Twinky

Didn't know about this - nice idea - and how nice of the Uni to preserve and record it. (Contrast with TWI that tried to extinguish evidence of previous occupants.) Can you imagine appropriating a part of HQ or Gunnison to write names???? The prayer room in HQ, House of His Healing Presence; that lookout thing at Gunnison?

The rank and file brought their surplus. A "church official" brought his surplus. Because they did these things, there was "great power" to testify and "much grace" upon them. Compare and contrast.......

I didn't leave of my own volition - I got spectacularly M&A'd. I lost everything. Had long since given up friends, family, career, everything, on the altar of TWI. I knew nobody in the foreign country in which I was now living. At the core of my being I knew I needed to love. I needed to give. Without any demands being made of me. A pet? A goldfish, maybe? No, would need feeding. A pet spider? Not very satisfying. A tiny kitten started to visit. It just came. And went. I didn't have to do anything. But it liked to play and had a lot of personality. Never found out who had owned it, but I ended up co-owning with my next-door neighbour, who had been recently widowed. The kitten was enough. It started my healing. Just by being able to love something. And to be enjoyed for myself, not anything demanded of me. There is a thread in the forum In Memoriam entitled Twinkletoes. Yep. Pets are good. Very good.

Dooj!!! Good to see you back. Do stick around for a while. Missed ya.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... the thought of RFR on the WOW field. RFLMAO. Was/is she FC the, not even regular WC? Must be one ofthe few people whose "secular" qualifications actually bought her air-time in TWI and didn't condemn her to the bottom of the heap.

Mark, Not too difficult to imagine that there were a number of crosses (of standard design) or stakes (no cross-bar) for the punishment of offenders, and a specific place where the offenders were punished with pre-built holes in the ground that could be chocked to keep the crosses/stakes themselves more or less upright. Kinda like, gas chambers, a trapdoor in the floor where hanging was carried out, a special gurney where lethal injection is carried out. The necessary "tools" are to hand, not fresh made.

I go out once a month patrolling the streets of my city with a few other Christians - there might be from 2-5 other people. It's not usually the same people each time when I go out. There's a scheme requirement that the volunteers be from a number of different churches. One of the delights of doing this voluntary work is that as we amble round seeking whom we may help, we chat. We talk about what the different churches in the area are involved with; any notable speakers who might be visiting; issues of the day; and sometimes tenets of faith, either between ourselves or sometimes with people we strike up conversations with. When you concentrate on the BIG picture and not on minutiae, you realise what we all understand and agree upon - the basics. We can all say the same to the unchurched and those with questions, despite our varied backgrounds. As to the other stuff - it recedes to insignificance. Of course, I haven't come out and denounced myself as a non-Trinitarian and stated that I don't believe JC is God. It's not an issue coz I don't make it one and it's clear that both God and JC accept both myself and my fellow (Trinitarian) Christians. So why should I cause dissension?

Listen carefully, you might find that they really know something - that you don't. It's quite surprising, sometimes, listening to other Christians discuss sections of Bible and see their different interpretations. Some will make you think they are really "out there" but others will give you cause to re-evaluate your own understanding.

Yeah, I thought it might be something like that. Bang on the door while Mrs is feeding several noisy kids and Mr wants to put his feet up - and you want to badger them into taking a class? Was thinking, OS... "Way" Disciple??? You guys weren't supposed to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ? - but disciples of The Way? Heck, was TWI actually honest about something, LOL?

On my recent round-the-world trip, I got frisked at every airport I went through. Even en route, when the plane stopped over, all the passengers were herded off the plane into the transit lounge - via security checks. Without exception, the lines moved quickly, and the staff were polite and good humored - this in several countries including Singapore and Hong Kong, where the Chinese didn't speak much English (that they let on to). Contrast this with times when I have been through the US and in particular LA - NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Long lines, horribly rude and significantly unhelpful staff, it's amazing they aren't assaulted several times a day by the passengers they have insulted. This, folks, is the Face of America for visitors and tourists - not just for nationals. The idea of "security" must be to discourage anyone from traveling. Especially from overseas. There, folks, that'll solve all the security problems! See, no-one comes here any more! I know many people who would never ever travel via the US again. I'm one of them.

My stupid pair of mogs love dried catnip aka catmint. I got a root last year, but they didn't seem very interested. Must see how it's doing. I give them fresh leaves as well once in a while from a client's garden. Her cats (same black and white model as mine) love it, roll in it, guard various patches of it, fight about it... My two have decided the fresh stuff is poisonous or something. They hate anything that is not exactly the same as something they've already had or done. I will, however, be getting some fresh catnip plants because they're pretty. Would be nice if the cats ate that instead of the spiky leaved plants in my garden - snowdrops, gladioli, chives, potted palms and other plants... some of these are not good for them.

