Sponsor Spotlight - Western Folklife Center

The Western Folklife Center uses story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world. Their exhibitions, educational programs, national radio and television programs, research and preservation projects, and their premier event, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, explore and give voice to traditional and dynamic cultures of the American West. Located in the historic Pioneer Building in downtown Elko, the Folklife Center is both a local and a regional nonprofit cultural center with an exhibition gallery, 300-seat theater, 20-seat black box theater, historic saloon and gift shop.

Founded in 1980, it is governed by a Board of Trustees along with a National Advisory Council made up of leaders in Western cultural life. In addition to its full- and part-time staff, a cadre of members, stakeholders and volunteers help the Folklife Center succeed in its mission. This year, I had an amazing time serving as a volunteer and attending the Cowboy Poetry Gathering events and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. The 34th Gathering will be January 29-February 3, 2018. This year's Recruitment Cocktail Hour & Social will be on Wednesday, December 6 at 6pm at the Folklife Center.

Western Folklife Center, thank you for being a sponsor to me towards my journey to the Miss Nevada USA stage. I really appreciate your generous contribution.

Sponsor Spotlight - Ruby Mountain Photography

Still looking for gifts this holiday season for loved ones or need something for your home or business? How about some beautiful photography - specifically gorgeous photos from Ruby Mountain Photography? With the motto of "Capturing the Beauty of the High Desert," award-winning landscape photographer Susan Summer Elliott loves capturing the Ruby Mountains, the changing seasons and the captivating moods of ever-changing high-desert weather. Her photography reflect the purity of Nevada's true blue and the heartfelt glory of the West. Photography can be purchased online at Ruby Mountain Photography as well as locally in Elko at the Western Folklife Center, Northeastern Nevada Museum, and Blohm Jewelers.

Ruby Mountain Photography, thank you for being a sponsor to me towards my journey to the Miss Nevada USA stage. I really appreciate your generous contribution.

Ruby Mountain Hike

Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ!

I pray you and yours are doing well. I have been doing well - thanks be to God. A couple months, I went on a beautiful hike on the Talbott Trail at the Ruby Mountains with my friend, right before it got covered with snow in early November. It was a beautiful Sunday and a gorgeous view from up the Rubies to enjoy God's creation.

A little bit of Sporty and Scary Spice

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

God bless you.

Jesus loves you.

Restored woman living for God's Glory,

Ruby B. Johnson.

Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste any more time and receive salvation now.

Summer 2017 - Trip to Nigeria

Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ!

I pray you and yours are doing well. I have been blessed, thanks to my awesome Father in Heaven. Last month, I was in Nigeria for a couple weeks for my dad's 50th birthday as well as spend time with family, eat good food, and rest. I was wonderful mini family reunion and also getting to see a couple folks I went to primary school with in Nigeria. Here are some photo highlights of my trip.

50 Faithful Years
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

Papa Bear

Post-run photo with little sissies

Hanging out in the streets of Lagos
Okada Man Photobomb

Princess Leia buns type of day

Cousin Love

Shopping Like a Proper Lagosian at Balogun Market

Wedding with Primary School Bestfriend

Reverend Toyin Kehinde

Reverend Mrs. Shade Toyin-Kehinde

My favorite girl

Restored Woman Living for God's Glory

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

1 Corinthians 13:13

God bless you.

Jesus loves you.

Restored woman living for God's Glory,

Ruby B. Johnson.

Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste any more time and receive salvation now.

Elko County Fair 2017 Parade

Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ!

I pray you and yours are doing well. I have been blessed and so thankful for the amazing things God has been doing in my life. For my lunch break today, I decided to get out of the office and check out the Elko County Fair Parade. I am so excited for the different activities going on this weekend for the Fair. 

Leading today's Parade was our Elko County Sheriff James Pitts - I got a chance to get a quick photo with him before it started. At 17,203 square miles, Elko County is the 2nd largest county in Nevada and the 4th largest county in the United States (not counting the Alaska boroughs). The Sheriff’s Office is made up of an elected Sheriff, an appointed Undersheriff, 1 Operation Lieutenant, 1 Detention Lieutenant, 4 Patrol Sergeants, 4 Detention Sergeants, 1 Detective Sergeant who oversees 2 Detectives and 2 Task Force Detectives, 24 Operation Deputies, 1 School Resource Sergeant who oversees 2 SRO Deputies and 2 SRO Officers, 1 Rural Sergeant who oversees 2 Rural Deputies, 22 Detention Deputies, 3 Court House Deputies, 2 Control Room Technicians, 1 Animal Control Person, 1 Civil Process Server and 9 Support Personnel. The Sheriff’s Office is the largest Law Enforcement agency in Elko County providing law enforcement for County of Elko, the City of Wells and the unincorporated communities of Spring Creek, Jackpot, Montello, Jarbidge, Midas and Ruby Valley.

