Spring 2026 newsletter

FIVE YEARS AND GOING STRONG

It was 2020 and the world was in the middle of the Covid pandemic. In the middle of this, my husband Curt and I were figuring things out with how to launch Be Still and Know Inc. We knew we had to apply to the IRS for a 501c3 status but were told that during the pandemic everything was taking longer than “normal”. I can’t remember exactly when we sent our application in, but we do know we received the 501c3 status WAY earlier than is “normal” and sooner than we had anticipated. That is one of the many “God-stories” along the Be Still and Know journey. The date on our official letter is January 19, 2021. That means we’ve been doing this for five years and two months!

When the idea first came to me, I used a black permanent marker to draw a stencil on the front of the gift bags (see picture above). I quickly realized I needed to have a company print the bags for me. In looking at how many bags we’ve distributed, I cannot imagine hand-stenciling 3805 bags! In the fall 2025 newsletter I mentioned that we average 100 bags per month, and since then, a cancer support center has asked us for the encouragement bags so they can give them to the cancer patients they assist. Last year alone we distributed 1284 bags and for January and February of this year, we distributed 238 bags. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be putting together another 100+/- bags to be distributed in March through our regular cancer centers.

We have begun looking into grant possibilities to help fund the encouragement bags. We know that grants are very specific as to whom they allow to apply, but we know there are grants out there that fit Be Still and Know. If you know of any potential grants that fit our mission and what we are doing, please put us in contact with them, or have the grant providers contact us at the phone number or email address at the end of this newsletter. Thank you for any assistance you can give us to continue giving cancer patients hope and encouragement.

JOY COMES IN THE MORNING

Several years ago, one of our pastors gave a sermon on joy. He had a quote that I hadn’t previously heard, but really like. It goes:

HAPPINESS happens to happen when the happenings in your life happen to happen the way you want them to happen.

JOY (on the other hand) happens to happen even when the happenings in your life don't happen to happen the way you want them to happen.

That causes one to pause and think, doesn’t it? We may not always be happy due to circumstances we can’t prevent, but we can try to live with joy in our lives. As David said in the Bible, “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing [joy] comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) If you’ve had a difficult night with weeping, I encourage you to try to start the morning with joy because God has brought you through the night and a new day has begun!

“Thank you for the [gift bags]; it puts such a smile on the faces of our patients. They love receiving them and the feedback has been great. I hope you understand the impact that you make on their lives, and your kindness is so very much appreciated.”

Approximate number of bags distributed to date: 3,805

If you know of someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, is under palliative/hospice care due to cancer, or you know of a caregiver who can use encouragement and you would like to send a bag, go to our website to place an order.