Kit Sober

In for 20+ years. Out for 19. Still trying to reconcile twi mindset with life in the real world and with regular non-ex-cult folks. The people who have helped me most of all to keep in touch with living and growing closer to people and to the Lord have been usual church people.

Pretty sad to me. Only a very few folks I thought were true blue life long friends. Thanks to facebook and this place and an email group I hear from some, but interestingly, most of the extwi folks I am in touch with now I did not know during the twi years.

On the internet I use my real name, Kit Sober so if anyone wants to contact me they can, and my kitsober@aol.com email address I had since the beginning of computer time, so I know it's not that I am hiding out.

Most insightful thread, this subject has been a concern to me for many years. Would love to understand it.

Fom Huffpost

Sid Caesar and Imogene CocaFILE - In this undated file photo originally provided by NBC, Sid Caesar, left, and Imogene Coca are shown in a scene from "Your Show of Shows." Caesar, whose sketches lit up 1950s television with zany humor, died Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. He was 91. (AP Photo/NBC, File)

• Sid Caesar and Imogene CocaFILE - In this undated file photo originally provided by NBC, Sid Caesar, left, and Imogene Coca are shown in a scene from "Your Show of Shows." Caesar, whose sketches lit up 1950s television with zany humor, died Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. He was 91. (AP Photo/NBC, File)
• Sid Caesar and Carl ReinerA nervy, or perhaps nervous, commuter tries to get through a road block formed by three friends busy chatting in the aisle of a commuter train. Nanette Fabray takes the part of the not quite helpless female. The men are (left to right) Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris. The four, who lampoon typical pests on commuter trains on Caesar's TV program, staged a picture serious on a railroad train shown April 1955. (AP Photo)
• Sid Caesar And Nanette FabrayNanette Fabray, seated at right, gags as railroad commuters Sid Caesar, left, Carl Reiner, top, center, and Howard Morris poke their smokes in her direction while looking over her shoulder to read her newspaper, on "Caesar's Hour," April 27, 1955. (AP Photo)
• Nanette Fabray and Sid CaesarHe should have stood in bed, Nanette Fabray decides as she tries to get over the obstacle of Sid Caesar?s legs, a commuter train in April 1955. Caesar and some of his TV troupe staged their lampooning of typical commuter pests on a train provided for them. (AP Photo)
• Sid CaesarComedian Sid Caesar is shown in New York, March 9, 1956. (AP Photo/Joe Caneva)
• Sid Caesar and Nanette FabrayComedian Sid Caesar visits his partner, Nanette Fabray, at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, Dec. 4, 1955, where she is recovering from a slight concussion after a 75-pound scenery weight struck her during the Sid Caesar show. Miss Fabray plays his wife on the show. (AP Photo/Harry Harris)
• Edward R. Murrow, Nanette Fabray, Sid Caesar and Phil SilversThe 1956 Emmy winners, from left, Edward R. Murrow, Nanette Fabray, Sid Caesar and Phil Silvers, pose with their statuettes at the 9th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Colonial Theatre in New York City, March 16, 1957, the first year the awards show is broadcast in color. Murrow won Best News Commentary; Fabray won Best Continuing Performance by a Comedienne in a Series, "Caesar's Hour"; Caesar won Best Continuing Performance by a Comedian in a Series, "Caesar's Hour"; and Silvers won Best Series, Half Hour or Less, "Phil Silver Show." (AP Photo)
• Sid Caesar and Imogene CocaComedian Sid Caesar and his partner on television, Imogene Coca, touching noses in New York in September of 1957, will return to television in January of 1958. They're scheduled for a regular night-time show on ABC-TV after start of the New Year. Caesar, who says his loss of weight on doctor's recommendation has made his feel better and think sharper, adds, "I'm glad to be coming back with Imogene. She's a small person in size, but she's 10 times big as her size in being a great performer." (AP Photo)
• Sid Caesar and Imogene CocaImogene Coca and Sid Caeser, get together on Sept. 20 1957 at the restaurant " 21 Club" in New York City. They are planning to team up once again for a television show this year. (AP Photo/John Lindsay)
• Sid Caesar and Jane ConnellSid Caesar and Jane Connell appear in a scene from the new comedy program "As Caesar Sees It," Aug. 30, 1962. (AP Photo)
• Sid CaesarComedian Sid Caesar gestures as he is photographed in the backyard of his Beverly Hills, Ca., home on May 11, 1982. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)
• Sid CaesarComedian Sid Caesar is shown on the set of the film "Grease II," in Hollywood, Calif., Dec. 17, 1981. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