Well this is "strange," and not... Went out Lightbearers, team of 6 of us, don't remember the city, and I'm not going to malign anywhere by guessing wrongly. My partner and I had a normal time of it, rejection from a lot of people, others responded with, "Well, I'm Catholic" as if that was a proper answer; I don't recall anyone of note from the time, no dynamic conversations, nothing very exciting though we did get some people agreeing to come to twig. But the others of the lightbearers team came back tremendously excited. They'd been in some rundown sort of area and according to them, they had spats with devil spirits, fights with ds in several households, could see these devil spirits - basically everywhere on this development. They changed people's faces, made them do strange things, act strangely.... This half of the LB team was tremendously wide-eyed, excited, exhilarated, laughing, at events they claimed had happened. I couldn't decide if they really had seen something - or were merely hysterical at having seen some odd drunk character who'd not welcomed their attentions. One of them claimed to see such action "often." I found myself thinking I was spiritually deficient. This stuff never happened to me.

They certainly used this as an excuse to get people to do all sorts of things. "An instruction from a leader is just as much the Word of God as ..." ... as what? The Bible? Anyway it was used as in, whatever we ask you to do, that's the Word of God for you at that precise moment. "If I tell you to get a bucket of water, then get a bucket of water." Was that VP & Me, Lovely Loy's praise to his teacher? Like they were all prophets and always all spoke for God. Right.

Sorry, Naten, even just his pic is more than enough! We could all have learned far more by watching The Passion, than sitting any number of times through PFAL ... not that the film had been made then. And most churches sweep it ... behind the stone, as it were ... telling the fact of the crucifixion in some sanitized form without thinking about what was actually entailed. It would be very difficult for most people in Western society today to form a full understanding of everything that had been involved. Perhaps that's why many don't value the sacrifice at all.

All these little sayings...because we were living just like they did in the first century, weren't we? As if anyone really knows. Which believers, anyway, in the first century? Those in Jerusalem, or in Antioch, or in Crete, or in Galatia, or where? I'm sure that they all had different ways of "living the Word" according to their own cultural backgrounds. However, one thing that did set them apart was this: there was a daily meeting of needs, care for members of the community, and a sharing of whatever people owned "neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common." That lifestyle was significantly evaded by TWI right from the get-go. Common property? Hah, you try moving into the Corps Chalet or the Wierwille homestead! Or just joining the top people impromptu and uninvited, for a meal!! Maybe was true however. You can't separate God and the Ministry...because they, the TWI bigwigs, already did!!!

Klug surely does sound less classy than Addison. But who is this author? An Ex-Wayfer. ex- or current Stiffy? One of the lawyers who handled some of the sex cases against/for LCM/TWI? Or is this in the wrong section and it should be in the Books forum?

Not talking about me, are you Ham, or my girlies? :blink:

Yep. And then they put up with all your strangeness after TWI. Another decade of weirdness before they get back the family/friends that had walked away.

Pathetic. So sad. Pitiful. And completely "off the Word," if only they knew that.

Bow, somebody should tell that lilac that it's not time yet! I was out for a walk at the weekend. There are bluebells in bloom underneath the hedgerows in shady damp places. All very pretty - but they're about 6 weeks early. Oh, in my garden is a pieris, but I couldn't remember its name when I posted earlier. Lovely little shrub - now. Pieris hate the soil round here and have to be planted in special compost.

Unfortunately, Naten, that's so true. Of some of them. I had a brush with an ex-TWI male, now a CFF "Rev" - pointed out something to him that wasn't accurate in what he said (grammatical, not "Word") and he spent the next 20 mins without pausing for breath going on at me about ... I don't know, I wasn't listening, I just wanted to see how long he could go on without any response from me, no "umm", no nod or shake of the head, no words. I don't know if he even saw me - never wanted any response or comment. After about 20 mins of this monologue, might have been more, I had to excuse myself and go and laugh/cry somewhere private. All I could think was, "What a prat! A disgrace to God, as a 'minister'!" On the other hand, at lower levels, I've met some really awesome people who genuinely did have a care for others, when they weren't in PFAL-sales mode. That'd probably be once you'd "taken the class."

Never seen or heard of that tree before, Waysider. Impressive, though. I have: forsythia; "elephant ears" (bergenia) - large roundish leaf, pink flowers on a stalk, low growing; pansies, wallflowers (why are they out already?); primroses; a few daffodils; hellebores; and a pretty shrub with white bell-like flowers whose name temporarily escapes me. Oh and volunteer celandines and violets. Last year's brussels sprouts are shooting up, as is the kale. Self-setter chard is popping up everywhere. I noticed over the weekend that my Japanese maple has now got tiny little red leaves on it. They were buds on Friday but when I came home that evening, these beautiful leaves had burst out. i love this time of year.

Roy said he was going on 17 Feb...and hasn't been seen since. Mind you, that is only just over a month. And this place is somewhat addictive. Nice to see you, anyway, Dot.

Psychedelic looking ammonite, there, Ron. FWIW, I did notice we had a palindromic day here recently: 21.3.12.

Interesting stuff about the "lake," Mark. We are told to "purify" ourselves; does that verb related to any of the other words you mention? (Midnight; too late for me right now to get into research!!!)