A “nugget” of wisdom to start off 2026 on the right path. In the above picture, what do you see? A half FULL glass of water or a half EMPTY glass? Perspective is key! It is always half FULL! Look for the good in situations and people and your attitude will shift for the better. Some people find the negative in everything and will tell everyone about it. Don’t be that way. In 2026 I challenge you to see the good, the lovely and praise worthy things. Let those things take the lead in your thoughts, not the negative or how things don’t measure up to what you want.
Now back to boxing up Christmas decorations. I stopped for a glass of water and my mind took a little detour as it often does. (Deep thinker problems )😊 Nothing like a half FULL perspective for the New Year! Make it a good one!
We all struggle with what goes on between our ears. Our minds are always running in one direction or another. I personally can see a connection with my line of thinking and how I feel physically and emotionally. When looking for a picture for this blog, I googled “picture depicting “mind games” and the above was one of the images that popped up. It’s kind of accurate as our mind is like a big lightbulb shining in various shades and quite fragmented at times. It’s pretty vital to learn how to take thoughts captive. Paul talks about this very thing in the following verse: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)
Negative thoughts can especially be troubling. Speculation is another thing to flee from. These types of thinking can get us in trouble. They can cause fear to take form and our bodies respond in unhealthy ways. I am learning more and more how to focus on what God says is true. Paul said, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV). As we take control of our wayward thoughts, God directs us away from fear. Paul actually encourage us in Philippians what to think on. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthyof praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 (ESV) (emphasis mine)
Honestly, my thoughts don’t always fall into those neat positive places and I know I’m not alone. My mind sometimes goes into overdrive. Overthinking, self criticism and second guessing myself sometimes gets me off track. Why do we go off “the deep end” like that? I don’t need to measure up to anyone except for God. I know He appreciates my efforts even if I don’t think I measure up to what I should be. This line of thinking is partly due to our human nature and also the world influences we are exposed to. I will add the devil often try’s to tell me I’m falling short and to give it up.. He can be quiet!!! The world really is morally corrupt and we are all exposed to it on one level or another. We become less sensitive to what is pleasing to God when we emmerse ourselves in the world: social media, music, tv, movies, news etc. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (ESV). It’s essential to come apart from the world influences in terms of limiting what we are exposed to.
The above statement reminds me of something I read recently. I don’t quite remember where I saw it but it said we need to be like Moses and “leave the palace”. Moses left the riches of palace life and chose to set himself apart and be like his own people the Israelities. That change would certainly narrow the influence of the “world”. I thought it was an interesting connection. Moses left the rich foods, the entertainment, the exotic culture and privileges to be like his own people. Dare we come apart from our “world” and earnestly seek the things of God? Our lives would be so much more joyful, peaceful and less chaotic if we would truly emmerse ourselves in God’s Word and prayer. I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudge that quite often steers me away from thoughts, actions and words that I should avoid.
Recently I was dealing with the need to forgive which releases my mind from constantly thinking and rethinking, why in the world people say the things they do. A very wise woman shared the following with me. ”When we get wounded by someone and don’t let go of it so we can be healed from it, we start to hear things through that hurt. Our hearing gets distorted. We start to expect to be hurt. We hear hurt in everything. We must let God heal the hurt and forgive. If not the cycle continues.” (For privacy reasons I won’t share her name, but God knows) I don’t typically dwell on hurtful thinking but I know some people who do. We need to allow God to take control of our thinking and break the cycle of negativity. God is so able to deliver us from it all. We only need to ask Him. I think I will stop here for tonight. Let’s let God have His way and transform us by the renewing of our minds. It can only get better. I’m so beyond thankful to serve such an amazing, mightly, all powerful, Holy God. Be blessed and better yet, be a blessing.
Wrapping up the birthday week. It’s been a good one. Some friends surprised me with an early birthday lunch last Saturday and a fun “Girls Day”. Italian must have been the “Double Nickels” birthday theme. Lunch was Italian Saturday, Italian Sunday and the very best Italian around on my actual birthday. I’ve had enough pasta to last for months..
We are in a transitional time of adjustment. Our son has moved back home while he figures out a career change and fresh path. It’s an adjustment but it’s all going to work out. (And I love getting his awesome hugs every day)
In the meantime, God has sent some of His divine “God winks” to bring joy each day. We have another mourning dove resting on the same top shelf of our bakers rack on the front porch. The funny thing was that Ron discovered it behind a small sign that says “pray without ceasing”. He moved the sign because sometimes the wind makes it fall. We also slightly moved the bakers rack s we can watch the nest from inside. When I saw it I had such joy, and peace in my heart. It was like God saying” I’ve got you all. Trust me.” I go check on the nest several times of day from inside. It appears that the male and female take turns sitting on the nest.
