Deanna Doss Shrodes

God asked you to do something when it doesn't turn out favorably? Why would God ask you to invest yourself in something or someone that didn't have a huge ROI?? Take for example, why would God ask you to mentor when the results lack despite your efforts poured into a person's life? The answer is found in one simple word: obedience . One thing I am learning is that what I do or do not do is not based whatsoever on outcome but upon obedience to God's call. We've got to hear His voice in our ear and follow it unquestionably even when the outcome is less than stellar. Why do we do things? Simply because He's asked us to. And that needs to be enough.

Very tired after a long day in ministry, but it's A/G ~ a ll g ood! Today's service went well. The Lord spoke to us through a Word of knowledge/prophecy about repentance and holiness. And God is just all over me on this issue right now and I'm seeking Him in this way as never before. Recently I heard a preacher make the statement, "Imagine what God would do in our lives and churches if we were half as concerned about holiness as we are about relevance ." (Ouch!) We ate lunch with a few families which is one of my all time fav things to do - connect, connect, connect with those I love. :-) We topped it off with newcomer's night at our home tonight and it was in-SANE-ly good with SO many new people. Our house was PACKED and incredibly NOISY! (Good noise) We had 20 newcomers at our house tonight. Plus the staff & families, and a few stray youth who hang at my house all the time. :-) God is good. He loves me! I love Him! I love the people He has entrusted me w...

Do you want to be famous? Or do you want to make a difference? I know one can do both. Quite a number of people have throughout history. But I'm not sure about how many do it effectively or at least without a TON of ramifications in their personal lives. How many people do you know besides Billy Graham and a very few others? Some don't walk worthy of the calling and are associated with all kinds of questionable things. Others do walk worthy of the calling but are constantly beat up in exchange for all the notariety they have. Some people say, "I'd gladly go through that ," but nobody really understands what those people go through unless they are them. I have had many people say to me, "I'd love to be a pastor or pastor's wife and I'd gladly go through whatever to live the life you do..." but honestly unless you have lived the life you really can't say with any degree of certainty whether you could handle it or not. As for me, sometim...

Here are some photos from our anniversary dinner at Roy's. When making the reservation Larry told them it was our 21st anniversary. Upon receiving menus from the host, we opened them to find they had printed, "Happy Anniversary" at the top of the menu. That reminded me of Hyatt. (They do that too...so cool!) Nothing like the personal touch... The waiter remarked he was amazed we had been married for 21 years. He said, "you look so young..." followed by a comment about hair club for men or something like that. (ha ha! Actually Teeb has all his own hair...) Anyway we just explained we started young...actually married when Larry was still a teenager if you can believe that! Seriously. He was 19. We were just young'uns who somehow not only married but basically raised each other to adulthood, actually. So at Roy's, I ordered their special trio of fish ~ Hawaiian butterfish, salmon an d tuna. It came on little plates and each had a special sauce. I also had r...

I shared this story in my Sunday School class this past week. I wish I could take credit for it but I can't. I'm not sure who originally wrote it, but I did not. I got it from a sermon illustration site. Wow, did this ever hit home with quite a few people! Thought I would share it here. One young lady came to me after class and said, "I am Dove. I need help." Another couple said, "our daughter was Dove." This story hits very close to home for many reasons. (None having to do with my husband and I and our relationship, however we have helped many Dove's.) The story is told of a wise owl and a beautiful little dove. Dove had wonderful parents that provided for her. They taught Dove how to fly, and how important it is to keep a good clean nest. They taught Dove a good healthy diet and what was good and what was bad. The Wise Old Owl had often preached and taught Dove many lessons of life. The wise old Owl had seen many other birds associate with the wro...

Today is 21 years for Teeby and me. We've made it! Here's a pic of us the first month we were married... Tonight we are headed out to celebrate with dinner for two at Roy's in Tampa...... a really nice place. One of our wonderful Northsiders gave us a gift certificate to enjoy this night together. The cool thing is, it's Hawaiian fusion cuisine and 21 years ago we went on our honeymoon to Hawaii. Good memories. Dustin will hold down the home front and take care of things so Momma and Daddy can celebrate our night. Thanks Teeb, (and thanks Lord...) for another year. Here's to at least another 21......

