Twinky

I would cry quite a lot when I first attended my church too. But I knew what it was. I was just so thankful to God for loving me. A little sad that I hadn't seen it before (when laboring under the condemnation TWI dumped on me) but so thankful that God still loved me and had taken care of my needs. Paul (the vicar) would start preaching (and it was nothing like TWI stuff) - and tears would start pouring from my eyes. In the end I gave up holding back. Tears of joy and thankfulness. The church also runs a Newcomers group to introduce different facets of the church's work and outreach, and the people responsible for various church activities. There is a Q&A session where questions could be written on paper and put in a box (anonymously if desired) and Paul would answer them very thoughtfully and consideredly. I watched most carefully how he handled everything and how he dealt with people and situations. Very gentle, very calm, very quiet, very compassionate. He has been a don [lecturer] at Oxford (or is it Cambridge?) Uni so obviously has HUGE intellectual ability which he NEVER flaunts, and he has such a tender heart. Nonetheless he is still a sold-out trinitarian. Take the best from any church you attend. You don't need to be force-fed or strong-armed into believing or doing anything. Simply allow your heart to be healed.

If God has foreknowledge of all things - where does that leave prayer, intercession? Or are we to say that He knew that we would pray in a certain situation, and that He would then "fix it" from our perspective? What, then, in fact, does prayer change? And yet we are exhorted to pray, to ask for the things that we need (ie, not just prayers of thankfulness).

The raspberries have given up. The gooseberry is thriving but hasn't produced fruit this year (too late in the ground, perhaps). The runner beans are finally thriving and racing up sticks. There must be about 2 doz which are in the race. The cabbages are growing nicely, as are the Brussels sprouts. The caulis are only recently planted and were weedy specimens but 5 are picking up nicely and one...isn't. The peas have had a growth spurt and I put pea sticks in tonight. I have 94 onions from seed which aren't doing much; also 50 leeks from seed, some of which are growing and some of which ... seem slower (can't see down their deep holes). Garlic is sprouting; like the onions and leeks, needs to move faster. The beetroot didn't do anything but the seed was quite old. The salad leaves and the Little Gem lettuce are doing nicely. The radishes came up but I think the slugs got most of 'em. The courgettes are getting a little leafier. The squash has only just gone in but it's the same size the courgettes were so the growth of the latter is evident. The rhubarb is thriving after 2 years dumped in a plastic bag. No picking this year so that it is strong for next year. Sowed a row of chard this week. Experimental. All this jammed into a tiny plot about 10 ft x 15 ft. Slugs (huge long mid-brown ones - shudder, shudder) are a real problem here. However as it's a new plot and my ground prep was thorough, I have disturbed eggs and extraneous foliage so have suffered considerably less damage than expected. Or maybe that's because it's been so very dry here. Need rain!!! 3 tomatoes all different varieties in a very large tub. An aubergine/egg plant still in a pot on the window sill. Capsicums (indoor) deceased. Oh and some little strawberries in the herb garden. Four small ones so far. Very tasty. Basil (2nd lot) now indoors. Coriander (2nd lot) also died off. Thyme and lemon balm and parsley all thriving. Looking forward to getting my teeth round some of this stuff.

Dooj, you have just about doubled your height on those sexy looking shoes. But how the heck do you walk in them?

Too funny!

Hilarious !!!!!!!!

Jane, find another church. You have to feel comfortable there, otherwise no point. You've done the spiritual bullying bit, you don't need to do that again. The right place (for the time being) might not be within the "denomination" you are expecting it to be.

The daughter of Rev W.... Th.... died - she took a drug overdose. W Th had been on staff for years. When the daughter died - W Th was thrown out - because hecouldn't keep spiritual control over his household therefore he was no longer fit to be in charge of a department at HQ. All this was publicly displayed (yelled about) the next Corps Night. Including in the yell-fest: if anyone dared to contact them to offer condolences, obviously they also were infected with DS. They were colluding with him and endorsing his inability to manage his household. They also would be banished from HQ if they contacted him. I think W TH was banished to attend (not run) a twig in some remote outpost. Never heard of him again. Compassion? I think not. Thanks, LCM. Thinking about it now, many years after the event - I wonder why the girl felt the need to take drugs. Was it just teen experimentation? Could it have been to cover the misery of being a staff member's child? Maybe she was raised "in the Way." Or even ... (having read the sexual abuse stories) - whether that might have played a part... but that's pure speculation in light of hindsight.

This thread seems to have turned into a disease forum rather than a food hygiene/safety one. Coming back to food hygiene, try this book: "Not on the Label" by Felicity Lawrence (ISBN: 0-141-01566-7). She is a consumer affairs correspondent for a major reputable newspaper and as an undercover reporter got jobs in various food prep businesses. And other places. It also talks about the cost to others - the conditions the worker-gangs have to endure just so that cheap products are available in the shops.

Shell tanker drivers just finished a four day strike. Some fuel stations ran out of fuel - mostly because people filled up in case they couldn't get fuel later during the weekend. One enterprising fuel station started selling petrol at nearly £2/litre which is shockingly excessive. After some public humiliation he reduced the price to £1.50 and still had people lining up. (Basic price at the time was £1.18/litre). Strike is now over, tanker drivers got a pay increase, petrol has gone up by a penny. Friend had to fill up on the motorway (freeway) today and paid £1.37/litre. Price locally is now around £1.19/litre.

