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Twinky

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Everything posted by Twinky

  1. Twinky

    Post Upgrade Issues

    Paw, sometimes it can get a bit difficult to keep a thread on topic. You've seen the posts where the starter has tried to bring it back, and just one or two have tried to carry on bickering. Ability to lock might also be useful if despite a call back to original topic, a thread veers off on something worthwhile and then a new thread could be started and the old one locked. Especially with the multi-quote thing, if previous posts can be copied onto a new thread. But some threads really do just go on and on and on (yawn) way from the original matter about nothing in particular or denying another poster's PoV/experience. Or they end up as a mud fight. Then the mods shift them to Soap Opera. Just a thought.
  2. Twinky

    Post Upgrade Issues

    Another thing that might be helpful: would it be possible for the person who started a Topic to close/lock it? Maybe it was a question that was asked, to which a sufficient answer was received; or a topic that started well but seems to have degraded into something quite silly or off topic. I know that these can get sent off to Soap Opera, but perhaps they could be stopped before they get so debased?
  3. Well, my gooseberry bush has suffered again. Its leaves were flourishing and then disappeared overnight. Then the leaves appeared again and the bush was flourishing. Now they are all gone again. I think it's gooseberry sawfly. Presumably a flying critter, that leaves a larva which turns into a voracious caterpillar. Any suggestions, gang? Nothing in my garden seemes to be thriving this year. However, I have dosed everything with Epsom salts (which contain magnesium and sulfur) and then a week or 10 days later gave another boost with Miracle-Gro. Some things are now showing movement/growth. At long last!! I was given some sweetcorn plants which I have never tried growing before. I followed advice on this thread. Those plants are growing nicely, best thing in the garden. They are underplanted with low-growing crawly plants like marrows/zucchini/squash/round cucumber. If I were relying on my garden this year, I think starvation would be imminent :( . Hey Kimberley what is this about "hilling up" corn? Do I have to rake up the soil, like with potatoes? Not going to be possible, with the underplantings, which I have seen recommended in a number of places. Presumably the raised soil is to improve the wind resistance of the plants?
  4. Twinky

    Post Upgrade Issues

    I wonder how useful the "Reputation" button will be. Excathedra seems to have "damaged" her reputation quite a lot, which another poster has decided to put right for her. Ultimately, posters will get a feel for how worthwhile/helpful/destructive/distracting other posters are, independent of any "marks" given. Could it be that this Reputation button might be used to abuse? By marking a poster down if you don't like their PoV or what they are saying, and thus damaging their reputation? Might be more subtle way than badmouthing them in their posts. Untraceable, too.
  5. Not only that, we weren't allowed to look at the way Jesus handled situations. We were discouraged from reading about him, his way of dealing with people. The gospels were "not written to us" and therefore didn't need to be studied. All we got was in relation to him as the fulfilment of what was required for the Passover. LCM announced that this was now the age of confrontation. But if we had looked at the way Jesus handled situations, we would have seen that he confronted religious hypocrites only. With ordinary people, he showed kindness, compassion, forgiveness. Nor did he make them feel bad about imagined wrongs, real wrongs, not being perfect. He didn't "confront" them in a face-melting way about what they'd done wrong (would the general populace then have worn it? If he had, would they have seen him as the Son of God - or just some nagging meanhearted interfering busybody?) They told us the God of the OT was only half the picture and He was really a God of love. Then they treated us like their view of the God of the OT - always calling it loving to "confront." It was threats, blackmail, and the constant wearing down of God- and self-confidence. Having said that - there were some great people who, if they did need to confront something, really did care to ensure that there were no hard feelings afterwards and made the person feel loved up.
  6. Yeah, there were a lot of Fathers, too. I used to wonder how many people spoke to their male parent in such a manner.
  7. JT, that seems to assume far too much importance for the guy. Yes, he affected all our lives, but he wasn't the Prez of anything important, that he should have such a dedicated web page. Whoever put such together would be either a dedicated VPW worshiper or a dedicated VPW hater and neither would be reliable. Have you checked out the Wikepedia entry?
  8. Check out this recent thread:
  9. Krys, you just might be right, maybe it was just a filler while folks just thought what to just say next. It's obviously a habit that's just far more widespread than I'd realized. Not so practiced in my church, but that might be just my church. Strange, really, when it's not part of most people's normal speech habits. Can't remember now, but was it modelled on some prayer(s) offered in the PFAL class? I have a dim recollection of VPW "just" praying about something or other though I choose not to reflect too deeply on that nowadays. Dmiller: musta been just a wild teaching! (LOL) Tzaia: You just didn't get it, did you? Waysider: you're saying it just got into God's vocabulary, even?
  10. I was listening to an article on the radio this evening and the interviewee said he "just" did this and it was "just" something else and blah blah "just" ... and it felt odd and grating to me. Then I realized that that's how so many prayers went at twig. "Father, I just want to thank you for just [healing / helping / taking care of ...]" And this "just" expression was part of TWI prayers not "just" in the country I lived in, but in others, too. So I was wondering... do you folks who were round way way back remember prayers, "just" asking God to do "just" this one thing for them? Was this really TWI culture, or was it where I happened to find myself living? Was it all the time, or is it a mode of speech that crept in - if so, when? Innies, do fellowship prayers still follow this format? I've heard it among splinter groups... but only very rarely among other non-TWI folks, who tend more to pray along the lines of "Father, would you please..." or "I pray that you would [do something, heal somebody]". Which also sounds a little odd to my TWI-attuned ear. Comments, anybody?
  11. Twinky

