Devotions of a High Heeled Warrior

 This weekend, we loaded up our car to drive to a memorial service a few hours away. As two of my upper-teenage children sat in the back seat complaining about poor radio reception and our need to use their Spotify for better music. At that moment, my husband and I both muttered, "This generation is totally missing out on what makes a real road trip." I know. I'm starting to sound like a white-haired granny, but there truly is something to be said about an old-fashioned road trip. The first thing the road trip taught me was the art of negotiation. I'm sure you remember the key word that had to be uttered for primo seats- shotgun! This worked for short trips, but when everyone came along, rules changed. Parents got the front, so the power struggle for the best seats shifted to the back seat. A tussel unfolded as you ran for the best seating in the back. This is where size worked against you. My older brother would hip-check me out of the way leaving me with the lesser ...

We have made it back from our adventures in Puerto Rico! One of the fun things my husband had prepared for me for our trip was a colorful wardrobe of flamingo in every color. Imagine the shirt he was wearing in the photo, but with matching shorts. It was quite impressive watching a flamingo explosion of color waltzing through the airport. At one point, a random stranger ran up to my husband to exclaim, "I love you, man!" I walked briskly ahead of him to avoid the stares, so my husband got his revenge. When we returned, it was time to celebrate the Boys and Girl's Missionary Challenge. If the girls in the children's church raise more money, my husband dresses up. If the boys raise more money, I dress up. The girls lost and my husband felt the best costume was a flamingo from Noah's Ark that could help illustrate the fact that Noah was a good father. Don't get me wrong, Noah had his moments of failure, but ultimately he insured his children lived when the flo...

  I can always tell when it's fruit season when my family wakes up sneezing from pollen. I always enjoy watching the fruit trees in my front yard. A year or two ago I wrote a blog about my peach tree that had finally begun to produce fruit. Since then, fruit production has become hit or miss. As you can see, the four trees in my yard are in various states of health. Isn't that same way we are as Christians?  My peach tree has begun producing, but a worm has already crept and has begun to slowly destroy its' fruit.  One of my trees has struggled since it has been planted. It was okay when we first planted it, but a seed from a tree with fungus had blown by it. As the tree spent more time around the damaged seedling, the fungus destroyed it. At this point, it is only good for the fire. Another tree looks amazing. Anyone who saw it would think it was a productive tree. However, even though it looks great, it won't produce any fruit. The last tree isn't the biggest or...

  When I thought about what I would write about today, I had a light post prepared, but this morning I felt I needed to change what I had planned. Not sure who this is for, but here goes... having four children taught me an important lesson. Don't collect expensive things and don't get too attached to things. If it was important, I put it away until my children were older- teenage years are not old enough because there will be at least one physical fight or wrestling match and something broken before they are fully grown. I believe at one point I even complained that everything I owned was broken. It even changed the way I shopped. I started thrifting so that I would not get too upset if things broke. Now that my children are grown and the wrestling stage has passed, I'm struggling to leave the "broken" mindset. As we continue our home renovation, we are beginning to purchase new furniture. My husband laughed at me because I struggled to pay full-price for some b...

I don't normally do this, but after watching a movie on Amazon Prime, I wanted to let you know about it. In case you haven't noticed, it is very difficult to find a good movie that is absent of cursing, nudity, a or sexual content. This movie is clean. First, I need to start by saying this movie is a comedy/satire. The premise of the movie is that in the church's zeal for drawing people in, the message became lost in the gimmick. The youth pastor of a mega-church, Guy, has just come off a long book tour disallusioned by how caught up the world has become with attention-grabbing stunts, his lead pastor included. The head usher, played by Steven Baldwin, places timely moments of advice that causes all to evaluate their hearts. As the pastor becomes desperate to draw a crowd on Good Friday by performing a real crucifixion, the youth pastor and the pastor's daughter try to convince the pastor that the simple message that Jesus loved the world so much that He died on the cro...

  Ever heard the phrase, "straw that broke the camel's back or the final straw?" I've heard it often and thought I understood the phrase, but it wasn't until the last few weeks that I gained full understanding of the desperation that bathes this phrase. Many know my house had to be torn to the dirt under the house. Due to water damage that had not been fully dried from a couple of years back, all the floor joists were rotted. My family and I have lived like college students in a dorm room  for months. Ok, one actually was a college student, but I thought that time in my life had passed. Add on all the typical things that happen with your children as they move off. They may be grown up, but they will always be your babies that occupy your mind. Add my husband dealing with some health stuff. Add into the soup of my life, end of the year stuff that accompanies being a teacher. I came to the point where I felt like it was just too much. One tiny thing could send me o...

   Yes, this huge man is the baby boy of our family! As you can see, physically, I no longer have babies. Mentally, all of my children will be my babies. There is a book called , I'll Love You Forever . As a parent, you can't make it through the book without crying. It follows the relationship of mother and son as the child grows. Toward the end, the older mother is sneaking into her grown son's house to hold him in her arms and sing to him. Spoiler alert- grab a tissue before you read the end! As a mother, you spend so much time raising your children, that you blink and suddenly they are grown. I've told my children they will never be too old for me to hold them. As they become giants compared to me, they may need to hold me, but as long ask I am here, I'll always desire to comfort my children. God is the same. That nurturing spirit came from our Heavenly Father. He placed this trait in mothers' hearts but it came from His heart. He longs to comfort you and hol...