Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

  For teachers everywhere, this last week has been the moment we've been awaiting for the last couple of months- Spring Break!  With all the extras required to make digital learning possible, this year has been particularly trying.  This makes Spring Break that much sweeter.  Of course, I had a list a mile long of all the things that needed to be accomplished over the break.  I'm happy to say every single item was accomplished, and it brought me great satisfaction.  This Sunday, we celebrate Palm Sunday.  This is the moment that we remember when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to celebrate Passover before His death a short time later.  The people of Jerusalem celebrated the realization of prophecies handed down for thousands of years that a "Messiah" (Savior) would finally appear riding a donkey that had never been ridden.   They threw down palm branches at the donkey's feet and shouted, "Hosanna!" Jesus then went to the Jewish temple ...

 This week, my twin daughters celebrated their eighteenth birthday.  This is an especially monumental time because they are not only another year older, but they are also officially adults.  It's really hard because I know that they are going their separate ways after this year.  One will go to college farther away while the other will go to college locally.  Either way, it will never be the same after this year.  Because this is such a special time for them, I wanted to first say how proud I am to be the mother of such exceptional girls.  They are the most caring, loving, and giving women.  I can't tell you how many times one of them has approached me asking if we can help out a friend or classmate in need.   A teacher told me once that if a student needs food, clothes, or anything, they know that they can go to my girls for help.  That makes my heart very happy as a parent.  My daughters have such talent that they freely use fo...

  Saturday is my sleep-in day.  Everyone in my family knows this.  So on Saturday, no one slams the front door.  Everyone walks down the stairs on soft feet, and all questions and needs wait until after 7:30 am.  Scientifically, I know that sleeping in for one day will not make much difference on your recovery from the week before; but, for whatever reason, it feels like it makes a difference.  This leads me to this Saturday.  I was sleeping comfortably in bed when I had to use the restroom.  Hey, if you have had children or are over the age of 40, you will agree that it happens to you.  A bladder can only take so much torment.  I got up and took care of business quickly intending to crawl right back into my toasty bed and another couple hours of sleep.  That is until I walked into my room only to see my large dog standing up under the covers on the bed next to my husband.  I heard a strange sound- water running.  It wa...

One of the hardest things to do is trying to figure out what to cook for dinner or lunch.  I can't tell you how many times I've stood in front of the pantry at a loss of what I can miraculously throw together from the crazy mix of canned goods in my pantry.  It is much easier to cook when I've planned a menu and made sure that my pantry has all the ingredients needed to cook.  Today, we had a missionary visit and speak about II Kings 4:1-7 .  A widow woman is at the end of her rope.  She is so much in debt that the creditors are threatening to take her sons into slavery.  People, that is way worse then repossessing a car!  She asks the prophet, Elisha, for help.  He asks her a simple question.  " What's in your house? "  She replied that all she has left is a jar of oil.  He then tells her to go to her neighbors and borrow as many jars as she can from them.  Then, shut herself into her home and begin pouring the oil from the o...

  We attempted to play the song, Graves Into Gardens , today at church.  You need to understand that as a piano player, the key in which this song is written is really hard to play.  After four weeks of practicing, ranting, and sweating, I finally decided to bite the bullet and just do it whether it sounded great or not.   As I was playing the song, I started thinking about God turning graves into gardens.  Death into life.  Then I thought about a certain garden, Gethsemane.  As Jesus was in this garden praying, he was battling His will with God's.  He asked if there was any other way for the world to be saved.  But He eventually came to a point of peace by saying, " Not my will but thine be done ."  Jesus buried His will and accepted God's will. The garden became a grave.  Jesus was crucified on the cross so that our sins and wrongs could be made right.  So that we would one day have the right to enter into the presence of Go...

  Over 70% of the nation had the momentous occurrence of being covered in snow simultaneously.   I remembered as a child loving snow days.  Way back then, they were true snow days.  There were no digital days because the digital/internet era had not become a thing yet.  We would pray for snow and then rejoice as the first inch of snow fell from sky.  We would throw on coats and gloves and rush to build a snowman, sled down our neighbor's big hill on whatever we could find that was slick, and come inside to immerse our freezing hands in lukewarm water until feeling had returned.  We would eat a big bowl of snow ice cream and snuggle in to watch whatever happened to be playing on the six channels we could get on television.  Life was simple.   Although life has become much more complicated, it's nice to see that some things remain the same.  Although my children did not get an official "snow day" due to virtual/digital school, they still ...

  Valentine's Day has become one of the most commercial holidays out there.  I wanted to do something better than the typical candy for my husband, so I had to get creative.   I recalled many of our conversations over the years.  They went a little like this: "Where do you want to eat?" My answer, "I don't know.  You decide." "Pizza?" "No, I don't want pizza." "Mexican?" "No, I don't want Mexican." "Chinese?" "No, I don't want that either." "Then where would you like to eat?" "I don't know.  Just pick something."  This little dialogue has happened so many times in our marriage that my husband has threatened to open a restaurant called I Don't Know, You Decide .  This led me to the perfect gift- food dice.  I took some wooden dice and wrote different food genres on them.  Instead of asking where to eat, we roll the dice and drive .  Valentine's Day takes m...