Happy Easter!

The right words elude me. I fear I am far too similar to the Apostle Peter, and my spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. As I sit here, I am awed that Christ loves me, that God chose to open my eyes, and that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me. Who am I… honestly? I am grateful. #heisrisen #Christsaves #theemptytomb #happyeaster

Goodbye, Mom

Dear Mom,

I can’t believe I am writing you this letter. It’s a letter I never wanted to write because I wanted you to live forever. I know how absurd that statement is, but it's true nonetheless. You were the rock I leaned on. The woman who whispered words of encouragement inside my head when I faced mountains I thought were impossible to move. Your voice has echoed through me saying, “You can move this mountain, Ma. Just do one thing, and then another. It’ll be moved before you know it, Molly. Keep going… pull it together.”

My heart hasn’t fully comprehended losing you. My emotions feel stuck, and it's like I’m walking through an overcast day every day since you passed. I’ll think about calling you, and then I’ll remember that I can’t, and that realization hurts more than the initial shock of losing you. Though you told me time and time again that everything would be okay when you left, I want you to know it isn’t okay.

The world isn’t as bright, Mom. The flowers don’t smell as sweet, and though I know I’m blessed beyond measure to love and be loved, I don’t have you.

How do I begin to say goodbye to the woman who raised me as her own? The grief comes and goes, and sometimes, it’s so strong, that it brings me to my knees, and I can’t catch my breath. I try to remember how you would want me to respond during moments when I feel lost in the tide of my sorrow, but it’s all still too new… the pain too fresh.

Your memory is alive in my mind. I can still see the warmth of your smile and feel your presence as though you are still here. I feel like you are. You’re in every lily I see on my morning walk, you’re in the sun glistening on my neighborhood lake, and in the laughter of my best friends who check in on me to see if I am okay. You are everywhere, Mom because you are the woman who taught me that loving people is the greatest gift of all.

I keep remembering the last moment I kissed your forehead. You looked so beautiful, Mom, and so peaceful. I wanted you to open your eyes and smile back at me. To whisper I love you to me one last time, but that didn’t happen, and though it hurts, I know the end of this life isn't the end. You are with Jesus, our family who went before you, and best of all, you are healed.

I can’t say goodbye to you, Mom, and I won’t. Instead, I will keep your memory alive, I will dream about you, talk about each memory, and cry when I need to. This is a great loss for our family, and I won’t pretend like my world will ever be what it once was. It can’t be. You’re gone, and though my heart breaks with this realization, it also celebrates the fact that I was privileged to know you at all.

Thank you for loving me so well, Mom. I promise to hold that dear to my heart each day.

With Love Beyond Measure,

Your Ma

Please Leave a Review

Please leave a review of The Hopping Dead.

#leaveareview #supportauthors #booktok #bookstagram

For Grandma Estrada

My grandmother is sick. She has skin cancer in her face and a tumor that is killing her. Just writing those words guts me because she is the closest thing to a mother I have ever known.

Grandma Estrada has dedicated her life to her family. She cooked us meals, kissed our pain away, held us on her lap, even when we were far too big to be held, and mended not only our clothes but our broken hearts, too. She has given the world’s best hugs, shared incredible wisdom, wiped away our tears, and laughed alongside us. She has propelled us forward with only a dream to our name and believed in the impossible for us. She is the rock I have depended upon for so long, a solid foundation I always thought would support me, and she is getting ready to leave us.

How do I let her go? How do I say goodbye to a woman who has given me so much of herself? I see her in the meals I cook for my family, in the words I speak to my students, and in the encouragement that pours from my heart because all of this is her. I am the woman I am because of the woman she is, and I am grateful. Grateful for each moment she sacrificed for me, for each whispered word of faith, for each time she dusted me off when I fell and told me to try again. Her life blesses me, and though she will never be famous, and most people will not know her name, I am forever changed because she existed.

My grandmother cleared the way for me to write. She kept every poem, breathed life into every sentence, and even came to my last book launch. She believes in me when I fail to believe in myself. She reminds me to, “Get it together, Ma… just pull it together.” Those were her most recent words to me. At first, I didn’t know what she meant, but I think she knows I haven’t believed in myself for a while. I have allowed my fears of failure to hold me back from being the great woman she knows I can be. I’ve let pain stop me. This year, I will change all of that.

I will live the best-damned life I can live. I will honor my body and get back into shape because I can. I will write more and dream more because that is who I am. When I am afraid, I will remember who paved the way for me and believed in me with every breath in her being. Even on the difficult days, I know I will get through because she did. She faced it all in love, and for that reason, I know she lived her best life possible.

I am honored to be my grandmother’s Molly B, her Ma. I wear these names with pride, knowing she will live on through every word I write. She will always be the whispered voice of encouragement in my head telling me to get up and get it done. Move that mountain one spoonful at a time. Look the problem square in the face and let it know it can’t break you. You are already a winner, Mija. Now, get it together… pull it together, Ma.

I promise you, Mom, I will.

ARC Giveaway!

