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?

Ever Have a Sidewinder Kind of Day?

Day 226 of Photo Inspirations -- Ever Have a Sidewinder Kind of Day?
You're trying to go forward, but there's so many distractions, so many roadblocks, so many hurdles to cross that you feel like you're going sideways just to be able to squeeze through these times?

Yesterday morning, my "Walking With Purpose" pals and I were talking about our weekend and Nancy mentioned that she and her dad, while walking through the neighborhood, came across what looked like a worm but it was maneuvering sideways instead of slithering forward.  Right away, her dad thought that it might be a baby Sidewinder rattlesnake, which would be rare in Oklahoma since they are typically found in deserts.  He stepped on it and put it out of its misery AND ours.  I hope he was mistaken about what it was, because, if not, that Sidewinder's mom or pop could still be hanging out around here.  The name, Sidewinder, alludes to its ability to gain traction and move swiftly on sand -- sideways.  And, by the way, the Sidewinder rattlesnake is venomous.

God is awesome at giving us object lessons on our walks.  Nancy told us a little story of a girl who saw a snake.  The snake asked politely, "Would you please save my life and put me in your backpack?"   She was so concerned for the poor snake that indeed she did put him in her backpack.  Soon the snake bit her.  She asked "Why did you do that to me since I saved your life?"  His reply:  "I'm a snake, and that's just what I do."

The moral to the "snake" stories today is the awareness that the enemy will do everything he can to deceive us and take us off course -- keeping us from the best that God has for us.  He did that to Adam and Eve.  They listened to the serpent and did what he told them to do.  And, as a result, the gorgeous, place of serenity, peace, and comfort was stolen from them.  They let him deceive them.

Perhaps you're having to maneuver through some tough situations today. You've lost your serenity, peace and joy like Adam and Eve did.  Maybe you listened to the voice of the Sidewinder who led you into those uncomfortable places.  Go ahead and stomp on his head and let him know you're no longer listening to his lies. NOW -- listen to the voice of your Good Shepherd that will safely lead you to green pastures.

John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."