Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

Disclaimer: This will not be your normal Christmas message.  I started this blog before I heard my husband's sermon this morning.  His sermon lined up with what I felt God placed on my heart to share, so here goes... My youngest son got a dreaded phone call telling him he had been exposed to a person who had tested positive for COVID.   Of course, he was crushed because we couldn't get him tested for 6 days- the day after Christmas!  I could tell he was upset, so I asked him why he was so sad.  He stated, "I'm going to miss Christmas!"  We reassured him that he would not and got creative.  He sat in a far corner of the room opening gifts and had a special seating on the far side of our kitchen at my new kitchen island during the meal.  We even lit candles to give the "Be Our Guest" Beauty and the Beast moment.  After Christmas, we appeared at the MedExpress as soon as the doors opened.  We waited in one of the patient rooms for over on...

  Tis the season to go caroling!  My daughters and I have helped at our local community Christmas event since last year.  We would sing Christmas carols to brighten the day and help put people in the holiday spirit.  Unfortunately, with COVID, we were unsure how that would change the big event.  We received a call from the mayor asking us to sing once again.   This time, however, we would sing as a small caroling group that would move among the people socially distanced to see Santa, roast marshmallows over fire pits, and eat Christmas cookies and hot cocoa.  I agreed and was excited to be a part of a lovely event each year.  What I did not know was that my daughters had other engagements planned.  This left me as the long caroler!   I'm not sure if you realized  the significance of this occurrence.  Two or three people makes a caroling group.  One person equals the crazy lady walking around in the store singing to herse...

Have you ever gotten hooked on a television series and find yourself coming back to reality 4 seasons and two day later?  I love the t-shirt that says, "I'm tired because I have a good book and a lack of respect for tomorrow."  My family knows that I will stay up until early morning reading a good book, but this also extends to a really interesting television series.  This weekend, I became hooked on a television series that has been out forever- Downton Abbey .  Yes, I am one of the few that never watched it when it was so popular.  Maybe it was because I was really busy or just because I didn't get past the first episode, but for whatever reason, I watched episode two and was a goner.  Don't get me wrong.  I wasn't wasting the day away.  I was actually working on important work, but needed something to watch while I worked.  The next thing I knew, I was into Season Two and engrossed in the drama of poor versus wealthy.  I could smel...

  My husband performed a wedding for a close friend's daughter this weekend.  It went much better than when he performed the funeral where he fell in the freshly-dug grave!  We arrived really early in order to make sure the order of the wedding was set and there were no unexpected issues that would arise.  To say no unexpected issues is almost a ridiculous statement.  Anyone who has ever been through a wedding knows that something always pops up.  At a friend's wedding years ago, we were sent on a task to find white roses for boutonnieres because the wedding party wasn't aware they needed them.  As my husband and I scoured every supermarket we could find, the clock was ticking.  I threw together a bunch of boutonnieres (with the windows down in the summer because we were broke and had a car with no air conditioning) as we rushed to get there on time.   Side note: we also had the ring bearer in the car with us.  We had to get there on t...

  My husband and I had a bet going.  Could I get away with changing traditions this Thanksgiving and do something totally different than turkey?   I am not a big turkey fan and neither are my children, so I thought it would be a piece of cake.  I would crockpot some roast beef, and we would make open-faced roast beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a pumpkin pie.  Easy and simple.  As the day approached, the shopping was done and only one child was slightly disappointed that the turkey had gained his reprieve from dinner.  Everything was going as planned, I thought.  My oldest son approached me the day before and mentioned how he had promised his girlfriend and her family he would make our special recipe of chicken and dumplings.  What does this mean for me?  Easy just went out the window.  My grandmother's, then mother's, and now my chicken and dumpling recipe is time-consuming and completely from scratch. ...

 My co-workers and I have had a little joke going between us about the word, "Blessed."  There are so many signs, t-shirts, and memes that label people as "blessed,"  but what does that really mean?  There is absolutely nothing wrong with recognizing how blessed we are in our nation.  Currently, there is a lot of complaining and fault-finding, but ultimately, our nation is very blessed.  Have you found yourself saying, "I'm so frustrated because I can't fit all of my groceries in my refrigerator."  Or how about this, " my wifi keeps going too slow or dropping because we have too many devices in our house.   I can only get one pack of toilet paper today."  Have your heard your children say, "I can taste the difference between generic and name brand food."  All of these are first-world problems.  Our problems are an inconvenience, but how many are facing true hardships- homelessness, hunger, neglect, or abuse?  These things ev...

Have you noticed that the world around us has jumped straight to Christmas?   Now, don't get me wrong.  I love the decorations, the joy, the concept of putting others above yourself, and most of all, celebrating the birth of Christ.  I'm also aware that with COVID spreading rampantly in our communities, we are having to change the way we do everything (although someone may need to tell that to the hordes of people packing the aisles of Walmart).   I recognize that going door to door collecting edible sweets is not the best way to stop the spread.  In a side note, I've never been a huge fan of Halloween anyway.  But we have a unique opportunity this year.  Normally, Black Friday shopping has interfered with Thanksgiving enough that it has been the focus of the holiday.  Being grateful for our freedom, family, and privilege was eclipsed by squeezing into stores, waiting for hours in line, and shoving your fellow man out of the way to get the lates...