"Handmade Texas Legend"

Did you know there's a place in San Angelo Texas that makes

custom cowboy boots?

Recently my two younger sisters and I were privileged

to have a private tour of this unique place.

Meet Jason McClelland,

owner and our tour guide...

He is holding one of the books which records the measurements
and other specifics for each customer's boots.

Ostrich is one of many choices in types of leather. 

Alligator is another choice.
We found it most interesting that some of the leather
came from alligator farms where the alligators were fitted
with jackets to protect the leather from scratches or scars!

This is almost the beginning of the tour.
I missed taking a photo of the equipment that cuts the leather.
I didn't have my good camera,
but whipped out my cell phone and, with permission,
began to capture the rest of the tour with pictures.

 

Molds of many kinds filled the shelves.

Our guide is showing us how the designs
are sewn in each individual boot.

Special sewing machines are used, of course!

After the designs are sewn on...

...the boot is turned inside out...

These are "boot pullers"...

...which are needed to pull them"right-side-out" again.

We were shown many different phases of completion...

No wonder it takes about 18 months from when the initial
order is taken until it is completed!

Mr. McClelland points out what makes his boots different
from ordinary factory made cowboy boots.

Although it was on a weekend,
we were privileged to see a couple of people
working on their areas of expertise.

Sewing this area by hand gives the boot
reinforcement not found on routine boots.

It looked like hard work to me
to put that needle through the leather
and snug it tightly.

Guess what kind of leather this gray boot is...
It's elephant hide!
It felt soft and almost velvety to the touch.

Here Mr. McClelland is showing us how the heel size
is chosen and put in place.

This machine sands and polishes the heel.

Then the heel and sole are colored.

We've nearly finished the tour...

But wait...
One more important bit of information...
Each custom made boot has its own number...

...And that number is recorded in these books of records.

With that number, these boots can be repaired
for the life of the boot.

Wow!

That's almost as good as God's promise to the Israelites

when they were marching through the wilderness 

for 40 years on their way to the Holy Land from Egypt.

Deuteronomy 29:5 says,

"I took you through the wilderness for forty years

and through all that time

the clothes on your backs didn't wear out,

the sandals on your feet didn't wear out...

proving to you that I am in fact

GOD, your God."

Should you be interested in visiting this interesting place,

or in ordering a pair of these handmade boots,

here is the contact information:

Or you can click on this link:
Handmade Cowboy Boots

Many thanks to Mr. McClelland for taking the time to explain how this procedure is done.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour,

and I also hope I've gotten all my facts straight for this post!

With so much interesting information, 

it was hard to do it justice!

Have you checked out my Names of God on Rocks lately?

You can find my newest post by clicking on Rock4Today!

My Friend who is "Counting Cardinals"!

Do you count the number of birds that visit your feeders?

If so, do you focus on one special bird?

...Or do you count all different kinds of species?

Almost a year ago, I did a blogpost about my friend Terri Sigafus,

featuring her new children's book entitled

 "THE SHADOW MONSTER."

Terri has just released a new book...

It's called

"COUNTING CARDINALS".

What is the significance of the CARDINAL to Terri?

Terri states in a recent blog post that she feels they are

"visitors from heaven".

(Click on the link above to take you to her blog.)

In her words, Terri says "Counting Cardinals" is

"a memoir written in free verse poetry,

depicting the events that transpired in

that stillest of all summers--

the summer my mother passed away..."

This past week she sent me a copy of her newly released book,

The "free verse poetry" made for an easy style to read,

and I couldn't put it down!

I invite you to order your own copy from her website at

Timber Wind Records and Books.

In her book, you will journey with Terri

 as she shares her reunion with her estranged sisters,

and you will find out how a cardinal was used by God

to help her learn to live and laugh again 

after the heartbreaking loss of her mother!

Thank you, Terri!

I think I'll never look at cardinals in the same way again!

...I counted 9 male cardinals at my feeder!

(By the way, Terri is also on Facebook.

Find her by clicking HERE.)

Pottery or Jars of Clay?

I love pottery!
To me, pottery is art.
and is usually created with a purpose in mind.

I had often read this verse from 2 Corinthians 4:7,

"But we have this treasure in JARS OF CLAY

to show that this all-surpassing power

is from God and not from us."

This past week I was pondering the thought about being a

"JAR OF CLAY".

I read the passages both before and after its mention

by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians.

Paul talked about how Moses had to cover his face with a veil

after he had spent time with the LORD,

been in His presence, and seen His Glory.

Exodus 33:12-23

Moses wore the veil because his face shone so brightly

with the LORD's glory

 that the people couldn't stand to look at him!

(Exodus 34:29-35)

Paul says that when we spend time with the LORD,

His glory shines out of us,

and God doesn't want us to hide it.

This was not a new subject to me,

but then God opened my eyes to see an answer to something 

that I had been struggling with.

It had to do with a seeming unanswered prayer.

Awhile back I had believed that God had given me faith

 to believe a certain person would be healed,

but he wasn't...

I've struggled with this and asked God for answers.

God showed me that sometimes He gets more glory

 from letting us go THROUGH something,

then He does from delivering us FROM something.

This is how Paul said it:

 "Everyone can see that the glorious power 

within must be from God and is not our own...  

We are perplexed because we don’t know 

why things happen as they do,

 but we don’t give up and quit... 

 God never abandons us. 

We get knocked down, 

but we get up again and keep going... 

We never give up." 

Sometimes our "Jars of Clay" are sick,

chipped, cracked or broken... 

Romans 14:7-8 TLB

" We are not our own bosses to live or die 

as we ourselves might choose.

 Living or dying we follow the Lord. 

Either way we are his."

It's all about God's glory!

Isaiah 40:5

"And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

I don't know about you,

but I don't want to be just an empty piece of pottery,

but a JAR OF CLAY through which God shines!

Thanks for dropping by!

Have you checked out my Names of God on Rocks lately?

Click on Rock4Today to take you there!