Happy 18th Birthday to Kate!

🥳Happy 18th Birthday to Kate!🥳

When Kate was about 3, I remember sitting on the stoop outside a local donut shop with her. As we opened the bag with the donuts she said, “being content means just you and me and a couple of donuts.” (She was paraphrasing a line from a book we read “Cookies”)

In that moment my heart melted because she knew that being content wasn’t from anything more than experiencing a moment together on that stoop with her Mom (and yes, maybe the donuts too😉).

As she steps into this new season ahead, my prayer for her is that she will always remember that contentment within will never come from chasing the wind but from sitting in gratitude with God for the simple joys in life.

Yes, sometimes I still see that little girl and then my eyes are opened to this beautiful young woman in front of me.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” - Proverbs 31:25

I may not be ready for this next season but she is, and for that, I couldn’t be more thankful.

If you would join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

And consider taking a moment to pray over Kate, and all those entering this new season of being 18, I’d greatly appreciate it.

With joy, gratitude and hope,
Shawn


💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Pause. Breathe. Pray.™ podcast HERE💌

 
 

A New Path

Yesterday Georgia and I walked on a different trail than usual. As we walked I grew an appreciation for the new perspective that came with choosing a new path. New sights, new sounds, and for Georgia, new smells.

I don’t know about you but I have habits and routines that I love, yet sometimes I remain in them so rigidly, I forget to be fluid and allow God to lead my steps.

I am sharing this with you today in case you can relate. I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

Yes, routines are good and give structure to our day yet if we are stuck in our routines, than we may be holding ourselves back from experiencing what God has for us. I see that God is doing something new with me by having me change up my routines, even something as simple as walking a new trail yesterday. Let’s make time to pray about our routines and ask God to help us let go of our rigidity and trust the path He leads us on. If we find ourselves on a new path may we open our eyes, ears and hearts to what He is doing, like I am thankful I was able to do on my walk with Georgia yesterday.

With love and hope,
Shawn

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

- Isaiah 43:18-19


💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌

 
 

Brokenness can be an opportunity for something new to grow.

Music is a saving grace for me. Lyrics capture my heart and help me keep my eyes and ears fixed on God which helps me renew my thoughts…in time.

Yesterday I was so tangled in a web of unwanted thoughts I played, “I surrender all” on repeat on my walk to help me give God the reigns to guide my thoughts, and steps.

By the grace of God I experienced a renewal in my thoughts by the days end- years ago I may have been down for months.

Then this morning I heard a song that’s been on for a while and every time I hear a line in it, it captures my heart. The line is…

“I push like a daisy through old sidewalk cracks.” - @laineywilson

This line reminds me that it’s okay to be broken. Yet being broken doesn’t mean something is wrong with us. Brokenness can be an opportunity for something new to grow. When we give our brokenness to God, He can use it, and redeem it, like He does when we see that daisy growing in sidewalk cracks.

I am sharing this with you today as a reminder for the moments, days and seasons we feel broken. I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray. ™

May we stop trying to be whole and always in control. May we be willing to admit where we feel broken. Admitting this isn’t a weakness but a strength. Let’s invite God into our broken places and ask Him to renew us, and watch as He grows something new out of the brokenness…in time.

With love and hope,
Shawn

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. - 2 Corinthians 12:9


💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌

 
 

Do you Ever Experience Negative Self Talk? Me too...

This morning I woke up filled with negative self talk. If you’re someone who doesn’t deal with this, I am so grateful. Yet negative self talk is something that is very natural for me. Thankfully it isn’t as often as it used to be but when it starts it can be like a snowball rolling down a hill that grows and grows. Outwardly I am sincere when encouraging others but I don’t always talk that way to myself.

Can you relate?

Starting off my day like this was not what I planned nor wanted. It takes little effort to stay in the cycle of negative thoughts, yet takes every ounce of energy to fight off these negative words.

In case you too have moments like this I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray. ™

Remember, not every thought we have is true. Let’s not allow lies to take us down for the day. Let’s do our best to do things that nourish our mind, body and soul and be prayerful for God to renew our minds. Let’s move our bodies instead of staying still. Let’s choose to put messages in our eyes and ears that will help us shift our thoughts away from these lies and back to what is true, and who God tells us we are. Let’s choose to avoid looking at or listening to things that may add fuel to the fire (ie social media). Instead, let’s open up to a loved one and let them know where we are so that they can help us speak truth to ourselves and pray for us.

I know this isn’t easy. Yet I know it’s possible to shift our thoughts, because I have experienced it myself. I am praying if you’re there, you experience a shift too.

Let’s be willing to fight for God’s truth to be what our thoughts are rooted in so that the lies don’t take over.

Why?

Because we were made to be light and love, not darkness and self-loathing. So let’s fight for truth to rule our minds, and always know you’re never alone in the battle. Others go through this too, and God is always with us to help us through💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn

PS please note, if negative talk is a regular thing, be sure to contact your doctor to see what other tools may be helpful🙏


💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌

 
 

A Season of Change

Yesterday Stephen and I went on a walk with Matty, today we did college tours with Gav and I realized this week in six months Kate will be at college. We are entering a season of change and I want to say I am fully trusting God yet the reality is, I’m still holding on a bit rather than letting go and trusting God with this new season ahead.

I have such gratitude to be here to experience these moments beside them, but to be honest, I am beginning to process how our family of five is changing, from all being together, to Kate and Gavin soon branching out on their own.

