There are so many things we can turn to to try and bring rest to our souls. I’ve tried turning to many people or things, yet the one place I have turned over and over again that has truly given me rest in my soul is when I’ve turned to God.
If you are seeking rest and restoration for your soul, invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.
May we take time to consider who or what we turn to when we are seeking rest within. May we not judge ourselves but be honest with ourselves and accept where we are. For me, I know turning and following God will help me and I still forget to turn to Him sometimes. So wherever we are on our faith journey, may we take time today to turn to Him, share our hearts, trust we are heard, and that in time, He will bring rest to our soul💕🙏☀️
With love and hope,
Shawn
Look Up Child
Recently while on a run with a friend who has run marathons before, she shared with me that when she finds herself hitting a wall, a strategy she uses is to look up at the tops of the trees. It improves posture and keeps the gaze off the pavement and challenge.
As soon as she share this, all I could hear was this song, Look Up Chid, in my head, and think about the scripture that tells us to “fix our eyes on things above and not on earthly things.” -Colossians 3:2
And since my friend shared this wisdom with me, when I find my eyes on the pavement in front of me, I shift my gaze and posture and fix my eyes on the tree tops, and bring my awareness to God. I pray to be reminded of who I can be praying for -or running in honor or memory of- to help make the run not about me, but a prayerful encounter with God.
I’m not saying there aren’t tough moments still, yet when I fix my eyes on God and am reminded to pray for people, it helps keeps my mind off my struggle and send love towards someone else in prayer.
So whether you are running or not, if you find yourself gazing down, at the pavement, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.
May we look up towards the treetops, adjust our posture, opening our heart to invite God in. May we pray about our own challenge and also ask if there are others we can be praying for as well. For when we do this, we may find that it will help renew our thoughts, strength and perspective, like it does for me to get these runs done.
With love and hope,
Shawn
PS Thanks @terrywalterscooks for thewordsofwisdom💚🙏💚
Prayer for Middle School Students
It’s crazy to say this but Matt is off to Middle School!
He’s always been up for an adventure. And as he meets this new one, I pray for Matt, and all the other middle schoolers…
May you look within, not around, to discover who you are.
Write down the people in your life who genuinely care about and believe in you, and know those are your safe people to go to.
Surround yourself with friends who build you up, and don’t tear you down.
Create u’s not circles in friendships leaving room to invite others in, and a space for you to leave if you need to.
Remember you weren’t made to be great at everything, which means you may not get an A in every class and that is okay. Study skills, a strong work ethic and character are what you’re building, not a perfect report card.
May you know your worth is already established and not dependent on your grades.
Words matter. Choose yours wisely.
Guard your heart and remember what God says about you above all else.
An attitude of gratitude goes a long way.
Know you can learn something from everyone, sometimes it may be how not to be.
Looks for ways to make someone else’s day better.
Remember asking for help is a strength not a weakness.
Engage in activities that build community for you.
Fresh air, sunshine, movement, and a good night’s sleep will benefit you.
Have fun and laugh everyday!
Pause, breathe, pray, and trust God is with you every step of the way.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Shawn on Great Day Connecticut!
Thank you for all your generous donations💝🙏💕 In two short days we’ve raised $2000 more towards rare cancer research! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!💝
If you missed the video and/or want to make a donation and haven’t yet, you can watch it HERE, and donate HERE.
And thank you again to @melissa__cole and the @greatdayconnecticut team for helping make this happen💙🙏💙
With gratitude and hope,
Shawn
A Prayer for College Students
For Kate, and all those heading off - or back - to college, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.
May you know the circles of love around you before you head out, the people you know will always be there for you whether you are near or far.
Allow yourself to be yourself at school, for if you aren’t, no one will ever really meet you.
Be prayerful about which people get level 1 verses level 10 access to your heart and story.
Explore community activities until you find the right fit for you.
Laugh everyday.
Be honest with yourself when you need a hand and be courageous to reach out to the right people who can help you.
Do something out of your comfort zone that will grow your character regularly.
Spend time outside.
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Pray, even a small amount can make a big difference.
Remember this is a journey, you don’t have to know the whole path, just take the next best step.
Seek ways to live out God’s love to others throughout your day. And thank those who live out love towards you.
May your current self makes choices your future self will thank you for.
Make time to rest, renew and restore your mind, body and soul.
Have fun, and always know how much you’re loved.
May God bless you on this new adventure💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
And She's Off!
Yesterday we dropped Kate off at college! What a beautiful and hard day it was to send off our girl on this wonderful new adventure. It was a day full of joy and sadness. Both emotions are real and sometimes it seems strange to experience both yet then I remember the cross.
As I’ve written about before, the cross is where sadness and joy intersect. And when I have days like this with mixed emotions, I again seek the cross as my comfort and guide, trusting all is well, will be well, even when it doesn’t feel like it is. I grant myself permission to experience both and not push back what I feel, yet I also have to anchor myself in hope that good things are ahead, as the cross reminds us of too.
I share this with you today in case you too are having days filled with mixed emotions. I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.
