Twinky

Dunno about all this stuff cross-stiching. Can be a great stressor when you realize you stitched something wrong several rows back and now your pattern doesn't fit together! Seriously, though, cross-stitching is very absorbing. Walking is a great release for me. Many fields and woods nearby. Always a release to walk out for a few hours and talk things over with my Dad. I also do gardening and find that very relaxing, especially after a very busy or tense day at work. If not walking, some other form of physical exercise. When I was studying for my degree, I found squash a major release. I projected my frustrations and difficulties onto the squash ball and beat the heck out of it. And if you use a computer at work, you might find it helpful to affix a photo(s) of people and/or pets and/or places that you love in the corner or stand a photo on your desk. It'll bring a smile to your face when you look at it.

Hey, I know why this thread is here! It's so WD can, almost exclusively, present his point of view, be challenged by everyone else, and thereby WD gets to say his piece, and stays off other threads (well, hopefully). You guys - you know what WD is going to say. Why do you keep rising to it?

Well! That should be interesting for WayGB. In the spirit of fairness, I wonder if Fox will have anyone from TWI to present an alternative point of view/offer comment? Ric0 M@gnelli, for instance, as PR consultant? Now that would be worth YouTubing.

Just managed to listen to the interview. I feel ill. Very ill. Kris, it is worse than revolting. Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does. I have heard some horror stories from friends who have also suffered, not just from abuse by VPW or LCM but the abuse meted out upon them by spouses. How can they do any better, when their boundaries have been so eroded by that vile man and his minions? I wonder, are there any other women out there with the turquoise rings? All feeling special?? Somebody should send a copy to WD and Oldies to read. Better yet, tie them to a chair and make them read it and not untie them until they can recite it word perfect, like they can with the Blue Book. Sorry can't write any more. Have to go and vomit. (((Kris)))

Thanks, both. Still a long way to go though. Other cats I've had (okay, been carer for) have claimed space at the foot of the bed (Twinky claimed the pillow or even one's head occasionally) but these two have a way to go before then. Once in a while Tuxy has explored my bedroom. I prefer not to let them in the rest of the house unless I can keep an eye on them. Tuxy occasionally "marks" things and I have had to throw away a red rug which she urinated on too badly to keep; and she also urinates on my coco matting near the front door, which I haul up and soak in the bath in bio washing stuff. Not so easy or light, as it is 4 ft square. They are rather idiotic at times, like: if I enter the bathroom and one or other is in there, it's a major catastrophe and they get all scatty with panic. Or if walk upstairs and they are on the landing - their eyes go wide, they freeze in terror and/or flatten themselves, and Crypto might try hissing at me (or sometimes just opening her mouth as if to hiss, too scared to make the noise!). I can't touch them on a window sill or other enclosed area but they are okay in rooms where there is space to escape. But still: that Tuxy ventures onto my lap and snuggles up by my leg is a mighty step forward. I would love to get to the Texas BBQ again this year but think it will not be possible. Maybe I should vacate the house again anyway for a few days and see what benefits that might have on the cats? Geisha: too funny. Do they give you a wash to wake you up, as well?

I have a lapcat! I have a lapcat!! Been away for a couple of days. Cats clearly missed me. One kept jumping on a stool near my armchair, just to be near me. Very fussy now. So today I sat in the middle of my couch and made encouraging noises. And Tuxy decided to investigate the couch with me on it (she will sleep on the couch if she thinks I am not around) - walked over my knees a couple of times, and has since snuggled down on my lap, beside my leg, on my lap again, purring with enthusiasm and wriggling around with sheer joy. Also nibbling at my black jeans (thanks, Ex10), which I will not be encouraging, and playing with a feather or a pen. If I move quickly she leaps off but soon leaps back on again. It's as if she has discovered some wonderful exciting place to be with endless delights of fondles. Other cat Crypto sits on a chair nearby watching the action. She can't see what the fuss is about. But she is getting friendlier and enjoys being fondled. Can't pick her up but one of the purposes of being able to pick her up was to park her in my lap, so much better if she will park herself! Interestingly while I was away the girl tending the cats for me said that Tuxy would allow herself to be groomed but not stroked with a hand; whilst Crypto (the mega-nervous one) would allow herself to be touched and stroked, a thing she has only just started to allow me to do. Okay, not a big deal really - except when you remember neither had been touched before and they spent their first three months with me hiding in the sink unit or behind the fridge! Love and patience... lotsa love and patience.

