08/02/2019
I am at war in my yard and am enlisting any help I can get from multiple products. Who or what am I fighting? Moles!!! I have heard stories from people who have almost lost their mind in this battle and I fear I may be joining them. I have lost large areas of mums, coreopsis, shasta daisies and black eyed daisies due to these critters. To say nothing of the soft spots in my lawn and raised areas in my beds! I have tried mole traps, juicy fruit gum, mole worms, mole sonar, and now my latest...gassing them out of their trails.
But if I can settle down for a moment...when I picture what is happening under my lawn-- what I envision is this main road from which multiple side roads branch off to cover the entire surface area of my yard. This road extends into my neighbor’s yards also. I know that there is a massive transport system established but I don’t know how many are traveling those roads. But I do know that it is there, unfortunately.
This reminds me of a picture of life on a spiritual level. Our lives are lived on top of the soil but what we must never forget is that not far away there is another spiritual reality just under the surface. That spiritual reality may be called evil, the devil, satan, spiritual warfare...whatever is your preferred description we need to remember that it is there. There are times in our lives when it raises its ugly head and becomes a real challenge, a real temptation, a real diversion from the life we try to lead as growing disciples of Jesus. The moles remind me of this. I am reminded that I need to be attentive and ready to respond any time I am tempted, I am lured, I am distracted away from what Jesus desires for me.
So just as I am looking out for moles in my lawn, I am being attentive also to spiritual moles that may try to lead me astray.
Thanks for listening to me rant, Pastor Patti
p.s. These moles make me laugh and think about the movie “Caddyshack!"
Archived Posts
What’s Saved Is Often Lost
Here’s the benediction we didn’t have time for yesterday (Sunday, November 3). It’s one of my favorite quotations (portions of a newspaper column). I hope you find it as inspiring as I have
Leftovers Continued…
It’s not just the fact that God is un-impressed by our leftovers, it actually goes deeper than that. In a sense, Jesus is passionately and purposely opposed to anything leftover. To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to work diligently to make sure that in the end nothing at all is left over.
Less Stuff and Fewer Wants
Here’s a point I left off Sunday’s sermon due to time and length. In dealing with an Entitled mindset it is very helpful if you can Reduce Materialism and Consumerism.
Entitlement Can Hit You in Ways You Might Never Suspect
The people of God (Israel) were chosen by God to fulfill a unique calling—to be a light to all the other nations of the nations of the world. God chose them because of their willingness to be used by Him for His purposes. But after a while the Israelites began to think that they were chosen--not because with God they could fulfill a special purpose--but because they were a special people, uniquely favored and loved for who they were.
What Kind of Love Do You Have For God?
In Sunday’s message about Job, I talked about how important relationship is when it comes to getting answers to our questions about God. The question that Job is really being tested on is this: can he love God for who God is—or does he only love God for what God can do for him?
The Importance of A Noise Cancelling Lifestyle
While hiding in a cave on the mountain the word of God asks Elijah, ‘What are you doing here?’ Elijah proceeds to launch into a rather whiney rant along the lines of “No one likes me, Everybody hates me, and all my hard work and sacrifice on your behalf, Lord, has fallen on deaf ears.”
And here’s what most people miss about this story:
So Is People Pleasing Such a Bad Thing?
This is a fair question, based on Sunday’s sermon. Wanting to make others happy isn’t a bad thing in itself. It’s what it does to the one who is compelled to please—someone with a compulsion to win the approval of others.