Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

  As I was straightening up a few things in the supply closet at our church, I noticed a few signs left over from my daughter's wedding. "This Row Is Reserved" was there to ensure all family were able to have a spot of priority at her wedding. In the past, stories have made the news of predominant churches inviting those in high positions to places of priority at church services. Famous? Have a front row seat. Wealthy? Take a position in front of everyone. In 1 Corinthians 11:17-24, Paul admonished the church for something very much like this. The wealthy were showing up early to a communal meal celebrating the Lord's Supper. The problem came from them eating all the food and leaving little to none for the poor, working class who had to come when they finished working . It wasn't just the lack of food, but also illuminating the vast differences in social classes. Paul admonished that this is not how it should be. Jesus did not come for just the famous or wealthy. ...

  I am not a fan of pain any more than I'm a fan of spiders. Currently, tattoos are very popular. I had a sweet woman explaining the meanings behind her tattoos, involving her mother who had passed away and the faithfulness of God in her life. I joked with her saying that if I got a tattoo, mine would be a dot. When asked the meaning, I would say, "It means Owwww!" In other words, I do not want needles on my arm. I've even joked that I need a reminder tattoo that says, "Shhhhh." Just a reminder to keep my mouth shut when I need to remain silent. Even though I joke about this, I have dear people that have faced the pain to remind themselves of something God did or someone who reflected Christ in their life. All of this is to say, recently, a tattoo artist opened up a mobile tattoo trailer. What amazed me was that it had a tattoo chair placed right in front of a window. How exposed would you feel having that done in front of everyone driving by the trailer? D...

 Let it be known that I hate spiders. Little ones, big ones, they are all equally repulsive to me. My earliest memory of encountering spiders was at the age of three or four-years-old. I had the great idea of bringing my outside tricycle into my room at bedtime. When I woke up, my mother found me and my tricycle connected to spider webs throughout my room. As I watched my mother panick, I realized spiders were not my friends. Later, around thirteen-years-old, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider. The doctor mentioned the bite would rot and cause damage to my leg. My parent's church prayed for me. At that point, the bite was four colors and growing. After prayer, everything disappeared. No damage. No rot. Just normal color and better. As a result of my past history, my fear of spiders is very real. This is especially unfortunate when I live in an area where tarantulas migrate for mating season. I periodically cross paths with the super-sized representation of my greatest fear. Th...

  Yesterday was an exciting day in a not-so-great way. We have been navigating around a back door with a broken glass pane courtesy of a stray snd a lawnmower. Since it was double-paned, we were in no great hurry to repair it. However, yesterday, the need for glass repair doubled. My oldest son noticed a neighbor's dog had escaped their fence, so he grabbed a leash and attempted to capture it. When my son's Boxer saw his owner with another dog, he began to whimper, bark, and pace in front of one of the front door's sidelights. Once the leash was established on the wandering dog, Ruger had enough. Before I could catch him, in his excitement, he pawed the window, causing it to shatter. The need for glass repair is now inevitable. When my son's dog saw the other dog, he couldn't contain his excitement. It made me think of the woman at the well in the Bible in John 4:4-42. Jesus is traveling through Samaria during the hottest time of day and stops at Jacob's well....

  I had a wonderful weekend at Rockhaven Ladies Retreat. It's always a treat to get away from the hustle of life and just slow down to listen to God. In preparation for the retreat, I sent a list of the names of the ladies attending. Once there, a couple of the ladies from my church noticed misspellings in their names. Upon hearing one speaking with a leader to correct the error, a thought suddenly occurred. When I sent the text of all the ladies going, it was late. I pulled up the text only to realize it was my fault. Between autocorrect and my late night exhaustion, I had misspelled a couple of the ladies names! This made me think about how important it is to be properly known. I have spent the majority of my life with a first name that is misspelled. When someone got it right, I somehow felt I was fully seen and understood. My friend, God sees you. You are known by Him. 1 Corinthians 13:8  But if anyone loves God, he is known by God " (ESV) To be known by God is simply lov...

  While taking a little mini-vacation in Missouri, my husband and I decided to eat at a restaurant in town. The restaurant was packed, so everyone sat very close together. While glancing over my husband's shoulder, I noticed a lady's purse sitting on the ground beside her table. Her phone was sticking out of the side pocket of her purse. I did a double-take when I saw her phone. Her phone had four letters displayed- BUTT. I immediately questioned why someone would want to display BUTT on their phone. When I looked a little closer, I realized the phone case was yellow. That's when it occurred to me that the original BUTT was actually the beginning of the word BUTTER. Her phone case was a stick of butter. Have you ever made assumptions about someone only to realize you were completely wrong? It's so easy to look at situations from our point of view and read the situation entirely wrong. Instead of assuming the worst and going into immediate attack mode, God has called us...