Happy Birthday to me! In honor of my birthday, I’m giving away a chance to win an advanced reader copy of my newest book along with a swag box! If you’re interested in getting your paws on this prize, please go to www.mollyshaffer.com and subscribe to my newsletter.

Extra points go to teachers, librarians, and homeschool teachers that subscribe and send me an email through my website to let me know you subscribed. One of those educators will be entered in a drawing for chance to snag a classroom set of my newest book (35 copies).

Stay spooky, ghouls and goblins!

#arcgiveaway #bookgiveaway #booktok #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #giveaway #entertowin #subscribetomynewsletter

Learn to Rest… Not to Quit

I’m tired.

Tired of waiting. Tired of fearing. Tired of, well, being tired.

When I get this tired, I’m tempted to quit. To crawl into my bed with my orange cat named Berlin and just sleep the sad away. Though I’ll probably still nap with my cat, I know that waking up won’t make me less tired.

My tired doesn’t come from a lack of sleep. It stems from a dream deferred, and even though I’ve yet to experience the fulfillment of this dream, I still carry hope inside the pocket of my heart (weird imagery, I know).

Even when I get bone-tired from my delayed season in life, I refuse to quit. I’ll take a break, for sure, but then that familiar crackling of a new story will reawaken my imagination. Characters will start telling me stories, again, and words will emerge on blank pages.

This is my purpose. This is also the cost of seeking out a life of creativity. The price is sometimes great, but the reward… the reward, dear reader, is always worthwhile.

#dontquit #rest #perseverance #grit #wip #writeon #writingcommunity #dreamdeferred #authorsofinstagram #iykyk

Grateful for Vulnerability

An incredible friend told me a few weeks ago that I do not fear being unsuccessful. Instead, I fear the vulnerability of sharing my heart on a page with perfect strangers. What a total truth bomb, friends!

Writing is one of the most soul exposing acts there is, and to share those thoughts, emotions, and secrets with the world… we’ll, that’s a whole level of vulnerability I never truly thought about.

So, while I wait for the next chapter of my story to unfold, I’m proud of myself for being strong enough to be vulnerable. Whether I sell one book, or a hundred thousand copies, I have already succeeded in what I set out to accomplish… heal myself one word at a time.

Here’s to what’s next.

#wip #writedreambelieve #authorsofinstagram #authenticity #vulnerability #vulnerabilityisstrength

The Future is Now!

What you do now determines how you live in the future. Essentially, stop procrastinating on what you can do today.

If you want to write a book, start journaling events that happen in your daily life. Get in the habit of writing every day. Read books in the genre you want to write in and become an expert in that genre. Then, write the words. Show up for yourself.

Dreams don’t just happen. We make them happen!

#workinprogress #trusttheprocess #writeon #writethewords #wordnerd #authorlife #authorsofinstagram #geterdone

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

Have you ever heard of the win-win mentality?

It’s a mindset that focuses on encouraging other people to achieve their goals because there isn’t a scarcity mindset. If you are stuck in a scarcity mindset, you believe there isn’t enough success available, and you claw your way to the top. The carnage you leave behind is evident, as you trample others to attain your dreams.

Having a win-win mindset means that someone else’s achievement doesn’t diminish your own. In fact, it uplifts you. You find joy in watching others succeed. You’re in their corner, and they’re in yours. Except, you don’t support people for selfish reasons. You support them because you love to see them win, and in doing so, you win by default.

In the end, I’d rather be a cheerleader than a linebacker. The world has enough people tackling each other.

#winwin #upliftothers #beacheerleader #scarcitymindset #mindsetmatters #supporteachother #workinprogress #beafriend #wegotthis

What if You Fly?

This is where I’m at today in my journey. There’s always this moment before a trust fall where you fear the ground, but what if you’re caught safely in the arms of someone you love? What if you leap into the unknown and sail by like a kite in the wind? What if, instead of believing everything will go wrong, you realize it may just go right? What if… it is finally my time?

Sometimes, all you can do is live in a place of hope and ask your faith to settle your fears.

#trustfall #trusttheprocess #whatifyoufly #hope #faithoverfear

Capture Every Thought

I know this to be true, and yet I still allow critics to live in my head rent free. This is something I am actively changing by capturing each negative thought before it plants a seed of doubt, bitterness, or resentment within my mind. Nothing beautiful grows from those seeds.

#plantgoodseeds #captureeverythought #senseandsensibility #janeausten #workinprogress #mentalhealth #nottodaysatan

Waiting… Yeah, it’s Rough!

I am feeling this today… the stripping process.

As I wait for the next chapter to unfold, I can sense the doubts and fears trying to fast forward through the wait. It’s uncomfortable, this shedding process. I’m vulnerable, like an exposed nerve, but as insecure as I am, I realize all of this is necessary: the wait, the fragility, the trepidation. It’s all part of the journey, and though I don’t always trust the process, I will do my best to trust God.

