A Bison, a Dumb Idea and a God-Idea

While having lunch at my home on Sunday, my kids told me this story. Last Wednesday, a 54-year-old woman motorcyclist was attacked by a bison in South Dakota when she sat in the grass to take a photo of a mother bison and her calf. She got way too close to the little family and another bison (maybe the dad bison) charged at the woman, hooked its horns into the belt loops of her jeans and flung her around in the air for a few seconds. The sheriff said the woman was "apparently saved when her pants came off and she fell to the ground unconscious." At that point, the sheriff said the attacking bison ran off with the rest of the herd. I understand she survived the attack – thank God! The gal who filmed the incident, posted this: “Please, please, please feel free to share this, so people understand they’re about to die when they confront an animal this powerful.”

Then, I remembered a similar story and asked my daughter if she remembered when she was about four years old, standing a distance away when her daddy and I had grabbed hold of a young calf to castrate him. The mama cow, rather than attacking us – went after Staci and, with her head, begin to bounce Staci in the air. Thankfully, Staci held onto her ears like riding a bucking bronco. Her daddy turned and kicked the cow who released our girl. It was a scary sight. Staci remembered.

I thought about those two incidents and how we MUST be watchful of everything we do that could give a foothold into our lives by the enemy of our souls. That’s why Godly wisdom is so important to our success in life. Proverbs 4:6-7 says: "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it costs all you have, get understanding."

If anyone could speak to us about the snares, traps and lies of the enemy of our souls it was the Apostle Peter. Remember the many mistakes he made because of not recognizing he was a target of Satan? Peter was already in-the-making to be mightily used by God, so of course the enemy wanted to keep him from his destiny. Peter warned us with this: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Peter understood who it was that tricked him into denying Christ, to cut off the soldier’s ear, to cower behind others. Peter goes on to tell us how to defeat the enemy. “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." 1 Peter 5:9

Wisdom, Holy Spirit’s voice and good old common sense is with us to keep us from making really dumb mistakes like playing around with wild animals or getting ourselves into compromising situations or simply choosing what we know God wants us to avoid. I really believe that God is leaning in close to His kids today to give us His wisdom for successfully living a victorious life in Him. As He leans in, may we lean in closer to Him to hear His voice and know His ways that will surely keep us safe, sound, and successful.

1 Kings 2:3 “Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in His ways, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.”

Guarding My Attic AND My Heart

Squirrel intruders started last year. So bad that they burrowed into my attic with a 6” x 3” hole. I heard them scampering around having a “heyday” all season long. Grrr! I surmised the enemy was out to get me and my peace! But, eventually, no more noise plus $150 bill from my handy man to seal the hole.

Again, this year, I hear the scratching and see the shavings on the ground. I run out like a crazy lady, waving my broom stick and rodent-spray. I'm done and ready to take him out. Still, he comes back. I decide it’s time for big guns. A $70 sure-fire deal, an Advanced Ultrasonic Rodent Repelling System is on its way. Can I just insert here “I love Amazon Prime!” Next day, the system is set up and I feel empowered. But, alas, the rascal comes back and I catch him in the act of burrowing a 1” hole. I call the repelling system company, explain my torment, and I’m sent an add-on device specificaly for squirrels.. I set it up. But, my foe is still bound and determined. I accelerate my wild west woman moves, taking after him with the spray and I put a metal shower rod up the hole. That was three weeks ago. I think (I hope) he may have found a less violent home! Whew!

Now, to the point of this blog – besides being able to vent about a varmint with the tenacity we all should have in going after what we want -- the device makes high intensity sounds that my grandkids detect right away. They complain about the shrill noise they hear coming from my back yard. We adults don’t hear the noise at all. I unplug the device and their pain is gone. They leave. I plug it back in. Payton comes over and "Nana, please turn off your device. It hurts so much." I did, until he left.

I read up on the ability to hear high-pitched sounds or not, and it seems children and teenagers can hear those sounds. As we age, our ability to hear high-pitched sounds wanes – a process that naturally occurs as the cells in our ears age.

Here's my wise sage advice at the end of this long saga. Like that annoying squirrel -- so is the enemy of our souls. My grandchildren heard those pesky, annoying sounds until I unplugged the devices. Maybe my older, wiser self with the inability to hear the taunts of the enemy is because I have learned to guard my heart. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

Our best defense against annoying intruders or circumstances that try to steal our peace is doing what we can to get on the offense instead of letting the enemy take over. Seal up and fortify the weak places, like in our attics AND in our hearts. We seal the vulnerable places and we apply prayer and God's Word to our heart. He will give us His peace that’s beyond anything we can understand. His peace will guard our hearts and minds against the anxieties that can be as persistent as that squirrel. I’m hopeful that the squirrel has moved on to greener pastures. I'm also hopeful and determined to be on guard against the enemy of my soul! "Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion (or a scratching squirrel) looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

