Journey of Shawn Peoples' Walk in Grace!

     Just a few minutes ago, I got off a phone call from a great friend. He is the kind of friend that you could have not talked to in years, then find yourself right back in a great conversation which lights up your heart! I am very thankful for friends like that, which I am fortunate enough to have a couple of. We have not talked to each other in over a year, so we took our 25 minute call and squeezed a year's worth of life into that moment.      Well, let me catch you up on the last few months and also challenge us in an area that is all too relevant to my life.      As many of you know, I began the process of taking 18 classes in nine months to finish my degree. There have been times that I really wanted to quit. Being 42 is harder than being 22 when it comes to college and life. I have had times of great frustration with busyness (because of school and family needs) and with my lack of rest (oh how I love a good nap). But God is usin...

     Right now, I am in the battle of my life ... well not really, but going back to school is kicking my butt. While heading to the local watering hole (aka Starbucks) a few days ago to write a paper, I listened to something that has disturbed me for a while. This episode not only disturbs me but also reveals my self exalting desire, which I will get to in a minute.      For years I have been leading people to engage their culture. I have had long discussions with other pastors about what are the best ways to interact with a culture that is becoming more and more hostile to Christianity. I have argued with fellow Christians when we are called to boycott people for being, well, not a Christian. I have to admit that there are lines that are probably crossed by me over and over in the hope to share Jesus with people. I am constantly asking God and myself if what I am embracing or participating in will bring glory to Jesus or will bring me into sin. I don't ...

I have to admit to you, I am beginning to dislike moving. Packing boxes, turning off and on services, selling my kids toys and old clothes is wearing a little thin on me. Michelle feels the same way to. There are days when I think all would be better if we could have just lived in Tennessee all our days and not move from state to state. Today is one of those heavy days, as I say goodbye to relationships that probably will not carry on past Facebook or a text every once in a while. Today is beginning to become emotional for me, but God has been good to show me what I would miss if we stayed in TN years ago. There are tons of people that we would not have had the honor to know, pour my life into, have their lives poured in us and fight with, if we had stayed put all those years ago. There are too many people who we would not have hurt for, prayed for, longed for if we would have stayed put. Although the pain of leaving so many people we love is hard, there is a joy in having been their...

Well, its that time of our journey to update everyone on whats going on with us AGAIN! As we were driving home from our quick visit to Ohio Sunday, I told Michelle that I feel like the last 5 years have been wilderness wandering just waiting to enter the promised land that we feel we are wired for and that God is going to expose us to His exponential Kingdom growth. During these last 5 years, we have traveled across an Ocean (and back), driven over 100,000 miles (maybe) and have been blessed to make friends with some of the greatest people we could have met. It has been as rewarding as it has been hard, but that's what a journey with God is. It is God taking us through what He desires so that He can accomplish what He desires in us and through us. I can truly say that He isn't wasting any of the last 5 years. Well, here is the news: Since I resigned in March, Michelle and I have been praying about what is next. I believe I keep hearing the Holy Spirit tell me to trust Him w...

      In late 2015 , I proclaimed a statement from the stage " Belief dictates behavior ". The context of the statement the first time I said this was in speaking toward the constant struggle of sin within a christian's life. The point at the time was; that your beliefs about God, life, yourself and others will lead to behavior that reveals those beliefs. We act out what we really believe. Oh how God has continued to use that statement to reveal how much I trust in Him, how much I live out the things I preach and how often I fail to walk in what God is sovereignly putting in front of me. God has since expanded on the essence of that saying; allowing me to see with an even greater light that " BELIEF dictates behavior ".       If you want to know what a person believes, you should watch their life and listen to their talk. The scriptures tell us that the mouth reveals whats in their heart (Luke 6:45). Taking people's speech is an incredible way to underst...

     “When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging Grace”. How incredible it has been to not experience darkness in 2 months. The joy of being in daily light has rested my soul. Even though battles rage daily for my heart to turn to, I am finding God’s incredible joy through this part of my journey. For the past 31 years, I believe I have been depressed in some way or another. Recently, my doctor shared that I had suffered PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from the abuses I suffered during my childhood. Although I would never compare my experiences to those brave men and women who serve our country in the military, police, firefighters and first responders; I have had many traumatic experiences in my past. What I have learned is those experiences had shaped my journey and I suffered many of them over and over. Its funny (strange) to think I walked in depression during my adult years, years of ministry, marriage and fatherhood have been in the midst ...

    Okay, the title is a little harsh but I needed to call us to something that I believe is killing us as parents. We are allowing our children to dictate how we see ourselves and it needs to stop, NOW! I hear parents struggling with being compared to other parent. I watch parents killing themselves as they attempt to provide their children with everything other kids have. We are overrun with debt and lack sleep trying to be a better parent by buying more or supplying more. Why are we killing ourselves? Why are we attempting to be something that we are not nor have been given? THE PROBLEM     My wife often shares with me pictures from her Instagram account. There are some incredibly talented people out there with some great ideas. However, my wife and I have learned to become realist, which means we have realized we don't have the talent of many on Pinterest or Instagram. I am creative, but most of that time my creativeness ends with paper and pen or my vocal ch...