Just a reminder to all you wonderful women who are pastor's wives, missionaries, pastors, evangelists or wanna be........... Early bird pre-registration for the Unstoppable Conference is coming to an end on Monday, June 30th . Of course you can still register during the regular registration or even late registration but just thought I'd give a gentle reminder to register now and save! I can't wait to spend this time with the most wonderful women in the world. Pastor Tara Sloan is also one of the speakers for this year's conference! You are going to be SO BLESSED . Do not miss this incredible time. I would encourage you to register and don't come alone if you can help it! Bring a friend or two...three would be ideal -- the four of you can share a room and experience the conference together here in beautiful Tampa Bay! Go here for all the details and a registration form that you can download. Please note if you bring a friend who registers, you can also have a pro...

Ever felt like the preacher was talking directly to you? Ever been mad because you're convinced they planned that message just for you, to correct you, or point out the error of your ways? Ever thought, "I just knoooow he/she's talking about ME?" Well, one person in my church KNEW for sure that was the case last week. Why? Because Saturday night I called them and said, "Hey, I'm going to be teaching a message in my class on Sunday straight to you tomorrow, about you, so make sure you come out and hear it!" No kidding. I really did that! I figured, why beat around the bush? If you're going to preach something about somebody, just tell them beforehand so they can be sure not to miss it since you are strategically talking about it for their benefit. God forbid they miss it. (GRIN) I was genuinely trying to help this woman -- and had her on my heart. My intent was never to make her uncomfortable or upset. And honestly, others pastors I know don't s...

When I first started blogging publicly, I said I would blog about things I'm learning, and some stuff I haven't figured out yet and am not sure I ever will. Along my life's journey, I have learned a few things to be definitely true so far. Here are a few: I am definitely sure that Jesus is everything. Just had to say that up front although it should go without saying. A few other things... I definitely know we find meaning and purpose in learning to serve Jesus and others. I definitely know I was created to be a Wonder Woman. (I believe everybody is created to be a Wonder Woman or Superman, but many don't go for it, it's that simple.) I definitely know the joy of the Lord must be one's strength to succeed. I definitely know all it takes to be above average is to serve. Really. It's that simple. I definitely know there's nothing like the affection of those important to you. I definitely know the value of loyalty. I definitely know that time really DOES f...

I just came back from my daily bike ride. How exhiliarating. I thought I'd share with you 10 reasons I love doing this everyday and make time for it. (If I don't bike, I walk.) Okeey dokey, here we go... 1) Fat loves to stick to me. I have to ride it off. No kidding if I eat a piece of candy I might as well tape it to my butt because that's where it's going to show up anyway. If I didn't ride my bike I'd be twice as big. 2) I love to feel the wind on my face. 3) I love to be by myself and ride and think. 4) God meets me on the bike. We talk. 5) I love to pedal fast but I also like to coast and just check out the sights. Trees. Flowers. Lakes. The Sky. Sprinklers. Clouds. The Sunset. Rain. You name it, I love it! 6) I love to work my legs and make them stronger. Might come in handy if I have to kick any unruly people. LOL Just kidding. Honestly, I do like toning my legs as much as possible. And Larry? He really likes it. :-) 7) Although I like walking, it's...

Friday afternoon I decided to go out for a few miles on my bike. It was getting ready to storm and the clouds were gathering. I thought I could beat the storm and get back in time so I headed out. It was such a great ride. The wind was gently blowing the entire time, not too hard, but just right...like a lovely natural air conditioning of sorts. It was actually quite beautiful. I realized I was going to indeed make it home just before it started pouring. It was timed pretty perfectly. And the Lord reminded me that when it storms hard and I'm inside I'm really never scared or anything. Most of the time we can be relatively unaffected by the storm if we are under cover somewhere. I actually kind of enjoy it and usually light candles and settle in with a good book in bed or my favorite chair. In the comfort of my home I feel entirely safe as long as I am sheltered there. God reminded me that storms would continue to come and go spiritually and emotionally in my life but as l...