The Enemy is a Lion WITHOUT Teeth

Day 297 of Photo Inspirations -- The Enemy is a Lion WITHOUT Teeth
Tuesday Night, our Hyde-Out Clubhouse was packed to hear "News On 6" Anchor and Crime Reporter Lori Fullbright provide the latest crime trends and the best ways we can all be safer. She believes "knowledge is power". She shared victims' stories and the current scams that are set up to steal from us -- particularly scams that convince innocent victims that they are dealing with "so called" nice, friendly people.  There are tech support scams, counterfeit merchandise scams, grant scams, free trips scams, timeshare scams, dating scams, door-to-door yarkwork or home repairs scams, collection agency scams.  And those scammers end up stealing thousands of dollars from their victims.

As I listened to Lori, I thought "How gullible can people be to fall prey to these scammers?  Common sense should keep us wide awake from such ploys."  But Lori said, highly intelligent professionals (and even her own mother) hear the nice people speaking to them, and think that it's for real.

Immediately, I thought about how our enemy, Satan, goes about as a roaring lion seeking who he can devour, but he can only devour those who are naive and easily deceived.  We need to be on high alert against the wiles of the enemy.  "He came to kill, steal and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life more abundantly." (John 10:10)  But we need to KNOW the difference between LIGHT and darkness and the only way to know the difference is knowing HIM. Is  Satan powerful? Yes. Is God MORE powerful?  Absolutely.

"He ain't got no teeth!"  I loved this story I heard from a man who recounted his experience of watching a lion in a zoo. "As I stood there," he said, "an attendant entered the cage. He had nothing in his hands but a broom.  Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage." He observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the lion was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The lion hissed at him and then laid down in another corner of the enclosure.

The man remarked to the attendant, "You certainly are a brave man." "No, I ain't brave," he replied as he continued to sweep. "Well, then, that cat must be tame." "No," came the reply, "he ain't tame." "If you aren't brave and the lion isn't tame, then I can't understand why he doesn't attack you." The attendant chuckled, then replied with an air of confidence, "Mister, he's old -- and he ain't got no teeth."

That’s the devil.  Ever since Jesus died on the cross, he "ain’t got no teeth."  He can growl and he can roar, but he’s a defeated foe. As long as we become more and more knowledgeable, like Lori said, "Knowledge is power", and stay in touch with our Lord Who will give us wisdom against the enemy, there is nothing he can do to harm us.  But we can't just ignore the enemy.  Remember, he's out there and will roam around to snag us or drag us into all kinds of distractions and steal from us.  We must always be on our guard.  This final verse says it precisely:

1 Peter 5:8-9  (LB) "Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord...."

Keep Your Eyes Wide Open

Day 228 Photo Inspirations -- Keep Your Eyes Wide Open!!
#TBT -- These photos of my grandson, Brennan, were taken at a Harley Davidson dealership 8 years ago.  The snakes (eew) were there in honor of Harley's snakeskin leather show.  It was a day out for Papa and Brennan.  Obviously our little guy had NO FEAR!!

A couple of days ago, I posted about a snake that was in our neighborhood which inspired me to talk about how easily we can be taken off course by the lies and deceptions of the enemy.  I loved the comments that my walking buddies added to that post:

Nancy:  Keeping our eyes wide open!  And on the baby snake, we were just talking last night on our walk with the dogs - it could have come in with a load of rocks being brought into the build sites.  We never know where or why sometimes -- just gotta keep our eyes open.

Sharon:  Satan is a deceiver and it's our responsibility to keep our eyes "wide open", dress ourselves in "the Full Armor of God", and HE is our rear Guard.  Stepping on that snake's head is an earthly representation of what's being done in the spirit on the morning prayer walks. Go Girls!

I love that.  It reminds me when I was a young girl and going to the outhouse at my big sis' house in West Virginia.  Across the path was a long snake that I stepped over.  I didn't see it, but my big Sis did.  Her eyes were WIDE OPEN! Then there's the time when a snake was all coiled up in our kitchen at Lake Keystone.  My husband took a baseball bat to it (my hero -- I'll spare you the details of how that turned out, but my husband won!)  My neighbor, lacking the right words to console me, asked "Do you suppose it had a mate?" -- which meant we scoured every inch of the house before we could sleep that night.  Our eyes were WIDE OPEN!

The point of my post today is "Keep our eyes wide open!"  1 Peter 5:8 says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion (and for this post -- snake), walks (slithers) about, seeking whom he may devour".  It's just who our enemy is -- he wants to slither into our lives and create fear, confusion in our minds, chaos in our family, deception in relationships, and it's up to us to be "on guard, vigilant, and aware of him sneeking into our lives."     EYES WIDE OPEN to the enemy's tactics and EYES WIDE OPEN to God's love, protection, tender mercies, and promises. Yes, my eyes are wide open.  How about yours?