The forty year prayer is actually a prayer I hope to be able to pray for the next forty years. The forty year prayer was something which resulted during a meeting Shari and I had with the Pastor who would marry us. Like most newlyweds, we had to meet with our Pastor to be interviewed before he would consent to marry us. Unlike most newlyweds we were planning our wedding in only 21 days as a result of news my cancer had returned and had spread throughout my body. With chemo, radiation, and surgery on the horizon time was of the essence and details had to be finalized immediately. As we met with Mike Teston and shared our personal stories and our story as a couple, we knew a bond had developed that would continue beyond our wedding day. As our special time together came to a close, Mike stopped to pray over our marriage and the impact it may have on Michael and Matthew (Shari’s sons) and our future together as a couple with God at the center of everything. He then added:
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 and Shari, 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 forty year prayer, our milestone prayer, is something Shari and I have prayed now for over a year. And today as a result of this prayer we have created a $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 my 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!
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