Deanna Doss Shrodes

How do you know what anyone should or shouldn't do?  The answer is, with the exception of few things, you don't. I have written a series here on the blog, "Lessons from Kathryn".  She's the person who has served as my manager at NextJob for most of my employment there, and that recently changed within the last few weeks.  She is still at the company however she has been promoted to a  new position.  While she is no longer my day to day manager, we still talk on a constant basis.  Her value in my life is not limited to positional authority and I am still in close relationship and learning from her whether she is overseeing me or not.  I think we've actually talked more since she's not my manager than we did before!  Incidentally, I am also in very good relationship with my new manager, Tina , who was responsible for bringing me to the company in the first place and is a great manager and leader to learn from as well. There's something Kathryn taught

There comes a time when you are face to face with your own spiritual, physical and emotional well being. A time when pleasing  people fades into the background and doing what you need to do to take proper care of yourself comes into focus. I am feeling little tolerance for anything stressful right now.  I'm losing concern for what happens around me as long as it just doesn't drive my stress level up any further than it already is. I'm gaining the power to set boundaries and not really care who gets mad at me. I'm so there. Excuse me while I go take some deep breaths and then hug my dog Max.  He is otherwise known as "Meds".  He truly is my medication.  He is the only medication I am currently on.  And it's my goal for it to stay that way.   Every time I hug him I feel my blood pressure go down.  I'm not imagining this.  Studies show when you pet your dog, your blood pressure goes down. Now if I could just take Max everywhere with me 24/7,

Last night Larry was absolutely SHOCKED out of his mind to see this couple walk in the doors of the church.  What a reunion they had!  He couldn't wait to run down to the sanctuary and tell me they were here!  He hasn't seen them since he went away to bible college as a teenager, however I have heard about them literally hundreds of times and our church has heard all the stories about them too.  When we told the church, "Bro. and Sis. B are here!!", they knew right away who we were talking about and welcomed them with open arms, applause and excitement. The Bertoluzzi's are a couple from Pittsburgh who reached out and cared about my husband when he was just a very young man in junior high school.  My husband came to Jesus at 13 years old when his junior high school friend Darren Daugherty (Now Dr. Darren Daugherty, professor at Southwestern University of the AG) invited him to his youth group at Christian Life (AG) church in Trafford, PA.  My husband went to chu

Allow me to introduce you to my latest love affair that I'm having at lunch.  So yummy!  Try this... Take a whole wheat Sandwich Thin (Arnold brand pictured here.  Right now my favorite are the "All Natural Flax & Fiber" ones.) Spread 1 Tbsp of Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese on it  Top with a 2 slices of low fat turkey breast or low fat roast beef on it.  (I also get low sodium) Enjoy!  (6 pts. on WW Plus) I am absolutely crazy about this and eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner at times.  Simple, and deeeelicious!  Sometimes if I have the extra point and want more cream cheese I add one more Tbsp. This week I have enjoyed it as well as another new lunch love, introduced to me by my friend Patrice Migliore Viscuso (a friend from bible college days, also a fellow Weight Watcher).  The follow soup has ZERO points.  That's right, nada, zip, ZERO!  I'm a soup lover and eat it even in the summertime.  It really helps me stay

I was interviewed recently by a Southeastern University student on the subject of leadership. I wanted to share it for those who might have interest.   Interview with Deanna Shro des on Leadership 1.     How would you define and explain your leadership style? I’m a confident leader yet I thrive on finding the potential in others and helping them flourish.  I am not threatened by others with great talent or potential, rather I rejoice in releasing them to their fullest.  My leadership style on a day to day basis could be described as organized with an attention to detail  but I don’t have a problem delegating or releasing and I don’t like to micromanage.   While I don’t have a passion for babysitting I do enjoy leading. 2.     What plans do you have that could cause staff or church members to become uneasy but feel as though the intended outcome justify the means? – Regarding maintaining ethics and promoting change. I love prayerfully pushing the envelope and do

This is so yummo! It's the latest thing makin' my mouth happy and my waistline slimmer!  (All of the ingredients aren't low calorie but using what ones you can certainly helps out.) Our staff came over for Easter dinner and everybody brought something to share to go along with the ham we made at our house.  Our children's pastors brought the following dish and I could have had it as my whole meal.  I said, "please, please, please, I beg you to bring that to every gathering we have that includes food..." We are all watching our weight and this is a dish that has low calorie/fat ingredients but I promise it does not skimp on flavor.  Try it, you'll love it!  By the way, they did not bake it as indicated in this recipe, they brought it to the church in a crock pot and cooked it there and then just brought it to our home after church. Crowd Pleasing Vegetable Casserole Ingredients 1 can (26 ounces) Campbells Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup Fat Free

