Secondhand Treasures

We had to make our weekly pilgrimage to town yesterday afternoon. After pouring through sales flyer's, making a list and checking it twice we were off. We try to get water every week and if we need to we will pick up groceries, necessities and fuel. We do not make special trips (unless we have to) to save on fuel costs. It's over 70 miles round trip to get to the closest town of any size and back, so we are very careful about our list making.

We will usually stop by a few second hand stores to see if they have items that we can sell to make money or to use on the ranch. It's also a great place to look for books. I noticed that people were pouring through the toys, children's clothes, shoes and videos. They were looking for those special items to put under their Christmas tree for their loved ones. Husbands and wives alike were excited about their finds. You could hear "honey where are you " or "do you think they'll like it". We also searched for some rare item that would bless our loved ones. Whether it's a cherished book from their childhood, a long lost toy or an antique gadget it has special meaning and that's what we look for when buying gifts from a second hand store.

Unfortunately, we could only find a few things. Number One found a  re-sale item that will pay for almost our whole trip. That includes our groceries. Of course, we only bought items that were on sale. We added things like oil, brown sugar and ham to our larder. Baking supplies, ham, turkey and sausage are items that go on sale every year at this time, so we save money by buying extra and that will see us through the long winter months ahead on the ranch.

I found a couple of books. One book in particular looked very interesting. It's called " The Complete Book Of Bible Trivia". This will help with those long winter days and nights when it is not feasible to get out in the weather. The other book is "For God's Sake, Rest". This also caught my eye, since we are studying and practicing the Shabbat celebration which includes Sabbath day rest. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to truly rest in this crazy world.

I believe that buying from second hand stores, flea markets and garage sales is on the rise. Necessity makes these places as important as discount grocery stores. Paying retail is not "green". We have called being "green" being "conservative" long before the green scene. You could learn a lot from those who lived through the depression. They remember and still practice what their parents did just to survive during that time.

I believe that it is our responsibility to take care of what God has so richly blessed us with. This includes those who are in need. Living a conservative life enables us to have enough to share with those in need. Consider the things that you could do or do without to help others in need. Consider donating to charity instead of exchanging Christmas gifts with those who already have enough. They would probably be more than willing to participate in this idea. Donate time if money is an issue. There is usually always a job that needs to be done....