Saturday, October 31, 2009

Prayer Request for Mallerie



A Call To Prayer

Softly the evening vespers
Hallow the closing day;
Sweetly the Savior whispers,
“Come to the throne and pray.”

Refrain:
Softly I hear Him calling,
Calling at close of day;
Sweetly His tones are falling,
“Come to the throne and pray.”

Come, ere the shadows lengthen,
Bring Him thy burdened heart;
Come where His grace may strengthen,
Come from thy cares apart.

Smiles of His love await thee,
Lighting His lovely face;
Just to behold His beauty,
Dwell in the secret place.

Boldly we may approach Him,
Mercy and grace to own;
Tempted like us, He bid us
Come to the Father’s throne.

Please be in prayer for Mallerie and her family. God is in Control, He can heal her and make her well. She is having a difficult time right now, she is still on the vent. Let us all join together and pray for God to wrap his loving arms around Brad, Tina and Heath and give them peace. Pray for God to put His loving healing hands on Mallerie and bring her through this trial.

Pray for Dax, Julie and Austin. Pray for good days for Dax. Pray for comfort and strength for Julie and Austin. Pray for Dax's miracle.



TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER TEAM -SHIRTS. SHIRTS WILL BE ORDERED ON MONDAY MORNING AND SHOULD BE BACK TO ME BY WEDNESDAY. THOSE OF YOU FROM GREENVILLE WHO HAVE ORDERED THEM FOR THE SCHOOL RETREAT AT ALLYSON'S SCHOOL, YOUR SHIRTS SHOULD BE IN GREENVILLE BY THURSDAY OR EARLY FRIDAY MORNING IN TIME FOR YOUR RETREAT. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THIS FUNDRAISING EFFORT TO SUPPORT ST JUDE.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Friday, October 30, 2009

DEADLINE TOMORROW!

TOMORROW IS THE DEADLINE DAY TO ORDER YOUR TEAM BELIEVE T-SHIRT FOR THIS YEAR! THERE WILL NOT BE EXTRA'S ON SALE AT THE DINNER THIS YEAR. ONLY PRE-ORDERED SHIRTS WILL BE AVAILABLE.

THE PAY PAL BUTTONS LOCATED ON THIS PAGE TO ORDER YOUR SHIRTS WILL COME DOWN TOMORROW NIGHT.


You do NOT have to be a member of the marathon team to order a t-shirt with Mary Kate's design on it. This is a great way to show your support to the efforts of this team and your support to Mary Kate's family. All profits from the shirt go to St Jude. We do use the sales from our team shirts as a fundraiser. To those of you who have placed your order, thank you very much.

To the team members, thank you for your orders. The crowds gathered to support the runners will know Team Believe is present and there to do our part to make a difference for St Jude. Don't forget to have your shirt with you at the team dinner on Friday night for our team picture. Feel free to wear it, or just bring it and put it on for the picture.

We need to get our rooms confirmed at the hotel by Wednesday Nov. 4th.

HOTEL INFO:

HOLIDAY INN & SUITES
MEMPHIS - WOLFCHASE GALLERIA
2751 NEW BRUNSWICK ROAD
MEMPHIS, TN 38133

phone - 901-266-1952

Ask for Sybil Sides or Alicia, they are our direct contact people for Team Believe. They are at the hotel between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Let them know you are confirming a room under the block of rooms for Team Believe for the St Jude Marathon. If you have any problems ( I don't think you will) please let me know. I will help you.


Thank you for your prayers for the new kids. I am happy to report that Amber's surgery went very well. They were able to get all of the tumor that they could see. Her surgery lasted 8 hours, but is considered a success. She was doing well and resting comfortably in ICU last night. Thank you prayer warriors for your prayers for all the kids.

Please keep Dax and his family in your prayers. Julie is really struggling at this time. I just can't imagine how difficult this time is for her and the other family members. Leave them a note of encouragement, let them know you are not giving up on them.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy a safe Halloween. To the St Jude families and kids... have a blast today at the St Jude Halloween Bash!! This is one of my favorite days at the hospital. They go above and beyond to make this day special for the kids. Little superhero's and Cinderella's all over the place!

KEEP PRAYING ~ KEEP BELIEVING

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

DEADLINE TIME

God holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Proverbs 2: 7-8

No big changes with any of the kids that I am aware of today. Please just keep praying for all of them. I have had calls or email about four new patients coming in this week. I will ask that you keep them in your prayers also as they begin their journey. I have not yet made contact with any of them yet, but plan to do so with two of them today. I will simply ask at this time to keep Nathan, Haley, Amber and Tanner in prayer. Keep Amber and her family in prayer today as she is in surgery at this time. The family has been told that this surgery will take about 6 hours just to get to the tumor, then they do not know from there. Pray that the doctors are able to remove all of the tumor and that everything goes well. Pray for peace for the family as today will be a very long and difficult day. This is actually a relapse for Amber, she has been cancer free for about 2 years.

TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER YOUR TEAM BELIEVE - RUNNING FOR MARY KATE T-SHIRT! Enough said :)

Also, I will need to get RSVP's next week for the team dinner which will be the night before the marathon December 4th. So be looking at your schedule and I will need to get a list of people attending.

Hotel confirmations - those should be made by now, but if you have not this needs to be done by the first of this next week too. Time is on us!! It's almost here!!!

Enjoy your day. Spend a little time in prayer...

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Quick Update

Hospital rounds.....

Trevor had a great check-up! All is looking good, he looks great and is being a normal 16 year old Trevor! It is such a blessing to see a success story enjoying himself, yet visiting with others still fighting their battles. He will be going back home this afternoon and will not be returning until the Friday before the marathon, so he has a month off. Way to go Trevor.

Mallerie is still on the vent and needing our prayers for her complete healing. Prayers for Mal, Brad, Tina and Heath too. I visited with them for a little while today, and they are being very strong. Leave them a message on Mal's cb page.

Prayers for Dax, Julie and Austin. They are home now so I will not get to visit with them, but I will be keeping in touch and I'll pass along anything that she shares with me, and gives me permission to share. Please keep them in your daily prayers as they take one day at a time and try to process what is going on and enjoy their precious Dax every day!