• Sid CaesarComedian Sid Caesar is shown in Los Angeles, Aug. 10, 1984. (AP Photo/Colin Crawford)
• Sid CaesarComedian Sid Caesar is shown during an interview with AP's Jerry Buck, 1985. (AP Photo/Lacy Atkins)
• Sid Caesar and Mare WinninghamComic actor Sid Caesar, left, and actress Mare Winningham are shown in a scene from the TV movie "Love Is Never Silent," 1985. (AP Photo)
• Sid CaesarFILE - This April 15, 1986 file photo shows comedians Milton Berle, left, and Sid Caesar prior to Caesar's roast in Beverly Hills, Calif. Caesar, whose sketches lit up 1950s television with zany humor, died Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. He was 91. (AP Photo/Michael Tweed, File)
• Sid CaesarSid Caesar is shown in dress rehearsal as Frosch the jailer in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City on Dec. 2, 1987. The actor-comedian is making his debut in this non-singing role. (AP Photo/Adam Stoltman)
• Sid CaesarComedian Sid Caesar is made up as Quasimodo in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, May 9, 1989, during the filming of a sketch for an American TV special on the French Revolution Bicentennial. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
• Sid CaesarSid Caesar poses in New York City on Oct 23, 1989. Caesar was born on Sept. 8, 1922 in Yonkers, New York. One of the earlier stars in television, he is noted for his dialects, pantomimes, improvisations and satirical performances as cohost of the weekly live revue "Your Show of Shows," 1950-1954, and later, "Caesar's Hour." He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1985. (AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis)
• Sid Caesar and Imogene CocoActor Sid Caesar, left, shown with actress Imogene Coco on the 40th anniversary of "Your Show of Shows" at Michael's pub for a special finale of "Together Again" April 17, 1990 in New York. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey)
• Sid Caesar and Imogene CocoSid Caesar, left, and Imogene Coco, a legendary comedy team of the 1950's best known for their work on the television program "Your Show of Shows", pose in a Boston hotel Monday, May 11, 1992 near an old photograph of the two of them together. They were announcing the May 13 Boston opening of their comedy show "Together Again". (AP Photo/Sandy Hill)
• Sid Caesar and Milton BerleFILE - This Oct. 25, 1999 file photo shows Milton Berle, left, and Sid Caesar before being honored in as the first inductees into NBC's "Walk of Fame" in the network's Rockefeller Center store in New York. Caesar, whose sketches lit up 1950s television with zany humor, died Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. He was 91. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
• Sid CaesarTelevision pioneer Sid Caesar stands in front of a cardboard cutout from one of his early programs as he waits for ceremonies honoring him as one of the first inductees into NBC's "Walk of Fame" in the network's Rockefeller Center store in New York, Monday morning Oct. 25, 1999. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
• Sid Caesar and Dolores HopeComedian Bob Hope's wife, Dolores, left, greets Hollywood legend and veteran USO performer Sid Caesar before a news conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 15, 2001. During the news conference plans were announced for expansion of the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at Los Angeles International Airport. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
• Sid CaesarHollywood legend and veteran USO performer Sid Caesar, left, chats with U.S. Army Special Security Representative Charyl D. Slevin, center, and Maj. Gen. Peter Gravett before a news conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 15, 2001. The news conference was held to announce the revival of the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at Los Angeles International Airport to provide a "home away from home" for thousands of American servicemen and women being enlisted for the war on terrorism.(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
• Sid CaesarSid Caesar, of "Your Show of Shows," arrives at NBC's 75th anniversary celebration, Sunday, May 5, 2002, at New York's Rockefeller Center. The festivities, which celebrate America's first broadcasting network, will be telecast live from NBC's Studio 8H. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Sid Caesar, the prodigiously talented pioneer of TV comedy who paired with Imogene Coca in sketches that became classics and who inspired a generation of famous writers, died Wednesday. He was 91.

Family spokesman Eddy Friedfeld said Caesar, who also played Coach Calhoun in the 1978 movie "Grease," died at his home in the Los Angeles area after a brief illness.

