Showing posts with label September Caravan Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label September Caravan Book. Show all posts
This past week has been an absolutely whirlwind and a mixture of emotions. On Monday I shared with IG community and my facebook friends we received the beautiful news that I have NO new Cancer spots. Next year (at the 5 year mark in May 2018) I can officially say that I do not have Cancer, and to be getting closer to this goal is such a beautiful gift. Thank you for all of y'all who were praying for this appointment and continue to pray for me and my health every single day.
As we rejoiced greatly in this news on Monday evening, we had tears of joy. Unfortunately within 24 hours I also had tears of frustration as I ended up back in the ER with issues with #courtneytheportney. You would think that I would be used to the ups and downs of this journey, but this week things hit me hard. To be frank, I am very ready to be finished with this season. It has been a long four years and as another milestone marker is approaching, I have deeply struggled, weeping often behind the scenes. Recently, I have felt such a tug-of-war about wishing my story was different. I have cried many tears about the deep aching and longing of dreams that I see others receiving and living while some days I struggle to complete the necessary treatment protocol before me. It is a true relinquishing of many many many hopes and dreams on this long journey to the One who loves me more than life.
I shared back at the beginning of January that my word for this year was "rachat" which is a french word for restoration and redemption. After I had spent a lot of time praying about the word for the year, I had felt so impressed that this was the word. To be honest, I think I expected things to come in mightily and quickly at the beginning of the year, but the last two months have held some further crumbling of some dreams in some areas. The other day, okay again yesterday, *smiles* I found myself moaning and complaining to the Lord as I was taking my daily walk. I kept saying, "Hasn't this season lasted long enough?" "Hasn't there been enough sickness and pain?" "Haven't I endured enough on this journey?" On and on I went complaining and weeping as I walked. Suddenly there was a huge gust of wind and as I looked up at the trees that surrounded me I stopped short and then I wept... this time remembering.
The wind transported me back to another time period 7 years ago when my health really started to crash and I was taking a walk and I had been crying out to the Lord for answers when there seemed to be none. Another memory flashed through my mind of wind blowing four years ago when I sat out in my front yard crying because I was too weak to walk or stand and a well known hospital in the US had just told me that there was no hope. And then I thought of the wind blowing when I was on my first cruise three years ago this past week and I was watching the sunrise with a gentle breeze blowing on my face and I was begging the Lord for wisdom for an upcoming appointment with my now current medical team. And I thought of last year at this time when I was so excited to have the winter wind blowing on my face as I was able to consistently walk an 1/8th of a mile with no assistance and yet begging the Lord for more.
I stood there weeping yesterday as I remembered all of these memories and more that continued to go through my mind... times of tears, times of deep aching, times of heart-wrenching heartache, and yet times where the Lord has faithfully answered. Faithfully meeting every single one of my emotional, physical, and spiritual needs, never abandoning me.
This past week my dear friend Blythe posted a former blog post of Kara Tippetts on Mundane Faithfulness which you can read HERE. I actually remember reading that blog post when it originally was posted by Kara, but this week it had even greater significance to me and gently reminded my gentle and fragile heart of the Lords faithfulness and goodness:
"I do want more time but more than all of that, I want Jesus. More than my wants, I want what I know is mine to receive. It is not easy to receive the hard story when all you want is to live in the simple mundane of today. But I trust Jesus, I trust him. He sometimes must pry my fingers loose one finger at a time, but He is good in His opening of my hands. He is good even if I struggle to choke out the words: HARD IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF HIS GOODNESS."
"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him."
-Job 13:15-
And maybe what I am learning most of all in this journey is the Lord's utter gentleness and mercy, once again. He is so good. He has never abandoned us and He never will. More than anything I want Jesus. Day by day the Lord meets us and the grace and mercy and the blessings as I stop and count them are numerous.
He is good. He is good. He is good. Hard is not the absence of His goodness.
I wanted to take a quick moment to say how grateful I am for your extreme patience as I am very behind in responding to some emails, some messages, and some sweet packages and letters that have arrived in the mail in the last couple of weeks. I also appreciate your patience as many of you ask for more regular updates on my health. I know it has been quite a while since the last update and I appreciate your patience. February with my health has been mostly about putting one foot in front of the other, grabbing the good moments and trying to make them last as long as possible, and continuing to press forward with this difficult treatment round. Thank you for your love and patience as I am still working to respond to the outpouring of love. Thank you for giving me grace in this area.
As always I remain so grateful for all of your prayers for this journey. Thank you for covering me in prayer, your prayers for my family and loved ones who are walking this journey with me every single day, and for the Lord's provision and mercy to answer each of these requests that are before us. Here are some of the most pressing prayer requests...
Prayer Requests...
1. As a few of you are aware the one IV medicine that I am on that is a part of this protocol for treatment round #4 is still giving us some serious issues with #courtneytheportney. Unfortunately this medicine causes ports to clog, and this can be extremely dangerous. There are medicines that help with this, but our number one prayer request is that the Lord would work miraculously and that instead of being dependent on this medicine that the port would flow with absolutely no more issues.
2. As some of you are aware for the past several years I have been struggling with severe anemia that has caused a lot of issues. At one point in this journey I was able to raise my ferratin level up to about 24 which was HUGE but unfortunately ever since the blood clot last year I have struggled to get back into the double digit numbers. At one point it was very dangerously low, and we are praying that instead of going down (which it is currently doing) it will continue to raise. I am taking several supplements and medicines and eating extremely iron rich food and we are asking for prayer that this would indeed improve as I have struggled in the past with iron infusions.
