Our Cancer Creed

As we close our March month of Mantras, it only seems appropriate to finish with our Cancer Creed... it has been the hardest of truths to share as we walk this cancer road... for we do the tears and we do the pain, the worry and the stress.  No one wants to admit it, but when we peel back the veneer and let the honest speak... the fear and the dark of this shadow valley... they are there.

But so is Hope, and Faith and Joy and Courage!

We PRAY... We PERSEVERE...

We Won't Go Down

without a Fight!

Praying the Sweetest Blessings over you this night,

May you find that there is always Grace enough for each step of the Journey.

My Love, Always,

                    Jane

Hope for the Heart...

Love and laughter are two of the most important

universal cancer treatments on the planet.

Overdose on them.  ~ Tanya Masse

Finding strength for the cancer journey encompasses more than just the physical, concrete aspects of the battle... we need strength of heart, strength of will and strength of soul to face the cancer beast.

It is a fight that none of us should ever have to face alone.

May you be surrounded by love this day and trust always in God's faithful promises to hold you safe.

Know that when we link arms together on this journey we find strength immeasurable for all our tomorrows...

Walking this road together,
My Love, Always,
                             Jane

Home Run!

The cancer journey is a lot like baseball...

Each of us comes up to the plate alone.  We ready our bat, we face the ball, we prepare for the pitch.

But that treatment... that surgery... that test... Sometimes we swing and miss.  Or we hold back and then miss the perfect pitch. The ump yells too loud... our Strikes pile up.  The smile wavers... Hope is fragile, Joy slips away.

Every cancer patient has days like these.

We're tempted to give up... for how many strikes can one person endure?

May I encourage you to hold fast and trust in the next pitch?  The game's not over.  Your team is cheering you on.  You truly do not face the plate alone...

When you swing and miss, just remember that every strike brings you closer to the next Home Run...

So, let's Ready our Bats, take a Deep Breath, Face the Ball and Hit it out of the Park!

My Love, Always,
                         Jane

Counting Daily Joys

Marking the good.  We find ways to honor small milestones... 

A special lunch out at the end of a treatment.  A lazy afternoon nap in the sun.  A sweet burst of unexpected laughter with friends.

  Count the process, find joy in the moments, treasure the gifts.

It's the best way to Hold tight to the Blessings!

Turning Our Face to the Sun

Don't look back. You're not going that way!

Trusting in the Grace-Giver to set the path before us
and light each step of the way...

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path."

     ~ Psalm 119:105

Choosing Joy

Breathe deep...
and walk straight into God's unfailing Promises.

Everyday Gifts

Today's Moments become Tomorrow's Memories...

Let's make them good ones!

Sunday Speaks... Finding Joy

Slow Down... Breath in Deep... Today's a Gift...

Choosing the Blessing

Treasuring the Simple Joys this day!

When Fear Overwhelms...

Hope beats Fear Every Time!

Praying Blessed Hope over your journey Today.

Our God is Faithful to protect those He Loves...

Fear will dissolve when we turn our face towards Hope!

My Love, Always,

                 Jane

Hope is like the Sun...

Truth for today...

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it,
casts the shadow of our burden behind us.
~ Samuel Smiles

Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow.
~Helen Keller

Just Survive Somehow!

Any Walking Dead fans out there??

Yes, I will admit... a slight obsession with the show :-)

There is one character on the show who has a very terse mantra:

"Just Survive Somehow"
{JSS}

Enid had lost both her parents and was alone in a world of zombies (I know... great story line, right?! Lol!)

When Rick's group found her she had trouble trusting in the safety they offered.  She had been surviving on her own for too long...and constantly retreated back into her JSS mindset.

But Just Surviving isn't really living.

As a cancer warrior, we sometimes find ourselves in the Just Surviving Somehow mode.  The cancer treatments, the nightmare side effects, the poor prognosis... it's a death spiral.  And that's the truth.

How can you even begin to think about really living?

Yesterday we allowed the Sadness of a cancer diagnosis to find space... to be open and honest about the emotions and heartache we feel.  Cancer is hard.  There is no easy path.  It is suffering in spades.

Winston Churchill speaks to the suffering:

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself
the means of inspiration and survival.
~ Winston Churchill

Perhaps, you are reaching deep through the heart of suffering even now, looking for inspiration and survival.  It is the Hope that anchors us.

Another wise warrior challenges us to go beyond Just Surviving:

Surviving doesn't mean just staying alive...

it means LIVING to your potential.

~ Antionette

So... where are you tonight?  

Ready to do some Living?

If we're on this side of the dirt, then there's living to be done.

May your surviving turn into more than just hanging on,
but truly Living up to your

Beautiful, Extra-Ordinary, Perfectly Imperfect Potential!!

All My Love,

           Jane

Giving Ourselves Permission to be Sad...

I would rather speak about Hope. Always!

It is the only thing stronger than fear.  That's Truth.

But... while I love to speak Hope, there's another side that needs to be heard.