Rylee had a doctors appointment today and Samantha was so hopeful of getting a diagnosis and a plan of treatment. When she called she said that the diagnosis was "her heart is not normal". Amazing... how do you process that? She will be following up as soon as they can get an appointment arranged with a specialist. She does seem to be feeling a little better but definitely not back to her normal Rylee state. If any of you know Rylee.... the best way to describe her is "full steam ahead, 24/7" She never stops or even slows down, I think she just possibly may not even be capable of sitting COMPLETELY still for more than 30 seconds. She is just precious, I love her to death and to hear that she is just laying around is heartbreaking, you know that is not her. Pray that someone can get to the bottom of what is going on and find the course of treatment to get her back to her normal self.

I spoke with Joan V a few days ago, she says that Alex V is doing so much better. She is back at school almost full time and she is feeling better about herself. She is in a new school that has been a wonderful change for her. Alex is such a sweet girl and I am so happy to hear this wonderful report from her.

I am very happy to report that Team Believe has reached the over $10,000.00 mark for our fundraising efforts. Many thanks to many of you. If you have not yet had a chance to help us out by making a donation to St Jude through Team Believe, please be in prayerful consideration of doing so. Our goal is $25,000.00 and I have no doubt that we can reach that goal with everyone's help. I promise any amount that you may give will be the best spent money you just might ever spend. It could just be the dollars needed to save a life. I just keep thinking... what if one of these children was my child. PLEASE consider making a donation TODAY! You know, just a thought... you can donate more than once if you feel like you can :)

The following people have raised over 1,000.00 each:

Allison Fuller
Regina Rushing
Brenda Bradley
Mardecia Sutton
Susan Scheuermann

Congratulations and GREAT JOB!!! Keep it up!


Also... the deadline to order your Mary Kate Team Believe shirt is this Friday.... DON'T MISS OUT ON GETTING YOUR VERY ON MARY KATE SHIRT.

Keep praying and keep posting comments of encouragement on the kids pages.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS ~

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Please Join The Effort To Find A Cure!!!



O Heart Bowed Down with Sorrow

O heart bowed down with sorrow!
O eyes that long for sight!
There's gladness in believing;
In Jesus there is light.

Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me;
For I am meek and lowly in heart
And ye shall find rest unto your soul

Earth's fleeting gain and pleasure
Can never satisfy:
Tis love our joy doth measure
For love can never die.

Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me;
For I am meek and lowly in heart
And ye shall find rest unto your soul

His peace is like a river,
His love is like a song;
His yoke's a burden never;
Tis easy all day long.

Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me;
For I am meek and lowly in heart
And ye shall find rest unto your soul


PLEASE GET ON YOUR KNEES IN PRAYER FOR DAX, JULIE. AUSTIN AND THEIR FAMILIES. I will simply ask you to click on Dax's link on our page and read Julie's post.

I want to ask you to also pray for the necessary funds to be made available for research to help find a cure for this. Our hearts have all been touched by these kids and their families, PLEASE I beg you to search your heart and and give whatever you can to St Jude in the loving honor and memory of these children to help with research. Just think, if there was a dime given for each tear shed over the illness and death of just one child, think what a difference that money could make. One day, I pray that one day, the doors of St Jude and every cancer treatment and research facility will be closed due to lack of patients.

One of our wonderful prayer warriors and team members and I decided tonight that our goal would be to be a team to go around from city to city and put together playsets for all the kids who will be healed and cured from this disease and sent home to play on brand new playsets!!! Lisa and I are very willing to read directions and learn how to use a cordless screwdriver!!!!

PLEASE, EVEN IF IT IS ONLY $1.00, PLEASE SEARCH YOUR HEART, BE IN PRAYER ABOUT ANY DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT YOU CAN GIVE TO GO TO THIS CAUSE. DO IT IN MEMORY OF ETHAN, SULLY, MADDIE, MARY KATE, ELIZABETH, ALEX, REAGAN, CLAY, KACEY AND EVERY OTHER CHILD YOU KNOW OF WHO HAS GIVEN THIER LIFE TO CANCER IN THEIR CHILDHOOD.

Under the section down the left side of this page, look under TEAM BELIEVE and go to "Donate To St Jude- Click Here" Click on that link and it will take you directly to where you can make a donation safe and secured online.

May God continue to bless us with the health of our families and the prosperity that he has so richly blessed us with.

Praying for Dax, praying for his miracle. Praying for Mallerie, praying for her healing.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!!!!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Calling For Your Prayers






"Come unto me all ye that are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest"


Most of you are already up to date on Dax, his appointment Friday did not go the way they had hoped and prayed for. Dax's CT scan showed a new growth on his spine, the follow up MRI and MRD indicate that his cancer is back. They have gone back home, the doctors should have a full report from the MRD by Monday or Tuesday, and will call them with the course of action to take from here. She has given the details on Dax's page. Prayers are requested and very much needed. Please pray for Dax, Julie and Austin. Please leave them your messages of encouragement and let them know you are here for them.

Rylee needs your prayers at this time too. She has been admitted to the hospital at Oklahoma Children's. She has a really low heart rate. All test to this point have come back within normal range, so the cause for her very low heart rate is not know at this time. Please pray for the doctors to be able to find the cause for this and for them to know how to best treat her to correct this problem. I spoke with Samantha this afternoon and at that point she is just on the heart monitors and her heart rate continues to remain really low actually hitting the critical low point on several occasions. Please pray for Rylee and Samantha.

Mallerie remains in ICU and is on the oscillator. Please keep her in your prayers. Please pray and pray hard for her lungs to recover from this GVHD. Bless her heart, she has had such a tough time, please keep her in prayer along with her family. I visited with them today, she is sedated, so she is resting and hopefully this is allowing time for her body to recover. Tina and Brad just ask for you fervent prayers for Mal's healing. Don't forget to leave your messages of encouragement to them too on their caringbridge page.

