Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

I am, by nature, a planner.  I like order in everything, so if I take a vacation I'm going to research places to eat, sights to see, and things to do until I have a full itinerary when I get there.  My husband is the opposite.  He is a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of guy.  I will read blogs, reviews, and get the input of coworkers before choosing a hotel.  My husband will say, "let's go on an adventure."  I cringe when I hear him say this because this usually means I'm going to be covered in seed ticks from taking a hiking trail less traveled or bitten by sand fleas when he chooses a less crowded beach.   And yes, these things only happen to me! I remember when my husband decided to find a hotel on our way to our destination on our honeymoon. What we didn't realize was that it was the opening night of the NFL season and every hotel within 100 miles of where we were planning on stopping was full.  We prayed for a vacancy sign and finally...

I am NOT a farmer!  My husband secretly wants to be a farmer.  Because of this, every once in a while, some kind of farm-like thing turns up on my doorstep.  When we lived in the country, the house we rented had a large outbuilding.  Most people would think, "What a great storage building or garage!" My husband thought, "Why don't I buy thirty chickens, a bunch of guineas, and three turkeys and start a bird farm."   The turkeys were never eaten because they conspired to form a break-out worthy of television.  All that was left of the window was broken glass and a turkey-shaped hole.  When we moved into town, I thought I was safe to put away the muck boots.  That was until someone sold my husband another mobile chicken coop.  Suddenly, I was back in the chicken game before you could say cluck.  As I tried to gather eggs only to be attacked and pecked by the chickens I told myself that I am NOT a farmer.  There was the calf in my ...

At this point in time, our world has begun to adjust to a new normal- the mask.   I love to scroll through the unusual masks some people have created.  There's the soda bottle face shield, Star War's Darth Vader mask, and the bra mask. I even saw a photo of a man with a pair of men's underwear strapped across his head.  Social distancing from him would NOT be a problem!  My husband was so excited when he found a face shield that looked just like the hats from the 80's group- Devo.  You know the one.  It looks like an expandable Tupperware bowl worn on top of your head.  I have the problem of losing my masks wherever I go.  Because of this, I'm constantly having to buy a new one.  The last one I bought was quite humbling.  I was out shopping and couldn't find my mask, so I bought the only one I could find at the store.  It was in unmarked packaging.  I thought the material looked kind of familiar.  After wearing it in Wal...

My family and I had the opportunity to take my father to his childhood hometown.  After his father had died, his mother tried to raise a bunch of children on her own, but found herself penniless and desperate.  My father and his sister ended up in a children's home, and his little brother was adopted.    As we drove through the town, he remembered the peak of poverty when rats the size of small dogs ran through his house and he had only bread and butter sandwiches to eat.  As I walked the streets of my father's hometown, I watched his reaction as he set foot for the first time in over sixty years in his hometown.  I think the culminating moment was when he laid eyes on his father's grave which he hadn't seen since he was twelve years old.  Listening to the stories of poverty and pain, I couldn't help being amazed at how good God is.  Why?  Because under the circumstances my father was raised, he should not have had much of a future. ...

This week, we celebrated a milestone.  It has been two years since Megan had a portion of her brain removed in brain surgery.   When we were presented with the option of brain surgery, it was a last resort.  We were praying for healing and trusting that God knew what was best for our daughter.   After praying, we felt brain surgery was the way God was directing her.  We had an amazing brain surgeon who gave her such amazing care.  He had only been at the hospital a few years, but we knew God had brought him there for Megan.  As Megan went through brain probes directly on her brain to map the seizure activity, she stayed strong and full of faith.   We even recorded a video of her singing, just in case she was unable to sing again.  As many know, she not only is able to sing, but sings every Sunday on the worship team.  God was faithful.  I was told that as we recorded the video, nurses were touched and were crying in the hallway....

My husband is a bit of a hoarder.  He tends to hang on to things for a long time.  It was really cute when I found a poem he wrote to a girl when he was a teenager.  Of course, I had to read it with a sappy, romantic voice.  There were his credit card payment receipts from college.  I complained about them, but then at one point, he actually had to use them to prove he had paid off the card off during a dispute.   After this moment when he was justified by hanging onto things, I've struggled with getting him to let go.  I can't talk.  I'm a teacher, and teachers have a problem.   We also tend to cling to things with the idea that we may one day use them.  That box of toilet paper tubes could be lovely elves at Christmas.   The little plastic circles that hold the laminating film could be great tracing tools for shape identification.  Do you see  my problem?  Between my husband's desire to insure he has everything h...

So my dog is determined to drag me into trouble.  This week, I took my very large Weimaraner out for his daily business (He needed to potty). Because he's a little stinker, he always flops on the ground and rolls in the sun.  However, this particular time, as he rolled, the lease unclipped.  There was a moment where he looked at the leash clip in my hand and then at me.  I saw his eyes narrow.  I knew what he was going to do.  As I yelled, "Noooo!!!!" and dived after him in slow motion, he turned and ran for the road.   I grabbed at him, but came away empty-handed.  He was a brown streak across the lawn.  I ran into the house screaming for my teenage son to come help me.  My dog loves to go for rides in the car, so I wanted to grab my car keys.  Suddenly it hit me, my daughter had driven my car to work.  The only car available to me was my 6' 7" son's car.  The seat is stuck as far back as it can go.  This means ...