The Northridge Earthquake ~ 30 Years Ago

I didn't mean to disappear for almost two weeks!  I got really sick last week.  I saw an article yesterday about the 30th anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake.  That is still the biggest earthquake I've ever felt.  I wrote about it in 2010 after the massive Haiti earthquake and thought I'd re-post it here today: 

With a jolt we were awakened that morning. Sleeping on the third level of our townhouse it seemed someone had taken our little place and was violently shaking it. An earthquake with a 6.7 magnitude struck the Southland at 4:31 that Monday morning. Along with the shaking there was the noise - dishes falling out of cupboards, pictures falling off walls, drawers flying out of dressers, the crack of our kitchen window as it broke from the force.


It was still dark when we hurriedly dressed and made our way outside looking for safety. The normal LA sky glow was gone. Power was out and the freeway was empty. The same freeway that would be closed for more than a month due to extensive damage.


We spent the day in numbness. Shock kept the tears at bay as we viewed cracks in nearly every wall. Power and water were both off. We purchased plywood to cover our kitchen window and began the process of sweeping up glass and figuring out what was salvageable.


As night fell, we were unsure of the stability of our home and chose to move our van to the street and sleep there. Still no electricity. It would be many weeks before I slept peacefully as aftershocks were a constant reminder. One large crack in our bedroom seemed to haunt me.


I remember later that day standing on the sidewalk talking to Les' boss.  His dog started getting very agitated just before we experienced a large aftershock.  It was so big, our car BOUNCED in the street!  

 

My Bible reading today included Proverbs chapter 18.  I'm very thankful for verse 10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."

Sounds Fishy?

We received a letter in the mail last week that seemed a little fishy to me.  It was an expiration notice.  To remain in compliance we needed to complete the form and send a check for $150 in the enclosed envelope.  The letter contained phrases like:

"Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code..."
"California Law Requires You..."

We have a personal business with the state of California, but I had already paid our taxes for this year.  At the bottom of the form was this sentence:

"This product or service has not been approved or endorsed by any government agency, and this offer is not being made by an agency of the government."

WHAT?!?! This just smelled fishy to me, so I turned to my friend Google.  I first typed in the form number (CA-5.)   DFEC CA-5, Claim for Compensation by Widow, Widower, and/or Children.  Quite a bit different than the form I received!

My next step was to Google the phone number on the form (916-480-9006.)  The fifth link on the page was for The Scam Pages of Alexis Wilke.  This confirmed my suspicions - this letter was a complete fraud!

This is not the first time we've received this type of a message.  We've received emails and voice mails claiming to be our bank or mortgage lender or insurance company.  The quickest way to check the validity of something like this is to Google the phone number provided.  I have done this several times and found fake numbers.

There are a lot of people out there try to rip you off.  Be safe with your personal information, and if something smells fishy, it probably is!

Unseen

Last Friday morning I headed out for a trail run.  After about a mile my left foot really started hurting.  I stopped and adjusted my shoes, walked a bit, adjusted again, and started running again.  About two miles up the trail I started seeing bear tracks...

Yes, there really is a bear that lives close to us.  According to the rancher, there is a mama (Big Mama) who has had cubs in the past.  When I first saw the tracks, I stopped and looked around.  Hmm... is he/she still close by?  I didn't hear or see anything, so I continued on my way.  I followed the trail and the bear tracks for about another 1 1/2 miles.  The trail split at that point, I went right and the bear tracks went left.  After my initial pause, I really wasn't too worried about running into a bear.  I know they are nocturnal, so the tracks may have been a couple of hours old.

I told Nicolas Flores about this on Sunday morning.  I showed him the pictures and he thought it would be pretty neat to see more than the tracks, but to actually see the bear.  I said, "I'm not sure what I would do if I ran into a bear."  He, in his nine year old wisdom, simply said, "You could pray."  He's right and I do pray, I often pray for protection while I am out running. 

I ran the same trail yesterday morning.  No bear tracks and no foot pain.  Same shoes, same trail, but no pain.  That's when it hit me - God knew exactly where I was and where the bear was.  If I hadn't had any foot pain, it is possible that I could have caught the bear while he was out on the trail.  The delays from foot pain probably took about 5 minutes, and that may have been just the amount of time I needed to stay safe.

Three quotes from Mom's Bible came to mind:

I thank God every day of my life for what I have come safely past.
You are God's property and God is going to take care of you.
I can see to the corner, but God sees around the corner... don't worry.

I thank God for every time He has rescued me from dangers, both seen and unseen!

30 Days of Thanks - Day #28

I am thankful for God's hand on us as we travel.