3. As some of you are aware I would continue to ask that you pray that the Lord remove the inflammation that Lyme has caused in many areas of my body. This is a serious prayer request as it comes with lots of different issues and I would covet prayer that this would be answered.
3. As some of you are aware I would continue to ask that you pray that the Lord remove the inflammation that Lyme has caused in many areas of my body. This is a serious prayer request as it comes with lots of different issues and I would covet prayer that this would be answered.
4. As always we would ask for prayers for the Lord to provide financially. We are choosing to add some additional therapies into my protocol which will cost extra money, and in addition to this I received word that one of my main meds for this treatment round will be increasing in price by nearly $4000 a month and I have some other unexpected expenses (due to the several ER visits that have had to happen in the beginning of this year). It is a very tough time financially. Thank you for joining us in prayer for this request.
5. The infection that I have mentioned several times over the last two months is s-l-o-w-l-y getting better but still needs to be fully healed. Thank you for continuing to pray for this.
6. I am struggling with one of my IV meds that is causing lots and lots of sickness and pain. Would you please pray that I can handle this difficult med as we continue to up the dosage? Thank you!
6. I am struggling with one of my IV meds that is causing lots and lots of sickness and pain. Would you please pray that I can handle this difficult med as we continue to up the dosage? Thank you!
7. I have some private prayer requests that I would ask you to join me in praying for.
Thank you for continuing to walk this long journey with me. Thank you for carrying me and my family in prayer. Your support, your encouragement and your love are some of the ultimate blessings on this journey and they are completely priceless.
"Let us know, let us strive to know Adonai. That He will come is as certain as the morning sun..."
-Hosea 6:3-
"For I will restore your health to you, your wounds I will heal" declares the Lord."
-Jeremiah 30:17
"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter..."
-Joel 2:25-
September Caravan: Embracing Grace and Mercy when Dreams are Delayed and Life is Different Than You Imagined (Releasing September 1st, 2018)
February 10, 2017
I shared yesterday on social media that the final signatures are finished and that I am so humbled and honored to announced that my upcoming book, September Caravan, will be released on September 1st, 2018. This book is my most personal yet...a collection of personal short stories (from 2012 to 2017), words of encouragement, and sweet inspiration on the concept of embracing grace and mercy when dreams are delayed and life is different than you imagined.
This book picks up where December Caravan left off and shares stories from my life as I learned to embrace the beauty of grace and mercy in the midst of loss of independence, long days in painful hospital testing, days of pain and sickness, deep loneliness, and finding joy despite having dreams delayed and life looking radically different than I could have ever imagined in my early thirties.
Here is a brief description from the back cover of the book:
“My journey started in the harsh winter months of December but really began in the simple changes of seasons in September. My book, December Caravan told the beginning of my story that started with my ex-fiance walking out on our engagement & ended in 2013 after my recent diagnosis of Advanced Late Stage Lyme Disease and Cancer among other illnesses. But the story had just begun, & I like many other people was about to learn the lesson of living where mercy beckons when life is brutal & harsh & learning to embrace grace when dreams are delayed & life is different than you imagined or hoped."
This concept of mercy beckoning will change the way that we live, approach our relationships with God, and the way that we grieve & rejoice. Mercy beckoning encourages us that there is beauty that is found & grace that will meet us in the most difficult of circumstances. In the midst of the broken, the messy, and the painful, God carries us & whispers to the weary spirit, gently reminding us that God’s grace is there when our dreams are delayed & life is different than you hoped or imagined.
Picking up where her well-loved book, December Caravan, left off, Rebecca shares stories from her life & learning to embrace the beauty of grace & mercy in the midst of loss of independence, long days in painful hospital testing, days of pain & sickness, deep loneliness, & finding joy despite having dreams being delayed & life looking radically different than she could have imagined in her early thirties. Rebecca shares the foundation of her hope gently reminding those who are desperately looking for encouragement and sharing the ways that mercy has beckoned to her broken heart these last several years. September Caravan will gently encourage you of the truth of learning to embrace grace when mercy beckons.
It is a funny thing to share your heart with the world through a book... and to be honest I probably would have removed some parts because they are so deeply personal. But I am learning in new ways how being vulnerable, showing the beautiful along with the messy, reflects the heart of Christ in ways that I could never have imagined. As we allow Jesus to step into our broken and messy pieces, He beautifully restores and redeems the things that we wish that we could forget or "erase" from our past. So returning to this time period in my life brings a soft smile to my face... and to my heart. A smile of a knowledge that comes with personally experiencing that the Lord works intricately and personally in the deepest lows and in the glorious highs... all remaining so faithful and so loving. He is so good.
If you would like to keep up with updates specific to this book please follow along at on my Instagram page which you can find HERE!
I am going to be announcing the opportunity to be apart of the book launch team next year and will continue to update and share other ways you can be a part of this special project on the blog and on IG!
Thank you so much for sharing in the joy of this exciting news! I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a wonderful weekend!
I am going to be announcing the opportunity to be apart of the book launch team next year and will continue to update and share other ways you can be a part of this special project on the blog and on IG!
Thank you so much for sharing in the joy of this exciting news! I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a wonderful weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
