Salt Fork is now one of my favorite vacations. Of course, any quality time with my family is a good time. However, there was something so peaceful and relaxing about Salt Fork. It was just the vacation we needed after the crazy year we all had. We did some relaxing, swimming, hiking and exploring. There are some great trails there. I tried to capture it all with my camera but there are somethings you just need to experience in person.
We are also amateur Bigfoot seekers. Salt Fork is known for Bigfoot sightings and noises. So of course, we had to check it out for ourselves while we were hiking and enjoying the beautiful trails. We had a few unusual and unexplainable experiences. Do you believe in Bigfoot?
Even if you are not a Bigfoot believer, I highly recommend visiting Salt Fork Ohio. It is a beautiful destination. If you are looking to get away from it all Salt Fork is a great place to do just that.
Every year we try to go to a new and different place for vacation. Sometimes our destinations are not our cup of tea. However, we always enjoy our time together away. Salt Fork was right up our alley. Stay tuned for our next adventure and location. Where do you think we should head to next?
The other weekend we went to Roaring Run. This was the first time I was back to Roaring Run in over 20 years. Roaring Run is a beautiful trail. My immediate thought was, why did it take over 20 years to get back here. We enjoyed our afternoon on the trail. It was so nice to get away from it all and just take in all the wonderful works of God. We plan to go back again and this time it won’t take 20 years to get back. We have plans to go back in the very near future. I loved photographing Roaring Run. I could spend all day there taking pictures and enjoying all of the glory.
Landscape photography can be tricky. When shooting landscapes you are trying to create and evoke a certain feeling. Practice definitley makes perfect. However sometimes the awesome shot comes from a little bit of luck. My favorite shot from this evening at Northmoreland Park was just that, a lucky shot. I was focusing in on another shot when something caught my eye. I turned ever so slightly to my right and there it was. The light was coming through the leaves just right. I caught the reflection of the tree on the water. It was pure magical bliss. I am not sure what made me turn to the right, but I am glad I did.
This photo for me creates a feeling of peacefullness. My body instantly relaxes when I see this photo. At the same time, it gets me excited to go out again and again to practice my photography. I can’t wait to see what other photos I capture with some practice and a little bit of luck.
It all started many years ago. My grandpa sat me down and asked if I wanted to learn how a camera worked. Being 1 of 20 grandchildren, one-on-one time with my grandpa was needless to say hard to come by, so I said sure I will learn. I never imagined those precious few moments learning how a camera worked would spark something inside of me. After that, I seemed to always have a camera in my hands.
Life always seemed to be too busy for my photography. Between being a wife and a mom and working full time there never seemed to me enough free time to practice my art fully. Now that my kids are getting older and more independent as well as having a steady work schedule, I am finally able to dust off my camera and capture the world.
I feel a sense of peace and calm when I am behind my camera. At the same time there a sense of excitement to capture a great shot. This is the first of many posts highlighting my photography. I hope share with you all of God’s great glory through my pictures.
When the COVID 19 pandemic hit, I thought it was no big deal. It would be just be a minor pause of our daily routine. After two weeks of staying home and self isolating everything would go back to normal. Like most, I have never experienced a pandemic. However, I have overcome many hurtles in life. At the start of the pandemic, I believed those events would have strengthened me enough to see me through it. Dealing with all the hardships in my past I thought I would be stronger emotionally to handle anything in the future. When I was young teenager I lost two very important role models in my life approximately nine months apart. Growing up, my grandparents were my world. I went to them for everything. I spent most weekends at their house. Losing them both so close together in time shattered my world. I then became a mother at 17. Shortly after I had my daughter, when I was learning what it takes to be a young mother, September 11th occurred. The world, as I knew it, changed in a blink of an eye. I remember thinking what kind of world was my daughter going to grow up in. Later on , I lost a cousin in a car accident. He just became a dad and he had his whole life a head of him. Few years after that I lost another cousin tragically. He was so full of life and then suddenly gone. Losing family members after they lived a full, love-filled, long life is one thing, but when you lose a family member that his life has been drastically cut short is quite another. As I said, I believed these events as well a few others not mentioned would prepare me enough to face the pandemic head on. I was not worried in the slightest about a simple virus.
