When you get that melancholy feeling, grief you can't shake, or wrapped in fond memories, wishing you could express everything you're feeling in that moment? What if you could make a call, into the wind, your message of love and sadness being carried off to your loved one?

Listen in to learn about windphone.

https:/www.mywindphone.com

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
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Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

When we are working on a project with many players or tasks, we "close the loop", or 'tie up loose ends". We don't want any part undone or people left uninformed. But if we were to die in the middle of a project, what then?
If you're a crafter you likely are juggling many projects at once. What if you become ill or disabled and can't finish? What if you die? What if a crafter you know were to become disabled or die, with projects left undone?
Enter looseendsproject.org
Jen and Masey created this non-profit. Check out their website and learn about how to get those unfinished projects finished.  

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

Any minute, we could be dead. Someone we love could be gone. We do not know get to know the time of our death.
Dr. Ira Byock wrote "The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About Living". He found through his years as an emergency physician and Hospice physician that the dying often turn inwards, become softer, and retrace the footsteps of their lives and relationships. To affirm connections that are strained by telling loved ones The Four Things can be a life-changer, or end-of-life changer, if you will. What are the Four Things? Take a listen.
 
https://irabyock.org/books/the-four-things-that-matter-most
https://theconversationproject.org

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

Want more Melissa? Isn't she a great thinker and conversationalist? I couldn't imagine keeping this piece of her from you all. What surprises her and brings her joy? It's the small things. Listen in as we wrap our conversation. 

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

Boy, oh boy, are you in for a double treat! Melissa is someone I met almost 8 years ago. She moved away for a few years and, independent of one another, we suffered loss and went through sadness. We also grew in our faith and wisdom through wrestling with God, practicing forgiveness, experiencing grief, and so much more. Melissa explains her peace through trials because of her faith. We talked so much that I split our interview into two parts. 
Our first part covers love, forgiveness, serving, and faith. You will laugh and maybe shed a tear. You will walk away with some wisdom Melissa has gained from others in her own growth journey. Here's Melissa, Part One. 

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

I read a social media post awhile back about Grief Groceries. It's not about the food, really, as much as it is about how to show up for those who are gripped with the pain and sorrow of grief. So, what does showing up look like? Take a listen. 

https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/reviews-commentary/book-review-home-made-grief-groceries-showing-up/ 

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

When physicians diagnose an illness or disease, they use tests, examinations, and check blood markers, etc., to predict the outcome for a patient. Doctors can also predict when a person is likely to die. What??? How is that possible? Are they accurate? Take a listen. You may find yourself living a different tomorrow.

Resources from this episode:
VO2 max, or maximal oxygen consumption, refers to the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense or maximal exercise. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17218891/

Muscle strength vs. Muscle hypertrophy
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/difference-between-strength-hypertrophy

Science writer Penny Sarchet, in a Wellcome award-winning essay, begins by asking if just telling a man he has cancer can kill him? In 1992, the Southern Medical Journal described a case of a man diagnosed with liver cancer and given just months to live. After his death, an autopsy showed that his tumor had not grown or spread. His doctor wrote: “Could it be that, instead of the cancer, it was his expectation of death that killed him?”
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/02/doctors-predict-patient-die-prognosis-wrong

Do you want to know how long you will live?
https://www.blueprintincome.com/tools/life-expectancy-calculator-how-long-will-i-live

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

I was considering this difference between happiness, which is temporal, and joy, which is  a state of mind that can be present even in dark times. How are they different? How would one be able to tell the difference? 

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

When we are with someone who is suffering from grief we often feel the need to fill every second we're together with words. But what about silence? That can be a balm, much more than talking. We can't "fix" their loss. We can't necessarily cheer up a grieving person.
Each stage of our life and our experiences as well as individuality  determines how we process emotions. So, what can we do?   

"On Death and Dying", Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D., author
https://www.ekrfoundation.org/elisabeth-kubler-ross

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Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]

Destinations can be great. Getting there can be great. When the destination is death, we can sometimes choose the journey. The way we process our emotions can lead to a more peaceful journey to our end of life. To leave nothing unsaid, to let those you love know how much you love them. 
What is your most precious possession? Dr. Ira Byock has some insights regarding this and the journey to death as a result of many years working as a Hospice physician and listening to his patients. He also is part of The Conversation Project, an organization I have mentioned here. Take a listen. 

Send us a text

Listen and read my blog: https://whilewerestillhere.com
Reach me at [email protected]


Starting with Episode 56, the episode music was added. It was composed, produced and provided by Kyle Bray specifically for this show. Reach out to me if you want the score.
The logo artwork was provided by Maddie's Plush Pouch - [email protected]