What A Weird Day

snake 2

Okay, I’m taking a moment to catch my breath and I’m finally able to write something.  Yesterday I had so many errands to run that I couldn’t even do a post.  It has been a weird week and today has been a really weird day.  Let me explain.

I mowed the lawn today for the first time this season.  I also turned on our sprinkler system.  Everything went great, praise God!  The mower started up on the second pull and the sprinklers worked perfectly.

As I was checking the sprinkler heads in the back yard, I was startled when I stepped right next to a young bull snake.  It was only about a foot and a half long.  I have had much bigger and nastier bull snakes in the yard, so this one wasn’t that bad.  Still a good size snake though.  Bull snakes look a lot like rattle snakes and since baby rattle snakes don’t have their rattle yet, you can’t tell the difference between a young bull and a young rattle snake.  Even baby rattle snakes can kill you, so I treat them all like rattle snakes and just chop their heads off.

snake 3

snake 4

That’s how we deal with snakes here in Colorado.  We back up to open space and we have had some real big ones in our backyard and even in our garage.  A real big one struck at my wife in the garage once.  It missed her, but it was hissing and striking…until I chopped its head off.  The bulls coil up just like a rattle snake and they strike.  Sometimes they even shake their tail to mimic a rattler.

So, even though it is pretty common to see snakes in the spring, that was the first weird thing today.  Then it got weirder.  We actually had an altercation with our neighbor across the street.  This is not a normal thing for us and it was pretty shocking.  We get along with all of our neighbors and we live in a real nice neighborhood.  In almost 13 years of living here we have never had something like this happen.

I was inside the house cooking dinner (like I do every night) waiting for my wife and kids to come home.  When my wife and kids got home, they were upset when they came inside.  We have had trouble for a long time with our neighbor’s cat pooping in our yard.  Well, that same cat was in our front yard as my wife and kids pulled up in our driveway.  My son got out of the car first and he scared the cat out of our yard by clapping and telling it to leave.  The owner of the cat across the street was sitting on her front porch and she started yelling at my son.  Screaming actually.  My wife said it was pretty shocking because she was standing right there and this lady is yelling at the top of her lungs telling my son to leave her cat alone.  My wife didn’t say anything to her and they all just came inside.

My son said the lady sounded like she was shouting at a Rockies game (that’s our baseball team here in Colorado) and my wife confirmed that she was screaming at our son and totally out of line.  She said our neighbor had a lot of anger in her voice and my son said it startled him and scared him a bit.  Just to be clear, this lady’s cat is in my yard yet again and she is yelling at my son because my son made the cat leave our yard which shouldn’t have been there in the first place.  Yeah, that’s not going to fly with me.  Folks, people are so sinful and crazy it’s sad.

Upon learning of the woman’s angry outburst against my son and after serving dinner, I walked outside to have a word with her.  It did not go well.  I was very angry.  I told her to never yell or say anything to my son or my daughter ever again.  I told her to keep her cat out of my yard and I wasn’t nice about it.  I ended up calling the police afterwards and a cop came and talked with me and then he walked across the street and talked with her.  She was crying as he talked with her and she won’t ever be messing with my kids ever again.

I had to repent for some of the words I said and I was honest with the cop about what I said.  He told me I shouldn’t have said some of those words, but he understood because he would have been angry too if someone had yelled at his kids.  He was a nice guy and he did a good job bringing finality to the situation by letting my neighbor know that she was wrong on all counts, especially yelling at our son, and she needs to stop letting her cat poop in my yard too.

After that, I let my kids ride their bikes out front to show our neighbors that we won’t be bullied or intimidated and to let them know that this is our neighborhood.  I grew up near Denver in-between Littleton Blvd. and Federal and I learned at a young age to stand up for myself and my family.  I prayed forgiveness and blessing over our neighbors and I pray they find peace in Jesus.

My daughter said it was like the snake was a symbol of the coming trouble with our neighbor.  I told my daughter what happened with our neighbor was definitely a spiritual attack.  I probably won’t ever get the chance to share Christ with them, especially now, but all we can do is pray for some people.  I prayed that the Lord would bring peace and healing to the situation and I know He can do all things.

I could have acted more righteously (please Lord help me not sin in my anger) and I’m really not sure why I’m writing this.  I definitely want to ask for prayer for our family.  Nobody is going to scare or intimidate my kids and I let that lady know that real loud and clear.  She knows I’m not messing around now that she has had a visit from the police.  Just pray for her and her husband and their two kids.  Just a real weird day.

Ever since I started blogging I have had some weird spiritual attacks thrown at me.  I had the guy at the gas station threatening me (while my kids were in the truck), I had somebody drive by our house cussing at me twice, and now this neighbor yelling at my son.  Please pray protection over our family.  I am out here sharing the Gospel every day and it makes the evil one real mad, but that’s just too bad.  Jesus said “Go” so I’m going hard for Jesus!  Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 are no joke!  I’m going to keep on going in the power, grace, and strength of Jesus inside of me!  We are in a spiritual war and I am one of God’s warriors.  May His will be done!

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

Romans 16:20

Grace and peace to you all…even to our angry neighbors who yell at our son and let their cat poop all over our yard.  I forgive them as Christ has forgiven me.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

 

Author: Ryan Callahan

Hello, and welcome to my site! I am an independent Christian author (One Man's Very Strange Supernatural Life), blogger, and evangelist for Jesus. My main goal with this blog is to help people come to know Jesus, help people understand the Bible, and to minister to a lost and hurting world. This site is about hope, new beginnings, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love! I'm glad you are here, God bless you! Copyright © 2024 Ryan Callahan. All rights reserved.

