Deanna Doss Shrodes

I didn't blog this morning because last night I got home from Lake Worth at 12:10 am.  I was physically and emotionally exhausted.  But it was well worth the trip.  What an amazing time of ministry!!!

Lake Worth is A LOT further away than I thought, and I am not alone in that discovery.  All of my friends made the same observation.  We had a tremendous crowd, much more than we expected.  It was awesome and the speakers just threw down.  I mean, we were really flowing under the anointing.  I was just amazed at how one thing just flowed into the next and lives were changed. 

Something happened in the last service with Dawnita Istre who was the speaker.  Marsha had asked me to head up the altar workers and organize things with that, so I was standing behind the person Dawnita she was praying for, to assist her.  All of a sudden Dawnita switched from her to me and began an entire prophecy about Dustin!!!  (He wasn't there, he was a counselor at PK retreat this weekend.  But Dawn…

As promised yesterday here are some photos from Jordan's birthday dinner on Thursday night.  Right now I'm still in Lake Worth speaking on the Hope Tour (will be away next weekend too doing the same...) and will probably post some reflections from the conference events at some point tomorrow.  Enjoy ~

We went with his "second family" ~ the Riveras, to our family favorite for birthdays, Kobe Japanese Steakhouse.  Left to right ~ Eddie, Candy, me, Larry, Jordan, Eddie Jr. and in back to the left Savanna, and Elijah.

Jordan with his little birthday cupcake.  He loves to play with the little umbrella, still at 19...
Savanna watches the chef cook the veggies Where there's smoke, there's...fire!
A good time was had by all...Jordan is 19 and it's so hard to believe!  Just yesterday I was putting him in his carseat and rocking him to sleep.

Being on the road is perfectly fine, because I love to travel, and my family understands. I also love to be at home just as much.  This means I live the best of both worlds.

This morning is sectional council and just as soon as it's over I'm jetting off from there quickly to travel down to Lake Worth, FL to speak on the Hope Tour again this weekend.  Going to travel along with my good friends Tina Blount and Tammy Young, and that will make the ride much more fun, indeed.

Speaking of travel -- really getting excited about the Africa trip!  I'll be going June 1-8 or 9 (not sure yet what day I'm coming back, still working that out) but it's coming quickly, for sure.  I have been thinking and praying about the messages to bring there as that is always something I start early in seeking God for just the right messages.  I believe we are going to have an absolute Holy Ghost explosion!!!  If you are a person of prayer, please join me in believing for amazing things. 

A…

Today is Jordan's birthday.  He is 19 years old today and will be leaving for boot camp on May 25.  We are having a family birthday dinner tonight at Kobe, which is our official family birthday spot when we go out.  (Sometimes I do a special dinner for the kids at home -- it just depends on what they want.)  Today is happy and also sad.  It's a special time in that we are celebrating 19 years of life with him, sad in the way that I am not sure how many birthdays we will actually be with him for in the future, depending on where life takes him.  I look at things in terms now of, "one more Thanksgiving," and "one more Christmas"  (just had those) and now "one more birthday".  Not that it's the last one forever but you know -- he could be overseas, or just unable to be with us for whatever reason.  So I do treasure these "one more's".  

Today I thought in honor of his birthday I'd share some of the excerpts from the journal I w…

Many times I've come across women who are very dogmatic about laying down their identity, goals and desires for the man they are married to.  (The man becomes their identity, goal and desire.)  Or they are strong believers in the whole, "my husband leads me in my walk with God" way of thought.  There are countless sermons or articles supporting this view and many well known and respected ministries teach this.

 For a long time I've believed that good marriages exist with a foundation of mutual respect, and each person keeping the other's dreams, goals and desires as important as their very own.  There are shared goals and dreams, of course.  But there are also personal ones, and I do not believe a marriage license automatically means you abandon them.  Dr. Stephen Betchen , marriage therapist says, ""You need to maintain appropriate boundaries, allow each other a sense of individuality and independence. Support each other's hopes and dreams."

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The Weightman Middle School office staff has now seen me without a bra on. Lovely.  And to further give TMI, I am one of those people that it is noticeable should I not be wearing a bra. [Sigh]  Please relax:  I was wearing a shirt of course, just not the proper undergarments.  :)  But still!!!