Eccl 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. Let's hope the participants swiftly arrive at this conclusion: Eccl 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Bump - relating to new Sowers thread that has been started recently.

Just returned from a short visit to Paris. Visited Notre Dame while I was there. This is a hugely significant church to the French people. Interestingly, right at the entrance, there is a notice in French and English - the French version stating that this is a church dedicated to the "culte catholique" - in English, Roman Catholic "religion". The word "culte" really leapt out at me! The RC church calls itself a cult!!!! A cult, or sect, if you prefer, is anything that cuts itself off from others. In the religious sense, cuts itself off from other Christians or says it has the only correct way. Whether that be in interpretation of the scriptures, or in practise, doesn't matter. All are works of the flesh. Galatians 5:20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions Factions in some versions is "sects". [Middle English secte, from Old French, from Latin secta, course, school of thought, from feminine past participle of sequī, to follow; see sekw-1 in Indo-European roots.] Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary sect [sekt] noun a group of people within a larger, especially religious, group, having views different from those of the rest of the group

Interesting thread, this. Can so relate. LCM told us that the Bible had nothing to say to "cop outs" - nothing but reproof, and that they needed to get back to the Household (read, TWI). And who wants EVEN MORE "reproof" after what had probably been said when they got kicked out? If ever I tried to read the Bible afterwards, I saw nothing but misery, at what an appalling specimen of a believer I was, how far short of the mark... you name it. You've probably been there too. Now, my enthusiasm is back and I read in many different versions. NIV is just plain weird at times so don't like it. The Message is good for a really brisk look that is radically different. My preferred is a Holman Bible ("The Passion Bble") which reads well and appears accurate on translations of various words where it seems to matter. Can't stand KJV, the text of which my eyes just brush over. I had put this down to over-familiarity but who knows, maybe it is some "veil". I do know that God sent a number of other Christians to hold forth a different version of Christian love to me but I would have nothing to do with them, because obviously they were doctrinally suspect (being trinitarians) and dngerous to me. That suspicion of other Christians is a part of the "Satanic blindness" also, or at least, one of his tricks. Divide and conquer. Keep sufferers in a state of misery and suspicious of others in the Body. I have recently got to know some women, the daughters of an elderly friend, and the friend married into, and her daughters were raised in, the Plymouth Brethren. They also have quite significant problems even now, over 20 years later, with some aspects of relating to other Christians and some teachings. But they all have wonderful hearts to love and serve God and are all committed to "kingdom work" in the different churches they have now all chosen for themselves. I only add this so that TWI ex-cultists know they aren't the only sufferers. These women also have their own "blindness" which they are overcoming. They respect the strong teaching of the Bible and the knowledge of the verses of the Bible, but not the practice or the emphases of their cult. Like us with TWI.

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. Uh...where did this get overruled? Ah, got it! When TWI replaced itself as God and the Prez as the MOGFODAT, surplanting Jesus. I think to go beyond Biblical principle would require some explicit "revelation" from God. Disregard of principle should not become the norm. I'm thinking of an OT example where a prophet asked another to hit him (where hitting other people is not the norm). In the NT, when Gentiles were beginning to accept Christ, a lot of the old Jewish religious laws were broken (eg, eating with Gentiles). But (for example) to go beyond the clear teaching that adultery is wrong is not the norm. This is clearly laid out in both OT and NT. If God really wants an individual to do something radically different from what is written, he is smart enough to make sure that individual knows. Not sure what "bad things" you are saying were "ordered" - most of the bad stuff wasn't ordered so much as alluded to, shown by example, or praised. They also relied heavily on the "higher powers" stuff in Rom 13. When one's barriers are so completely broken down, and coupled with the maxim that the suggestion of a general is tantamount to a command, and there is fertile ground for some of the abuses in TWI with hitting children and wives.TWI also taught, "be exceptional, don't expect to be an exception." I understand your viewpoint about higher authority (responsibility to God). While God is not tied by man's laws, he also isn't so stupid as to expect his people to flagrantly flout legality on a whim. To do an apparently bad thing in the face of clear instruction otherwise would be very exceptional (thinking here of say - 2 Sam 20:21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. 22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king. - where the murder (execution?) of a rebel was praised.) Can't comment from the point of view of a soldier, Christian or otherwise, in combat; but in normal day to day living the norm would be to live within one's culture and God will make it very clear when culture is to be disregarded. And if any sort of Christian leadership, whether TWI or some church, goes beyond the laws of the land, God will make that clear. He is not, however, going to go in the face of his own laws! Good on you for resisting the wresting of the scriptures. You were the one standing for God; not the splinter group leader.