Our Mourning Dove. Not the best picture but it gives an idea of my view.
So those days of celebrating have been followed by bird watching and several days of serving. There is nothing quite like giving the gift of yourself to others. Whether it be your time, your talents or encouragement: acts of service have a way of coming back to you in the sweetest way.
Wednesday was RiceNBeans day. I work with my friend Tami to prepare the food for one of the local locations where we help serve a warm meal to the homeless. We are so happy Pastor Daryl and Cheri have entrusted us with cooking for one location. After a few hours of cooking rice, beans and 120 hotdogs, we took it to the location but no volunteers showed up besides staff. No worries, we all worked together and got the bags of food ready then rode out to the bus stop to meet people with a warm meal as they waited at the bus stop. One funny thing happened. In my haste to get out the door to get to Tami’s, I accidently picked my husband Ron’s s shirt instead of mine. I was wondering why it was so big but I just got busy with the cooking. Later Ron met us and his shirt was rather small. It kind of looked like a body builders fit. Ron thought he had gained weight. Tami checked the size of my shirt and sure enough, I was wearing the wrong shirt. Ron and I disappeared for a few minutes to switch shirts, then we were out the door.
It is so rewarding to be a part of such an awesome outreach. Tami mentioned the people are starting to recognize us. Pastor Daryl brought a pair of work boots for one of the men. While I wish I could hear well enough to “hear” the stories, I do get them second hand. Tami said the man was so surprised about the boots. Another lady was smiling and laughing as we talked to her.
Just imagine what it would be like to be in their situation. You never know some of the stories or how these precious people end up on the streets. I was exhausted when we got home that night but it was a good kind of tired. I went to bed at 9 pm with a heart full of thanksgiving for the opportunity to serve.
Thursday morning I woke up and prepared one last time before our girls Bible study. One more chapter and we will be finished with our book. I am so grateful that God unexpectantly gave me the opportunity to teach my deaf friends. In all honestly, God has shown me what He can do when I surrender to His Will. This was not something I just volunteered for. God put the opprtunity in front of me and I obeyed. I can’t say it’s been easy. It hasn’t but it is so rewarding. The girls have come such a long way since we started. I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for us. I have also gleamed so much from the time invested studying and preparing, even memorizing because of my low vision. I have sat hours “signing” the lessons to myself to make sure I can present it in a way they could understand. Often I would stop and pray, “ Lord help me do this is a way that is clear and understandable.” We studied the women of the Bible. So many of the stories I knew, but teaching them takes you to a whole different level of understanding. I am so thankful for this gift of trust the girls have placed in me. But most of all I’m beyond thrilled at how we have all grown in our relationship with Jesus.
On this next “trip about the sun” I’m eager to see the new things God will teach me and ways He will continue to stretch my faith. This year is brought to you by… my true roots of gray (hair). Some women have the midlife crisis. I’m embracing this new stage. Live, learn, laugh and grow stronger each day.
As I had my quiet time the past two mornings, I decided to study 1 Thessalonians chapter five. I love the whole chapter but some verses really stood out. The chapter spans from being prepared in the last days, being on your guard and alert, keeping on the armor of faith and love with our confidence in our salvation. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”(NLT) 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is my heart. “ Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”(NLT).
A little side story for you. The other day Ron fixed the rotors on the back wheel area of his car. (You can tell I know nothing about these things, even if I spelled the part properly.) It was a tough job but he got it done. He came in the house and got under the kitchen sink to fix another issue. At the same time I had run from one bathroom to another with a plunger to unstop the toilet before it overflowed. I wasn’t going to even mention the stopped up toilet to Ron. As I was plunging the toilet, I had a mental picture of what I was doing, and then Ron under the sink in the kitchen , and I burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all. That’s life for ya. Things happen but we have a choice in how we respond.
There was one more verse in this chapter that I cling to. It is 1 Thessalonians 5:21, ‘but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.” (NLT) Can I get an amen there? God gives us a brain. Use it. Be a leader not a follower. Look for the good in situations and cling to it. Some people can be so critical. Just look for the good. Ask God to help you see things from His perspective. Things look a whole lot better that way. No one is perfect. We all sin, we all fall short. There is always room for grace. Since God is merciful to us, shouldn’t we also be merciful to each other? Just some things to think about. Be blessed and most of all, keep on being a blessing. What you do for Jesus is not in vain.
One short note… wow… this blog was a HASSLE. In all my years of blogging this has never happened. For some odd reason the format would switch up while I was typing for no reason at all. I turned this iPad on and off, restarting five times. Started this blog last night but put it away in frustration until this morning. Here’s to hoping it posts without any strange formatting. I tell you the truth, I don’t think all those Apple updates are “all that” with fixing software flaws. 🙄😂 Just being real.
