Deanna Doss Shrodes

Okay, so how did I not know this? The virgin birth is miraculous enough in and of itself, but... Today I was having lunch with my doctor and friend, Rosemay Latortue, M.D. We were talking about a bunch of topics like we always do and the conversation came around to the AIDS epidemic in Africa and then I posed this question to her. I said, "Rosemay, I have never understood how babies whose mothers are infected with AIDS are not automatically born with AIDS." And then she told me the most amazing thing. She said a mother's blood and baby's blood never mixes! (Unless something goes wrong, something ruptures, etc.) Okay, so I am 40 years old, I've had 3 kids, I consider myself a relatively intelligent person (but as Cathy said VERY naive at times) and I never knew this!!! I assumed all this time that blood passed through the umbilical cord. Well, it does but it is separated by a membrane, keeping the Mom and Baby's blood separate at all times. Totally amazing. So,...

When I call my doctor's office and it's not office hours, the message says, "If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911." It seems in life, people need to be directed as to what an emergency is and what to do when they have one. I have experienced this in pastoral ministry and this is one such day. I understand that during our week, we need to handle all types of things, emergencies and non-emergencies included. No issue there. Pastoral ministry is filled with a wide variety of responsibilities to take care of and this is just a given. I have no complaint about the fact that the pastoral life is one that is busy, with lots of hours to put in a week, and yes, sometimes, that means 24/7 if you are dealing with a true emergency. It just comes with the territory. I am absolutely called and willing to pay that price. My issue comes with the pastor's day off, and what constitutes a true emergency. You try so hard to protect it and it seems impossible most weeks. Firs...

Okay readers ...the first "special person" in my life that I would like to introduce you to is mine and Larry's administrative assistant, Cathy Garland. She is actually several things to me...our full time assistant in the office...my armor bearer who stays by my side at church and helps me with whatever is needed...serves with me on our women's team, and she's a great friend. One thing that means a lot to me about Cathy is that despite the fact that we work together every day and also share a ton of ministry time together outside of office hours, she still respects and loves me. :-) I feel very blessed that way. Sometimes "familiarity breeds contempt". The more a person spends time with you and knows you, the more they have occasion to see what's wrong with you rather than what's right with you. But in this case, familiarity has been nothing but a blessing. Thank you Cathy, for loving me. I sure do love you. :-) Alright, above are photos of Cath...

Whenever my husband Larry introduces a guest in our pulpit at Northside he ends with, "So, join me in giving a great Northside Assembly of God welcome to... (insert name here)!!! Well, I'm going to be introducing you to some guests here on the blog. Not guest writers, but special people who are in my life that I simply want to introduce to you. Be watching over the coming months as every once in a while, I do a "lifetime intimate portrait" of one of my dear friends. I may have the first one as soon as...late tonight or...tomorrow!

Sometimes the miscellaneous things you learn are the best. In the school of life, here are some things I've learned... 1) My pedicurist, Mai, taught me - the nail polish on your hands can be different than your feet, as long as it's lighter. But your hands cannot be darker than your toes, otherwise it looks bad. 2) My first weight watcher leader, Ginger, taught me that losing just 10 pounds takes 30 pounds of pressure off of your knees. 3) My new weight watcher leader, Clara, taught me to stop -- to H.A.L.T. when I feel hungry, angry, lonely or tired. 4) My husband, Larry, taught me to remember that people who are "Eagles" are different and remembering that can save you a lot of frustration in foolishly comparing them to other birds. 5) My friend and mentor, Sis. Coker, taught me to only invest myself in mentoring people who really appreciate it. 6) My friend/hairdressser Ada taught me so much more about the fact that there is a learning purpose for everything and......

More and more I am realizing that my call and gifts do not lend themselves to me being overly involved in the ministry political machine, but to concentrate the bulk of my efforts on 3 things - 1) Pastoring. 2) Writing. 3) Speaking outside the church as time allows. Not necessarily always in this order. God told me He'd take me to the nations from my laptop. One day God gave me a vision of me as an elderly woman, in solitude in my room - on my laptop...reaching the world. I believe one day this will be my life. Drudgery, you say? Not to me. To me, being alone in the silence and writing is as essential as breathing. I would rather write than eat, watch TV, sing, talk, play the piano or just about ANYTHING. I can be sick as a dog...and there I am, still writing. If I'm not writing, I'm reading....preparing to write. Larry was right about politics. There, I said it. He's been trying to tell me for over 20 years now, but I'm just finally coming around to it. I'm th...

My last post on this was 15 things I would pursue if I wasn't a pastor. I thought I'd follow it up with 15 that I will do. Some of them are a part of pastoral ministry, nevertheless, every pastor doesn't do them, so I don't consider them all a given. Many of these or even most are choices, not mandatories. 1) Writing...for the rest of my life. It's as much a call on my life as the call to pastoral ministry. 2) Continuing education. 3) Continue to accept speaking engagements outside the church as my schedule allows. 4) Missions trips. 5) Mentoring at least one or two young adults real up close and personal. 6) Take time for myself each week, preferably a little each day. 7) Quiet. Solitude. Demand time apart and...get it. 8) Friends. And yes, even in the church. 9) Collect as many shoes as possible. 10) A regular day off, choosing the wisdom of a day of rest rather than giving in to the tyranny of the urgent. 11) A realistic view of my kids. Proper expectations, no...