It would be great if each of you could ask for these children's names to be placed on your prayer list at your home church tomorrow. Goodness knows, it is time to storm the heaven's with the names of these kids for God's healing.

Please keep all of the kid's in your prayers. Please keep all of the families of our ^angel^ kids in your prayers too.


This coming Friday is the last day to place your order for your Team Believe, Running For Mary Kate, t-shirt. Don't be left out and miss the honor of wearing Mary Kate's original design!!! Also, make sure you have confirmed your hotel room at our team hotel.

Enjoy your Sunday services tomorrow. May God bless you with a wonderful day of fellowship.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Part 2 - UPDATE



PART 2 - UPDATE
Urgent prayers requested for Mallerie. She has been having some difficulty breathing and they have placed her back on the vent. Please pray hard for this gvhd to heal.

Part 1 - Original Post

This photo is a photo of some artwork that Mallerie did recently that is now hanging on one of the walls at St Jude. It will be a part of their patient artwork on display for one year. She worked really hard on this and her efforts are very evident. This is a big honor for her to have her work on display. Congratulations Mal, you did a great job!!! I love her theme, "We're All In This Together". This is one smart chick, who really does see the big picture. I had a nice visit with her and her family yesterday. I told her about my recent trip to Nashville for the Keith Urban concert. I told her about our shopping trip while there to purchase some "necessary" wardrobe items to fit in with the country/western theme. I did buy a pair of cowboy boots to wear, and I told her I got a really neat pair. I asked her... "guess what?" and she immediately responded...."THEY'RE PINK"!! She was right on!! I love this girl!!! In ICU, feeling not so good at all, but still sharp as a tack and not missing a beat! Please, please keep her in your prayers. She really needs them right now. Keep her family in your prayers to. They have been inpatient for so long now and it does wear you down so much. Please go to her caringbridge page and leave them a message. Let them know that you are praying for them and congrats on her artwork. This will mean so very much to them. It only takes a minute or two to leave a message, but it means so much to each family when you do leave them notes.

Dax is back in Memphis today and tomorrow for his check up and meds. Pray for his test results to be good and for them to have a safe trip back home tomorrow afternoon. Please pray for him to remain cancer free!

Little Trevor T. had a good visit yesterday. He had his chemo, then enjoyed another fun-tastic evening at our local Wolfchase Chili's. The employees continue to spoil him rotten when he is in Memphis for his treatment. The biggie last night was a special visit to the restaurant by a firetruck and crew just to take Trevor for a ride in THE BIG RED TRUCK! He was really excited, but was a little overwhelmed by the size of that big truck. We love our Chili's and I appreciate so much the extra mile that this particular restaurant goes for the St Jude kids. They have an awesome management staff that supports the efforts of St jude 110%. Some of the staff including management will be participating with us and with Sully's team in the marathon this year. Those of you who will be coming in on Thursday to help me set up for the dinner will have the opportunity to go to this Chili's for dinner on Thursday night. This will be a treat!

Well, we had one good day in the top ten on the St Jude marathon fundraising chart. I liked seeing our team name up there, and so sad to see it not there today. Let's get busy, and see what we can do to get it there and keep it there. I really don't care if we are in the top ten or not, but I do REALLY want for us to reach of goal of $25,000.00. I know there is some money out there that has not been turned in and some that has not posted yet. We can do this, I KNOW WE CAN! We will have a prize for the person who does raise the most money to help us reach our goal. Will you be that person?

Anyone who would like to be a part of this effort but can not make the trip to Memphis to be on the team, can certainly help out and be a part by making a donation to the team. ALL DONATIONS ARE WELCOME! You can simply go the the column on the left side of this blog page, and you will see Donate to St Jude- Team Believe- click here. Just click on that link and it will take you directly to our team page and there you will find a DONATE NOW button where you can make a safe online donation that goes directly to St Jude. Thank you so much for helping us out!!

T-shirts.... we are in the final days to place your order. There are still many team members who have not yet ordered theirs. Please get those orders in. DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 31, 2009. Only 9 days left!

Have a great evening, it's almost the weekend!!!!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!!!!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Great Job Team! Here's One Reason Your Doing This





I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Psalm 52:9


God is so GOOD! At times when it seems to many ( and one is to many!) of our precious children are leaving their earthly home and joining Jesus in their heavenly home all because of cancer, we will see the glory and goodness from our Heavenly Father when one of his children is deemed cancer free. We praise Him and give Him all the glory. I do not begin to even try to understand why some earn their wings and their reward of an eternal home in heaven and others are made well and are left here. I just have to remind myself that we are told in the bible that God has a plan and God is in control. This is where the faith and the trust in our Lord's written word comes into play. I choose to either BELIEVE with all of my heart and soul and turn my heart over to God or I choose to live in a state of being lost in my emotions and my convictions. I strive daily to keep my eye on the Lord, and place my faith and trust totally in Him and His word. I pray my hearts desires, but I must being willing to accept when God says that He has a different plan, and His plan is best even if I do not understand it. It does not mean that at times I am sad or my heart hurts because His plan was not my desired plan. Having said that, I do want to be thankful, grateful, rejoice and give God the glory when a prayer is answered. I am so thankful to tell you that Jordan has had another CANCER FREE check up, and the doctors and everyone involved in his treatment and care are simply amazed with him. For those of you who have been a part of this group from the time Jordan first came into our lives, you know the story. For the new people who have joined us, and we are so thankful that you have joined us, I want to give you a little back ground so you can truly appreciate the testimony of this little child's life.

