Praise the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever!

"I heard an old, old story; how a Saviour came from glory.
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me.
I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning.
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.

"Oh Victory in Jesus my Saviour forever!
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood
He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him.
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood."

I am reminded time and again of just how blessed I am because of Christ. Not because I live in the United States, not because I enjoy relatively more freedom and wealth than most parts of the world, not even because of my family… though of course all of these are major blessings that God has seen fit to provide. Instead, the greatest blessing God has ever granted anyone is the gift of salvation through His Son. Yet so often I take this gift for granted… May I always remember the great price that gift cost not me, but my Heavenly Father. May I ever be amazed at the wonder of salvation… and may I never ever forget that I do not deserve salvation!

"I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene
and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean.

How marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be.
How marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me.

"For me it was in the garden, He prayed not my will but Thine.
He had no tears for His own griefs, but sweat drops of blood for mine."

There are so many people dying in the world today who have no hope, or are relentlessly holding on to false hopes. The truth is there for all to see and believe… and so few people choose to believe. So many are dying without the truth. Some have never heard it. Some have refused to believe it. Still others choose to believe something else. Time is relentlessly passing. Every hour, every minute, every second that goes by is impossible to retrieve. Perhaps of all things in life, life itself is the most uncertain. Death is or could be around any and every corner. No one is guaranteed another year or even another day.

So many people turn to psychics, to astrology, to cults, to false religions to find the answers and the truth they so desperately seek. Yet in those things they will never find the truth, though they be thoroughly convinced of it. My heart breaks for these people who are so desperately lost and deceived. May God ever use me to be a testimony to them of the Truth and of Himself. May I stand strong for the truth no matter what may occur, no matter what may come.

It is easy enough to believe when I have the blessings and privileges I now have, but what if I didn't. There is one day coming I have no doubt when America will no longer have the freedoms she now has, perhaps not in my time, but it is coming. It has in fact already begun. Prayer is no longer allowed in school, prayer at public events (if it takes place at all) is in the most general terms possible, "under God" has been removed from the pledge of allegiance, no longer is the second verse of the Star Spangled Banner sung (somehow I doubt many even know it exists), etc. Our society is rapidly turning into a society without God… and very few even notice, let alone care. Still others think it is the better way; to them God is naught but a crutch and/or a preventer of fun and prosperity.

"Oh thus be it e'er when freed men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the wars desolation.
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven rescued land,
praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just.
And this be our motto, 'In God is our trust'
and the star-spankled banner in triumph shall wave
o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

May I ever and always remember that Christ is King. He is above all things, He made all things, and by Him only do all things consist. If it were not for His grace and mercy I would not be here today. Praise the Lord for who He is and all that He has done! Praise God that He is in control even when the world seems to be spinning wildly out of control! Praise God that I am not in control and that it is not up to me to determine the future of the world… or even of my life (even though sometimes I would like to be). Praise God for His Sovereignty! For His way is best… even though sometimes it seems to me that it cannot be. Praise God for His mercy! Even though I cannot understand it for without it I would be doomed. Praise God for His righteousness and perfect standard! Even though I cannot meet it for it shows me my greatest need.

May the words of my mouth and every
meditation of my heart be pleasing to Thee.
To God be all glory! To Him be all praise!

New Horizons

"This is my story, this is my song;
Praising my Savior all the day long!"

Well, for those of you who have not yet seen it on Facebook, I did get the job I applied for at the library in Wells. I am now officially an assistant librarian in training :o) Of course in some ways I will be basically a librarian since I am the only one who works there (except for my Mom who is the sub), but since the library and town is so small, they do not have a position for a regular librarian in Wells.

I am definitely looking forward to it. It will be a really good job and I will get to live at home until I get my loans paid off and have saved enough to get a house or something. But who knows if I will be here that long; I don't know my future but God does; I plan my paths, but God directs my steps :o) And I will be here to help with the garden, the feilds, and numerous other things that I have had to forgo for the past four years do to college. I really missed being home and I am very glad to be back, though I desparately miss all my friends.

I started the job and Wednesday and there is soooo much I have to learn... and so much I have already forgotten. I basically have a week of training before the librarian I am replacing retires... thus this week and the next are going to be a bit overwhelming I think. Actually, I am not even entirely sure how it is going to work for me to return to school for my graduation, but we shall see what happens :o)

Let's see, other than that life on the homefront continues on. I am still working on finishing a correspondence course... now made more difficult by the fact that I have a full-time job. I am at the library right now though not working. On Thursdays the library is open 1-5 and then reopens at 7. Perhaps Thursday nights will become a time for updating y'all, but no promises. :o)

It is strange to think that I am very nearly done with college and have an undergrad degree... and that now I have a full-time permanent job. I am not sure it has completely clicked yet. SOmehow, even though I have changed and grown much over the past four years, it does not seem like I should be grown up yet. Yet life still goes on... ever moving, ever changing... and I still don't know what I want to do "when I grow up" :o) Yet I am where God has placed me now and I am thankful for the job opportunity He has provided for me. May I use this opportunity to glorify God in everything I do. May I be a blessing and a testimony to everyone who enters in.

