Showing posts with label my precious hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my precious hope. Show all posts
Happy Sunday friends! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
Today's sunday scripture is a verse that has brought significant encouragement and inspiration to me over the last couple of days. I read this verse in this translation and it has constantly been sticking with me- especially over some very unexpected news I received without warning on Thursday afternoon.
I have been so encouraged by the promises in this verse and I hope that this encourages you to pause today friends in the different situations and circumstances you are facing just like it did for me. Continue to speak victory and life over your situations, continually remembering that even in the place God has you he sees you and will care for you.
Cheering you on- please let me know if there is anything that I can pray for you about!
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To download and use for personal/church use, right click on the image and save to computer and print on thick cardstock or photo paper. Please tag @rebeccaannvandemark (on IG) or @caravansonnet (on pinterest or twitter) when sharing on social media.
Looking for past Sunday Scripture Posts? Click HERE!
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To download and use for personal/church use, right click on the image and save to computer and print on thick cardstock or photo paper. Please tag @rebeccaannvandemark (on IG) or @caravansonnet (on pinterest or twitter) when sharing on social media.
Looking for past Sunday Scripture Posts? Click HERE!
Happy Monday friends, and happy first day of fall... I admit that as a girl who usually hates to see summer end, but loves fall here in upstate New York... this year I absolutely dreaded it. Not at first, mind you... I was looking forward to fall with a lot of excitement but about six weeks ago something took place personally behind the scenes in my life (in addition to the hiking fall) that left me stunned and with a ton of questions... and very deeply hurt and wounded.
I haven't talked about it (obviously) on line here as I keep a lot of my private life- private and the things that involve others in my close knit circle - private... but it left me wanting to hold onto summer a little longer than ever.
I think I kept thinking that if we could just hold onto summer then there could be a very nicely wrapped up bow and things would make sense and summer needed to last until that happened...and maybe that is exactly how you are feeling as we officially start fall today.
I am learning anew that there are sometimes where the questions will last, the pain needs time to heal, and that sometimes the changing seasons can be a blessing to fully step into.
Maybe unlike a lot of the "pretty pictures" that you see on social media your summer turned out much differently then you planned or desired or thought it would. Maybe it held pain that you can't talk about with anyone- publicly or privately. Maybe a work situation is very difficult. Maybe a relationship that you are in has brought pain. Maybe a health situation is not healing. Maybe ... maybe... maybe.
Whatever your "maybe" is friends, I hope and gently pray that as the season officially changes today that fall brings you peace and restoration in the areas that you are desperately longing for behind the scenes.
I came across a quote on social media that stopped me a few weeks ago and edited it a bit...I am sorry I don't know who the original quote belonged to (if you do please let me know in the comments so I can credit although our quote is quite a bit different) and I thought I would share it here for those that might find it encouraging...
Finally, I realized that I am not a permanent person in anyone’s life or anyone’s story, but my deepest prayer is that I would be allowed to be the best temporary (minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, till the end of my life) person in the chapter, season, fleeting or long held - lifetime moments. I will stay joyfully as long as the season allows (hoping for a lifetime) but with hope and gratitude gladly hold things freely open handed, giving the freedom for anyone to leave which is the highest tender respect one can give with love.
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To download and use for personal/church use, right click on the image and save to computer and print on thick cardstock or photo paper. Please tag @rebeccaannvandemark (on IG) or @caravansonnet (on pinterest or twitter) when sharing on social media.
Looking for past Sunday Scripture Posts? Click HERE!
From the archives...
With Caravan Sonnet turning 11 years old this past year, it is amazing to look back and see all of the things that have taken place during that time. This year, I am re-sharing some of my favorite posts from the 2014 year... it is hard to believe that it is ten years ago. 10 years... a decade...
This post, show up in hope (originally posted in August 2014) has hit me deeply this month... although the circumstances are different- my health is stable and I am healed... I am in a very difficult and private waiting season for several specific areas in life... this post has encouraged me and I pray it will encourage you also today.
Original Post- posted August 4, 2014
Eight and a half years ago I was the recipient of a miracle from the
Lord in the form of healing from what I was told was an incurable disease. After
struggling for years in physical pain and begging the Lord for mercy when the
medical community gave no hope the Lord performed a miracle. Family and friends
cheered joyously as they witnessed their prayers answered. Doctors shook their
heads in amazement when the healing happened muttering, “it must be something
higher that healed you”. People responded with encouragement over my faith and proclaimed the Lord's power. It is a story of joyous victory and of good triumphing
over evil. It is a story that rings with hope in a God who still performs
miracles and of a God who is triumphant over illnesses after “the experts” have
given up hope. It is a story that people love to hear, and one that I have
loved to share over the years. It is a story that makes me well up with tears
at the goodness of the Lord and stand in awe of what He did eight and a half years ago.
But the truth is that I am living a much different story today. I have shared some of it here on the blog but there are many parts that have remained in private. To be truthful the life that
I live now shattered midst ordinary days five years ago when my ex-fiancé
walked out of our relationship a mere five months before we were to be married with no warning. Since then in these past five years my life has crumbled bit by bit by one circumstance to another to finally being diagnosed with Cancer, Advanced Late Stage Lyme disease, an environmental illness and
several other diagnosis'. The combination of the diseases’ listed has
severely affected my life and began one of the most difficult fights of my
life. But while my life shattered my faith in my precious Lord, who is the God of HOPE, has not.
The recovery is long and instead of a planned out future, I am left with
more questions than answers. My aching longings for the future of being married
and being a mom has been placed on hold and instead of my dreams I am left with
questions of life, value, and the God that I so desperately adore. In my little mind it is not the story that shouts the triumph of a
powerful God as I expected the same ending of miraculous healing of eight and a half years
ago. It is not a story that we love to hear, but in this broken world it is a
story that many people live.
We all need to hear the stories of miraculous conquering and
healing to spur us on in hope. These are the stories that scream to us from the
pages of the Bible and the stories that we are quick to reference when bad news
comes to a loved one. But there is a much quieter and powerful story that is
also found deep in the pages of scripture. It is a story of showing up with
hope in the ordinary days lived among the miraculous and victories. It is the
story of living with anticipation that the Lord is still at work when we most
feel He is absent. It is a story that drives us closer to the heart of God as we cry out to Him. I have learned to fall in love with the God who I know does miracles. I have also fallen passionately in love with this same God who has the power to do miracles and sometimes says wait.
"He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow." There are beautiful examples of this in the Bible. One of those is the story of the women who bled for
twelve years from Luke chapter eight. It is a beautiful story of a woman who
must have spent everything that she owned on doctors who had not been able to
help her and yet she still showed up to meet Jesus. With no promise that Jesus
would do anything she pushes her way through the “crowds that almost crushed
Him” and reaches out her hand in desperation and the hope that Jesus could not
only heal but that He would show up.
Friends, if you are struggling through the dark night of
suffering I urge you to hold fast to the story of the woman who was ill and
find hope in the story of the Israelites. Just like that woman, we see in the
book of Exodus that the Israelites held on to the hope that God was still at
work. As they limped out from under the hard yoke of slavery they carried their
tambourines through the long trek of the desert believing that there would
still be a song yet to sing. They didn’t know when the song would come, but
like the woman they pushed through and held onto hope that God would show up.
Despite the fact they had no assurances or promises of what their future would
look like, they walked with their tambourines. They were fully prepared for the celebration that they did not yet have a
time frame for. The celebration that only lay hidden in their hearts as they
walked mile after mile in the desert. The same hope of celebration that the
woman who bled for twelve years was also expecting as she reached out her hand
for Jesus’ cloak.
Dear friends, what about you? Are you ready to show up in Hope? I
have friends who are scattered around the world serving AIDS victims in Africa, fighting for the freedoms of those in the Middle East and some holding crying orphans in the heart of Haiti . Maybe you are like them and
can venture to far off countries to rescue those that the world has abandoned.
Or maybe you can quietly and powerfully write your story by showing up, and
learning like I am to take one day at a time, find beauty in the ordinary, and minister to those that the
world has forgotten. Either way we
can all come to the cross and take His love into our worlds- no matter how big
or small that might seem. Either way we can show up and rejoice that He is going to answer as we step out in
faith and cry out to Him. All we need to do is be ready to rejoice, reach out
for His garments, carry our tambourines, and show up in Hope.
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To download and use for personal/church use, right click on the image and save to computer and print on thick cardstock or photo paper. Please tag @rebeccaannvandemark (on IG) or @caravansonnet (on pinterest or twitter) when sharing on social media.
