Deanna Doss Shrodes

Recently on our family cruise my husband and I were waiting in a long line for the breakfast buffet. I began to get rather frustrated with the people in line. They were moving as slow as molasses. I’ve never tested how fast molasses really moves, but you know….  What   irked me was that this line as long as an anaconda did not have to stay that way!   People moved in slow motion as they reached for a grapefruit or selected a box of cereal. They seemed to be giving serious thought to selecting a sausage. I wanted to scream, “What’s wrong with you people? It’s sausage. This doesn’t require an executive decision. Grab and move! Grab and move!” I quipped to my husband, “For a person who is on the move, this line that is not on the move but could very easily be is rather frustrating.” He gently said back to me, “Babe, you’re not supposed to be on the move this week. This isn’t the week to rush anywhere. Just relax.” I will admit that was hard advice although ...

Today I'm interviewing someone who loves cruising more than anyone I know -- and knows how to get fantastic deals! Today my guest is my husband, Larry Shrodes. Enjoy. Deanna: Why do most people think cruises are so expensive?   Larry: Many of us in our generation grew up seeing The Love Boat. I think it may have been thought of by some as more a dream than a reality. Perhaps people think, “Surely this has to be more than I can afford -- not realistic for me…” The reality is, many times you can cruise much cheaper than taking a traditional vacation. However note that there is a difference between a vacation and a trip. For instance, a trip is when you go visit relatives and stay with them. I don’t consider that a vacation.   Deanna: So then, what is a true vacation, to you?   Larry: Vacation is getting away from it all. A true vacation for me means people taking care of me rather than the other way around. It’s a break from my normal routine and respon...

An informal poll I took recently among friends in ministry revealed that most don’t take a day off. Or if they do it’s not a true day off. I’ve known the importance of a Sabbath for a long time. After all it’s in the Bible . And I’m a minister, so I’ve done plenty of reading of the Bible. But for some reason those of us in ministry, myself included, seem to need more of a kick in the pants about taking a Sabbath, even more than our non-clergy counterparts.  Several weeks ago, I was spending time with some women's ministry leaders and brought this up. I was encouraging them about getting proper rest and practicing self-care. I discovered that even on their day off, 99.9% of them check work emails and texts, and “take a moment to answer back real quick.” I suggested to the group that all of those moments taken to “answer back real quick” add up.   I know because I’ve been so guilty of it myself. I also suspect that by answering back, most of us have entire Sabbaths...

Jordan took this photo when I was a little rough around the edges A few weeks ago I woke up and was so irritable I was banging stuff around on the counter top in the bathroom while I was getting ready for the day. Even the dogs were steering clear. Yep, I have days like that. Just keepin' it real. I am not a Pentecostal Mother Teresa. My husband asked me what was wrong and I confessed that I was angry at the lack of solitude to recharge. I couldn't remember the last time aside from reading my Bible or praying that I had  any quiet time to refresh. The previous day we had a few hours off and instead of standing up for my need for solitude, I followed Larry's suggestion to spend some time with friends. This wasn't his fault. I never spoke up and just went along with his suggestion without ever bringing up how I was feeling. He couldn't fix what was wrong because he didn't even know what was wrong.    Extroverts vs. Introverts A lot has been circu...

I love this photo. I believe a little silliness (or sometimes a lot) is good for all of us. Good clean practical jokes are all in fun as long as we don't cause any harm or undue stress. Tonight we had a minister's meeting and went out to eat together and we laughed and laughed and it was just so good. We went to one of my favorite spots, The Gathering Place , in Tampa. Our presbyter put Larry in charge of where our meeting would be tonight and this was the spot he chose. It's right around the corner from our church and has amazing soup, pizza and so much more. They make everything there with ingredients from local farms and produce stands. I needed the conversation.  I'm so grateful for opportunities to put aside the serious issues we face and let our hair down for a while. We did talk shop for a few minutes, and discussed politics for a moment or two, but by and large we just laughed and had fun. Fun is good. Have some! Fun is one of the most important t...

I didn't think about all that much this week. That's major for me. I'm a thinker. Always deeply introspective and running along to do something about whatever develops in my head. But this week, I said no. I didn't work on my upcoming book release. I didn't solve church problems. I didn't work on projects. I didn't do anything but float in the ocean or a pool, and zone out, humming along to Jimmy Buffet songs that played over loudspeakers. I also sat in the sand and read a fiction book that I thought had nothing to do with my life, but in the end I was wrong.   I also realized this week that other people have moments where they don't think. They just say or write the first random thing that comes to mind. And it's kinda fun. Today on the way home from vacation we stopped in Port Orange at Famous Philly's Sports Pub for lunch. (It was amazing!) My husband went into the men's room and while he was in there he noticed some graffiti ...

Do you ever have days where you can’t remember what the name of the thing you use to attach papers together is? (Stapler) Do you draw a blank when you look at your own family members and you try to remember their names…and you aren’t 85 years old, you’re 45? I understand. Maybe it’s time for a change of scenery.     Not a move across the country and nothing earth shattering or major, but a change of scenery even for just a few hours or a few days. I understand.  Larry got us this place for the first few days of our vacation that is honestly not much more than staying in an economy motel room but it’s exquisite! This is the view from our balcony where I’m eating breakfast this morning…   Savanna found herself a special spot to sit and think for a while in a tree…  Sometimes we just need to look at things from a different angle. My good friend Sue Duffield talked about that this week in one of her “drive by devotionals...

Doing the same exact thing day after day (especially without proper rest) can cause any of us to get a case of the fuzzies. I hate fuzzies. This is where I go to write a blog post or a song or a message to preach, and everything in my head just feels fuzzy. Nothing's springing up. Even though I pray. Even though I worship. Even though I read my bible.  For me the cure for fuzzies is to rest, and also to shake things up in some way. There are many things I have to do each day that are routine and other things that are unique. But sometimes it helps to do something different. Today we went tubing with the youth of our church to Rainbow River .  I slept in the car almost all the way there. Having a few hours out there with nothing to do but sit and float downstream was good for me. It was good for me as well to sleep almost all the way back home!  My inbox was full this morning when I left, but ya know what...I left it behind. Some days that's what needs to be on...