VeganXTC

Thanks Linda, that's great! I'm marking my calender now.

I haven't seen it, but I would love to. I didn't see it for sale in their store, and it isn't listed on Netflix. Maybe its only for large groups?

Sudo you have way cooler friends than I do. I don't think I've ever gotten Halloween e-mail!

We use to have a computer in our bedroom, and instead of turning it off, we would just keep it on suspend. The first Halloween with the computer, I found this great screensaver, complete with sounds of the dark, like screaming banshees, moans and groans and cackles, and rattling chains. I think there might have even been a howling wolf. It was awesome! I had to change it that very night though. A truck must have rumbled by during the night, and the vibrations caused the computer to wake up, and the screensaver caused Drty Dzn to wake up. He's not much for screaming banshees at 2am.

I get an e-magazine, called "Peaceable Table" which is written for "Quakers and Other People of Faith. " Last months issue contained an article that I feel might add to the topic. The complete article can be found here: http://www.vegetarianfriends.net/issue24.html

The Inner Home

The most important refuge we can find, the indispensible source of life and of the universal compassion we are called to incarnate, must be within. A psalm attributed to Moses, who was born in exile and never set foot in the promised land, begins with the line "Lord, you have been our home throughout all generations" (Ps. 90:1). Still another psalm, perhaps by an exile who had once thought God dwelt only in one locality, celebrates a God who is found wherever she or he may set foot: ""If I ascend to heaven, thou art there; / If I make my bed in Sheol, lo, thou art there!" (Ps. 139:8). We can only live with grace in exile, and faithfully fulfil our prophetic calling, by turning daily, even hourly, to this inner Home, this Beloved. It is after all this Source of Love who has called and inspired us to speak and enact Her/His love and liberation for all: for these, the least of all our brothers and sisters, and for the recalcitrant who still insist on killing and eating them.

—Gracia Fay Ellwood

I've never been on a retreat, so forgive me. Do I say, have fun? Learn lots? Whatever, I do wish you well.

Tell us every detail of your day of gem mining! (I think I'm more excited than you are!)

Happy Birthday!

WOW! That's amazing! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!

Watered Garden, I am so sorry that you and your mother had to go through that experience. I have worked with CNAs, the helpers or aides, like you have described. They make everyone's job so much harder. Thankfully, where I work, if people like that are hired, they are fired very quickly.

I don't work in the business office of the nursing home, so I don't know all the laws concerning the running of a nursing home. And even if I did, laws are different from state to state. But I do know in all 50 states, the aides must be certified with their state, which means they had to have received training enough to satisfy their state's requirements. The state also sets the ratio of caregivers to resident. Nursing homes can and do supply more staff, but they must be careful not to provide too much, because the state also regulates how much a resident may be charged.

If a resident is accepted into our facility (acceptance is based on many things, the MOST important being, if we can provide quality of care) and then, for whatever reason, they are not able to make payments, the nursing home must absorb the cost. Medicare and Medicaid have employees whose sole job is to read charts of residents of nursing homes to find catch words which would make payment ineligible. If the resident is private pay, and the money runs out, again, we absorb the cost.

Certain cares, like therapy, are restricted by law. There is a cap on how much medicare and/or medicaid are willing to pay, so therapy stops, whether the resident could benefit or not.

The pay for new hires in my nursing home in the nursing department is: CNA's - 9.30, LPNs- 14.00, RNs-22.00. The McDonald's down the street hires at 10.00. If a CNA works double shifts at time and a half after 8 hours, for 10 days, she or he will make more money on that check than our administrator.

Now, there are many alternatives to nursing homes, which is a good thing. But for the nursing home, it means the residents are people who require the most care, or people who require a very short stay. It also means more empty beds, which is less money for the nursing home.

I think sometimes blame is placed on a nursing home when the situation is out of the facility's hands.

I agree that there is a time for being still, whether you do that by sitting zazen, or praying, or speaking in tongues. But I wonder if there isn't also a time for activity. If you can still hear the voice of God while journeying, like Saul of Tarsus did.

Thank you for sharing this chapter. I found it very interesting.

In order for integrity to be maintained, it must be truthful and whole. But we are very complex beings. My truth now is very different than it was 20 years ago, and I am sure it will be different 20 years in the future. And my truth is very different than everyone elses. Is there any accountability? Or maybe everyone's truth is equally needed?

Um, yeah, a cruise ship is cheaper and a whole lot more fun, but there is no way this could be considered an alternative to a nursing home. Nursing home residents are there because they are no longer able to care for themselves. Many are at the point where they need help with almost everything, including bathing, eating, even going to the bathroom. And the vast majority have many health problems that need medication, therapy, and/or a restricted diet. Then, there are those who are mentally unaware of the situation around them. A $5 tip isn't going to provide the kind of help needed.

Maybe you could compare cruise ships to assisted living complexes, or senior living centers, but not a nursing home.

This is a very interesting site! I never realized how alike Christianity and Zoroastrianism is. I'm learning quite alot.

I remember a very sweet boy with a pure heart teaching our twig about Resurrection Sunday. Except he said Erection Sunday instead, many times, through the whole teaching. While there were some smiles, no one said anything. If he was taken aside afterwards, I don't know. But I was with people who cared about the heart. I can't imagine that happening today.

Hurray for free French Horns! And congradualtions to Annie for passing the middle school choir audition! She's a musical genius, hey?

TWI defies logic. Don't worry about not being able to see the big picture. No one can. If something doesn't work for TWI, the rules change. The whole "new wineskins" and "present day truth" mentality goes on.

For TWI, the fact that it was a branch, or a WOW twig, was enough to link it to HQ. Remember how the twig was supposed to be autonomous? Such a lie! I don't ever remember twigs ever being able to do anything without having to tell the twig area coordinator, or branch coordinator. They, in turn, sent it up the way tree. Then you either got a pat on the head, or a kick in the rear. Perish the thought that you should ask God!

I second what lori said. In chapter 3, entitled Plain Logic, it says that a church that has to raise money by having suppers, parties or selling things aren't tithing. I remember when the VPWWOW Auditorium (what a name!) was being built, people wanted to do things to raise money, and the kabash was put on it pretty quick.

There's all sorts of treasures in this little book. Here it says that a church that is losing membership and spirituality needs to tithe. Maybe if TWI raises its mandatory abundant sharing from 15% to 25% it might become a Godly ministry with hundreds of thousands of people coming to worship? Ha! What a joke.

Burn offering was too but we do not burn sheep at our fellowships

Thank God!

I don't know if you could call it official doctrine, but there was the saying, "Everything gives off something." Put that together with "all nine all the time" and you had pure chaos. People were trying to spiritually discern whether Maggie Muggins' red drapes were godly or devilish. I heard a story where someone was put on probation, and one of the conditions of her being allowed to come back to fellowship was to get rid of her son's X-men comic books. Please.

But even before that, I threw out all my records that weren't "on the word" which were all of them, but TWI music.

The focus stopped being "think about the things that are good, and just and pure." Phillipians 4:8 style. I don't think that was ever the focus in TWI. Instead it was look for the devil spirits in everything and everyone, so you too can become the MOG.

So many people were hurt.

Coolchef, that was hilarious! I sent the link to my kids. They'll love it. Thanks!

Bowtwi, your daughter reminded me of those sentences we had to learn in 5th grade language arts.

Your pretty daughter is scarey.

Your scarey daughter is pretty.

Your daughter is pretty scarey!

Of course the main reason some churches (not necessarily Roman Catholic) today promote large families is to increase membership, and to enjoy the benefits that a larger membership entail. I also believe this is why some churches teach abortion is a sin, but that's a different thread.

That being said, I don't know if I would feel comfortable telling someone how many children they can or cannot have. Drty Dzn went to grade school with someone who now has 15 children, and plans to have more. From my viewpoint, its dangerous to the health of the mother, and children. But which one of these children would I have said shouldn't have been born? To me, telling someone that they cannot have children would be like saying you must have children.

As far as paying to feed and clothe children, well, yes, I feel it is our responsiblity to see that children are taken care of whether we gave birth to them or not. I benefit from a prosperous and educated nation, so it is in my best interests to see that all children are taken care of. I would much rather my taxes go to schools, than to prisons.

Life and Death of a Pumpkin

I am not certain God created satan do you have any record of that? Lucifer was an angel a spirit being with God in the heavens , a very bright star where do you see God created or had anything to do with his being ?

Colossians 1:16-17: "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

This question is what caused me to leave TWI. Why would a God who is all goodness, and loving, and knowing bring Lucifer into being?

JAL said that evil is just disobedience to God. If we choose to believe JAL, the fall becomes pretty simple. Lucifer disobeys God, and becomes a fallen angel. Since God is all knowing, Lucifer being all evil isn't because he cannot do good, but because he chooses not to, and will never choose to do anything but evil.

But that still doesn't answer why it is necessary to have a satanic being in the first place.

We are thinking though, of handing out beef jerky to the trick or treaters this year for a treat. Do a little "God Slaughterin" ya know...

That would be way too gruesome, even for Halloween. Try handing out this instead.

Does anyone remember The Coneheads on SNL? They would hand out beer and eggs on Halloween. I remember they called the eggs chicken embryos, but I forget what they called beer. Does anyone remember?

On twig nights, we would include the fellowship itself as witnessing. Even if there were no new people. We sang lots of songs, and prayed for everything under the sun.

We were sent to a small college town, and spent alot of time in the student union watching tv witnessing. When school was out we went tanning witnessing at the park.

A day off? Ha! I can count on one hand how many days off I got.

Hurray!I so glad Zippie's gaining weight. I bet her puppies are sweet.

I want to come and spend Halloween with all of you!

My neighborhood goes nuts with the Halloween decorating. Some houses are real cute, some are scarey, and some just make you wonder what they were thinking! I don't remember Halloween decorations when I was a kid, except for jack-o-lanterns. I don't know when it got so big. The people across the street put orange lights around their house, like Christmas lights. We put black cat clings in the window, and call it a day. Our house looks so plain during the holidays.

We carved pumpkins when the kids were little, then Drty Dzn would toast the seeds. Mmmmmmm!! Maybe we can get a pumpkin this year.

Oakspear, OMG! There was a man I worked with a few years ago that must have borrowed your cow costume and wore it on Halloween during work. But working with nursing home residents, he had to do alot of bending and he said the utters got in his way. So, HE WORE IT BACKWARDS! LOL! He was told to turn it around or take it off though. The bosses didn't like the placement of the tail.