What started as little more than a journal for me to write about my experiences and progress in Masonry has taken on a life of it's own.  This blog originally started on a separate platform as part of a personal blog which contained all of my interests (music, baseball, Masonry, blacksmithing, motorcycles, etc).  On July 3rd, I decided to create a blog specifically for my Masonic travels both to A) give it the attention it deserves and B) to provide a resource for people interested in becoming a Mason.

In the roughly 4 months since resurrexion.com was born, traffic to this blog has exploded far beyond what I ever thought it would be.  As of the time of writing, 10,925 pages have been served to an average of 495 unique visitors a month in 44 different countries.  There are now 81 subscribers to the RSS feed alone.  While this surely pales in comparison to other Masonic heavy hitters like The Widow's Son's The Burning Taper and Brother Hodapp's Freemason for Dummies, I am humbled nevertheless.  Thank you all for your time, support, well-wishes and comments.  It is much appreciated Brothers and friends!

While I was searching though the internet, I came across a site called The 3D Bible Project where they have an interactive model of King Solomon's Temple.  While it appears to be a bit dated, graphics wise, it's still pretty neat to wander around and check things out.  Have a look here.

If you're pressed for time and just want to see the points of interest, try right clicking on the window and selecting "viewpoints".

Just wanted to post a quick word of thanks to all of you who have commented on my posts.  Your time and well-wishes are much appreciated Brothers! 

In other news, now that I have received my Fellowcraft degree, I will be working on a piece detailing my impressions of the Entered Apprentice Degree as a whole.  I hope to have it posted soon but I also want to be thorough and really reflect upon it.

Well, after a month of studying the EA proficiency exam materials, I proved myself and received the degree of Fellowcraft last night.  I definitely enjoyed the content of this ceremony a lot more than the one for the Entered Apprentice degree; it seemed much more informative and the inherent beauty in how the Craft uses its metaphors and allegories really blew me away - this was especially so during the journey to collect my wages.  I look forward to learning all I can about the substance of this degree in the next few months.

One of the benefits of writing this blog is that I can use it as a sounding board; it's quite therapeutic for some reason.  No one may ever read any of this but yet it will have still served a useful purpose in my life.  Then again, maybe someone, someday, will come across these posts and find some comfort in their familiarity. 

Turkey time is now upon us (and Black Friday is looming) but I fear that not unlike Christmas, many people don't honor the spirit of the day.  It would seem that some only look at it as a day off from work filled with lots of food, relatives and football instead of an opportunity to take stock of their lives and be thankful for what they have, no matter how bad the past year has been. 

As some of you may know from reading this blog, my closest relative, friend and Brother - my cousin Jeff - passed away earlier this year; the devastation to myself and my family caused in part by the circumstances of his death has only become magnified with the arrival of the Holiday season.  It just ain't the same anymore...  Even though a part of me would just like to use it as an excuse to forget about the holidays and lash out at the commercialization of what used to be a purely humanitarian season, I realize that's not really the right course of action to take.  So, in lieu of transforming myself into the proverbial crotchety old codger who's sole joy in life is chasing kids off his front lawn with a cane, I will instead treat it as an opportunity not only to do some quiet contemplation but to find the positives in life and give ample thanks for them.

Luckily, this year I'm spit roasting the turkey over a wood fire... it's primal, it's lengthy and, to borrow a phrase from my favorite TV cook, it's damn good eats.  But perhaps best of all is the time and attention it will take to cook; there are few things like sitting by a fire, guitar in hand, to make you feel human again.

Have a happy Thanksgiving Brothers, the best to all of you!

-Scott 

I just came across some really good videos on youtube, one from Tennessee and another from Massachusetts.  Its really nice seeing the ever increasing numbers of accurate and informative videos popping up to combat all the filth that's out there.  It's high time the Craft starts putting out some quality materials to dispel all the misinformation, half-truths and outright lies that have propagated through the Internet.

Without further adieu....

Greetings both Brethren and visitors alike!

It has been some time since I posted to this blog; the reasons are many but I don't dare bore you all with the details.  Suffice to say, it has been a crazy month since I was entered on October 15th, 2007 and I am now well on my way to Fellowcraft.  Needless to say for those who have gone this way before, with the date of my Fellowcraft Degree rapidly approaching (11/26/2007), I have been busy studying my Entered Apprentice proficiency under the expert tutelage of Brother Gordie from Union Lodge #19.  It has been a real challenge first learning the cipher and then committing it to memory word perfect, but truth be told, I am enjoying it very much.  After all, nothing truly worth having should ever come easy.

I am still digesting the Entered Apprentice ritual... the sights and sceneries of that night - and the emotions they conjured up - are something I will never forget.  Overwhelming and humbling all at the same time, it was definitely an experience like no other I've ever had.  What has been the net effect so far on my life?  I cant really say yet, the tools I'll need to effectively gauge what impact this journey will have on my life have not been completely developed as of now.  That being said, I hope to post my impressions of the degree soon after I turn in my proficiency and turn my eyes towards Fellowcraft.

- Scott