Twinky

George, the English just invent jet engines instead...hard to imagine the world without jet engined planes, nowadays. Japanese cars have been more popular in the UK as well. You always got more for your money. The bells and whistles that you pay extra for on other cars come as standard on Jap cars. Fuel economy is MUCH better. Fuel economy on most US cars makes non-Americans roll their eyes in shock and horror. Can you buy hybrids, or electric cars, in the USA? My car...is a Vauxhall Astra 1994, good mileage. And I'm thankful; was a gift to me after another car got written off by another vehicle. Previously had a F ix O r R epair D aily and it really did need that sort of attention.

There seem to be one or two people posting at the Cafe who are in the UK and there are others round about. Just a thought, with all the gatherings in the US for barbecues and roasts and clam bakes - would be it of any interest to any UK residents to get together to have our own thing here? July, August sort of time? If so, I'd want it to be a positive thing: how we've moved on. The Texas BBQ that I went to was great fun and lots of laughs. I know a number of ex-Wayfers living in this area, and have encountered via other websites other ex-Wayfers who could be invited; also some from other countries. Ex10, if you are visiting - of course you can come too!

No allotment, just a garden that used to be a lawn. It measures about 10ft wide by 14 ft long and everything is crammed together. Just removed 4 leylandii from the shrub border adjacent to the vege garden. They were mature trees with big root balls. I have filled the area they came from with hoss muck and garden compost and am letting it over-winter while I decide what to do with it. The shrub border (and hence the leylandii) provided a screen/eye distraction from the road, which is higher than my kitchen, so I feel a bit "obvious" now. But the extra space would be nice for a few additional veges next year. Might put up a bit of trellis and train a clematis, jasmine, honeysuckle or similar up it. They don't take up much room and grow readily. You can put all your garden prunings at this time of year, autumn tidy-up, into the compost bin. YOu may also wish to put a handful of lime in, from time to time; helps break down the compost. Remember to shovel some ordinary garden soil in, several inches of compostable material and a couple of inches of soil. The bacteria break the compostable material down. If I am gardening and find a lot of worms, I drop them in the compost bin too. The leaves from the crocosmias will go in the bin, as will the rose and fuschia prunings. Your stunted veges, too. You can sign up for a weekly email from Gardeners' World and that contains a list of "to do" recommendations for the current week. Useful website. You could try covering the daffs with a "blanket" of some sort to keep the frost off. A bit of carpet, an old sheepskin rug, scrunched up newspaper, a cardboard box. Must get my own daffs and tulips in pretty soon.

Hey Dooj, still looking forward to your recipes! I know they'll be both excellent and simple! :)

Regret to say one of the things I learned from TWI was how to swear. Interesting F-words ... in "sermons." JC used some culturally strong language - to confront the Pharisees. He never used such language to address his congregation or flock. Generally speaking nowadays, I only use such strong language (and then not much) when I hear or think about abuses carried out in God's name. If mere me gets riled up, what must God do?

Hi Ham, yes I have considered that, but as my downstairs room is all one big room comprising kitchen, diner and lounge-let, I don't really want a stinky litter tray which they might use for solid matter in the same room. The bathroom is on the next house level up and THEY chose it for the location of their litter tray (by using the bath, regardless of whether a tray was there or not). They both still use the bathroom tray (they prefer to use the same one though I usually provide two). It wouldn't be easy to secretly migrate a tray from one level of the house to another. I put my white rug in the shed last night (oh, the things one does at midnight, besides turn into a grease spot!) and it was so pleasant to come downstairs this morning and it didn't have that slight whiff of wee. I will put up a small artificial tree in a week or so's time. Hmm, yes, thanks for the warning. I can see lightly swinging baubles might be a serious temptation. Maybe I will give them one, a little shatterproof one. But they are quite good with wires and don't usually chew electric cables.

QUOTE (WordWolf @ Nov 21 2008, 12:40 AM) • destroy or take your personal property or sentimental items? Cunningly, they got US to destroy our personal property! Told us to get rid of things that held us back - that harbored devil spirits - we should forget those things that are behind. What they really wanted to destroy was our individuality. But the part of the body of Christ that I am does not need me to be an "ear" or a "hand" or an "eye" - it needs me to be ME. I seem to recall something from PFAL that said that God gave us holy spirit and it was unique to each one of us as individuals - you couldn't take the holy spirit from one person and try to fit it into another person because it wasn't so made. It just wouldn't work out. (No doubt someone can supply a reference.) Seems to me that (a) God recognizes us as individuals; (b) TWI doesn't and tries to fit a one-size "holy spirit" into each one of us.