I tried to remain positive. I prayed every day for a cure and for the pandemic to end. I lifted all my concerns and cares to Jesus. I posted only good messages on Facebook. I was going to be the one that carried my family and friends through this crazy time. I was going to be their rock. I had Jesus in my corner and I was more than prepared to overcome this minor hurtle. As the days wore on, my strength started to fade. Some days were hard. But I always tried to find something positive in every day. The good days were still out numbering the bad. The photography class I had planned to take in April, I postponed until May. The blog post I wrote, I would just post later when the timing seemed better. I wasn’t canceling or stopping anything, I was merely postponing them. Everything was still going according to plan, just at a slower pace.
Then the days of being at home and not going anywhere were turning into weeks. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be getting further away. The bad days started to out number the good days. I was doing everything you should not do during a pandemic. I read everything on COVID 19. I watched the daily news broadcast from Pennsylvania’s health department. Almost every day I cried at least once. I lost my temper on my loved ones for stupid things I normally wouldn’t flip out over. I bleached everything. I washed my hands thirty thousand times every day. If something could not be washed, it was sprayed dramatically with Lysol. For once I was happy that it was raining almost every day because I didn’t want to go outside. I definitely did not want to go out in public with all those germ carriers. I gave up on taking that photography class. What would be the point in taking a photography class on nature, if I was never leaving my house. I deleted the blog post I had written. My creativity was squashed. I usually have multiple blog post ideas running through my head every day. However during those days, I had a hard time putting my thoughts and feelings into words. I was allowing myself to become a victim of my circumstances.
I am not sure exactly when or how it occurred, but one day I just had enough. I had enough of not living my life. I had enough of being afraid. I had enough washing my hands after every time I touched something somebody else recently touched. I had enough of the same old news broadcast. I had enough of the negativity. It was time to get back living. It was time to lift all my troubles to God. He is the only one that can get us through this crazy time. It was time to work on accomplishing the goals I set. That day, I dusted off my camera and computer and I got to work. I was not going to let a little virus stop me from living the life I want to live. This crazy pandemic may have slowed me down a bit but definitely will not stop me completely .
I am learning how to let go. A lot of changes occurred at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. I am still adjusting to it all. Here is a just a few stories of how I am learning to let go.
The first big change for our family occurred on August 25, 2019. Move in day for Elizabeth. My first born was starting college. I am not sure how and when that occurred. One minute she is 5 and starting Kindergarten and then the next minute she is 18 and graduating high school. In the blink of an eye she grew up. I know that is very cliche’, but it is so true. Move in day was a roller coaster of a day. I think I experienced every emotion that day. It started off with nerves and anxiety. It was just Elizabeth and I that day. Keith had to work and Evan had school. So that meant I had to drive. As you all may or may not know, I am not a big fan of driving. When we arrived to IUP Punxsutwaney I let out a huge sigh of relief. We made it. Now let the fun begin of unpacking and setting up her dorm room. I literally shed blood, sweat and tears in that room. It was the end of August and her dorm room did not have air conditioning. Not to mention the countless trips we made to and from the car to her dorm. And I swear we literally had a ton of totes and boxes to unpack. The first thing we put together was the fan! I cut my finger putting together a lamp. I cried tears of exhausation, tears of sadness and tears of joy.
That day was one of the hardest days of my life. I had to let my baby girl spread her wings and fly. It felt so odd and hurt so bad to leave her in that room all by herself. I promised a friend I would not cry in front of Elizabeth. She said you need to be strong for Elizabeth. I did my best not to cry but I will admit one lonely tear managed to roll down my cheek. I gave her one last hug and quickly walked out of the room. I knew if I walked slowly, I might turn back and pack everything back up and take her home. Plus I knew that tear wasn’t going to be lonely for long. I held back the tears until I got to the car. I turned the car on sat there for a few minutes to compose myself. I then turned the radio up and pulled away. I sang along with radio and cried the whole way home. Thank goodness no one else was in the car because if they were they would probably need ear plugs. I can guarantee you, there will not be any record producers knocking on m door any time soon.
Even though that day was an extremely hard day, it was also a great day. Elizabeth and I got to spend whole day together. Just the two of us. I was also extremely proud of the young lady Elizabeth was becoming right in front of my eyes. I cannot express in words what it feels like to watch one of your children follow their dreams. I had to let go, so she could soar. Not easy but necessary. God has great plans for that girl.
