Rebecca VanDeMark's Blog, page 244

Travel and the Single Journey

“The Lord watches over you...”-Psalm 121:5-
One of the real aspects of walking the single journey is the reality that there may be times that we travel alone- whether it is by default or by choice. Singles may meet up with friends or family members at some point in the travel but there are times that we will need to travel alone in this world. Whether it is a short or long car trip. a flight across the country. or a flight to the other side of the world, I have found incredible comfort in Psalm 121:5 and in the truth, “the Lord watches over you…” (Psalm 121:5). 
As we travel let us pray that the Lord will be with us and keep us safe. When we drive let us ask Him to help us focus on the road before us and keep our heads clear during long car trips when we could potentially get distracted. We may feel that a road trip is more “fun” or “better” with a physical companion, but this is a unique opportunity and time where we can spend it in prayer with the Lord. As the miles roll beneath the wheels of our cars, let us pray that during this season of road trips alone we would make sweet memories of growing closer to the Lord. 
In the years before I got sick I lived a wide range of hours away from my family due to schooling, jobs, and where the Lord had called me. At one point I lived almost 12 hours away and it was a long car trip home by myself. I asked the Lord to help me with these long trips and to use this time to grow closer to Him. I wanted to use the time that I had and be purposeful with it. I bought several different christian books on tape, purchased the Bible on tape (I really enjoyed THIS ESV version of the entire Bible and would also listen to the Message sometimes too which you can find HERE), and purchased new worship music for each of my trips. As I would rotate the things I would do (each hour I did something different alternating between listening to a devotional book, the Bible, worship, and prayer) the time literally flew. As I look back on my long car trips over a 7 year period of time I now see them as some of the sweetest times with Jesus that are truly precious to me. 

There are lots of times where today scripture that I was hearing and memorizing has been an incredible encouragement in my current journey with Advanced Late Stage Lyme Disease. Those long car trips that I took alone were a beautiful foundation for this difficult season in life. 
 “The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.” -Psalm 121: 5-6-
When you travel in any form of transportation Psalm 121:5-6 has brought comfort and encouragement to me. Commit these verses to heart- know that the Lord watches over you and cling to the promise that nothing will harm you. Our mighty Lord "watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). If we have to fly let us pray that God will watch over the plane and keep us safe. “The Lord will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life.” (Psalm 121:7) No matter how we travel let us remember that God would surround His angels around us and keep us safe. “For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go.” (Psalm 91:11). 
Let us remember that we never truly travel alone. The Lord is always with us. He is our sun and our shield. 
“The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” -Psalm 121:8- 

New Buntings in the Shop

Happy Saturday friends! I hope that you had a wonderful week! Today I am so excited to share just a few pictures of a bunch of new buntings that are now available in the shop!
There are lots of new designs that include new Scripture Bunting, Children's Buntings, and Inspirational Buntings.  There are lots of other new buntings and options that you can find in the shop HERE!  Happy Saturday friends! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

How to Have a Successful Doctor's Appointment

In the course of my life I have seen more doctors and know more "medical lingo" than most people twice my age. Overtime I have learned what to expect at certain doctors offices; including which nurses will laugh and joke around and which ones will remain extremely serious, how many pounds my clothes add to the scale and which scales I will weigh more or less on, and I am always prepared with my little notebook and a fun magazine (or two!) when I go to the doctor because as we all know a "10am appointment" usually means "hello at 11am". *smiles*
So in this age of short doctor appointments (the average appointment is 18 min) how do you have a successful appointment? Here are some things I have learned!
Before the Appointment:(1) Don't forget to bring all of your paperwork with you (or an organized health notebook) and write down any questions or concerns that you want to talk over with your doctor so that you are prepared. 
First Impressions:(1) Always try to schedule one of the earliest appointments that is available. Less waiting time happens in the morning. Also doctors are at their "freshest" because they haven't seen 10-20 patients yet.

