Celebrate 3 years cancer free with me…check Go Fund Me to see how… One of the books I want to include in the Change of Perspective bags is a workbook titled Leave Nothing Unsaid…it is an incredibly well-done workbook that guides you through how to write a letter letting those in your life know how much they mean to you… I know in my family we don’t speak of such things, there are not “I’m proud of you” “I love you because” “This is my hope for your future” conversations happening…and I don’t think we are that different than other families, these are just things we don’t feel comfortable expressing…The importance of letting those in your life know these things can’t be over-emphasized…it can even be life changing…and it is certainly life breathing… Jody Noland’s dream to guide other’s how to write these important letters to family and friends began after a friend wrote letter’s to his family while he was in the hospital…you can listen to Jody talk about Leave Nothing Unsaid here on Tammy Helfrich’s website…it is well worth the 30 minutes… The following is copied from the Leave Nothing Unsaid website that explains further… Have you ever …Read more
Today is a special day in my life…the 3 year anniversary of my being in remission from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma…At the end of this post I have a special way that you can help me celebrate… Today’s post is written by Liz Clark…among many other talents, she is a writer…a writer who uses words to paints beautiful pictures of truth, and hope…I am lucky to name her as a friend… I follow the colorful lines painted on the floor beneath my feet. The rainbow of color seems out of place on the cold tile. The lines run side-by-side for a while, leading a small group of us forward, each of us silent on our journey. At the first intersection, the colored lines shoot off in different directions. The signs above us tell us what each color means, leading our tired feet to our loved ones. Obstetrics is pea-green. Pediatrics is orange. Cardiology is red. That seems ironic. Neurology is brown I follow blue. Blue for Oncology. I don’t want to be there. I don’t want to follow the blue line that ends in a part of the hospital where one of my friends is fighting for his life. I walk slowly …Read more
““Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:27 convicts me more than I’d like to admit. While I know that worrying about something will not affect its outcome, I still struggle with this. In reading this passage (Matthew 6:25-34), Jesus reminds us of several key points. Here are the two that stick out to me most this morning: 1) We are valued. 2) Stay in the moment. In my typical day, I really don’t think about birds… Sure, I see them flying overhead often, but I don’t ever stop to think about a bird’s life. When I read Matthew 6:26, I am reminded that they live in the moment. Birds don’t have a savings account or storage facility. They don’t worry about climbing a corporate ladder. They are “free” and “careless in the care of God.” The NIV states, “your heavenly Father feeds them.” For those of us that struggle with worry, God wants to give us freedom from worry. He wants to remind us that He takes care of feeding the birds and giving them shelter, and He wants to do so much more for us. I needed this guest blog. I …Read more
This last weekend I was BOLD… Unafraid I drove to Nashville to attend a Pickn’ Party with some friends… I was fine when I arrived at my friend Anna’s house…four of us went to dinner and it was a blast…The trouble came when we arrived at the event and met up with 15 other friends…in the midst of over a 1000 people we were a small group laughing, talking, and learning about each other…as should happen, small groups were formed and people stood in circles talking about life, and work…anxiety/insecurity welled up inside threatening to drown…the first thought was to gain control of the situation…right? this is my first and most honed coping skill, control…I wanted everyone to set their chairs up in a circle and sit down…this would be so much less threatening (TO ME)…thankfully I did not act on my first instinct, I would have looked stupid, and controlling…I knew it was irrational…so I acted on my second instinct…to withdraw…I sat in my lawn chair, practiced breathing techniques…enjoying watching everyone connect, and have fun…when I was ready to try again, I got up and joined in the conversations…I did this several times throughout the night..did I come off nervous? …Read more
