Deanna Doss Shrodes

Despite what you might have heard, holiness is not outdated or irrelevant. God puts nothing in His Word as a command that we can’t accomplish with His help.   God says, “You must be Holy, for I am holy.” (I Peter 1:16)   If He tells us to do it, that means through His grace and strength, we can. His grace is actually for our empowerment -- not an excuse to do whatever we want.  My response in light of His Word is to realize, it’s not about my desires, feelings, moods, urges or cravings. Being led by any of these things is a recipe for disaster.   Holiness doesn’t happen in my strength, only through His. God knows I have tried so many times on my own and have failed! But, I have learned it’s not about trying harder – it’s about total surrender. Absolute 100% no-holds-barred obedience to God. Rare is the person who has totally surrendered everything to Him, withholding NOTHING.   There are decisions I make daily that move me closer to or further away from holin

According to a recent survey , 81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them -- and that they should write it.  Another survey puts the statistic of those who want to write a book at 90% .  Statistics show that very few of them actually succeed.   Approximately 80,000 books are published in America each year.   Clearly, 81 percent of Americans are not writing a book even if they believe they have it in them.   Intention and action are two different things. Photo I took at Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West, in his writing room. The majority of people who say they are going to write a book never will --but for someone who truly has a passion and more importantly – a calling to write, it doesn’t feel like work.  If you really want to write a book – absolutely nothing will stop you. A lot people ask me when I find the time to write. People see the busy schedule I keep and know that in addition to writing, I have a family, a job/ministry, and  more. And