(2) Be on time. I know. It is frustrating when the doctors are not ready but still be on time. I have found that this makes the office staff much happier.
(3) Speaking of doctors offices: a key to every doctors office is the office nurses and the administrators. Get to know them. Get to know their names. Bring small gifts (it doesn't have to be big but just a little something). Write a thank you note. Express thanks to them. So often they are doing so many things and yet get overlooked.
The Appointment:(1)Make sure to inform the nurse (or the doctor) of any changes in medication (or vitamins or herbs) - this is also the case for any tests, labs, or procedures that you have had done at other doctor's offices. Make sure that your doctor is up-to-date. If possible bring a copy of the results for the tests or labs that you have done so that they have everything. 
(2) {This was actually in a doctors office that I just was in. I am not sure who said it, but I copied it off the wall!} When describing your symptoms, begin with the general picture and end with the specifics. Example: My stomach hurts. I feel nauseous in the morning.
(3) Don't be embarrassed. Tell your doctor details. Be honest.
(4) Listen to suggestions that your doctor has. If you have questions about a treatment option or make sure to discuss this with them but do have an open mind.
(5) If you are having tests done make sure to ask when the results will be back and follow up with the test results. 
After the Appointment:(1) Follow through on any calls that you said you would make.
(2) Follow the suggestions that the doctor mentioned. If you have any issues call the office to speak with the nurse.
(3) Don't forget to write and send thank you notes!
 What are ways that you have found to have a successful doctors appointment? 

Update on "From Hope Valley" Devotional

Hi y'all! I want to first say "thank you" for your incredible kindness and excitement of the book, "From Hope Valley" that was set to release next month. Each of your kind words, messages, and love about this project has been something that I truly treasure. Y'all are always so incredibly kind to this beginning author. At this point I have decided not to publish the devotional. I wish that I could share in detail the reasons behind the change, but I trust that you know that this decision was not made lightly or without much thought, prayers, and tears. As I take time to recover from the disappointment and loss of this project, I appreciate your support and as always your prayers.
"If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; If your kicked in the gut, He'll help you catch your breath."
-Psalm 34:18(The Message)-

New Scripture Buntings in the Etsy Shop

Two years ago in November one of my favorite additions to the shop was to announce that I was offering One of the reasons that I started offering this in my shop was I wanted a practical way to offer the opportunity to live out Deuteronomy 11:20 which states, "Write them (scripture) on the door frames of your houses and on your gates..". (As a side note Deuteronomy 6:9 also has similar wording and Deuteronomy 6 goes into more detail of writing scripture on our hearts and in our homes.)  In my life I have made it a point to display scripture all around me - including in my home, my bedroom and bathroom, in my car, and when I was teaching I had scripture up around the room.  I continue this now (even though I live at home with my parents) and mediate on scripture everyday. This is truly a simple way to "write scripture on our hearts".  These verses are never "dry" but always speak to my heart and offer hope or answers to issues that I am struggling with or where I find rest and encouragement in. My hope in the scripture bunting comes from these scriptures and the way that I have seen the Lord transform my life again and again with scripture. 
Over the last several years these items have been some of the most popular in the shop and this year one of my goals is to offer hundreds more of different kinds and styles this year. I have been working on memorizing new scripture for this year and am sharing lots of my favorite verses on these new buntings. I love these items and love that they can be a beautiful encouragement to each of you who purchase one. This morning several new mini-scripture buntings went into the shop including this adorable one from Psalm 13:6: Anyone who knows me knows that I love singing and this verse consistently reminds me of the beautiful truth of singing because the Lord is so good to me. This scripture bunting can be found HERE. Psalm 145:20 has become an increasingly dear scripture verse to me over the last several months. This precious promise that the Lord watches over us has brought me great comfort and is a verse this past week with all of my scary health issues that I repeated hundreds of times, singing to myself as I was in an array of tests. This scripture bunting can be found HERE. There are lots of other new buntings and options that you can find in the shop HERE! Dear friends, lets write scripture on our hearts and deep in our souls so that we can know the truth of God's word deeply and unequivocally. Truly He is good!
Happy Saturday friends! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

From Hope Valley New Release Date- February 10th

"From Hope Valley" devotional will now be released on February 10th! I can't wait to share more updates with y'all and also exciting news about the book in the coming weeks! If you would like more updates please come over and say hello at "From Hope Valley" IG feed! You can find it HERE! I would love to connect with you there!

