Authentic Life & Leadership
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Enjoying the Work You Prayed For
For most of my life, I’ve gotten high on work. I used to plan events like a woman running a relay with no baton, white-knuckling the very thing I’d begged God to bless. If something was off, I felt it in my spine. If a volunteer missed a beat, I replayed it while...
When Grief’s Stinger is Stuck in Your Throat
"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." Washington Irving I stare at this...
The Fog of Grieving
Since entering my season of grief in December, it has felt like I’m in a fog, specifically brain fog. Creative ideas typically flow out of me like Niagara Falls, gushing forth with everything from blog posts to sermons, to team meeting ideas, to books, to articles, to...
3 Realities of Grieving
(And How to Respond)
Let's get this out of the way up front: I'm not a therapist. I'm just a middle-aged woman who has navigated a lot of personal loss in times past, and I am going through it again now in several aspects. What you're about to read are simply experiences from a fellow...
That Time I Consistently Broke One of the
Ten Commandments
When I was growing up, I mistakenly thought a Sabbath day constituted making sure you went to church on Sunday and honored “The Lord’s Day.” I was completely mistaken about what Sabbath is really all about. I learned about the importance of Sabbath when I began my...
5 Things Leaders Need to Do After a Big Event
Stronger Conference 2023 is now over and what a time it was! It is devoid of hype when I say it was truly next level! At the same time, it took everything out of me. I am trying to be a better leader when it comes to what to do after an event that I lead. For most of...
What to Do When Your Hair Falls Out
(From Stress)
I lost a lot of hair over the past eighteen months. I do not have bald spots, but it has thinned out tremendously, to about half of what I used to have. It began when I was on the last year of my doctorate and particularly during the dissertation phase. When I began...
Invite Deanna to speak at your next event!
Deanna is invited to return and speak at many of the same places time and again because the result has been an overwhelmingly positive experience with lives changed, and people encouraged.
BIO
Dr. Deanna Shrodes
Dr. Deanna Doss Shrodes is an author, speaker, and leadership mentor known for helping women lead with courage, integrity, and deep faith. Her work has been featured by CBS News, People Magazine, The New Yorker, Woman’s World, GOD TV, and HuffPost. She holds a Master’s in Ministerial Leadership and a Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern University, where she also serves as an adjunct professor.
Dr. Shrodes currently serves as Women’s Ministries Director for the Pen Florida District of the Assemblies of God and leads the Stronger Leadership Network, where she mentors pastors and leaders through coaching, spiritual formation, and leadership development. The author of five books and a contributing writer to five others, her most recent work, Uncommon Answers, was released by Chosen Books (a division of Baker Publishing Group) in April 2025.
Known for a warm pastoral presence and practical, thoughtful teaching, Dr. Shrodes speaks at conferences, churches, and leadership gatherings on spiritual formation, prayer, women in leadership, discernment in decision-making, and cultivating healthy ministry cultures.
She is married to her college sweetheart, Larry. Together they have three grown children and five grandchildren.
Areas of Focus:
Spiritual formation & prayer
The work of the Holy Spirit
Leadership development
Women in leadership
Mentoring and calling
Healthy ministry culture
Leadership transitions
Marriage and ministry life
Become Your Most Authentic Self
Free E-Book
Are you tired of being who and what others expect you to be, instead of who God created you to be?
If you find the pressure of other people's expectations exhausting and you are ready to be the authentic YOU that you were always meant to be, Deanna would like to gift you with an ebook, 29 Ways to Become Your Most Authentic Self.
It's time to break free and finally live according to your divine design!
