I am totally in love with the Burrell Family, whose picture appears at the top of this post. Check them out on YouTube - they are starting to post videos of teaching and singing. The first one that went up had the sound and picture out of sync, which was slightly hilarious - but it was so beautiful I watched it over and over. Hope the link works for you OK, but if not from here, check out Shepherds Hill Homestead on Facebook, or look for the Burrells at Mindspring - Sarah Burrell at Tabitha's Legacy is a darling and made some excellent kapps and aprons for me. Her Amish faceless dolls look lovely :0)
Then there's this beautiful YouTube video of Safe In The Arms Of Jesus - I love it, I love it! If you like it too, you can see the lady in the video, Sherry, singing more songs of faith at Pilgrim Hymns on YouTube. I owe a big thank you to Michelle who often posts on here, for introducing me to this lady's singing by putting this lovely song on her Facebook page :0)
And Anna Cory's video blog posts on YouTube (she's there as Veiled Glory), and Martin Kelly's excellent work on Quaker Quaker and Quaker Ranter, creating community online - as Kevin Roberts does too, at his own blog Quakerthink, and at Conservative Friend - check out the photo galleries there - they lift my heart :0)
It means so much to me, making friends with Michelle here, to be able to see her hands, see her move and hear her sing. Like it means so much reading Quaker Jane's website to be able to go across to Conservative Friend and spot her at the Yearly Meeting gatherings.
I ponder often about the Amish prohibition on internet and all the electronic wizardry, and I do get what they're saying. When you cut down a tree, and see the rings by which you can count the years of its age, the reason the body of a tree had rings is because of the changing seasons - winter growth and summer growth alternat, showing up as rings. The summer growth is quick and easy, and gives flexibility because it is less dense; the winter growth is hard and slow, and gives strength because it is more compact. In this Plain tree of life and love we are growing, I think the Amish and similar traditional Plain groups may be the winter growth - our strength, slow and patient, traditional, doing things the small, hard way, reminding us of the scripture (Jeremiah 6:16):
This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."But this internet connection we are making, that allows us to live all kinds of interpretations of holy Plain and simple, is like the summer growth of the tree - fast growing and more open in texture, giving flexibility and advancing the pace at which the tree can grow.
I love the Amish, and the Old Ways, and I have learned so much from what I have read and the pictures I have seen - I really cherish that. But I have never met them, and probably never shall, because of where I live and where they live. It is the online community that has brought them to life for me, and allowed me to find fellowship in learning to walk the Plain way. A moment of silence for the Amish and for Plain folks online: and a humble, quiet 'Hurrah!!!'
I wish you could see my skylight windows here in this attic. They are freckled with thick, loose clumps of snowflakes that fell as the sun was rising. Behind that, is sheer giddy sapphire azure blue. Glorious. Everywhere is as cold as can be and alight with singing sunshine.