  After a very busy weekend, my husband and I thought we would wrap it up with some construction on my daughter's future home. We laid trim and realized it would look better painted white, so we took the first step to painting. We primed the wood. I am not super handy in construction. When my brother, husband, and I redid the floor joists and flooring i.n half of my parents' house, I realized this. My husband's growls, repeating of misunderstood instructions, and frequent head shakes indicated this fact. I've even been known to start a project wrong in front of my husband to get him to finish it for me. Because of this, I must say that I am not an expert, but I'll do my best to explain this construction fact. The purpose of priming is to prepare and seal a surface so that paint can stick well. Without primer, the paint will be uneven or not adhere as well. Primer is the foundation needed for a smooth paint job. What happens in our life without a firm foundation? It ...

 I received a call from my youngest son as we were each driving our cars back from oil changes. With most of my family out of town at a camping event, my youngest son and I decided to get much needed oil changes on both our cars. He took one route home, and I took another. Upon almost making it home, he called me telling me his car had stopped moving. It was stuck in the middle of the road on a very steep hill. I rushed over to find him at a dangerous section of road right above a hairpin turn. It was getting dark, and I was nervous. After realizing the transmission was frozen, I called a tow truck and prayed it would arrive before dark. While we waited, I noticed something interesting. Out of the eight cars that passed us, three people slowed and asked how they could help me. One woman was in a car that looked like it was on its last leg, but she stopped to help someone else. This brought me to a challenging question. Do we take the time to show kindness to those around us? God s...

  My son's dog does not differentiate right from wrong. Late one night, my husband had smoked a five pound bag of chicken for my youngest son. While he pulled the chicken from the smoker, I had decided to take a quick shower. I heard my husband's fire beeper sounding and thr slamming of the front door, indicating he was responding to a fire call. After showering, my son's boxer entered the bathroom to snuggle. Upon cuddling, I smelled the distinctive scent of chicken. After further investigation, I found an empty plate on the stove with remnants of chicken juice on the plate. I thought to myself that surely my husband put the chicken in the microwave or oven before leaving, but both remained empty. The boxer had eaten the entire bag of chicken! Was there any remorse? Not even a little. Why? Dogs understand consequence, but they can't discern right from wrong. In this day and age, the largest quality lacking is the discerning of right from wrong. People act simply becaus...

  My family has a long-standing agreement when I thrift. If I can fit the item in the car, I can get the item. One of my daughters furiously manhandled a large queen-sized murphy bed frame, along with a full-sized mailbox on its pole because of this edict. At one particular trip, as I was taking my daughter to her neurology appointment, we stopped at a Goodwill thrift store. It had become a bit of a tradition. While there, I noticed this massive framed oil painting. The painting depicted a ocean scene with ships moving in the water. I immediately thought of Jesus calming the storm for His disciples. I had to have it. However, I was in my car, and it was taller than a sofa. As I pushed, I had my daughter pull. She argued it would not fit. I volleyed by saying, "If I can fit it. I can get it!" With a big push, the painting slid inside the back of the car, barely fitting. It holds a place of prominence on my staircase wall. This week, my husband and I attended a funeral for a...

  Have you ever had a dream that felt like God was trying to tell you something? Maybe He is. We all have those crazy dreams that make no sense. Maybe you're being chased by a sandwich while trying to finish paperwork from your job that is slowly smothering you. Explanation: you shouldn't have eaten that sandwich too close to bedtime, and you're stressed about your job. In my office, the first thing we do every morning is talk about our crazy dreams and try to interpret what they may mean. Scientifically, when our brains are at rest, they still process our day  and feelings we suppress through dreams. However, this is also the time when we are most vulnerable and willing to listen to God. God often spoke in dreams and visions through the Old Testament. Joseph had a dream of his brothers bowing down before him. This dream did come to pass. God is still able to speak to us in dreams. In a former post, I spoke of my mother having a dream of an accident on the way to visit me ...

  When I attended a professional development for teachers, I came across the above statement. In a time of social media frenzy, it's easy to get caught up in the need to be followed. It means acceptance, admiration, and flattery. You feel good knowing people admire you. However, this can be a shallow existence. The need to gain more likes or followers grows. Let's think about this away from social media. One person wears a certain set of shoes. Everyone around them buys the shoes. They may be uncomfortable or even hideous, but the need to be accepted outweighs their own personal convictions. Paul went about this in an entirely different way. I Corinthians 11:1 ESV Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. It's not about being yet another influencer trying to convince people to buy something or perform a new trend. It's about creating leaders that follow the ultimate leader, Jesus Christ. Nothing I say or do can change your life, but I can show you Jesus, who can revoluti...

  I woke up on Saturday extremely sore. If I were an exercise guru, then this would make sense. However, I haven't set foot in my gym in quite some time. I wasn't doing construction on my kid's homes. I had actually spent a relaxing evening in the previous night, so what was wrong with me? My legs ached as though I had run a 5K race. My first thought was maybe I was having symptoms of a bigger issue- low iron, vitamin difficiency, or low potassium. Even though the siren of online medical advice called, I declined. The temptation to think the worst was great, but I reminded myself of a women's retreat where I shared about the power of our words and thoughts.                         2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. It is so easy to believe the negative thoughts that ...

