Everyday Strength: A Cancer Patient's Guide to Spiritual Survival
By Randy Becton and Dave Dravecky
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About this ebook
Everyday Strength deals honestly with topics such as depression, anger, fear, and loneliness. It guides those who are fighting cancer toward spiritual and mental wellness in the face of physical illness. First published in 1989, these thirty-three meditations are now repackaged with a fresh look for today.
Randy Becton
Randy Becton is minister at large with Herald of Truth Television. He is the executive director of Caring Cancer Ministry in Abilene, Texas, which he founded after both he and his mother battled cancer.
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Everyday Strength - Randy Becton
EVERYDAY
STRENGTH
EVERYDAY
STRENGTH
A CANCER PATIENT’S GUIDE TO
SPIRITUAL SURVIVAL
RANDY BECTON
© 1989 by Baker Book House
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
New paperback edition published 2006
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Becton, Randy.
Everyday strength : a cancer patient’s guide to spiritual survival /
Randy Becton.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 10: 0-8010-6629-8 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-8010-6629-0 (pbk.)
1. Cancer—Patients—Prayer-books and devotions—English.
2. Devotional calendars. I. Title.
BV4910.33.B44 2006
242'.4—dc22 2005029877
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture references in this volume are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1983, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture marked NCV is taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved
Scripture marked Phillips is taken from The New Testament in Modern English, revised edition—J. B. Phillips, translator. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Scripture marked RSV is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: A Word as You Begin
Day 1 Cancer: A Formidable Enemy
2 Body and Mind
3 Get a Good Health Team
4 Fight Enemies of the Spirit
5 Learn What Survivors Believe
6 Yes, God Cares
7 Stay Spiritually Strong
8 Support Your Immune System—Lower Stress
9 You Are a Valuable Human Being
10 Time and You
11 Rest Is Your Friend
12 Make Good Decisions
13 Take Time to Feel Sorry
14 Ask for Help
15 Time Is on Your Side
16 Sort Out Your Best Beliefs
17 Understand Depression
18 Nutrition and Getting Well
19 Sensible Suggestions from Preventive Medicine
20 Make Your Nerves Behave
21 Keep a Diary for Yourself
22 Where Is God When You Hurt?
23 Killing Fear with Faith (1)
24 Killing Fear with Faith (2)
25 Fight with All Your Mind
26 Being in Control
27 Take One Day at a Time
28 Stretch Your Heart toward Others
29 Look Up to God: A Meditative Exercise in Praise
30 Keep Your Soul Well: A Meditative Exercise in Peace
31 Talk to Your Loved Ones
32 Your Minister’s Role
33 Fighting Mental Fatigue
Dealing with Depression in Illness
Conclusion: You Can Be Well . . . Even While You’re Ill
Cancer turns your world upside down. Once a doctor uses the c
word and your name in the same sentence, you are suddenly and unexpectedly transported into a world that is unfamiliar and overwhelming. Unless you’re a medical professional, you have to quickly learn a whole new language. You have to figure out how to navigate the maze of medical appointments and tests you can’t pronounce. You have to watch your family and friends react to the news with sadness and concern that you are powerless to prevent or minimize. You have to face your mortality and deepest fears. You come to the painful realization that you’re not as in control of your life as you once thought. You feel vulnerable, weak, and frightened.
Next to my faith in God, what I needed most in those first unsettling weeks and months was a guide, someone who had already walked the unfamiliar and overwhelming cancer journey. I needed to know that some of the obstacles I would encounter on the path were normal, that it was okay to stop, rest, and take care of myself along the way. I needed to know that there would be times when the path would disappear altogether and my faith would be challenged, and that others had survived the journey and emerged on the other side intact. I needed the wisdom and hope that another cancer survivor can uniquely provide. While many people came alongside me and provided comfort and encouragement, the people who helped me most were those who had been there, who had walked the same path I was now on. Next to God himself, they gave me the most hope.
Cancer survivor and patient advocate, Randy Becton is just the kind of qualified guide that I needed. He has both walked the path and now helps others navigate it. In Everyday Strength, Randy provides weary travelers with a daily meditation that deals with one aspect of the cancer journey. He covers all the bases, from sharing practical advice for