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Despite what you might have heard, holiness is not outdated or irrelevant.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 ...

Sunset tonight in Kitengala, Kenya I learn more about intimacy with God, every day. It's not formal, fancy-schmantzy or mystical. Intimacy with God isn't about the most theological-sounding prayer or something outwardly impressive. Sometimes it's crying in the shower and telling Him what's wrong. Other times it's pouring out how thankful I am that everything is going so right.  It's plain, every day walking and talking with God. Me in the Kiambethu tea fields, on Saturday Intimacy with God, is being in communication with Him from the time my eyes open in the morning. Or it's lying in bed in the middle of the night listening to the rain pour down as it did in Africa the other night and having a long conversation. I was feeling so poorly, having very uneasy and even outright scary feelings after getting so sick on Saturday.  We had gone up into the mountains and apparently I got altitude sickness.  Eight thousand miles from home, weak and sick...

“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” 2 Peter 1:12 My daughter and I were doing some shopping in Grand Turk last week on vacation. As we went from store to store, the owner or salesperson would quickly move to greet us, and point out their inventory for sale. “Necklace! I have many necklaces! Bracelets, for lovely ladies like you…handbags, right here…” they would say. In store after store, we experienced the same thing as is common when you are shopping at different ports. We entered one shop and there was no one there to greet us. I was shocked. I immediately sprang into action, to give “the spiel” we were missing. “Necklace! I have many necklaces! Bracelets, for lovely lady like you…handbags, right here…” I quipped to Savanna.  I got the, “Mom, you’re so silly,” vibe from her.   “Hey, the lady’s not here to give us the same spiel we’ve already heard and point th...

As I was walking the streets of Pittsburgh this past summer with my family I looked up and saw this message in a store window. I quickly snapped a photo with my phone. Riding down the road in Tampa a few years ago, I looked up and this message had been written in the clouds: I stopped to take a photo, wanting to preserve the moment. Seeing messages such as this are cool, and even more important, I want to BE a living message. I want people to see what I do, even without words at times, and KNOW that Jesus loves them. I have job descriptions and initiatives and goals and dreams. And yet nothing is more important than this. Truth speaking, yes. Yet -- oozing love, compassion, and kindness.  Oozing: To slowly trickle or seep out of something; flow in a very gradual way. To give a powerful impression of a quality. (i.e. "he oozed charm and poise.") Synonyms: exude, gush, drip, pour forth, emanate, radiate   Yes, I want to ooze Jesus.

Some girlfriends took me out this week and treated me to a night on the town and then presented me with this little gift...an "EASY" button. You push it and you hear, "That was easy!" I pushed it, and pushed it and laughed myself silly. :) For all the silliness, here's truth: Life has it's twists and turns, but it sure is a lot easier when fully relying on God, and the supportive people He provides. There's nothing like the power of God and community. So grateful. I am blessed.  

"God is too good to be unkind. He is too wise to be confused. If I cannot trace His hand, I can always trust His heart." ~ Spurgeon Storms come in life. Strange circumstances. Unfair and senseless situations. Sometimes it's spiritual warfare - clearly something devil-sent.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke  Our church is fasting together as a congregation for 40 days, until May 10. Last night I preached a message from Isaiah 58 entitled, “The Fasting Compassion Connection". Did you know fasting and compassion are directly connected? There will be no breakthrough as a result of fasting unless we have God's heart  of compassion for other people. This means addressing injustice, specifically.  The people in Isaiah's day learned that all of their fasting produced absolutely nothing since they lacked genuine compassion for others. This isn't my word, it's T HE word. (Read all about it in Isaiah 58:1-12.) The people wanted blessings from God but did not care deeply enough about the needs of others. The wounds and injustices around them were not on their radar. And so, God did NOT HING in response to all their sacrifice. All they ended up doing was giving u...

To understand where a person is now, it helps to know where they've come from. I believe it's even essential to know where they've come from. Photo Credit: Photo Logic, Creative Commons We often judge people without knowing their story, which is sad. It's pretty pathetic that we judge them at all, but anyway... I was blessed to lead someone to Christ in the last few years who had been out of church for many years. Some had judged them for being away from God or church which only drove them further away.

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”   ~ Elie Wiesel I love the book Night by Elie Wiesel . After reading it years ago, I believed it to be such an important book, I told all three of my kids I'd pay them to read it! Turns out, I didn't have to pay any of them. The oldest two just read it when I asked. Savanna still didn't want to read it even with the offer of payment. However, one of her teachers assigned it to her as required reading this year. (Yay for teachers!.) The year I read Night I gave it away as Christmas gift to a few friends. I know it might seem odd that I would give the gift of a book written by a holocaust survivor, chronicling the injustices he faced. It's not really a happy, clappy Christmas gift. But I really thought people needed to hear the message. The Holocaust wasn't that long ago. And it really happened. And people let it happen. And they ...

Some people have a hard time understanding God's love for them because they think He planned what hurts them so much. I'm passionate about sharing that God is a good God. Until people understand that, they won't ever see Him clearly and be able to freely receive His love. Something that makes this difficult are people who tell others that God planned the process that caused their pain.

Yesterday God spoke to me that I need to learn about love all over again. Not from the example of people. From the source. Him. Sometimes even the earthly sources that were designed to receive love from end up in an epic fail.  Not only do we not get love, we get hurt. And then we end up feeling unloved.  It may be someone who we need love from -- a parent or spouse, and for some reason they are broken and don't have the capacity to love. And it slays us.

Where did the strange piece of "wisdom" originate that the things we hate most in others are the things we are guilty of ourselves? Time and again I've tried to reconcile this statement, but just can't find the truth in it. It's not that I haven't looked really hard or dared to be honest enough with myself. The things I get most upset about in others are things I don't struggle with. Therefore, compassion doesn't come easy in those instances. When I'm guilty of something I see others doing, I tend to rationalize their behavior. I do this because I understand how hard it is for them to change in that area. I can readily wrap my arms around them and say, "I've been there, and I know it's hard," or "it's not so bad..."

Writing down who God is and what He does, is beneficial to me. It reminds me of what I have to cling to when everything else is uncertain. Sometimes I make lists about God. Then I read them and re-read them. It helps me.  

Did you ever wonder if God was fully aware of your circumstance or was really busy doing anything about it? In addition to being a pastor full time and a writer/speaker, I am also a certified career coach and give about ten hours a week in fulfilling this important role. This week I was working with a job seeker on a resume. When I help a client construct a resume from the ground up it's pretty intense. I ask a lot of questions and type as we go. Although they are on the phone with me the entire time (while I work at my computer with a headset), I am sometimes quiet during the process. Throughout our time together I tell them, "If I'm quiet at points during this process, I just want to let you know, I'm still here. The reason I'm quiet is that writing is intense work and when I'm thinking of just the right word, you may not hear anything for about 30 seconds, maybe even a little longer..." Most clients fully understand and they are absolutely amaz...

My sister Shari has often commented that life is hard and that makes her super excited about heaven. I've been thinking about heaven a lot lately. Today I had wondered how most people would answer the question: "What in heaven are you most excited about?" My personal answer may not be common, so I had the thought that other people's might not be either. We always assume people will say, "Seeing Jesus face to face," or "Seeing my loved ones," or "Receiving my crown." Maybe not! No where in the Bible does it say we have to be excited for a certain thing more than another. It seems like a perfectly acceptable thing to get stoked about whatever it is you're most looking forward to. So, what is it with you?  

Recently I had someone tell me God told them it was okay to leave their husband. Their Godly husband who they readily admit has done nothing but love and serve them. Someone also told me God told them it's perfectly fine to tithe your time instead of your money. This change has evidently been made because of the economy. Not sure when God sent out this amendment to His Word. (Can somebody forward that memo to me?) Another person says God is okay with disrespecting pastoral leadership. This "God" seems woefully confused these days, and different from what I see in His Word.

I wish it looked like this outside right now where I live. But it doesn't. So at Celebration Church , we try to bring the look of fall inside the building. I love what our people have done to accomplish that. As I mentioned here on the blog yesterday, I got to spend the morning with our beautiful women at Celebration. We enjoyed a ladies brunch. I spoke on the Sweet Life of Surrender.    What does it profit us to reach a dream yet lose our integrity in the process?  Nothing.  Mark 8:34-37 33But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” 34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save ...