Bunny Trails That Give Bunnies a Bad Name

So I’m still caring for this pint-size Yorkie who, BTW, is about to get "shipped out" because she keeps telling me what to do. “Treat? Go for a Walk? Scratch my tummy! Put me as close to you as I possibly can get!" And, I yield to her, almost every time. Those big brown eyes are irresistible! What she doesn’t realize is that’s why I don’t have a pet of my own. I’m quite content with being responsible for just me and "just me" enjoys not having anyone telling me what to do, where to go, and what to say. Well, with the exception of Holy Spirit Who I’m prone to do, go and say what He says! I’ll admit, if someone was spying on us, they’d get a kick out of Emma and me conversing and me telling her she better “shape up or ship out”!

Our four-times-a-day walks include her trying to follow bunny trails – and me, reeling her back to the nice casual walk around the neighborhood. She endlessly sniffs around in circles, never getting anywhere. And she certainly never finds the bunny. But, I can’t blame her because I tend to go off on bunny trails myself. In fact, my bunny trails give bunnies a bad name. For example, I go to change my wash to the dryer, and on the way, I see my plant that needs to be watered and after I water the plant, I notice dishes that I need to put into the dishwasher. And, oh, while Im doing that, I realize I need to buy more dishwasher soap so I get my notepad. While I make a note of the soap, I hear a great commercial that says: “Order now. Call 1-800-xxx-xxxx.” I know I want it so as I start to order it, I remember that I need to change my wash to the dryer. Oh me!

Like I have to reel Emma back in, I think I’m feeling the tug from my Father – reeling me back in and reminding me: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways (including the bunny trails) acknowledge Me and I will make your paths straight!” (Proverbs 3:5,6) And from Psalm 119:1 “You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.”

I sure don’t want to be caught up going in circles, looking for a rabbit or bunny or even a squirrel. I desire to be focused, being intentional and purposeful in whatever my hands find to do. It’s been said that purposefulness is having “conscious” intention. It is having a clear focus on what and why we're doing it.

I’m tending to think that this little Yorkie is more God’s plan than it my kids’ plan. I need to learn what NOT to do – being double-and-triple minded instead of single-minded. I’m determined to devote myself to the project at hand, not a part time or sorta-kinda commitment. And combine it with faith to believe that God will help me live out the purpose He has given me.

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)

Welcome to my Wild Frontier!

Maybe not the frontier, but it’s sure been wild at my place. I have felt like Annie Oakley in my determination to rid my home of an outlaw squirrel. This wildlife adventure began several weeks ago when I heard scratching outside my window. I went out to my patio and saw all kinds of wood shavings on the ground. I spied the evil varmint who was cozy in-between my pergola and roof eaves. I shewed him away using a can of bug spray (not harmful to animals) to deter him and he was gone for a week. The next week he returned. I shot my spray and he left again. This went on for a few weeks but no more wood shred because of my keen eagle eyes and ears. But when I went to Austin for a week and returned home, that critter had succeeded in chewing out a 6” x 3” hole, quite adequate for his home in my attic! His tactics were made clear when I heard rustling above my bedroom."Vengeance is mine" saith Donna (rather Annie!).

I sought Dr. Google's advice and found others who had squirrel invasions and how they rid themselves of the nuisance and destruction they can cause. They said, "Use mothballs, fox urine (gasp), animal deterrent spray, a cage trap or get a remove-a-pest company (and plan to pay $250 to $500)." A friend told me I should be glad that I only have one squirrel. He had two squirrels and a possum in his attic! WHAT???

My accomplice, Denise Gerrich, and I went to Lowe’s and found an animal deterrent spray. When an animal smells it, it triggers their natural instinct to escape. When we got to my home, we made sure the rascal wasn't in the attic and then in my best Annie Oakley sharpshooter form, I proceeded to spray the animal deterrent all over the eaves and pergola. The smell was ghastly. I can see why it makes an animal run in terror!

That was a week ago. It's quiet now at Donna's wild frontier. When scurrying up trees, that cute, little furry guy was a friend, but when he started messing with my domain, my peace, my comfort, and MY frontier, he became my foe. Like that annoying squirrel -- so is the enemy of our souls. He pesters us and gnaws away at our hearts and minds trying to invade our thoughts with concerns, doubts, and worry. It can be incessant and troubling -- just like that pesky squirrel. We can let our concerns get to us or we can let go, and let God do what He is best at. What I’ve come to know is worrying gets us nowhere and gives us nothing but sleepless nights and destroys our peace of mind. God’s Word says: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Our best defense against annoying intruders or circumstances that try to steal peace is doing what we can and get on the offense instead of letting the enemy take over. Seal up and fortify the weak places, like in my roof AND in our hearts. We apply covering to the vulnerable places to protect our roof 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 another frontier. 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, looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

