Monday, November 14, 2011

Thanksgiving in a Year of Loss


Hey everyone...this is Sara's sister Laura. Sara always let us know how blessed and thankful she was despite her circumstances. Although I am not the writer that Sara was, I wanted to let each of you know what her family is thankful for this year...

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In 2010 the loss of dad was BIG … He was a man who filled so much space in a person’s heart and soul.

Dad did everything with his whole heart and soul … He was such a big part of so many lives! He...

Worked,
Played,
Laughed,
Prayed, and
Loved …
 BIG … With his whole heart and soul…

So, what were we thankful for despite the loss of Dad?

We were thankful for all the years we got to spend sharing this life with dad. Thankful for his whole being! His laugh, the twinkle in his eye, the whistle on his lips, the dance in his step, his wisdom and teaching.

We miss everything about him, from his big soft hands to his ornery personality. But, we were thankful that he lived big, played big, worked hard and loved even harder.

And now, in 2011 … the loss of Sweet Sara…

A loss that is BIG … A sister, daughter, aunt, friend who filled so much space in a person’s heart and soul.

Sara did everything with her whole heart and soul … she was such a big part of so many lives! She...

Laughed
Played
Prayed, and
Loved…
BIG … with her whole heart and soul…

So, what are we thankful for despite the loss of Sara?

We are thankful for the 38 years we got to spend sharing this life with Sara. Thankful for her whole being! Her laugh, the twinkle in her eye, the song in her voice, her wisdom and teaching of what it meant to be a true disciple of Christ! We are thankful for how she chose to live Joy each and every day!

We miss everything about her from her gentle hands to her ornery personality. But, we are thankful that she lived and loved big.

We love them, miss them, and are thankful that God chose us to be in their lives … what an honor!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. We are also thankful to each of you for loving Sara so BIG!!


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Choose Joy--Crosspoint Video and Feed

On Sunday, a portion of Sara's story was shared. Far from the farm where she was raised, miles from the cheery condo with her words decorating the brightly hued walls,  individuals gathered and heard her words...the ones she shared here on the blog.

Sara was a girl who lived her life all over the place, despite the constraint of being in the condo.

Her presence was felt and acknowledged far beyond her dwelling spot.

At Crosspoint  located in Nashville,Tennessee, Blake Bergstrom addressed Choose Joy during the amazing sermon series entitled Better Days. 


It was...

powerful

honest

thought provoking

tear causing

Blake spoke on the difference between happiness and joy; he talked of making a choice.

He hit the nail on the head

For those of you who were unable to enjoy the live feed, I'm linking to the video and audio portions of his sermon, as well as notes for it here. Note: It's week 3 Choose Joy.

I'm also going to embed Blake's words here for you to take in...

Sara's choice?  Joy. 

Every. Single. Time.



Saturday, November 5, 2011

Crosspoint.tv

Hi Friends,

Shannon here...

Just wanted to let all of you know that the church Sara attended (online) will be doing a message tomorrow evening about choosing joy and will share her story; it should be phenomenal. You can click here to watch live...

I'll be tuning in at 6 pm central time. For those of you who aren't able to view this tomorrow evening, I will post links later this week so you can enjoy the message as well.

One of Cross Point's pastors, Blake Bergstrom, will be speaking.

The sermon series is entitled "Better Days" which makes me start singing the Goo Goo Dolls and the first two messages are currently available on the crosspoint.tv site....

Here's a brief preview...




One huge thanks to sweet Jessica for the heads up on this; I know we all appreciate the community being able to come together and share in Sara's ripple effect.  


I'm so thankful she lived her life loud, aren't you?