2016 Relay For Life of Polk County

What more could you want than raising money for an excellent cause at an all-night party with plenty of love, support, and entertainment while fighting cancer?  Cancer touches everyone: there is no one in Polk County that has not either had cancer or had relatives, coworkers, or friends suffer from the disease.

The 2016 Relay For Life of Polk County was held May,13-14 at Janssen Park. The past two years, rain has kept us from having Relay For Life in the park, but the weather was beautiful for this year's event. Fifteen teams raised over 8,200.00 during the all-night event; a new record for Relay For Life in its ten-year history here in Mena.

As the Relay event starts we honor our survivors and caregivers with special laps around the track followed by a team lap when every volunteer from every team is circling the track behind their team banner.

After the special laps, Relay becomes one big party with each team having a site with food, games, activities, and items to purchase. There were lots of interesting characters making laps around the track and some crazy activities going on.

Our entertainment this year was provided by the band Aberrant and by Darla Martel. They provided good music while those in attendance circled the track and visited the team sites.

When the sun goes down, the mood becomes a bit somber as luminaria honoring cancer survivors and remembering those we have lost to cancer are lit. Everyone maintains a respectful silence as the names on the luminaria are read. People circle the track looking for those special luminaria that have meaning for them.

After the Luminaria Ceremony, the mood lifts as we prepare to stay all night.  At Relay, our motto is cancer never sleeps, and one night a year neither do we. Relay symbolizes the experience of a cancer patient, beginning at 6 P.M. our survivors circle the track with lots of support. As the night goes on there are fewer and fewer people there.The Relay goes on for twelve hours. By early morning, the participants are worn and tired and the public has left. Cancer patients experience that weariness in their cancer struggle. To keep ourselves awake and motivated the night is filled with activities. There was karaoke, line dancing, Zumba at 2 a.m., and 3 on 3 basketball at 3a.m.

Because cancer never sleeps, neither do Relayers. But when 6 a.m. comes those who have stayed all night break down their team sites and head home to get some sleep. They have memories of Relay and of the awesome community support to keep them motivated to do it all again next year. This years event was a big success with over $8,000 raised the night of the event bringing the total raised this year to over $70,000. The fundraising done by the hardworking Relay For Life of Polk County volunteers will enable the American Cancer Society to help people stay well, help people get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer.

Why Relay For Life Is Important

Watching as a loved one suffers from cancer is one of the hardest things to experience. No matter how hard you try, it can be impossible to help them. With today’s technology, finding cures is becoming more of a reality, but proper preventative education and awareness of the severity of cancer is still very important. One of the most popular events to raise both research funds and awareness is Relay For Life.

Relay For Life is a celebration for those who have survived cancer, and a remembrance for those who lost the fight. Here in Polk County, it is a 12-hour event that takes place once a year as a charity event for cancer research. Over the course of the night, bands and other live acts will perform, and teams of volunteers with be fundraising with food and games. While the night is full of fun events, there will also be moments dedicated to paying your respects to both those who have survived and lost their battles to cancer. Some of the most significant events are the survivor lap, the caregiver lap, and the luminaria ceremony.

Since cancer has impacted almost everyone’s lives, Relay For Life is an emotional event for everyone who attends. The energy of the event is truly something special, as it brings together our community in such a unique way. Throughout the night, it is likely that you will experience every emotion; joy, sorrow, gratitude, hope, sympathy, and love. You are guaranteed a hug from someone who understands your pain, someone who genuinely wants to make you feel better and remember your loved one at the same time.

Relay For Life is something that everyone should experience. This year’s Relay For Life of Polk County will be held Friday, May 13th at Janssen Park in Mena. The opening ceremony starts at 6:00 P.M. Relay For Life unites our community as we celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against this disease. Together with the support of the dedicated volunteers of Relay For Life of Polk County you can make a difference by attending and supporting this event.

I have been involved in Relay For Life since 2007. The number one reason I became involved is because my wife is passionate about Relay. She has such a passion for Relay For Life that it rubs off on those around her. Her passion stems from her family history. Her mother died of cancer when Gina was just 21 years old. Her father had colon cancer, and all three of her sisters have had breast cancer. She is the only person in her immediate family that is cancer free.  To read her story click here.

A number of years ago, Gina's sister Roberta got involved with Relay For Life in Enumclaw, Washington. For a number of years, Gina would travel to Enumclaw to be a part of Relay For Life there. Ten years ago, we learned that Polk County was going to have a Relay. We got involved in the 2007 Relay, and have been involved ever since.

In 2013 my Mom was diagnosed with cancer.  All of a sudden, the work that I have done with Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society came sharply into focus.  It became even more personal.

Because of recent breakthroughs in the treatment of kidney tumors I had hope. The procedure that the doctors used on her tumor is called cryoablation.

