREE printable, and click HERE for listen to this message on this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!
- Psalm 90:1
God Is Always Working
(original message sent via email 9/18/23)
In my backyard earlier this month and I saw this budding rose. All the other roses had already bloomed so this growth was unexpected, yet still beautiful to see. Typically roses grow in June, July and maybe August in Connecticut. Seeing this rose growing in early September reminded me that nature doesn't resist change no matter the season, it flows - and grows - with it.
This thought made me pause ask myself, and God, "am I resisting change in this season that will help me grow?"
I am recognizing that unlike nature, I don't just go with the flow all the time and I can be resistant to change, and the growth that may come with it. I share this with you today in case you can relate. If so, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
This week let's practice letting go and trusting God. May we remember we are all works in progress. May seeing this budding rose in September remind us that God is always working, even when we don't expect Him to. May we humbly ask God to show us where we are resisting change and growth in our lives. May we remember that He is for us and seeks to help us unfold into who He made us to be, just like He did for this beautiful rose.
Have a blessed week!
With love and hope,
Shawn
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,
but only God who gives the growth.
- 1 Corinthians 3:7
Remember
(original message sent via email 9/11/23)
Every year my kids and I take flowers to this statue that sits outside of our local library on September 11th. It's a statue we pass by many times throughout the year, but it's always on this day we pause to remember. This statue is in memory of Amy Toyen, a young woman who is from our hometown, who lost her life on September 11, 2001. Amy's life was taken too soon, as were many were on that tragic day.
I bring my kids here because there is value in remembering our past. I share this with you today to invite you to join us to...
pause. breathe. pray.™
May we remember...
...every person whose life was taken too soon.
…every family impacted by the loss of a loved one, who carries the memories of them in their hearts everyday.
…every survivor, and their visible, or invisible wounds.
...how people walked beside one another in their brokenness.
…every selfless soul who ran towards the danger to help others, some surviving, and others giving their life to save someone else's.
…the empathy and the compassion people had for one another.
…we didn’t see one another’s race, ethnicity, religion, political views, etc. That day, we saw each other as the human beings we are.
...we stood beside one another in solidarity.
…and out of this tragedy, we united in love.
By choosing to remember, and keeping the memory alive of those whose lives were taken too soon, like Amy's, we honor their life by letting their story continue to make a difference. And when remembering, may we pray for God to help us learn from the past so that we can do our part to make a better present, and future, for the generations to come.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Mourn with those who mourn
- Romans 12:15
Listen and Learn
(original message sent via email 9/4/23)
As we finished up a hike recently, Matt shared how the way back seemed longer. I shared that my experience was the way back was shorter. We concluded that people can travel the same path but have different experiences. As I walked away from this conversation, it made me think about how in our family of five, and how daily we have five separate experiences, even when we are together. I love how this brief yet potent conversation with Matt reminded me to keep my ears open to other people’s experiences, even though they may be different doesn’t mean I’m right and they are wrong or vice versa. It’s just another angle God gifts us with to broaden our lens, and perspective.
I share this with you today in case you too need to grow in perspective, like I do.
I invite you today to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
May we be willing to listen to other people’s experiences and perspectives. The truth is, we can learn from everyone if we are open and willing. Even when we travel parallel paths, our experiences may be different but are still worth listening to, like Matt and I learned from each other at the end of our hike.
For more encouragement, take a listen to this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast episode, Let's Be Before We Do, HERE.
Have a blessed week, friend!
With love and hope,
Shawn
As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
- Proverbs 27:17
The Skilled Pilot
(original message sent via email 8/28/23)
With summer vacation coming to a close, I was reflecting on something I saw on a ferry ride we took earlier this summer.
We were coming home from our trip from Nova Scotia and were on a ferry ride from Yarmouth, NS to Bar Harbor, Maine. Towards the end of the ferry ride there was an announcement that the boat would be slowing down so the pilot from Bar Harbor would board the ship and pilot the ferry into the harbor.
Hearing this made me think how every day we are on a journey. And whatever journey we are on, whether it is with school starting or a different journey, we have a choice, to navigate the journey on our own or to slow down and invite God, the most skilled pilot of life, "on board" to help us navigate our way on the journey.
Whatever journey you are on this week, I invite you to join me today to...
pause. breathe. pray.™
May we remember that we don't need to go through this day, week, month, season, year or life alone. God is always there. We may not see Him, like the pilot boat in the fog in the picture above, but He is always ready and willing to be there to help us navigate our way through the smooth, and rough, days of our lives. It may be humbling for us to admit we need His help, yet may we slow down and invite Him on this journey each day, like the ferry driver invites the pilot on board so they safely make it to the harbor every time.
And for more encouragement for your week, a new Live from the Inside Out™ podcast episode, You are Encircled with Love, is available for you to listen to HERE.
Have a blessed week!
With love and hope,
Shawn
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
- Psalm 32:8