The Power Of Prayer

Last night I was driving home with Matt and I said a prayer out loud for something we passed on the road. He said, “I never thought to pray for something like that.”

I said, “well it never hurts to pray.” Then I went on to share with him what someone shared with me once, how even though we may never see the results of our prayers we can at least put them out there. It’s like the flap of a butterflies wings that change the quality of the air near and far, our prayers do the same thing.

I know prayer isn’t a go to these days like it used to be yet I have experienced the power of prayer and want the same for you, whether the prayers are for yourself, or for someone else.

I share this with you today as a reminder of the power of prayer. Prayer doesn’t mean we always get what we want. And like a child and parent relationship, not every parent gives their child their desires because they see the bigger picture. In life, we are the children and God is our parent and prayer is our conversation with God.

So today, whatever is on your heart, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

May we be willing to share our desires, wishes, worries, fears and doubts with God. Like the flap of the butterflies wings, may we trust in the unseen, and that our prayers can change things. God hears our hearts. May we rest in knowing that God loves us, listens to us, is for us, and will do what is best.

And whether we see the impact of our prayers or not, may that never stop us from asking, or believing in their power.

With love and hope,
Shawn
For more encouragement, be sure to listen to this week's PBP podcast episode "Please, stop telling yourself lies! Three steps to renew your mind."


With love and hope,
Shawn

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God..”
- Philippians 4:6

How there is Wisdom and Strength In Silence Sometimes

Yesterday our family went for a walk in a park. While we were there we witnessed a heart-breaking yet powerful moment from afar.

As we were walking we heard one man screaming, he was so loud that we heard him across the park. His voice was filled with anger and rage. When we stopped walking to see what was going on. This man was was standing about 10 or so yards away from another man who was innocently walking two dogs. The enraged man was screaming profanity at this other man for no reason at all, and what he was screaming was awful. The man with the dogs kept his composure, and distance, saying nothing back. The out of control man eventually walked on, continuing to rant, rave and scream upsetting things. 

Two people, who were close to the scene, approached the man with the dogs. It was lovely to see what appeared to be strangers checking in on him. Then they held up their phones to him - my gut was that they had recorded what happened and shared it with him.  A little while later we saw the man with the dogs was with the police. He was holding his phone up to them. The police car soon headed in the direction of the enraged man who was still wandering through the park. 

Witnessing this heart-breaking yet powerful moment made me think of real wisdom and strength. The man full of anger was saying all sorts of things in a loud voice that would appear to make the words strong yet what he displayed was lack of wisdom and weakness, tearing down another human with his words.

Wisdom here was the man with the dogs who chose to say nothing. And strength was in his ability to not react to the awful words being spewed at him. Rather than addressing the man himself, he responded wisely letting the law enforcement approach the man.

I share this with you today as reminder that our words and actions - and silence and inaction - are powerful, and we need to chose to use them wisely. Inspired by the man of integrity yesterday, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.™ 

May we all learn from his healthy response that we don't need to react to noise, hate, and lies. Instead in our silence, may we gain insight and strength from the Lord to know what we are to say and do, or what we need not say and do so that we don't feed the fire, but instead help diffuse it in one another, like this man did yesterday.

For more encouragement, be sure to listen to this week's PBP podcast episode "Please, stop telling yourself lies! Three steps to renew your mind."


With love and hope,
Shawn

“The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly.”
- Proversb 15:2

Look at What Is In Front of You

Sometimes the best view is the one right in front of you😎

With love and hope,

Shawn

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Take a moment in your day...

Take a few moments in your day to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

And state a few things you have to be thankful for💕🙏💕

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

How to Stop Resisting Change

As I sat in my prayer chair this morning, I was watching it hail/snow - which my kids are thankful for as their schools have delayed openings.

Weather in New England is a roller coaster ride - just when we have a beautiful 50+ degree day, you get snow a few days later. I am not one to check the weather and just go with the flow of what comes each day.

It’s funny though because I’m like this with the weather and other things yet change is something I resist in some areas of my life.

When I see the budding trees, the weather, our kids growing, change is beautiful, and inevitable. I’ve been asking myself, “how is resisting change at all productive?”

And the answer I keep coming to is, “it’s not.”

As my eyes are opening to my resistance to change, I am seeing I need to let go of what was and trust God with what is to come.

“Better is one handful with tranquility than two hands grasping the wind.”
- Ecclesiastes 4:6

This verse reminds me to keep my palms open to change rather than grip to what was. With this choice, we will have greater peace within.

I share this with you today and in case you’re like me and resist change in certain areas of your life. I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

Instead of resisting change, may we be prayerful and open our hands to let go of what was. May we trust God is doing something new and has our best interest at heart. The peace and joy within we seek will come not from resisting change, but by opening ourselves to it and resting in the truth that God is beside us each step of the way.

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Better is one handful with tranquility than two hands grasping the wind.”
- Ecclesiastes 4:6

Real Growth Takes Time

On a walk tonight I paused to look at the buds growing. Seeing them was a reminder that growth doesn’t happen overnight, but happens slowly overtime.

I share this as a reminder to myself, and anyone else who needs to hear this, that growth takes time.

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

May we learn from these buds that real growth is slow and takes time and patience. May we be patient with ourselves and others, remembering we all have the capacity to grow in some way, every day, if we allow it.

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Love is patient,” 1 Corinthians 13:4

Happy Easter!

He allowed himself to be taken away,
beaten,
tortured,
ridiculed.
And not once did he use his position of authority for his personal gain.

