Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

  Over the years, I have owned several dogs, and the bigger the better. As I was walking my grand puppy this weekend, I started thinking about what my neighbors must be thinking as I plead with my dogs to do their business. Imagine late at night the sound of a desperate woman repeating the mantra of, "Come on. Poop. Go poopy. Poop. Poop. Poop." They must think I'm crazy, but I  read about a study where dog owners who repeat one phrase over and over saw a quicker poop time for their dogs; thus, the poop mantra. As the dogs hear my voice, they become so familiar with it that they automatically respond. Wouldn't it be great if we become so familiar with God's voice that it's second nature to automatically respond to His voice? Keep in mind   that immediate obedience comes in a very similar way to the dog training. It's repetition. As we seek God regularly, we become responsive to His voice. The more we listen, the more we recognize His commands. So as I wand...

  My children laugh at my ridiculous amounts of open tabs on my phone. At one point, there were 40ish tabs open. I, now, try to close the tabs more often. As I was closing tabs, I noticed my Google search bar. You may notice that as we type into the search bar, it shows a history of searches from the past. I noticed how odd my searches are sometimes. There was a pirate translator for National Pirate Day because, of course, you want to be that annoying person who talks like a pirate to irk your friends. Then there are phone numbers for a restaurants that serve the best food. Next, there is the quintessential question every dog lover asks, "Is (fill in the blank) okay for dogs to eat?" I've overfed my grand puppy because of this question. He's gained a lovely 12 pounds under my loving care. He's not fat. He's delightfully fluffy. My next search goes to odd questions like, "Do armadillos carry leprosy? How do you make chicken nesting boxes? What does a poi...

Today, during our church service, we took communion. If you are unfamiliar, it is simply remembering that Christ died on the cross by continuing the Lord's Supper as Jesus did before He died. In Matthew 26:17-30, Jesus took bread and explained that this bread was His body and the wine was His blood shed for forgiveness of sin.  A representation of what He was about to do for mankind.  Here's the cool history portion of this. During the time Jesus led the Last Supper, a practice was well-known. When a family accepted the terms of a bride-price between father and groom, then a binding contract was made. After this happened, the groom approached his bride with a glass of wine. He would push it toward her. If she drank from the cup, she agreed and legally sealed the engagement. The groom would then leave to prepare a place at his father's house for both him and his wife to live . In the same way, Jesus was offering this bridal contract with his disciples, and us now. He gave u...

  My work office has a history of...how can I put this gently, not the best cleaning crew? One custodian from years ago would flush the toilet and call it good. Another would leave the paper towel dispenser empty so much that we had to put signs in giant print saying, PLEASE GIVE US PAPER TOWELS." All this to say, our expectations were low when we got the latest custodian. However, he proved us wrong in our low expectations . He walked from room to room introducing himself and learning each of our names. Every day, I was greeted with, "Hello, Eyevette." I always grin at the mispronunciation. My name is hard to figure out sometimes. He then emptied all the trash cans and even picked up tiny specks of paper off the floor. He spent 15 minutes cleaning a therapy table by my desk. I didn't have the heart to tell him the half a can of disinfectant was making it a little hard to breathe, but I think my coughing gave it away. I noticed every time he emptied the trash can,...

  As a preschool special education teacher, I travel to a lot of preschools in my area.  At one particular preschool, I had finished therapy when the teacher informed me of sending home three children after profusive vomiting. Of course, I did what every good teacher does. I pulled out my travel-sized Bath N Body Works hand sanitizer from my car and practically bathed in it. It's fighting germs with 5% alcohol and 95% glitter.  My whole car filled with alcohol-infused berries. I stopped off for a soda at a local gas station and received the weirdest compliment I've ever received. The attendant took my cash and ended our transaction with, " You smell really good. " I gave an awkward thank you and continued on my way, but it made me realize how easy it is to simply pay a kind compliment to someone. I felt great after receiving the compliment. How easy it is to improve someone's day by simply being kind. " I love that shirt. You're rocking that hairstyle. ...

  Tonight, we celebrated Labor Day with a luau party at our church. As I prepared for the festivities, I chose yellow tablecloths. No big deal, you may think. But any of my friends know that I really dislike the color yellow. It all goes back quite a few years to when my son had appendicitis. I rushed him to the doctor after he was in so much pain that he couldn't walk. When we got to the waiting room, I knew I had to take action to make sure he was seen quickly since the waiting room was crowded, and his pain was increasing. He had vomited so much that only bile was coming up, so inspiration hit. I gave him a clear Ziploc bag and told him to throw up in that bag. It took one time in the very crowded waiting room for the staff to rush him back before a chain reaction could begin. He had his appendix taken out within two hours, but my lasting dislike of yellow still exists . All I see is the Ziploc bag of bile. This brings me to my point. Our past experiences affect our lives. You...