I pray this blog post has been a blessing to you. If you like it, please feel free to pass it along to bless someone else. We all need encouragement. You can find my autobiography Rooted by the Water on Amazon. I hope it inspires you to never give up in hard situations. Push through. God is always there to help us. Surrendering to Him years ago was the best decision I’ve ever made. Be blessed and better yet, be a blessing. Have a great weekend. Www.shannonkhinson.com
Truth be told, I do love to challenge myself. Today was no different. I sent a text to my 80 year old mom to let her know I would be available to help her with her Christmas decorating. My husband Ron was stuck at our house since our garage door was being replaced. He said he would join us later in the afternoon.
Mom picked me up and we headed over to her house. She had five containers of Fall things in the garage to put upstairs before starting on Christmas. I really didn’t want to wait all afternoon until Ron came. I told her I could get the containers up and down the stairs, just one step at a time. I’d lift the container a few steps then move up, then do it over and over. Once reaching the top, I’d just slide it in place then went down to do it again. On the first trip up to the attic I was searching for the light and smacked my head on a low ceiling board. Thank God I didn’t break the skin and it was behind the hairline. Whew! That was close. I didn’t want a “shiner” for the Christmas season. That knock “upside my noggin” was just the beginning. We girls could do this. I got all the Fall boxes up, then it was time to bring Christmas down.
Mom came up and picked out all she wanted me to bring down. We were just going to put up the window wreaths but once we got started we kept going. No surprise there. The same process for taking boxes up the stairs, worked just fine to bring them down. I would take a few steps backward down the stairs and slide the boxes along the edge of the stairs. It worked like a charm. Even the two Christmas tree boxes worked that way, turning them long ways, I slide them right down.
Our next task was for her to decide where she wanted her big tree and the pencil tree. We rearranged a few pieces of furniture until she decided where she wanted things. I put the pencil tree together and she decided she wanted that in the foyer so I moved it there. It was a perfect place for that skinny tree. I originally had no intention of putting the big tree together. We wanted to see if it would fit in a corner with the furniture where it was. I told her I’d get the bottom part out and see the tree limb spread so we could get an idea. Putting the tree stand on the floor in that corner, I inserted the bottom portion of the tree, expanding the limbs, it was a perfect fit. The oddest thing though was I couldn’t find a power cord. I laid on the floor under the tree, fluffing limbs and searching for the power cord. I did notice two light connections with a bit of red tape on the ends. I have low vision but I can see red. This was beginning to be like a big puzzle and I was determined to figure it out. I went to the garage and for the next section of tree and the power cord was on that part. I also noticed another cord that had five light connections on the end. Ummm…. Okay there were five connectors and power cord on this piece and two connectors on the bottom piece. I decided to plug the power cord in and connect all the light connectors I could find. The lights started to light up. There was still one more light connection I could not find. I went and got the final top piece and attached it. I found one more light connector there and attached it to the remaining one and BINGO!! It all lit up. I lifted my hands and said “YES”! I was so tickled and pleased that I was able to do it myself. Ron was pretty astonished. Truth be told, there was a whole lot of prayer going on. “Lord helps me do this”. “Lord where are those light connectors”? On and on it went and piece by piece God allowed me the ability to connect the pieces. Christmas lights are my favorite part of decorations. Just having the lights turned on the trees is so soothing.
When “push comes to shove, it’s ok if you’re pushing yourself. Persistence pays off. I started today like I start every day, in prayer. I asked God to help me be a blessing to my husband and also to my mom as I helped her decorate. We had not put the big tree up since my dad passed away in 2021. Dad loved Christmas decorations. I told mom today our “tree fluffier” was in Heaven. He always fluffed the tree limbs. He would be pleased. Now to help her put the decorations on. That’s another task for another day.
Tonight Ron was telling me how I’m always consistent. I think persistent is a better word. I dont give up or give in easily. I keep trying until I get it right. That’s something he admires about me. I see it more as a way of life. Being hearing impaired and having low vision makes every day life a challenge to some degree. God has given me a positive perspective to look at tasks kind of like a game. The game of life. The goal is to get through every day with a sense of humor and giving God glory through whatever is thrown my way. Perspective is key. Ask God everyday to help you see it from His point of view. I promise that makes all the difference in the world.
I was going to put a selfie as my blog picture BUT I was a sweaty mess today. It was a no makeup, no frills kind of day.I will spare you all the chuckle. Be blessed.
