be still VI...

lane was losing the battle,

but he was winning the war!

~@~

as the world watched and rooted him on...

through the willingness of lane's

parents to share lane and his story,

people became aware of just how big 

childhood cancer really is.

but, even more importantly,

this family gave witness

to GOD's glory! 

they allowed the world

to see the miracle

GOD was working through

their little boy,

and they did this selflessly...

(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,  dani xxx
ps. spread the WORD, and make others aware of the fact that childhood cancer research needs more attention!!!

be still V...

the announcement was huge;

it was just for what lane goodwin,

the selfless, 13 year old, 

believer.in.GOD.and.His.Miracles,

had hoped!!!

~@~

angie wrote,

"Some wonderful ladies have been doing some very important groundwork to get everything approved and the Secretary of State Alison Grimes will be hand delivering the signed certificate later this week. When we asked Lane why he thought his story had gone viral and he told us our prayers were being answered "mom this is the awareness we have always prayed for and this will find the CURE". We made a promise to him and through his Foundation we will do everything we can to help find a CURE!! This will be the Permanent Logo for the non-profit Foundation! Our Goal will be to work with researchers that are looking for the CAUSE because this will Find the CURE!! We will also be setting up a volunteer network across the World and assisting families. We will update everyone and give more details as we proceed."

~@~

as lane's cause gained more and more attention,

lane's health diminished.

God and His angels were right there with him

every step of the way...

"Lane has slept very little overnight but has been calm. I just held him as close as I could but I wasn't the only one watching over him. 5 or 6 times over the past month he has mentioned the name Brianna and pointed to the corner by his bed. I asked if she was in the room and he said yes and smiled. He says yes that she is watching over him. This am he also said Savannah was here. A lot of team Lane knows who Savannah is. She was a sweet, beautiful Girl that also fought this Rhabdo monster but gained her Angel wings. They became friends in clinic at Vandy. We are unsure who Brianna is," angie shared.

lane was losing the battle,

but he was winning the war!

~~~

(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,  dani xxx
ps. spread the WORD, and make others aware of the fact that childhood cancer research needs more attention!!!

be still IV...

on the third day, God's miracle for lane began...
~@~

"Oh dear Jesus my heart broke when Lane's Dr. came in and Lane smiled a big smile at him and said "you can't fix it any more". He then coughed and I couldn't hear all the words he said except "no cancer and cross over". I have never heard Lane use the words cross over so I know God is walking him through this!!" 
(wrote lane's mother, angie, on september 18, 2012)

~@~

that was exactly what God was doing...

but God wasn't ready for him yet.

lane had a lot to do before he would 

"cross over."

according to lane's mom,

lane was ready to go when God would call him home,

lane was not scared,

and he was not sad about leaving.
lane.had.blessed.assurance.

lane's only real goal in his last days 

was spreading awareness about childhood cancer.

he wanted people to know that 

there were more kids just like him who were battling

the same disease.

he wanted people to know and invest themselves

in something positive...

to push for more research,

to find a cure for childhood cancer

so that no other child would have to endure

what he and countless others

had and still were enduring.

~@~

through prayer and social media,
lane fulfilled his goal.
from september 14, 2012,
when lane was last hospitalized, 
until today,
lane's "prayers for lane goodwin"
facebook page alone
has generated awareness
to nearly 400,000 people globally!!!

tens of thousands of people have showed their support
in lane's "thumbs up for lane goodwin" campaign
from the usa to afghanistan, to haiti, to germany...
from canada to mexico, to honduras, to even countries
in asia and africa.

celebrities have joined as well...
from movie stars to nascar drivers,
to singers, to reality television stars...
from professional football leagues
to professional 
hockey, basketball,
and even baseball leagues...

speaking of baseball,
if you want to know how the cardinals
have comeback from being a wild-card team
in the play-offs...
it could very well be
their very own angel in the outfield.
(that's my opinion, and i'm sticking to it;)

all have taken notice as well as the time to show support
especially and most importantly those he championed...

and those who championed him...

~@~

then...

if that wasn't all amazing in and of itself,

on october 3, 2012,

lane's mother wrote,

"This morning has been a little better. Lane is a lot more lucid & calm :) God is working really hard through Lane, us & others to bring awareness/funding/ cure to Childhood Cancer! We had a wonderful visit with Congressman Ed Whitfield, District Director Michael Pape & Field Representative Edward West. Lane was sleeping but he was excited to get the US Flag that was flown over the Capitol in Honor of him. We will have a big announcement this weekend :)

the announcement was huge;

it was just for what lane goodwin,

the selfless, 13 year old, 

believer.in.GOD.and.His.Miracles,

had hoped!!!