May we not compartmentalize and force ourselves into being okay. May we allow ourselves to experience joy and also allow us to process any sadness we have. For when we do, it helps us release what we need to and leaves our hearts and minds more prepared for what is to come. And good things are to come for Kate, our crew, and for you💕🙏💕
With love and hope,
Shawn
Sending your first child off to college?
This whole process of sending our first off to college is a roller coaster.
It makes me reflect back to when Stephen would go out to sea when he was in the Navy. A few days before he’d go, we’d get irritable towards each other. Over time we realized that irritability was our way of processing the underlying emotions we were dealing with. As we grew in awareness, rather than being irritable with one another, we learned to enjoy those last few days together.
I see a parallel playing out here now. Each member in our family is processing Kate heading off to school in our own way. And it’s not all hearts and rainbows but there are moments of tension and irritability. Yet as we look beyond the surface and to the heart, we can see that it’s hard to let her go as we will miss her, and even though she’s excited and ready, she is entering an unknown herself.
I share this today as I know our family isn’t the only one sending a loved one off soon, or experiencing an unknown. If you can relate, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.
May we not take surface behaviors and emotions for face value. Instead, let’s be willing to take a step back and seek what’s happening at the heart level. When we do this this, we can see that often it’s a hurting heart trying to process and heal- not just for others but in our own hearts too. May we seek to meet one another at the heart. By doing this, let’s pray we grow in compassion and empathy to help us lay down the tension and irritability. And instead may we do our best to live out love towards one another in those days leading up to the send off.
With love and hope,
Shawn
People look at the surface, the Lord looks at the heart - 1 Samuel 16:7
Did We Do Enough?
When we brought Kate home from the hospital after she was born, Stephen put the car seat she was in on the counter. We looked at one another and Stephen said, “now what do we do?”
We laughed and started our life together as Mom and Dad to Kate, then eventually to Gavin and Matt.
As I’ve reflected on that moment recently I’ve wondered, “did we do enough to prepare Kate for this next step, going to college?”
And the reality is, in some ways we have, and in some ways we haven’t.
The naturally tendency for me is to think of the things I didn’t do rather than think of all that I did do.
Can you relate?
Yet is thinking of what we didn’t do productive, or possible to change?
No, it isn’t.
So instead, I am personally practicing shifting to the truth that I’ve done the best I could with what I knew at the time, and letting go of what I didn’t do.
I share this today in case any other parents have that same question, “have I done enough?” If so, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray. ™
May we do our best to not dwell on what we didn’t do and instead look at what we did do. Let’s pray that our kids will learn what they need to, when they need to learn it. May God place the right people beside them to help continue to build them up into who He made them to be. And may we look ahead to what we can do moving forward to continue to walk beside them in love in this new season.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Answered Prayers
One day recently Kate asked me to go on a walk with her. Without hesitation I said yes.
We are about a week away from taking her to college and I am trying to absorb these precious moments beside her.
Something that hit me recently is that seven years ago, when I was diagnosed with cancer, I prayed to be here to see my kids graduate and to get to take them to college.
And here I am, living out an answer to prayer right now.
When I realized this my heart filled with gratitude and renewed my mind as I don’t want to take any of this life for granted.
I share this with you today because we may pray often yet how often do we take time to see, or give thanks for, answered prayers? And so today I invite you to join me…
pause. breathe. pray.™
Let’s take a few minutes to think of, or write down, our prayers that have been answered in the way we hoped, and even for the ones where we didn’t get what we asked for but see the bigger picture now. May we look at this list with gratitude and may it give us hope for the unanswered prayers we have today, like the prayers I have for Kate as she begins the new chapter.
With love and hope,
Shawn
A Small Act of Love Can Make A Big Difference
Yesterday I learned in the news about a 12 year old girl named Avery who passed away after a two year battle with brain cancer. Hearing this breaks my heart and also gets me fired up because of the lack of funding that goes to childhood cancer research.
I am grateful for strides that have been made in various areas of cancer research yet childhood and rare cancers are very much underfunded.
I have a dear friend, @morgplatt_ , who has been a brain cancer warrior for 13 years now, since she was 7. Morgan is a fierce advocate for funding research for childhood cancer. She taught me that only 4% of federal funding goes to researching childhood cancers.
I’ve known too many families who have lost their precious children too soon. Hearing about Avery made me want to not only put my cleats out in her memory today but also raise awareness about the lack of funding for childhood cancer.
In honor of Morgan, and in memory of Avery, and all the other children gone too soon, let’s choose to give and support organizations like @averyslittlearmy , @chadtoughdefeatdipg , or @alexslemonade who are doing their part to make a difference in childhood cancer research.
And to let Avery’s family know they are seen, heard and loved in this time of loss, if you have cleats, put them out in your doorstep for Avery today and post it with #cleatsoutforavery so the family can see. Also, consider making a donation to the foundation they made to honor their little girl, @averyslittlearmy .
And whether you do one, both, or neither of these, please pray over this family, and all who have had to say good-bye to their children too soon. Let’s pray for their hearts and for strides to be made so others families won’t have to do the same.
Thank you💕🙏💕
With care and hope,
Shawn