Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

  Okay, you may remember past posts I've written about patience. We are so accustomed to fast that we struggle when something isn't instantaneous. The gas pumps are a good example. How many of you find yourself tapping your foot and grumbling when you've prepaid your gas and the final twenty cents tick by one second at a time. I've even contemplated leaving the last few cents unused. I know I'm not the only one! As my daughter and I were washing our hands in Walmart. It all began with trying to find a workable bathroom. The first was being cleaned, so we quickly strode to the back of the store. It's allergy season so I was praying that I not sneeze on the way. My older ladies know what I'm saying! When we had finished our business, we tried to wash our hands at the automatic faucets. Have you noticed the new "saving water" faucets. I'm all about saving water, but these new faucets squirt out two seconds of water at a time. You find yourself fr...

One of the side effects of my children growing up is absence. It's not that they want to be away from home all the time (although with my husband and my goofiness maybe sometimes that's the case). But most of the time, it's simply the business of living their own lives takes most of their time, and that's as it should be. This is why I was so excited for Easter. Almost all of my children were able to make it home for Easter. One of my little ducks had to work, so we missed her but look forward to seeing her soon. As we celebrate Jesus' resurrection from the dead today, it reminds me of when we come home. Jesus didn't just die on the cross for you. He rose from the dead! Why? Because he didn't die so you could have a perfect life on earth. He died so that your relationship with God could be repaired. Your Father God is waiting  in Heaven for your homecoming. We get so busy living our lives that we miss visiting with God, but because of Jesus, we will have t...

I had a bird following me around earlier this week. I'll tell you all about it, but first, let me preface it with this. Have you noticed in movies that music marks important moments in a movie? In a romantic movie, soft, flowing music grows as the leading couple kiss. In a scary movie, eery music let's you know that some airhead person is going to walk into a dark room to their demise. That's why you scream, "Don't go there!" Then there is the comedy that is light and joyful preparing you to laugh. Well, this week I had theme music following me. I had just finished therapy with a few of my students. I carry a large bag, filled with tools of my trade. I may have crayons, flashcards, manipulatives, and sometimes noisy, light-up toys. This particular day, I had filled my bag with some electronic buttons. When a child pushes the button, they are rewarded with all kinds of noises. As I walked down the long preschool hallway, I heard a bird loudly chirping. With ...

 Last night, my husband and I helped at a benefit chili dinner for a friend. It was wonderful watching the community come together in support of a neighbor. That's the beauty of living in a small town. My husband made a couple of massive pots of chili. As people are his chili they kept coming back to me to ask what made his chili taste so good. We replied that it was a special secret ingredient. I finally revealed what made his chili so special- homemade salsa from a guy in our church. He grows his own vegetables, cans his salsa, and passes it on to others. We were cooking chili one day and realized we had no diced tomatoes or Rotel, but we had Larry's salsa. By accident, one of my husband's greatest recipes was born. Isn't that how life works sometimes? We expect certain things to happen, and when they don't we become upset. Here's the beauty of God's plans. They are better than ours. Our recipe for life might be okay, or sometimes tolerable but God's...

Yes, this is a syndrome that came into existence around 2004? Basically, you are so afraid you are going to miss out on something that you find yourself enslaved to social media . Yesterday, my husband and I attended a Tim Hawkins concert. For those who've never heard of him, he is a Christian comedian. We drove a couple of hours for a special date night. When we got there (an hour before you could enter), I watched my husband live out that  insurance company that says, "we can't keep you from becoming your parents." You know the one. Before we ever entered the building, my husband was trying to find the perfect parking spot to make a quick exit when it was over. When the set began, he mentioned aging. Remember B.G. ( Before Google)? Tim mentioned that before Google, if you didn't know something, you just didn't know it. And that was okay because we were all stupid together. Today, we are so accustomed to having so much information at the touch of a screen tha...

  As you can see, construction has continued on my living room and kitchen. All the floor joists are being replaced, so it's left my house with a tricky floor plan.  Thursday night, we were told to clear all the furniture out of the living room because demolition was to start the next day. Kyle and I tugged and pushed until all that was left was some random holes in the floor where concrete pillars were poured for a firmer foundation. My dog has become accustomed to one really large hole connecting the living room to the kitchen with sheetrock covering it. He created a new path under caution tape and over the sheetrock. What he hadn't realized was that there was a large new hole on the far wall of my living room covered only in black sheet plastic. We were resting on our front step when we heard a crinkle of plastic and a loud thump. We rushed in realizing our large dog was missing. We could only hear an occasional thump under the existing floor. My daughter put her head thr...

Today marked the day I both dread and wait for on bated breath- moving the clock forward an hour. I dread loosing an hour of sleep, but as a teacher, it marks an important milestone. Spring break comes a week later, soon to be followed by summer. I know the time change is coming, but I still always fail to properly prepare. Last night, I had good intentions; however, time got away from me and I found myself folding laundry and washing dishes, not at 10pm, but at the new time of 11pm. I woke up like a zombie crying out to my unyielding alarm clock for five more minutes. It reminded me of my older brother when he was a teenager. I was at his mercy and promptness for a ride to school. at the time, both were in short supply. I would wake him up only to hear the dreaded words, "five more minutes." This would continue until we were late. The nerd in me dreaded facing the secretary for a tardy slip. My brother, however, was the master magician of escaping tardy slips. He would talk...