To God be the glory great things He hath done!

Spring is definitely in the air, though it still is often below freezing during the day and most definitely at night... even though it snowed last night and the night before... It is definitely almost spring. The snow is mostly gone and you can often go outside without a jacket... even though it is barely above freezing when I do so... it feels so nice after the extreme cold.

Graduation will be here before I know it... and after that the fair... and other things in between. :o) I am contemplating pulling out my fiddle and practicing up and entering again the Old Time Fiddle Contest they have in Wells every year. But perhaps next year... it is in June and I have got to get my school work done before I do any such thing.

I know I have not actually written much of an update, but there is not a whole lot to say. Since I left college and came home, my life has very much slowed down and to some people would perhaps even be considered dull, but I enjoy it. It is a much needed break. :o) And I am easily entertained. My crafts, my sheep and other animals, my family, my job, and my church keep me quite busy... but I do often miss my friends in CA and around the world. Please do keep in touch!!!

"I need no other argument, I need no other plea;

It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me."

Spring is in the Air!

"Spring is in the air, everywhere you look around" so goes the song that is sung on some fabric softener commercials, yet everytime I walk out of doors the song pops into my head. Truly spring is just around the bend.

This winter has been the worst (or best) winter since the winter of '94/'95. I loved the winter. Laugh if you will but winter is my favorite season and I missed it horribly the four years I was in college in CA. However, now I am very much looking forward to the spring and summer. There is the garden to plant, cultivate, tend; the flowers to trim and water; the house to build; the county fair; sheep to shear; and various other projects that will come up (in no particular order).

Though it is still rather cold, for the past week the snow has been melting noticably every day, but yesterday we had a bit of rain and a lot of rain. Most of the ground is bare and essentially the only snow left is the snow in the big drifts (where you can still sink above your snowboots). I am a bit sad to lose the snow already, but as aforesaid, am definitely looking forward to spring. It has been too many years since I have been here for the spring and planting the garden. Of course the weather and climate of NV is such that we usually cannot start planting the garden until May. Right now though it usually only gets above forty but below fifty, it is so nice that I often go outside without hat, gloves, scarf... or even, jacket :o) Absolutely beautiful weather.

The aftershocks have very much quieted down... I don't feel them very often anymore, but apparently Wells is still having quite a few.

I am applying for a job at our library and interviews are on Monday. It would be a good job to get, but I trust that, regardless of the outcome, God is in control and He knows what is best.

Okay, that is all for now. Sorry this update is so relatively short... I will hopefully update more later :o) Have a wonderful day all!

Earthquakes and Aftershocks... Yet God is GOOD!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, will not we fear though the earth be greatly shaken; and though a city water-main be broken;
Though the waters thereof roar and flood the streets; though many buildings be collapsed…
The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Well, the above is actually my own paraphrase of a couple of verses of Psalm 46. It seems my hometown that no one had ever heard of before recently became rather famous nationwide because of a very unlikely 6.0 earthquake. Though there are faults over Nevada, Wells was the least likely place for an earthquake, especially of that magnitude, to occur. That just goes to show that God is in absolute control of everything, even the laws of nature and it also shows the limit of man’s knowledge of those laws; no one would have predicted this earthquake. Because of God’s sovereignty we do not have to worry or fret about anything; not even earthquakes. Absolutely everything is under God’s sovereign control; whether it be natural disasters, the death of those we love, even final exams :o) But back to the earthquake.

It was early (around 6:15am) on Thursday morning (Feb. 21). I was still sound asleep since I had been up very late the night before (somewhat reminiscent of college days) because Matilda had twins the night before and one was very week and Daisy looked like she might give birth as well (I had to keep an eye on them). Suddenly my bed was shaking and I was awake and sat up; immediately realizing what it was I got out of bed since I sleep on the bottom bunk and I did not particularly relish the thought of the top bunk collapsing on me. Of course not being completely awake and of sound mind, I just sat on the floor next to the bed which was not really that much better since the bed could have just fell over on top of me… or Candice’s stuff that is on the top bunk could have fallen on me. Thankfully nothing really did. It was the craziest feeling. Since I was sitting directly on the floor I got the feeling of the ground moving more than just the house shaking; it felt like I was on a boat sailing on a swelling sea. My brother was sitting on his bed and he felt basically the same thing… when it was over, he being the smart-aleck he is said, “I didn’t know we bought a house-boat.” Mom was standing in the hall. Her story is a bit funnier. She didn’t realize what it was until it nearly over. She felt the house shaking and first she thought it was a train, but it couldn’t be; then a truck, but it couldn’t be that either; then she realized that it was an earthquake. Pepper (our little dog) couldn’t figure out what it was either. In the beginning I think she was rather too scared even to bark. Close to the end of it she started crying. And she hates the aftershocks almost worse. Our house suffered nothing from the shakeup. A few books and some knick-knacks and my brother’s small motorcycle models fell off shelves but that is pretty much it.