What a crazy morning I had yesterday.  It was THE Monday of all Mondays.   I woke Savanna up for school. Unbeknownst to me she went back to sleep, which never happens. I mean, the girl is up like clockwork, actually EXCITED to go to school EVERY BLESSED DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.  I'm so blessed that she is a kid who loves school and absolutely hates to miss, and can't wait to get there!  She's on the honor roll too, every quarter.  (Go, Savvy!  So proud of my girl!)  Well, for once in her life, she went back to sleep.  Probably has something to do with the fact that we waited to adjust to daylight savings time on Monday instead of Sunday!  :)   I truly am not upset with her for sleepi…

Yesterday was a real emotional day for me and for a lot of other people as we said farewell to Pastor T and Misty, and their children Nate and Celeena.  They are more than staff members -- they are truly our family and will continue to be.

Larry and I have told the congregation countless times how much we appreciate the Mackleys so much because they have been our most loyal staff members, EVER.  I cannot underscore that enough.  Look up "loyal staffer" in the dictionary and their picture is there.  :)  Finding folks like them is like finding a needle in a haystack and we could not be more grateful for five wonderful years they gave us.  They know that Larry and I can be counted on to help them with anything in the future, in helping with whatever they need in life or ministry in exchange for the wonderful trust they have built with us and the way they were so honorable with our people.  (That's not to be taken lightly - we don't extend that to everyone, only those wh…

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."  "Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  1 Kings 19:11-13

Notice how God came to Elijah...in a whisper.

This weekend I've needed that in my life.  I was pretty overwhelmed Friday with a bunch of things that went wrong not to mention it was my only day off for the next three weeks.  I had high expectations and they were pretty quickly being dashed to pieces.

I had posted a facebook status about my stres…

Why some things seem so close together -- yearly physicals, dentist appointments, pap smears, mammos, birthdays, Christmas -- while other things like vacations, visits with close friends, having grandchildren --  seem so far away?

What the next big invention that is going to change the world will be?

What caused the first person who ever milked a cow to think of doing so in the first place?

Who thought up the idea of Jello?  Hey, let's make some translucent colored rubbery stuff and try eating it...

What the women on the show Survivor do when it's "that time of the month"?  They aren't allowed to bring anything but one item on the show with them and I have never seen a contestant choose a pad or tampon.  So...??? 

How I am going to be different this time next year than I am now?

The following hysterical stories were sent to me this week from my dear friend, Pastor Sandy Phinazee.  She sent them along with a note that said, "please tell me this won't happen to us!!!"  Enjoy!!!

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An elderly Floridian called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car has been broken into. She is hysterical as she explains her situation to the dispatcher:  'They've stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even the accelerator!' she cried. The dispatcher said, 'Stay calm.   An officer is on the way.' A few minutes later, the officer radios in 'Disregard.' He says. 'She got in the back-seat by mistake.' 

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Three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, live in a house together. One night the 96-year-old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other sisters, 'Was I getting in or out of the bath?' The 94-year-old yells back, 'I don't know. I'll come up an…

Jordan went to his Commander's Call  for the Air Force yesterday and they have a job for him now, and he signed his contract.  He leaves on May 25.

 It's really surreal.  I haven't even really wrapped my head around the fact that he's leaving yet, but in just a few weeks it will be upon us.  My first little bird will be flying the nest.  Yeah, I know he's almost 19 but he will always be my little one.  :)  Boys always need their Momma too, no matter how old they are -- or so I'm told.

It really does seem like yesterday that I was...

birthing him in Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio...

holding my precious little one wondering what life would hold for him, and for us...

then shortly after chasing him all around trying to keep him safe...

his Daddy bringing him safely down from McDonalds roof...

watching him learn to play the drums and become really good at it, exceptionally good...

seeing him graduate from high school...

helping him through many highs an…

As my profile to the right hand side of the blog says: 
"I'm a daughter of God, wife, mother, friend, pastor, career coach, freelance writer, musician, songwriter, worship leader, conference speaker and more... all at the same time. I write here about how all these roles in my life intersect since this juggling act seems to be what people ask me about most."
Women in particular, do ask me about this more than anything.  "How do you do it all?" is the most repeated question.  Many times I tell them things like:  

"I don't know."  Or..."Some things don't end up getting done on any given day and I have to prioritize and table some things for the next day."  Or..."Grace, only God's amazing grace!"  Or..."Well, I'm a list maker and very vigilant with my to do list."These are just a few of my answers that I've given to their question but this week I realized something else about me and that is:  I don't…