"Super Ryan, The Morgan's, Our friends, Our Chosen Family

"Friends are your chosen family. They are the

folks that you chose to be in the trenches with you!"

I love this picture! It was taken when we first met our dear friends, the Morgan's, I will never forget the first time I met Ryan Morgan! It was in town hall at Rosemary beach. He stole my heart the first moment I laid eyes on him... what a guy! He came in and took over. I must say I was a bit nervous of how the week would go, but after about 2 minutes, Ryan showed me that I could relax, sit back and enjoy the ride. His family is probably one of the most courageous, fun and loving families I have ever met. Every moment they are together is one full of purpose and meaning. Not one second is wasted! That week I learned so much about life. I learned that every moment should be cherished and enjoyed. Finding excitement was not a problem for them.. from stealing the flags of other family campers to sneaking away to enjoy a fun filled afternoon at the local water park.. you name it they did it! I will never forget the thought I took home with me after our first week with them was over- "Life can be fun again for our family!"

Today, The Morgan's are still a big part of our lives and are still teaching us so much. I am so inspired by the love that this family has for one another. I wanted to let all our wonderful super fiends know that they need prayers and encouragement. If you know the Morgan's, I am sure that they are not only friends... but your chosen family as well. Please join, our family, and JSP in supporting them especially in prayer. Please take a moment to visit Ryan's blog - http://superryan.blogspot.com/ .

I know that this family needs prayers for wisdom, compassion, guidance and great strength.

Much love,

The Peck's

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows." ~Sydney J. Harris

"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em,

'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it."
- Theodore Roosevelt

JSP is off to school! The most common response we've received from our vision casting season has been- "If your going to help grieving families, then you'd better educate yourself and be the best at what you do!" No question to that - you can never get enough training, especially in the area of grief. From the very beginning we saw that education and training would be the key components to creating an effective grief program. Our hope is to help others to see more than their reflection in the mirror, see it as a window of opportunity to live life with purpose! Replacing the mirror with a window!!!

When our mirror turned into a window we saw a need in the community for a grief program. I do no like the fact that we ever saw this need, but now that we do , we must press forward and make our dream a reality. Life "schooled" us on a horrific lesson, one that can not be learned in a classroom. Now that we have learned the lesson, we see the importance of going back to the classroom.

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

- Tom Bodett.

The lesson learned? Grief is hard, and education is greatly needed. We talk to families all the time who are aimlessly wandering through grief. How grief effects the family is very complex. Many life altering issues effect the foundation of a family. Marital, parental and financial just name a few. We want to provide a plan that will educate the family as a whole on the issues they will be facing. Our main goal is to dig up all seeds of bitterness planted as a by product of not understanding the bigger picture and God's plan.

Our next few steps this summer is to acquire more knowledge. This week we are attending a conference in California that is offering education on grieving children and families. We are very excited to add this next layer of education to JSP's portfolio. We hope to return with many new resources for the grieving families in our community. There are two classes that I am very excited about: #1 The difference between the way parents and children grieve. #2 How ADD, ADHD and learning disabilities effect a grieving child ( I believe this topic is uncharted territory and needs to be addressed!)

Please pray that this week will bear much fruit. I will check back in during the week to keep you updated.

Dear super friends, Thank you again for all your support!

Love- Smith and Julie

"JSP" has a new dream!

Join us and be a part of something BIG! Help us be the difference that strengthens our community by rebuilding one broken family at a time.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference” - Robert Frost

Our family has journeyed through a major valley of grief. Today we can honestly say we have found a new joy that allows us to continue moving forward. Unfortunately, we feel like the path back to living life joyfully again was the “one less traveled by”. Finding help to recover from major grief is extremely difficult to find. Most programs are designed for adults or children... not the family as a whole.
Families need a place discuss the daily battles of death and disease. For the past 3 years JSP has been hard at work helping broken families who are struggling with a child dealing with cancer and families who are dealing with the loss of a child. The major concern in our hearts is if parents do not recover from grief, then the children are forever the casualty of a bitter environment. Our goal is to help families live again happily! We help them find a “new normal”. We hope to help them find joy, hope and renewed sense of purpose for their pain.
Already this year, JSP has been able to purchase nets for children in Africa, help build a well in Africa, walk with families along their journey of fighting childhood cancer, and facilitate groups that help families cope with the ladder effects of grief; helping them cross over to living a joyful life again. We want to finish strong this year by casting our vision- our new dream!

JSP's new dream - Building "The JSP Center"

No one plans for bad things to happen. The JSP Center will provide a place and a plan to help families navigate their way through grief. We hope to accomplish this mission through loving volunteers, a nurturing environment and an inspirational peer support group program. Jack’s place is a fun place! It’s a place where a kid can be a kid again. For children, fun high energy activities are essential to the success our program. Time spent playing in a carefree environment is equally as important as their peer support group time. For parents, it’s a place where a parent can finally be at rest to share with others who are living through similar life challenges.
JSP's efforts will now be devoted to raising funds to build a center for hurting families. Many suffer from grief caused by the loss of a loved one and fighting childhood cancer. “The JSP Center” would equip families to navigate through life's storms. It would provide rest, healing and hope for the weary. Alone, we fail, but together we can share hope and hope always points to a bright future!