Deanna Doss Shrodes

Ephesians 4:25 “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.” Why do so many Christians lie? I guess the better question might be, why do so many Christians justify lying? Besides the obvious reason: sin. Why blog about this today? Well, it’s on my mind so, here goes. If you are somebody who actually cares about reading my blog today I encourage you to get a snickers bar and a coffee to last you through this one. You'll need it! My sister is getting married in a few weeks. Yesterday I was talking to her about everything from her gown, to her guest list. When going over the guest list we discussed that someone very important to us is not coming. The gave a whole bunch of reasons…timing not good…money, etc. but the real fact is, none of that is true. The reason they are not coming is that there will be certain people at the wedding they are not comfortable with. They would rather not attend because those people will be...

This is so exciting! I got carded tonight! (Do I really still look THAT young?) This made my night! The boys had Friday Night Live at the church tonight. Savanna spent the night at Molly's. Larry and T and I went to see a movie and then afterwards we went to the Green Iguana. When the guy asked for my I.D., I said, "ummm....you're joking, right?" He said, "no, I'm not." I could see he was serious and I said, "oh my gosh, I could just hug you right now!" He did not ask for Larry's I.D. (which I thought was humorous) but he did ask for Trinity's, but then again T is 10 (count 'em 10) years younger than me. This is awesome, just awesome. What a perfect "night cap"! :-)

Reading in my Utmost for His Highest today and it says... "Paul said, ". . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to "preach the gospel" was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength. If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony." I am a woman obsessed. How true. Unless someone has this call upon their life they cannot fathom the compulsion...the drive...the uneasiness during times it is not fulfilled. I like how Chambers makes the statement that it was ..."so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength..." How well I unde...

Today Oswald's devo says: "Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but deals solely with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us truly know what is meant by the absolute "go" of unconditional identification with, and abandonment and surrender to, Jesus...One thing you lack . . . ." From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing..."   Wow, how true this is. I am always forgetting that when I am really following Him I give up all rights to myself and abandon myself to whatever He is calling for at that moment. Sometimes I am ever aware of this and other times I am utterly clueness and need to be spiritually shaken and awakened. I have to stop and ask myself..."is ...

Today's Oswald Chamber's Devo said: "The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of "what was in man." If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death." I can definitely relate to this. God is like a surgeon who does what needs to be done in your life, no matter how much it hurts and even if there is no anesthesia available at the time, he'll go ahead and do what's good for you. remember back when I had my miscarriage and it was a painful mess, not only emotionally but physically. It was clear that enough had happened that I had, indeed, miscarried. However, everything in ...

Okay, now that I got it out of my system about my let down this week, I want to re-cap what's right about this week...our Friend's Day at church. If people missed it, they really missed it. Lots of newcomers came to our guest reception at 10 am, and enjoyed a continental breakfast. After an exciting “countdown” in the sanctuary, the service started with great energy and excitement. The place filled up quickly -- there were not many empty seats at all even though we recently added 62 chairs to the sanctuary! The service featured special multi-media clips, drama, and much more. More than anything we are rejoicing that four people committed their lives to Christ! Our hospitality room was packed at the conclusion of the service. All of our guests received brand new New Living Translation Bibles as a gift from the church as well as bookmarks that gave all the info about the church to place in their Bibles and remind them of what’s happening at the most happening church in Tampa B...

Today, Oswald says ..."Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a super-natural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, "I am here for God to send me where He will." Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be." So true. It cannot happen other than through His supernatural power. Enthusiasm alone won't do it, someone else calling you (besides the divine call of God) won't do it, nothing else will do. I hav...