And that's Sadness.  There's something about a terminal cancer diagnosis... It can bring fear and panic, often anger and perhaps bitterness, then as the reality sets in, most will begin to experience a grief born of great loss.  A loss of health, of hope, of confidence, of time, and ultimately even of life itself. 

Anjuli Paschall offers a beautiful perspective on Sadness over at InCourage...

So often, the moment sadness starts to push up, we shoo it away, hammer it down, and seal it shut. We are so tempted to resolve our feelings with quick fixes. We ignore our heartaches or bully them away. When tears emerge, we hide them, brush them off, or shame ourselves. But what if, for a moment, we spoke our sadness? What if we invited it to rise and gave it space to breathe? What if our sadness from years ago or just yesterday came to the surface and was met with welcome? What if our hearts are stuck back in high school or a painful divorce or a miscarriage? Can we give ourselves permission to still hurt? Even if we’ve been single forever, can we still talk about our longings without apologizing? Moving into this new year, healing is waiting, knocking at the door of our hearts eager to be let in.

I offer you permission to be sad. You can cry till your eyes hurt and throat burns. You don’t have to have a good reason to break down. You can cry even if you’ve been crying about the same thing for years. You don’t need to explain it with perfect sentences or complete thoughts. You have permission to feel the memories that make it hard to breathe. Even if your pain is from childhood or your college years, give it permission to come up. Give yourself grace to invite sadness — big or small — to the table of your soul. 

If someone were to sit beside you today and ask you what you’re sad about, what would you say? You might squirm, murmur a few things, or be silent. But if they waited patiently, what sadness tucked way deep down in your soul would you share? 

What if the person sitting beside you was Jesus? Jesus, who wept with Mary and Martha when their brother, Lazarus, died. Jesus, who helped a father care for his sick daughter. Jesus, while dying on the cross directed his friend, John, to comfort His mourning mother. Jesus, who leans into our greatest sadness and says, “Come.” He is your Counselor, Friend, and Father.

Let Jesus comfort your soul.

Our Hope in God isn't just a wish or an optimistic desire.  Our Hope is a sure confidence in God's promises and a strong belief in His faithfulness...

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

~  John 14:27

Sadness will come.  A terminal diagnosis just cannot be "wished" away.

I know.

But Hope.

Yes, Hope in God's sure promises will walk side by side with our sadness.

Always.

Praying His Peace over the Sadness tonight,

And that Peace?

It gives Hope for the journey...

May you feel His Love holding you close as you walk this road,

you never walk alone.

Moving through the Valley

Your deepest valleys lead you to your highest mountaintops.

                                                                  ~Matshona Dhliwayo

Taking a step forward into Hope.

Hold on to Hope...

Whatever you do, hold on to hope...

The tiniest thread will twist into an unbreakable cord.

Let hope anchor you in the possibility that this is not the end of your story,

that change will bring you to peaceful shores.

~unknown

From the minute we're born, our lives are telling a story.  But no one ever expects Cancer to interrupt that story.

Mom's pancreatic cancer added another chapter to her journey.   How do you ever write that chapter?

Whatever you do, hold on to Hope.  Yes... the tiniest thread of Hope

will become an unbreakable cord.

Cancer, especially a terminal cancer diagnosis, makes one think about the legacy our lives are writing... and Hope anchors us to the possibility that this is not the end of that story, but a change that will bring us to peaceful shores.

I needed these words tonight.  

Graced to Hope,

Always,

             Jane

Sunday Speaks... Words of Hope

Once you choose hope, anything's possible.
~ Christopher Reeve

Bear Prints...

A smile for the weekend, friends... Watch out for Bears!

Love and Hugs,
                       Jane

Standing in the Storm...

Courage in the face of the impossible... that is what the pancreatic cancer patient faces every day.  It is a storm that is constantly battering and blowing us off course.

And when the wind does not blow our way, we stop and adjust the sails.

Praying always for each one facing this fight.  You courage is lighting the way for those following behind...

Cheering you on this night!

My Love, Always,
                           Jane

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

~Cayla Mills

Courage doesn't always roar...

Courage doesn't always roar.

Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day

that says I'll try again tomorrow.

~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Focus on the Fight...

If you could find the pulse of our website and blog it would be Fighting this Cancer with everything we've got... Perhaps that is why Robin Roberts quote resonated.

"It's about focusing on the fight and not the fright."

Anyone who has received that cancer diagnosis can identify with the fright... our hearts beat hard and stomachs rebel when the overwhelming reality sinks in.  We know that kind of fright.

But to really fight, we need to get past the fright, past the crippling fear and paralyzing panic and on to the steps we need to take in order to beat this beast.

We could close this post with another favorite quote, from Theodore Roosevelt, that is so apt to our fight... when we don't know where to begin or what to do:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Yes, ma'am... just take a breath and then take a step!

It's a good day to make a start,

My Love, Always,

               Jane

Standing Up to Cancer

Powerful words!

Standing Up to Cancer Together...

Praying for every one in the Fight tonight!

My Love, Always,

                         Jane