Senator Dean Heller

Governor Brian Sandoval

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske

 

Smokey Bear

The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!

Psalm 119:64

God bless you.

Jesus loves you.

Restored woman living for God's Glory,

Ruby B. Johnson.

Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste any more time and receive salvation now.

Zoom Out: The Entire Picture

Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ.

I pray you and yours are doing well. This has been a busy workweek for me, but my Father in Heaven has been oh so gracious to me. As some of you know, I recently went on a vacation to Miami which I shared on a post few weeks ago as well as on Facebook. I shared the exciting experience I had at the Everglades National Park and getting to watch a gator show and even having to hold and get one of the young ones in the park, with the mouth restrained of course.

The photo above is one that a lot of folks took a lot of interest in and were truly fascinated by. Not fascinated by me carrying a gator or the little gator I am holding but the one behind me. Some folks were amused by the photobomb from it, some made comments warning me of the one behind me, and some even questioned if it was a real alligator and if I was aware of the alligator behind me when taking this photo. Being that this is a photo of me and I was situationally-aware when it was taken, I got a lot of laughs from reading the comments as well as talking with friends and family regarding the alligator behind me. The real alligator in the photo was in plain sight of me and its mouth was restrained, so I had nothing to be afraid of.

Since so many folks called my attention to the gator behind me, I took a closer look at the photo and something dawned on me. I saw this photo as a representation of man's relationship with God. As Christians, we have a limited vision of our lives, whereby God sees the bigger picture. We have a zoomed in image of what has happened and is happening in our life whereby God knows what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. King David perfectly describes the omniscience of God in Psalm 139:1-6, O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. I recall hearing a sermon a while back whereby someone described the omniscience of God with respect to a parent and a young child. For instance, if a child is playing outside and their toy happens to get out of the safe boundaries for the child, the child immediately wants to run and retrieve their toy from the street. However, the parent intervenes and tells the child not to run to the street but rather notify the adult/guardian to get the toy. The parent/guardian gives that instruction because they will be more attentive to an incoming car or other potential hazards that may be on the street, whereby the child is more focused on retrieving their toy and not attentive to everything going on around them.

As Christians, it is so important that we walk in obedience. Although sometimes God doesn't call us to comfort, He leads us with wisdom and grace. His ways sometimes don't make sense in our human brains but we must continually remind ourselves that He knows best and He is omniscient. This all-knowing God we serve continuously reminds us that He is with us and will not forsake us. As I type out this post, I know this is an area God is working on me on and it is why I'm inclined to encourage your spirit in wherever you are in your walk with Christ and what choices and situations you're dealing with in this current season of your life. I still struggle with this but so grateful for His sufficient grace. I pray you are encouraged by God's Word for you today: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). Be reminded that your Father in Heaven sees the entire picture. His vision is greater than yours. As it says in Ephesians 6, we are going against spiritual forces of evil in high places and God is fighting for us and doing things we cannot see with our plain eyes. We must ask God what His will for our life is and let not our will but His will be done. His instructions are perfect and His leadership is best, and reminds us of this important truth in Isaiah 55:8-9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God bless you.

Jesus loves you.

Restored woman living for God's Glory,

Ruby B. Johnson.

Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste any more time and receive salvation now.

National Trails Day 2017

Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ!

I pray you and yours are doing well. I am doing well, thanks to my awesome Father in Heaven. Today commemorates National Trails Day. Organized by the Friends of Ruby Mountains and U.S. Forest Service, this morning I participated in a trail cleanup for Talbott Creek Trail; this is a popular hiking, biking, and equestrian trail in Lamoille Canyon. Other volunteers and myself worked on brush, cleaning water bars, etc. along the trail. 

I learned a lot of basic trail maintenance techniques and using the tools with the crew. It was a beautiful, sunny day to be outdoors. Trails Days is celebrated each year on the first Saturday in June. Events held throughout the United States help promote awareness of the wide variety of benefits that trails provide, encourage people to discover their local trails, raise awareness of trail issues and instill excitement for the outdoors. 

Besides hiking, trails provide access to waterways for canoeing and paddle trips. Birdwatching and geocaching are some other favorite activities. Learning land navigation or biking are also great trail pursuits. It was a beautiful, sun shiny day to be outdoors today.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 

1 Chronicles 29:11

God bless you.

Jesus loves you.

Restored woman living for God's Glory,

Ruby B. Johnson.

Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste any more time and receive salvation now.