Time to Take Back What the Enemy Has Stolen

While I was in Michael’s a few days ago, I saw the Fall décor 70% off sale. I saw this little squirrel that reminded me of the sandwich-snatching squirrel we met up with at Sea World. My daughter reminded me of the encounter. We had just sat down in a shady spot to eat our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and my six-year-old granddaughter was just about to take a bite of hers when this vicious (okay, not vicious, but heister) squirrel grabbed the sandwich out of her hands. Staci said: “Mom, you were like a kamikaze, wonder woman, freak of nature, princess warrior, Joan of Arc, going through no man's land and ready to die at the stake for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Hell hath no fury like a woman whose grandchild had her sandwich stolen by a squirrel!” Okay. So my daughter embellished that story just a tad, but I remember my first instincts were to let that squirrel know he had messed with the wrong grandmother

As I thought about that hilarious scenario, I started thinking about the enemy of our souls and how he is always trying, and often succeeding, at stealing from us. For example, we woke up this morning with an overwhelming sense of great expectation that something good is going to happen to us this day. But then, the car doesn't start which causes the kids to be late for school and we are late for work AND the extremely important meeting we had to be at on time. That's the heister squirrel, rather the enemy of our souls, endeavoring to steal our joy and great expectations. What about the argument that we had with our spouse or child or friend yesterday? We shouldn't think it was just a random disagreement. It was the enemy trying to steal our peace. Realizing it's the enemy that is endeavoring to steal our joy and peace is the first step in apprehending him before he gets away with it.

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). According to these words of Jesus, the thief is out to steal, kill, and destroy everything good in our lives. He wants to steal our job, our joy, our happiness, our health, our finances, our marriage, and our kids. The thief just wants to ruin anything he can get his hands on!

That reminds me of the pickpocket that stole my husband's wallet when we were in Cancun, Mexico. Along with the wallet, his credit cards, money, and identity were stolen, too! We’ve all experienced painful loss of some kind. Imagine we're given the opportunity to not only get back what was lost, but we even get back double for our trouble. Because Jesus came to give us life abundantly, we also find in Scripture that God wants to abundantly restore what we’ve lost. "Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will restore twice as much to you." Zechariah 9:12. Wow! That means I should have gotten two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from that heister squirrel!

Perhaps you’re living in a season when you feel deprived and taken advantage of by the enemy. Maybe you've lost something or someone valuable to you, the least of which is your peace and joy. I assure you, God wants you to live life in all its fullness and give you double for your trouble. Get on the offense against the enemy. Grab those things that the enemy is trying to steal from you or has stolen from you quickly! Grab hold of that scripture in Zechariah and reclaim what has been taken from you. Fight for what is yours with relentless, kamikaze determination!

The Fishing Trip's Grand Finale

If there's a scripture I rely on, live by, practice, use in my blog posts, and appreciate, it's Romans 8:28 "ALL THINGS work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes." It seems to be that scripture.....at the end of the day or at the end of the trial or at the end of a fishing trip that never fails to prove so true.

If you've read my "fishing trip" posts over the last several days, you've read how awesome our first couple of days were, lots of fun and fish. We caught so many fish by 8:30 am on the first day that we were releasing more than usual. I saw a couple fishing and they weren't catching anything, so I took one of those fish over to them and asked if they'd like to have it, and they replied "Oh no! We have a freezer full of rainbow trout that were 2 to 4 pounds each that we caught at Beaver's Bend at Broken Bow, OK." They were delighted to give me so many tips about what to fish with and where at Beaver's Bend. For years, we've come to Lake Tenkiller and the Illinois River at Marval Camp because it was a place Papa and I found and we all enjoyed every year with the kids and grandkids, but this news made me think "Maybe it's time to diversify!" I told Larry and Staci and we agreed that we should go check it out sometime.

The next morning we got up early for another day of fishing but the dam gates had to be open for the next several days to release sufficient water to keep from flooding which meant our trout fishing there had come to an end. We made the best use of our time having fun otherwise, but then we realized, we need an alternative location should this happen again, so yesterday morning, we were packed up and ready to go for yet another adventure. We drove straight to Beaver's Bend. And adventure is what we found.

Along the way, we found such incredible beauty in the Ouachita Mountains -- so it was photo opt time!

Then, as luck would have it -- NOT -- we don't believe in luck -- we believe "as blessings and favor of God would have it", a Beaver's Bend Park Ranger was just sitting at the side of the road so we pulled over and he gave us everything we needed to know about where, when and how! We drove to cabins on the river and checked them out. We went to a State Park restaurant for lunch and met the former owner of the bait and tackle shop -- lived here all her life, that gave us every tip she could on best places to fish -- when and where. We were enjoying eating outside where we found out a bag of water will keep flies away, that squirrels are tame enough to come right up to your table for scraps, and that fried crocodile is delicious. Yes, they have crocodile at Beaver's Bend -- but they've never heard of a single person being harmed by them.

Our adventure even included a trip to a Blue Bell Ice Cream Shop where we found out if you let your kids get rowdy there, they'll be served a shot of coffee and given a free kitten. LOL!

The grand finale of our day was Payton & Alexia singing "What Does the Fox Say?"

We all decided this day just may be rated as the BEST DAY of our mini-fishing vacation. Isn't God so awesome to continue to prove He cares enough about what we care about, that He overloads us with proof that He really does make what would seem to be an upset of plans and a detour from what we thought our agenda should be......FOR GOOD! He really is such a GOOD GOOD FATHER!!! Our God is an awesome God!!!