Plan B - or is it C - or Z... The lounge part of my kitchen/lounge/diner is rather whiffy. So tonight I have fetched out all of the furniture, scrubbed the floor with various concotions, removed the white rug, and replaced all my furniture in new locations. I dislike the new layout but it'll do. Idea is to make it difficult for Tuxy to access the corner that is her secret place to wee. It now has a cabinet over it, and a couch. The white carpet is in my shed. I don't know if it can be cleaned. And if so, how successful that will be. It's a nice rug and would have been expensive when new (got it via Freecycle, from a very upmarket home). Tuxy hid under the table on a chair whilst all the moving about was taking place. Crypto hid in the darkest place she could find, under the stairs. But when I sat down with a cuppa to survey the scheme, it was Crypto who adventured out to see what was going on. Who explored thoroughly the new layout. She seems to approve. Tuxy was only enticed out by rattling the food box. She seems very hesitant. Doesn't seem to like it. Crypto is very sweet. She has a nice nature. I had wondered about calling her "Serena" which seems to suit her. She is calm natured, good at amusing herself, playful, gentle. Wary, but not jumpy like Tuxy. She will happily feed from a hand, taking titbits of meat or whatever. A friend visited tonight, and she was eating handfuls of Go-Cat from his hand. She makes delightful little croo-ing sounds. Not bad for a cat too scared to show herself for months, when I first got her. Tuxy has begun to be a little more friendly with me. She has avoided me for the last couple of weeks (since I last picked her up) and only in the last day or two has let me touch her again. So we're kind of back to basics. Anyway she is friendly again. As long as she isn't up to mischief in the corner! She has got a new trick. Friend bought me some flowers, and she nibbled on the leaves which made her sick. I've moved the flowers into my study but she likes them (to eat) and has learned to climb up the bookcase to get at them - caught her at that tonight; explains how she managed to eat the leaves yesterday and make herself sick. If I just open the door, let her out, then close it firmly, do you think she'll take the hint?

Yet the letter seems to have been quite well received on the Way Corps site. Hasn't provoked the comment that has been made at the Cafe. More congratulatory.

Before TWI would take anyone back, the person had to be humbled (read, totally humiliated), confessing to all sorts of crimes against God (read, TWI) - crimes both real and imagined. The person had to show how contrite he/she was. Physical flagellation wasn't quite the thing, but a sort of mental and spiritual flagellation was. This took the form, usually, of a grovelling letter to LCM and/or the Trustees. This letter may be read out to Corps, staff, or anybody else deemed "need to know" (read, need to understand what would happen to them if they stepped out of line) and analyzed to see that it contained the correct amount of contrition and jargon. Then, if allowed back, there was a period of probatiion. This was a suspicious watching of everything done - to see that the "weakness" that caused the original downfall was healed. Okay... Let's see... Where is TWI's letter of self-abasement? Where they totally confess their crimes (just the real ones will do). Where they apologize again and again. Where every high-up, starting with Rosie, admitted publicly what they had done in the past to abuse God and the people of TWI (past and present). Not thinking about just the sexual misconduct - what about the bullying, control, stifling of individuality? Next, let's see this letter subjected to public scrutiny, so that past and present TWI-fers can determine if they really are contrite. Let's see how they propose to rectify their past sins. Next, let's see how they progress during probation and whether they are responsive to further condemnation, sorry, help; and how they behave then. The period of probation hasn't started yet, because there has been no confession of past wrongdoing. Let them set the example. Then there might be something worth looking at and considering. Till then - RUUUUN!!!

Well, you could try telling her that TWI is dead against anything that affects the mind, or might open up the mind to devil spirits (hence the two-drink rule). She will probably say something along the lines of, "It's grace, we can do what we like." That would authorize her smoking pot. Although TWI might have had roots in the 60s pot and pop culture, it's certainly not there now. Pot would be a serious no-no when I was in. In fact, even smoking ordinary cigarettes was a major no-no and Corps people were dismissed for smoking. One of those unwritten rules. I think on the good side, it might show she has a streak of rebellion/independence that means she will shuck off TWI once she gets to [her university]. TWI and its hangers-on may lose their appeal against so much other new stuff.

