Posts Tagged: "Shari Dolleman"

Shari’s Unscripted Commentary

Each Sunday, when I’ve finished my sermon, Shari joins me on stage for a few moments of unscripted commentary. I get the sense that this is what people most enjoy about the “sermon time.” And it’s not included on the videos we post online…

Interesting thing, that.

Maybe the best bits about church can never be accessed via the internet.

The bread and the cup. Water baptism. Child dedication. Hugs. Standing in prayer with our brothers and sisters in Christ – shedding tears together, celebrating together. Serving on a Sunday. Those few moments of unscripted commentary.

Anyway, back to Shari’s unscripted commentary…

In my sermon, I had read from Sally Lloyd-Jones’ “The Jesus Storybook Bible” – the story of the Prodigal Son, which she titles Running Away.

“The son takes the money and goes on a long, long journey to a far off country. And everything’s wonderful and perfect—for a while. He can go wherever he wants, do whatever he wants, be whoever he wants. He is the boss, he is free!

Sometimes he gets a strange, hungry, homesick feeling inside his heart, but then he just eats more, or drinks more, or buys more clothes, or goes to more parties until it goes away.”

Shari said how she… Read More

Her Words

Last week, I asked for my wife’s thoughts on how the Kingdom of God is a celebration. She wrote some things down and gave them to me. These are her words…

We’re all uniquely, beautifully created by God. All His children. Brothers and sisters – part of the same family.

We celebrate the beauty of God in one another – every time we encounter someone – whether it be a… Read More

21 Things I’ve Learned In 21 Years Of Marriage

Today is our 21 year anniversary. Yup. 21 years ago, I was 21 years old (and Shari was 22). We had a Friday night wedding – on a budget (which means we had cake at the reception, but not a meal). We were young, in love, and ready to begin our life together.

wedding picture 1993

Here are 21 things I’ve learned in our 21 years of marriage…

  1. Opposites attract. We did. I’m thankful for our differences (and they also can be frustrating). But we do make each other stronger, better—and we make a great team.
  2. Hotel sex!
  3. Her dad was right… Read More

Maybe Disappointment Is OK After All

- - Life With God, Popular

I wish things in my life had been different.

By different, I guess I mean easier and less disappointing.

I wish my one set of grandparents hadn’t rejected my family when I was in elementary school. I wish my other grandmother, the good one, wouldn’t have died so early from lung cancer. And I wish I wasn’t the one to find my good grandfather, hours after his heart attack, dead on the floor in his house.

I wish my younger brother wouldn’t have left home when he did. I wish we had a better relationship.

I wish my sister’s husband wouldn’t have cheated on her. I wish he would have been a good husband and father. And I wish they could have made it work.

I wish Shari and I could have had more children.

I wish the friends who I thought “really got me” would still be part of my life instead of leaving me.

I wish the ministry leaders I’ve admired for so long would have been proud of me, or at least noticed me.

I wish my mom didn’t have cancer.

There’s more too, but I won’t bore you with the details.

We all have “I wish things in my life had been different” lists. They contain painful memories, disappointments, personal hurt, broken relationships, reversals of fortune, unmet expectations, and loss.

Although I have plenty of things that I wish had been different in my life, I cannot go back and change them…

And they have made me who I am today—scars and all… Read More