If you liked this blog post please subscribe and share. I’m thankful for this gift to share when God puts something on my heart. You can find my autobiography Rooted by the Water on Amazon. (Hard cover soft cover, and e-book formats.) I pray it gives you great hope and courage to surrender to Jesus. He is all you really need. All for the Glory of God.
Seeing the sky reflected on water is one of the most captivating sights to me. One of my favorite things to see is the moons reflection off the ocean. It’s the very simple things in life that I find compelling and nature always speaks of the things of God.
Just like physical things are reflected in a mirror, shiny surface or water: what’s in our heart is reflected by our attitudes and actions. Proverbs 27:19 says, “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” (NLT)
Being hearing and visually limited, I often find myself thinking of deep things. When I am out in public, what am I reflecting? Do I reflect my Savior? Can people tell I am a Christian by my responses to situations? Am I reflecting love, kindness, gentleness and self control, just to name a few. Don’t get me wrong, I am far from perfect. I just tend to think about these types of things.
Human nature is so fascinating. I often wonder what makes people tick. We all deal with the desires of the flesh and struggle with responding in ways contrary to the flesh. Alone we can’t make these better choices. However the Holy Spirit is always willing to guide us forth in victory when we surrender our desires and seek to reflect Jesus. It’s a daily challenge we all face. We will fall short but Jesus is always willing to strengthen us to rise up again to reflect all He is.
Let me encourage you this weekend to be a reflection of Jesus! The world desperately needs to see God in us. If you liked this blog post please subscribe. You can find my autobiography Rooted by the Water on Amazon. I pray it gives you great hope and courage to surrender to Jesus. He is all you really need. Be blessed.
Today at my audiologist appointment instead of a sound adjustment or programming changes to my cochlear implant processor, my processor was turned off. I’ve been having new issues with speech comprehension and we aren’t sure why. After testing my new (6 month old) cochlear implant processor and finding nothing wrong with it, we are taking a different approach. My program levels are pretty high which could possibly be overstimulating my auditory nerve. My audiologist suggest a “sound diet” for a week, meaning I won’t wear my processor at all. She even turned it off electronically so I don’t cheat.
This is going to be a real challenge because I am also legally blind. When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is put on my cochlear implant processor and when I go to sleep at night, taking it off is the last thing I do. I depend on it for environmental sounds. So this is definitely going to be a challenge but I’ve always been up for a good challenge.
Having a positive perspective is more than half the fight. As we talked with the audiologist we asked if we could pray with her. God given wisdom is a must and we are trusting God for a good outcome, so we prayed together in her offic. Afterwards I turned to my husband and told him he better brush up on his signing skills this week. I also jokingly told my Audi I might end up thanking her next week because Ron is a talker. I’m always listening and trying to figure out what he is saying. Right before the processor was turned off Ron said to me “Bye”. I texted our son later and explained what was going on. He said, “Everything will work out fine and you might just enjoy it.” I remember writing in my book “Sound is nice but silence is golden.” I wonder if I will say that at the end of next week. Prayers appreciated. Ron might need them even more than me. This will be a test of patience. I guess this blog will be continued…..
If you’d like to read more of my story please check out my autobiography “Rooted by the Water”. It’s a true story of how God has enabled me to overcome great difficulties, not by my own strength but through His strength made perfect in my weaknesses. You can find it on Amazon and many other ponline retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Target and Walmart.
“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”Matthew 5:4 NLT
On this day 79 years ago, my Dad was born. Tomorrow marks 6 months since he went home to be with Jesus. Not a day passes by that I don’t think of him.
It is amazing the comfort the Lord has brought to our family. Yes we miss Dad greatly but we know he is with Jesus and we know we will see him again. Knowing this brings such comfort to my heart.
Today is his first birthday celebration in Heaven and I know without a doubt, it’s the best one he’s ever had. I know he’s smiling BIG knowing Forrest Jr. is doing so well after his recently one year bone marrow transplant anniversary. He would be so proud of Mom and the strength and courage she has shown. He would be proud of my book “Rooted by the Water” and the spin off blog I’ve started. He told me I should write. He liked the way I put things into words on my Facebook posts. However he did tell me to not write any emotional sappy posts after he died. (his words not mine ) 🤣 He was funny and I think he will forgive this one. He would be excited to know a great grand baby is on the way. He would LOVE that! He would love hearing about the upcoming wedding for his granddaughter. And he’d be so proud of Joshua too as he shows strength and resilience in life.
Grief is a strange thing. It still has not hit that he’s really gone. I know that’s the comfort from the Lord and I’m so grateful.
We celebrate you today Dad. Your legacy of love for God, and generous spirit continues. You are missed greatly but we will see you again!
Happy birthday Dad! I love you! 😎🤟🏼 (Those were the emojis he put at the end of his texts to me).
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