50 thoughts on “What A Weird Day”

  3. We all have bad days—yesterday mine, today yours. That’s how it is when you are witnessing for the Lord. The enemy will do anything to make you lose your cool. He keeps trying and trying till he succeeds. But when you fall, just dust off, get back up and get going again!!

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  4. I’m praying for you and your family, Ryan. You are a tremendous blessing. You know you’re doing something right when the devil is this scared.

    Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. —Ephesians 6:11-13 New International Version (NIV)

    And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death. —Revelation 12:11 Amplified Bible (AMP)

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  5. So crazy! I think you’re right, you’ve been experiencing a lot of spiritual attacks these past several months. I pray God blesses and protects you and your family. I hope the issues with your neighbor are finally over too. God bless, Ryan!

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  6. For several of the women and girls in my family we really dread live snakes. Snakes of any kind, even in the zoos. The reason is if we dream of one and then cross paths with one someone in our family passes within the week. Just thinking about them gives me a creepy feeling. Just remember that sometimes others act out for reasons we may never know. She could have just gotten bad news, been yelled at by her spouse. So when you pray for her ask what you can do to ease what is troubling her. Maybe you need to apologize for your language. Not for standing up for your children. But we all know that Christ would advise to seek her forgiveness for your transgressions. You will never feel comfortable in your own yard or with yourself if you let the foulness stand. We ask for forgiveness for our comfort and to show that we truly love the Lord. Think about it this way, the evil one wins in the skirmish if you let a sin be held over you. Sometimes even the Lord tests us in unusual ways to see what our choices are. You chose to confront her and you chose how you did it. I will say a prayer for your house hold and for her’s. Seek answers in prayer. Blessing

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  7. We have to be careful for snakes in our yard, too. We have have copperheads mostly, but have had rattlesnakes. Then there are the useful chicken/rat snakes, King snakes, garder snakes. I am of the opinion that there are no good snakes but dead ones! And I feel you about the spiritual attacks! You start doing something for God and the enemy comes in like a flood! Praying for your family and your neighbors!

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  8. Good morning, brother. Yes, in will pray in the name of Jesus that peace overcome your neighborhood and the hearts of those who live there. God does test our faith too sometimes. He sees you and your kingdom work, sees how you love your family and Him. Keep drawing near to Him and He will draw near to you.

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  10. Snakes…my worse nightmare in the yard! Glad you found it and took care of it. Keep watch, if it was small there could be a nest. I stepped on a baby gardener snake, jumped straight up screaming and landed on a dozen crawling from a hole in the ground. I always find them when I am working in my gardens, and I scream abd run everytime. Ha! I feel bad my grandson was yelled at, too! She had no right to do that to a child, especially when she was wrong to let her nasty cat walk around your yard. You did the right thing in calling the police on her and I am glad he told her she was in the wromg. You repented for your words, and I pray they leave you guys alone. We have had our share of troubles with neighbors, too. Praying for protection over all of you! You are good neighbors always ready to help, too bad she can’t respect her neighbors. I said a prayer for her. Happy you were able to write your post…you are a diligent warrior for Christ our Lord! Anen! How was the Rockies game, did the kids have fun?

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    1. Thanks Mom. The Rockies game was fun. The kids did a good job singing the National Anthem. We didn’t stay for the whole game, but the kids loved it. I want to take the kids to another game this summer. Love ya!

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  11. I’m sorry for the unpleasantness. I agree that Satan attacks God’s people. I’m glad you stood up for your family. I hope the neighbor repents and that things will get better. Cat ladies can be a bit nutty. ( I have cats but I’m not a cat lady.) I never thought of a snake as being a sign , very interesting. We have snakes here on our property, mostly they just eat our chicken eggs. But we have seen poisonous ones like copperheads. I hope today is peaceful but even if it’s not, keep trusting God like you always do. He is fighting for you. God bless you!

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  13. YIKES!!!! I HATE snakes! We get some, especially since we back up to open space as well, but with two big Saint Bernards, fortunately they do not really come into our yard. The snakes we see are the ones we find sunning themselves on the pathways.

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  16. Wow! You’ve really had quite a week! Satan always attacks when he sees us getting closer to God. He doesn’t want you sharing the Lord with others. I’ll pray for you all!! And for that neighbor.

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  19. Wow! What a day you had Ryan! When I sometimes notice such attacks, I first consult the Holy Spirit. Remember the article I wrote about anger? When you consult the Spirit of God, he reveals the Spirit behind the attack. When you attack the Spirit in the name of Jesus, it may or may not manifest again physically. The Holy Spirit will give you more clarity and you can go about your day. I remember there was a time I had difficulties praying. I spoke in tongues and asked the Holy Spirit for a revelation. He revealed the spirit behind the hindrance of my prayer life. The next day that person who was being used by the enemy was so mad at me! For no reason! Looking carefully at his reaction, it was not him, but the spirit that I had prayed against. He had no clue that he was being used by the enemy! Can you imagine that! I almost got mad to be honest but I decided to redirect my anger to the rightful place! I waited for him to leave and then I just shouted at the devil and I told Him YOU ARE DEFEATED IN JESUS NAME! Some never manifested physically, some did. It can go both ways.

    So, always see the spirit behind the person and not the person. The real enemy uses people to get on our nerves. That is why the Holy Spirit is soo important! Consult Him first, pray in tongues in such a situation and ask for a revelation. I learned through his reaction that prayers work! Blessings Ryan!

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  20. That’s crazy. Cat needs to stay inside and poop in the litter box. And she really should not have yelled at your son over that.

    But maybe that was the last straw she could take after a rough day. 😦

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