We have spent a lot of time on the road and in the air this month. Les traveled from Burbank to Des Moines, via Phoenix. He then traveled from Des Moines to Fresno, via Phoenix. He also traveled from LAX to Dallas via El Paso and through Kansas City coming home. We made trips to Fresno, Santa Barbara and Carmel. We make numerous trips to Burbank every week. With all the traffic in Los Angeles, we see accidents every week. I am thankful I have not been part of them!

Follow Up from the Police Department

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you may remember that our house was broken in to back in February. You can read all the details here, and my follow-up post "Casting Down Imaginations."

It's been almost seven months and I had heard nothing. I've gotten back to my normal routine, I don't jump at every sound, even enjoyed the pool this summer, not worrying about someone coming in to my back yard. But I've still wondered what ever happened to the creeps!!

A detective from our police department called today. Our house was one of many in what they are calling "Knock-knock burglaries." We live in Ventura county, but LA Police got involved as this was spread throughout the Southland.

Immediately following the break-in, I was able to give a description of the vehicle that was at our house - a white Chevy Impala. Another victim got a license plate and the vehicle was a white Chevy Impala! They were able to trace this vehicle - it was rented, then abandoned.

Are you ready for this?? This was GANG related!! One of the oldest and most well known gangs in Los Angeles was behind all of this. Yep, I had Crips in my house. Makes me shudder thinking about it!!

But the good news is there have been numerous arrests. The detective said, "You can't live that way and get away with it indefinitely." I'll probably never know if "our" burglars were arrested, but I sure hope so. The detective also wanted to reassure me that it was not a personal attack on me, our house was quiet and looked to be a great target.

I still believe "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

In His Arms

Lord,
how glad we are
that we don't hold You,
but that You hold us.

- from "God is No Stranger"

We sang the old song "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" during Morning Worship on Sunday. Les leaned over and said, "That song has new meaning today, doesn't it?" He read my mind! We had just sung verse 3:

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting Arms
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting Arms!

I didn't capture the face of the baby in the picture above. But look at those hands holding her - she was probably asleep, safe in daddy's arms.

It's so good to be held in His arms. Arms that are everlasting!

Casting Down Imaginations

If you didn't read yesterday's post "Peace that Passes Understanding" it would be a good idea to do that now, otherwise today's post may not make a lot of sense.

Yesterday's post was mostly the facts, what happened Monday afternoon. But let me tell you what has gone on since then. I have fought the biggest battle of fear that I have ever faced in my life. Obviously, Monday I was a mess. I didn't sleep much Monday night, heard every creak of our house. Tuesday, I got up and ran, but kept replaying all the "what ifs" in my mind. All day, I heard every creak. Starting at about 3:00 I paced back and forth, checking out front, watching. I'm telling you, it was bad! The police officer returned with photos and I was unable to identify any of the suspects. Fear was literally making me sick - I had a headache that would not quit.

Les had a meeting in San Diego on Tuesday. He usually gets home from those meetings around 7:30 or 8:00. I got an email from him letting me know he would be late. Once it was dark, I turned all my outside lights on. He called at 9:15 to let me know he was about an hour and half away. Since we are "early birds", I'm usually in bed by 9:30 or so. I made my way upstairs, leaving a hall light on, and prepared for bed. As I tried to go to sleep, I heard every creak (real and imagined). My heart was racing as I imagined someone trying to get in our house. I was a mess!

Wednesday morning while out running (it's not like I was going to sleep anyway) I asked God for peace. I asked for the peace that passes understanding. Throughout the day, peace began to replace fear. I was calmer and not nearly as frightened. My headache finally went away.

Thursday morning while I was running, I was thinking about the verse "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5) While thinking of that verse, I knew that I was fearing things that DID NOT HAPPEN. The things I feared were only in my imagination.

But the real revelation came when I realized that since Monday, the only things I had prayed about were my fears. I had prayed for protection. I had prayed that they wouldn't come back. BUT, I had not prayed for one other person in need! I know of people who are in dire need of healing, but I had not prayed for them a single time. Our friend with a brain tumor, who was in church with us Sunday morning? I hadn't given him and his wife a single thought! I was praying for things I imagined!!

This literally stopped me in my tracks. I said, "God, forgive me." This was ridiculous! I kicked fear to the curb and ran on! I was a little angry at myself and a lot angry at the devil. What a trick! He knows I've been praying for serious needs. I've been praying with faith, believing. God has been moving and answering. So the devil tried to take control of my mind by putting so much fear there I couldn't even move.

I cannot imagine living a life of fear. What an existence. If you are fearful, please turn to God and His Word. There is deliverance from fear. God does not want you to live like that. If you fear every pain or lump is cancerous, if you fear every mistake will get you fired, if you fear every sound is a burglar, ask God to remove those fears! Yes, troubles will come in life, but fearing those things that are only imagined is not the will of God. I could give a ton of verses about fear and peace, but if you are living that life, it would do you a lot more good to find those verses on your own. Study them, memorize them, write them on post-it notes, pray them. God can and wants to deliver you from fear.

Am I talking about being careless? Of course not! It's not wise to walk down a dark alley in Watts at 1:00 in the morning. God wants us to be aware, not fearful. Our doors were locked, but our alarms were not activated on Monday. We have reactivated the alarms. Does that make me fearful? No, it means I am doing what I can to avoid dangerous situations and trusting God to protect me. I am resisting the spirit of fear and casting down imaginations.

Peace that Passes Understanding

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

Let me start this blog by saying: I AM OKAY.

Now that I've got your attention, I'll tell you what happened Monday afternoon.

It was about 3:15, I was exchanging emails with my friend, Sis. Cynthia, when someone knocked on my front door. We have a very quiet neighborhood, and it is usually the UPS or Fed Ex guy leaving a package. The knocking persisted. And persisted. I looked out the peephole and couldn't tell who it was. I peeked out the front window and saw a car I did not recognized. The knocking continued...

At this point, something started not to "feel right". I cannot explain it, other than it just didn't. I headed upstairs to get a better look, without being seen. The knocking continued...

I saw the passenger in the car motioning. The motion was not "come on, let's go." It was "knocking" and the knocking continued...

The passenger then got out of the car and came to the front of the house. He stopped in the grass near our water facet, while the knocking continued...

A third person joined the group, just as suspect number 2 opened my side gate. All three proceeded into my back yard and around the house. Yep, I'm freaking out at this point. What is going on?! I then realized I was in a part of the house that did not have a phone. To get to a phone, I would have to walk across an open hallway, exposing myself to the perps in my backyard.

I was praying and trembling with fear when I heard our sliding glass door open (and YES, it was locked!). THEY WERE IN MY HOUSE!!! Dear Jesus, what am I going to do? What will they do if they find me?

I was in the bedroom directly above our dining room where they were. I must have moved and made a board creak (or the Lord made a noise to startle them), because after about 15 seconds in the house, they skedaddled back out, out to the car, and sped away! I immediately sprinted to my bedroom and called 9-1-1.

It took several minutes for me to get the story out to the 9-1-1 operator. My voice was shaking and my heart was racing. SOMEONE HAD BROKEN IN TO MY HOUSE, WHILE I WAS THERE!!! Nothing was taken except my peace of mind. I was scared out of my wits. A police officer was dispatched, and while I waited, I called Les who headed straight home.

I have quoted and prayed every verse I know about fear and peace. I have sung songs about being "sheltered in the arms of God" and the "Peace Speaker." The very next day, my Verse of the Day on my blog was "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

I am still claiming that peace, I will NOT let fear destroy me or hold me captive. What happened was real, but GOD protected me. I was NOT harmed. All the horrible things that I imagined did NOT happen. I believe God kept me from opening the front door. Would they have forced their way in? I don't know. But the Lord kept me from harm. I am taking back my peace of mind - they can't have it and neither can the devil.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

Frightening Moments at General Conference

Les' parents, Bill and Dolly, are in Greensboro, NC, this week for General Conference. Dolly has been promoting her book "Full Throttle" and they have been seeing old friends from Bible school days and their many years in the kingdom of God. They are both in their 70's and Dolly is currently walking with a cane and has a cast on her wrist. This came in an email last night:

Thursday night after service, Bill dropped Dolly off at the motel entrance and went to park the car. He was kidnapped at gunpoint as he locked the car in the motel parking lot. The robber made him drive to an ATM (which they never use), and when Bill showed him the card wouldn't work, the man asked for Bill's cash and credit cards. Bill talked the guy into letting him keep one of the cards so they could eat! Then the guy got out of the car and gave Bill directions on how to get back to the motel. They checked out of the motel and into another, then called the credit card company. The fellow had put over $900 worth of claims on it!

I can't even begin to imagine how frightening that must have been. I have been sick to my stomach just thinking about the "what ifs." I don't believe the thug had a change of heart when he returned Bill's credit card. Just like when God stopped the mouth of the lions, I believe GOD kept Bill safe and allowed him to get his car and credit card back.

Please pray that they will make it safely back to Tennessee.