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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!
There is strength within the sorrow,
there is beauty in our tears,
and You meet us in our mourning,
with a love that casts out fear…
Your plans are still to prosper, You have not forgotten us…
You’re faithful forever, Perfect in Love,
You are Sovereign Over us.
-Michael W. Smith, Sovereign Over Us-
I am so touched and humbled to be sharing more of my heart over at Mundane Faithfulness on the topic of exhaustion in this journey of life. You can find the guest post HERE and I would love to know your thoughts on it.
Happy Friday again friends! I hope that you are having a wonderful day!
Happy Friday again friends! I hope that you are having a wonderful day!
I have loved the eyelet and one shoulder look this Spring season so to see this adorable Eyelet One Shoulder Dress from Loft made me smile. I love the look of it and the fact that it would be perfect as a Spring/Summer Dress throughout the rest of this season. It comes in sizes 00 through 18 and is also available in petite sizes. It currently retails for $98 but is on sale right now for 30% off!! You can find it by clicking HERE! And guess what? Tall ladies REJOICE! It is also available in tall sizes 2 through 16 you can find it by clicking HERE!
Loft has so many cute and adorable dresses right now it was really hard to pick just one for this post! Head on over to the Loft website to see all of the cute availability and don't forget you can receive $25 Off Your Entire Order with Email Signup!
2. ASOS Bow Back Scuba Midi Pencil Dress - Pink
Y'all know that I love ASOS products for a myraid of reasons. I find that they are one of the best resources for tall girls like myself to find clothes that are adorable and fit well and are true to size. When I saw this dress with the bow in the back I immediately swooned as I loved the simple front and the statement in the back. This pastel pink dress comes in sizes 0-16 in regular and tall sizes and retails for $73. Seriously, y'all- how cute is this?? If you want to check out other cute and affordable dresses from ASOS
you can click HERE and to go directly to this dress you can click HERE!
Loft has so many cute and adorable dresses right now it was really hard to pick just one for this post! Head on over to the Loft website to see all of the cute availability and don't forget you can receive $25 Off Your Entire Order with Email Signup!
2. ASOS Bow Back Scuba Midi Pencil Dress - Pink
Y'all know that I love ASOS products for a myraid of reasons. I find that they are one of the best resources for tall girls like myself to find clothes that are adorable and fit well and are true to size. When I saw this dress with the bow in the back I immediately swooned as I loved the simple front and the statement in the back. This pastel pink dress comes in sizes 0-16 in regular and tall sizes and retails for $73. Seriously, y'all- how cute is this?? If you want to check out other cute and affordable dresses from ASOS
I have long been a fan of Modcloth and when I saw this dress I immediately fell in love. I love the different texture look, the classic style, and the fact that it is such a flattering dress for all sizes. This dress comes in sizes xs through 4x and is available for $150. This is definitely one of the more expensive dresses in this list, but one that I can see being worn again and again for lots of different occasions beyond Easter. AND... exciting announcement for a sale: All Dresses BOGO 50% off + Free Express Shipping Starts 4/10 at Midnight EST Ends 4/12 11:59PM EST by clicking HERE!
I have seen so many dresses that have this look this season but they are so expensive! I was thrilled to see this SheIn dress for $50. It comes in sizes small through large. You can find it in the lace dress section at SheIn by clicking HERE.
This beautiful Yoana Baraschi Pepin Sheath dress from Rent the Runway looks absolutely gorgeous and would be the perfect dress to continue to wear throughout the Spring and Summer for date nights or to attend weddings. It reminds me a bit of the dress that Princess Kate wore in India last year and I love the details on this dress. Rent the Runway has the dress available in sizes 0-12. Looking for a larger size? Rent the Runway has tons of adorable and cute plus size dresses available. You can find the plus size section by clicking HERE.
One of the things that I love about Rent the Runway is that they have tons of cute and affordable designer dresses for under $50. You can find out more by clicking HERE. And through April 17th Rent the Runway has a special sale going on where you can rent one dress and get TWO free! Simply click HERE for the deal! And if it is your first time to use Rent the Runway you will receive $25 off any purchase of $75 or more! Lots of great sales!!
There are so many cute and adorable dresses right now that it was hard to pick just 5! I can't wait to share more dresses for this sweet Spring and Summer season in the coming weeks!
And finally- y'all coming in May I am SO excited to announce a special project that I have been working on for the last several months relates to my love of fashion! Stay tuned for this exciting announcement May!! I hope y'all have a wonderful Friday and a wonderful weekend! We are supposed to get some warmer weather this weekend and I am SO excited!
When Lyme Invades: Encouragement and Practical Tips for Loving Your Friend Through Lyme Disease (Releasing May 1st, 2019)
April 6, 2017
This week brought joyous and humbling news. I am so humbled to announce that my upcoming book, When Lyme Invades- Encouragement and Practical Tips for Loving Your Friend Through Lyme Disease, will be released on May 1st, 2019. This book has been in the works for over three years and was not expected to release for a couple of more, so to see it come to fruition this year brings tears of gratitude to my eyes.
A bit more about the book from the back cover:
Lyme Disease is one of the single greatest health crises affecting our world and resources for friends and loved ones of Lyme Disease patients are lacking. Have you or a friend ever struggled to find the right words or actions to help a friend who has just been diagnosed with Lyme Disease? Have you been walking the journey of Lyme for more years than you can count on your hand? Do you ever wonder which acts of kindness will convey empathy to a friend who has been fighting for more than 5 years? Are you ever confused by the ups and downs of the disease and aren't sure how to respond?
"When Lyme Invades" provides an in-depth look at what it feels like to have Lyme Disease and how to practically come alongside and love your friend through this disease. Understanding that support is a critical need of patients, this book will bring awareness, encouragement, and practical tips to help address the unique physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of individuals and families fighting Lyme Disease regardless of the type of treatment patients choose. Additionally, this book will enable readers to learn from patients, Lyme specialists, doctors, and caregivers so that the reader will have a well-rounded perspective. The reader will also learn practical steps to love their friend through their journey of Lyme Disease.
Throughout my personal journey with Lyme Disease I have seen and experienced the beautiful love of faithful friends who have uniquely stood by me in this journey. Those that have done so are to numerous to even count, but behind the scenes I have also experienced the deep and wounding heartache that many Lyme patients face- which is the heart-brokenness that comes when friends walk away. My personal belief is that the reason the latter happens is that people are not sure how to continue to walk along side a patient with a long-term illness like Lyme. My hope with this book is that it will encourage those who want to be a part of a friends journey, but are not sure how to practically walk along side.
In the upcoming months I will be sharing some exciting updates, but in the mean-time thank you so much for sharing in the joy of this exciting news!
Last month I wrote a Thursday Health Thoughts Post on the 13 Amazing Benefits of Dandelions. (You can find the post by clicking HERE if you would like to read more about the health benefits of this important and simple food!) One question that I have been emailed about in this past month is for suggestions on how to practically get dandelions into your life. So today I thought I would share 9 easy and quick ways to include dandelions into your life! Start incorporating one or a few of them today and see the amazing benefits that you experience!
1. Dandelion Salads
As y'all know I eat close to 4-8 cups of raw greens every single day. This is a HUGE part of my healing therapy and to incorporate dandelions I simply include dandelions into at least one of those salads each day. I typically end up eating about a cup of dandelions a day.
If you are looking for specific dandelion salads (I have tried and modified a couple of these) I definitely suggest looking at all recipes. You can find a list of dandelion salad recipes HERE.
To help increase the amount of dandelion that I get into my body each day I started using liquid dandelion. This has been a HUGE help to me for a couple of reasons. First, it allows me to easily up the amount of dandelion that I get into my system in a concentrated way. Second, since we live in an area that fresh dandelion is not always available, having this resource on hand to use everyday is a huge blessing.
If you look around and research you will find that there are lots of different options for liquid dandelion. I chose Nature's Answer on Amazon because of the price (It is less than $7!) and due to the research that I had done. If you would like to purchase the one that I use you can find it HERE.
3. Juice your Dandelions
A third way to get dandelions into your diet is to juice them.
4. Add Dandelions to Your Smoothies
Don't have a juicer or don't juice? Consider throwing in dandelions into your smoothie for a great green booster!
5. Dandelion in Soups/Dandelion Soup
Another simple way to add dandelion into your diet is to include it into your soups. Simply cut up the leaves or the root and add it in for extra health benefits. If you are looking for a dandelion soup recipe I found this one HERE.
6. Dandelion Pesto
If y'all know me at all you know that I am a HUGE pesto fan so when I found THESE recipes I was so excited. It is definitely on my list of recipes to try soon! Anyone tried this yet?
7. Dandelion on Skin
One of the things that I shared in my post 13 Amazing Benefits of Dandelions is that dandelions are know to help certain skin infections. To use it in this way simply break open the stem and apply the white sticky juice/milk onto the skin infection. This can be applied daily or numerous times a day (under the supervision of a medical professional).
Another great way to get dandelion into your system is to drink the tea. I definitely will always recommend organic and I love THIS option by traditional medicinals. I will warn you that the taste is a bit strong and earthy, but over time you will get used to it. I purchase a 6-pack from Amazon (you can but it HERE) for cost-savings but you can also find this tea in your local health store, and even some grocery stores.
If you want to make your own tea simply rinse the greens and roots very well, dry them out (you can do this using a dehydrator or use an oven to heat at a very low temperature), cut them up as finely as possible (or use a food processor), pour hot water over them, let them steep for 5 minutes and then drain the water into a tea cup.
9. Dandelion Root Coffee
Has anyone tried this? In researching for this blog post I came across THIS recipe and am curious about it for those coffee-lovers in my life. Any thoughts?