Cryoablation uses hollow needles through which cooled, thermally conductive, fluids are circulated. Cryoprobes are inserted into the tumor. When the probes are in place, the cryogenic freezing unit removes heat ("cools") from the tip of the probe and by extension from the surrounding tissues.  The most common application of cryoablation is to ablate solid tumors found in the lung, liver, breast, kidney and prostate.

The concept of cryoablation is relatively new in cancer surgery for any disease.  Traditionally, surgeons have treated cancer by literally cutting it out. In contrast to this approach, cryoablation is a different concept in that cold energy is used to destroy the cancerous tissue at the exact site where it exists in the body. Cryoablation is particularly well suited to kidney cancer.

Cryoablation is a very promising new approach to kidney cancer. This kind of new treatment is why I am a strong supporter of cancer research.  I have spent the last ten years doing all that I can to raise money for cancer research through the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life.  As I was researching this procedure I came across the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Library website.  I found these words about Renal Cryoablation that were written in 2008.  "Early results have demonstrated that it may offer an alternative for the treatment of renal masses with the advantages of minimal complications, spared renal function, decreased overall costs and equivalent oncologic efficacy. Long-term results are required in order to apply this minimally invasive technique to a broader spectrum of patients".  Just eight years ago the procedure that was used on my Mom was a brand new technology.  It has only been available in Arkansas for five years.

Several large medical centers have produced data demonstrating that kidney cancer is cured in approximately 97 percent of patients who undergo cryoablation with a follow-up of three years.

My Mom's doctors are confident of the success of the procedure. That gives me hope. I know that at Relay For Life events we often hear that we are raising money to find a cure. Cancer is not just one disease, it is many diseases. Sometimes when we see how many people are affected by cancer and how much misery suffering and sadness it causes it seems hopeless. In my work for the American Cancer Society people often tell me that there will never be a cure because cancer is a big business and the doctors and pharmaceutical companies would suppress a cure if it was found. What a sad way of life it is for these people who have no hope. Relay For Life events around the world focus on providing people with hope. Hope is why we Relay!

I like a statement that the American Cancer Society released recently.  "Together with our millions of supporters, we save lives and create more birthdays by helping you stay well, helping you get well, finding cures and fighting back against this disease. Thanks to research funded by the American Cancer Society, many cancers that were once considered a death sentence can now be cured and for many more people their cancer can now be treated effectively".  It is to simplistic to be focusing on a cure. The American Cancer Society is focusing on "cures".  The fact that many cancers that were once considered a death sentence can now be cured should give us hope.

The fact that ten years ago when I got involved with Relay For Life the treatment that my Mom underwent in 2013 would not have been available to her gives me hope. The 97 to 100 percent cure rates that have been seen with renal cryoablation gives me hope.

Now with my Mom's cancer diagnosis and treatment, I have even more reasons to work hard as a volunteer for the Relay For Life of Polk County. The procedure that was used on my Mom's tumor has only been available for a few years. For me, it is just one more proof that funding cancer research is so vitally important!

Just about everyone has been affected by cancer in one way or another. Relay For Life is a fun way to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. There is probably no other cause that a person can support that touches more lives. Relay celebrates those who have battled cancer, it remembers those who have fallen, and it provides a way to fight back. That is why I am proud to be a part of Relay For Life. I hope that you will be a part of Relay For Life too.
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Relay For Life To Be Held Friday

My article from the May 11, 2016, issue of The Mena Star.  

We live in an area where the words “you have cancer” are heard much too often. But it is nice to know there are people in Polk County doing something about it. They are participating in Relay For Life.

Relay is an overnight event designed to promote cancer awareness while raising funds to fight the disease. This year’s Relay For Life of Polk County will be held Friday, May 13th at Janssen Park in Mena.

The opening ceremony is at 6 p.m. The Relay For Life event opens with an inspirational Survivors Lap that symbolizes the steps Relay For Life volunteers are taking toward saving lives. Cancer survivors are honored as they take the first lap. The opening ceremony honors survivors and caregivers, but everyone is invited to show their support. From that time on, the object is to keep someone from each of the Relay For Life teams on the walking track at all times until the conclusion of the event.

The community is invited come out and enjoy the evening. Each Relay team will be fundraising with food for sale, games, and entertainment. All proceeds raised at the event will go to the American Cancer Society to fund cancer research. There will be live music and activities. After dark, there will be a Luminaria Ceremony honoring those who are battling cancer and remembering those we have lost to the disease. Lighted luminaria will line the track, and the names will be read.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is the world’s largest movement to end cancer. Around the world, Relay unites communities as they celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against this disease. Relay For Life brings together 3.5 million people each year to raise much-needed funds and awareness that enable the American Cancer Society to help people stay well, help people get well, find cures and fight back against cancer. Together with the support of the dedicated volunteers of Relay For Life of Polk County these events are making a difference.

Relay For Life has been a major community event in Polk County for the last ten years. There are fifteen teams with 200 volunteers participating in this year’s event. These hard working teams have already raised over $53,000.00 in 2016.