Amazon Audible

Today I am so excited to share with y'all a special promotion that is ending soon through Amazon that those of you who are booklovers like myself will want to try! Audible is a publisher and distributor of the world's largest selection of audiobooks and spoken word content. If you are an audible customer than you can listen anytime and anywhere to these professionally-narrated audiobooks. There are tons of genres (including best sellers, new releases, sci fi, classics, romances, and more) that are available!
Right now - for a limited time- there is the opportunity for a free 30-day trial with audible. In the 30-day free trial you will receive:
 *TWO free audiobooks*30% off the price of additional audiobook purchases *Cancel anytime and keep the books! 
If you decide that you love this program (which I am sure you will!) then you can sign up for the gold membership ($14.95/each month) which entitles you to the benefits of:
*One audiobook per month*30% off the price of additional audiobook purchases*Cancel Anytime- and still keep the books even if you cancel!
So don't hesitate- try this amazing program for FREE today and receive TWO audiobooks! You can sign up by clicking HERE!

Hearties Family Reunion

Several weeks ago, at the beginning of December my mom and I had the amazing opportunity to be apart of the Hearties Family Reunion (a fan event for the TV show When Calls the Heart) in Vancouver, BC. It was a brilliant and wonderful weekend and as I shared on instagram, I marveled at the beauty and the creativity of all of those involved in the show and left inspired in many was that are hard to put into words. The entire weekend was absolutely delightful in meeting so many lovely people, including the cast of When Calls the Hart (#WCTH), producers of the show, Brian Bird, Janette Oke, and so many other sweet #hearties. The trip impacted, inspired, and changed me... in gentle and beautiful ways. On Friday evening (December 2nd) we gathered for the welcome party. I said this to several people but I truly wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't sure if we were all going to stand around and chat or what the process would be but I was so impressed with the way that the organizers had set up the time. It was truly wonderful. After registering and receiving some awesome swag bags and goodies we all met in the large conference room where we proceeded to have a wonderful evening. We heard more details about how the weekend would look, heard precious testimonies of how the show had impacted people personally, and even got to have a sneak peek of the Christmas episode movie.  One of the most fun parts of the reunion was connecting with new friends from around the world! I loved meeting these precious new friends (including some whom I have connected with in the Facebook group) and was delighted to connect with others who had a love for life. We had a blast hanging out and sitting with each other throughout the conference and enjoyed getting to know these ladies more at dinner one of the evenings.  Another special part of the weekend was having the opportunity to meet and talk with Brian Bird, one of the executive producers of the show. I have long admired his work and his efforts to bring family-friendly plots and story lines to television and it was an honor to chat with him and get to know him a little bit throughout the weekend. He was incredibly gracious and truly spent an unbelievable amount of time with all of the attendees to the weekend. I was blown away by his compassion, his work ethic, and his ability to make each attendee feel so special. He is truly changing the course of television. He has had a profound impact on my life and it was such an incredible honor to meet him. Another person that it was an incredible honor to meet was author Janette Oke.  As a beginning author and a woman who wants to encourage others through her writing it was such an incredible honor to have the opportunity to chat with Janette. She was so incredibly gracious and had words of encouragement for me as a writer which I truly have treasured. On a very personal note it was also incredibly amazing to meet Janette as my new book that releases in February (From Hope Valley) was inspired by the TV Show When Calls the Heart which in turn was inspired by Janette Oke's books! I have always found Janette's books to provide a sweet and yet profound message of truth in them and to meet her was such an amazing thing that I will definitely treasure forever. As an author you always have your favorite authors that you admire and look up to and Janette Oke is definitely one of those for me! And of course for me the most special part of the entire experience was sharing it with my mom. We had such an amazing time with memories that will last for a life-time. It was such a wonderful opportunity and a dream come true. 
A huge thank you to everyone that made this trip possible and to everyone who was apart of this! I can't wait to share with y'all in the next couple of weeks more of the Hearties Family Reunion (#HFR2) including the opportunity to meet the cast and crew and the visit to Hope Valley (the set of When Calls the Heart)! 
Happy Tuesday friends! I hope you are having a wonderful week!

rachat

Happy New Years friends!! This is the fourth year that I have ever joined in on the "pick a word for the year train". Every year as I start to pray about the upcoming year and ask the Lord for a word and for some scripture verses for the year I am always amazed at how the Lord leads. As the year unfolds I am continuously amazed at how uniquely this word will come into play in encouraging me, reminding me of God's unique grace and love, and the way that I see His plan unfold in unique ways. 

