Skip to main content

God created me...

 SHANNON’S CORNER

God created me to know Him intimately by delighting in Him as my Source of Life so that the streams of Living Water flowing within me will draw others to Him – Shannon’s biblical purpose statement.  


This 20-day Focused Leader class was intense and so very rewarding in the end as it brought me focus through the various exercises to help bring insight and clarity in forming a biblical purpose statement, life-ministry values, vision statements, personal and ministry roles I have that leads to action steps.  Does what I do fit into how I was created (being)?  These are some foundational pieces for me in staying on course according to God’s purpose of my life.

A client was sharing with me about contemplating the idea of stepping out of ministry which to her seems like such a foreign concept.  She was raised up in ministry – parents being pastors and doing camp ministry and as a young adult to now has been in full-time ministry that her identity has become wrapped up in doing ministry.  She asked, “Who am I if I am not doing ministry?”  God used what I have been learning in helping her to explore why God created her, being over doing.   She later shared how freeing that was for her as she continued to process this with the Lord.


I finished care for a client who I began care when she was in the process of finishing her time overseas.  Then continuing to care for her as she re-entered and transitioned to living once again in the USA.  As we had our last session together recently and we got to see how far God has brought her and celebrate those wins.  Her story reminds me of an air plant that in this season of transitioning, the Lord has been her sustainer and provider and now her roots are attaching once again as she feels like she is starting to feel grounded where she is living and doing life.  How hardy and resilient air plants are because of not receiving nourishment and water the way most plants do and are completely and utterly dependent on the air for nutrients and water.


Bethann invited me to join the Marriage Care Training she was doing with some pastors, and other folks in ministry.  The training was 2-days that covered the material in her book, The Invitation.  It was cool to be able to see, understand, and learn the concepts about God’s design for relationships – marriage.  Here are some of my takeaways or golden nuggets.  Stepping into holiness that is connected with Christ through His work on the cross and walking in wholeness, sanctification into becoming more like Christ (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:18).  Safety is such a key for intimacy, “in-to-me-you-see”.  How God wants to keep us safe, both in singleness and in marriage. God’s lovingkindness towards our wholeness. It is not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18).  He is not wanting to withhold but wanting to keep us safe in our relationships. Thinking through the verse from John 15:5 that tells us, apart from Jesus you can do nothing, including your marriage, singleness, or any relationships.


This month has marked an interesting and strange milestone for me.  February 16th marks the equaled number of years I physically had my mom and now physically not have had her with me.  I am so grateful for her life, her love for Jesus, her love for us, and all that she has taught me.  How her legacy continues in the lives of her family and those lives she impacted.

In my women’s bible study, we are learning to be women of excellence.  In this class there are four ladies who have been in my class before, so it is nice to continue building relationship with them.  There are five new ladies.  I have been blessed these last three weeks and learning more and more about God’s character and His definition for excellence.  One lady shared some of her story and because of her story she learned how to cultivate a thankful heart because of her circumstances.  She has a saying on her fridge that says, what you were thankful for yesterday is what you have today.  In other words, the only things you have today are those things that you were thankful for yesterday.  Wow, how that changes one’s perspective and hopefully inspires all of us to cultivate a more thankful and grateful heart.


“We always thank God for all of you and continually 

mention you in our prayers. 

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, 

your labor prompted by love,

 and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3


PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise the Lord for Morgan’s visit!

Praise the Lord for Fanny’s time and help and wisdom in correcting my Spanish translation!

Praise the Lord for the ladies in my Women’s Bible study (5 new women)!

Praise the Lord for answered prayer with a teen from my small group in TCK Connect!

Praise the Lord for opportunity He has given me to be certified as a Life Coach!

 

Pray for small group, TCK Connect every Friday morning.

Pray for all pastors and congregations of the United Methodist Churches who are going through disaffiliation process.

Pray for safety in travel to the Dominican Republic to provide care and facilitate the missionary retreat, March 3rd-11th.

Pray for wisdom as I meet with people either one-on-one or debriefs.

Pray for Women’s Bible Study.



                                               Contact Information:


Donate Online! (Follow the prompts) 
www.WorldOutreach.org/783

 

Mail Checks:

  World Outreach Ministries, Inc.

  P.O. Box B

  Marietta, GA  30061

  (Make a check out to WOM & in memo or in a note write Shannon Eaton #783)

 

Bill Pay:  free option via your online banking

  (Use the same information for checks)

 

Shannon Eaton

107 Old York Rd Apt 5

New Cumberland, PA 17070

(724) 967-1437

 

Email:  shannon.eaton76@gmail.com

Facebook:  Shannon R. Eaton


 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

October Newsletter

  SHANNON’S CORNER The Saga Continues… The trip to Malaysia consisted of a two-day spiritual retreat with the theme of ‘Come Away With Me’ and a six-day conference with about 230 missionaries who serve in some aspect of translating the Scriptures. One of the many people who I met was a missionary who served in Cameroon for many years and now is in a new role. As he was sharing, most his words were very negative and depressive. I encouraged him to sign up for a time of prayer and care. At the end of the retreat, this missionary shared with me that he did have a session and I could see that his whole countenance changed, and he was hopeful. His new word he used to describe where he was now is ‘delightful.’ Our time there was creating a safe space for these missionaries to have a place to share what they are struggling with and to connect with Jesus. One missionary is at a crossroads in her life. Another finds himself in the midst of betrayal. A missionary is in a new role as a caregi...
Post a Comment
Read more

September Newsletter

SHANNON’S CORNER Connect. Nurture. Grow. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for this ministry.  Each debrief is a sacred invitation—a chance to step into someone’s story, even if only for a short stretch of the journey.  It feels a bit like being allowed to glimpse a painting still in progress.  We may not yet see the final picture, but we trust the One who promises to complete the good work He has begun until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). Recently, in an online debrief, the missionary shared: “ I am in a much better place since our initial meeting.  Taking the time to process my lived experience overseas and to grieve the losses, I now feel I have the capacity to move forward here in my new season of life. ” We also had the joy of walking alongside three third culture children. To see their eyes light up as their stories were received with understanding and care was priceless.  These children do not often have many who truly grasp their unique li...
Post a Comment
Read more

June Newsletter

  SHANNON’S CORNER Connect. Nurture. Grow. Building connection and trust are important in any relationship and especially when wanting to create a safe place for people to share and process their stories. Sometimes with kids and teens it can take a bit of time to foster those connections and trust. A question that is implied is, “Are you safe to share my story with?” Often it is through play these connections are built. Both families who I debriefed serve in Uganda, they serve with different organizations in the capital of Kampala, and both families are in transition. The one sibling group were ages 3, 6, and 8 years old and as I worked with them, I was able to apply some of the principles I learned in play processing. The other sibling group were ages 5, 7, 13, and 14 years old which was a bit of a challenge for me with the large age span. The main thing for all of them was saying goodbye to friends who have come and gone while they were the ones “left behind”, and for the one sib...
Post a Comment
Read more