Meet Shawnee Penkacik

We were lucky to catch up with Shawnee Penkacik recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shawnee, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from deep faith and trust in God, love of my family, and giving back to those around me. A year ago, my life forever changed. The night before at my company which helped Christians launch nonprofit ministries, we were planning a launch to help leaders be rooted in their Identity in Christ. I knew we would be leaving the next day to go to Tampa to celebrate my son Brighton’s 13th birthday.
Like every other school morning, my sons Brighton and Finn came in my room and said, “I love you, mom.” Then two hugs later they left for the school bus stop. The walk was a 27 minute walk for the boys because the bus stop was moved due to bus driver shortage. Little did I know that fifteen minutes later, my son Brighton would be in heaven with Jesus. The boys were chased by a dog on the way to that bus stop and Brighton got scared. He had knee surgery for an infection years prior and was worried about his knee being affected again. He was hit by a car trying to get away from the dog and was killed. A few hours later, a police detective came to our door with Finn to tell us that Brighton was killed. Life as I knew it was not the same. I found myself shell shocked as instead of celebrating a birthday I was planning a funeral. Being a mom of twelve kids, I needed to pull myself together to reassure my family that things would be okay. Even though, I was questioning would things be okay. Yet the faithfulness of God pulled me through. I remembered times where He had brought our family through hard things like Brighton’s knee surgery and I knew that He would do it again.
Our family began to heal and in November things went back to our new normal. However just three months later on December 1st, we would get that knock at the door again in the early morning hours with law enforcement letting us know that our twenty-five year old son Dalton was killed in a hit and run. The person who hit Dalton left him to die in the street. It was like groundhog day all over again.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am deeply passionate about helping others know their identity in Christ and empowering them to live abundantly in His love. At Mercy’s Light Family, we help transform the lives of orphans, widows, and more from abuse, desperation and abject poverty to self-sufficiency through discipleship, education, & small business creation in 3-years. Through my work as a faith-based marketing strategist at Christian Rocketeers, I have been able to help organizations amplify their missions and make a greater impact in the world. At Infinitely More Life, I empower Christian women offering practical tools, daily encouragement to navigate the My role as a best-selling author and speaker allows me to connect with individuals on a personal level, offering practical tools, daily encouragement, and spiritual insight to navigate the challenges that you face in life.
Recently we held the Believe For It: Empowering Your Faith conference where we were able to encourage women to take bold steps of faith in their walk with the Lord.

I want people to know that everything I do comes from a place of faith, family, and a commitment to making a positive impact in the world. Whether it’s through books, conferences, or partnerships, my goal is to help others see how God can do infinitely more in their lives.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three qualities that have been most impactful on my journey are faith, staying humble and teachable, and serve others. Faith is a huge part of my life. In our nonprofit, we pray about everything. I’ve seen God work the biggest miracles when I slow down and press in sitting at His feet. One of those was the building of the third floor at Mercy’s Light Family. That third floor is now our Upendo Store which has products made by our young moms at Mercy’s Light for sale to travelers.
Staying humble and teachable. My mom used to tell me that pride would go before destruction and destruction before a fall. I know that apart from the Lord, I can do nothing. He has blessed me with so many incredible things. My husband, my family, my nonprofit, and so much more. It all belongs to Him.
Finally serving others. Years ago Carrie the founder of Mercy’s Light Family asked me to sit at the table in a kitchen with her. She invited me to be a part of what God was doing in Kenya by managing the social media. I knew it was something that I could do as I had been doing it for others. I was nervous but felt the Lord say, “Say, yes.” God took my yes and helped me to raise money for various projects, empower young girls to find hope and faith after being victims of human trafficking, and finding healing. I am thankful for the ability to serve and share time, talent, and finances with those in need.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me was bring me to church from the time I was young. They made sure that I learned simple Biblical principles to help me learn about God’s love. They made sure that I had limits and boundaries. They also made sure that I knew the value of memorizing scripture and keeping it close. I am grateful for that.

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