~~~

(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,  dani xxx
ps. spread the WORD, and make others aware of the fact that childhood cancer research needs more attention!!!

be still III...

this is where i must tell you,

i do not personally know

lane or his family.

BUT

i.know.God!

and i knew

with all i was

that His Holy Spirit

had this one...

~@~

lane lay in a coma for 3 days;

things seemed bleak...

then lane's mom posted this to his website

http://www.facebook.com/PrayersforLaneGoodwin?ref=ts&fref=ts

"Oh dear Jesus I just heard my sweet boy speak!! He raised up and tried to get out of the bed and told me 3 times he had to go to the bathroom. The nurse checked him for a seizure and he pushed the light she was shinning in his eyes away and covered his arm over his eyes. God please don't let him suffer or wake up & understand what's going on unless you are gonna bless him with a Miracle!!!!!"

~~~

on the third day,
he rose!!!

~@~

on the third day, jordan smith,

a young man from virginia,

established an event,

"thumbs up for lane goodwin".

~~~

on the third day,

support for lane goodwin

started pouring in for him.

on the third day,

childhood cancer awareness 

took a front seat.

on the third day, God's miracle for lane began...
(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,  dani xxx
ps. spread the WORD, and make others aware of the fact that childhood cancer research needs more attention!!!

be still II...

lane's mom said,

"I loved him

&

told him

that if God tells him it's time to come home then it's ok

&

 if he tells him it's not

then that's ok too."

~~~~~

these were the words

the Holy Spirit

led me to pray
years ago.

~@~

i knew in my heart this little boy's purpose

was

not.yet.fulfilled.

~@~

the following morning

lane's mom said there had been no change,

she humbly asked for prayers,

and she posted this photo

of lane.

i remember placing my thumb

over lane's head.  i pressed it

firmly against the glass screen

of my phone.

i closed my eyes tightly

and boldly prayed,

"come on, God,

show us

your stuff!!!"

~~~~~

my prayer was probably 

quite similar to 

the prayers of 

thousands of others who were also 

watching this story unfold.

you see,

lane's team is

HUGE!!!

