Deanna Doss Shrodes

So today marks 26 years of marriage for us. (Yayyyyy! Crazy cheer!) I've learned that for marriage to succeed I have to not only work hard -- I have to keep learning. As time goes I realize more things I need to give attention to. Believe it or not, keeping marriage hot isn't just all about lingerie. There's much more to it. Here are three that are on my mind lately:

I know...it's been a while! Actually a few weeks since I've posted on this blog.  I'm back. :) Photo Credit: Deanna Shrodes (Hemingway's Writing Studio) There's a good reason I haven't been posting here on this blog for a few weeks. I've been concentrating on writing my story at Adoptee Restoration.  I'd be honored if you'd hop over and read it sometime. Lots of people are reading it...like thousands of people. (I know, crazy, right?) Last night I put it all under one link so it would be easily found and forwarded. Get it here. One thing I've observed through the process of writing and publishing my story over the few weeks time is that a lot of people live in terrible fear of sharing their story. The reaction to people reading my story is as if I jumped off a cliff or got into a cage with a lion.

Last night at our church we started a new series called, "Not a Fan" based on the book of the same title by Kyle Idleman. This question was asked all of us last night at church after the first video clip was shown: "If you suddenly died, and family and friends were asked for one thing about you, what do you believe they would say? How would you feel about that? When you do actually die, what would you like people to say then? What kind of life, what kind of changes or decisions, would it take in your life for people to actually make those kinds of comments about you at the time of your death?"   I have thought about legacy a lot the past few months. It has become very important to me, what I'm going to leave behind as a legacy to my children. It gripped my heart immediately in the first video segment when a husband/father/friend died and his family and friends were being asked by the pastor performing the funeral what they remembered him for. His da

One of my friends takes care of her young adult son 24/7, who is paralyzed from a car accident. Another friend has struggled with infertility for fifteen years. Yet another friend is beaten so bad by her husband at least once a month that sometimes she has to wait two weeks before going back to church so that all the bruises will disappear and no one will suspect. "Why doesn't she just leave?" you say.

Happy Sunday!! Today is a great day for several reasons, two of which are... First, that I'm posting this morning at Lost Daughters, a place I love to be. It's the place where adoption blogging started for me. I am part of the amazing sisterhood there and blessed to be the spiritual columnist as well. To read today's post, go here. Second, it's an amazing day because it's our Celebration Church beach day, picnic and water baptism at sunset, at Ft. Desoto. It's a day where we gather under a huge pavilion and grill out, and everybody brings tons of picnic foods -- sides and desserts. We eat and swim all day. It's so fun! I take one of my noodles out in the water and float and talk to friends out there most of the day. (And wear plenty of sunscreen!) When sunset is about to happen, we gather together at the water's edge and baptize people. It's the best day ever. I'm saying a prayer for everyone who reads here today. Just so you know.