Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

When you hear the word "embarrassed" everyone has some moment that pops into their mind.  For me, I think of being trapped in a Walmart bathroom.  Now, keep in mind that I was only five,  the bathroom was a one-stall bathroom with a bolt lock, and about thirty people were extremely concerned to hear a little girl was trapped in a bathroom.  I didn't want to go to the bathroom alone for the next three years.  But that was nothing compared to my teenage years.  My mother worked a factory job and didn't get off work until around 4 pm.  I had a choice to ride a bus on a route that involved a long dirt road for about an hour or wait for my mom to get off work and pick me up.  I chose being picked up.  My parents didn't have a lot of money, and my dad commuted about an hour each day one way to get to work.  This left my parents buying an old car for her to use.  I remember that I could see the car coming in the distance.  Smoke wou...

We have survived one of the most high-pressured holidays that exist- Valentine's Day.  In case you don't know what I mean, think about the pressure your significant other is under when every one of your co-workers get flowers, chocolates, stuffed toys, and your desk sits pathetically empty with a few pens and inspirational plaque to comfort you.  Now that significant other must show up big, or they have proven that you are nothing in the great scheme of their existence.  This whole idea is so wrong, but it is what we've formed into the concept of love.  I blame all of the Disney movies and romance novels that convince us that the perfect man will show up in a tux, burst into spontaneous song about the sparkle of your eyes, and lead you through rose petals to the castle he has specially designed for you.  In my fantasy, maid service, chef, and chauffeur would be included.  This, however, is not what love really is.  I can best explain it by telling th...

Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems like the weekend will never get here, and then when it does, you're busier during the weekend than the week.  This was one of those weeks.   Thursday was parent-teacher conferences.  Two hours and multiple teachers later (remember I have four kids and a lot of teachers) I survived.  Friday was senior night for my son's final home basketball game of his life.  I sadly walked him onto the court and watched him play a great game.  I left to bake and decorate a two-tiered wedding cake for a couple being married in our church on Saturday.  Then Saturday, we decorated the church, did the wedding, and then did 6 loads of laundry.  That brings me to today.  While at church, one of the boys who attends our church was upset.  When I came to see what happened, I found out he had been bullied by a teenager.  We talked with the teenager, got an apology, and continued with Sunday School,...

When it rains, it pours.  Everyone knows that phrase, right?  I've spoken to a lot of people this week that have definitely felt like this saying applies their lives currently.  Today was a typical Sunday morning for my family.  You may have felt this, too.  You snoozed the alarm clock one too many times, and now you are running late.  I felt rushed from the very beginning.  After preparing breakfast, feeding our pets, getting dressed and rushing to the church for worship practice, I could say that I was feeling a little frazzled.  Did I do what a lot of mothers do?  Yes, I pleaded with my children to hurry up, argued with them to stop arguing, and finally hopped in the car and told my children that whoever was ready could go with me and the others could come a little later with their dad.  Once at the church, the road should have been smooth sailing.  Wrong!  We tried to record a Homebound worship session for several of our ...

Have you ever gotten a really bad fortune cookie?  My father-in-law had a joke where he would open his fortune cookie and say, "Help, I'm trapped in a Chinese fortune cookie company!"  Today, We ate at a new Chinese restaurant.  When my son opened his fortune, it said, "Aren't you glad you just enjoyed a really good meal?"  This had me thinking about life.  How many times do you wish you could just open up a fortune cookie and know what was going to happen?  Last week, I had that moment.  Every morning, I heat a bowl of instant oatmeal in the microwave at work.  I set the timer and started working on some files.  I thought I heard the timer go off, but decided to keep working for a bit.  Suddenly, I smelled smoke.  As I rushed to the microwave, I saw smoke pouring out and my bowl melted to the bottom of the microwave.  What you need to understand is that our building is connected with the public schools, so when a smoke alarm...

My family and I have been battling a particularly troubling issue.  Our dog is in heat.  She is almost fifteen years old and should be nice and settled by now, but alas, she is being drawn away by outside influences- a young dog.  You would think she wouldn't be interested, but believe it or not, our dog is a cougar.  At first, we thought he was a bad influence on our sweet, chaste baby.  But after watching her pretending to potty, only to run away with the young dog, we've found that she has a mind of her own.  As you can see in the picture, she feels shame for her actions.  This picture was taken after a day and a half wild spree she took through the neighborhood.  She vandalized neighbors garbage, sniffed strange dogs, and slept over at a boy dog's house!  When we found her, we had to drag her home while she looked longingly over her shoulder at her doggy love.  So when we put her back into the sanctuary of our garage for the second...

Anyone who lives in Arkansas knows that the last couple of years has been a little skimpy when it comes to snow.  My children have done that snow chant late at night with visions of snow days dancing in their heads, only to wake up to completely dry streets and news that the front moved past us.  So when we see a few flakes begin to fall, chaos breaks out.  Can I get an amen from those in Arkansas?  As a pastor, my husband gets the phone calls asking if church will be cancelled.  We usually have to say we haven't even gotten an 1/8 inch of snow yet.  But today was the exception.  Today, snow fell.  Now don't get me wrong.  It wasn't five feet of snow or even one foot of snow.  But it was enough to cancel school.  My children wandered around in a trance not quite sure whether to trust the phone call from the school or not.  But yes, Virginia, there is a snow day.  Now everyone is trapped in their homes hoping that they h...