The next lesson of letting go occurred on September 6, 2019. My last day at the YMCA. If you would have told me about 6 years ago I would not be retiring from the YMCA, I would have laughed in your face. When I started at the YMCA as a personal trainer I had big plans of becoming a manager/director of the YMCA and retiring from there. Fitness and healthy living was extremely important to me and I was getting paid to share that love with others. At that time, I believed this how God wanted me lift others up. By showing them how to eat better and how to workout properly. It felt great to see and help others achieve their fitness and wellness goals.
I worked my butt off at the YMCA and I loved every minute of it. I quickly worked my way up the management ladder. I first became the manager of the front desk staff. Then about a year later I became the Director of Healthy Aging and Disease Prevention. I achieved what I set out to do. Shortly after I became Director I realized I was not growing anymore in my job or as a person spiritually and mentally. I was comfortable and stagnant. I needed to grow. I said countless prayers to God to show me how to grow as person and in my faith. and in my career.
It quickly became aware to me, it was time to leave the YMCA. I achieved everything He set out for me to achieve at the YMCA. It was time to let of go of my career in the fitness field and move on to the next adventure. The only way to grow, is to get out of your comfort zone. The YMCA was definitely my comfort zone. I think I spent more time at the YMCA than I did at my own house. My co-workers and staff were like family to me. How do you leave a job that you worked so hard to achieve?!? But I needed to leave. God had other plans for me. I was burnt out with the fitness world. My family and I also needed a job where I could work steadier hours. I needed a regular schedule that was Monday through Friday.
So I did, what I knew best. I prayed. I prayed long and hard that God would let me know it was ok to leave the YMCA. God answered my prayer. He sent me another job with Monday through Friday 9am-5 pm schedule. I was going to be the administrative assistant for a local insurance company. I couldn’t wait to start my new job. However it was very difficult to say good by to all those at the YMCA and let go of job I worked so hard to get. But once again letting go was necessary. If I was going to grow, I had to let go and move on to the next adventure.
I couldn’t be happier in my new job. My bosses and co-workers made me feel so welcome. I also love what I am doing at the insurance company. There is a ton a growth opportunity for me at this company. I cannot wait to see all of the goals I achieve and all the people I help with their insurance needs. The future is looking bright for me. Not to mention I now I have more free time write my blog and volunteer for my church.
The last story of letting go for today occurred on January 25th. This was the day my baby received his black belt. It was on this day I realized my baby was not a baby anymore. He is almost a teenager actually. That is so hard to believe. He is growing up so fast. Where is that pause button on life when you need it ?!?
To receive your black belt takes a lot of dedication, practice, time and effort. I am so proud of all the accomplishments Evan already achieved. Every class and every belt test Evan would give it his all. There is a lot to learn in Tang Soo Do. Not only is it physical test of strength and endurance but it is also a mental test as well. You have to know Korean terminology. You also have to know and remember multiple forms and a lot self defense techniques.
Even though Evan received his black belt, this does not mean his learning is over. In fact it is just beginning. There is so much more for him to learn and do in Tang Soo Do. When Evan received his black belt you could have pushed him over with a feather. He was so happy and so proud of himself. He was on cloud nine. And so was I. I watching my baby grow up. I was watching my baby achieve great things in life and he wasn’t even a teenager yet. Once again I had to let go of the thought of trying to keep my baby a baby forever.
Letting go is a necessary step in the growth process. No one ever grows by standing still and remaining in their comfort zone. You can not move onto the future while you are holding on to the past. I miss the times when my kids were little. That time seemed so short and seemed to go by so quickly. However watching them both achieve great things in life is even better. Watching them follow the path God has created for them and put them on is awesome. God never promised this journey we like to call life would be easy but He did promise it would be great and He would be there every step of the way. You cannot appreciate the warmth of summer if never experience the cold of winter. Each season is necessary and beautiful it in its own right. So enjoy every moment and every season of life you have on this big beautiful planet. Letting go is good. It means God has bigger plans for you.
