Deanna Doss Shrodes

Succeeding at anything long-term will be a challenge for those addicted to affirmation. Affirmation is a wonderful thing when it happens. I love it. (What human being doesn't?) I try to remember to give it to others, knowing how much it means. I have a collection of affirming communications people have sent me over the course of my life. Such notes are of value and are appreciated.  At the same time, I'm mindful of guarding against the trap of needing any of it to: 1) Do what is right. 2) Fulfill my purpose in the earth. 3) Lead in the way God has called me to. I learn by observing others, more than anything. I notice that affirmation addicts tend to spin their wheels a lot, never gaining serious traction. This is because they have to wait for more affirmations before they can keep going. Or, they go full steam ahead for a while -- perhaps even make major progress -- and then crash when enough affirmations aren't coming in. If affirmation is your fuel and

Did you know you can read the right thing at the wrong time? I didn't until recently. The thought never occurred to me to pray about what to read, until this past August. During my time away after my natural mother passed away, I was blessed to spend some time in the home of Kay Zello. Kay is the mother of my dear friend, Bonnie. She's a woman in ministry that I've always looked up to, since the time I was a young girl. I still remember the first time I heard her preach when she came to my home church in Baltimore. I was about twelve years old. I never forgot Kay or her message. I would hear her preach again and again at various events, and her life impacted mine. I never imagined that one day, in what was one of my greatest times of need, I would be waking up in Kay's house. We would sit on her porch in pajamas, eating breakfast and sharing our thoughts.  One morning as she went to refill her coffee, I picked up the book that was beside her bible where she h