"He had not been well for a while. He was getting weak," said Friedfeld, who lives in New York and last spoke to Caesar about 10 days ago.

Friedfeld, a friend of Caesar's who wrote the 2003 biography "Caesar's Hour" learned of his death in an early morning call from Caesar's daughter, Karen.

Carl Reiner, who worked as a writer-performer with Caesar on his breakthrough "Your Show of Shows" sketch program, said he had an ability to "connect with an audience and make them roar with laughter."

"Sid Caesar set the template for everybody," Reiner told KNX-AM in Los Angeles. "He was without a doubt, inarguably, the greatest sketch comedian-monologist that television ever produced. He could adlib. He could do anything that was necessary to make an audience laugh."

In his two most important shows, "Your Show of Shows," 1950-54, and "Caesar's Hour," 1954-57, Caesar displayed remarkable skill in pantomime, satire, mimicry, dialect and sketch comedy. And he gathered a stable of young writers who went on to worldwide fame in their own right - including Neil Simon and Woody Allen.

"The one great star that television created and who created television was Sid Caesar," said now-deceased critic Joel Siegel on the TV documentary "Hail Sid Caesar! The Golden Age Of Comedy," which first aired in 2001.

While best known for his TV shows, which have been revived on DVD in recent years, he also had success on Broadway and occasional film appearances, notably in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World."

If the typical funnyman was tubby or short and scrawny, Caesar was tall and powerful, with a clown's loose limbs and rubbery face, and a trademark mole on his left cheek.

But Caesar never went in for clowning or jokes. He wasn't interested. He insisted that the laughs come from the everyday.

"Real life is the true comedy," he said in a 2001 interview with The Associated Press. "Then everybody knows what you're talking about." Caesar brought observational comedy to TV before the term, or such latter-day practitioners as Jerry Seinfeld, were even born.

In one celebrated routine, Caesar impersonated a gumball machine; in another, a baby; in another, a ludicrously overemotional guest on a parody of "This Is Your Life."

He played an unsuspecting moviegoer getting caught between feuding lovers in a theater. He dined at a health food restaurant, where the first course was the bouquet in the vase on the table. He was interviewed as an avant-garde jazz musician who seemed happily high on something.

The son of Jewish immigrants, Caesar was a wizard at spouting melting-pot gibberish that parodied German, Russian, French and other languages. His Professor was the epitome of goofy Germanic scholarship.

Some compared him to Charlie Chaplin for his success at combining humor with touches of pathos.

"As wild an idea as you get, it won't go over unless it has a believable basis to start off with," he told The Associated Press in 1955. "The viewers have to see you basically as a person first, and after that you can go on into left field."

Caesar performed with such talents as Howard Morris and Nanette Fabray, but his most celebrated collaborator was the brilliant Coca, his "Your Show of Shows" co-star.

Coca and Caesar performed skits that satirized the everyday - marital spats, inane advertising, strangers meeting and speaking in clichés, a parody of the Western "Shane" in which the hero was "Strange." They staged a water-logged spoof of the love scene in "From Here to Eternity." "The Hickenloopers" husband-and-wife skits became a staple.

"The chemistry was perfect, that's all," Coca, who died in 2001, once said. "We never went out together; we never see each other socially. But for years we worked together from 10 in the morning to 6 or 7 at night every day of the week. What made it work is that we found the same things funny."

Caesar worked closely with his writing staff as they found inspiration in silent movies, foreign films and the absurdities of `50s postwar prosperity.

Among those who wrote for Caesar: Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Simon and his brother Danny Simon, and Allen, who was providing gags to Caesar and other entertainers while still in his teens.

Carl Reiner, who wrote in addition to performing on the show, based his "Dick Van Dyke Show" - with its fictional TV writers and their temperamental star - on his experiences there. Simon's 1993 "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" and the 1982 movie "My Favorite Year" also were based on the Caesar show.

A 1996 roundtable discussion among Caesar and his writers was turned into a public television special. Said Simon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright: "None of us who've gone on to do other things could have done them without going through this show."

"This was playing for the Yankees; this was playing in Duke Ellington's band," said Gelbart, the creator of TV's "M-A-S-H" and screenwriter of "Tootsie," who died in 2009.

Increasing ratings competition from Lawrence Welk's variety show put "Caesar's Hour" off the air in 1957.