    Thank you

    Tag, your opinion is as valid as that of any other person here. You have the right to speak. Welcome! Some people have greater insight than others of the "bigger picture" or generally have more wisdom. Many people here still profess to be Christians; others say they don't believe in any of it any more. You will have to choose for yourself (yes, for yourself! You get to choose!) who you think are the most reliable posters, and who you think has an ax to grind. You do not have to accept anyone's opinion or advice: but it's a fool who ignores the lot. You will find posters who have thought deeply about issues who can disagree, but who do it politely. Allow your mind to be flexible and to change opinions. I'm glad you found PFAL helpful. You did learn some things - some things that are true and worth holding onto. Many of these things are hard to find in churches. I never learned much of anything in my Anglican church, either. Just as ignorant as you in the RCs. Many people here have similar reports. PFAL seemed like the answer to a prayer for me, too. Perhaps it was. But just because that was the answer - doesn't mean that I should have stuck around as long as I did. Should have observed the red flags in word and action as displayed by the "believers," and not brushed the red flags off as "It's just that person." The difficulty is working out what is true without the TWI private interpretation of what they say is true. That's why it helps to consider the views of mature posters here.
  12. Well, I am trying with two things. First, I watered everything with Epsom Salts. These are supposed to be high in Magnesium and Sulphur, which improves uptake of other nutrients. That was last week. This week I have given everything a dose of Miracle-Gro. It's hardly rained at all, which probably doesn't help things! What's doing really well is the sweetcorn, which I've never tried growing before.
  13. Twinky

    Post Upgrade Issues

    Just a thought. The wording under a Topic heading (the description) is in really tiny type, and it may be helpful if that could be perhaps a size larger?
  14. Thank you, Shell. So many things would have been different, had he lived long. I may not even have got into TWI! Being a good role model for children is so important. I guess this was at the top of my heart, with reading some of the things on the Ephesians 6:1 thread. Am thankful he (and my mum) made a safe place to raise their kids. I'm sorry for the irreplaceable loss of your husband.
  15. Twinky

