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...
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Thank you. 
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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

Embrace the Changing Seasons

(original message sent via email 8/21/23)

My apologies about sending this email today instead of on Monday. I have had technical difficulties with the podcast this week. I finally decided to let it go and send this email your way. My hope is to have everything all set for the podcast next week.  Until then, I pray this message below blesses you on your journey to live from the inside out...
 

As I stood pumping gas earlier this week I noticed the leaves were changing on this tree, and some leaves had even fallen.

It’s only August.

As I looked at the leaves that had changed and fallen I thought, “I'm not ready for this yet.”

I realized this wasn’t the first time I thought this that day.

Earlier in the day I took Kate, Gavin and Matt for shopping for their school supplies. On our way there I realized it was the last time we'd be school shopping all together, as Kate is entering her senior year in High School.

“I'm not ready for this yet,” I thought as I watched the three of them pick out their supplies, as they laughed and annoyed each other through the process. I was in disbelief that Kate will be headed off to college next year.

Time is so precious and it’s not something we get to slow down, or stop.

As I looked back at the tree, I was reminded that things will happen in God’s timing, not mine. I can resist this truth, or pray to embrace it. I’m praying to embrace this truth and choose to stop trying to slow down time, and enjoy the moments beside my loved ones instead.

I share this with you today in case you too find that time seems to be slipping away.

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

May we do our best to be present beside our loves ones and trust that God’s timing is better than our own; even when that means embracing the seasons of life change, in nature, and in our homes.

With love and hope,

Shawn

P.S. For more encouragement this week, listen to the latest  PODCAST EPISODE HERE!

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven
- Ecclesiastes 3:1

A Renewed Perspective

(original message sent via email 8/14/23)

While we were away earlier this summer, we were on a family hike and we came across this old structure. The five of us walked around it. Four of us walked around it once, but the fifth family member decided to walk around the structure again, in the other direction. When we asked him why he did that he replied, "By going in the other direction I gained a new perspective."

When he said that, those words resonated with me. Going in a different direction can help us gain a new perspective. I realized how applicable this is for us in life. Sometimes I know I can go through the motions, yet I know that doesn't always bring me a renewed perspective I may need. I do find that when I choose to do something different from the norm, God always has a lesson waiting for me to learn.

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

pause. breathe. pray.™

May we choose to move in a new direction this week, whether that means taking a new path to work this week, stopping into a different coffee shop, reading a different news outlet, connecting with someone who we know has differing views than we do, choosing to listen more than speak, or something else. By choosing to move in a different direction, may we open our eyes and ears to what God has for us to learn by choosing this new path. May we pray to gain a renewed perspective, just as our son did walking around this unique structure.

And for more encouragement, listen to this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast to learn how you can ride the waves in life, with your eyes focused more on God than the waves.

Have a blessed week!

With love and hope,

Shawn

 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
- 2 Corinthians 4:18

What Do We Put Our Trust In?

(original message sent via email 8/4/23)

I had my follow up in Boston and all is well, the biopsy is benign! Thank God! I am truly grateful for this prayerful community and for your thoughtful notes and prayers over the past week. Please know I am here beside you as well to pray for you as well whenever you need it.

Waiting for results is never easy for me. I waver between trusting God wholeheartedly to fear gripping my heart, to trusting God to playing stories in my head about negative outcomes (stay tuned on Monday for the new podcast where I talk more about this).

Trusting God is something we all can do. Consistently trusting God is not easy but a practice I pray to grow in, and I pray you do too, with the help of Spirit. 

A quick story for you about trust for you before we enter the weekend...

One morning recently I came downstairs and saw money on the counter one of our kids had left there after work. When I went to move the money, I saw this dollar. When I looked closer my heart sank.

Can you see what made my heart sink?

"In God we trust" is crossed out on this dollar bill. Seeing this broke my heart because God is not only worth believing in, but trusting in. I didn't always believe and trust in God but I never would have thought to cross these words out. I know not everyone believes in God but someone disbelieves enough that they chose to cross out these words. I paused to think that the person who did this and wondered what their story is that lead them to the moment when they chose to do this.

What makes them not trust in God? And what is it that they put their trust in?

I am not sure if seeing this bothers you as much as it bothers me but I share it today to shine a light on the truth that so many people don't believe or trust in God. I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.™ 

May we be a part of the change we need to see and be a bridge for others to get to know, love and trust in God. Through our words and actions may we be the salt and light we are called to be, and may we help others see that He is worth believing in and He is trustworthy - not just when we get good news, but all the time. 

And the next time we pick up a dollar bill, may we take a moment not only to read these words, but may we pray we live them out so that others, like the person who crossed this out, may someday be curious enough to take a step of faith towards God, instead of away from Him.

With love and hope,

Shawn

P.S. For more encouragement for your weekend, listen to this week's  PODCAST EPISODE!

 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
- Proverbs 3:5-6

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