Deanna Doss Shrodes

“When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt Sorry for not posting something more substantial. I've had something going on. Again, nothing bad so don't put me on any prayer chains or anything like that or start sending me sympathy cards. I'll be back with my blog-umentaries very soon. In the meantime go over to Pastor Trinity's blog if you haven't already and give him and encouraging word as he's going through his cancer treatments. Tell him I sent you -- that way he knows you aren't some freak stalking him on the web! :)

Sorry to all peeps who get irritated when I don't post in the mornings. :) I know I affected your day so please accept my apologies. lol Mondays are always slammed and today I was trying hard to knock out projects while being extremely tired because after leadership meeting Sunday night we talked late into the night with some who stayed. Always worth it though! What precious people...what a great team. We had a fantastic day at church yesterday, by the way! After work I went home, biked 3 and 1/2 miles and then got ready to go meet the Garlands at Sonny's for Tom's Dad's "remembrance'" dinner. Today was his Dad's birthday and since his Dad has passed away he always eats at Sonny's on today's date since it was his Dad's favorite place to eat. It's a hard day for Tom and he wanted us to join him, so we did. Not that we don't like joining them ANYTIME! Tonight we had a good time talking and laughing lots and thinking of happy things. I

I had a great day yesterday for the most part. The first few hours really made my day and anything that could have happened after that was just icing on the cake. I am so blessed!!! My life coaching class was yesterday and this is without a doubt one of my all time favorite things not just of the month, but out of everything in the whole wide world! We had a great morning and I am feeling like some members of the group are really moving forward. I am so proud of each of them! That was the best part of my day. After life coaching I went to vacuum the sanctuary stage now that Kidzturn has packed up and moved to their next destination. Yes, we have someone else to do this, but I wanted it done "my way". Every woman can understand that I'm sure. Certain things drive me crazy on the platform and I don't always get around to fixing them but when I do, I do. So after taking an hour to fix it like I wanted it and take care of another few church projects I finally I headed hom

"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong." ~ Peter McIntyre

Maddie laying on the furniture on our patio while Larry was doing some grilling the other night. Madeline, just chillin'... Jordan praying for some boys at the altar the other night... Jordan lingers and talks to a boy after praying for him at the altar Wednesday night.

In the early hours of this morning, Jordan got home from work and checked his facebook and instantly received an IM from a friend who claimed to be in London, having been just robbed at gunpoint. Understandably Jordan was very concerned. His friend said he needed Jordan to send him some money immediately, as he was stranded. Jordan immediately alerted his father and I of the situation, thinking it was real and his friend needed help and wanted to know what he could or should do to reach out. Thankfully I had just heard on the news the day before that this was a new facebook scam where people were hacking into people's accounts and contacting their friends to ask for money, saying that they were in dangerous or dire situations. I alerted Jordan and we contacted his friend and his friend's parents and sister to get ahold of him immediately to take care of his account. Jordan said, "Mom, you need to put this on your blog and let people know about it so it won't happen to

"Many Christians have what we might call a "cultural holiness". They adapt to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around them. As the Christian culture around them is more or less holy, so these Christians are more or less holy. But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like himself. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God." ~ Jerry Bridges

My friend Janice sent me this and it brought back such memories. I do remember all of them but only commented some of them. Those of you who are from Maryland, enjoy! * You know how to pronounce "Towson". * You remember what the Inner Harbor looked like before it was the Inner Harbor. (yes I do!) * You ate at Haussner's. (Yes, I did several times notably after my high school graduation. The art was amazing.) * You remember Friendship Airport. * You remember driving over the old Kent narrows Draw-Bridge that snarled weekend traffic coming home from the Ocean. * You love the Domino Sugar sign you can see across the harbor. (yes, I do. It was cool seeing it recently in the movie, "She's Just Not That Into You.") * You remember the rotating restaurant on top off the Holiday Inn on Light Street. (Yes!!! I went there too one time for a special occasion. I loved it.) * You know Annapolis and Hopkins are national treasures and you get a kick out of hearing them nam

(This post came from a pastor named Eddy, from his blog, Serving Bread . My husband found this and thought it was funny and passed it on to me. I'm married to a good man ...) TOP TEN REASONS MEN SHOULD NOT BE ORDAINED FOR MINISTRY: 10. A man's place is in the army. 9. The pastoral duties of men who have children might distract them from the responsibility of being a parent. 8. The physique of men indicates that they are more suited to such tasks as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be unnatural for them to do ministerial tasks. 7. Man was created before woman, obviously as a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment rather than the crowning achievement of creation. 6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. Their conduct at football and basketball games demonstrates this. 5. Some men are handsome, and this will distract women worshipers. 4. Pastors need to nurture their congregations. But this is not a traditional male role. Throughout h

Great post by my friend Danella Auten, pastor's wife, about the recent news of the pastor who was shot and killed. A lot to think about in this post... thanks Danella. My friend Pastor Leanne Weber and her husband Patrick are losing weight on behalf of BGMC! Debbie Shank, pastor's wife and women's conference leader/speaker has this great post on the real truth of the Proverbs 31 Woman. My friend Cassandra Stafford, also a pastor's wife, wrote this post that immediately resonated with my heart and made me want to sit down with a cup of coffee and a bunch of PW friends.

