The Journey Of Parenting

As I walked along the trails one day, I clearly saw the journey of parenting.

You see, I was walking along and on both sides there were fences.

A little further along, one side only had a fence and the other side had none.

And then a little while later the trail no longer had fencing, just the path before me to follow along, if I chose to stay on it.

When our kids are young, it’s like being on the trail with the fences on both sides. Our kids are on a path, paved by our values, and are guided by the established guardrails we make to keep our kids well and on the path.

As they grow, it’s like being on the trail where there is a fence only on one side. On this part of our journey as parents, we continue to live out our values and establish guardrails but our kids have more independence, hence only one fence. This growing independence is a time for our kids to explore the path while they are with us and practice staying on the path and living out their values. And sometimes on this stretch of trail, our kids will choose to off-road. When they do, it’s an opportunity for us to process their choices with them, and once again, lead them back to the wisest path.

And then the day will come, or has come, when we step back and our kids step forward continuing on the path. Yet there are no longer established fences for them except the ones we have planted in their hearts through the years, and the values we have laid out for them. In this stretch of the journey, our kids get to establish their own guardrails and values, as we pray we’ve lead them well towards who God made them to be.

Parenting is a beautiful and hard journey. And the saving grace I turn to along the way to help me see my kids in a renewed way is that everyday I am to God who my kids are to me.

We are all children of God, given the freedoms to choose the path before us and establish the guardrails to help us stay on the path He has for us. Sometimes we follow it and sometimes we stray, but like any loving parent, God is there to come beside us and guide us back on the path, just like we are to our kids; no matter their age or where they are on the journey.

With love & hope,

Shawn

Purposefully Move

Yesterday Georgia and I were sitting out back and a white moth flew by. It’s wings were fluttering wildly and I couldn’t tell if the moth was being carried by the wind or if it was purposefully flying that way.

It made me pause and think about my week ahead.

Am I being carried by the wind in my days or am I purposefully moving into my days and week?

The reality is sometimes I am purposeful and sometimes I am move into my week and just get caught up in the busy. If you can relate, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we take time to be with God to root ourselves in the firm foundation He provides as we enter this day, and week. May we not allow the wind to move us but instead may we be prayerful to help us move with purpose step by step in our days. For when we do, sometimes it will give us margin for moments that will help refresh our perspective, like seeing a simply white moth flying by me did.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. - 1 Corinthians 15:58

We Become What We Practice

Today I asked this powerful question in a leadership class I am teaching to juniors and seniors.

As much as teens may benefit from answering this question the reality is this an important question all of us would benefit from reflecting on.

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Make we take time to consider what our daily practices are and where they are leading us. May we be honest with ourselves as we answer this question. There are many practices that may seem harmless yet are actually ones that are leading us away from who we were made to be. May we consider if our practices fueling us or depleting us. Are they growing us or inhibiting our growth?

As we reflect on this question, may we commit moving forward to choosing at least one practice that includes deepening our relationship with God. For when we do this one practice, we will find ourselves becoming who God made us to be.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice. - James 1:22

Know Our Strengths and Our Weaknesses

In some of my PE classes we have moved into the lacrosse unit.

I am horrible at lacrosse.

When I started teaching many years ago I remember thinking I needed to be good at everything. Yet time has taught me it’s okay to admit your weaknesses. It’s actually a strength to be able to do so.

So when I started this unit I was honest with my students about my lack of skill. I chose to invite those who are better at lacrosse to come beside me to help me teach the skills and lead some of the activities.

It’s been really amazing to watch a number of my students seamlessly step into the leadership role as I allow myself to step to the side.

If you too have had trouble at times admitting your weaknesses, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we let go of the expectation we are to be good at everything; that’s a lie somehow that has become engrained in society. Instead may we give thanks for our strengths and use them wisely. And where we know our weaknesses are, may we invite others beside us who are strong in those areas to either help us get stronger, or may we instead step aside and let them shine in their strength, as many of my students have done.

With love and hope,

Shawn

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Hope Is Found in Jesus

Have you ever felt hopeless?

I have.

Today is a day that causes me to pause and sit with what hope is.

I remember once being told that hope stands for…

Hold

On

Peace

Exists

Peace exists.

That’s a beautiful idea but is it true?

I believe it is.

And what brings me hope and makes me believe this is a person and a historical event, which we celebrate this Easter weekend.

Yesterday was Good Friday, the day Jesus died. All those who followed Jesus lost all hope that day.

The person they had been following died. All the hope they had in Jesus and who they thought he was and what he had proclaimed died with him.

Sometimes I will sit today and imagine what it must have been like to have been a Jesus follower on this day back then. The followers had put all their eggs in this one basket and now he was gone.

Why would anyone think someone would come back to life? That doesn’t happen, especially after a crucifixion.

Until it did.

Three days after Jesus died, he is alive. And it was not for a brief moment, but for forty days, and he is seen not by one person but hundreds of people during that time.

How do we know this?

It’s documented in historical books, many of which exist together in one book, which we call the Bible.

It is in the truth of the resurrection of Jesus where hope lies and where peace exists.

This Easter weekend, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we reflect on the cornerstones of our faith, the person and the event; Jesus and the resurrection.

May we recognize that hope isn’t a formless something to grasp for but it’s found in a person, Jesus.

When all hope was lost, He came back. He showed that death is not the end of the story and gives us hope that what is seen isn’t the whole story.

God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.

May our hope be in Jesus, in His story, in the resurrection, in what is unseen. And may we trust when we follow Him he will lead us to peace and we will never have to feel hopeless again.

With love and hope,

Shawn

"He is not here; he has risen!"

- Luke 24:6-7

God Never Changes

Yesterday Matt and I had a fun outing. I’ve been going to this mini golf course ever since I was a little kid. This is my favorite hole, although once I was a bit enthusiastic about getting the ball over the water and I hit a woman in the back a couple holes away. Thankfully she was okay and kind about it.

Anyways, while we were playing on the same holes I’ve played on for my entire life, it made me think how nice it is to have some things in life that are constant.

And no, not just mini golf courses, but with today being Good Friday, I am thankful that God’s love for me, and you, remains the same yesterday, today and will be the same for us tomorrow.

With all the changes that happen in life, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we take a few moments in our day and think about all that changes in our lives. May we give thanks to God for his constant - and selfless - love for us, no matter the day, the posture of our heart or our circumstances. When we pause to consider this, I pray we absorb this truth to our core. May we let go of the idea that the only constant in our lives is change. Instead may we lean into the constant presence and love of God. And may we see that some things being constant in our lives is a beautifully thing, like God’s love for us, and being able to share a place from our childhood with our own children.

With love and hope,

Shawn

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:8

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