Desert Diva

Many times after work, I’ll take a quick look at a thrift shop near my office. Yesterday, I did just that. However, soon after I arrived there was a man who started yelling at the employees that someone had stolen his bag. He was belligerent and loud, and made “quite a scene.” He said that he had put his bag down to look at something, and someone had taken it.

After several minutes of threats and yelling, the manager of the thrift store called the police. When the police arrived his demeanor changed completely. The police were able to ascertain that he was indeed “homeless,” and had been drinking somewhere earlier with his friends. I have no way of knowing, but I suspect he left his bag somewhere else and just forgot it.

The incident made me reflect upon how thankful I need to be that I have “what I need.” It also made me more aware that I need to be more conscious of the plight of others and “do what I can” to assist. It made me think of a news story I had heard some time ago about a young boy named Trevor Ferrell.

Trevor’s Campaign began in 1983 with the dream and compassion of one small boy, Trevor Ferrell, to help the homeless by distributing blankets and clothing to the needy. Through hundreds of generous citizens and businesses, this “campaign” grew into places to stay and an array of services. Since its humble beginnings, the Campaign has reached 1,800 homeless individuals and has grown in its approach and sophistication to how best enable homeless families to regain self-sufficiency. A four-pronged approach has been developed to address the problem of homelessness: outreach, housing and services, redistribution and public advocacy and education.

I’m going to explore what I can do to help the homeless of my city - even if it’s in a small way.

Yesterday I met my friend Mavis for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We hadn’t seen each other since the beginning of the summer and had a lot of “catching up” to do. Mavis had yummy eggs-in-a-basket, and I had the standard breakfast with a substitution of turkey sausage. After breakfast, we went to the Christmas bazaar at St. James Episcopal Church. (This is a very “English” parish - someone had actually made fresh lemon curd to sell!) We both ended up buying earrings, and somehow I managed to control myself from buying cookies and other assorted sweets.

Moving on through my day, I made the “rounds” of the thrift stores in the area. Too many delicious meals (and brewpub beers) this summer have made my clothes slightly “tight.” I refuse to buy new clothes and have gone on a mission to lose ten pounds. The Salvation Army had a “red, white, and blue” tag sale for fifty cents and I bought three pairs of jeans and a beautiful Limited wool blend (washable) sweater. Moving along I visited the GoodStart thrift store where you dig through bins and the merchandise is twenty-five cents a pound. It’s a popular “dive” for students from the university for retro clothing. I found a round navy tablecloth, another pair of jeans, and several shirts.

The afternoon was drawing to a close and the day was so pretty that I drove to Stahmann Pecan Farms. The road is lined with pecan groves and is a favorite ride for motorcyclists. At the farms, I had to sample the Blue Bell low carb chocolate ice cream and topped it with some samples of cinnamon pecans. A perfect end to a perfect day.

At first the theme of “growth” seemed really difficult. Then I remembered my recent visit to the village of Mata Ortiz in northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Thirty years or so ago, the village of Mata Ortiz was rural and poverty stricken. However, one man began to reproduce pottery from the ancient ruins of shards found in nearby Paquimé (now Casas Grandes).

Juan Quezada made his living as an agricultural and railroad laborer, occasionally selling or trading pots when he could. In 1976, anthropologist Spencer MacCallum found three pots in a swap shop in Deming, New Mexico. Initially he thought they were ancient, but when closer inspection revealed their contemporary origin, he set out to find their maker. His search led him to Juan Quezada in the village of Mata Ortiz.

Today, Mata Ortiz pottery is shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States, as well worldwide locations as far away as Japan. Some historians now refer to the “Miracle of Mata Ortiz,” which is now a thriving village filled with familes of potters. Now that’s growth!

There are tons of reasons for creating a personal weblog (blog). Some people use a blog to record the path of their travels. Other people like to keep an “online journal” of their day-to-day lives. Whatever the reason for creating and keeping a blog, there is always the question of who really reads it anyway.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m parked out somewhere in cyberspace as people go zipping by while I left in the cloud of their exhaust fumes. If you happen to stop by, all I ask is that you say “hi” once in awhile.

One thing I can be sure of - I do have one dedicated and devout reader.

Yes, I read lots of blogs. Yes, I like to read “Christian” blogs. No, I do not like to see this kind of “garbage” in the “name of Christ!”

This appeared on 11/07/06 on “Following Judah’s Lion.” http://judahslion.blogspot.com/

But there are a number of blogs that act in the office of elder in their doctrinally corrective nature that are written and overseen by women. Now men and women are equal in Christ as children of the Father, but God has specifically taught us that women and men do not have the same callings in the church. How is it Scriptural that a woman can take doctrinal authority over men in the church? It is not, and it is clear that a woman cannot be an elder in the church therefore she cannot Scripturally correct another man much less an ordained preacher. It is blatantly against Biblical teaching for a woman to act as an elder no matter whether in a church building or in a blog capacity.

I liked the way the sky was reflected in this office building in El Paso, Texas.

If you need a cooler AND a ride at the same time, you may be interested in the Cruzin Cooler. Apparently, someone has invented (somewhat successfully) a cooler that is also a motorized vehicle (gas or electric). The Cruzin Cooler allows one to putt around at approximately 13 m.p.h. and carry chilled cervazas at the same time. The gas model allows one to travel about 30 miles and the electric model about 10 miles. So far, the Cruizin Cooler comes in red, yellow, blue, and black with a “special edition” of pink.

This is certainly a gift for that “hard to buy for” person and/or for the person who seemingly has everything!