Jordan was born on a Thursday night in Lafayette, LA. He and his mom were brought to Memphis to St Jude by ambulance on Friday. His mom, a young single college student, was told that Jordan's chances to make it through the weekend were not good. She was pretty much told, that if he happened to make it, that due to seizures from a brain bleed and leukemia that he was born with that he would be blind, have no hearing and no ability to speak. Basically, if he lived he would be in a vegetative state. He was born July 3, 2007. Jordan began treatment at St Jude when he was a tiny 5lb baby and only a few days old. He went into remission within the first three weeks. At 7 months old, on Valentines Day 2008 Jordan received a Stem Cell transplant. He did great with his transplant. The days following transplant while inpatient in the BMT unit began to show that Jordan not only had a great chance to be a surviver, but also that he could see and hear. Skipping forward to today, Jordan turned 2 this past July, he will be coming back in February for his 2 year POST TRANSPLANT checkup. He was here yesterday for his routine every three month check up and just totally amazed his doctors, therapist, and everyone involved in his treatment and care. He is a healthy very active little boy. The only med he is still on is one for seizures, but he has not had a seizure since he was 3 days old so at his two year post transplant visit coming up, they are going to start weaning him off of that medicine. He is receiving his normal immunizations and will begin in a preschool program when this flu season is over. God is Great and even Jordan's doctors will tell you his healing is from above. There is no medical reason why he is alive, cancer free, and a perfect little two and a half year old. We continue to pray for him, we pray that he remains cancer free for many many years to come. Like 99 years or so! Without your prayers and your support to St Jude, these success stories WOULD NOT be possible.

So as my title today says. Here's One Reason Your Doing This... meaning the St Jude marathon! We need more success stories. You can still join us for the 5K! The half marathon is a total sell out and the full is sold out unless you are willing to register as a Hero and commit to raising $500.00. There is a Family Run this year. This is new and sounds pretty cool. It's not to late to join us and it is certainly not to late to make a donation to our team if you can't join us. You can also support our efforts by purchasing one of our Mary Kate team shirts. This is a really neat opportunity to get a shirt that one of the patients designed themselves. LAST DAY TO ORDER IS OCTOBER 31st. That is ONLY 10 DAYS AWAY!!! To make a donation or to order a shirt, just look up in the left margin and you will see both the Pay Pal buttons to order shirts, and then scroll on down and you will see the "click here" link to either register to join us, or to donate to our team. PLEASE HELP US OUT WITH WHATEVER YOU CAN DO.

Mallerie is still in ICU, she and her family really need our prayers for Mallerie's healing and for encouragement for strength. This has been a long journey for them, and they are still needing our support. Leave them a message on her cb page. Let them know you are still here praying for them.

Little Trevor is back in Memphis today for his chemo treatment. With this new protocol, he will be coming every two weeks for chemo. Tonight our favorite local Chili's has yet another big evening planned for him. I am heading down in a few to visit with them. He did very well with his first treatment, please pray for him to respond as well with this one. Pray for this chemo to be successful in treating his tumors.

OK, THE BIG NEWS.... THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR HARD WORK AND TO THOSE WHO HAVE MADE DONATIONS TO TEAM BELIEVE WE ARE BACK IN THE TOP TEN ON THE FUNDRAISING CHART!!! WOOHOO!!! Let's keep it up and try to stay in the top ten! I am really excited about how well we are doing, and I am so looking forward to seeing our team page say... YOU HAVE SURPASSED YOUR GOAL!!! $25,000.00 is a lot of money. We can do it!!! Just think, that does not even begin to cover even 5 minutes in the operating cost of one single day at St Jude. I'll remind you.... it cost over $1.4 million to operate the hospital for ONE DAY! Let's show St Jude and ALSAC that Team Believe loves this hospital and is committed to being a part of the search for the cure for these children. We do not want to have one more family heartbroken by the loss of a child to childhood cancer.

KEEP IT UP!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Count Down Is On!!!

I hope each of you has had a wonderful weekend. We finally had some sunshine in Memphis!!! Today was absolutely beautiful, God was truly shining on us today.

I just want to remind everyone of some deadlines coming up.

Team Believe t-shirts will be on sale until the end of this month. OCTOBER 31, 2009 is the last day to place your order. You do not have to be on the team to order a Mary Kate shirt. Please help us out, and order yourself a shirt. It is so special because Mary Kate designed the shirt this year. Go ahead, be a t-shirt junkie and order one or more for your St Jude Marathon collection!

Hotel confirmations need to be made as soon as possible to ensure that we have rooms for everyone.

We will be asking for RSVP's for the Team dinner on Friday night, December 4, 2009. The dinner will be held at an off site location but Macaroni Grill will be catering it for us. It will be much like last year, just in our own private place. We will have other St Jude families joining us. I think we are going to have a real neat and touching evening. I am so excited for each of you to meet Mary Kate's mom and sister and her other family members who will be joining us. Check your calendar for that date, I will need to get RSVP's for the dinner by the mid part of November. You still have time. We do hope that each one of you plan to be here. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet new members and spend some time with those we only get to see this one time a year. This year, we will have door prizes again and a new "thing", we will have a "ST JUDE" themed basket to be auctioned off during a silent auction. The winner will be announced at the end of the evening. As many of you know, there is a sweet retired couple that I know who have been making handmade quilts for each of the children that I visit with. They have made some of the most beautiful quilts. Included in the "ST JUDE BASKET" is one of their quilts that they have made just for us to be placed in this basket. It is beautiful! They have a hand made tag on it that says.... Team Believe, 2009 St Jude Marathon.
Just to give you a little idea, the border around the outside edge of the quilt is so cool!!! The fabric has running shoes or tennis shoes on it to keep it in the marathon theme!!! A big huge thank you goes out to Mike and Pru McBride for donating this to our basket!!! Your lucky if your the winning bidder on this basket, because only the St Jude kids have been getting these special handmade quilts!

I spoke with Brenda yesterday, more details to come, but the VERY hard work put in by Brenda and Lenzy paid off. They hosted the first annual Angels Beauty Pageant in Malvern, AR this past Saturday. The proceeds from this event go to St Jude through Team Believe. They really put a lot into planning this event and making it happen. It was a success, and they have had many compliments on the job well done from the participants and those attending. They plan to make this an annual fundraiser event for the marathon! Way to go Brenda and Lenzy!!!

You guys are doing great! Keep the little red thermometer going up! I know we can do this.

IF YOU CAN NOT BE IN MEMPHIS OR BE ON THE TEAM, PLEASE HELP US OUT BY MAKING A DONATION TO THE TEAM. TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS ABOUT OUR EFFORTS AND ASK THEM TO HELP OUT BY MAKING A DONATION AS WELL. HELP US REACH OUR GOAL OF $25,000.00!!!! Even if it is $5.00, each dollar adds up! We need your help to make this goal possible. Thank You... the St Jude families thank you!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Make Today A Day To Make A Difference

Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14




Hello, sorry I have gone all week without a new post. I did take a little mini trip out of town to Nashville for a Benefit Concert this week. The benefit was not for St Jude or cancer awareness, but for the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a country music star studded evening. It was organized and hosted by Keith Urban, who is a big supporter of St Jude, so that made it special to me. It was a great event, so glad I was able to go.

We do have a URGENT PRAYER REQUEST:

I have not talked to Tina, I plan to see them either today or over the weekend, but I got a call that Mallerie is back in ICU. Please pray hard and ask your friends to put her on their prayer list as well. She has had some holes in her lungs that are really causing some problems and some concerns. Bless her sweet heart, she needs the prayer warriors to storm the heavens with prayers for her lungs to be healed. Please remember to keep Brad, Tina and Heath in your prayers too, as well as the rest of her sweet family.

Check out Trevor's CB page. He was a guest on the local morning news in his hometown, they are hosting a Blood Drive and dinner tomorrow in Livingston, LA. If any of you are near there, please stop by and help them out. The dinner is a fundraiser for Team Trevor (yes the competition!!) for the St Jude Marathon. They have done an excellent job of raising funds and remain in the #2 top team position for most funds raised. I am very proud of them and their efforts. This is their first year and they are doing great!!! Now, having said that.... LET'S CATCH THEM AND KNOCK EM DOWN A NOTCH OR TWO!!!!!! All in friendly competition, OF COURSE! :)

TEAM BELIEVE T-SHIRTS!!! DO NOT LET THIS GET PAST YOU. THERE WILL NOT BE ANY EXTRA'S ORDERED SO IF YOU MISS THE DEADLINE, YOU MISS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR SHIRT. We really want to show our strength in numbers to let our presence of TEAM BELIEVE be seen on the streets of Memphis while we walk for our sweet Mary Kate. Team members for sure, please get your orders in. Go back to Oct. 1st, the posting there has the order form if you want to mail it in rather than order online. Please Please get your orders in... DEADLINE FOR ORDERING IS OCTOBER 31, 2009 That is only a couple of weeks away.

I want to recognize the team members who have gone over the $1,000.00 mark with their fundraising:

Regina Rushing $1,685.00
Allison Fuller 1,650.00
Mardecia Sutton 1,145.00
Susan Scheuermann 1,075.00

Great job, keep it up. Team we still have time to really raise a good amount of money for St Jude! Keep on keeping on!


I want to close todays post with a poem that was sent to Reagan's family. I am not sure if it was written for her, or if they found it and shared it with them. They have been so sweet to share it with me, and I asked if I could share it with you. It has brought comfort to them, and I pray that it will bring comfort to you as it has for me. You can think about so many people when you read this, and know the meaning holds true for others too.


"To Those I Love and To Those Who Love Me"

When I am gone, release me, let me go -
I have so many things to see and do.
You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears,
Be thankful for our beautiful years.

I gave to you my love. You can only guess
How much you gave to me in happiness...
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
But now it's time I traveled on alone.

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It's only for a time that we must part
So bless the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away, for life goes on
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near
And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear
All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile, and say -
"Welcome home!"


I hope each of you has a safe and wonderful weekend. Please take time to enjoy every second of every day. Do not let an opportunity go by to let God's light shine in you for others to see. Thank you for coming here to read each day. That mean's you have a special heart and you love and care for the kids fighting so hard to overcome the cancer beast and other illnesses. As Michelle always says.... Keep Believing, Keep Praying!!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS ~

Monday, October 12, 2009

Columbus Day - Good Day To Pray

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know many schools are having Fall Breaks this time of year, so if you are one of the lucky ones to be getting this little mini vacation I pray that you are enjoying your time with your family, safe travels and good health.

I do have a few prayer needs to mention.

Mallerie has had a difficult weekend. Tina just posted that they are taking her down for a CT scan and some x-rays. Please pray for Mal and for her family. I know this has been such a long and very difficult road for them. I know they are worn out and so ready for her healing to be complete. Please pray for healthy lungs and tummy and for her to make that turn around and be able to get out of that hospital. It's a wonderful hospital, but long enough is long enough to have to be stuck inpatient. Please pray for her strength. Pray for her fight to just get even stronger. They can use any encouragement you can give. We are going to do a goodie basket for both Mallerie and Tina if you guys want to join in. Mallerie loves to have her nails done each week, she loves to work on crafts. Movies, magazines and books are great items too. Most especially cards or letters with encouraging notes. You can send anything you feel would be a great addition to the basket to the following address:

Team Believe
c/o Mardecia Sutton
P. O. Box 210
Brunswick, TN 38014

Alex D. was the featured patient for the Florence, AL Light the Night Walk to raise awareness and funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The walk was held this weekend and from the reports I have heard it was a very awesome event to witness. One of our prayer warriors, Bennett, was able to make the drive from Nashville to attend, he was quite impressed and had a wonderful yet emotional experience. He was able to hear Brian speak, and reported that he did an outstanding job and was also able to meet Jennifer. I know Brian and Jennifer were very pleased with the turn out for the evening and their team was able to raise over $7,000.00 for this wonderful event. Let's continue to keep the Denton's in our prayers.

I have a family that I have mentioned before. The are friends of Ryan's mom, she has asked for prayers on behalf of Jessica on many occasions. I do not know how many of you have followed her, but I am asking that you keep Jessica and her family in your prayers today. Jessica is trying really hard to go home, but she is still struggling. Her mom has been posting and I will just let you read for yourselves if you want more info to know how to pray more specifically. Pray for her peace and comfort and for God's mercy and grace on her right now. Pray for her suffering to cease.
caringbridge.org/jessicaeasley

Tabitha's grandfather passed away this morning in PA. She and her family will be leaving in the early morning hours to travel up to be there for the service. Her comfort is, her grandfather lived a very happy and for the most part very healthy life to the ripe young age of 91 years old. He has had a good life she says. He is also now in heaven with Sully, that is a comfort for her to know they are now together. Sully and his great grandad. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. For those of you who followed Tab's dad's caringbridge, this is her dad's father. I believe there is an address on his cb site if you would like to send cards to any of them. I know this would be very greatly appreciated. Pray for their safe travel as they take 2 days to drive up, then 2 days back.