Looking for past Sunday Scripture Posts? Click HERE!
*this picture was taken while hiking on Rattlesnake Mountain in upstate New York**
"Rejoice with those who rejoice..."
-Romans 12:15-
There seems to be certain seasons where social media is flooded with news that people are getting engaged. It happens throughout the year of course, but it seems like there are certain times and seasons where there is an overwhelming flood of beautiful pictures of a guy down on one knee asking his beloved to spend the rest of their lives with him. It can seem like everyone that we know from co-workers, family members, friends, roommates, to the woman at the post office sharing her good news with strangers all have an exciting engagement story to share.
It is wonderful. I rejoice in all that the Lord is doing and how He is carefully scripting a new season and story for each person... and yet... it can be overwhelming and heart-wrenching to hear "one more engagement story".
I often feel a deep kinship with Hannah (from the book of I Samuel) as it seems that everyone I know is getting what I so deeply long for. I come to the Lord often behind closed doors in "deep anguish, weeping bitterly" (I Samuel 1:10). "I am a woman deeply troubled... and I am pouring out my soul to the Lord." (I Samuel 1:15) As engagement news continues to pour fourth let us continue to go to the Lord in our anguish and grief. Our anguish of longing (not jealousy, but longing for the Lord to give us our hearts desire) and surrender our grief to Him. I know that I have been told before not to weep over singleness, but I do. I weep deeply, grieve the losses, and the trust God as I embrace this beautiful life that He has given me.
One of my favorite quotes by John Piper sums this up perfectly:
"Occasionally weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life you have."
So let us weep and grieve and then embrace the beautiful lives that the Lord has given us and what He has given us right now. Let us trust and ask the Lord for courage to know that His timing is flawless and that He is directing our steps and each detail of our lives. We may long to be engaged and have a relationship right now, but for today, He has given us this gift of being single. Let us embrace it fully, not wasting it longing or wishing for a different season. For today we are given this gift. Tomorrow it may change. But we only have this day in front of us.
Living in the full trust of the Lord allows us to fully rejoice with those who are rejoicing (Romans 12:15). Not out of duty or drudgery, but out of love and trust, knowing that the Lord is guiding and directing each of our paths. For as we rejoice sweet friends, we are mostly rejoicing in the Lord. We rejoice in the way that we see the Lord at work and that gives us hope which in turn gives us joy. "The Hope of the righteous is joy" (Proverbs 10:28) and that is where we will find our joy completely. In the Lord, rejoicing in the timing and the stories that He writes each and every day.
A dear friend asked me how I was doing...a question that comes from someone willing to risk walking into the pain of the deep grief I am walking through. I cried and replied that I was "limping through".
We decorated..."sort of". For a lady who loves to decorate her surroundings, a corner doesn't seem like enough and yet the corner has become a symbol of light on these dark and difficult days.
And while it isn't like years ago when the tribe was together and we danced around and sang off key and laughter was bursting forth in carefree abandon as we added "just one more light to an empty room already covered in happy decorations"...the corner has become a gentle reminder of hope.
We decorated this corner last year-almost in defiance of facing the first Christmas without my dad and my grandmother in the hospital. At first we cried as we hung up a simple strand of lights... missing my dad who loved Christmas so deeply...but then the simple strand of lights brought a gentle reminder to us of light in the dark.
So this year we added a bit to the corner of additional precious pieces that have special meaning (like the mini tree that we found years ago at a thrift store for $1 that my dad rigged to randomly blink to play a prank on me and then couldn't fix and we still can't fix it back- haha) and it has gently reminded me that we put up lights because "the weary world rejoices".
A world like me, that is exhausted, feels like sometimes giving up, crying, confused, soul-broken, and limping through the dark.
A world, that like myself needs the gentle reminder that Christmas brings light and extinguishes the darkest silence where hope feels like it doesn't exist anymore.
For those who are limping (or desperately crawling) with shattered hearts...I am thinking of you and sending you the gentlest of hugs. You are not forgotten... you are seen in your pain. May you be gently comforted by the light today and tomorrow and as we approach a new year.
We decorated..."sort of". For a lady who loves to decorate her surroundings, a corner doesn't seem like enough and yet the corner has become a symbol of light on these dark and difficult days.
And while it isn't like years ago when the tribe was together and we danced around and sang off key and laughter was bursting forth in carefree abandon as we added "just one more light to an empty room already covered in happy decorations"...the corner has become a gentle reminder of hope.
We decorated this corner last year-almost in defiance of facing the first Christmas without my dad and my grandmother in the hospital. At first we cried as we hung up a simple strand of lights... missing my dad who loved Christmas so deeply...but then the simple strand of lights brought a gentle reminder to us of light in the dark.
So this year we added a bit to the corner of additional precious pieces that have special meaning (like the mini tree that we found years ago at a thrift store for $1 that my dad rigged to randomly blink to play a prank on me and then couldn't fix and we still can't fix it back- haha) and it has gently reminded me that we put up lights because "the weary world rejoices".
A world like me, that is exhausted, feels like sometimes giving up, crying, confused, soul-broken, and limping through the dark.
A world, that like myself needs the gentle reminder that Christmas brings light and extinguishes the darkest silence where hope feels like it doesn't exist anymore.
For those who are limping (or desperately crawling) with shattered hearts...I am thinking of you and sending you the gentlest of hugs. You are not forgotten... you are seen in your pain. May you be gently comforted by the light today and tomorrow and as we approach a new year.
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To download and use for personal/church use, right click on the image and save to computer and print on thick cardstock or photo paper. Please tag @rebeccaannvandemark (on IG) or @caravansonnet (on pinterest or twitter) when sharing on social media.
Looking for past Sunday Scripture Posts? Click HERE!
For 2019 with Sunday Scripture Verses, I will be sharing the verses that I am memorizing throughout the year that relate to my word of the year! This verse, from the book of Proverbs is one of my "main" verses for the year! I hope that is an encouragement to you friends!
You can find previous verses from this year by clicking on the links below:
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."
-Isaiah 9:2-
The month of December has always been one of my favorites. There are so many beautiful things to ponder: days filled with family and friends, delightful sunsets and sunrises, precious quiet, laughter, and beautiful snow. In the midst of the hard and messy and broken, this month gently reminds us that despite walking in the dark times, the beautiful light has dawned.
Praying that you have a wonderful December dear friends, gently reminded each day in tender ways that the beautiful light that has dawned and the hope that has come!
Welcome December!
Happy Monday friends! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was sweet - busy and relaxing and concluded yesterday with being outside, enjoying the last bits of fall beauty before the winter comes.
Today I am excited to share with y'all a few pictures of different days and stages from my #if_gratitudedocumented2018 journal for this month!
I had never joined in on this before, but this year... well I found myself after a very difficult and painful couple of months fighting to see the blessings that are in each day so I knew that I wanted to join in. Sometimes when life is hard it can be difficult to find the gratitude in each day - can't it?
I was at an estate sale several weeks ago and came across an older book copy of one of my all-time favorite @hallmarkchannel movies, The Magic of Ordinary Days (if you haven't seen it you can watch it on Amazon by clicking HERE) and knew it would make the perfect "basis" for my #if_gratitude documented junk journal for the month of November!
Setting aside time each day to focus on the amazing blessings that surround my life has already been a gift to my heart after these short few days. I am so excited to continue this each day this month!
Because when God is at work even hopelessness is a door to fresh starts and new opportunities.
// Alistair Begg //
Among the Alaskan Fireweed on Alaska 4-South: A Beautiful Symbol of Hope in the Hard Seasons of Life // Alaska
September 18, 2018
Happy Tuesday y'all! I hope that your week is starting off well! *smiles* Today I am so excited to share more about our drive down to the Thompson Pass area in Alaska on Alaska 4- South! You may remember from my last post about the Richardson Highway what a beautiful area of Alaska this is! (If you missed the post you can read more HERE!)
Today I am excited to share with y'all one of my absolute favorite stops that we did on the entire trip. I know, I know. *smiles* I have said that about a lot of different areas, but this was definitely one of them! This stop held great encouragement for me in a profound way. And beyond this, we were literally surrounded by the beautiful mountains in a 360 view and hiking among the Alaskan fireweed. It was stunning.
We were about 40 miles away from Valdez when I started realizing that in every single direction I looked as I was driving the views were stunning. This happened many times throughout the trip, but I just had to pull over one more time because it was so gorgeous.