#godsgotthis #nextchapter #workinprogress #waitingongod #waiting #trusttheprocess #perseverance

We’ll Meet It When It Does…

I’m struggling today. My anxiety is a 13 out of 10. There’s so much on the horizon, so much outside of my control, that I feel it pressing on the back of my eyes. Fears burn within me, and they threaten to consume me at any moment.

I close my eyes, say a silent prayer, “God, help me. Give me some encouragement.”

I open Pinterest for a quote to persevere despite this nagging feeling of impending doom. The first picture I see is this one, along with a quote that stops me in my tracks. I clutch the phone to my chest and whisper a thank you.

“What’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does.” -Hagrid

#harrypotter #gobletoffire #hagrid #perserverance #anxiety #overcoming #justholdon

Success Isn’t Life

I needed this reminder today.

Too often, I strive for perfection over progress and success over obedience. May these words speak to the place within me that believes I make things happen: that brokenness that urges me to hustle when I should rest. Today, I choose to be still and know that what God promises, He will fulfill.

Perhaps, I was created for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).

#faithoverfear #realrest #peacewithin #godsgotthis

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

I am 41% through with this book. Though I could finish it in a few days, I’ve chosen to read it slowly, a few chapters at each sitting, because I want to allow the wisdom to ruminate in my soul.

If you have never read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, I highly suggest it, especially if you’re a Christian. It is important for me to understand what I believe, or claim to believe. This book has put into words questions I have often had about my faith, and has done so in such an eloquent and relatable way.

I am in awe.

#merechristianity #cslewis #christianity

Shine Bright

I have often needed praise to feel successful. As I grow older, I realize the point of accomplishment is not appreciation. Instead, it is the realization that good work has been done. Though I may fall back into people pleasing patterns from time to time, I am actively working toward humility. I long to shine bright, so that through me, people will find the source of the light.

My light is not my own.

#shinebright #humility #dogoodwork #notaboutme #shineforhim #bethelight

I’m Not Who I Was

I struggle with wanting to please people as an achiever and not giving a crap as a challenger. It’s a strange place to be.

One thing I’m learning, as I walk on this journey of mental, physical, and spiritual health, is that I am exactly who I need to be in this moment to become who I’m becoming. I know I am a lot of things: quirky, a caffeine connoisseur, and a comfort snob to name a few. Yet, I know who I am not: a woman without boundaries, mean spirited, or a quitter.

Knowing who I am not helps me realize who I am, and I’m proud of myself. It takes courage to look within the internal dark places of yourself. It takes showing up daily for the real work. It takes time. Mostly, it takes wanting to love yourself more than you did yesterday and giving yourself grace for your shortcomings. I may not be the woman that I long to be, but I’m so grateful of the woman I am today.

When All You Can Do Is Show Up…

I have never read this quote before, but it resonates with my soul. As a woman who deals with anxiety, depression, and PTSD from trauma, I often feel like the world around me is too dark. The energy it takes just to get out of bed can be exhausting. Not to mention, teaching is mentally taxing and oftentimes unappreciated.

This quote reminds me of why I write. I write to heal from my past. I write because it’s the only thing I can do to quiet the chaos cluttering my mind. I write because it empowers me. I write, and in doing so, I am reminded that I am enough… even when all I can do is show up.

#mentalhealth #anxiety #depressionhelp #writeon #healingjourney #creativeminds #PTSD

Don’t Be a Prisoner to Perfection

As a recovering perfectionist, I can tell you that every day I face the urge to be flawless. The world whispers to seek the airbrushed, filtered ideal of beauty, and too often I comply. I use the filters, contour my makeup, and study the ever changing lines on my face.

I wish I could tell you that today is my final straw, and I’ll never use another filter, but I will. Instead of being in denial, I’ll admit that I’m growing in grace. Lately, I even leave the house without wearing makeup; something I’d never have done five years ago. I’m striving to live a life of progress not perfection, and that, my friend, is beautiful.

#progressoverperfection #giveyourselfgrace #workinprogress #trusttheprocess

I Can Be Right and Still Be Wrong…

The beginning of the school year is always challenging. Students must learn classroom procedures and rules on top of the curriculum. The first two months of school have always been the most trying for me, and I often struggle with maintaining healthy habits. This is something I am working to steadily improve in my life.

Teaching is not an easy job. We can be criticized, scrutinized, and our intentions may be misunderstood. Sometimes there are far more complaints than words of affirmation. Most of the teachers I know would agree that we do this job because we love teaching. We are not perfect. We fumble. We make mistakes. Yet, we are doing our absolute best to raise up the next generation. Most teachers are lifelong learners, and we will get the lessons wrong sometimes. Please remember this if emotions run high.

When you’re heated, try to see things through the lens of grace. Wait a day to send the email. Ask for wisdom from a trusted confidant. Once words are out there living in the world, you can’t take them back. These are the truths I’m reminding myself of today. Just as teachers make mistakes, so do parents because teachers and parents are people, and people make mistakes. That’s a statement I’ll choose to call to mind today.

#teacherlife #bekind #showgrace #peoplemakemistakes #choosehumility