Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Gathering At the Fire Fountain

Late in the summer of 1974 a group of young people from across the Midwest, and some who had come a further distance to join them, gathered at the capitol in  South Dakota. They came to share their belief in progressive revelation, unity, and the oneness of mankind; and to recruit new followers to a rapidly-growing religion which had been founded by a 19th-century holy man from Persia who taught that the purpose of life is to learn to know and love God through prayer, reflection, and service to humankind
 
Many parents and members of the community viewed this group as a cult, and feared that their young people would be drawn in and lured away from their fundamental Christian upbringing.  For those who saw themselves apart from mainstream religion and traditional social belief, the teachings of this faith offered a new way to look at things, a broader perspective than encompassed a One World philosophy and a new social order. 

Among those gathered was a young woman of twenty and her husband; she was pregnant with their first child. It was their common faith and membership in this group that had brought them together.  This  particular night stood out from other gatherings they had attended, as they circled the beautiful fire fountain located on the capitol grounds and sang the songs that bound them together in their beliefs, accompanied by the guitars of musicians among them. One song was perfectly befitting of this beautiful setting where devotion and the fervor of youth ran high...  
"...Angels, oh angels, angels of fire and snow...
Were it not for your tears, you would burn in the fire of your love,
Were it not for the fire, you would drown in your tears
Oh angels, oh angels, moth-like lovers of His light.
Behold the moth as it circles the candle,
It clings to the flame and dies.
Behold the candle as it gives light,
It weeps away its life drop by drop.
You fly, you weep, you die in your love.
You fly, you weep, you die in your love.
Were it not for your tears, you would burn in the fire of your love,
Were it not for the fire, you would drown in your tears..."

The young couple were to continue to hold membership in this organization for a few more years until the time came when they felt they could no longer ascribe to the teachings and  practices of the Faith. As with most doctrinal religions, choosing to separate yourself was said to be a certain path to self-destruction and distance from God. It was a difficult choice to turn and walk away, but I have never feared or regretted that decision.

Looking back from the distance and wisdom of years, it is hard to say where the greater evil dwells, with those who draw in sensitive young people to further their own cause, or with those who preach the gospels of fear and hatred for anything which is different from what they practice or believe, with little consideration for factual information.  But every now and then the verses from "Angels of Fire and Snow" play again in my head, and I smile in remembering a magical summer night at the fire fountain, long, long ago. 

Notes: Today members of this faith number more than five million, and their assemblies can be found in nearly every country in the world. The only reason I chose not to include the actual name of this religious group in my post is that their web-crawlers tend to seek out such posts and link to them.  I prefer that not happen again if possible.
 
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This post was written for Two Shoes eTuesday
where the prompt choices this week are laughter and fire...
Come and join us there!

Two Shoes Tuesday #32 - Laughter or Fire

Welcome to Two Shoes Tuesday...  a place for those who love to write!

There are two word prompts to choose from... you can use whichever one inspires you. You are not required to include them both. You do not have to include the prompt word in your post, but please use it as your theme. You are welcome to write a post for each prompt word, if you like. Posts unrelated to either word prompt will be deleted from the Mr. Linky list.

Your contribution must be in the form of an original poem, essay, or short story (fiction or non-fiction), and it must be a new piece - not something drawn from your other writings or archives.

Your link must go directly to your post for Two Shoes Tuesday, and somewhere in the post you must provide a link to Two Shoes Tuesday.  It doesn't need to be big or fancy, just a text or logo link at the end of your post will be fine. You can add a link anytime through Saturday night. 

Please take some time to visit as many of the other TST participants as possible during the week, we all love feedback on our efforts! Feel free to email me at jts.2000@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

The June 18th writing prompts to choose from are Laughter and Fire.  Have Fun!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Awww...Mondays - June 17th

~Sophie~
Self-packed and ready to ship...
 but this little sweetheart isn't going anywhere!
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I'm linking up with Sandee's Awww...Mondays

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Ten Things of Thankful - June 15th

Today I'm participating in Ten Things of Thankful, a wonderful new blog hop which asks us to "focus on the good things going on in your life by listing ten things you are thankful for today".

