Born in Lexington, Kentucky, the fifth of seven children of Ruth and Charles Shaw, Deborah grew up in Georgia. She attended Asbury College where she met her husband Gregg. She taught preschool, wrote preschool curriculum for David C. Cook Publishing, and directed a daycare center, Winkie Bear Child Development Center. Two fertility specialist told Debi and Gregg that they would not be able to have children. Their first child Andrew was declared a "miracle." Then he was followed by Matthew, then Lisette, then Benjamin, then Jonathan.Debi acquired her master's degree from the Erikson Institute in Chicago. She is currently the director of PALS, the mothers' morning out program at Trinity United Methodist Church in Rome, Georgia. She loves to speak to groups of mothers and to tell stories to young children.