The other morning I read something powerful and it is truly helping me shift my mindset about the future. What I read was…

“The praise for past gratitude is sweet, but even sweeter is the praise of full confidence that all will be well.” - C.H.Spurgeon

Rather than thinking about what is to come with sadness and uncertainty, this quote is making me take a 180 and give thanks for what is to come, without knowing what the future holds.

With God, all will be well. This doesn’t mean there won’t be bumps in the road, yet He can redeem the bumps and use them as stepping stones on our paths.

So if you too get uncertain about the future or are also in a season of change, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

May we look to God as a filter to see the future through. For when we do this, even though we don’t know what the future holds, God knows. Therefore rather than resisting what’s ahead, let’s give thanks for what is to come, trusting that all will be well, with Him by our side.

With love and hope,
Shawn


💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌

 
 

An unexpected treat!

I received this unexpected letter from an elementary school class. On Friday I had the opportunity to visit their classroom💝 What a treat!

If you are an elementary school teacher, para or staff member, DM me so we can find a way to encourage your school community and remind each person that their puzzle piece matters!💕🙏🧩

With gratitude and hope,
Shawn
💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌

Principles for Life

Something you may not know about me is that I love to coach youth sports. This season I coached Matt’s basketball team and this past weekend the team got their first win in their last game! It was exciting and I am so proud of the boys, but it wasn’t about the win, it was about the progress they made this season, as individuals and as a team.

Everyone that knows me well knows I am a competitor at heart. Yet as a coach, I know there are more important things to teach the kids than to just aim for the win. Every time we have the opportunity to work with a child - or anyone for that matter - is a chance to build the person up, from the inside out. So at the start of the season I make sure the team knows that we are there to build them up first as people, then as players, and then as a team. To help us accomplish this, we also established five principles for the team to build their season on.

  1. Be your personal best.

  2. Build each other up with your words and actions.

  3. Do the small things consistently to make the big things happen.

  4. Have a W.I.N.ners mentality (so that when they make a mistake rather than dwelling on it they instead ask the question, W.I.N. - What Is Next?)

  5. Have fun!

These principles we teach these kids aren’t just for the court but are useful tools to live out off the court as well. You see, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what their record is because that doesn’t determine their worth. But who they become by the end of the season, that is what coaching is all about.

And these boys demonstrated growth this season, as people, as players, and they grew in unity as a team and it was awesome to watch! In each practice and game they stepped more and more into their potential and to finish the season on a make with a win was the cherry on top.

I share this with you today because I am so excited for, and proud of, these boys! And also, because having a firm foundation of principles to build our teams, or lives on, is essential.

And that is what a life of faith is all about.

It is about taking God’s Word and placing it as the foundation of our lives. It is about the principles God teaches us in His word and living them out towards ourselves, and others. Like our team, we will see progress 

when we take God’s principles and put them into practice in our lives.

With that said, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

Let’s take a moment to answer a couple questions honestly:

  • What is the “win” we are aiming for in life?

  • Are we more focused on that “win” than on God’s Word and living out His the principles?

  • List 2-3 principles from scripture that we will focus on putting into practice consistently (for example one of mine is to love God and love my neighbor as myself)

May answering these questions help us establish a firm foundation to build our lives on, just as these boys built their season on these principles, and eventually got their “win.”

With love and hope, 

Shawn


💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌

Makes My Heart Smile

I received this picture from a school I recently shared A Place for Sam with. Seeing this mural of all these unique puzzle pieces brings so much joy to my heart. The mural is the culminating activity for the students and staff to have a visual reminder that each of their puzzle pieces matter in their school, and beyond!

If you’d like to share this powerful and purposeful book and activity with your children’s school, or where you teach, DM your email and your school’s name.
I will send you a personalized email with detailed info about the author visit and activities.

And before you go, take a moment to…

pause. breathe. pray.

And remember that your puzzle piece matters in your home, your community and beyond💕🙏🧩

I pray you never forget that.

With joy and hope,
Shawn
💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌

Unfolding

Yesterday I was looking at this beautiful flower that started as a bulb in my kitchen. It never ceases to amaze me to see something so beautiful grow out of a bulb, dirt, water and a little sunlight.

I share this with you today as we head into the final stretch of winter. It may feel some days in winter that we are in a heavier, dark place, like the bulb. Yet may the longer, lighter days recently remind us of what is to come, not just in the weather, but in our lives. I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray. ™

May our time with God be the light and water in our lives that nourishes us, from the inside out. And let’s learn from the flower to keep moving towards the light and that we don’t need to strive to change but instead allow ourselves to unfold into who we were made to be, in time.

With love and hope,
Shawn

💌For more encouragement, listen to this week’s Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE💌


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

- 2 Corinthians 5:17

A Simple Thank You

Yesterday we had some wintery weather. Kate and I ran a few errands. When we were leaving one of the stores there was a man shoveling and laying down salt. I said, “thank you for what you’re doing.”

He seemed surprised and said, “you’re welcome.”

Kate and I started walking away and he called out to us and said, “thank you for saying that. I’ve been doing this a long time and that was the first time anyone has ever thanked me.”

Hearing this broke my heart. It made me think of all the people around us in our days who help us in small and large ways who are never thanked for who they are, and what they do.

I share this today to shine a light on the power of simply saying thank you with a sincere heart to someone.

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray. ™

This week let’s keep our eyes and ears open to people along our path who we can thank. I can share from this experience, and others, that a simple thank you can go a long way. And like it was for the gentleman yesterday, your thank you may be the only one they receive.

With love and hope,

Shawn


"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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