In 1962, Caesar starred on Broadway in the musical "Little Me," written by Simon, and was nominated for a Tony. He played seven different roles, from a comically perfect young man to a tyrannical movie director to a prince of an impoverished European kingdom.

"The fact that, night after night, they are also excruciatingly funny is a tribute to the astonishing talents of their portrayer," Newsweek magazine wrote. "In comedy, Caesar is still the best there is."

His and Coca's classic TV work captured a new audience with the 1973 theatrical compilation film "Ten From Your Show of Shows."

He was one of the galaxy of stars who raced to find buried treasure in the 1963 comic epic "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," and in 1976 he put his pantomime skills to work in Brooks' "Silent Movie."

But he later looked back on those years as painful ones. He said he beat a severe, decades-long barbiturate and alcohol habit in 1978, when he was so low he considered suicide. "I had to come to terms with myself. `Yes or no? Do you want to live or die?'" Deciding that he wanted to live, he recalled, was "the first step on a long journey."

Caesar was born in 1922 in Yonkers, N.Y., the third son of an Austrian-born restaurant owner and his Russian-born wife. His first dream was to become a musician, and he played saxophone in bands in his teens.

But as a youngster waiting tables at his father's luncheonette, he liked to observe as well as serve the diverse clientele, and recognize the humor happening before his eyes.

His talent for comedy was discovered when he was serving in the Coast Guard during World War II and got a part in a Coast Guard musical, "Tars and Spars." He also appeared in the movie version. Wrote famed columnist Hedda Hopper: "I hear the picture's good, with Sid Caesar a four-way threat. He writes, sings, dances and makes with the comedy."

That led to a few other film roles, nightclub engagements, and then his breakthrough hit, a 1948 Broadway revue called "Make Mine Manhattan."

His first TV comedy-variety show, "The Admiral Broadway Revue," premiered in February 1949. But it was off the air by June. Its fatal shortcoming: unimagined popularity. It was selling more Admiral television sets than the company could make, and Admiral, its exclusive sponsor, pulled out.

But everyone was ready for Caesar's subsequent efforts. "Your Show of Shows," which debuted in February 1950, and "Caesar's Hour" three years later reached as many as 60 million viewers weekly and earned its star $1 million annually at a time when $5, he later noted, bought a steak dinner for two.

When "Caesar's Hour" left the air in 1957, Caesar was only 34. But the unforgiving cycle of weekly television had taken a toll: His reliance on booze and pills for sleep every night so he could wake up and create more comedy.

It took decades for him to hit bottom. In 1977, he was onstage in Regina, Canada, doing Simon's "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers" when, suddenly, his mind went blank. He walked off stage, checked into a hospital and went cold turkey. Recovery had begun, with the help of wife Florence Caesar, who would be by his side for more than 60 years and helped him weather his demons.

Those demons included remorse about the flared-out superstardom of his youth - and how the pressures nearly killed him. But over time he learned to view his life philosophically.

"You think just because something good happens, THEN something bad has got to happen? Not necessarily," he said with a smile in 2003, pleased to share his hard-won wisdom: "Two good things have happened in a row."

Shirley Temple to me was an honest Christian who lived her life with integrity. I loved watching her and am so glad I was able to hear when I did so.

Many thanks for the kindness she brought into the world.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/02/11/former-hollywood-child-star-shirley-temple-dies-at-85/

Story here A tribute to a man who surely "made a difference" for God's people: From Messiasmandate.org

In the fall of 2000, then leader of the opposition, Ariel Sharon took an extraordinary walk that changed his destiny. Sharon, even as a powerful politician, was considered a has-been. In fact, if Benjamin Netanyahu had not taken a brief respite from politics, he would not have been in that position.

The King of Israel

In the late 60s and 70s, he was nicknamed The King of Israel and The Lion of God for his extraordinary leadership in the Six Day War (67) and the Yom Kippur War (73). At the time, he was considered the greatest field commander in Israel's history.

Israeli Major General in the reserves Ariel Sharon ®, his head bandaged after an injury, stands with Moshe Dayan (L) on the western side of the Suez Canal in this October 1973 file photo released by Israels Defence Ministry. —Reuters

However, over time his reputation would take a hit. He failed to prevent massacres by Lebanese militias against Palestinians in Lebanon in 1982. He also led a harsh retaliatory raid against the Jordanian village of Qibiya in the 50s after an Israeli woman and her two children were murdered by Arab infliltrators.