When the earthquake was over the phone rang and I said “that would be Dad calling to see if we felt the earthquake” (he was already at work since he has to be there at 6:00am). I was right. After I hung up with Dad our phoneline was busy pretty much the whole time. People from all over were calling. Not only people from our church in Elko who had felt it, but relatives in Kentucky, Northern Idaho, and Florida. We pretty much became instantly famous. Our next door neighbor who works for the school was on 3 or 4 news television stations. When we went to the farmshow in Twin Falls ID on Saturday, Mom happened to wear a shirt that said Wells on it and we were stopped by many people asking about the quake. And Pepper is now afraid of the washing machine because she thinks it is another quake… or aftershock.

Anyway, the quake was the biggest thing ever seen here. It was first reported as a 6.3 but was later changed to a 6.0; its original location was also incorrectly determined by a good 16 miles. While our house was far enough away from the epicenter to feel any real damages (we are 15 miles from Wells), Wells was not (the earthquakes epicenter was about 5 miles north of Wells and so about 20 miles from us). Old Front street is pretty much destroyed. I am not sure if any of it is restorable. Dad’s shop at the state yard is condemned. The Mormon church was declared structurally unsound though they intend to fix it and have it usable again in a month. The high school is unusable but they are not sure if any of it is salvageable. The Catholic and Presbyterian churches and the Laundromat are all condemned as well are several houses in town. Apparently in one two story office building the entire second floor fell to the first. Some buildings that were not rendered unusable by the earthquake were by the aftershocks… there were quite a few (we are still having them and they could last up to 3 years) and at least two were 5.0 and over and quite a few 3.0 and higher. Still more buildings have been declared to be dangerous and tagged with an orange flag that indicates you must use caution. Many, many houses in town lost their chimneys and one report stated that every building in town was in some way damaged by the quake even though it was not all necessarily structural damage. On Thursday the whole town was pretty much shutdown. Police officers were not letting anyone in to the town; gas stations and the store, library, bank, and even Burger King (among others) were all closed. Some areas of town had a loss of electricity; there was a major propane leak from a new gas station they are building and so the main road into Wells was closed for about an hour and a couple of city water-mains were broken.

The effects of the earthquake were far-reaching. The high school in Jackpot was damaged as well as an old building in Battle Mountain (more than 100 miles away). One newscaster said the tremors could be felt as far away as Japan (probably only on seismology meters). People in Idaho, Utah, and several other states could feel it as well. However, praise the Lord, no one was seriously injured and there were very few minor injuries!!! This is likely due to both the small size of the town as well as the early hour of the morning in which it occurred. One newspaper article stated that if this earthquake had occurred in Elko or any other large city the destruction and casualty count would have been very large. A 6.0 earthquake is not something to be trifled with.

Even with all of this destruction, the news as of today is that Wells is not going to be getting any Federal Aid at all. This is very unfortunate as there is going to be a lot of damage that must be fixed and who knows how much more before all the aftershocks have finished.

Mom is a sub for the librarian in Wells and she was working Wednesday through Friday last week. The earthquake caused over half the books to fall off the shelves though thankfully no other damage was done and very few books were even injured and all those damaged are repairable. It took Mom and me all day Thursday and Friday to clean up the mess.

It was so strange to go into Wells on Thursday and to see all the emergency vehicles, not only from Wells but also from Jackpot and Wendover (probably from Elko too, I just didn’t see any) as well as to have to explain to the police officers why we were going into town and get permission to enter. Large-scale disasters are something you hear about on TV, but when they happen to you somehow it is different. Life goes on as normal with a few changes. You do what you have to do and somehow it is almost as if it is what you always do. Or perhaps it is only so with me. It is almost surreal; as though it didn’t really happen even though I can see all the damage it caused. Perhaps it is because I was still half-asleep when the earthquake actually occurred.

Such great loss and yet life continues on; with God there is no reason to fear, to worry, to fret. When my grandmother died it was the same, albeit a different kind of loss. Though I felt her loss very deeply and miss her still, life continues on and I can hope for the future because I have faith in my God; I cannot boycott cars in winter; I cannot refuse to budge from my home on Dec. 26; I cannot become superstitious; I must trust in God in all things. “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God with passeth all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” He knows what He is doing, even though I do not always understand. He is doing what is best for all concerned, even when I cannot see how; "For we know that all things work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose." He is bringing all things together for His purpose, even though I cannot fathom that purpose.

May God be glorified through this earthquake as He was through the death of my grandmother. And may my testimony give others cause to rejoice and to reflect on God’s greatness and mercy and above all be glorifying to God. In everything I must give thanks, therefore I thank God for the earthquake and what it will accomplish in His will… even though I don’t know just what that may be. Perhaps I never will, but it is enough to know that God is in control and He has a purpose in all things. May God draw me ever nearer to Himself and my I learn to trust Him more every day. To God be the glory, and the honor, and the power, and the glory, forever! Amen.

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.Selah.