127: Woke Up Again Today: Cancer, Perspective, and Joining Jesus in the Present | Tim Timmons

Summary

Podcast Summary:

I AM HealingStrong
Episode 127: Woke Up Again Today – Cancer, Perspective, and Joining Jesus in the Present | Guest: Tim Timmons
Host: Jim Mann
Date: March 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt episode, stage 4 cancer survivor and HealingStrong Group Leader Jim Mann reconnects with Christian musician and fellow cancer thriver, Tim Timmons. Their candid conversation explores living with—and beyond—cancer, reframing suffering, the profound gift of perspective, and the daily spiritual practices that sustain resilience and hope. With wit, vulnerability, and spiritual wisdom, Tim shares how his diagnosis changed his relationship with God and himself—detailing how he has learned to join Jesus in the present, rather than striving for control or answers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tim Timmons’ Background and Music Journey

• Tim describes his transition from a longtime worship leader at Mariners Church in California to an artist and songwriter in Nashville.
• He shares how “meeting God” after leaving his church reshaped his faith from working for God to walking with Him.
• Discusses writing “prayers” through music, culminating in albums like Here:

  “They're more prayers... I just don't call them songs. I call them prayers. It's a prayer that I have to pray all week long.” (03:31)

The Story Behind “Even If”

• Tim shares the powerful origins of “Even If,” a song written with Bart Millard of MercyMe:

  “Every night he says, This is for anyone who’s had a bad day... Even if God doesn’t heal me, my hope is Him alone. God alone.” (05:22)

• He reframes hope as not being about outcomes, but rooted in God’s presence in every circumstance.

Living with Cancer: Diagnosis and Perspective

• Received an incurable cancer diagnosis at 22–23, told he had five years to live—now 21 years later, he is still thriving.

  “I write this little X on my wrist because I got up again today. So it’s one of those things. The gift is perspective.” (07:09)

• Stresses that “cancer is not my story—it’s just part of my life” and encourages listeners not to let illness define them.

The Gift of Perspective and Gratitude

• Tim relates how suffering sharpens appreciation for life, echoing biblical wisdom on living in the present:

  “I wouldn't trade my experience for anything in the world... I think I've got a joy today that I don't know if I would have had without calamity and sorrow.” (12:13)

• Shares a memorable analogy:

  “Manure happens in life... Manure is the agent that softens hardened soil. Out of these hard things, beautiful things can grow.” (13:36)

Practical Faith: Attention, Presence, and Prayer

• Living with uncertainty, Tim practices a daily ritual—drawing an X on his wrist as a mark of gratitude for another day (07:09, 17:11).
• He encourages focusing on today and “joining Jesus in the present,” inspired by Psalm 118 and the song “This Is the Day”:

  “My aim is just to join Him in whatever He's doing. So He's making things new... For me, it's just celebrating today.” (17:11)

• Describes the “10,000 Minutes” practice:

  “I just breathe in, ‘Jesus’; I breathe out, ‘You have my attention.’... Prayer is just focusing and refocusing, aligning and realigning my heart to the heart of God all day long.” (21:57)

Valleys, Growth, and Facing Mortality

• Both Jim and Tim discuss the reality of repeated “valleys” in life, how their roots of faith grow deeper with each hardship (15:17–16:30).
• Tim on not fearing death, but wanting to stay present for his family:

  “I surely don’t look forward to [death]... I want to be there for my kids... I was future tripping so much... I want to stay in the present moment in the presence of God. Leaving the outcome up to Him has been such a gift.” (27:01)

The Power of Attitude & Mindset

• Jim and Tim explore the connection between positivity and resilience—not as a cure-all, but as a means to endure and appreciate life:

  “It’s about not focusing on your problems... Whether it’s cancer or having marriage issues or whatever, just focus on God.” (24:23)

• Tim affirms the mind is a gift; optimism shapes experience, even if it doesn’t determine the outcome (24:37).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Suffering and Growth:

  “Manure happens in life... The stuff that hits the fan... can be the thing that fertilizes the ground of our heart... That’s where beautiful things grow.” — Tim Timmons (13:36)

• On Identity and Illness:

  “If cancer is part of your journey, that’s just not who you are. That’s not your story.” — Tim Timmons (07:09)

• On Biblical Hope:

  “Biblical hope is more about just ‘God is hope in the middle of it all’.” — Tim Timmons (06:20)

• On Joy in the Valley:

  “I sing for joy, joy, joy in the valley where it grows... that’s really where things are growing, is in those places.” — Tim Timmons (15:47)

• On Being Present:

  “We woke up again today... This is the day, God, that you’ve made... What do you have for me today?” — Tim Timmons (17:11)

• On What’s Ahead:

  “I just want to keep being a better dad and a better husband... If I can nail that as good as I can, then I’m doing pretty well.” — Tim Timmons (26:21)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:10 — Tim on quitting “working for God,” shifting to walking with Him
• 04:49 — The story behind “Even If,” co-written with Bart Millard
• 07:09 — Tim shares his diagnosis and reframes his story beyond cancer
• 13:36 — Life’s manure: suffering as fertile ground for growth
• 15:47 — “Joy in the valley where it grows”—the purpose found in hardship
• 17:11 — Living in the present: “You woke up today. This is a new day”
• 21:57 — The “10,000 Minutes” practice: breath prayer and attention
• 24:23 — The power of attitude and focusing on God, not problems
• 27:01 — Facing mortality without fear, wanting to stay present for family

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Conclusion and Resources

Tim Timmons’ journey underscores the resilience of faith—how suffering, far from defining us, can be the ground where joy, perspective, and spiritual presence flourish. Whether navigating cancer or other valleys of life, this episode encourages listeners to celebrate each day, focus on the present, and let God handle the outcomes.

Find Tim and his resources:

• TimTimmonsMusic.com
• 10,000Minutes.com (and “10,000 Minute Experiment” podcast)

For holistic cancer support:

• HealingStrong.org — Join a local or online group for free resources and community.

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Perfect for:
Anyone facing a health crisis, seeking perspective in hardship, or wanting practical, hope-filled encouragement for daily spiritual resilience.

Transcript

[A]

I would not be the person I am. You would not be the person that you are today. You would not see the color that you see today. Whoever's listening, you would not be seeing the things that you're seeing today. In no way am I saying cancer is great and what a great gift, and this is a perfect thing. Let's celebrate this. No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that God is at work in these things, and there's just a different awareness in life that we can have if we choose to and if we don't. Some days, okay, no shame in that. Just embrace it. Cry, be mad. God's big enough to handle our stuff.

[B]

You're listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast, a part of the Healing Strong organization, the number one network of holistic cancer support groups in the world. Each week we bring you stories of hope, real stories that will encourage you as you navigate your way on your own journey to health. Now here's your host, stage four cancer thriver Jim Mann.

[C]

A little over four years ago, I sat down with Christian artist Tim Timmons in a studio in Nashville to talk about his journey with cancer. Well, in light of the movie, I Can Only Imagine two, which is currently in theaters. As I record this, we thought it would be a great idea to play this episode again now that his story has entered into our hearts. You just have to add four years to the dates as we talk. Sorry about the math, but here's my conversation with Tim Timmons. Give us a little background. I mean, you're obviously in music. You've been in it for a year.

[A]

Yeah, I've been in for a few years. Yeah. Well, I kind of came to this late. So I was a worship leader out in California at a church out there called Mariners Church, and for about 15 years. And it was such a great season of my life. And we left there for a few different reasons, and as we did, I. I think I kind of met God. How's that for a pastor?

[C]

After church or during.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. I had just been working for God for so many years, and I was exhausted. I was, like.

[C]

Doing it on your own, basically.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, not trying to. Not doing anything lame in that way. I just think I just worked for him. It was like, okay, God, I'll do this. I'll do this. I'll try to evangelize. I'll try to write songs for you. And I was just done. So I quit working for God about 10 years ago, and 10 or 11 years ago, and I just said, I'm just gonna walk with you. So let's just. Whatever. If you're doing something cool and I get to join in, I'm in. And at that point, I just started writing some different songs, and I did a Kickstarter, and then all the labels in Nashville started calling and saying, hey, Tim, you want to be on a label? I'm like, I'm an old man. Why are you calling me? So that was really the start of my, you know, music career was 10 or 11 years ago now.

[C]

You grew up in. In California?

[A]

Yep. Yep. My whole life was in southern Orange County. Yep.

[C]

You got a big family? Small family.

[A]

Well, I've got three. I've got two sisters, and then I've got four kids and a wife, and we're married 24 years.

[C]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You are old.