Thanks to everyone who is working so hard to help us reach our team goal. Our little thermometer is slowly but surely making it's way up! We have a long way to get to the top, but it's moving that way. I know many of you are holding checks because you do not have a account number to get them to the right team and to your goals page. Please be patient, I will be talking with them again this week to see what we can do to get these account numbers to you. Just think, when you do get them, hopefully all the checks can be sent it and we will see a big jump in our amount raised!!! I REALLLLLLLY WANT TO TAKE THIS THERMOMETER OVER THE TOP THIS YEAR! We certainly have the numbers on our team to do it. If each person could just try to get $200.00 I think we can do it. We have several I want to congratulate for their hard work.

Top Fundraisers at this time:

Regina Rushing $1,685.00
Allison Fuller $1,625.00
Susan Scheuermann $1,075.00

I know many of you have checks that are either not sent in or not yet posted. I have checks sent in that are not yet posted, those put me over the $1,000.00 mark, but I can't stop there.... I have to reach my $3,000.00 to beat Regina!!!!
For those of you who are new to this and are just now getting started... it's okay, you have time. I am very proud of our team. We are gonna look good and make a statement that Team Believe believes that we can help make a difference in this fight to help find a cure for THE BEAST!!! When you think about doing this marathon, really think about the reason we are doing it. Keep the Rushings, Dunfords, Dentons, Richards, Chandlers, Farrars, Powells and all the others that each of you have personally followed, in your thoughts and prayers. Also keep those still fighting in your prayers and pray that a difference can be made so that no other families find themselves walking this journey.

Get your rooms confirmed if you have not had a chance to do so. Get your Mary Kate team shirt/shirts ordered. Don't forget the deadline to order is October 31, 2009. It will be here before you know it, so don't procrastinate and miss out. We will only go to print one time. So once the order is turned in to be printed, that's it. I will not be ordering any extra's. Last year we did have some extra's but that was because of a problem with one of the print machines that caused a few boo boo's on a couple of shirts, so they ran us some extra to compensate. I do not anticipate that happening this year, so I don't count on having any extra's. One thing that I have not mentioned on here is that you will receive one of Mary Kate's Memory bracelet's free with your t-shirt order while supplies last.

Go to the last post for all of the hotel and t-shirt order info.

Have a great week! Hug your babies and share a prayer for others.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Friday, October 9, 2009

A Lot To Say Today!



Good morning! I am not sure about the weather where you are today but it is pouring cats and dogs here. Not a good day to be out and trying to run around. A GREAT day for you fellow team members to stay home, send out emails and letters to your friends and family letting them know about your upcoming events for the marathon. We seem to continue to grow in numbers! Thankful for that. If they get everyone straight and on the right team, we should be around 42 or 43 (maybe more) team members! Please let us know if you HAVE NOT received your packet with either socks or singlet with your brochure containing the check submission form in it. You need that information in order to turn in checks to be credited to your goals page. I have talked with Christopher Beck, he informs me that they are having some "MAJOR WEB ISSUES", please be patient with them while their IT Dept. is trying to get it all fixed. If you have any concerns, please leave a comment on this page with an email address for me to get back with you. I will be more than happy to field any problems and send them on to Christopher B. together instead of him being bombarded with so many different emails or calls. We are one team of 43, but he has thousands of people with issues to. Lets coordinate our concerns. Thank you for helping in this way.

There is alot going on getting ready for our team for the big weekend! You know I don't give out all my secrets, but just know it is going to be the biggest and best we have had yet, come prepared to be rewarded both spiritually and physically. There are many people behind the scenes this year taking on some of the "work" involved in putting this weekend and dinner together. You know who you are, I thank you for your efforts. You are making it so much easier on me with our large crowd. THANK YOU! I will make sure I give credit to where credit is due.... in due time :)

Please continue your efforts to raise as much money as possible for St Jude. Stop and think, the kid's don't stop or give up, SO NEITHER WILL I and I hope none of you will either. I know you won't!

We do have some kiddo's that need some extra prayers. Dax has been inpatient back home, I do believe he is at home now and doing better, but you know this can change so quickly. Please pray for him to feel better. Also, Salena has had some more complications, check her site and keep her and LaDonna in your prayers. She really has been so sick. Pray for her stomach to heal and for her to be able to go outpatient. Also, Mallerie has really had a tough time lately. She continues to battle her tummy issues along with her lungs. Let's all keep her and her family in our prayers. Pray for her to be healed and for her to continue fighting with all she has to overcome this. She has had some nosebleeds the last several days, pray for this to stop. Trevor T. was back at St Jude this week. He began the chemo treatment that he will be coming back to take every two weeks. Please pray for this protocol to be successful for his tumors and for their safe travel back and forth for treatment. He had another "Trevor Night" at the Wolfchase Chili's while he was here. Several of the employees came and had dinner with Trevor and his mom & dad. The brought a huge treasure box FULL of the coolest toys and gadgets for Trevor! It was so cool. Trevor was so excited. I love this Chili's and all of the wonderful employees there. Support your local Chili's all year, not just the one month they donate to Chili's Care Center at St Jude.

I also ask for you to pray for each marathon team out there who are doing what they can to raise money for St Jude. Pray for their success, pray for their safety as they travel to Memphis and as they run in their event. I pray for each person who is registered as a Hero for the marathon. I pray for the success of this event to bless the hospital and the kiddo's of St Jude. I pray also for the people involved in organizing this wonderful event. It is ALOT of really hard work, but they do a fantastic job.

