Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

  It's that time of year again.  Tax time!   From the time I worked at H & R Block doing taxes, until now when I only handle my family's taxes, tax time has always been a busy time for me.  I started with just my taxes, and have quickly moved to doing my teenagers' taxes also.  Most people dread this time of year, but I actually don't mind it.  Throughout the past year, I collect receipts, statements, and W-2's in preparation for the big day when itemizing begins.   Because my husband and I are considered self-employed as pastors, there is a lot of balancing expenditures for ministry versus income.  It takes time and keeping track of everything we've spent over the last year and why.  If it wasn't connected with ministry or housing, we can't claim it.  This is why I keep a detailed list of everything .  It makes me think of Revelations.  The last book  in the Bible mentions that God keeps track of everything we have do...

  Getting up and going to church is never easy.   There are a million things that keep you from wanting to get out of bed or, at least, out the door on a Sunday morning.  Your children, that are normally fine every other day, have the biggest meltdowns on Sunday about shoes, clothes, and where they get to sit in the car.  Your pants that you have worn a million times have suddenly shrunk two sizes too small (yes, I say shrunk because I choose to believe that excuse).   I think the biggest reason is because the enemy does not want you going to God's house.  Why?  Because when you enter God's house others can truly see you.  You no longer get to hide behind only the versions of you that you want people to see on your social media.  As you walk into God's house, His Holy Spirit sees the real us and begins to work on things we have been able to leave untouched for weeks or even months.  The enemy does not want that!  This morning, as I...

Have you ever pocket dialed 911 emergency services by accident?   Early this week, as I was getting into my car, I heard my Bluetooth suddenly kick on with a person asking for the address of my emergency.  My first response was speechlessness.  I hadn't called anyone.  When I looked at my car's screen, I realized that I had somehow called 911.  I mumbled something about my car calling her, and maybe it was a pocket dial.  She was very nice and mentioned it happened all the time.  Now, I was really curious because I had a 60 second lock on my cell phone, so it shouldn't have called anyone.  To remove the lock, I either need to enter a 4 digit code or a fingerprint.  I had done neither.  I blew it off as a freak thing until this morning.  As I got into my car to drive to church, I noticed my car's screen notifying me that the 911 assistance was not working.  What?!!! That's when I realized that my car was trying to call 911 for ...

  You may not have world peace around you, but  trusting God can give you a world of peace  within you. Every year, I feel it's my duty to buy a bag of Christmas candy.  One of my favorites is Dove chocolate.  In case you've never experienced Dove chocolate, when you open the wrapper, a little nugget of wisdom is printed on the wrapper.  It's kind of like a grown-up version of Bazooka bubble gum or Laffy Taffy, minus the joke.  I felt that I owed it to the public to eat through a whole bag of chocolate so that I could impart the wisdom of the chocolate makers .  First, I opened the one milk chocolate that I had.  It read, " Keep life moving forward, looking backward is only for time travelers.  Rachel O. Washington. "  It started out profound; however, I've found that the writers for the dark chocolate are much less profound than milk chocolate.  The dark chocolate wrappers stated, "Spread love this season."  Generic, but...

  As another year has passed, so has another birthday for me.  I've found the older I get, the less I keep track of how old I've become.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my children who like to remind me just how old I am.  In honor of another year gone, I thought I would post a remember when list.  Let me know how many of these things you remember. 1) Using a key to open a can of Spam. 2) Jelly shoes- After wearing them all day, you could take them off and see the design etched on your feet from sweat and dirt. 3) The dentist drawer filled with cheap plastic rings, stickers, and candy. 4) Putting a flash bar on the old 110 cameras 5) Rolling down a car window. 6) Standing outside your living room window turning the antennae until you could get a better picture on your television. 7) Metal slides and the sensation of burning your skin as you slid down it in July. 8) Going to the video store and choosing VHS movies for the weekend. 9) Reading the back ...

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...