[A]

Yes, I'm totally old. Yeah.

[C]

Yet I soar above you. So I don't.

[A]

Yeah, I'm 32. So it's a. It's a good age. It's a good, ripe age.

[C]

That's right. Of course, right now, you do mostly songwriting and touring with your own music. And you just came out with a new album.

[A]

I did. I did. It's called Here.

[C]

Yeah. It's a live album.

[A]

Right. So there's. It's a. It's a studio record, and then I did a live record on top of that. Just. It's these songs that I write. They're more prayers. So through my journey with cancer or my journey with so many of just the hard things in life, I found that I. You know, we have so many songs that we sing on Sunday morning, if you will, or wherever the church gathers. But I wanted to write these. I just don't call them songs. I call them prayers. So it's a prayer that I have to pray all week long. So that's really what this was for. So it felt more appropriate for me to sing these and pray these with a group of people. So that was the live record. It's really. It's a great record.

[C]

And it just came out not too long ago.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I have listened to the whole thing. It's wonderful.

[A]

Nice.

[C]

Yes. Not too bad. I'm a little upset I wasn't on the album.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. Well, we called. It's in the mail. I think that. Oh, yeah, yeah. The invitations in the mail. It's a gut.

[C]

Okay, Covid. You know, because we're actually sitting in Tim's studio right now.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And I was here. I brought my bass and everything.

[A]

I thought it was a little Weird. When he brought his base, I'm like, man, aren't we doing an interview? Well, yeah.

[C]

Yeah. You just knew I was a little different. So you just. That's good. So who are some of the. I know your name is on a lot of songs that we listen to on the radio. What are some recent ones? I'm just nosy.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I think that one of my favorite songs, prayers I've ever written, I wrote about six years ago, and my label didn't want it. They said, it's not that good. And I'm like, guys, it's really good. Like, it's.

[C]

It.

[A]

This is a really powerful prayer for me. Like, I. I think it hits me and it'll hit other people. And so we didn't use it. And I just had this sense that it was for one of my best friends. And he happens to be a singer that has also had a movie made after his life, you know, that I can only imagine. Little thing movie.

[C]

I think I've heard of that.

[A]

Whatever on that, you know? And Bart's one of my best friends, but I'm not gonna go to Bart and go, hey, man, I got a song that I think you should do. It's just. I don't want to mix that kind of business and friendship. It's like, we're friends. I don't care about what he can do for me. So he was in this room, and he started crying, and he was talking about a son with diabetes and just going through some hard stuff. And he said the chorus of this song verbatim. I mean, it was crazy. And I remember just going, hey, at the end, I said, man, if this is just for us in this moment, can I just play this song? Just this chorus? Because I think. I don't know, you just said it, so, you know, whatever. So I ended up playing the song, and we ended up rewriting the song. And it's called Even if. So it's a song. That nice song is just. Yeah, it's a beautiful prayer. And so every night he says, this is for anyone who's had a bad day or having a bad day, you know? And it really is. It's. Even if God doesn't heal me, my hope is him alone. God alone. And it's less about the even if part, actually. It's more about the hope. And I think even in my life, I've always thought that hope was what God can do for me. I hope he'll heal me. I hope he'll do this. He'll get Me this job. He'll do this xyz. But Biblical hope is more about just God is hope in the middle of it all. So that's what that song is. That's probably the most well known one that I've written.

[C]

Now, lots of people. I love that song, by the way.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

Lots of people are not really privy to the fact that you have been battling cancer for a while, because that's not your story, as I've heard you say. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just part of your life.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But when. When did that start?

[A]

Yeah. Thank you. And I say I appreciate you saying that. So people always ask me to tell my story, and I say, you probably mean cancer, but that's not my story. Like, whoever's listening to this right now, if cancer is part of your journey, that's just not who you are. That's not your story. My story, for me, the way that I see it is seeing God at work in the midst of my stuff, in the midst of this journey. So, yeah, I was given five years to live 21 years ago. So it's an incurable. I totally did. I've lived way past that. And, yeah, there are tumors still in my liver today that they say are wearing out my heart. But I keep waking up just every day. I write this little X on my wrist because I got up again today. So it's one of those things. The gift is perspective. I wrote a blog called the Gift of Perspective or the Gift of Cancer, I said, which just sounds like a terrible, asinine thing to say, but it really is perspective. We woke up again today. You've had your own journey, a few journeys in this. And whoever's listening, whether you are in the midst of a journey with cancer or divorce or just kids are going haywire or whatever it is, losing a job, there's a gift of perspective there. And Jesus, I think, was so wise when he said, so just don't worry about tomorrow. Don't give your attention solely to tomorrow. Just deal with the things that are in front of you today. So I'm just trying to give my attention to Jesus in the midst of today.