We have another TV celebrity! Please check out the following link and see our very own Allison on the local news in Houston with her friend Harley at an event for the cancer patients at Texas Children's in Houston.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/090914_biggio_sunshine_kids



I will post the t-shirt info and the hotel info again. Make sure you get your room confirmed SOON
.

HOW TO ORDER: If you want to order online, you may do so by going to the top left of this page and you will find 2 pay pal buttons. Make sure you notice, one button is to order short sleeve and the other button is to order long sleeve. You must also select if you are wanting to have them shipped to you for an additional shipping fee or if you want to pick them up if you are coming for the marathon weekend. We will have the shrits at the hotel and at the team dinner for pick-up. Also, there is a copy of the mail in order form located just under the picture of the shirt design on the October 1, 2009 post. The shirts are available in both adult and youth sizes.

I have placed an order by using the pay pal, it was super easy!!! When you login to pay pal, it will ask you on the next screen to indicate what size/sizes you need to order. So at that time, you will indicate adult or youth and what size. SUPER EASY! Thank you Allison for setting that up for us!!!

All shirts are pre-order and pre-pay. We will be taking orders up until October 31, 2009. That will be the last day to order your 2009 Running for Mary Kate t-shirt. All mail in orders MUST BE POSTMARKED BY OCT. 31, 2009.

*** Please go to the October 1, 2009 post to pull up the order form to print off. There are 2 post on that date, it is located on the second one. Just click on it, it will come up full size, print it off and mail it along with a check (no cash please) to the address on the order form. Make checks payable to TEAM BELIEVE.

HOTEL INFO:

HOLIDAY INN & SUITES
MEMPHIS - WOLFCHASE GALLERIA
2751 NEW BRUNSWICK ROAD
MEMPHIS, TN 38133

phone - 901-266-1952

Ask for Sybil Sides or Alicia, they are our direct contact people for Team Believe. They are at the hotel between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Let them know you are confirming a room under the block of rooms for Team Believe for the St Jude Marathon. If you have any problems ( I don't think you will) please let me know. I will help you. Seriously, it does not cost you anything until you actually come, so please do not procrastinate... CONFIRM YOUR ROOM NOW

A little long today, I'm sorry but there was alot to say ;)

Enjoy your weekend! Keep checking on everyone, leave them notes and lift them up in prayer.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Reaching Our Goal... One day at a time!



Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

I John 5: 4-5



HOW TO ORDER: If you want to order online, you may do so by going to the top left of this page and you will find 2 pay pal buttons. Make sure you notice, one button is to order short sleeve and the other button is to order long sleeve. You must also select if you are wanting to have them shipped to you for an additional shipping fee or if you want to pick them up if you are coming for the marathon weekend. We will have the shrits at the hotel and at the team dinner for pick-up. Also, there is a copy of the mail in order form located just under the picture of the shirt design on the October 1, 2009 post. The shirts are available in both adult and youth sizes.

I have placed an order by using the pay pal, it was super easy!!! When you login to pay pal, it will ask you on the next screen to indicate what size/sizes you need to order. So at that time, you will indicate adult or youth and what size. SUPER EASY! Thank you Allison for setting that up for us!!!

All shirts are pre-order and pre-pay. We will be taking orders up until October 31, 2009. That will be the last day to order your 2009 Running for Mary Kate t-shirt. All mail in orders MUST BE POSTMARKED BY OCT. 31, 2009.

*** Please go to the October 1, 2009 post to pull up the order form to print off. There are 2 post on that date, it is located on the second one. Just click on it, it will come up full size, print it off and mail it along with a check (no cash please) to the address on the order form. Make checks payable to TEAM BELIEVE.

HOTEL INFO:

HOLIDAY INN & SUITES
MEMPHIS - WOLFCHASE GALLERIA
2751 NEW BRUNSWICK ROAD
MEMPHIS, TN 38133

phone - 901-266-1952

Ask for Sybil Sides or Alicia, they are our direct contact people for Team Believe. They are at the hotel between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Let them know you are confirming a room under the block of rooms for Team Believe for the St Jude Marathon. If you have any problems ( I don't think you will) please let me know. I will help you. Seriously, it does not cost you anything until you actually come, so please do not procrastinate... CONFIRM YOUR ROOM NOW.

Now, a little info about our team. We are bigger than ever this year!!! I have been telling you this is gonna be the best year yet! We are 40 members strong at this point and the amount that we have raised so far (on record) is $5,735.00. This is great! Our goal is $25,000.00 so you see we do have a ways to go! I know there is more out there that is not showing as posted yet. There are several team members with fundraiser's in the works. Thank you so much to each of you working so hard to help raise the necessary money to help St Jude do it's wonderful work and take care of the wonderful kid's there. Also, a huge THANK YOU to those of you who have made donations to our team. You make the difference, you keep the work going at St Jude.

If we all dig in and dig hard, I know that we CAN reach our goal of $25,000.00. We raised this amount our first year and we only had a few over 20 team members! Now with 40, we should reach this goal very easily with some work. Send out emails to your friends on your email list and let them know what you are doing. Share our team website and this blog site for them to check out and see what we are doing. Write a letter, make a brochure and mail it, along with self addressed envelop to your friends and family, let them know how you feel about this and ask them to help. Let them know, no amount is to great or to small. If someone is on a tight budget, they don't have to give a great amount for it to matter. You could also suggest a monthly donation in a smaller amount until the time of the run. There are so many options.

I am still awaiting on an answer for a "donated item" to be used in conjunction with a team fundraiser that anyone of you can join in on to help raise money if you choose to. I hope to hear soon. Keep this in your prayers for it to work out. I will fill you all in on it if we get the item. Pray that the answer is YES on the donation,

WE CAN DO IT!!!! WE NEED $25,000.00 TO REACH OUR GOAL ~ CAN YOU HELP?

I do not know of any new news on any of our kids. Check their pages and keep all of our families in your prayers. There is an awesome video that you can check out that shows our very own LaDonna and Salena on the NBC Nightly News!!! They made national television! WooHoo! Just go to google search and put in NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: News and Videos, then search Betty Tucker Serving Up The Soup With A Side Of Love.. Post her a note on her CB page and let her know you saw them.