Just gotta tell you about the last 24 hours of my life. Last night I worked on some projects til' late. Larry and I were up quite a while because we got a call from our son Dustin (who was working at the church late last night) telling us the electricity was out at the church. Larry asked Tom to go up and call TECO (thank God for Tom!) and they promised to have it back on by 2 am, which they did. The interesting thing is, in the six years we have been pastoring this church when the electricity goes out in the sanctuary, it ALWAYS happens on Saturday night or Sunday morning. I am not a mystical person but I assure you I think this is more than coincidence. It's spiritual warfare. Especially when the Lord is doing major things - healings, salvations, etc., we seem to go through this. What better way to shut down what God wants to do than try to take away our ability to have lights/sound? It's not an issue with our building that we can fix. It has to do with the power lines ou...

This morning was my women's life coaching meeting. Earlier this week I decided we were going to do a full breakfast this morning, not just beverages and snack as we normally do. What a perfect morning! It was a God-plan. It was pouring down rain. We had to really push through the weather to get here. Some of the ladies had gone through much in their personal lives this week. Coming in out of our personal situations and the pouring rain, into this beautiful breakfast was such a refuge! It was such an enjoyable morning of sharing a meal together ~ sharing our hearts ~ growing together. I had some of the women bring fresh fruit, danish and juice and I made a quiche recipe. I had gotten it off of a bed & breakfast website and it looked great however, when I got to the store I discovered I had forgotten the paper with the ingredients. So I had to do it by memory! Well...when I got home I discovered I was wrong on some of the ingredients and if I used the ones I purchased, the recipe...

Danella over at Beyond Microbursts tagged me today with this meme, so here I go: 1) What were you doing ten years ago? Here's a pic of me with my family ten years ago. I was Larry's wife of 11 years, co-pastor of our church in Maryland and Mom of a 1 year old baby girl and two elementary school age boys. I was tired a lot of the time, but faithful to all that the Lord called me to do. 2) Name five things on today's "to do" list: Clean the kitchen Rest a bit (supposed to be my day off) Go to sectional minister's meeting (unfortunately it fell on my day off) Go on a bike ride Do a load of laundry 3) Things I'd do if I was a billionnaire... So much! I'd bless and give to my children, my church, friends, missionaries, and I would publish and give many books away for free to those who could not otherwise afford them. 4) Three bad habits: Emotional eating at times Procrastinating with my 2 least fav household chores Raising voice when I'm angry at t...

Cassandra a friend of mine who writes over at Tripping Around the Sun , sent me this quote today that she thought I'd appreciate, and she's right... I love it: "If a writer is so cautious that he never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he will never write anything that can be read. If you want to help other people you have to make up your mind to write things that some men will condemn." ~ Thomas Merton Absolutely.

Today's my day off and I started it by reading ABC news online. Imagine my amazement to find a woman in Los Angeles claims to have been seriously harmed by a pair of panties and she's suing! Lawsuits today amaze me. It would be nothing but laughable if it didn't cost us so much. I say "us" because you do realize when somebody wins one of these million dollar lawsuits, such as for spilling hot coffee on themselves at McDonalds - it's us, the consumers that get that cost passed on to us as prices get raised to cover the cost of their legal battles. Anyway... The latest in a string (pardon the pun) of frivolous lawsuits is a woman who now claims she was injured by a thong at Victoria's Secret. No kidding. Read it here . And no, this isn't being reported by tabloids, you can read it in the NY Times, Fox News, ABC News, etc. This lady claims she was trying on a thong and a little metallic decoration flew off and hit her in the eye. Okay, so maybe that's...

Savanna is headed to Missionette Stars retreat today. She's all excited and I'm excited for her. She's still a little sore today, from immunizations. She had her well check up Tuesday and her arms is still sore. But she'll be alright. This is her last year at Missionette retreat...kinda nostalgic. Lots of "lasts" this year as she moves up into this next phase. It's surreal sometimes and yes, challenging for me as a Mom! I mean, I'm really blessed...she's a great kid. The issue is, she's my baby, and that the difficulty for me...letting go. As for me I worked today and God is giving me fresh vision and dreams for a lot of things. Nothing deep to share yet...I've been working on so much and my brain is a little fried, so I'm just going for an easy meme tonight that I got from Pastor Leanne . 1) What is your favorite day of the week? I'm with Leanne on this one. Friday. I love what I do, however - I love to sleep! 2) How do you usually...

Yup. If you don't know what that is, don't worry it's nothing gross or inappropriate. For those who know what Twitter is, you can follow me now if you are so inclined. I told myself when Twitter first came out, "that's dumb, I'm not doing it" but alas I have succumed. I can't help it. Sometimes I warm up to something after so many of my intelligent friends like Tara do it.

Yesterday was Cathy's (mine & Larry's asst's) birthday but I wasn't in the office yesterday to celebrate it with her, so today was the day! I don't have any "profound" thoughts today to share but trust me, Cathy's birthday is profound, because she's profound! Side note: what's with my use of the word profound yesterday and today? Well, certain friends of mine are always saying that I come up with these "profound" things to say and quite honestly I don't see them as that - I just share "life" and "thoughts". But if somehow it ever comes out sounding profound, well, I'll take that! Praise God for it. That's grace...God's grace! Back to Cathy... She and her husband Tom have been with Larry and I from the beginning although she hasn't always been our assistant. But I knew in my heart for a long time that she would have this job. I think she did too. Well, although a job it's not really a jo...

I had a good night's sleep after ministering last night but my mind is still kind of numb and tired and although I got a lot of work done today, I am really out of profound thoughts. When the Profound truck comes to my house and drops off my next box of Profound I'll be back with some thoughts in my unconventional style. (lol) Seriously, I'm sorta just zoning out after getting my work done and reading others writings and I'd like to point my readers to some other people who are saying some great, profound things. Here are my shout outs for today: At the top of my list is Perry Noble's blog (I read it everyday...fantastic stuff) and today is no exception. I know I'm only one of thousands of pastors who eat his blog up like candy every day. Not only is he one of the greatest pastors who teaches on leadership that I've ever heard, he is also one of the funniest. Today's blog on being pleasing is a winner. And I love his quote: "Opinions are like rea...

Just getting in very late tonight from ministering at Eagle Lake …actually I’m rolling in early this morning. It's after 1 am right now. So technically I didn't get a chance to blog "yesterday" - which is a rarity. Tuesday is my day to work from home. I’m getting home so late, and hitting the sack in a moment. I’m definitely going to sleep in before I get up and attack my church work. I'm so exhausted but God is sooo good! It’s a “worth it” exhausted. I believe if you’re gonna be exhausted, you need to be exhausted for Jesus! We had a great time we had! God ministered so mightily in the altars through word of knowledge, wisdom, prophecy. Awesome stuff. I’m am totally drained, like I normally feel after a time in God like that. So good. Afterwards, Irene (pastor’s wife) said, “Wow, those ‘words’ were so on target, it was amazing!” God never ceases to blow my mind with how He works. He is an amazing God! And what a group of women who were hungry for the Lord! That m...

Today was really a great day in the house @ Northside! You could feel the spirit of the God mightily in the place. Mallory led in worship and always does a great job. Lar and I tag teamed it today in preaching, continuing in our series, "The Presence Driven Church." At the close, we had a great worship time and at least one healing -- Willie came up to the microphone and testified at the end of the service, how he had been touched by the Lord. Wow, God really did a work, which we are not surprised by at all, for we come to church expecting Him to do it. I felt a new freedom in worship there at the end, which one of my sons also commented on ...again, no surprise, we were expecting it! (Church is always much better when you come EXPECTING!) Expectancy is indeed the breeding ground for a miracle! Truly, I sense some new and wonderful things about to unfold. Larry finally figured out where he wanted to go for Father's Day (lunch) and that was B.D.'s Mongolian Grill which...

Lots happened today...some everyday mundane things but there's always a little drama in Shrodesville. We'll start with the drama... Jordan was riding his bike to work and the chain popped off and he flipped over on his bike and hit his face, banging himself up pretty good on his face and leg. Thankfully his cell phone was in his pocket and when he was on the ground, he flipped it open and called us. We rode over in the car and when we got there he was laying on the ground and several cars were lined up next to him and people stopped who had gotten out to help him. He felt light headed and his face was all bloody. At first I thought we were going to have to take him to the ER. It just looked bad as far as the blood but once we wiped him down (I had grabbed cloths and ice on the way out the door) we saw it was a lot of blood on his face but just a lot of scraping and no deep cuts. It could all be handled with peroxide and bandages. On the way home, I called his work and said he w...

The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. Jesus said, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest." For there was constant coming and going. They didn't even have time to eat. Mark 6:30-31 The Message Well my friends, I have been seriously rendezvousing with Jesus and the peeps for the last few weeks. Not a "whole" day off in a long time. Snippets here and there, but always an event, or something happening where I had to have my game on. No time to just truly get a rest. Can I tell you how much I was looking forward to yesterday? Oh my, really I can't describe it. I was praying and hoping for no emergencies, and friends, we made it! (Thanks Susan, I know you were seriously praying with me. She even sent me a card saying, "lifting you up for no emergencies..." What a girl. Every pastor needs somebody like that, I'm tellin you.) Well, just as Jesus told the disciples, I ...

Look at this lady. She looks so normal. I've seen hundreds like her as I've been shopping at Walmart, or walking in my neighborhood. If I was standing in a checkout line with her she looks like somebody I'd strike up a conversation with. She looks like many that I've thrown my arms around and hugged in our "hospitality room" at church. Her look portrays that of thousands of women I've met at women's teas, luncheons and outreaches. She's got the look of women I've pastored. The look of women I sit in the nail or hair shop next to. She looks so ordinary. But she's not just an ordinary woman. She's not known for being an uncommon or extraordinary woman who is serving on the missionfield or helping people in some way. This is no Sunday School teacher. This lady is Betty Neumar , and she is a murderer. Not just one time...but more than likely... five times. No kidding. This morning (P.J. day!) Larry and I were watching the news and eating br...

Ladies and gentlemen, Pastor Craig Sloan has hit one out of the ballpark AGAIN today! I'd like to direct you all to his blog for some great teaching. There are just certain seasons in my life where Craig Sloan has opened his mouth and preached, or e-mailed me a word, or they've called, or he's written something and it has been so on target like an arrow. The past few weeks, Craig has been cranking out some stuff on line that has just been like gold in the spirit. Of course his wife, Pastor Tara , has been my good friend for years and a blessing beyond measure. Please go and read his latest post today. Favorite parts of today's post, for me were... When you are anointed and remain faithful in preparation and process, the Father will cause someone to point you out for greatness. As soon as Jesus received the affirmation of the father, he was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The first thing satan did was say "If you are the son of God?" In ...

I read a great post by Pastor Gary Lamb, about people hearing what they want to hear. This is so good, all of you who are in ministry HAVE to read it. Seriously. I am telling you, those of you who pastor a church are going to want to wave hankies when you read this, so just get one in your hand and get prepared. I experience this too all the time, whether at my church or ministering elsewhere. And I think for us Pentecostals, it occurs even more, though I'm not going to give up on being Pentecostal over it or anything...lol. It happens all the time to Lar and I. What about the rest of you in ministry...do you have a lot of moments where you wonder how in the world people got what they did out of what you just said?

Just read this on somebody's Myspace, and I love it... "Caution has never moved a single mountain. " That is so good. So good. Giving me something to chew on in my spirit before bedtime...

* This was my "cup of coffee" ezine devo to my Northside ladies last week and just thought I'd share it with you here on the blog... John 5:1-8 “Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” Do you believe that Go...