About year ago I got a cup that had “Wife, Mama, Boss” on it. At the time I was a manager at a local gym. All of the titles applied to me. I was free to use the cup without feeling like an imposter. I was all of those things on that cup. I am wife to my wonderful husband Keith. I am mama to Elizabeth and Evan. I am manager of two departments. No worries about claiming to be something I am not. Then this summer I felt God was telling me, my time at the local gym was coming to an end. It was time to find employment elsewhere.
In September I started my new job as administrative assistant for a local insurance. I stopped using the cup. I was no longer the boss of anything. I felt it no longer applied to me, therefore I could no longer use the cup. Crazy. Huh. That was my thought process.. But I loved the cup. It was my favorite color. It kept my drinks cold or hot for a long time. Yes I had other cups but this one was one of my favorites. It also made me feel important. Being a wife and a mama are two very important and special titles to me. It also reminded me of the people that matter most in this world. Plus who doesn’t love being a boss ?!? But I wasn’t a boss anymore. Was I?
Then the other day I realized something. I am a boss. I may not be a manager anymore, but I am a boss. I am a working wife, mama, boss. Being a boss means you are in control. It means you make decisions. It means you work hard and give a 110%. It means you play hard. It means you show up every day and give everything you got. It means being fully present. It means letting loose and being silly when it calls for it. It also means having courage to take a stand for the things that mean the most to you. It also means knowing when to rest. You cannot pour from an empty cup. This is something I strive for each and every day.
Does being a boss make me almighty and powerful? Does this mean I know everything about everything? No not at all. There is only one that is almighty, powerful, knows everything about everything and that is God. I am no where even close to that. You cannot have courage without vulnerability. Yes I make decisions every day but you better believe the minute I make the decision I am second guessing myself. There are days when giving 10% seems like mission impossible. What I am saying is that just because you do not have a certain official title doesn’t mean you are not important. You can be the boss in so many other ways. We are all important in God’s eyes. We are all here to do God’s work. That work looks different for each of us but that doesn’t mean our work is any less important. Just different and that is it. We need to embrace our differences and lift each other up. We need to encourage each other to keep going. Life is tough but our God is stronger. With Him and through Him we can achieve anything
So grab your special cup and drink from it proudly. You are a boss too. Go out there and live life to the fullest, love every moment and shine so others can see Him,.
Who needs more hours in the day? I am sure if not all, most of you just raised your hand. I think we all try to shove as many activities as we can into one day. It doesn’t matter if you are a stay-at-home parent, work full or part-time, we are all guilty of trying to get as much as possible done in 24 hours. Sometimes, we even forget that we have to make time for those silly activities like sleeping and eating. I am sure you are like me in the fact that there have been numerous occasions where you wished you had more hours in the day or had a machine to multiply yourself just to get your ever-growing to-do list done. If you can relate to any or all of what I just said, then I have a book for you. I know what you are thinking, I don’t have time to read. But trust me on this one. You deserve and need to find some time to read this book.
Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington is well worth finding the time to read. Breaking Busy uses biblical principles and humor to show you how to break your busy and gives you permission to say no to things. By saying no to things that does not bring you joy to your life, you will have more time do things you actually enjoy doing. It also gives some great decision making skills and tips. By using these decision making skills I was able to finally chose the specialization and path to take with my career.  I can now focus in on the items that either bring me joy or necessary to keep going down the path that God created for me.
I highly recommend reading this book. I think if not all, the majority of us say yes to way too much. I know I was guilty of this. I never wanted to let anyone down or make anyone else feel bad so I would just say yes to pretty much everything anyone ever asked of me. Then I would practically collapse at the end of the day and wonder if I if I even did anything that was important to me and brought me joy.  Or did I just spend the whole day doing tasks for everyone else because I was just too afraid to say no.