My pumpkin soup is always different but basically along the following lines: Chop an onion up small Simmer onion in a little oil until translucent but not brown Add garlic if desired; be careful not to burn - add towards end of cooking period for onions Chuck in pumpkin diced into 1" cubes Add water to cover the pumpkin Add herbs or spices as desired Simmer until pumpkin is soft (about 20-30 mins) Mash it all up Add more hot water if it's too thick BUT there are variations on a theme Original recipe called for chicken stock but I dislike the taste of the stock cube. I made some recently and cut some bacon up and fried gently with the onion, then added the pumpkin and rest of ingredients. It was deliciously rich in flavor, and surprisingly sweet, from the bacon. This version was particularly well received. Have not tried adding other meats, but would go well with chicken or pork, probably. Or venison. Other veg can be included - say carrots - or whatever you want - but potato will dull the flavor. A little red wine is nice and tasty but the soup loses its lovely orange color. It's nice with garlic, ginger, most spices, a pinch or so of curry powder... Garnish, perhaps, with a swirl of yoghurt and a pinch of fresh herbs. Nice with crusty warm bread (yum!)

This topic has meandered off track, somewhat, though it remains very interesting. Is it worth, I wonder, asking the mods if the later part of the discussion about salvation can be split off? Certainly if the people are the Bride of Christ (various epistles) and the Bride is the city (Revelation) and the city of the New Jerusalem is the people (Juedes), we would not be looking at a Salvation which can dissipate. That would give us a city that was built of uncertain materials. Or is the city ONLY the faithful ones? Not just those who got born again and then fell away, distracted by earthly pleasures? I don't think it's so easy to get "born again" as TWI (and many churches) would have us think. The emphasis on "confess with thy mouth" was acknowledged more than "believe in thine heart" which is a deeply profound action which may take years to achieve (or then again, it may not; for some it will be a quick decision). I'm thinking of the OT servant/slave who had 7 years to decide whether to serve his master on a permanent basis, before making the commitment and having his master's seal fitted to his ear lobe. The trouble with figures of speech is always taking the figure too far, farther than it was intended to be taken. Staying faithful brings in other doctrine(?) like "crowns" of reward, which is beyond the scope of "Bride or Body?" A city would comprise a number of people at various stages of development. Some would be elderly, mature folk; some would be born only last week. Some might be (spiritual) kids in the "terrible two" age range. They are all citizens. Other citizens would be those who have journeyed away for a while (maybe those who have "lapsed" or "backslidden" or otherwise are doing different things?). Unbelieving spouses and children are also "sanctified" (1 Cor 7:14) - are they also part of this Bride/city? Or just the believing spouse/parent?

GC, what are the following: Pumpkin pie spice = ?cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon? Some combination of whatever one fancies. All purpose flour is (I think) plain flour (no raising agent) Shortening = some kind of fat - butter? margarine? lard? Dooj, look forward to your recipes!

I just found this on the Way Corps site, where John Lynn has a blog and was discussing this letter, which is posted in full: Haven't seen that he posted that here at the Cafe. So Ralph is to blame for John's letter, huh? Hmmm...

xxxxx went back? Well, I guess he'll come back here in a few months. When the shine has worn off a little. Edited by ModRocker to remove GS member's name.

xxxxx went back to TWI? Okay, see him here again in a few months. Edited by ModRocker to remove GS member's name.

From his Sword of the Spirit website: And history repeats itself… Same information also appears on his racing cars website except he omits the second part of the first para, and the second para, about AoG. If he is "Still holding to all Assemblies of God tenets of faith," it's reasonable to ask why he needs an "independent ministry" outside the auspices of AoG. Maybe they kicked him out. Maybe he had some difficulty getting his hands on all that lovely money. Maybe they didn't like his racing cars. Is anybody at the Café smart enough to hack into his website and put a link to the Café and a link to John Knapp’s psych get-the-cult-out-of-your-head website? BTW I'm very sorry for the son who got kicked out, M&A'd, shunned, call it what you will. 16 is too young to cast your son adrift. But it might be the best thing that happened to the lad. Release from his prison, as it were. It sounds as though he has some sense, disobeying his father and all.

