Stuff and Things

Was sorting, bagging, and boxing up more stuff to take to the local thrift store operated by the Home of Grace ( which runs a shelter for abused women and children and a rehab program for alcoholic men), when a friend of mine from Cali rang in.
Seems he and his gf emptied a storage unit of the things they no longer use and want and tried to donate the items to Goodwill and the Salvation Army.
They were turned down on most of the stuff. Seems they were not that much in need of donations in that area (Silicon Valley), and some of the furniture had a scratch or two. He was shocked as the items are in good condition. His gf showed him the small scratch on a table leg of one item which a man at Goodwill told her made it totally unacceptable. Also, they are both large people and their clothes are large sizes, and even though the clothes were in good shape, the man said they had no calls for sizes that large and would just be "stuck" with the clothes. 
They tried to find some other group, church, or organization to take the stuff, but as this was done on their day off, and time was running out, they wound up having to take the stuff to the dump and paying to be rid of it. No, I am not kidding!
As frustrated as he was by all of this (he said it sickened him to have to throw away good things that some people might need and be able to use), my friend said the dump still beat continuing to pay to store the stuff.
He is more of a minimalist, while his gf is a hoarder, so they are slowly but surely compromising their views and adjusting. Divesting themselves of this storage unit was a major step for them, but it was clouded by having to literally dump the contents of the unit. Sad but true story, and sad commentary on our times as well.
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 Over the years, I have seen (in the cases of my Mom and Aunt and some of their elderly neighbors) what happens when hoarding folk die. The children or grands are left to deal with all this "stuff". Some keep it or most of it out of a sense of obligation, or some feel overwhelmed and just trash everything. Neither way is really good, and the point is that it is all so unnecessary. 
No, I am not against folks having possessions. It is not like I think we should all run around nude and live in a cave or a tree...BUT..There is a limit.
When you start having to pack away and store stuff, whether in a rental unit, the closets in your home, a spare room,  or your garage or outside shed, you know it is time to stop it and get real! Give it away, have a yard sale, whatever it takes. 
Speaking as one who has had too much "stuff" over the years, and has begun getting rid of it, believe me when I say it is freeing beyond anything you might have imagined. 
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Another friend of mine in the same (or worse?) shape recently decided that within the next two years, he will have divested himself of at least half of his "things". If you had any idea of how much stuff and therefore how much effort and work this involves, you would know that this is a major undertaking, and will entail some serious commitment of time and sweat on his part. I am so happy for him and proud of him!! This is really an accomplishment in terms of change of mindset alone. WTG!!
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Jesus tells us in Matthew 6: 19-21, not to store up treasures for ourselves here on earth. He goes on to say that where our treasures are, there will be our hearts also.
No I do not believe the Bible teaches us to live in poverty as some sign of piety, but to trust in God, obey him, and seek him first. We are the heirs of Abraham through Christ Jesus, and Abraham was not a poor man; but he did put God first and was blessed.
Ok. Ok. I can see you rolling your eyes. Don't take my word for it. Look it up, and check out Mark 8: 36 -37, Luke 9:25,  and Matthew 6: 31-34..to name just a few.
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So now what do YOU think??

Wandering Back In On Wednesday............

Who knew that being offline for a few weeks could get one sooo behind? Ahhh this world of technology we live in now. Tsk Tsk Tsk
Speaking of which, while I whined and wallowed in the self pity of "What is wrong with this dumb machine this time?!", I burned up my Kindle for the pc reading freebie books I'd already downloaded. That was fun. Desktop worked great. It was the internet function that was missing.
Now with a new modem and coax, I am back in business.

Friend of mine in Cali informed me folks don't use coax out there anymore, and showed me some different looking type of cord or cable with a different looking end or plug. When I showed him the cord I am using, he said (obviously astonished) "That is coax!" So what? Did he think I made it up? Why would I?...Other than the obvious prestige associated with using the evidently obsolete coax.  Ahem! **Insert Big Sigh**
This is Mississippi, folks. Give us another ten years. We'll catch up.
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Be all that as it may, it is really good to be back online, back in touch with my online peeps, and slogging along trying to catch up. One would think I had been gone for months!
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Has anyone here ever heard of "Slut Walk"? It is a legit term, and you can google it if ya don't believe me. Couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.
Reading another blog, I learned that this is a term and activity which originated in Toronto a few months ago.
Seems a policeman there was speaking to some students regarding safety and mentioned that if women would not dress like sluts they would not be in as much risk for being "victimized". Gotta love our more civilized neighbors to the north; too polite to say rape, but they can say slut. lol
It was not long after his little speech that some women organized the first Slut Walk in protest of the allegation that women (through attire or otherwise) were to blame for their being raped. Word spread and now it seems to be catching on all over the place.
Interestingly enough, the women in these marches do not dress provacatively (or so I am told), but do often wear tee shirts or other garments with slogans, as well as carrying signs.
One tee shirt mentioned had the word "MINE" and an arrow pointing down. Another one read: "Rape is caused by (a) provacative clothing (b) global warming (c) rapists. The (c) was checked.
Obviously the term is an attention getter, and as one of the organizers so aptly put it, "If we called it a march to protest rape, who would notice?" Sadly true. They are being noticed now, though! WTG!
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Three really good books that I read while I was "off" are:
1. Perfect by Harry Kraus (Fiction, but great story of God's grace)

2. Walking On Broken Glass by Christa Alan ( Fictional story of a woman's struggle for sobriety)

3. Blackbird Fly by Lise McClendon (More Fiction in the form of romance, intrigue, mystery, and betrayal. Powerful lessons in forgiveness.)

Plus: If you have yet to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett, I most highly recommend it. The movie is out now, and I haven't seen it, but plan to asap.

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Gotta run. Family issues intruding. Hope to be back soon to catch up with everyone else's blogs, whether I write more anytime soon or not.