[C]

So when. And I know what you totally mean, that cancer is not who you are, because I even forget I had cancer sometimes. I'm like, oh, yeah. Some people ask me about it. They always. And they always do it in a whisper. How you feeling?

[A]

Right?

[C]

It's like, what?

[A]

Right? I'm here.

[C]

I'm feeling fine. Yeah, but when you first got diagnosed, it was like your life, right? Then wasn't it when you get smacked in the face, like, oh, it's like you just showed the back door of your life, like, oh, this is it.

[A]

Totally.

[C]

Is that how you felt?

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I was 20, 22 or 23, something, somewhere in there. And yeah, that was. That was such a crazy season. I love when people call me and say. Or see me at a show and say, man, I was just diagnosed. I don't love that part. But I love being able to talk to them and talk them through some of that stuff because there's so much to learn about what you feel like. You have to manage everybody else's expectations and their emotions. And there's just so much there that I think the experience that I've had or you've had, we get to then walk with other people in the midst of that, right?

[C]

Oh, totally. I remember when I got my diagnosis. Of course, they didn't tell me at the time, but I had a month to live. Yeah. According to them. And Google said I wouldn't be here that time next year. So, you know, I'm thinking about all these videos I got to make for my kids. I got four kids also. I'm like, none of them are married. I gotta, you know, talk about their wedding or graduation, whatever it is.

[A]

Right.

[C]

I said, man, I hate videos. I gotta comb my hair and everything. So. But then that did consume my thoughts, obviously, and there was fear and I. I just lost it once. I mean, I cried like a little baby in my Jeep with. With tinted windows. Thank God.

[A]

Good for you. Well done.

[C]

And then after that, you know, it was like, no big deal, huh? And when I. I was in radio, so I got a lot of feedback. You know, half a million listeners were like, calling. Not all, obviously. There are some who didn't. So I'm a little concerned about that. But lots of people called. I thought, man, this. It totally changed my perspective.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And God was like, telling me, hey, you are important. You're not more important than others or less important than others, but, you know, I have a purpose for you. And apparently he's not done.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Because it's been five years. My.

[A]

Yeah, we got up again today.

[C]

Yeah, I got to start putting that X on my. My wrist. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Well, I use Sharpie. And so I had. Doctor, I said, hey, man, just shoot straight with me. Am I going to get some other kind of cancer from doing this? He literally, he said, it was. He was so quick. He said, well, have you ever heard of Sharpie Itis? And at first I'm like, oh, no. Oh, you. You know, just. He totally got me. So if that does the perspective, I'll take whatever that gives me. The perspective is such a gift.

[C]

Yeah. Now, now, when that happened, did your perspective change? Like, you know, I've used this illustration before where life before cancer was, like, in black and white compared to how it is after cancer. Because, you know, everybody, you know, could die today.

[A]

Right, right.

[C]

But when you're told you have cancer, you realize the reality of it. Yeah. And so everything becomes more vivid.

[A]

Totally.

[C]

And you do things more intentionally. Has that changed your life since you're diagnosed?

[A]

I mean, this is such a crazy thing to say as well, but I wouldn't trade my experience with this for anything in the world. I just wouldn't. I mean, I would not be the man that I am today. Not that I'm this awesome thing, but I think I've got a joy today that I don't know if I would have had without calamity and sorrow. I was teaching for my community, and there were a bunch of families all in there. And I. Don't you guys just love me through this next phrase? But I just got fascinated about manure, and I started thinking about manure, and I just looked it up. So I was thinking, gosh, manure happens in life. You know, I mean, it just does. And I looked up manure. And manure, the definition says it is the agent that. That softens hardened soil. And I was talking about the four soils of the heart that Jesus talks about. And I was thinking, if manure the stuff of life, right. The stuff that hits the fan, if you will, in life, the manure happens. When that happens. It can either be this thing that just smells terrible, or it can be the thing that also fertilizes the ground of our heart, the soil of our heart that actually beautiful things grow out of it. I mean, that's where beautiful things grow is where manure is laid.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And so I was like, oh, gosh, that's powerful. And that's really John 15 as he's talking about the vine and the branches. A lot is just out of these hard things, beautiful things can grow. So I've kind of stopped. I'm not inviting or asking God to give me calamity or sad things in my life, but I'm trying to welcome them in a different way, saying, okay, Jesus, there's more to be seen here. So what do I get to learn in this? Even if it's hard and I need to cry and all those things Manure happens, but it grows beautiful things.