Happy birthday, Dooj. Hope it's a good one. Show us the shoes then...

£1.18 (that's about US$2.40) - for a litre - that's about 1/4 gallon. Of which, a little over 50% is taxes of various kinds. Very useful, having a pedal cycle... ...though not very practical in Texas or Alaska.

missed the day, but hope you had a good one.

After I got chucked out I was under major condemnation. LCM had managed to cut the Book from us ("It has nothing to say but reproof to those who walk away!" - don't forget to add the yelling and spit flying out of his mouth) and after 4 years of in-rez and WC training, reproof was something that I'd had in sackfuls (once even for just being happy). I couldn't handle reading the Bible at all for a long time. Actually I couldn't handle life at all - but that's another story. I try to LIVE what I know - not read about it all the time [and then do something different, TWI-style]. I don't NEED any more words to read - I need to know how to APPLY the words that I've already read. So I ponder the paths of my feet and take it easy with myself. Then when I am unsure or realize I don't quite remember it all about some particular thing, then I read the book more. I go to an Anglican church which is very laid-back, no conventional liturgy. The first few months I went, tears poured down my face at every sermon. I was so happy to be "home" in a place where there were other Christians. Their beliefs/views often conflict with my TWI taught/influenced beliefs and now I enjoy reading and some study to see how their views might have been formed and whether and where I need to change my own. And the pleasure of just reading OT adventures or whatever is returning. I never went to twig for the social aspect. But church has a social aspect and some of them are so unlearned about the Bible it's painful. I echo Polar Bear's statement above.

This seems to be very focussed on TWI's idea of SIT but don't forget that there are a lot of other people out there in churches (esp Pentecostal) who also SIT (or claim to). They believe they are speaking in an unknown language and do it privately because they also believe it has benefits ("quickest way to pray and get results", according to one woman in a car I was travelling in recently). The interpretation of tongues is the TWI specialty. Other churches do it differently. Agreed the KJV interpretations were a little weird and generally it was all very repetitive. However, I have heard some people give interpretation (one guy in particular) and the message is always so fresh and interesting in the choice of language that you want to listen. Ah yes... just thank you, just... Never heard this word used so many times as in some believers' prayers. Never speak like that in "real life."

Interested in a different way now. Or perhaps it was that TWI derailed my interest. I try to read it for pleasure, interest, understanding and application. I specifically try to avoid reading it to understand the Greek/Hebrew/other words. Rarely read KJV (too many connotations) but I miss the notes in the Companion Bible. Now I read a variety of other versions, some of which are wild (The Message), some of which are bland (NIV) and occasionally some which are questionable (NLT) However, the pre-WC days when I would spend a morning lounging in the sun engrossed in some OT book (just for pleasure) seem to have vanished.

...Alienated all my family and my friends... Yes, some are still friends, wonderful people, and I've made it up with the family, well, most of 'em. Oh wait, you CAN believe I did that, y'all did too.

Oh well that's you gone for the next couple of days while you read it...

Well, he did call himself "The Teacher". He was just teaching more than we all realized when we first took PFAL. Naturally he would want to promote ("ordain") those who followed him and his teachings most closely. And who helped him to enjoy the bright future he envisaged. ...Could it be that some others were ordained simply as "cover" for the ones who followed his practices most closely? (PS - A bit tongue in cheek that; there were some great folks who were ordained.)

W's family are from another country and their native language is not English. W's mother is/was a Pentecostal believer. W's father did not believe. W's father became seriously ill. Appropriate treatment was not available. W's mother had told W's father on many occasions he could be healed (by God). The father denied this, did not believe. One day, W's mother went to church, came home, same routine. Father by this time getting very ill. He walked off. W's mother called to him in English, a language she did not know but he did, telling him he could be healed if only he would trust God. Father snapped round, demanded a repeat, got it, so astonished that he instantly changed his mind, accepted that healing was available. W's mother had no idea what she had said. W's father is (I think) still alive today. W told me this. I consider W to be an honest and reliable witness, loves God. Some time later the family got to hear about TWI.

My understanding is that Muslims are required also to give 10% of their income away. Not necessarily to the mosque but give it away to those in need. Muslims don't even figure in this breakdown. "Christians vs atheists" is so much putting people in boxes. It's a false distinction.

Yeah, Bramble, LCM did say that. Maybe VP did as well, but I have heard LCM say it. Oakspear - too much! I guess if you had arranged the books by size that would have been wrong too, shoulda been by category. How rude of the BC to stamp all over your fine Christian courtesy in cooking a meal. Good you put him in the garbage can with the scraps .

It's a nice picture, painted around the time my cottage was built except that my cottage is far too small for something of that size! A smaller print would be nice here. The glow of the lanterns is warming and hopeful. The little girl's face (the one facing the viewer) is sweet. I like it more as I look at it more often. Would the full size version be a little overpowering? Not sure if I would give it house room as it doesn't appeal particularly to any emotional area. It's just nice to look at. My house is filled with things that people have given me/old family pieces. They have an emotional investment. (PS I have a rose just that color pink in the garden, too)

So go vote, Excie.

Jim, did you see Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" yet?