He was chosen by the crowds to be hung.
He did not fight the verdict,
defend himself,
or try to escape.
He humbly and courageously walked towards His fate.

He carried His cross while bruised and bloody.
It was heavy.
He fell.
He got back up,
and continued on.

As He hung on the cross dying His pain was great,
Yet His love for others, including you and me, was greater.

When He took His last breath he chose to breathe life out of himself and into us,
by taking away our sins so that we could have a relationship with God.

Today we remember the day Jesus died.
All was lost
-or so it was believed.

And then Sunday came-
He rose,
bringing hope…
even to death.

His life showed us how to live out love.

His death showed us the depth of His love for us.

And His resurrection showed us when all seems lost, there is always hope, with God.

I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

If you haven’t considered following Jesus yet, consider leaning in and learning more for yourself, like I did.

Following Jesus has transformed my life over and over again, because by looking at Him I see love, life and hope - even when all may seem dark and heavy - and I know following Him will do the same for you too.

Wishing you a blessed Easter, friend💕🙏✝️

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’” - John 14:6

1 Timothy 2:6

I’m back in therapy. Long story short is if I get a physical pain in my body I fear the cancer is back. I was good for many years yet this fear has woven its way in and is something I need to work through.

As I was doing my homework for therapy yesterday, at the end of my journal entry I wrote “I got through the day and didn’t give into the fear or the feelings.”

Fear is a real thing and God gave us feelings. These aren’t bad things yet how we engage with them matters. I have found in life when I allow fear or my feelings to lead me, they don’t consistently lead me well and in these circumstances, they often lead me to being in fight, flight or freezing.

Yesterday when I got the physical sensation in my body, my mind went to my now fearful thought pattern. I was out with Matt and I was ready to go home and just freeze the rest of the day. Yet instead I prayed for new thoughts to break the old thought pattern. I also chose to engage in a new behavior, which was to not allow myself to stay still and freeze. I talked myself into what was true and chose to do one errand at a time as I had planned.

It would have been easier for me to go home and freeze getting stuck in the negative thought cycle because that is now my habit. Yet I know that is not how I will heal or what I want my habits to be moving forward. Instead, I chose to do the harder thing; to acknowledge my unproductive thoughts, state new, true thoughts and kept going along with my day, not letting the fear hold me back.

As I reflect on this process, I am reminded that God did not give us a spirit of fear but a Spirit of power, love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:6).

In His strength, not my own, I was able to move through the challenging afternoon yesterday.

I know this will be a journey. I pray to turn towards what is true and allow God, Spirit and therapy help me get out of this unproductive cycle of thought I have been stuck in.

I share this today because I know I am not the only one who struggles with fear and unproductive thought patterns. If you can relate, invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May God open our eyes to where we are living in fear and what our unproductive thought patterns are. Let’s meet ourselves with love and compassion as He meets us. May we pray to see what tools we need beyond prayer to help us through the fear, and help us move away from old patterns/habits into new ones. May we have no shame or guilt about this process. Instead may we see it as a time to grow closer in relationship with God and to prune away what isn’t working so we can grow fuller into who God made us to be.

With love and hope,

Shawn

God did not give us a spirit of fear but a Spirit of power, love and self-control - 2 Timothy 1:6

Let's Go Slow

“Hey Mom, look at the sunrise.”

The sunrise was beautiful this morning but what was more beautiful to me was that my kid was going slow enough to notice and made sure I saw it too.

I share this with you this morning to invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

May we go slow enough today to keep our eyes and ears open to the beauty God has for us in this day.💕🙏🌅

With love and hope,
Shawn

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised. - Psalm 113:3

The Lion and The Lamb

Recently our family took a walk together and along the path were some animals, including goats and sheep, and a little lamb.  I love the time with them enjoying the simple moments like this.

A few days after our walk I came across a picture of a lion and a lamb. With Easter on the horizon, for some reason that day the picture hit me in a way that seeing these two animals together hadn't hit me before. For the the first time I saw Jesus as the lamb and the lion. I knew that Jesus was both, lion and lamb, but I still thought of Him more as a lamb. When I would think of Him walking into Jerusalem, towards his fate on the cross I saw a lamb. On this day though I saw that it took the courage of a lion to get onto that donkey to go to Jerusalem. Yes, Jesus is gentle, innocent and pure as a lamb is and He did sacrifice His life for you and for me to have a relationship with God. But that isn't the whole story. Jesus is also strong and courageous like a lion to willingly come face to face with fear, public shaming, and death.

With my eyes opened now to this, it made me think about how we are to be both lamb and lion to. If we are called to be followers of Christ and be imitators of Him, then we are to be gentle, innocent and pure like the lamb while also being strong and courageous and willing to face hard things, like Jesus did.

As we sit with this truth of Jesus being both lion and lamb, I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.™

Let's take a moment to ask ourselves, are we more lion or lamb naturally? For me I am more naturally a lamb and need to live more courageously like a lion these days.

How about you?

As we head towards Palm Sunday, may we take time to give thanks to Jesus for His strength and courage that day as He rode into Jerusalem. May we pray that we will follow His example and be a lamb when needed, and a lion when needed so that we are a reflection to others of His strong character, trusting that God is with us every step of the way, as Jesus did.

For more encouragement, LISTEN to this week's NEW EPISODE of the Pause. Breathe. Pray. ™ Podcast.  I pray these messages encourage you and you have a blessed day, friend.

With love and hope,
Shawn

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,

for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

- Joshua 1:9