From the Home Place

March 10, 2026

We are starting the day at 24 degrees with fog. Today’s high will be around 44, 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. There is a chance of some snow this afternoon, along with a shot of wind. Speaking of wind, they are forecasting 76 mph wind on Thursday!!!

I just finished reading a book by the title, “Today I Baled Some Hay to Feed the Sheep the Coyotes Eat.” No, I am not recommending that you read this little book, but if you have ever been around sheep, you will appreciate the title.

When I was around ten years old, we had an old female coyote take a real liking to fresh lamb chops. What made the situation even worse, she was bringing her two pups along on the adventure of the “woolie wars.” If I remember correctly, the sheep were out on spring pasture, and doing well until Mrs. Yip-Puppy declared war.

We tried to trap the ‘ol gal, eliminating both of the pups within a week. The problem was, she had dispatched four lambs and two ewes in that same week. The next week, dad tried several of his favorite coyote trapping tricks, each day the traps were dry; yet each day our sheep herd was decreased by more fatalities. It appeared that we had angered our enemy quite a bit, she was now killing sheep just for the fun of killing, much like a wolf would do!

The pasture the sheep were in was long and flat, making it difficult to protect the old gals. There were too many sheep to pen them each evening without trampling more lambs than momma coyote was killing, so we decided to be good soldiers and put ourselves directly on the battlefield.

With dad on one knoll and me on another, we lay shivering in the cold morning air, waiting for the enemy to attack. I remember laying there for a solid hour, watching the sheep quietly getting up off of their bed ground, heading for breakfast; and then here she was! There was a slight breeze out of the west, blowing into my face, and hers. Mrs. Yip Puppy had walked in right past me and I missed seeing her because I was so intent on watching the herd. (I’m not real sure what that says about my odor since she hadn’t caught a whiff of me as she passed by???)

Well, there she was, crouched down low, preparing to take a run at a lone ewe some 50 yards in front of her. The ewe was alone because her lamb hand long been coyote lamb chops. I rolled my trusty 30-06 rifle up so I could see through the scope, and as I looked through the scope, the coyote and the ewe were perfectly aligned, no shot!

I knew better than to try to move even an inch one way or the other, I was locked down and that ‘ol sow was getting ready to kill once again. And then, I heard the blast of my dad’s old 30-40 Craig. The ‘ol gun had nothing but a peep sight on it, but dad had fired several hundred rounds though it during their years of gathering meat together.

As the trusty ‘ol Craig bellered, Mrs. Coyote stopped moving. The General of the home army had finally won the battle!

I share this rather long story with you not to gross you out, but to illustrate that you and I also have an enemy. In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul warns us of such an enemy when he writes, “For our struggle (battle) is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

With all that is going on with the war against Iran, it seems like it might be a good time to remind us that every person alive today is involved in a spiritual war. To make things even worse, Satan and his army have declared war right here in the good ‘ol U.S. of A! In fact, they are waging war right in your own home, against those whom you love.

And much like Mrs. Coyote, our spiritual enemy is sneaky, cunning and very determined. He too, kills just for the fun of it. He is an enemy that we cannot physically see, yet we can see the carnage of his presence. The spiritual casualties are all around us – folks who are alive on the outside, but dead on the inside.

Many have tried to trap this spiritual enemy, but no one has ever been successful. Yet One has dealt our enemy a deadly blow. The Lord Jesus Christ, upon the cross and through the grave that could not hold Him, fired the shot heard through all of eternity, when Jesus declared, “It is finished!” He won the war for us!

Yet, our enemy is still allowed to live in the world system around us. Peter tells us, “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Pt. 5:8). It doesn’t matter if Satan is called a “lion” or a coyote, the fact is that he wants to kill the testimony of all who stand for Christ!

Unlike most wars, we cannot physically attack our enemy. No, the Bible gives us another strategy for dealing with Satan and his crew. Go back to Ephesians 6 and read verses 10-17. Here we find that our part in the spiritual battle that is constantly around us is to “stand firm.” We are to put on our spiritual armament and “stand firm” upon the fact that, though the battle still goes on each day, Jesus has already won the war!

Just like that ‘ol 30-40 Craig, the voice of All Mighty God will one day declare that the battle is over!!! But, until then, make sure that you daily “take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day.”(verse 13)

Ephesians 6:18 seems to be a fitting conclusion to this long article: “pray at all times.” Pray for, pray with the other saints around you, especially those who share a home with you!

Praying for you and with you, Neal