i am a very small fish

in his pacific-sized-sea
of prayer warriors.

~~~~~

this is where i must tell you,

i do not personally know

lane or his family.

BUT

i.know.God!

and i knew

with all i was

that His Holy Spirit

had this one...

(to be continued)

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

ps. spread the WORD, and make others aware of the fact that childhood cancer research needs more attention!!!

be still...

when i awoke at 5:30 this morning,

i did the same thing i have done for the past seventeen mornings...

i checked my facebook on my cell to read updates
concerning lane goodwin.

(if you would like to know more about lane,

click HERE.)

these were the words i read
which lane's mother, angie,
had written in the wee hours of the morning:

"Laying here holding my sweet Lane not knowing if I have 5 min or 5 days left with him. I'm so blessed that God choose me to be his mom & I will never STOP praying or believing in a Miracle! I don't know why God has chosen Lane to Spread Awareness about Childhood Cancer but our Family will never stop fighting! We have meet so many wonderful families & warriors on this journey that have now become very close friends & have received hundreds of e-mails, txt's & calls from them & others telling us how grateful they are that the World is now becoming Aware! It does truly break my heart however that there is a person spreading lies, calling news channels & making negative post that they are very upset that Lane is getting all this attention instead of their child :( Awareness is about ALL KIDS! As I said before It took Susan G Komen to bring awareness to Breast Cancer & if God has chosen Lane to bring Awareness to Childhood Cancer then this will be about ALL KIDS! We have always shared the stories of other warriors we have meet on this journey & we will continue to do so but right now our focus is on our dying son. All kids fighting this "monster" need to be heard & A CURE needs to be found!!"

when i reached the end of angie's update,

all i could think was

be still

and

know

I

am

GOD

with my thumbs i typed these words in reply...

"make no room in your life for negativity... surround yourself only by the blessing that is. the reason it's lane only God knows, but the most important thing is that HE knows lane, and lane knows HIM. what is happening is greater than we realize:).
Psalm 46:10 HE says, 'Be still, and know that I am God.'
l, dxxx"

~@~

as a child of GOD myself,

i recognized the greatness of what was about to happen

seventeen days ago when i read these words of lane's mother.

"The seizures have continued. They are trying the last anti-seizure med & if it doesn't work Lane will be put into a medical coma. The hope will be that his brain will rest & they will be able to get the MRI & when they bring him out of the coma the seizures would have stopped. We have had some very difficult conversations tonight. As much as I want to tell my sweet boy to keep fighting I DO NOT want him to suffer!! I did the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life! I loved him & told him that if God tells him it's time to come home then it's ok & if he tells him it's not then that's ok to. I would give my life to see my sweet Lane walk out of this hospital cancer free!!! Please pray that Lane does not suffer! Please pray for his little brother Landen."

they were the words

the Holy Spirit

led me to pray
years ago.

i knew in my heart this little boy's purpose

was

not.yet.fulfilled.

it was not!

it is not still!

(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

ps. spread the WORD and make others aware of the fact that childhood cancer research needs more attention!!!

three little kittens...

on december 23, 2009,

katherine took notice of

a little, black kitten,

which had showed up here on the lane.

she quickly made the assumption

that the kitten was a Christmas present

so, the two of us made a trip

to rural king, bought an outdoor pet igloo,

heated bedding, and kitten food.

milton became part of our family...

almost two years to the day later,
on december 26, 2011,
milton went missing.
we drove around the neighborhood looking for him;
we went to the human society
as well as to a local non-for-profit shelter.
we made fliers, posted on facebook, and even put out a missing pet announcement on craig's list.
he was nowhere to be found
and no sign of a struggle...
he just disappeared.

~@~

after several months of waiting...
hoping he would return,
we decided to rescue another kitten.

~@~

katherine and i went in search of another black kitten.
but what we found were a couple of yellow tabbies,
brothers,
which had never been separated.

katherine fell instantly in love with them,
and once john caved,
we rescued them both and brought them home
to the lane.
we rescued both because it was obvious that one
was completely dependent on the other.

martin and marrett became part of our family...

for a little over three months,
they made their home here on the lane.
then one morning katherine went out to feed them.
martin was gone!

~@~

again, we looked everywhere.
i called the animal shelters to see
if he had turned back up there.
(this time both martin and marrett were chipped.)
he was not...
the person i spoke with asked if i knew of anyone on or around the lane that might have a trap.
i didn't.
the thought that someone was trapping our pets
was sickening.
even worse were the thoughts of what someone may be doing to/with our cats once he caught them...

~@~

as i wrote earlier marrett was totally dependent
on martin; and with martin gone he was pitiful.
he mourned.

several days later, i saw marrett run across the back yard with something in his mouth.
i thought at the time that it was a baby raccoon.
then after running errands that afternoon
i saw him curled up with the small animal in our garage.
when i got closer, the tiny animal scurried.
i was sure it was a raccoon.

~@~

poor marrett had gone out and replaced martin
with a raccoon?
it was sad and funny at the same time.
katherine and i looked around the yard for the baby.
while searching we heard a cry...
a tiny "meow".
it wasn't a raccoon at all.
marrett had brought home a kitten.

he was a different cat:)
he loved her,
he protected her,
he bathed her,
and
he let her eat his food and drink his water.
he thought she was his baby;
for all practical purposes she was.

that is, until last monday morning. john saw marrett when he left for work, but we haven't seen him since then.
~@~
now we have a baby we haven't even named. we are caring for her just like marrett did hoping she doesn't disappear as well.