And a fun note... did you know that White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia actually has a "Dandelion Festival" each year? True story! You can find out more about it HERE if you live close by!
Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her health care provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.}
Hello sweet friends! I shared yesterday with my IG community that each month I am working on memorizing specific portions of Scripture this year. Each passage talks about the Lord creating "rachat" (my word for the year that means "redemption" and "restoration"). For April I am memorizing portions of Psalm 20 (which you can read more about HERE!). These scripture passages, mostly chosen at the beginning of the year, hold even more significance to me now as I think about the coming year and recovering from surgery.
I know that so many of you have kindly requested an update and I so appreciate all of your prayers for surgery. If we are connected on IG or Facebook than you have seen the MARVELOUS MIRACLE that we are rejoicing that there was NO Cancer that was found. Even as I write those words, I still have tears of gratitude to the Lord. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I am confident that it was the prayers of so many faithful people praying that were answered.
I know that so many of you have kindly requested an update and I so appreciate all of your prayers for surgery. If we are connected on IG or Facebook than you have seen the MARVELOUS MIRACLE that we are rejoicing that there was NO Cancer that was found. Even as I write those words, I still have tears of gratitude to the Lord. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I am confident that it was the prayers of so many faithful people praying that were answered.
Surgery was though more complex and complicated than we would have hoped and due to this the recovery is SLOW going and will take longer than anticipated. Everyday I am seeing improvements, but I won't lie... these last 13 days have been some of THE most difficult of my life and in this health journey. As some of you are aware some medicine and drugs after surgery caused some complications and I would covet prayers for pain, sickness, and general healing and I would also covet prayers as there are several medical issues that need to be worked out. I would also pray for wisdom as we will be adding a couple of specialists into my team care for some things that we need to address. This last prayer is specific and unique as it takes a special type of doctor who is willing to be a part of such a large medical team and willing to work with the confines and issues that Lyme Disease causes.
I trust though despite these "seeming hurtles" that we have found and what we are dealing with is part of the Lord's beautiful and unique way of answering my desperate prayers for healing. Nothing is by chance when we are serving and following and trusting the Lord and even this may look to be a hurdle, but I know that the Lord is working everything out perfectly. In that is where I trust and rest when my heart starts to become overwhelmed.
I want to say a special word of thanks to each of you that have checked in on me, loved on me, have sent cards and text messages, sent gifts, provided financial provisions, words of encouragement, and phone calls these last several weeks. So many of you have listened and cried with me, laughed and rejoiced, and have gently and specifically reminded me that the Lord is near. I so appreciate those of you that have moved into this time with love and compassion, not giving space, but gently reminding me that I am not alone in this journey, speaking truth and courage to fears and joyfully praying for the future. Each of you are a gift.
Everyday in this journey with my health has felt like a miracle in so many ways, but today I sit and marvel a little more and with overwhelming gratitude. God has been so good, just like He has been every single day of this journey.
"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
-Psalm 126:2-
As surgery approaches tomorrow, I am finding such comfort in the midst of the anxiety, unknown, and fear in this verse from Isaiah 35:4. I know that I am not the only one who is approaching unknowns, surgeries, scary diagnosis', and a whole host of other things in this week ahead. I wanted to share with y'all my prayer for surgery tomorrow... I hope it will be an encouragement to those of you walking a similar path...
"God, my God, you know my fearful and terrified heart and state. I am gripped by anxiety over the surgery I have to undergo. I m very much frightened of the entire procedure and the outcome of what I will awake to hear. Lord, your word says that you will strengthen me on my bed of illness and you will sustain me on my sickbed. Yes Lord! I trust your word and turn to you for help. Human wisdom and skill are nothing before you. So please fill the doctors who attend to me with your divine wisdom Lord so that they can perform this surgery in a perfect manner. Take all of those who assist them and everyone associated with the surgery in your hands and keep them as your instruments in bringing healing to me. The prayer of my heart and so many others has been for healing and while this news and possible new scary diagnosis has caught us up short and rocked our worlds, YOU Lord are not surprised by anything. Nothing is of a surprise to you. Use this Lord to bring about healing. Use this Lord for your glory even though right now things seem dark and scary. May this situation reflect your love and goodness and showcase your love and power. Shine your light into the darkness Lord. I cling to your promises that you are always with me, wherever I go! You are already there Lord. As I am wheeled into the room, feeling alone and scared- your presence will be there to meet and to guide. You never forget the cry of the humble and needy. Lord, hold my hand tightly and grant me your peace as I move forward so that I can undergo this surgery courageously. I know you will do all of this because you are the one who perfects everything for my life. I totally and completely rest on you and thank you for always being with me and carrying me and rescuing me Lord. You are the God of miracles and we are trusting you for big miracles today."
Thank you for all of your continued prayers for surgery tomorrow. I will be checking in at the hospital around 10:30am and surgery is scheduled for noon. Thank you again dear friends for your love, prayers, and support.
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