Before Shari and I were married we did what most newlyweds did, we met with the Pastor who would be performing our wedding ceremony. Unlike most newlyweds we were planning our wedding in only 21 days as a result of news my cancer had returned and was spreading throughout my body. Chemo, radiation, and surgery was on the horizon, details of that part of the story can be found here, but as Mike, Shari, and I finalized the details of what would be the most amazing wedding day we closed the our meeting in prayer. Mike prayed over our marriage, the impact it might have on Michael and Matthew (Shari’s sons), and our future with God at the center of it all.
Tom, “I don’t know if you have 4 months, 4 years, or 40 years but I do know God is faithful and He has a plan for your life, with or without cancer. God knows both you, He knows what’s on your minds, and He knows what’s in your hearts, and my prayer for both of you is to let everyone know your Faith lies in Him…regardless!”
This prayer, our milestone prayer, something Shari and I have prayed for over a year, has led us to creating this $40 challenge as a way to raise money for cancer research and celebrate our journey of Faith.
We celebrated when we reached 4 months and I shared those thoughts last year in my Milestones post. We believe another amazing milestone would be for our Leveraging Life team to beat last year’s record of raising $4,237.00 for cancer research during the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s North Metro Light the Night Walk.
This year has been an amazing year for our family, some of which was made possible thanks to donations made years ago by people like you and me who funded the research which now provides the treatments so many of us use to fight cancer. Sadly most everyone I know has their own cancer story where this disease has touched their lives in some way, but today you have the opportunity to join the fight so one day there can be a cure.
The Challenge
It’s hard for me to imagine what impact I might be able to have 40 years from now, but if you are like me you wonder what impact you can make in the present that has the potential to change the future.
1. SHARE the $40 Challenge with your friends, family, and co-workers. It’s easy to do using the sharing buttons at the bottom of this post and at the top of the blog via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or using email icon, to help spread the word.
2. WALK with us at the Light the Night Walk at the Cumming Fairgrounds on September 22 at 7pm. (Registration starts at 5pm with a ton of activities for everyone leading up to the walk)
3. ACCEPT the $40 Challenge and donate at least $40 to the Leveraging Life – Stick it 2 cancer team to keep up the fight. In the past decade, nearly 50% (19 out of 39) of the cancer drugs approved by the FDA were approved as treatments for blood cancer patients which are helping patients (like me) beyond those for whom they were originally developed, including people with solid cancer tumors and cancer related auto-immune diseases. Oh and if some of the couples we know choose to accept the challenge individually, donating $80.00 is ok!!
Thank you in advance for your support and use this link to make your donation on the Leveraging Life Team Page, and please leave a comment at the bottom of this post who you’re Sticking it 2 cancer for:
I’m in and I want to Stick it 2 cancer for _______________!
~Tom
trusting God period!
You also can you can receive Leveraging Life updates in an email every time I update and all you have to do is click here to subscribe to Leveraging Life. (It’s free)