Nearly every person who participates in Relay For Life has been touched by cancer in some way and has a unique and personal story to tell. It’s these stories that motivate and inspire them to celebrate, remember, and fight back against cancer. Relay For Life unites our community in an effort to find cures for cancer. Join the hard working volunteers of Polk County at Relay For Life on May 13th for this awesome event.

All You Need Is Love - 5/11/2016

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 11, 2016 issue of The Mena Star.

I can still remember the summer of 1967. It became known as the Summer of Love, and the song All You Need Is Love by The Beatles was the anthem. Just like other kids from around the world I loved The Beatles. Recently when Paul McCartney made his first concert appearance in Arkansas, I was able to be there. Verizon Arena was filled with people like me reliving their past as they listened to Paul.

Is there any truth to the catch phrase “all you need is love?”  I believe that it is the truth.  “All You Need Is Love – Love is all you need.”

In 1 John 4:7,8 (NCV)  the Bible tells us, “Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Love should be the basis for everything we do.  In Matthew 22:36-40(NLT), Jesus was asked, “what is the most important commandment in the law?” Jesus answered, “’You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ’The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’”

The entire law and all the demands of the prophets – The entire Bible is summed up in these words. “’You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself.” When you distill it down that much, it seems so simple. It really is true – All You Need Is Love.

In the love letter God wrote to you called the Bible it says, “I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:38,39 (CEV)

How would you feel if you wrote these beautiful words to the love of your life and they were ignored? God says to us, “there is nothing that can separate you from My love for you in Christ Jesus.” We will never know all the ways he shows his love to us.

God's Word is His love letter to us. The love of Jesus waits in each page! Don’t leave your love letters unopened and unread. God loves you, and he wants to tell you just how much. Open his love letter to you and listen to what he has to say to you.

The greatest love poem found in the Bible is in John 3:16,17 (NKJV). “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

What beautiful words. We need to keep in mind that it is the world that God loves, not a single nation, not a single race. Not just the “good” people, not just the people who love God back. “God so loved the world.” This includes the lovable and the unlovable; those who are popular, and those who have no one else to love them; the ones who love God, and the ones who never think of God.

In 1 Corinthians 13 (NLT) Paul expresses the importance of love to the Christian, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing…. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless....All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

Gentle Reader, remember that God loves the world - the entire world. He has told us that no matter what we do for Him if we don’t have love it is nothing. You see, it really is true. “All You Need Is Love” – God’s love!

What is Truth?

What is truth? The dictionary states that truth is “the quality or state of being true.” But as I looked at another definition that is listed in the dictionary I read, “A fact or belief that is accepted as true.”

When you ask a Christian what is the truth you will get some different answers but most of the time there will be something like this; "My church teaches the truth."

To answer the question, what is truth, I’m afraid that I have to tell you that no denominational doctrines individually, nor all of them collectively, constitute the truth. Did you hear me? None of them constitute the truth… unless they are centered in, informed by, and presented with the love of Christ.

In Ephesians 4:21,22 (NCV) Paul wrote, "I know that you heard about Him, and you are in Him, so you were taught the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before."

I want us to go back to the dictionary definition. The one that I actually think most of us mean when we use the word truth. Truth is a fact or belief that is accepted as true. All humans believe in the truth….as long as we used that definition. Paul added a layer of meaning when he wrote, “you were taught the truth that is in Jesus.”

We as Christians should believe and teach the truth. Not the truth that is a fact or belief that is accepted as true, but the truth that is in Jesus. What exactly does that mean?

You may remember that Jesus once said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32 (NCV) Then a little later in John 14:6 (NCV) He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me."

I hope that you see that truth isn’t just a bunch of abstract factual information to memorize, quote, and argue about. Truth is a person, and His name is Jesus. So what is the “truth” like when it is preached outside of Jesus? For one thing, truth apart from Jesus is merely raw data void of personality and character. It doesn’t have a face, a heart, or a personal desire for you. Secondly, truth apart from Jesus is emotionally brutal because all it can do is impose guilt and arouse fear. It cannot save, heal, or transform the heart.

As a matter of fact, preaching a list of doctrinal truths and behavioral standards while failing to preach Jesus as the Truth actually kills. I know that is a bold statement but I have seen it happen. In 2 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV) we read, "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Paul is telling us that the bare facts of the truth, preached without Jesus as the living, loving, compassionate center, have the effect of killing people on a spiritual, emotional, and relational level. Truth that does not magnify Jesus can only drive people away from God in despair or produce in them a spirit of condemnatory Pharisaism.

We read in John 1:14 (NCV), “The Word became a human and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father—and he was full of grace and truth." Grace and truth! Why is that combination so important? Truth without grace can only heap shame upon sinners, but grace combined with truth brings healing.

We don’t merely need truth—the bare bones of doctrinal facts -- we need the truth as it is in Jesus—the living example of God’s love and grace.