Have a GREAT week! Be thankful for your health and the health of your children. We are all so blessed. Keep those fighting in your hearts, prayers and do what you can do to help with this goal of $25,000.00. Please pray for the success of our efforts to reach this goal.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Time To Order T-Shirts!!!! What a Great Shirt!!!





For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Romans 15:4


It's Here! Time to order our 2009 Team Believe "Running For Mary Kate" t-shirts. Hopefully it will be very easy to order yours and some extra's for anyone who wants one of our exclusive designed shirts. As I have already told you about the shirt, Mary Kate designed our shirt. The picture is of her and Hello Kitty on the beach. One bit of information, the design is showing on a dark pink, but we have just found out that in order to offer it in long sleeve as well as short sleeve that it will have to be on a lighter pink to get the long sleeve. So both short and long will be on a lighter pink than what is showing. If I get the artwork on the correct color, I will post that. I don't know if you can see it very well or not, but on the front of the shirt is the Team Believe Logo, in the top of the circle that surrounds the logo is the name ^Ethan^. Our team logo will include the name of the kids we have run for in the past years. Mary Kate's name will be added to that circle next year.

HOW TO ORDER: If you want to order online, you may do so by going to the top left of this page and you will find 2 pay pal buttons. Make sure you notice, one button is to order short sleeve and the other button is to order long sleeve. You must also select if you are wanting to have them shipped to you for an additional shipping fee or if you want to pick them up if you are coming for the marathon weekend. We will have the shrits at the hotel and at the team dinner for pick-up. Also, there is a copy of the mail in order form located just under the picture of the shirt design. You may click on that order form and it will enlarge it, from there you can print it off and mail it in along with your payment. The shirts are available in both adult and youth sizes.

I have placed an order by using the pay pal, it was super easy!!! When you login to pay pal, it will ask you on the next screen to indicate what size/sizes you need to order. So at that time, you will indicate adult or youth and what size. SUPER EASY! Thank you Allison for setting that up for us!!!

All shirts are pre-order and pre-pay. We will be taking orders up until October 31, 2009. That will be the last day to order your 2009 Running for Mary Kate t-shirt. All mail in orders MUST BE POSTMARKED BY OCT. 31, 2009.


Thank you for your support of our team and for St Jude. We do use this t-shirt sale as a fundraiser for our team, so we appreciate your support. I think it is an honor to be able to proudly wear Mary Kate's design this year. Again this year, I personally will be ordering both the short and long sleeve so I can wear my Mary Kate shirt all year long!!!

Please keep the NesSmith family in your prayers at this time. Visitation for Christian will be tonight with her services to be held tomorrow. Please hold them close to your heart and in your prayers. Also keep the St Jude family in your prayers. All of the ones who knew her and loved her are at such a loss at this time. Please keep the ones who have already walked this walk in your prayers for them for feel the comfort and loving hand of God on them at this time.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS ~

Another Sweet Angel In Heaven Today ~




^Christian^ has gone home to be with her Lord and all of her St Jude friends who have gone before her. I have no doubt they were all waiting for her at the beautiful gates of heaven. Yesterday marked six months since Mary Kate went home, it was six months ago that I talked with ^Christian^ at ^Mary Kate's^ service. She was doing so well then.... what a difference six months can make.

Keep the NesSmith family in your prayers as they go through the coming days. This family has been so strong and had tremendous faith. It is so amazing to see this in so many St Jude families who totally put their faith and trust in their Lord and know that as much as they will miss their baby, God loved them more than even we as parents can love our children. God needed them home with Him. I love the heart of each of these families.

Please keep Regina and Alyson in your hearts at this time too. Anniversary dates are so tough. Please say some extra prayers for them today too.

Days like today, open the hearts and souls of every parent who has walked in the same shoes as the NesSmith's are today. Please keep all of the families in prayer. I honestly don't know how they walk this journey with such dignity and faith, but God obviously holds them close and takes care of them when they put their faith in Him. We love each of you who have walked this path. We pray for you.

Part II - I just received this in an email from our very sweet prayer warrior Jon in Texas. I want to go on and post it today. Once again so many hearts today are breaking and fresh wounds opened again. Thank you Jon for your beautiful letter to all of us.

Dear friend that has lost a loved one.

We may be close friends, I may have met you once or I may only have met you in an online prayer room. But you need to know that I care for you. I have thought a lot about your loss and I feel a need to share with you and with others a few things.

What we can do for another person in their loss.
Above all, we can love them and show that love.
Do not avoid them because we are uncomfortable or do not know what to say.
Do not think we have to say anything necessarily.
Do not avoid talking about the person that has left us physically. They still exist in a very real way. Continue to share all the good memories.
Do not say you know how they feel. Even if you have lost a child, you do not know how that person feels about losing THEIR child. I have lost both of my parents but I do not know how you feel about losing your parent. You may empathize but you only know your own experience.
Do not judge someone and tell them they just need stronger faith.
Understand that everyone grieves at their own pace. There is no formula—no timetable—no right or wrong way.
It is not wrong for the one who suffers loss to feel anger or to be in denial.
Do not say any “at least statements”---Well at least you had them for a little while.” –“At least they didn’t suffer.” ---At least you have other children not just that one.”---“At least you have your children even though your wife is gone.” All those are insensitive even though the intentions may be good..
Quoting Romans 8:28 is not helpful and offers no consolation.
What can I do for you? I can love you and tell you so. I can listen----(that means not talk) when you need to talk. I can relive pleasant memories with you. I can be a friend. I can pray for you and with you.

For those of you that read this, especially if you have lost someone, you may very well have other insights. Please share them so we can all serve each other better.

Love you all, Jon



Let's all dig in and dig a little harder to make a difference. We welcome Reagan's grandmother Barbara Key to our team! She left a comment that she wants to be a part of this wonderful team and help support Team Believe and the efforts to help raise money to find a cure. What a wonderful sweet heart. Thank you Barbara!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS ~