Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

My husband,Kyle, has started a journey to become more disciplined and healthy.  Over the last twenty years, he has had success and failures.  Kyle found the Keto diet to be very effective in losing weight.  So far he has lost over fifteen pounds in two weeks , but not without struggle.  He loves potatoes and fried food.  Last week, I visited the doctor for sinus issues, and Kyle decided to walk to KFC to get a soda.  While there, he realized there was nothing on the menu he could eat if he continued to follow the low-carb diet.  He mentioned he would have to avoid that restaurant if he wanted to continue to succeed.  That's the same way with temptation in our lives.  There is nothing Satan has that we need in our lives.   In order to follow Christ, we have to approach our spiritual walk the same way we approach a diet.  Is the gains from giving in worth what I will forfeit for just a brief moment of pleasure?   Will that mome...

Ever had one of those days where everything goes wrong?  My son had one of those days last week.  He called me sounding very upset.  He told me his day started with the soda machine taking his money, yet not giving him his drink.  After his first class, as he was talking to a friend he hadn't seen in weeks, another guy interrupted and led his friend off mid-conversation.  Then when he went to his job, his boss got angry at him for something that was beyond his control.  His friend also got mad at him because a schedule change also affected her.  To add to the list, he choked on a chicken bone while eating dinner.  By the time, he felt alone and overwhelmed.  I wanted to ride to his rescue and make everything better, but I stopped myself.  This was a good time for him to lean on God.  I told him he could quit the college if it were too hard.  He had a resounding "no".  Then his option was to tough it out and pray.  I...

I am currently typing this blog blind-folded.  Just kidding!  But I've noticed that the crazy trend of social media challenges are getting out of hand.   Kiki Challenge - I'll jump out of a moving car and spontaneously burst out in dance.  Ice Bucket Challenge - I'll dump freezing water all over myself.  Tide Pod Challenge - I'll eat poisonous laundry detergent.  In Indonesia, they are boiling tampons to get high off of the chlorinated water.  I wish I were joking, but I am not.  This one can poison you fast!  And now the Bird Box Challenge .  Yes, there are people blind-folding themselves like in the movie and trying to drive around.   I say "trying" because they are causing a lot of wrecks!  Why do we follow the crowd?   I've even noticed some people prefacing their challenge by saying that since everyone else is doing it, here goes.  This got my husband and I talking.  Did we do these stupid things as teena...

      Ever thought that your prayer life could use more substance?   The ladies group at my church have started a book study on " The Circle Maker " by Mark Batterson every first Thursday of the month. As we study this book, I'll try to share with you, so let's start.  The opening of the book begins by talking about a story from " The Book of Legends ."  This is a book of stories passed down through generations by Jewish rabbis.  The story of Honi, a Jewish sage, takes place in the first century BC before Jesus is born.  Israel is facing a drought and fear that an entire generation will be wiped out due to lack of water.  As the nation cries out to God, Honi steps up.  I find it amazing that so many talk about wanting rain, but one person steps up to do something about it.   He uses his staff to draw a circle around himself and starts to talk to God.  He tells God that he will not move from the circle until God showed mercy ...

I've celebrated another birthday, so here are a few things I've learned over the years. 1. Never use a sweater shaver to do your eyebrows. (Don't ask.) 2. Don't get in a hurry looking for the right person for you.  The right person is worth the wait, and they do exist.  Looks fade, but kindness lasts your whole life. 3. It's okay to have conflict in marriage.   Two different personalities will clash at some point.  It's how you handle the conflict that matters. 4. Take a breath before you enter a verbal conflict.  Once hurtful words are spoken, you can never take them back. 5. Never take children to Walmart when they are hungry.   Your bank account and peace of mind cannot handle it. 6. Never take your spouse to Walmart hungry.   Same reason as above. 7. If you give your children choices, make sure you can live with whatever they choose.  Don't tell them that if they don't get along, you'll turn the car around unless you reall...

During this time of year, I love to give gifts to people.  One of the things that annoys me is when I give a gift and find out it was never used.   I can't tell you how many times I've found gifts for my husband in a bag in a corner.  I found the solution to this problem.  I would gather all the gifts he hadn't used, then I would re-gift them to him for the next holiday.  It might be his birthday or the next Christmas, but he kept receiving the gift until he used it.  It kind of defeats the purpose of giving selflessly in love, doesn't it?   But how many times do we do this?  We see someone that God compels us to help.  Then we question how they will use the gift we give them .  They may buy liquor with it or waste it.  They may mistreat our gift.  Then through our justification, we refuse.  When God gave the gift of His son, Jesus, He knew that the world for which He was given would mistreat His gift.   He knew ...

When my children were young, I struggled with something very common lately.  I wanted my children to feel loved,  and I loved watching them open gifts.  You would walk into a store and find something cute and want to buy it for your child.  Eventually, at Christmastime, there were huge piles of gifts under the tree.  My light bulb moment was when I watched my children open the gifts.  They would rip off the wrapping paper, examine the gift, then throw it down to move on to the next gift.  After all was unwrapped, they would load up their bounty and carry it to their room.  Sometimes I found gifts months later still unused and in the Christmas bags.  I started to think there had to be a better way to give my kids wonderful gifts without over-doing it.  This is when I had some very effective ideas.   1) Give three gifts per child.  I buy one big gift that they really want, one medium gift, and one small gift.  Some...