People streaming in the doors for service today...a packed house! What an amazing day at Celebration! I waited until  later in the day to blog today because I wanted to share about how our service was this morning. My day started super early on Sunday as it always does - way before the sun comes up.  Today I didn't get officially "dressed for service" til right up to service time because like most of our other team members, I wanted my clothes to be perfectly pressed and fresh for the day ahead.  We went to rehearsal early this morning (I go at 7:30 am) as we always do and we had a complete run through.  It went smooth as butter.  I was so excited for what was going to unfold.  After rehearsal everyone went to change clothes for service and then it was time for the continental breakfast that our church provided for all attenders this morning.  The service kicked off an hour later... Over the past 10 months so much new talent has poured into our church. We actual

I wrote a lengthy blog several times last night and deleted it every time.  I didn't intend on doing that, in fact it was incredibly frustrating. Philippians 2:14 says, "do everything without complaining."   I really believe complaining is the devil's food.  Complaining is to the devil as praise is to God.  That's not to say that I have never complained and still don't complain sometimes.  I struggle like anyone else.  But it's still wrong, and it's not pleasing to God.  I blog everyday.  It's also my desire to obey God's Word. Sometimes I just need to pray through, and hit the delete key.  Like yesterday, and today. Pray for me.  I'll pray for you.  Together we will overcome.

  "They are brand new, not things from the past."  Isaiah 48:7 I found this butterfly outside the sanctuary doors yesterday afternoon as I was putting some last minute things in place for our choir musical.  I know, Thursday isn't "last minute" for most people when it comes to something on Sunday but I'm not a very "last minute" oriented person.  For me the last minute is long before the actual last minute.  (smile) It seemed poignant to me that this butterfly was in my path as I entered the doors to put the finishing touches on for Easter.   Butterflies symbolize new life and certainly we've had our share of that at Celebration .  I feel like a whole new life has opened up for me these past ten months.  It's happened for me personally and for us as a church.  It's good, so good.   And it's been a looooooooooooooong time coming.  God spoke to me that this isn't just our NEW season, it's our DUE season.  This is going to

It's the baby's birthday today... I'm so blessed to be her Momma.   She's 14 today.   Where has the time gone? Don't blink Moms...you'll miss it!  Time goes so quickly. Last night she was sharing some of her insights with me of things she's been reading in the Word, and explaining to me why she loves certain passages. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."  3 John 1:4 Happy birthday Savanna!  You are the daughter we always dreamed of.  I love you.

It's gotten in my head way too much and I think I just might need another vacation.  I'm starting to get loopy.  ("Just starting?" some of you are thinking...) What do you get when you mix being a pastor, a pastor's wife, and a job coach working  for a re-employment  firm that is absolutely  second to none in customer service?  Well, I will tell you this, if you do it for any amount of time successfully you are, as a general rule, positive in your communication.  You may not "feel" it all the time, and some days may be a huge challenge, but you learn how to be a positive communicator.  Monday I realized how programmed on "auto-pilot" I just might be when it comes to this.  I had a few personal items on my agenda Monday when getting back from the cruise.  One was confirming a dentist appointment, the other making a call to my gynecologist's office to schedule my yearly exam.  I called and spoke with the receptionist giving her all of

I was delighted by everything from these cool watermelon carvings on the buffets to the ice sculptures.   I love details!! The Solarium (adults only pool) where I spent a lot of my time.  It was quiet in there. Loved it!   Nothing but adults silently paddling around in the water or just quietly sitting on the edge getting their feet wet.  This was one of the special places where I decompressed during the week.  Larry and me on the deck at sunset.  My  hair was blowing up during this photo but I liked it anyway.  Usually sunset was in between the evening show and dinner and we always went out to the balcony to catch the sunset.  I love sunsets! This was my favorite dessert of the week.  It was on "lobster night" and was a trio of some of the most scrumptious desserts.  The chocolate thing in the center was AMAZING!!!  So rich!  (Did I mention I gained two pounds on the cruise but have already taken them off since coming home?  Got right back on program...)  Our s

My man and me, on the balcony of our room.  I slept in quite a bit but Larry got up to watch the sunset each and every day.    Costa Maya ~ an absolutely beautiful place. Our room :)  I had breakfast in bed most mornings.  Luxurious!  Larry standing in the other half of our room. Larry and I sitting on the steps of the Mayan Ruins.  The cruise director gave a list of "top ten dumbest things people have asked me or said to me while on a cruise."  They were hysterical!  These were actual complaints people brought to his attention.  One lady complained and asked for her money back from the Royal Caribbean Ruins excursion.  She said, "I was very disappointed that the Ruins were in such poor condition."  Too funny! Larry and me getting ready to go to dinner. Sitting on the balcony of our room. Our steward, Sebastian, cleaned our room and left us this elephant.  So cute. The pool deck, where I spent a lot of time ...one of my favorite parts of th