Deanna Doss Shrodes

God knows my name. And on strategic weeks like this one - the week of the THRIVE Conference,  I feel like every demon in hell knows my name too.  Every year at this time, things come seemingly out of left field and pelt me until I feel like a wrung out dishrag. Souls are in the balance. The enemy is fighting hard. Last year at THRIVE over 50 women made decisions for Christ, several hundred women were filled with the Holy Spirit and there were too many healings to count. Believe me, satan (I refuse to capitalize the loser's name) is not happy about this. Our team has fasted for 30 days this year just as we did last year.  I am not surprised that the hordes of hell seem to know where to find me.  Fortunately I have some prayer warriors on speed dial. There is none greater than my Dad. My Dad and Me My father is a person who gets up really early every morning and goes into his "prayer room." (When the movie WAR ROOM came out, I told him, "Dad there'...

A go-to list of songs to help get me through whatever I’m going through is a must have. Some are new songs, and some are old stand-by’s.  Listening as I travel in the car... As I pace the floor in my home, the office or church sanctuary and pray... Face down on the floor and crying out to God... The following are ten of my favorites.  I encourage you to try Spotify. You can get it for free if you don't mind a commercial here and there. I subscribe as it's something that's a priority for me to have without interruptions. If you need to press through on something, make a playlist of these songs. Play them incessantly.    Believe what you are hearing. It works. ***** I Am by Eddie James I Have to Believe by Rita Springer As It Is in Heaven by David and Nicole Binion Heaven on Earth by David and Nicole Binion God I Look to You by Jenn Johnson/Bethel Shoulders by For King and Country I Am...

We don't have some things, because we don't ask God for them. James 4 tells us that. I also believe that as we delight ourselves in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our heart. (Psalm 37:4) Sometimes God answers when we don't even ask for the desires of our heart. Perhaps it's because we don't see how God would do it within our current structure. Translation: our current box.   We forget that His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours. (Isaiah 55) He can give us our desires even when it doesn't seem feasible at all. He is truly omniscient. I love that, and so much more about Him.    I'm a homebody at heart. Most would never guess it, but at the core I'm an introvert who could live in my pajamas, with a dog by my side, writing books until Jesus comes back. But  I was convinced   that one day upon retirement I was going spend my days in between pj's and book writing, taking road trips. These jaunts would be for purpose of encouraging le...

Did you know that God works on your problems while you sleep?   I was comforted by this thought when I glanced through a book my husband recently gifted me with entitled, Blessings for the Evening . It's a coffee table book of sorts, nothing real heavy. I didn't read from the beginning, instead choosing to open to a random spot in the book. I found this gem: May you find a moment of peace and quiet tonight to thank God for all that is right in your world. May you have the presence of mind to release your cares and worries to Him. May you have the gritty faith to grab a firmer grip on His promises to you. And may you wake up in the morning knowing that you've gained ground even in your sleeping hours because God is always moving on your behalf. As you entrust your whole self to Him today, He'll get you to where you need to go tomorrow. He is faithful. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. "...

Serious prayer requests? I've got 'em. I'm sure you do too. Matters of life and death in people's lives. Children's futures. Marriage and family needs. Inner healing. Asking God for justice. I am reminded, we don't always know how God is going to answer, but we need to be faithful in letting Him know what's on our heart. A while back I decided I wanted to take my bike to some local places I needed to go, and be able to lock it up. Sometimes I'd rather take my bike to a local store or a friend's house than take our car.  So I purchased a bike lock. My kids thought it was funny that I got one that had letters rather than numbers. I hate remembering numbers. I'm an alphabet kind of person.

This is what my life feels like this upcoming week and it's not even started yet.  Not complaining! Just sayin'. Thought I'd share and ask for your prayers. I can always use them, but I could REALLY use them in a super-duper way over the coming 11 days. Pray my strength! I just got home from Idaho , and caught my breath and now...

Would you like to know how to lead a church prayer meeting without flakes, fruitloops and freaks taking over and holding it hostage? It's not easy, especially if you're a pentecostal. I understand your dilemma. We've finally managed to have pentecostal prayer meetings that aren't hi-jacked, at Celebration . It took a while. I was asked to teach on this subject at the Experience Conference , which is a district event today and tomorrow in Lakeland, FL. Larry and I are teaching sessions both days. I'm speaking on leading pentecostal prayer & JUGGLE , and he's speaking on leading the church through change. In case you are interested in the basics of what I'm going to cover today about leading prayer meetings minus the flakes, you can find it in my 5-part series here on the blog on the same topic. My Journey to Making History Through Prayer - Part 1 My Journey to Making History Through Prayer - Part 2 My Journey to Making History Through Pra...

Just prior to last night's service at Celebration, my friend Candy Rivera received a phone call on her cell phone.  A man's voice, a stranger on the other end of the line, told her that her son, Eddie Jr. and our son Jordan (best friends) had been abducted. He told her that the boys would be killed unless a certain amount of money was immediately provided for ransom. Candy frantically ran up to the church office building where my husband was and asked him, "where is Jordan?" Larry responded that Jordan was at scuba class. (Jordan rarely if ever misses church but last night was his mandatory test for scuba certification.)  They had assumed their son was getting ready to come over to the church. Candy and Eddie Sr. made calls to try to reach Eddie Jr. and my husband called to get ahold of Jordan. They finally reached them. Both of the boys were fine. Jordan was at class taking his test and Eddie Jr. was on the way to the church service.  They asked both boys ques...

Praying out loud brings a difference in answered prayer, for me. Do I believe it's different because God hears me more? No. Do I believe I need to say it out loud or louder for God to pay attention? No. Do I believe God only hears prayers that are said out loud? No. The difference, at least for me, is that when I hear it out loud, it does something for me. There is a different level of faith-building intensity when something is just in my mind, versus speaking it out loud. I have thoughts in my mind that things need to come, or go, but when I speak it and say with confidence and authority and say, "you need to leave" -- wow. I'm amazed by how different it feels. And that feeling tends to fuel a passion to engage in even more prayer, which always brings a difference.

When I pray, I walk most times. By now I'm surprised there aren't holes where I have worn a path going around and around and around in the Celebration Church sanctuary. Sometimes, it's so hard to keep my focus. I have prayer lists and needs in front of me, but other concerns try so hard to pull me away from prayer.  Some people might think I pray out loud and strong just because I was raised Pentecostal. Well, that might be part of it but one reason is simply to keep focused!  As I'm walking around praying, my eyes notice things that are broken. I see repairs that need to be made. Other things that need to be adjusted and tweaked. I've shut my eyes to walk around and pray, but after all the bruising, decided to stop. Just kidding. A few weeks ago I was walking around the sanctuary in a time of prayer and I noticed some important things that needed to be taken care of. I don't know how to do them.  Even in our congregation of many capable people, among them...

Maybe you're not a professional licensed counselor, a pastor, or someone in an "official position".  Many women choose someone to share with first who is not one of these people.  My friend Melissa Kelly has been in both situations. She's served as the person in the official position of leadership, and also served on the other side of things, just being approached as a friend. I call Melissa a "go to" person. A lot of people trust her with challenging situations and she has unique experience to speak to this. No matter what place you find yourself in today, here's some great advice from her about helping those who are in pain. Just a reminder that all of our guest bloggers this week are available to chat with you in the comment section here on the blog or on my facebook page where the blog also publishes.     ***     There have been so many times that I have sat at the end of a phone call, Facebook chat/message or next to someone on a pew or couc...

"Don't you ever tell anyone what you just told me..." These were the words my husband Larry spoke to me after I revealed to him the details of a word I received from God while I was in prayer. Larry knew it would be dangerous for me to share, at the very least professional suicide. I never have spoken of the details, but I am going to share in general terms today because I believe somebody reading this needs help to move forward today. I saw injustice in a situation and I desperately wanted it resolved. By the looks of things, evil was winning. I was so disheartened. This was not the kind of thing whereby I could just speak up and see a change happen. I'm willing to speak up when necessary but in this case, all of the courage on my part would not change things. It was the kind of thing where God had to speak to many other people and create a change that came from Him, not from people. During that time my house was filled with teens and the evenings were so no...

I'm not. I've been a true fan for a long time, and more than that, an intercessor . I'm just one of many people, probably thousands who have seriously prayed for her for many years. We saw the hand of God upon her life -- an amazing gift, and we also saw the intense struggle she faced. She was more than an icon - she was a real person standing in need of prayer. I do understand the bandwagon thing. It happens after any tragic death. Whitney Houston posts are at an all time high as well as downloads of her music.  There are bandwagon fans and then there are those like me who have every project she's ever recorded, every movie she's ever made, and prayed for a long time although they've never met her and knew they probably never would.  I've blogged about Whitney many times before, and spoken about her in messages. To read some of my previous writings about her or even a small reference I've made about her in my writing you might want to go here , ...

I can't wait to write about yesterday's miracle!!!  Hold on to your seat... Our church has been in 40 days of fasting and increased prayer. The fast ended last night after our 11 PM - 1 AM prayer meeting - we all went to IHOP to break the fast together. (I couldn't wait to have a chocolate chocolate chip pancake and my husband had ice cream.)  So here's just one miracle testimony from this fast.  Yesterday morning a young boy in our church went into the hospital to have a large cyst  removed. Before operating the doctor checked him one more time. After examining him the doctor said, " THERE WILL BE NO OPERATION TODAY! THE CYST IS COMPLETELY GONE!!!" They sent him right back home!  This was his mother's facebook status yesterday:   "Thank you, thank you, Jesus!!! He is always coming through for me and you! Right before my son was going to be operated on, the doctor came in to check him and told us he doesn't need surgery because what the...