[C]

Yeah. I've never really.

[A]

I know, I know. It's so ridiculous. I'm writing a book. I'm in the middle of writing a book called Sorry, Not Sorry and I'm using that example.

[C]

But yeah, you know, and mushrooms grow out of manure and they're very cancer fighting.

[A]

Come on, piece of food there. It is just really interesting when you start to think through how things grow. And I would not be the person I am. You would not be the person that you are today. You would not see the color that you see today. Whoever's listening, you would not be seeing the things that you're seeing today. In no way am I saying cancer is great and what a great gift. And this is a perfect thing. Let's celebrate this. No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that God is at work in these things and there's just a different awareness in life that we can have if we choose to and if we don't. Some days. Okay. No shame in that. Just embrace it. Cry, be mad. God's big enough to handle our stuff.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, obviously we don't wish cancer on anybody, but you're going to go through a valley of some kind, if you haven't already, if you're not in one right now.

[A]

Yeah, right.

[C]

And it seems like you're in valley after valley after valley sometimes. Like in the past six years, I've. I have not seen a mountaintop for a while. But you do after a while anyway. You feel the roots, how far down they've gone and how the next valley doesn't shake you as much. And sometimes I even forget I'm in the valley because I'm like, oh, that's right. My life is not real fun right now, but I got the joy of the Lord in me.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And it gives you again, a different perspective.

[A]

Yeah. My newest single, actually, it's called this is the Day. And in the bridge, when I sing this live, I stopped the bridge in this part and just try to let the lyrics just sit. How deep this is that I sing for joy, joy, joy in the valley where it grows. You just stop and think, oh, gosh, I sing for joy in the valley where it grows. I mean, that's really where things are growing is in those places. And again, this is not saying, man, let's. Let's have more calamity. Wait a week. It's coming, you know, but it's how we handle those moments and what we're looking at where our attention is in those moments that really seems to matter.

[C]

Right. If you don't have valleys in your life, that means you have died and gone to heaven.

[A]

Yes, yes, yes.

[C]

There's no valleys there. But until then, that's how. Unfortunately, and that's the way God designed it, that we do grow in the valleys. He doesn't bring the valleys, but he allows them to happen to somebody who is listening right now. And they just got that diagnosis, and they're in that stage where life is at a standstill and they think it's over. And you look back and you think, what have I done with my life? I've wasted so many moments. What would you say to them that will help them get a perspective on that?

[A]

Gosh, the same thing I say to myself every morning when I write this X on my wrist. You woke up today. This is a new day. This is the day, God, that you've made. I mean, back to that song that I wrote my singles, this is the Day. And it's actually out of Psalm 118, and the beginning and the end of Psalm 118 are just a mess. I mean, it sounds like this happy go lucky song that we should really be excited to go sing with kids. And this is the day that you have made. But it was in a terrible, terrible time of calamity, sorrow, war, all the things. And I guess it just. The gift is the past is the past. There are consequences. And all those things that I deal with with my own decisions or whatever that I've done or not done. But I woke up today, and, Jesus, what do you have for me today? So my life is since I stopped working for Jesus. My aim is just to join him in whatever he's doing. So he's making things new. He's bringing things that I've blown and maybe making beautiful things out of them. So for me, it'd be, let's just celebrate joining Jesus today.

[C]

Yeah. And it wasn't like that before cancer, was it?

[A]

I think that would be the good Christian thing to say before that. But then it was like, oh, and not an urgency, as in, I got to do this, I got to do this. That kind of urgency of just saying, oh, okay, I woke up today. This is gonna be the gift that I'm gonna celebrate. And if I get up again tomorrow, let's celebrate again. I mean, people always have me send their friends an encouragement or a video encouragement. You know, they're going, that just found out about cancer or something. And I wish I had great things to say that were really gonna help them. And I always feel like maybe I should have something better. But really what I end up saying every time is for me it's just celebrating today. We woke up today and if I get to join Jesus and what he's doing and I have just a different set of eyes today. Oh my gosh. It just makes, if this is my last day, it makes it beautiful.