In the three previous years that I have done this I chose the following words:

Anew (2016)
Mettle (2015)
Valor (2014)

Over the past few months as I have prayed about 2017, the Lord kept bringing to mind the themes of redemption and restoration. These are two words that I have always prayed for my life over this health journey, but in the last few months I truly felt the Lord impressing upon my hear these two themes for this year. So as I continued to pray I felt the Lord bring these two words together into one perfect word:
Rachat is a french word that means: 
(1) redemption
(2) restoration Granted, it is not a word that is "common" or used everyday but the definitions sum up exactly what I pray for for this coming year. You may be wondering why I chose the french word for this year and I can't wait to share more with you on Wednesday about my goals for this upcoming year and will explain the unique reason I have chosen the french word. 

This word is perfect for many areas of my life, but as this battle for my health continues to be very difficult and demanding and I want to meet this challenge with the hope of what is coming and the full belief that the Lord is bring full redemption and restoration. I want to persevere and yet live fully in this season. As I lean on the Lord's strength to conquer the "unknowns" of what lies ahead with my health, healing, relationships, my professional life, my shop, my writing, and some personal circumstances I can rest fully in the knowledge that His strength is going to give me the joy to face these demanding and difficult situations and bring about a victory that I could never imagine. Finally, I want to be a good soldier for the Lord in this difficult situation and have the quality of temperament to face the pain of illness, the strength to believe in the impossible, and the lovely peace that comes from trusting a Sovereign God fully without fear.

There are some verses in scripture the the Lord kept bringing me back to as I prayed through this upcoming year and two have really become "my verses" for this 2017 year:

"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-
A lot of time as a young sick gal I find myself facing the truth that I struggle with this season being one of "crumbling". To be honest, it is not a lot of fun. *smiles* The other day I was moaning and complaining to the Lord and saying, "hasn't there been enough pain?" "hasn't there been enough sickness?" "haven't I endured enough on this journey?" 

And the Lord quietly replied, "My child, I love you. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame scorch you." (Isaiah 43:1) 

I am humbled by the Lord's love that so graciously puts up with my complaining. How great His love is for His children. BUT... I admit that I have been dealing with some deep grief behind the scenes. Recently I have felt such a tug-of-war about wishing this story was different. I have cried many tears about the deep aching dreams that I see others receiving and living while I struggle to get out of bed some days. My "successes" of the day often revolve around things that would seem small to the rest of the world. I haven't talked about it much on this blog but it has been a death ... a relinquishing of many many dreams on this long journey. There have been many tears that have been spent on this tender subject. Many tears wondering if my greatest dreams of being married and being a mama will come true. Even writing those words and reading them is difficult as I surrender to the Lord. 

But in the midst of this the Lord has promised redemption and restoration. I don't claim to know exactly what that will look like in my life or the way that it will manifest itself. I know that it will look unique and the way that the Lord will write the story and I trust His best ways. 

The Lord is staring to beautiful restore and redeem. He is bringing rachat into my life in unique and tender and gracious ways. 
So that is my "word" for the year friends! Did y'all pick a "word" for this year? I would love to hear about it and what the significance is to you!!
"Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, at the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, when he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." -CS Lewis-

"Emma" Altered Journal

Happy Saturday sweet friends! 
I hope that you are having a lovely weekend! This past week on Monday my Etsy shop re-opened and I am so excited to share with y'all today a beautiful journal that is now available!
 As I have mentioned before here on the blog, some of my favorite items to create in the shop are altered journals (You can find this entire section in the shop HERE) and this gorgeous "Emma" journal was no exception! 
This "Emma" Journal is the perfect journal for Jane Austen lovers. This journal has a "hardcover" (very thick cardstock material) that has a gorgeous pattern that matches the embellishments that have been used to alter the journal.
There are approximately 100-lined pages inside this 6 & 1/2 by 8 journal filled with adorable embellishments including unique and one-of-a-kind ribbon, vintage ribbon, and beautiful coordinating scrapbook paper. 
It is the perfect journal for those that love all things Jane Austen with its touch of whimsy and vintage-themed look yet perfect for the modern girl thanks to the Kate Spade influence. If you are interested in this journal you can find it by clicking HERE! 
And don't forget to check out the rest of the shop as there have been lots of new goodies that have been added and will continue to be added in the next couple of weeks!!

Happy Saturday friends! I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend!