IM DYING CHECKLIST ☑️

😱I know I know, that will feel harsh to read for some! FIRST THINGS FIRST//IM DOING ALRIGHT, NO NEED TO PANIC😅I have had some minor setbacks with my body not accepting food& just as I started to eat again, I got covid, BUT I am on the mend and fighting to get healthy enough to: MAKE IT TO EGYPT FOR AN EXODUS PILGRIMAGE(SEPT), LAUNCH MY FIRST BOOK (OCT), & FINALLY SPEAK AT THE STRONG WOMENS CONFERENCE (NOV)!
So, for my prayer warriors out there,

☝️THOSE ARE MY SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUESTS!
(**thank you for rallying behind me in prayer 🙏 I am grateful to have such an ANGEL ARMY behind me!)

☠️☑️OKAY NOW BACK TO THE DEATHLIST:
Lately, I have received more terminal cancer patients, reach out than ever before! While this is a sad new personal record, I have noticed that the overwhelming majority of messages all centered on this question:

“IM GIVEN THIS TERMINAL DIAGNOSIS WITH _____ years/months/days left to live, NOW WHAT DO I DO?!”
*KEEP IN MIND- most TERMINAL peeps go through a phase of “THIS CANT BE HAPPENING/INFORMATION OVERLOAD,” when first processing a terminal diagnosis. So most peeps struggle to remember what’s discussed at doc visits & will feel the overwhelming weight of their future’s uncertainty. THIS IS THE MOMENT, where they need stability around them, and will appreciate people tagging along to doc visits to note what is said, along with keeping notes of any important phone calls/to-do lists, possibly needing someone to be responsible for chauffeuring them around if memory/brain is too foggy to focus. 🚗 🗒️ 👨‍⚕️ 🏥 📱 🧠

*TO THE OBJECTIVE PEOPLE AROUND THEM, IT MAY SEEM LIKE THEY ARE ON AUTOPILOT! 🤖😵‍💫🧟‍♀️

This is where my:
☠️Dead girl walking☠️
IM DYING CHECKLIST ☑️
will come in handy 💪📝🙏

1. Have the “WHERE AM I GOING ONCE I BREATHE MY LAST BREATH,” talk with YOURSELF / A PASTOR / A TRUSTED CHRISTIAN ADVISOR! – This may seem cliché, and certainly taken for granted in my country of USA 🇺🇸, but I found while facing death head on, I happened to literally be driving home when I got the news via phone call 📞 YOU ARE TERMINAL! So in a state of initial shock, I got myself safely home, pulled the car into my garage, made sure to put it in park. Then, there in my car all by myself, I immediately, sent an unnerving spazzy-voice-memo to my closest peeps, frantically sharing the news I just got. Next, I put my phone on “do not disturb,” and since my body felt like it was frozen there in my drivers seat, the next instinct I had, was to take in all the emotions I felt at once and just SCREAM, all alone there in my garage! I let myself ugly-cry as much as I needed in response to processing the news. After maybe 10-15 mins of that initial emotional response, I found myself IN PRAYER! Because I HAVE A RELATIONSHIP with JESUS, I DIDNT have to stay in THE EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER OF SELF! Praise God! 🙌 The first thing that came up in my head after I let out all the bottled up emotions, was naturally drawing closer to MY HEAVENLY FATHER! There, still in the driver seat of my car, parked in our garage, I spent the next hour or so TAKING REFUGE IN MY HEAVENLY FATHERS ARMS, by listening to worship music, reflecting on my time on earth He granted me, praying out all my gratitudes and trying to repent for where my selfish fleshy desires got in the way of shining the Lord’s light, and then ending my chat with Jesus by asking, what’s next Lord? For me, ADDRESSING MY FAITH AND WHERE I STOOD WITH THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, brought me so much PEACE that truly surpassed my earthly understanding! In my opinion, *☝️THIS IS THE MOMENT THAT DETERMINES THE HOPE FROM THE HOPELESS in planning your last days here on earth. If JESUS wasn’t in control of my life, my story would have been stuck in THE EMOTIONAL RECKONING of processing the weight of living jn a SIN-FILLED WORLD, letting SATAN DECEIVE ME into thinking I was in control-RESULTING IN NO HOPE/NO PEACE/ NO ETERNAL GLORY! (*PLEASE UNDERSTAND*this is a devastating reality for some)The Lord not only made His presence closer and more known to me in ways that I still struggle to find words to describe, He also understood how important my role as a wife was, and even included my husband in some of the supernatural experiences I got to experience, so that we experienced them together, my husband seeing the same supernatural things I saw (we now call it our “spirit walk”) confirming/strengthening both of our relationships with Christ in that moment! **THIS ROBBED THE STING FROM DEATH! ✝️✝️✝️