    Post Upgrade Issues

    Looks like the icon for Go to last unviewed post is working properly now. Thanks. This "fast reply" box is good, too.
  16. I just looked in on this thread. Which I have read in its entirety. Because I don't have any patience with those who say they couldn't be bothered to read the thread, or haven't followed it, and just stick some post in anyway. Session 12 almost terrified people into SIT. Instead of being something soothing, exhilarating, longed for - it became something to be "worked for." I felt pressured and worried. What if I didn't do it? What if I couldn't perform? And that's not how God works. Other first-time class participants have felt similarly. But talk to them soothingly, gently, privately, and don't try to shame or embarrass them, just allow them to relax with God, and out it comes. The "12 benefits of SIT" that Waysider mentions was always a problem for me - for some of the reasons Waysider mentions. How can you make something bigger, better, stronger, than it is, if it's already perfect? And - these 12 benefits seem repetitive, some saying the same things in slightly different words. If VPW had "kept it simple, stupid" and given only one or two supposed benefits instead of trying to show off his academic prowess (gag), then maybe we would have actually enjoyed that session. Incidentally I think there is evidence that there was some sort of "pseudo-SIT" thing going on in Paul's time, since he has to say that "no man can call Christ accursed" when SIT and that suggests to me that there had been some SIT-like practice already going on at the time that new Christians were uncertain about. Perhaps they had seen something similar in pagan worship. Ultimately, the question is not whether or not SIT is real, whether what TWI taught was true or false in part or whole, but - where's your heart at?
  17. My dad was very special in so many ways. First, he should never have been born...his mother thought she was on the "change" and didn't know she was pregnant! This one pound surprise baby was obviously born very prematurely and had to be put in a shoe box and covered in cotton wool and fed through an eye dropper. He survived his childhood and was well fed (over fed) by his mother. When he met my mother, my father was 20 and weighed about 20 stone (280lb) which for a man of 5'8" is way too much. They married and had 3 children. When the youngest was just a babe, in a push chair, he had a massive heart attack and was told by the doctors that he would be unlikely to survive. My father decided that leaving his much loved wife, two older children (I was only 8 or so, my brother 6-ish) and the new baby was not a good idea, and through little more than his love for them, survived. He dropped a lot of weight and went down to 11 stone (about 150 lb) and was always cautious about his weight after that. Because of his heart attack, he could not resume his prior work and was reduced in rank to other duties. This involved shift working and sometimes we didn't see much of him. However, he loved to polish all our shoes as a tangible way of showing his love for us, even if he didn't see us. We always went to school with shiny shoes. Dad would do anything (legal) to help anybody and loved to be of service. He visited my great grandparents (on my mother's side) daily even though my great grandma wouldn't often speak with him. He gave far more than he received, and though he helped friends through difficult times, the same cannot always be said for them when we hit difficult times. In my teen years, mum and I fought horribly and I ran away from home. He was the peacemaker and brought us back together again. He was always loving and I remember only one occasion (in those teen years) when he spanked me. He was so upset at doing that, that I mended my behavior immediately. He was my ally against my very strict mum, and sometimes took my side against her. It was difficult for all of us. In my later years I welcomed his advice and friendship. Unfortunately he died when I was 20 and it would be fair to say that our family has not been the same since. His presence is still sorely missed by all of us, and it's 35 years later. Dad had a great sense of fun and a zest for life. His passions in life were: his wife, his wife and his wife. Closely followed by his family, his family and his family. Dad loved God and was a sidesman at his church. I don't think you could call him "passionate" about God, but he participated actively all his life, was on the church council, and it was a significant part of his life. He just lived it, but he never pushed anything onto us. The church was full at his funeral (only gets that full at Christmas, usually). I was almost happy at his funeral. I was glad that such a good man had gone to be with God and would not have any more pain or physical suffering. Though I believe differently now, I still believe God has a special place for him and that at the bema the words he hears will be: "Well done, my good and faithful servant." I was going to say, He never did anything remarkable. But he did. Whilst recovering from his heart attack, on his first outing, we were at the seaside and two or three girls got into difficulties and were drowning. Without hesitating, he plunged in and rescued one (another man went in after another girl). Mum thought he was going to have another heart attack right there and then. He was no genius. He had no academic achievements. He was ambitious for nothing except to be a good husband and father. He had love, kindness and compassion for everyone. He was generous in heart and generous in money (if the family had any to spare - and even if we didn't). He was my Dad. And I miss him still. Yes, he was special.
  18. Twinky

    Post Upgrade Issues

    My picture (avatar) doesn't seem to be there. Guess it needs to be re-loaded. This all looks so different.... Ooh, like the Smileys box! ****** Oh. Now I posted this...the picture is there. Guess it must go and grab information when somebody posts the first thing in this new format. ****** Gosh, I see it's three years since I joined the Cafe. Three years of getting my head back together. It's gone by quicklyl
  19. Bloody hell, Rummie, that looks very bad. What dimwit tried that? (Musta been way over the two-drink limit, LOL.)
  20. Twinky

    May I ask?

    Was looking for some broken glass to crawl over on my way back to TWI. Crawled in the door of the Cafe. Liked the taste of the coffee and stayed.
  21. Hey, JC knew what he was letting himself in for. He said his Father would send angels to rescue him, if he (JC) asked. He could have run away, or just plain not gone to Jerusalem. He read the scriptures. He knew that torture and death awaited him. He even read the scriptures that WW has quoted! He wasn't expecting some miracle rescue from death while he was on the cross: he'd seen enough animals sacrificed (or otherwise killed) to know that dead meant dead. Yet he knew that God wouldn't leave or forsake him: his Father was always with him. He knew he would be resurrected after three days: he had not long since raised Lazarus from the dead; he had read about people raised from the dead in the OT; he threw the sign of Jonah in the Pharisees' faces; he had himself said that this temple (his body) would be raised in three days. I doubt his words would be "why have you forsaken me?" It just doesn't seem logical. The "cry of triumph" espoused by TWI/Walter Cumm1ns in the 80s sounds more logical. But is it correct? Could it have been some words quoted from the ceremony [which we know nothing about] when the sins of the nation were transferred onto the live goat to bear away the sins? Or at the time the other goat was sacrificed? What might you say, if you were dying in the course of doing something heroic? "Sh1t, this hurts." "It's what you wanted." "The price is paid." "You've got what you wanted; now fulfil your part of the bargain." "Is it worth it?" "It's worth it!" ...What do battle-injured and dying soldiers say? Apparently lots of them call out for their mothers! Wouldn't JC call out for his mother Mary, or his Father, God? Perhaps the words sounded like the commonly-quoted words and were so recorded (by whom? The centurion? Did he speak Aramaic?) Perhaps they were something slightly different. Or perhaps the words had some other meaning that has now been lost - changed their meaning "in the original" over the millennia (like "prevent" = pre-vent, precede, in English). There will come a day when you can ask him...if you dare.
  22. Sometimes something you want "just happens" for you. Sometimes you read just the thing you need to read, or hear just the thing you need to hear. Sometimes doors open where they seemed to be shut; opportunities arise where there seemed to be none. Sometimes it's walking out with a thankful heart and suddenly a patch of sunshine falls right on you. Sometimes it's the very thing you need to meet a need. Sometimes a hug, or a kind word, from a friend. Sometimes it's a "just knowing" something. Why limit God to words? Words are only a way of expressing thoughts or heart-desires anyway. I don't have a problem with God communicating with me or any other believer. I really DO have a problem with TWI's idea that God being spirit can only talk to spirit. That "unbelievers" have no connection with God. It's part of their way of limiting God, cutting him off from people (as if!!). It's partly through his wonderful works and the physical things around us that he communicates: with believers and unbelievers alike. God is not a respecter of persons. Does he not care for us ALL - whether we believe (in) him or not?
  23. Twinky

    Forum Upgrade

    Ubuntu is something real? I thought Ham was joking and it went along with pseudo-SIT.
  24. Dooj! It's your birthday? Hey, have a great one. I was so pleased to meet you, and always enjoy your thoughtful posts.
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