Deanna Doss Shrodes

Today is Thanksgiving AND it's also my husband's birthday!  How fitting. I'm extremely thankful for him. In particular, here are seven things I'm grateful for: 1) He's funny. His sense of humor is the first thing that attracted me to him. 2) He's a great father. He spends a lot of time with each of our kids, and always has. 3) He comforts me. If he knows there's something wrong, he doesn't rest easy until I talk to him about it and he is good at talking me through things. 4) He prioritizes family things . Doing things as a family is his favorite thing to do. 5) He cooks. So do I, but I get tired. And I love knowing that at least half the time, somebody else is doing the cooking and it actually tastes amazing. He's always making new dishes and serving up older favorites. Some of my favorite things that he makes are ~ pierogies, spaghetti, crepes, and a dish he created called, "breakfast potato salad." 6) He loves to tr

1) He doesn't give up. He sticks with things, working hard on them,  long after most people quit.  He stays the course even when he's down emotionally or physically. When things aren't going the way he wants them to, he just keeps moving forward.  2) He  likes me to be beside him. Always wants me in his world. Hates when I'm not, for some reason.  3) He's the most committed "family man" I know. I've never worried that he's going to do something "crazy" in the sense of a mid-life crisis that would include coming home with a sports car or leaving our family to "find himself."  He's really the most stable person I know.  4) He's the most sentimental person I know. One day he told me, "If I had to pick a theme for my life it would be making memories with my family." I don't really know that I recall ever hearing a man say that. 5) He has sweet habits that are long lasting. Like when I say to him,

This happens to me all the time! In addition to going through it myself, I have a front row seat when unexpected things go wrong in other people's lives, being that I'm a pastor. When senseless things happen, I witness people's frustration up close and personal and I grieve with them. Many times people want to know, "Why?"  I saw this coffee cup recently in my travels to thrift stores. (Second hand stores are my favorite places to shop.) I have more than enough coffee cups at home and the office but I knew I had to have this one for my collection. It's my new favorite! There are problems that will never be understood in the natural. When ungodly actions are involved, it's doubtful it will ever be explained. This is because sin never makes sense. And there we go, always trying to figure it out!  Although I don't know have an explanation for why things happen the way they do, I do know God. And in those times, it's all that matter