2. THE NEXT THING TO TACKLE WAS MY MEDICAL GAME-PLAN! -After I addressed my standing with the Lord, My husband and I knocked out all the upcoming doc visits together, discussing what my “time left on earth” could look like. I was given a rough estimate of 3 months left to live, then together we mapped out a game plan for how those next and possibly final 3 months would go. I decided to try out 3 new medications I hadn’t been on yet. 2 being intense hormone therapy drugs, and the last 1 being a trial medication of basically micro-dosing chemotherapy daily, (this style of treatment is typically used for only terminal patients.) For me, death was not a scary thing I was trying to avoid, but, after prayer and chatting with my husband, I did feel the need to give the Docs medical treatment a chance. We also finished that discussion with setting up future hospice plans to take place at our home. Originally the Docs were thinking the last 2 months of the 3 I was given, would most likely be on hospice, possibly bed-ridden, if the meds didn’t work. So we made sure to plan out each phase as best as we could with my medical team.(*note each person’s terminal diagnosis is different, and what works for some doesn’t work for others/the key is to be open minded and focus mostly on having a thankful heart no matter the outcome! YES I THANK GOD FOR MY CANCER!🙌🙏)

3. Once, I had the spiritual, and medical hooblah behind me, I focused on the PHYSICAL! Like for real, ha, the actual HEAVY LIFTING 💪(while I still had the energy)!! I didn’t want to leave behind any additional exhausting tasks, for my “husband in mourning” to have to handle, like:
– closing my businesses down
– Cleaning/organizing my messes from my business closings &around the house/writing clear instructions on “what goes to who” and which friend would come help bag up and donate the rest of my items that my family didn’t necessarily want/need left behind.
– For you it may look like knocking out that LAST PHYSICAL TASK around the house that you’ve been meaning to do but always put off
– Your last HEAVY LIFTING may look completely different from mine, depending on your current physical state when diagnosed. *it’s important to note: For me, at the time of my diagnosis, I was 31 1/2 years old and mostly at the peek of my physical health, thanks to Kristopher Hoffman & Teresa Nabors Paschal personally training me back to health and strength at Willmore Total Fitness 24/7 – Guntersville. 💪🏋️‍♀️ I was technically going into my “last three months of living,”as PHYSICALLY strong as I had ever been! As confusing as that sounds, the point is each terminal patient is different and should be met exactly where they are, being treated with respect, without comparing their final days to other terminal patients journeys.

4. After the physically demanding tasks were knocked out, I focused on PLANNING MY FUNERAL! For me, it was so important to take charge of this moment and turn what satan meant to be a sad thought, into what God meant to be ETERNALLY ENCOURAGING! I actually had a lot of fun getting to plan out my own funeral! As silly as that may sound, if you don’t know me, I have always LOVED GETTING TO PLAN/HOST PARTIES FOR MY FAMILY/FRIENDS/CHURCH/COMMUNITY! So naturally I got stoked to see my funeral as: MY LAST PARTY! I wanted to bring everyone I’ve been blessed to meet together, in hopes of them each experiencing God’s love and the Light of Jesus!✝️💡🙏🎉 I also understood that many people don’t get the luxury of planning their own funeral ahead of time, and so I saw it as a total blessing and God’s favor pouring out on me, to get to PLAN MY ULTIMATE LAST PARTY! 🎉 🎉🎉 -In viewing it that way, I was able to bring in my family & close friends to be a part of the planning, in hopes to bring a lightness and dare I say “FUN-SIDE” to my departure from this world! For me, it was important to have a FUN CELEBRATION OF LIFE-IN-JESUS CHRIST, over a sad typical funeral setting. I decided I wanted to have it outside at our homes backyard on the lake, planning little prank videos I wanted to leave behind to make them smile&laugh, and even decided that I would be cremated and my ashes combined with loads of eco-friendly glitter to be dispersed from our airplane over our local lake, while blaring my favorite Queen’s hit 🎶“DONT STOP ME NOW🎶 through speakers in our backyard, at MY LAST PARTY! Ha 🥳🙋‍♀️🦄✈️✨*this was a very “REBECCA” way to go out of this world🤣 ✌️ 😇

5. The not-so-fun stuff for me was focusing on gathering all IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS& have a specific easy to read list of every PASSWORD related task left behind like:
-Making sure important docs are in one safe place-birth, marriage/divorce certificates/passport, license, all forms of monies like cards etc.
-Canceling all subscriptions that you will no longer need/make a list of these to leave behind, making it easier for your loved ones to make sure they aren’t still being charged!
-Make a list of important passwords ex. Bank, home utilities, phone/streaming companies, social media accounts, anything you don’t close down that has a password etc…
-Update/transfer all financial banking/investment information to whom it may concern
-Have print-outs of Health insurance/other insurances details/house title/lease info/Additional loan/bills details (house, car, phone etc)
-Prepare your Living Will, Last Will &Testament, Living Trust, Letter of Intent, Financial Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney, Updated Organ Donor Card. (You’ll obviously want to discuss these decisions you make with the people you choose to include/ you may find some people aren’t comfortable with being involved in “your last decisions.” Best to get that outta the way so there’s no unnecessary pressure/guilt on anyone later on.)

6. Try to MEND ANY BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS that you may have! – For me, I felt blessed to only have a couple people on my heart that I really felt the need to make sure they knew they mattered to me and apologize to them for anything I had ever done or said that hurt them. -this also opened up a great opportunity to share my faith with everyone I spoke to! Trying my best to share the God-Given, true peace I felt in an earth-shattering situation! Explaining how believing in and serving Jesus allowed me to live above my earthly circumstances, because I SERVE a SAVIOR who’s in control, so I get the privilege of keeping my focus on HIM, while tapping into HIS very real RESURRECTION POWER that lives in my cancer-invaded-veins! I still struggle to find the right words to express what I saw and felt from the HOLY SPIRIT in that time, but as long as I live here on earth, I will continue to try to share how powerful it was! -Ultimately, since I was told my time here was running out quickly, I FELT THE BEST USE OF MY TIME LEFT WAS TO ESTABLISH RESTORATION & CONFIRM TRUST IN ALL MY RELATIONSHIPS, so that my words wouldn’t fall on deaf ears when I PROCLAIMED GOD/JESUS/THE HOLY SPIRIT, are all REAL and waiting right by your side, to be your ROCK SOLID FOUNDATION in the storm, of this world! I WANTED TO BE AS INTENTIONAL FOR THE KINGDOM, AS I COULD MUSTER UP WITH MY LAST BREATHS!

7. HAVE FUN! – I called this stuff my “ADULT MAKE A WISH”😁🤣! Take into consideration your actual physical abilities and suggested time you have left, then start brainstorming some fun “LAST THINGS” you wanna do and who you wanna do them with! -The point FOR YOU is to live like your dying, cuz, news flash, you are🙃, so it’s your moment to lose all the silly fears that held you back from trying out new things& embrace the wild adrenaline you experience knowing your last days are close! DONT SQUANDER THEM IN PITY OR FEAR! All the people around you will be watching you to see how you handle yourself in this new chapter, so the point of planning fun things FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU, is to make the last memories with them really count! I WAS ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY BY THE AMOUNT OF “FUN ADVENTURES” MY ENORMOUS SUPPORT SYSTEM PROVIDED ME! Here’s some FUN examples we did: -planned a last beach trip -went zip lining -planned boating trips to Chattanooga where they also surprised me with a private tour of the Chattanooga aquarium(I even got to play and pet the penguins&they painted me a fabulous painting with their little penguin feet 🖼️ 🐧 🎨😂) -my husband was able to provide me with a “last trip” of a lifetime to Italy! -Our bible study friends surprised me with a “Christmas in July” party since we didn’t think I would make Christmas (I even had singing carolers show up in their Christmas sweaters despite our Alabama summer heat!😅🎤🎄🎼📣🎅) -I got to hold a fundraiser for my local cancer center, called “BE THE LIGHT💡” campaign,raising over $20k to be donated in my honor for local cancer patients that were struggling with finances, to be able to still get great care! -out of nowhere some people started getting tattoos-themed around the BE THE LIGHT💡campaign, so naturally I had to join in on the tattoo fun and get JESUS’ Light tatted on my shoulder! -also all the PERSONAL VISITS TO MY HOME to just HANG OUT meant so much and was so fun! I loved sharing old memories and playing games together! (I’m sorry for any “FUN THINGS” I forgot to mention, they all meant so much❤️) -From a very early age, I was always terrified of my life and suffering being meaningless! When I was faced with only a few months left to live here on earth, my 31 years of life flashed before my eyes, and I was so in awe of the countless adventures God allowed me to be a part of! I have lived an incredibly full life here, and guess what?! THIS LIFE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING FOR ME! With my terminal diagnosis, LIFE WAS ABOUT TO GET BETTER THAN MY WILDEST DREAMS! I learned through my cancer, that my life and my suffering WAS NOT MEANINGLESS, but rather, A DIVINELY CHOSEN GIFT MY CREATOR TRUSTED ME WITH TO BE USED AS A VESSEL WHERE HE COULD SHINE HIS LIGHT THROUGH, TO INSPIRE ALL WHO ARE HURTING AND WEARY TO COME TO THE FATHER AND HE WILL GIVE THEM REST, JUST AS HE HAD IN ME🙏✝️🙌. “☝️THIS is the real point of the FUN THINGS// The LAST OPPORTUNITY to shine GODS LIGHT through our SUFFERING, showing that IN-SPITE OF HAVING TERMINAL CANCER, we choose not to focus on that earthly circumstance, but rather we take heart & FIX OUR EYES ON THE FATHER, allowing us the ability to NAVIGATE ABOVE OUR EARTHLY CIRCUMSTANCES, finding our true rest at the foot of the CROSS! TALK ABOUT A MIC DROP 🎤✝️

8. Lastly, FUN ISNT FOR EVERYONE, so if you are able, MAKE A LIST of the peeps in your life that would prefer/benefit from a more laid back/serious 1-on-1 approach. If you simply don’t have the time or energy this interaction may require, try to PLAN SOME ALONE TIME to WRITE OUT PERSONAL LETTERS to those people in your life, ALONG WITH ANYONE ELSE WHO GOD LAYS ON YOUR HEART! **I actually remember having to console a dear friend, that got upset with me for having this “laugh through the pain/have fun” stance. I remember holding her in my arms as she wept and yelled at me, “stop joking&laughing!” And “why aren’t you taking this seriously, this isn’t a funny matter?!” I had to take a step back and understand she didn’t have the same clarity I had, and needed a little more consideration and patience from me. So, I learned that she didn’t need a fun experience, she just wanted to sit with me for a minute. As important as it is, for all the “outsiders” to be open and supportive in a newly “terminal-diagnosed-patient’s” life, remember it’s equally our responsibility, as the “terminal one,” to be just as patient and understanding of the “ones around us,” we will leave behind! Trying to make sense of our deaths, can feel unnatural and even devastating to the ones around us! It’s easy to get wrapped up in the selfishness of our illness. Try your best to see outside yourself, and understand while it is in fact YOUR BODY THAT GOT DIAGNOSED WITH TERMINAL CANCER, your spouse, also got diagnosed in a very real way!
🙏prayer🙏*Lord, I lift up every non-believer of You that is facing a terminal diagnosis, may Your presence be known to them and may they choose to let go of the lie satan has convinced them of-that they are in control, in Jesus name, and acknowledge that it is indeed YOU LORD who is in control! May they find peace as they surrender and come running back into YOUR LOVING ARMS, like the prodigal sons&daughters we all are, as mentioned in your LIVING Book Of Truth, the BIBLE! God, thank you for being with us always! We confess that we don’t understand why things happen the way they do. We don’t understand why illness comes into our lives, but we do know that you walk every path of life with us. May each terminal patient be reminded that YOU are walking with them right now! Remind them that YOU love them, no matter what they are going through. I also pray for all the families impacted by a terminal diagnosis, give them YOUR strength as they care for their loved one. God, we thank You that You never leave us, nor forsake us, but YOU LOVE US FIERCELY! We trust You Lord. I pray Gods blessings over each person who reads this post. May everything we do bring YOU GLORY LORD!

IN JESUS NAME AMEN 🙏

🤟I love you all. -Rebecca Masdon