tribute to a great man

today was the funeral of a very great man of God. someone who resembled Jesus more than most people i have ever met. i grew up knowing him; he was always somehow involved in my life. he prayed for me many times - and many things were broken off of me in the spiritual realm because of his prayers.
i remember him looking me in the eye about 6 years ago and saying, "Sarah, the Lord wants to give you your joy back". and He did! i believe he spoke a prophetic word that night - a word that brought me to tears with a smile on my face.

he came to my high school graduation party. he prayed for me on every missions trip i've ever gone on. he supported me with his prayers the whole time i spent in Montana. he came to my wedding. he gave me a huge smile and giant hug every time i was lucky enough to run into him.

he will be sorely missed. i grieve mostly for his wife, Virginia; they would have celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary on the 10th of this month. so many years sharing your life with another - how would you learn to live apart from him?

i'm torn between opposing emotions - i'm sad to have lost such a man from earth. i'm sad i'll never be able to see or talk to him again (on this side of heaven).
but i'm happy - happy that he's home. that he's where he's longed to be.
and a bit jealous - i always feel a little that way when someone who loves the Lord goes to be with Him.

a tribute to Del Dale: husband, father to many (3 biological; countless spiritual), friend, mentor.
he will be missed.

it's the little things

yesterday was a great day - a wonderful morning service (as always), meeting Ranae's family, Zio's & Coldstone with Stacie & Betsy & Noah. although the pizza and ice cream served for some bad stomach pain - you would think i would know better by now!
(or maybe i do know better, and it's just not enough to deter me)

it was 5:15pm. i had just showered, and i had yet to do my hair and makeup in time to be at a birthday party by 6. not to mention that we still had to stop and get food for the party - and my stomach was still such a mess!

Matt offered to run to the store while i got ready. good man! :)
he left with a request to get some cheese dip and some sparkling water for me (for my poor tummy)

about ten minutes after he left, i thought how nice it would be to have a honey wheat Einstein bagel (sold only at Target!). i was about ready to call or text Matt to have him pick one up for me, but something stopped me. i felt like i wasn't supposed to. so i prayed a simple prayer: "Lord, if a bagel would help my stomach feel better, would You put it in Matt's mind to buy me one?"
i forgot all about it for about 20 more minutes.
Matt walked in the door, came into the bathroom where i was getting ready, and plopped a honey wheat Einstein bagel on the counter!
i was astonished - but it didn't stop there.
i asked him what possessed him to buy me a bagel - i hadn't even hinted i wanted one.

he said, right as he was walking through the doors of Target, a thought popped into his head.
"i'm going to buy her a bagel!".
the moment that i was saying the prayer, the thought came into his head.

it's the little things that mean so much.
isn't it funny? that He would even care that i wanted a certain bagel.
and He made sure it happened.

check this out

this one's for you, Ranae

i've found a couple of teas that have topped my list of bevarages.

good news is, it's one of the cheapest things you can get at Sbux!
and, if you get a grande, they use two tea bags.
i always ask for one in the cup and one on the side.

two cups of tea for under $2. it's nice when you can work the system.

the first one (pictured above) is Tazo Green Ginger. a little slice of heaven. very different in taste, but oh so good!

the second on is Taza blossomberry white tea. goodness in a cup, if you ask me!

pre-Thanksgiving FEAST!!

Jim & Nancy held quite the shindig at their house yesterday.
2 huge turkeys, mashed potatoes, stuffing, strawberry-spinach salad, cornbread, pumpkin pie, cranberry crumble pie... the list goes on!
they got saved 3 years ago on thanksgiving. they wanted to celebrate by having us all over to thier house for a feast!

we got there at 1pm, cornbread and veggies in hand. it wasn't long before the house was swarming with both kids and adults - i think around 40 in total!
it was a good time to talk to people you may not normally have conversation with. to relax with family. to have a bit of community.

the highlight of the afternoon for many: when the pastor got hit where it hurts by his 5-year-old boy, in front everyone, right after giving the prayer for the meal! it was hilarious - except for the bulging-eyed, red-faced result. very soon afterword, you could hear him singing while dancing around.. "i hit daddy in the weiner!!..".
oh, the joys of having a toddler. :)

the day ended nearly 6 hours later with very full bellies and happy hearts.
good times. :)

heart-sick

it's been a rough sort of week.
first off, i got a flu shot on monday on my lunch. not a big deal, right?
true, unless they shoot you right in the nerve on your shoulder. then, it IS a big deal.
actually, it still hurts. it's kept me from sleeping, and my grades have dropped a bit. it's pretty crazy.

then.. i've been struggling pretty hard with depression again lately. i'm not sure why; it just rears its ugly head every now and then, and i have to do my best to compensate for it. i've gotten pretty good at that in my life; i think depression is a "thorn in my side", as Paul talks about in one of the epistles. thankfully, there's always grace enough when i need it!

then.. the weekend was kind of rough. i won't go into details, but i will say that i am drained and tired and a little heartsick this morning. it's nothing that can't be fixed; it just takes time.

the good part of the weekend was a 6-hour period yesterday.. i'll talk about that in a separate blog. :)