Today is Shari Dolleman’s birthday.
While it’s not a national holiday (yet), I thought it’d be fun to celebrate her special day by sharing with you five reasons our family loves Pastor Shari.
5. She treats our kids as her own.
All of our children adore her. They love to run to her and talk with her (okay, okay, mostly Hailey).
It could be because she gives them fruit snacks or it could be because she gets down on their level and takes an honest interest in what they’re interested in.
Loving and caring for my kids automatically makes you a wonderful person in my book.
4. Encouragement
Does a more encouraging person exist?
Seriously.
She is free with compliments and they seem genuine because they are.
Shari has a unique ability to build people through her words.
3. She is Generous
Her generosity goes far beyond finances.
Shari is generous with her time.
She is generous with her praise.
She is a great listener.
Her generosity has inspired my wife and I to grow in our generosity towards others.
2. She is Humble
This one may border on a fault at times.
She thinks of others so often that it seems she forgets about herself.
She loves to build others up while downplaying herself.
Self-promotion is a native language to many.
Humility is a lost art.
I suppose that makes Shari a modern day Monet.
1. She is Kind
Kindness is probably her best virtue.
To her core Shari is kind.
There is very little bitterness and malice in her.
Her kindness comes with no strings attached.
She isn’t trying to manipulate, she’s trying to show you she cares about you.
Happy birthday Pastor Shari!
We love you.
Our lives are better because we know and can call you our pastor and friend.
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This is not an exhaustive list.
Why do you love Shari?
Post a comment below or share with her directly on Facebook.
Her soup-making skills are impressive too.
Yes ~ to all of the above (except I don’t have kids for her to love – but I’m positive she would if I did).
She has an innate ability to ALWAYS make me feel special and treasured with words, gifts, smiles and hugs. She is simply the best and I feel so blessed just to know her.
My sweet, sweet Shari,
While I love you for almost all of the reasons stated above, I also love you and wish you an awesome birthday because you are the worlds BEST listener. You let me rant and rail around your office, door closed, tissue ready, while I left slobber and snot all over the place, burdened you with my ugly past ( and now present ) and all the while you kept the kleenex at the ready and kept your shoulder up for me to lean on, made sympathetic sounds every once in a while and LOVED me into the beginning of healing. You never once made me feel dirty or second rate… You are the epitome of God’s Love and Grace on this planet. I love you so very very much! <3
Shari,
I remember when I first visited our church over six years ago. You always made an attempt to remember me and my children’s names. My husband, David, well that’s super easy! There are many, many David’s. But Armica, Romica (tongue twister already), Arjhonna, AND Romari… woo lady, you impressed me. You genuinely cared about getting to know us. That made us feel so welcome.
We enjoy seeing you every Sunday. We enjoy seeing you poor your heart out on stage without hesitation and without shame because you feel. An emotion that a lot of people cannot express. I cry with you and know that we can leave our tears in that place and be ready to give a smile to someone else as we’re leaving. I have a lot of work to do, but boy do I have a great example in you. I truly adore you, Shari. Thank you for welcoming us into your life. Happy birthday, again!