~~~~~~~~~~
we live on an acre of land on one of the quietest streets in town. our cats were outside cats when we happened onto them. we had them neutered, vaccinated, and protected against fleas and ticks. they were a part of our family. now, they are gone. our cats have not been hit by cars. there is no evidence that they have been  injured or hurt. further, they have not been dropped at any of the animal shelters.
i really wish that if anyone has seen them or knows where i might could find them, please let me know... berrongs@hotmail.com

love and God's blessings, dani xxx

her "liddle fadder"...

"look mom, it's my liddle fadder!!!

he's so cute..."

(katherine age 3)

~@~

before john and i married we talked about everything.

he was concerned that with our age difference

i would want children but felt he was too old to be a dad.

he was wrong...

happy father's day, mister berrong:)

we love you!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

while the kat's away...

the "m's" will play...

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

hope continues to float...

it is time for relay for life again.tonight hendersonians will gather together to walk in honor of those living with and those who have overcome cancer.  as well, they will walk in memory of those who have lost their fights, respectively,to this horrible disease...
the hope is that the moneys raised will result in finding a cure.
the following is my post from last year...
~@~
6-14-2011
as a believer, i always have hope.
God is the grounds for hope...
for believing good can happen.
God is also the grounds for knowing...
He will make good of that we give over to Him.
believing gives us hope.
belief prepares us for and supports us through the worst
with the knowledge that God is good always!

i have passed these beliefs on to katherine.

~@~



months ago when it was time for katherine to order graduation invitations, she chose to forgo doing so. she said she didn't want to send them because she didn't want people to think she was asking for something (other than their presence at her commencement) in return. after a little brainstorming, i went back to her and explained that if she didn't send out invitations there would be those who would think they were overlooked. i made a proposal to her. i told her that she could put an insert in each of her pre-printed invitations, and on it she could make her intentions known. she was happy with the idea.

hence, she decided to request only the gift of the recipients' presence at her ceremony and to give those who insisted on gifting an option.

~@~

before katherine was even 10 years old, she lost 2 people to whom she was very close to cancer. a third was diagnosed and given only a 2% chance of surviving more than 5 years. so, the summer before her tenth birthday, she started actively participating in our local relay for life. that year she walked in memory of her uncle gary and dear friend, ernie, and in honor of her uncle stevie who was in the battle of his life...
for his life.

respectively, cancer robbed her of the man who she spent countless hours with out on his pontoon on his beloved lake misty. cancer robbed her of the man with whom she visited, shared candy corn, and whom she thought was her granddad. further, cancer was attempting to rob her of her uncle stevie with whom she went on most every vacation and celebrated every holiday.

she loved these men with all her heart...

~@~

over the next five years, cancer took katherine's great-uncle bill
and jack, her neighbor... her best buddy.
however, uncle stevie, beat the odds; he was in the 2% that survived!

~@~

even through loss, katherine continued to hope.
she continued to walk for a cure.

~@~

the option upon which she decided was a great one in her opinion.

on her invitation inserts, she wrote:

only the gift of your presence is requested.
however, you may make a contribution to alcan/rio tinto's
relay for life in memory of my uncles:
gary berrong
bill manion
or
steve hurd.
love, katherine

you may have noticed that steve hurd was listed as in memory of instead of in honor of...
katherine's uncle stevie died a week to the day before she received her graduation announcements in the mail...

he won the cancer battle but lost the war of life.

~@~

friends and family were very generous, so generous in fact, katherine was able to donate enough money to purchase more than 60 luminaries! she donated her own money for luminaries in memory of ernie and jack.

kat was thrilled she was able to pay her gifts forward to a great cause...
the search for a cure for cancer!


love and God's blessings,
dani xxx