1) I am thankful for the long-delayed resolution of a work situation that generated endless strife and drama. It is said that "If you give a man enough rope he will hang himself", and that's pretty much what happened.  While I am never thankful to see an individual face difficult times, it can be an important lesson in work ethics and personal conduct.  All things work together for the good.

2)  I am thankful for the beautiful rain that we've had over the past two days with more to come.  It hasn't been huge amounts, but for us where it has been so very dry, it's like diamonds sprinkling down.  It is enough to cool the temperatures a bit, wash the dirt off my Escape, and green  up the weeds a little.  Let it rain, let it pour, thank you Lord, for the rain! I love thunder and lightning too!

3) I am thankful for the happiness I hear in my daughter's voice in our recent phone calls.  Leaving the gloom of her small, dark apartment for the light and space of her new home has worked wonders.  She is busy with unpacking, decorating and projects, and I love that she is truly living again!

4) I am thankful for the fun of catching glimpses of new feral cats showing up at the "cat cafĂ©" food dish and water we leave out for them.  There is a colony that resides about a half mile from here and every now and then one begins to make regular appearances on our deck to enjoy the food.  Yesterday it was a young tortoise kitten meowing thru window from on top of the hot tub cover, and I saw it again last evening.  This morning it was a big yellow and white tomcat, pure muscle. Clearly he is doing well.

5) I am thankful for my beloved Papa Bear's quick responses with his iPhone camera.  It is he who "caught" the tomcat on the deck this morning and sent me the photo.  He has a keen eye and often spies things I might miss, an animal, a flower, the antics of his coworkers.  Phone cameras are such a blessing, I often think of how my mother and father would have enjoyed getting frequent photos!

6) I am thankful for the memories of my father and me working on house projects together and going fishing together in the evenings when he got off work.  I maybe didn't realize it as much then, but I'm thinking he enjoyed my company as much as I did his. We didn't talk a lot, but we were together.  I am also ever thankful for the values he taught me about life, work, and family. 

7) I am thankful for connecting on Facebook with people from the past whose lives have changed as dramatically as mine.  I am beginning to realize how often God takes us as lumps of unwieldy clay and molds us into something good and beautiful, then gives us wonderful partners to share life with!

8) I am thankful for the non-ending antics and interactions of our furkids which are the source of endless amusement and conversation between us.  Our "empty-nest"  house would feel far less like a home without these little characters and their unique personalities. We laugh about them daily.

9) I am thankful for moments of peace, like right now, today, when I realize that although there are dark clouds hanging in the sky at the moment, there are none hanging over my life. Stress is so hard on our bodies and spirits, and it is such a blessed relief when it is gone.  God is good, all is well, and anything that needs fixing I have the ability to do... now, to find the motivation! ;-)

10) I am thankful for having nice clothing to wear and launder, something I often taken for granted. Patricia at Patricia's Place wrote a  post on this yesterday, and it got me thinking about how right she is, and how pitiful it is when I grumble about washing a load of socks or towels. I am blessed to have all that I need and so much more.
Ten Things of Thankful
Come and share your blessings with us!

Two Shoes Tuesday Prompt for June 18th, 2013

Another Two Shoes Tuesday is coming up in a few days!  There are now TWO word prompts each week... you can use whichever one inspires you. You are not required to use them both. You do not have to include the word in your post, but please use it as your theme.  You are welcome to write a post for each prompt word, if you like.

Since the intention is for this to be a creative WRITING effort, your contribution must be in the form of an original poem, essay, or short story (fiction or non-fiction), and it must be a new piece - not something drawn from your other writings or archives. Posts unrelated to either word prompt will be deleted from the Mr. Linky list.

I post an announcement with the writing prompts for the coming week on Saturday mornings, this gives you a little time to think about what you'd like to write and get it done! The upcoming prompt will also be posted on the Two Shoes Tuesday tab at the top of my blog for easy reference. 

The official Two Shoes Tuesday post with the Mr. Linky will appear shortly after 12 AM Central Time on Tuesday mornings.  You are free to add your link anytime through the following Saturday night, it does not have to be done on Tuesday.  I'm looking forward to reading what you share!

Your choice of word prompts for Tuesday, June 18th are:
 
 laughter  or  fire
  
I hope you'll join us!