Portable webcam is easier than one on a laptop for showing the mad bits of action!!! Anyone who doesn't want to be seen can stay out of range. But hey it's only me! I enjoyed your happy smiling faces last year! I will have to get some stuff in to make mojitos unless EyesOpen can squeeze something down the airwaves!

Thank you Tom, very kind of you to say so. Had another go today and this is what came out: Type 1: The Reformer. The rational, idealistic type. (-10) Type 2: The Helper. The caring, nurturing type. (9) Type 3: The Motivator. The adaptable, success-oriented type. (4) So I guess I must be a "Helper" (ha ha ha) - If only my former boss thought so as well. You know what? I just ENJOY LIFE nowadays.

HEY!!! Sorry, Oldies, no way I'm going back (runs screaming in opposite direction)

Using one's brain.

Ex10, have you figured out how to get Skype yet? And a portable webcam? Hey, I wanna see all the fun!!!!!!! (I wanna be there, but that's another matter...) So don't forget to send me a doggie-bag!

I think I failed this! Answer was nothing like what I think I am. Ha ha. But I do know that I have mellowed out A LOT since I left a rather strident organisation and started to relax and enjoy life again. I am the "caring, nurturing" type (10) follwed by "intuitive and reserved" (7) , a lousy reformer and a lousy thinker . But maybe I'll be something different tomorrow or a different time of day. Heck, anyone who knows me wouldn't exactly call me "reserved". And they would say that I "think too much".

Maybe this earlier thread is also of interest (touched on in this thread): http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.php?showtopic=17835

GSG: LCM did say that. Maybe God put the other planets (and other solar systems) sufficiently out of reach so that we wouldn't be able to reach them. Let's face it. A lot of effort has been put into stuffing up this planet. Not so much effort into the clean-up. If you don't have to clean up but can just ship the select few out to other planets, why not just do that? Instead of cleaning up your own back yard. Were we meant to live on other planets? No I am not saying that I am that acquainted enough with NASSA’s Programs or its Projects, nor their risks necessities or benefits! I am wondering if Biblically from GOD‘s view point, is it necessary or warranted to build space stations? No Throughout the Bible God states his reasons for the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets in their courses; and I find nothing yet to date that indicates that the money we continually spend on the Space Programs, now and throughout it’s history to be justifiably warranted. What are Your thoughts? There have been some real benefits. Whether they would have been discovered without the specific focus of the program - who knows? Maybe other things would have been discovered instead. Or as well. Is Space Exploration a real benefit or necessity? An expensive benefit. Not a necessity. But it's thrilling to realize the greatness of the universe and to see the spectacular images collected via space-based telescopes, whether Hubble or by astronauts orbiting the earth. Does anyone think we will ever relocate to outer space or other planets? On a permanent basis on other planets, no. On a long-term basis on space ships, probably. Purpose???

I remember that about letting the dogs go loose and them rampaging around. =how our minds would rampage around if we didn't keep them strictly under control. =strictly under their control. Never anything about the physical action of (as it were) untying the dogs, which you say. Despite the "principle" of "the verse interprets itself...right there...in the context," so many times verses got yanked right out of context to support some "interpretation" exactly the opposite. Research and teaching ministry my ****. Spying and twisting ministry, more like. Glad you got out and got some good support to ease the transition. It's greatly needed. All we can do for current innies or recent escapees is to hold out our hands so that they can take their first staggering steps to freedom.

So what's this on "epiluo"? Oak, can you PM me or attach something?

The umbrella in this case being closely related to a bag full of holes.Haggai 1:6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

It seemed entirely appropriate, don't you think?

"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." You ... you stay off the internet. Dangerous stuff out there (might blow a hole in our cover). But we ... we have to get on the Internet. To see what's going on and thereby protect the household. Looks like they don't even recognize the double standard. THW, what an insane story of how they tracked you down and confronted you. Great response from you! Insane to think that people would stay off the net when in fact many were already used to using it a great deal in their work / professional life to find out information. TWI must have had some wonderful ideas about "obedience" to think that issuing a demand like "stay off the internet" would be other than an invitation to use the net find out. Or perhaps it was a cunning ploy by M@gnelli to make sure that the information got out, that he knew he wasn't allowed to say? Livinlarge: stay safe. Thanks for your input. Remind me again how I got tied up with this mad bunch. No - don't!

From the "Soup to Nuts" thread started by Socks to discuss R1co M@gnelli's stint as PR consultant for TWI: