Deanna Doss Shrodes

The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat  ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're  not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director.  Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year.  God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...

Have you ever been surrounded by lots of people, yet felt like the loneliest person in the world?  Me too. I've heard lots of people say they have, including many ministers.  The issue isn't whether we're surrounded by people, it's about a heart-connection. Kindred spirits.  Understanding on a deeper level.  We do need community -- and God has created us that way. But it's not community that I'm thinking about today.  I used to feel an ache as a woman in ministry because although I was surrounded by  people, few if any knew the weight of that which I carried.  The issue wasn't whether I could find someone to go out for coffee with. There were those who gave invitations, but sometimes I didn't feel the level of trust or understanding to share with them.  What God showed me was that I needed to reframe the issue of loneliness.   I saw loneliness as a bad thing.  A horrible thing.  Somethin...

Jordan took this photo when I was a little rough around the edges A few weeks ago I woke up and was so irritable I was banging stuff around on the counter top in the bathroom while I was getting ready for the day. Even the dogs were steering clear. Yep, I have days like that. Just keepin' it real. I am not a Pentecostal Mother Teresa. My husband asked me what was wrong and I confessed that I was angry at the lack of solitude to recharge. I couldn't remember the last time aside from reading my Bible or praying that I had  any quiet time to refresh. The previous day we had a few hours off and instead of standing up for my need for solitude, I followed Larry's suggestion to spend some time with friends. This wasn't his fault. I never spoke up and just went along with his suggestion without ever bringing up how I was feeling. He couldn't fix what was wrong because he didn't even know what was wrong.    Extroverts vs. Introverts A lot has been circu...

I was recently in a regional leaders meeting where we discussed the fact that today's people want events, seminars, workshops, mentorship and coaching. More than anything they seem to crave a leader's personal investment of time and interest. However, it was also noted that when any of that hits home and puts the finger of truth on areas of their life that need change, they back off.  Scores of leaders affirm that people want them to pour into their lives but only to the degree that it doesn't mess with their desires, habits, goals and plans.   I've noticed two things about people who grow.   1) They recognize/honor the gift of God. " So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…" Ephesians 4:11,12 Christ Himself gave these people to us to speak into our lives. Christ is not confused about what He sent. ...

So I've been putting something off since December 1, 2011. Because I fear it. Plain and simple, I fear it. So today I got sick of that, and took a major step toward what I fear. Now you're going to think this is crazy, perhaps. And that's okay. But afterwards, I decided out of curiosity to immediately get up and go take my blood pressure. This was about an hour  after taking a step to do the thing I feared - that which I have been procrastinating about since December 1, 2011. Amazingly it was significantly lower than before. Much lower. So I'm thinking, how much better off would I have been to just take steps toward this dreaded thing nine months ago? How unwise was this to put this thing off? I'm not saying my blood pressure would be perfect or even normal every time just by doing that. But how has this dread of the unknown affected me? Lesson learned. Glean from my mistake, my friends. Fearing and dreading the unknown is not good for us. God will...

Maybe you’ve tried to accomplish something and months or years later, you find yourself at the same spot in life, with little progress.  Today I’m going to give you some advice that sounds so simple.And it is, yet it’s a major key. Listen to your “shoulds” -- not the ones other people tell you as in, you should do this and you should do that.  Those can be super dangerous. Listen to your own shoulds that come not from guilt but the desire of your heart. Pick just ONE should. Then let nothing stand in the way. I have heard hundreds, maybe even thousands of people say, “You know, I should write a book.”     Rare is the person who ever follows through and does this. This is because it’s not easy to write a book, even for people who love to write.  This extends to anything, not just writing.  “I should lose some weight...” “I should look for another job…” “I should go back to school…”     These are all worthy go...

  Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue. Honesty is hardly ever heard. And mostly what I need from you. I can always find someone to say they sympathize. If I wear my heart out on my sleeve. But I don't want some pretty face to tell me pretty lies. All I want is someone to believe.  ~Billy Joel What would happen if every Christian were committed to live in radical truth? Truth when it hurts, truth. Truth when you might lose the job, truth. Truth when you might lose the contract, truth. Truth when it's embarrassing truth. Truth when you're uncomfortable truth. Truth when you're point blank asked and truth is the last thing you want to give truth. If we want the world to pay attention...maybe we should start by telling the truth. Those who serve in ministry or have grown up in church have probably heard thousands of sermons. Many of them, we don't remember. A few we never forget. Years ago on a Wednesda...

  " You must do the thing you think you cannot do!" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt “Take it out! Take it out!”  This was my urgent plea last Friday when my dentist put a night guard in my mouth for the first time. I thought I was going to throw up! Gag! Yuk! I hated it.   I seriously thought I could not stand it for one more second.  I drove home thinking, “I don’t want to keep this thing in for a second let alone eight hours a night. They advised me to wear it during the day for a while to get used to it. I listened to their instructions and started wearing it a few seconds at a time, then a few minutes, and kept increasing the time. I also listened to the wisdom of friends who also wear a night guard and told me to press on, that I would get used to it. Well, I’ve worn the night guard every night for the past three nights and amazingly I’m at the point where I can’t imagine what I ever did without it! It helps tremendously.  I realized aft...

Do you ever have days where you can’t remember what the name of the thing you use to attach papers together is? (Stapler) Do you draw a blank when you look at your own family members and you try to remember their names…and you aren’t 85 years old, you’re 45? I understand. Maybe it’s time for a change of scenery.     Not a move across the country and nothing earth shattering or major, but a change of scenery even for just a few hours or a few days. I understand.  Larry got us this place for the first few days of our vacation that is honestly not much more than staying in an economy motel room but it’s exquisite! This is the view from our balcony where I’m eating breakfast this morning…   Savanna found herself a special spot to sit and think for a while in a tree…  Sometimes we just need to look at things from a different angle. My good friend Sue Duffield talked about that this week in one of her “drive by devotionals...

Most of what I do in my role as a career coach is over the phone and online. Inevitably during resume work, I have to tell a client, "okay, I'm just letting you know, when I get quiet, I'm very much still here. I am working hard on your behalf, as you'll see in a moment..." After a few minutes they'll say, "Are you still there?" "Yep, sure am..." I reply. "I'm sending something to your e-mail right now..." And in a few moments they read something I just wrote based upon what we've been talking about and they respond with something like, "Wow. Um, just wow...that's really good. You've just truthfully stated my experience and accomplishments in a way that makes me sound like I should be running for president or something..."  Mission accomplished! There are so many thoughts running in my head right now, so much I'm processing, much of which I am writing. I'm putting the finishing touches...

My husband walked into our bedroom late one night in the year 2000, and handed me a book as I was lying in bed. The book was entitled, Who Moved My Cheese...An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and In Your Life , by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard. I read about two chapters of the book and got so angry, I threw the book across the room. It slammed against the wall and fell behind my husband's dresser where it stayed for the next year. I was mad. So mad. Angry at unwanted and unwelcome change in my life.  Railing out about unfair circumstances. Larry let the book stay behind the dresser without saying anything. He quietly prayed for me for the next year, waiting patiently for me to come around.  He's always known who had the power to get through to me when he couldn't. Larry says, "When I can't get through to my wife about something, I've always had reassurance that it's going to be okay because I married a woman of God who prays. ...

Are you throwing away your choices?  You do have to go through change whether you like it or not, but you have a choice as to how you're going to respond.  If you listen to a word I'm saying today here on post please listen to this: You. Are. Not. Powerless. Okay, that was four words. But they were powerful words. There are three reasons I believe change is harder for some people: 1) They are afraid of what people might think. 2) They are afraid of what people might say. 3) They are afraid of what people might do. So they just let change relentlessly beat them up, with no counter-response to the change that has been thrust upon them.   So, are you ready to move through change and do more than just survive? Then you're going to have to stop being paralyzed by those three things and take whatever counter-steps you need to make for your emotional health. You've got to manage your health in the midst of whatever change you're going through.  No one...

This may be the key that has helped me through difficult change more than anything else.  Everyone needs a private life with God and one great way to express yourself in this relationship is to write letters to Him, and then let Him write back to you. How does he "write back to you"? This happens by getting quiet, listening for Him to speak to your heart, and then writing down whatever He says. I differentiate Him speaking in my journal by giving a different heading to His communication with me such as this... June 20, 2012 Today the Lord says... Then underneath this heading I write whatever I hear Him saying. After this I give a new heading to my communication before I begin writing my thoughts again. Doing this gives you a place to express your thoughts and receive from Him as well as keep a record of where you've come from. Having a record of things makes some people nervous, which is why I highly advise an online journal that is password protected. My advi...

The biggest choice people throw away is the choice to manage themselves. How often do other people make a choice that affects you, and you respond by drowning yourself in all the wrong things? I've done it too many times to count.  Every person has the right to manage their own health. This is about making the best decision for yourself. This might include (but is not limited to) eating right, sleeping adequately, solitude, taking vitamins, seeking natural treatments , taking medication, being under doctor's care, and of course spiritual disciplines. Regardless of what other people do, don't throw away your choices. Decisions come all the time that I don't particularly like or enjoy. Sometimes ones come that rock my world. And to that I say... Time for a bike ride. Time to take a day and go off by myself. Time to be quiet and meditate on the Word. Time to sleep a little more. Time to go to the health food/vitamin store and look at what's available. ...

Where you choose to focus when you're going through change will greatly determine your outcome.    People fail at lots of things because of broken focus. In the case of journeying through change, we often focus most on the change. It begs our time and we all too often  give it all we've got in mental, spiritual, emotional and even financial energy.   When you get on a plane and prepare to take off, the flight attendant always gives a spiel about what to do in case of an emergency. Among the things covered is what to do if the cabin loses pressure. They remind you that oxygen masks will fall, and in the event that you are holding an infant or child they ask you to make sure you put your mask on before assisting with theirs. Most people will drawn to help their child first, however this may prove a dreadful choice. If you are involved in ministry or any type of public service, you are probably real good at running around and putting other people's mask...

The life of a writer can be really rollercoasterish (I'm aware that's not a word) and if you let it get to you, it could put you permanently between a case of Prozac and a dozen donuts. Lucky for me Dunkin Donuts is less than a mile away. Remember yesterday when I talked about there always being a next? Well, I know what I'm talking about, from experience. They say a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. I think that works for a woman too.  I'm sure there's always a next. As sure as Chick-fil-A has the best iced tea... As sure as this presidential election has shaped up to be the lamest ever... I'm confident, absolutely sure , 100% positively certain there is a next. Are you breathing? Then there's something for you to do next.  You're never, ever through. Even when you die, you're not through. No, that wasn't a typo. You aren't through when you're physically dead, because you will live forev...