After you read the book, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below. What books are on your must read list? I would love to hear what you reading. Don’t forget to share my blog with your friends. Don’t keep all this awesome information to yourself.Â
My mission with this blog is to share with you all of God’s great glory through my camera lens. Hopefully my pictures will inspire you to explore the world around you.Â
For so long I was afraid to pursue my creative dreams.  I never thought myself as the creative type.  I was also afraid that no one would like my photos. However, photography give me sense of peace and bring me so much joy. I am here to tell you not listen to those lies you tell yourself. That is Fear talking. Fear is a liar. Don’t listen to Fear.  Follow your dreams, whatever they may be.Â
You are probably wondering how and why I chose the name for my blog. Well, I have always liked the saying Live, Love & Laugh. These are 3 very important words to remember and to follow. However being a very spirtual person, I felt I could improve on that saying. I changed the last word from laugh to shine. Live, Love & Shine! I like shine because you can’t say it without smiling. Also when I hear the word shine I think of light and when I think of light, I think of God. My favorite quote is from C.S. Lewis, “Don’t shine so others can see you, shine so that through you others can see Him.” This quote sums up my mission in life and with this blog. So I hope you enjoy my blog about my journey of capturing all of God’s great glory with my carmera. Hopefully you will find my stories inspiring, motivating and relatable. The stories will be about living life to fullest, loving unconditionally, and shining so others can see God.. And remember life is short, so shine on!
Originally this blog was going to be a health and wellness blog. A few years ago I lost about 30 pounds. A lot of different people helped me lose the weight. After I lost the weight and kept it off for awhile, I wanted to give back somehow to all those that helped me lose the weight. At that time my youngest was going into Kindergarten and I also needed a part time job. I searched the internet for part time jobs that would allow me to have a flexible schedule. Every time I did a search, personal trainer would come up in the search. I felt this was God telling me to go for it. This is what he wanted me to do to help my family out financially and the way to give back to those that helped me. It was the perfect fit. Personal training was my passion for a very long time. I loved what I was doing. I was helping people lose weight just like so many helped me lose weight. Then ever so slowly, my passion changed.
Occasionally I would get the nagging sensation that my time as a personal trainer was coming to end. But how could that be possible? It was the perfect fit, right?!? The nagging sensation started out as a whisper that I could just ignore and push aside. Eventually for a couple different and various reasons I did give up personal training to focus on my other jobs at the local YMCA and my family. But I still felt the health and wellness field was still my calling. It had to be. I was still a group exercise instructor and I was still working in other positions at the local YMCA. Things were good. My work was steady and regular and the family was good. I decided to start a health and wellness blog to add to and enhance my health and wellness career. I got it up and running. I had a couple posts already written. I put my blood sweat and tears into the blog. I couldn’t be prouder of it. However I didn’t have any followers, except my mom. Then as life would have it, I got busy and my blog got pushed aside. But at least I got my blog up and running and at the moment I felt I accomplished my goal.
But then I heard that whisper, the tugging at my heart was there still. But why?!? I did my best to ignore it again. I didn’t understand it and change is scary. Then a couple life events occurred that got me thinking about my dreams. The whisper was getting louder but I still didn’t understand it. God was calling me to do something, but what I couldn’t figure it out. Due to some other events my passion for health and wellness was feigning and changing once again. I also needed more balance in my life. I spent a lot of time focused on health and wellness and not enough time on my family and friends. and other hobbies. I needed to shift that balance. I know I needed to focus more on my family. I know something had to give but I didn’t know what, just yet.
Then recently I lost a very dear friend to cancer. She was so full of life and such an inspiration to me. She loved and lived life the fullest. The one thing she did, that I was so envious of, she followed her dreams and accomplished them. I didn’t even know what my dreams were. The whisper was getting louder and tugging at my heart was getting harder. But I still didn’t know what God was calling to do. I decided to take a break from social media to pray, refocus and figure out if I had any dreams and if I did what were they.
Every time I would take a moment to think and pray I would think about three things. My blog, yoga and photorgraphy.  But my blog was a health and welllness blog Why was my blog in my thoughts?!? Even though mine and my family’s health and pe wellness was important to me and a big part of my life, I didn’t want health and wellness to be everything in my life. I still wanted to write the blog but it needed to be a different type of blog. A type of blog that best suited me and how and what I wanted share with everyone.
This blog is now going to my personal blog. I will be sharing lessons and stories from my photography and yoga adventures. I am very passionate about photography and yoga. I hope to have my own studio one day, where I can I have yoga classes and showcase my photography. I am really excited about this new path I am taking with this blog. I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it.
Don’t forget to live every moment to the fullest, love unconditionally, and shine so others can see God.
Live, Love, & Shine With Shannon 