This isn't exactly the best performance of a song that you've ever seen or heard, however I think the funniest thing is, it's definitely one of the worst examples of songwriting that I've ever experienced. But one thing for sure, this gave me a HUGE laugh. The funniest thing is, these people are SERIOUS! Enjoy!

Super Bowl XLIII Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the only team to win six titles, will soon be losing half of those trophies. After a meeting between NFL Commissioner Rodger Gadel and President Barack Hussein Obama, Obama decided to redistribute half of their Steeler Super Bowl victories and trophies to less fortunate teams in the league. “We live everyday in the country that invented the Super Bowl.” said Obama “We are not about to lose this Great American tradition in the wake of these difficult times.” Obama’s plan calls for the Steelers, who are a successful NFL team, to give half of their Super Bowl trophies to teams that are not successful or have not been as successful as the Steelers. “The Detroit Loins are just as much a part of the same fiber of the NFL as the Steelers and they should, no rather will, be entitled to a Super Bowl Trophy as well.” Obama explains in his plan that he has imposed on Godel and the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who by virtue of hard work, excellent te

Last night we saw the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You". I was already familiar with the book that came out years ago. Although I don't agree with some of the principles discussed in the book and movie because they are not in line with scripture, I do definitely think the authors have one great point that bears examining closer. I wish many women could get it through their heads, because at the heart of this book is actually a message of self worth . I really wish that a Christian author would come up with a similar book, pointed at Christian singles, devoid of the unbiblical parts of the book. Because this is a message desperately needed especially for young women. Things I am convinced of: It never behooves you to chase a man who is giving you any vibes that he is not interested. This is really cheapening yourself and has nothing to do with love, but a devauling of oneself on behalf of another. When you get down to it, continuing to pursue a man who has sa

The whole church as well as Jordan's friends from outside the church were invited last night to a celebration after service.

Here's a story that hit the news media this week about a mother who is helping her downs syndrome son to find someone to have sex with. Love? Marriage? NO. Just sex. And that's not all...she wants to help him find someone to father a child with. The more I read this story, the more disturbing I found it to be. Not the fact that disabled people desire to, or have sex. I think that's great if they are married! But what this mother is doing is so immoral. First, she has encouraged her son to go to night clubs and have one night stands and is saddened that he is not having any luck. Second, she is considering sending him to a brothel if she can't find someone to have sex with him soon through the dating scene. Third, I am sure these people are not Christians, however what happened to LOVE? Even for someone who has no religious affiliation, I find it appalling behavior. Why isn't she encouraging him instead to find a friend and then ultimately a mate -- a wife, and allow

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 Today, March 18, 2009 is a major day in our household. Our son Jordan turned 18 years old today. All of heaven is rejoicing that this day has come! I have often said, if I could just make it with Jordan until he is 18, I will have accomplished a great thing as his mother. Simply raising him to this point, alive and all in one piece is cause for major celebration! If you are reading this and you have never met Jordan, you have NO IDEA. But if you know him, you realize what I'm talking about. Jordan has been a handful ever since the day he was born. When he was just a little guy I took him to the doctors and said, "Something is very wrong with this child. He jumps off of everything!" In fact when he was just 10 months old we would hear a bang or a splat in the middle of the night and come into his room. He would stand up on the

Maddie yesterday walking around on our bed. She is starting to be more like her old self although she's wearing this contraption on her head. She's doing much better today, in fact she's getting into EVERYTHING again! The frustrating thing is, she has this stupid thing on her head and she's like a bull in a china shop (ha ha!) running through the house and knocking things over with it. We are really trying hard to train Maddie right and make her not only housebroken but a well behaved dog. It's taking an enormous amount of time, and I still think we might put her in Petsmart's obedience classes. Today I was trying to get my Zune earphones away from her as she picked them up and was chewing on them and she flung around because she was upset about me taking them from her, and knocked an iced tea over that was on the end table. She's back to her sometimes ornery self and I am ready for a break. I have been working on a zillion projects at one time which has no

Our church people who read my blog are undoubtedly laughing at this...

We had to take Madeline today to get her spayed. I know it was necessary for her own good but I dreaded it. I had angst about it all day until they called us to tell us she was fine and we could come and get her. She came home and of course is very sleepy and lethargic and she has to wear this thing around her head that prevents her from biting at her stitches. She is so uncomfortable with it. We take it off while we are holding her so she can be more comfy while laying down under our watchful eye. I love her so much. I really do not know what I would ever do if something happened to our precious Maddie. I'm so glad this day is over and we can move on. Hopefully she will never ever have to have any more procedures.

No, not me. Pick yourself back up off the floor. It would be a nightmare for Teeb but a dream for me! However as all my friends know, another baby is not destined for me. However, "I'm pregnant again!" is the title of this essay that my dear friend, Sis. June Coker, sent me. Very thought provoking and worth passing on to others. A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: "Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even one year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together." So the doctor said: "Ok, and what do you want me to do?" She said: "I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this." The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: "I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too." She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request. Then he co