[C]

And that's the mindset everyone should have with or without cancer. Because that's true. You don't know if you're going to last this day.

[A]

Yeah. I mean think of all the times that I've almost. You've almost gotten a car crash and you just, you all of a sudden stop and you go, oh my gosh, I almost just died. And you just think of all the things you're thankful for in that moment. And then about five minutes later somebody calls and you're already thinking about something else. I think with this cancer stuff, it's this daily reminder for me, it's part of my ex too, is on my wrist. It's just this daily reminder of, okay, you got today. Today is the gift. Let's just join Jesus in this day.

[C]

Yeah. One thing I think is very important and it's something I am naturally that way, my personality. I would like to think it's because I'm just that close to Jesus.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

But I'm a happy go lucky kind of guy anyway. And I see the glass half full all the time. I think everything's gonna be fine. The grown ups are gonna take care of it.

[A]

Right.

[C]

I've always thought that it's really embarrassing, but I think you're kind of also an up kind of guy. Or is.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Is that true?

[A]

Yeah, that's true.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I would say it's totally true. I think there's been a real, hopefully a deepening of that that is less just pie in the sky. But I think this has helped even, even that, that I can go to deeper places than I would have been able to before.

[C]

You just don't take life as seriously as far as problems and stuff are concerned.

[A]

Oh gosh, I still do. I mean there are different ones. I think cancer. I've done a lot of work with resigning and leaving the outcome up to God and saying, okay, I can't do much here. I eat healthy, I work out, I pray and I see a doctor. You know, I mean we're just like, okay, this is all I can hold. So I'm going to leave the outcomes up to God and life. But there are Other little things that happen in life as a dad, being a dad to little kids and husband and, you know, my career, that I sometimes, like, start taking them too serious, you know, like, I start putting my attention on those things when everybody else around me would say, isn't cancer the thing you should really be most scared about? And it just shifts where I put my attention. And so one of the practices that we do with my thing that I'm most into, it's called 10,000 minutes, is that we put Jesus principles into practice every week. And one of the practices that we do all the time is during my day. The thing that I do have is I have breathing. I get to breathe every day. So I'm real thankful for that.

[C]

You're good at that.

[A]

Thank you. I'm pretty good at it. And so in my breathing and whoever's listening, you can breathe too. And what I do is I just breathe in Jesus and I breathe out. You have my attention. Breathe in Jesus. You have my attention. And that just is refocusing and reshaping my heart. I actually think prayer is just focusing and refocusing, and it's like aligning and realigning my heart to the heart of God all day long. That's what I really see prayer as. So I pray to Jesus, and whoever's listening may pray in some other way, but there's actual physiological stuff that happens as we breathe and control our breathing. That's just beautiful. I think it's God designed.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. When I refer to having an upbeat, happy, go lucky kind of personality, that translates into our lives, as in not concentrating on the problems, not getting all down because your. Your body reacts to what you tell it. I know that sounds kind of weird to some people, but, I mean, it's just your attitude where you think when you're diagnosed with, you know, you have a month to live or six months, you start thinking about that and your body starts saying, oh, I got six months. Got to start shutting down. But, yeah, when you think, you know, that's. That's not who I am. God is in control of this. So I'm gonna live each day. Yeah. When I wake up.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

If I wake up in heaven, that's even better.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But your attitude has a whole lot to do with it. And I never thought about that because I am just kind of a simpleton, as I always say, which has helped me. But I had somebody on the radio call in and he said, you know, I used to be really down on myself because I had six months to live. And I was just kind of giving up. And then I. Then I heard Jim. I don't like to speak of myself in third person, but he was telling somebody else, you know, here he just kind of jokes about his cancer and he acts like nothing's wrong. He goes, so it encouraged me to be positive. And, you know, I've kind of blown past that six months and. And I'm doing better. And tumors are shrinking. Not that that's, you know, hey, don't worry about it. Just be happy and cancer will go away. But. But, you know, it's about not focusing on your problems, no matter what they are. Whether it's cancer or having marriage issues or whatever, just focus on God. And it seems like everything was just kind of come into place when you put him first.

[A]

Yeah, I totally agree that there are powerful things that happen in our minds. I mean, the mind is an actual gift from God. It sounds like people would think this is some new age thing, but it's actually a gift from God.

[C]

Our minds, his design.

[A]

Right. We're designed to work with our bodies. You know, I know a lot of people who aren't here anymore that were really positive and believed and all those things too. So it's not this, like, cure all, but it definitely makes. There's something there that. That Western medicine does not understand yet. And I don't know what that is yet, but there's something there. There's so much there, actually. But.

[C]

Yeah. So, Tim, in closing, what do you see coming down the road? I know you live each day at a time, but, like, five years down the road, if God allows you to wake up every. Every morning on this side of heaven, where do you see things going with your ministry or with your life?

[A]

Gosh. So five years down the road. Well, I think the thing I love. I'm doing a podcast every week with a few great artists and with artists and speakers and authors. And so we're. That's been one of my favorite things we're doing recently, besides music that I'm doing is. It's called 10,000minutes.com and the podcast is called the 10,000 Minute Experiment. So that's been really fun to learn through. We're just learning through. How do we practice joining Jesus as a collective group?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Musically, I'm just going to keep writing prayers because that's what I love to do, and they're prayers that I need. So if you guys want to check out some of that music, just go to Tim Timmons anywhere and you'll hear the prayers that I Get to write and hopefully you can pray them with me. And I just. Yeah, I keep trying to learn how to be a dad that, you know, I know my kids are going to be in therapy at some point. You know, that's just how it works. But I'm trying to minimize.

[C]

Because you're their dad.

[A]

Of course. Of course. As great of a dad as anybody could be, it's like they're still going to have things that they just are going, oh, I was hurt by this. So I just, I wanna, I wanna keep being a better dad and a better husband the next five years. And if I can nail that as good as I can, that I'm. I'm doing pretty well.

[C]

Obviously you don't want to go before your time and you got young kids and a wife and obviously you don't want to leave all that. You want to see that.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Pan out. But since the cancer thing, do you like see death as something not to fear at all? Something that you almost look forward to besides the fact of leaving?

[A]

Yeah, I surely don't look forward to it.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And maybe I should in some like, holy way. I just don't. I think I'm. Yeah, I want to be there for my kids. Right. I mean, if you want to get me crying, we can start talking about my kids and seeing them as we nervous. No, I mean, you just, you get it. It's that I want to watch them, like you said, I want to watch them get married. I want to see them, you know, all that stuff. And I just found that I was future tripping so much in my heart. I was literally going places that God is not. And I want to stay in the present moment in the presence of God. And so it just became this thing of like, okay, I can future trip and that's fine. If I need to go there and I need to cry a bit, that's fine. No shame attached to that. But I don't want to live in those places. And so I've tried to live going. This is my hope for my work and for my ministry and for my life. And leaving the outcome up to him has been such a gift. So that just. That's why I joined him today.

[C]

Right. I like where you are.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You've grown up so much.

[A]

I'm doing it. I'm doing it.

[C]

All right, so if people want to find out more about you, just go to your website.

[A]

They can go to Tim. Timmonsmusic.com Timdivinsmusic.com or 10,000 minutes.com all right.

[C]

Well, thank you, Tim, for joining.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And thanks for opening up your studio. You're welcome.

[A]

All right, let's play some bass.

[C]

Where I go, I go. Obviously he would answer that question about five years down the road differently since four years later there's a movie about him in theaters that just goes to show you only God knows what the future holds. So relax and give the controls to him. I know he's just waiting for Brad Pitt's schedule to open up to play me in my movie. So I'm patiently waiting.

[B]

You've been listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast, part of the Healing Strong organization. We hope this episode encouraged you and gave you confidence to take charge of your healing journey, trusting God to guide your path. Healing Strong is a nonprofit dedicated to connecting, supporting and educating individuals facing cancer and other diseases through strategies that rebuild the body, renew the soul, and refresh the spirit. It's free to join a local or online group. Just visit healingstrong.org to find one near you or start your own. While you're there, create a free my HealingStrong account to access all of our free resources to help you live healthier and heal strong. Though our groups and resources are free, we invite you to support our mission through a monthly Hope Giver's donation of your choosing. Your generosity helps us reach more people with hope and encouragement. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a five star rating and review to help us spread the word. We'll see you next week with another story on the I Am Healing Strong podcast.