It's honestly hard to pick just "one favorite" drive that we took on this road trip. Each area was so unique in our adventures that the beauty was astounding in different ways. This area was a gift to see though and I definitely recommend stopping and enjoying the views here!
As I pulled off the road for this stop, I noticed that there were a couple of motorcycles and an RV that was parked there, with about five people standing around talking. Their licence plates were from Maryland and as we got out of the car I walked over and said "hello". In the course of the conversation I found out they were not only from Maryland, but were familiar with the area that I had taught at for a couple of years and the school that I had taught at (the same one that my book, December Caravan is partially dedicated to).
It was fun to chat for a few minutes on the opposite side of the country and swap some stories! This was something that I really loved about Alaska... everyone that we met was so incredibly kind- whether they were tourists or natives. For the tourists that I interacted with throughout the trip... it was unlike any other place I have visited. There was a mutual sense of respect for everything that we were seeing in this area of the world and it was almost as if we kept talking about what we were seeing we could hold onto the wonder a bit longer.
As they drove off I just had to smile at sometimes how small the world is and how connected we really all are.
I started to hike and explore this beautiful area that was so simply stunning. One of my favorite parts of this area was walking and skipping among the beautiful fireweed flowers that were simply abundant.
Fireweed is not the official Alaska state flower but in many ways as we drove along I started thinking that it should be. There was such beauty from the pink-purple tones against the vibrant greens and the dark, tall mountains.
But as I researched more about this flower early on in the trip I realized that there was more than just the pretty colors behind this flower. There is a deep strength to the symbolism of these flowers that appear to be fragile.
As it turns out these beautiful flowers thrive in "disturbed areas", for example, where you will see them a lot if you take an Alaskan road trip, along the road where they would appear to be in danger. But beyond that, these flowers actually thrive the most in areas that have sustained trauma- so things like avalanches, forest fires, falling trees, etc.
Throughout the entire Alaska trip I was so struck by this symbolism and the beauty and strength of this flower. And as I returned home and have been working on recapping this trip, there has been something very hard and personal that has taken place behind the scenes in my own life. Sometimes life is just hard... isn't it? This broken world can sometimes be very hard and very messy... and painful... and it can be easy to think that nothing beautiful could come from all of the "hard" that we are experiencing... especially if our hearts feel wounded.
But the thing is... is that this flower has gently reminded me that beauty can come from situations and circumstances that feel like they are disintegrated and ashes. That there is always hope in every situation... even when it feels confusing or hurtful or painful. This flower reminds me that beauty does come from the most disturbed and difficult areas of our lives.
So if you are going through a hard time right now friends... I hope that these pictures of this stunning flower that thrives in the most disturbed situations will encourage you as it has me.
Isn't this baby fireweed adorable? I actually snapped this picture right after my traveling companion had walked by and stepped on it without paying attention to the area. Look how it was completely fine. The symbolism of all of it is really incredible if you think about it.
I found this verse while we were in Alaska and it really spoke to my heart. I hope that it encourages you today too... no matter what you are going through friends... hold on...beauty is coming from your situation. As one of my favorite authors so eloquently said... "of one thing I am perfectly sure: the story never ends in ashes".
The verse I mentioned is from the book of Isaiah in the Bible and it says... "I will give them bouquets instead of ashes, a joyous blessing instead of tears of grief... festive praise instead of despair." Today... I am praying that this verse comes true for you in whatever situation you are facing that appears to be in ashes... may it be replaced by bouquets and blessings instead of grief and despair.
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading this post today!
PS- If you are curious about the specific details of the road trip that we took throughout Alaska or if you are planning a similar road trip (or just want to see and dream about visiting the beauty!) I hope the information below is helpful. You can read all of the posts from the trip by clicking on the links below:
Chugach Mountains: // Eklutna Lake//
Girdwood: // Winner Creek Trail //
Homer (Kenai Peninsula) Area: // Homer Spit // Homer Lighthouse// Bishop's Beach //
// A Brief History of Homer //
// A Brief History of Homer //
Thompson Pass Area: // Thompson Pass Area Video //
// Worthington Glacier Ridge Hike// Worthington Glacier//
// Among the Alaskan Fireweed on Alaska 4-S: A Beautiful Symbol for Hope in the Hard Seasons of Life// A Brief History of and Drive on Alaska 4-South of the Richardson Highway//
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Area: // Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge//
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