  Have you ever been roped into situations you had no interest in doing? As an introvert, almost anything social involves me being coerced. My husband is not like this. If someone suggests something, he is all in for an adventure. His latest adventure happened last night. He is starting a new position as a dean of students at a small school. Part of his initiation into this position was participating in a school FFA fundraiser rodeo. Originally, they wanted him to ride a bull. I reminded him that he was over 50, had never ridden a bull, and recovers much slower than years ago. They decided he and some of the administration should compete in a calf-dressing competition. What they didn't realize was what they thought was the 200 lb calf was actually a 600 lb yearling. That meant the calf was really big and angry. My husband walked away from the event a little sore, really dirty, but unharmed. Has God ever challenged you to do something you feel completely unqualified to do? I told Go...

  My husband and I are celebrating 29 years of marriage today. We have been through many things over the years. We've cried together at injustice. We've clung to each other as we prayed for God to heal our daughter and protect her through brain surgery. We've laughed  through absurdities. And We've forgiven through hurt and betrayal. Ultimately, we don't just agree to stay together. We choose to stay together. I think of the show, The Bachelor . Of all the options available, the bachelor chooses one woman to begin a commitment. Of all the options available to us, we chose each other to begin a commitment. If you look at commitment in the Bible, commitment was an absolute, wholehearted dedication to obedience to God. It involved sacrifice, denying selfish desires, enduring hardship, and love through action. Luke 9:23 ESV And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Taking up a cross, for Jesus, m...

When I returned from a week working at church camp, my lawn was crying out for attention. My husband has been very busy, so I thought I would help him out a little. Unfortunately,  our riding mower is in a shed that requires one to back down ramps from several feet high. I do not have the skill to do this maneuver. Trust me. I almost dumped myself off the mower when I attempted it once. This left me with a push mower that my husband recently acquired. It's great exercise, so I decked myself out in cool wear, sunblock, and a big hat. I struggled and pushed through very thick grass for a couple of hours. As I huffed and puffed my way to a sleek lawn, I accidentally pushed something by the handle of the mower. To this moment, I still don't know what I did. Suddenly, the mower launched forward as though it had a booster of nitro. I found myself desperately clinging to the handle of a runaway lawn mower. Yes, apparently, the mower was self-propelling, No one had the forethought to w...

  This past week has been extremely busy for me. After serving at Jr. High week of camp, I returned home with much work lined up . My husband rented a power lift to place vinyl siding on my daughter's newly moved mobile home. For two days, we braved extreme temperatures in order to put the double wide mobile home back together. After long days in the sun and heat, the most refreshing thing was cold water and a cool shower. It revived us. It made me think of Jesus talking to the woman at the well. She was shunned by those around her and forced to get water at the hottest time of day. This was very typical for a woman committing adultery during that time period. Jesus found her at the well and told her that he knew her past. Yet He still offered her more than just water from the well. He offered her living water that would not turn dry. As we drill for a well at the mobile home, we see the importance of a consistent supply of water. We do not want it to dry up. Jesus showed not on...

  I am not gardener. I've mentioned multiple times that a black thumb or green thumb are not my issue. I am a smother plant mother. I see a plant and try too hard to love it, leading to overwatering, too much sun, or too much shade. This brings me to my current predicament. My husband brought in a landscape/tree removal company to clear overgrowth around our property. After two days of chainsaws, weed wackwackers, a woodchipper, our property has increased considerably. Here lies the dilemma. Along the path of chainsaw destruction is piles of undergrowth leaves and sticks. My husband works during the day and I am off briefly for summer break, so the task fell to me to remove the debris. Yay! As I tugged and pulled, my rake continued to snag on the vines and brambles that had wrapped itself around all plant life. It wasn't as noticeable until the tree people removed the overgrowth. The landscapers told us that unless we treat the parasitic vines and weeds with spray regularly, t...

  As our country celebrated the 250th anniversary of independence, something stirred in my mind. On the Fourth of July, the remembrance of independence was ushered in with patriotic songs, red, white, and blue everything, and lots and lots of fireworks. I was able to sit on my front porch and watch a fireworks display the equivalent of a small city's. The pounding of artillery and bursts of light surrounded our house as the acrid smell  of smoke lingered in a soft haze. For many, this represented freedom. However, true freedom looks very different. When God sent His son, Jesus, to this earth, it was not to grant us the ability to do whatever we want to do. It was for freedom. Let me explain. When Adam chose to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he didn't need to know what good was. He literally was able to be in the presence of God's goodness every single day. He wanted to experience and know the evil part. He wanted to decide for himself what wa...

  My husband sees himself as a bit of a farmer, so when the opportunity arose to get chickens, he jumped at it. I, however, am not a farm girl. When I was young, I grew up helping my grandparents with gardens and farm-like, country things. As an adult, I gladly left the farm life behind. My husband happily pulled me back into farm things. Enter chickens. We put together a coop and became chicken people, again. I say again because we have done this a few times in our marriage. The issue with raising chickens is the poo. Chickens are quite messy. Unfortunately, the never-ending rain has not helped the situation. After a month of rain almost every day, we were practically tossing a coin over who had to wade through four inches of muck and crawling into the laying house to get the eggs. It was disgusting. We were so excited when we found a chicken tractor that allowed us to always keep our chickens on clean grass while accessing the eggs outside the chicken  house. This is when w...