Does anyone have a nice recipe for pumpkin pie? Or other pumpkin things? I have a pumpkin cheesecake recipe which is delicious. Technically I think what I tend to use is called a squash - big, pale green skin, not quite spherical but slightly squashed (hence the name?) but solid and filled with vivid orange flesh. Makes delicious soup, roasts nicely. This vege (really a fruit) is not really well known in Brit cooking but every time I've cooked and served any kind of pumpkin/ squash recipe it's always been received with surprised interest and pleasure.

gc, you don't just need grass but any kind of vege waste. Prunings, kitchen stuff, whatever. Forsythia won't compost (I tried one year and it just rooted in the compost bin!). I don't use my grass clippings because of the dandelion fragments in it (they'll grow!). This time of year is good for making leaf mold - stuff black bin liners with leaves, poke a few holes in the bin liner, and leave for a couple of years. My Brussels sprouts are struggling on - the caterpillars got the main leaves, so there isn't much to provide nourishment for the little sprouts but they are still growing, slowly. My Savoy cabbages are doing well. Leeks are also growing. One Kale is doing fine, the others also suffered from caterpillars and are even now less vigorous. My chard (perpetual spinach) is thriving and I am having to give it away. The runner beans are gone now, of course, perished with the first frost, and the browned pods are still hanging there with stock for next year :-) I have acquired lots of apples which I have stored and hope to be able to keep for a few months. gc, you don't just need grass but any kind of vege waste. Prunings, kitchen stuff, whatever. Forsythia won't compost (I tried one year and it just rooted in the compost bin!). I don't use my grass clippings because of the dandelion fragments in it (they'll grow!). This time of year is good for making leaf mold - stuff black bin liners with leaves, poke a few holes in the bin liner, and leave for a couple of years. My Brussels sprouts are struggling on - the caterpillars got the main leaves, so there isn't much to provide nourishment for the little sprouts but they are still growing, slowly. My Savoy cabbages are doing well. Leeks are also growing. One Kale is doing fine, the others also suffered from caterpillars and are even now less vigorous. My chard (perpetual spinach) is thriving and I am having to give it away. The runner beans are gone now, of course, perished with the first frost, and the browned pods are still hanging there with stock for next year :-) I have acquired lots of apples which I have stored and hope to be able to keep for a few months. Still have to put the daffs and tulip bulbs in - should have been in at least a month ago. I may be able to extend the vege garden a little for next year, having removed 4 leylandii from my "shrubbery" but I might plant other taller stuff there instead - screening from the road for my lawn, patio and kitchen.

Oops, somehow a double post with the following.

I'd go someplace where the people seem to have a genuine love of God. Even if they worship a little differently. Any church may be the right place for a while, and then if you are not learning/growing, it may be time to move on. You belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and to God. You do not belong to a church, a minister/vicar/pastor, or to a denomination. I don't like some of the songs at the church where I go, but the vicar is awesomely good and preaches a sermon that is always tender yet always challenging. Simple, I don't get there at 11 am when it starts; I turn up at 11.10 or 11.15. Nobody says a thing to me about being "late." There's no "ten minutes early" rule at this church. If I felt like it, I would leave early also but in fact the sermon has usually got me thinking and I like to spend time quietly there in the midst of everyone else. The vicar preached a sermon from 2 Cor about separating ourselves and what it is to be holy. He took quite a long time (more than usual) at about 30 mins. You know, I learned more from that than from a whole year of LCM's the "Way of Holiness" theme.

The story about Corrie Ten Boom and her forgiveness of the Nazi is a wonderful story, thank you for reminding me of it. The essence is, he sought her out and begged for forgiveness. If people do not seek you out and don't expect forgiveness, or expect it but never show repentance or offer a genuine apology ... that's something different. This morning I was reading the story of the forgiving father/prodigal son. Son had made up his mind to grovel and not seek any of his former glory or status. He had humbled himself, so he was exalted. There are enough threads about forgiveness here at the Cafe to know that this is an issue for a lot of people. If there are former "hurters" here and they are willing to humble themselves, it's appropriate to forgive and move on. Though the urge might be to give them a face melting back or recount the misery they caused. Think it'd be good to see them demonstrate some true humility, though. And let's see some compassion from them, too.

Not to mention how many people they have wounded, spiritually and emotionally. But there are enough threads about that.

GC, you sound like my sort of person. Gordon Ramsey? Surprised if anyone can find room in the kitchen for a cooker and his ego. He's the one that fries everything with his hot and salty language, isn't he? English fish and chips are wonderful - and even that is a dish with regional variations. Up north the chips are often (or used to be) fried in lard which gives them a wonderful texture. However most places nowadays use vege oils. The fish used varies. Also up north they are very fond of mushy peas, which I think Ex10 has commented on at the beginning of the thread. In some areas curry sauce is offered as well or instead (yeuk). TLB, can you see the roast pork and apple sauce I've waving at you?