Deanna Doss Shrodes

Sightseeing for two days led to a craving to do nothing and everything at the same time, yesterday. Sleeping in. Staying in jammies. Reading. Watching movies. Cuddling. And all that's great about spending a quiet day together. When evening came, Larry said he wanted to try a spot that was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives . It's a place called Sherman's with locations in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Something hilarious happened soon after we arrived. The server overheard Larry and I having a conversation about the selections on the menu . We were just talking in the same manner that we always do, but she took something more from the conversation. Something we never said!  Larry overheard her tell her co-workers, "These people are food critics!" She thought we were there to scope it out and write a story about the place. We decided to say nothing and let them think what they wanted to. You know what they say about assuming. Staying quiet w

"You learn something new every day!" I wish I would have coined that phrase but of course I didn't -- it's an old one. Each day I look for opportunities to learn and usually learn more than three things. Yesterday was no exception as Larry and I spent the day at Joshua Tree National Park, taking in the sights. I had no idea what I was in for. I mean, I knew it was a desert, but oh my lands, it's the mother of all deserts! It's a desert on steroids. The first thing anyone needs to do is get yourself a Big Gulp before you go, because it will take you a minimum of two hours to drive through it. Don't let the word PARK fool you. This thing is the size of the state of Rhode Island. No, I'm not kidding. And it will take you two hours only if you don't stop at any of the exhibits along the way, which of course, we did. Speaking of a big gulp, the first thing I learned is this: 1) If you want to know where you should eat or drink, just watch where

For sentiment sake, I'm writing a post about my birthday because I'll read it in a few months or years and look back on it fondly. Bloggers love reading our own stuff whether other people do or not. We're actually obsessed with our own words. We love seeing ourselves write as much as some people love hearing themselves talk.  It's the thrill of the post. I woke up and got a cup of coffee and read some of Isaiah as well as I Samuel, and some teaching on leadership by John Maxwell. (In my house I have a painting of Jesus on one wall and John Maxwell on the other.)  While I was reading my husband brought me breakfast in bed. He's awesome like that. I try to reciprocate in ways that make him happy. After savoring the breakfast I didn't have to cook, I began checking out the information from the first day of Revelation Wellness . It's a new program I'm trying at the invitation of my friend, Jodi Garvin. I started doing this partly because I believed