Twinky

For the record, I don't think Mike is a troll. I think he's sincere in what he posts or posits, but he's badly deluded. Also, not meek to consider properly another point of view. Sincerity, as we were told on many occasions, is no guarantee for truth.

Can't say that I'm tremendously interested in this, because I think anything VPW said is nonsense. The truth of it is God's business and God alone decides who's his and who isn't. There was, however, this Roman business of adoption. The choosing of the heirs. The adoption in to a family, whether one was "blood" or naturally a part of the family ("born again"), or whether one was an outsider. For those who are interested in pondering this, could it be that "seed of the serpent" is a figurative expression denoting not a "new birth/born again" as a physical thing, but more like a rite of adoption?

Who's Branham?

Awesome, hey! I like walking. Long walks, in forests or in mountain ranges. Especially forested mountain ranges. I pause and look at all the different colours of green that there are in a mixed forest, or in a small copse. Bluey greens, yellowy greens, reddish ones, and even greeny ones. So many different shades of green. I think: God had fun doing this. Could've made everything one flat colour, but no - look at the variety. Just done for pleasure, fun, enjoyment (a botanist might say differently ). Just like we're all just a bit different from each other. God didn't make us all the same, either.

Now this is some interesting gardening and spiritual stuff: We all know this verse: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal 5) Are we so familiar with this verse? In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev 22) I’m intrigued that there are twelve fruits on this wonderful tree in the new Jerusalem. There were 12 tribes of Israel. Now there are 12 fruits. However, it’s not defined who these fruits are for. But the leaves of the tree are not for the 12 tribes, but for the nations. For the Gentiles. For us. There are healing leaves that we as Gentiles eat: herbs, vegetables. Leaves of trees, less so in the usual western diet, but possibly so in other cultures. Sometimes, I wonder if there are more fruits of the spirit, but we don’t have access to those. Yet.

These days, I'm a s/emp gardener. I just love being in gardens and helping plants "be their best." I learn so much about God, and about living, from tending plants. Plant something in the right location and watch it grow. It may need more - or less - sun or shade. Acid-soil plants won't grow in some soils and need special soil or being planted elsewhere. Is your job, for example, the best place for you to flourish, or does it drag you down. Is your church the right place for you? A plant needs proper nutrients and water. Do what's necessary, to get the best growth. Feed yourself with the right things to help you grow ("think on these things!"). Don't poison your own growth with things that either stunt growth or don't allow growth at all and which will ultimately kill the plant. Are your habits beneficial? Occasionally a plant needs pruning - to keep its shape, to stop unwanted growth, to encourage it to produce more fruit or blooms, etc. Think how savagely roses can be pruned - back to not much at all - yet the next year they're flourishing. If you don 't cut them back, they revert to root stock and lose their lovely blooms. So with us. Sometimes bad things happen. We can let them "kill" us, or we can allow this to be a pruning of unnecessary "stuff" so that we can grow in the best way to suit our own personalities and gifts. Put a plant in the best and most appropriate location. It should grow. Sometimes it doesn't thrive. Take it out and put it somewhere temporarily - and it really takes off. Sometimes what seems the ideal isn't in fact the best for that plant. Some plants like companion plants. They tend to thrive best if other plants are nearby. Some plants help ward off insects or diseases off the principal plant, or attract good pollinators, or give shade, etc. Some plants just look good together and enhance others' beauty. Do you have companions who help and guard you, and who bring out the best in you? All plants are seasonal and nothing bears fruit or new leaves all the time. It has a rest every so often ("fall" or autumn). This is necessary. But then the plant "wakes up" ("spring") and next year's growth is better. Sometimes there's nothing obvious going on because last year's growth has been cut back to the roots. Don't worry if there's nothing to see: back next year in better form. So we need rests occasionally. Sleep well at night but get busy the next day. Allow yourself a rest or vacation - but remember, it's only temporary, not sitting back being a couch potato for ever. And the fruit needs enjoying. It's not just there to be pretty. It needs eating, digesting, and helping nurture your own body. Some parts of the fruits need replanting, for more crops next year. So feed yourself and share with as many others as possible with the fruits of the spirit. Enjoy being kind, patient, forbearing, etc, because these things will help you and others become more kind, patient, forbearing, etc. I could go on indefinitely. But you get the gist.

Big Brother is watching you

Has to be no.42. If something else had that number, well, it needs a different number. Because, doncha know, that's the answer to the ultimate question of life, the Universe, and Everything.

Growing old disgracefully

Glad to say I'm pretty fit and healthy. No serious problems, though knuckle joints are a bit bulgy and swollen but don't restrict any activities. Eyesight poor since a child, corrected with contact lenses to give perfect vision, but my optician tells me I have beginning cataracts - but I think these have been there for decades without any significant change. I believe I have great genes - maternal family all lived into mid-90s+, not so sure about paternal side. I confidently expect to live into my 90s unless I have a serious accident beforehand. I keep pretty active at work (s/emp gardening, lots of moving about, can get quite physical) and like going for long walks in any leisure time I have. My mum (exactly 25 years older than me) used to say, "Look into the future. You've got all this coming!" but thankfully I don't have any of the problems she's had, either when she was the age I am now, or previously. And I show no signs of having any of the problems she has currently. I thank God every day for my good health (which I don't take for granted). I know that some people I was at school with have already had nasty health events (like strokes and heart attacks) or have even died. Again in the words of my mum: "Old age is not for wimps!"

Yeah, me too. When I joined my current church, people who are now good friends told me they thought I was weird at first. I'd rather they thought I was weird, than knew that I actually was! And TBH, I was pretty out there. Scared to tell anyone my name and address for the church membership booklet. Took me a long time to realise no-one was out to persecute, condemn or control me, but genuinely wanted to help. Even now, nobody in my own church knows my history. The most I've ever said is that I was in an abusive church relationship - the church abused me, and others. Nobody has ever asked for details. Only one person knows the depth of it, and that's because he was the Safeguarding Officer (to whom any kind of abuse within his church is to be reported and is stringently followed up on) for a different church - I thought he might be a safe person to talk to and somebody in no way able to "hurt" me. However, from that, and other things, we have now developed a close personal relationship. It's been healthy to be able to talk about it with a safe person. So yeah, I kinda get how Bolshy-one would find it difficult to fellowship outside TWI with any Christian group. He'd be really suspicious of them and their motives - and if they knew of TWI and its tactics, they'd be suspicious of him and whether he was going to try to "convert" them. Bolshy - you are safe to let your hang-ups hang out here. We know and understand. But you might find it helpful to find a trusted confidant, friend (professional or otherwise) to physically talk with.

And it's also a tool for bringing people together. Choose your venue carefully. You don't have to use the internet; to read anything or everything that people post; you don't have to join groups you have no interest in but conversely you can join in conversations with people locally, nationally, or even worldwide, who enjoy some activity you enjoy. In fact, you can also use the internet to find local groups of your favoured activity/ies and go and interact with real live human beings.

What point are you trying to make, Roy? The dedication doesn't claim to be the Bible. It's a dedication, introduction, etc. It doesn't make itself the Bible. Other, later, Bibles also have introductions.

Authorised version (AV) (which Americans incorrectly call "King James version") was a bible prepared to overcome centuries of corruption of scriptures by the RC church, and various other versions of the bible of greater or lesser accuracy. The AV was "authorised to be read in churches" - which by that time were all Protestant - by the king. Hence its "name" - Authorised Version. This was a turbulent time in British history, and in church history. The AV was sponsored by King James VI and I (sixth and first) (6th king James of Scotland, 1st king James of England) in an effort in part to reduce religious friction by providing the best and most accurate version then available. It is used by both Protestants and Catholics. You might find these articles interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version https://www.britannica.com/topic/King-James-Version I don't know what your issue is with this version of the Bible, which is widely read and upon which many other versions are in fact based. Your posts are very unclear. If you read the epistles, you'll see that St Paul greets his addressees with "grace, mercy and peace." Standard sort of greeting of the time, both then and when AV was produced. I wonder if anyone has ever read the very flowery dedication. Certainly not in modern times.

My choir's singing this at its carol concert this Saturday. Pretty. A Christmas Blessing Philip Stopford Watch later Shre

Seriously - I'd doubt that, T-Bone. I know how Craig treated Allan. And his family.

Long time no see, Roy. How are you doing these days?

Please don't. Once seen, never forgotten. In the worst sense.

How I feel, too. If anything, I feel sorrow that they care(d) so little. Whether still the same, I don't care to find out. And I feel anger at the abuse so many suffered in so many ways. But my focus is not backwards but forwards. People are still being abused in similar ways, and in other ways, and I prefer to draw on my own experiences of abuse to relate better to others I reach out to help. I can empathise so much better. Some might call that making lemonade from the lemons.

You a stripper in your down time, Chocky?

Riu Riu chiu, ha! Singing that at the carol concert my new choir's putting on in 2 weeks. It's all about keeping the wolf from the door. Not very Christmassy, but fun.

Came across this by accident. No idea who the anonymous pl0nker is who posted it. He's slagged off most of the regular posters. Have a laugh. He obviously has issues. I suspect one particular ex poster. https://onebaddecisionawayfromhomelessness.wordpress.com/tag/greasespot-cafe/

Waydale was nothing to do with The Way. It was very anti Way, a d in no small measure has contributed to its decline. Greasespot Cafe is also nothing to do with TWI and apart from one poster, is vehemently against The Way. TWI does its best to take these sites down. It's only in quite recent years that TWI has sussed that a website might be helpful to it. They grabbed a load of domain names just to stop others grabbing them. Their first website was so static and boring that it'd be a wonder if anyone bothered to look at it more than once. There wasn't even a Contact Us button. You had to write, snail mail, to get in touch. They've updated that now. But it's still an ultra boring website. Just like TWI is ultra boring.

It was a draw, WW. What happens now?

There's been some surprising results so far. And it's got rather political, with the sideshow row about armbands and rainbows and suchlike. Apparently the match to which you refer is tomorrow (I just googled it). Celebrate away, if you wish! No mountains or forests in Qatar. So nothing much to interest me. Though I had a friend (now deceased) who lived there for a few years and enjoyed it.