Known also as The Bulldozer, he was fearless and at times ruthless when it came to stamping out terror. "Sharon had a reputation for pushing the license and limits of his orders to the maximum." (TimesofIsrael) Once making a decision, he never second-guessed himself—something his soldiers deeply admired.

He was a champion of the Settlers, those who believe in building Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). "Sharon doubled the number of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during his tenure." (Wikipedia)

In 2000, at 72 and grossly overweight, few Israelis expected Sharon to reinvent himself and become the 'grandfather' of Israel. Against all odds, he became the Prime Minister for the next five years, and was set to win four more years when he suffered a stroke that would take his life. Even in death he was defiant—fighting for eight years before finally giving in this past Shabbat.

The Temple Mount

What was the moment that changed his legacy? A walk that Ariel Sharon took on the mount of the ancient Jewish Temple. In July of that year, President Bill Clinton was desperate to see an agreement reached between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He put tremendous pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to make concessions no Israeli Prime Minister had ever made. He offered East Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital and custodianship over the Temple Mount—the most significant Jewish holy site.

Arafat rejected this generous offer and returned home to a hero's welcome, ready to start the second intifada (uprising) against Israel. I have long maintained that Arafat had no intentions of peace. Leading a popular rebel army is far easier than governing a nation.

Barak, on the other hand, returned home battered and bruised for making so many concessions—most notably, regarding Jerusalem. Sharon, leader of the opposition, said in a TV interview:

"One man, the Prime Minister, without discussing the issue with the inner cabinet, without bringing it to the government, without bringing it to the Knesset, without asking anyone of the Jewish leaders around the world, decided to hand over the holiest place of the Jewish people. That is something that no one can understand."

To demonstrate that Israel would never relinquish control over the Old City of Jerusalem, Sharon said he would take a walk on the Temple Mount. To be sure, the Temple Mount is the most disputed little piece of real estate in the world! This infuriated Arafat. Despite the fact that Sharon had walked there many times before and Israelis have been able to stroll on the Temple Mount for decades—this time was different—it was defiant. It was a message to Arafat that Jerusalem would never be divided.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

The Bulldozer made his point and Arafat started a war. Suicide bombers were dispatched. Israel defended herself vigorously. The world blamed Sharon for provoking the uprising, but there is ample proof that Arafat was planning war all along—he was just looking for the right moment. Israelis did not blame Sharon. Barak was disgraced and Sharon was elected Prime Minister in early 2001.

Between 2000 and 2005, in response to "hundreds of Palestinian suicide bombings and terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, [which] killed nearly 1,000 innocent people and wounded thousands of others" (Jewishvirtuallibrary.org), Sharon built Israel's Security Fence. The Security Fence stopped the second Intifada in its tracks. The number of suicide bombers decreased by more than 90 percent!

Over the next several years, Israelis from the right and the left, to their great surprise, came to love Sharon. They discovered a gentler, more caring Ariel than the Bulldozer's nickname would have led one to imagine. They felt protected by him.

Gaza Disengagement

In 2005 Sharon was all set to win another four years as Israel's premier—this time as leader of the new centrist party, Kadima. He had left the historic Likud party over a major rift. He wanted to get out of Gaza. Most Israelis, including me, felt that the resources used to protect less than 10,000 Israelis amongst well over 1,000,000 Arabs were not worth it. We were tired of seeing Israeli soldiers killed in this no-man's-land.

Sharon, against everything he stood for before, embraced the hitnatkut—the disengagement. During that time, there was not one Israeli who did not hear the word—hitnatkut—daily. Orange ribbons everywhere symbolized resistance. But the Bulldozer would not give in.

We were all duped. After forcibly removing 8,000 Jews from Gaza, it became clear it was a mistake. Within a short time, the terrorist group Hamas was voted into power in Gaza. The Palestinian leadership and Hamas interpreted Israel's act of peace as weakness. Gaza is far worse off now, than before. Over 10,000 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza since Israel offered them an olive branch.

We emboldened the terrorists. Many believe that in his next term, Sharon was determined to evacuate large portions of the West Bank as well… we will never know. Before the elections took place, he suffered a powerful stroke that left him in coma—until yesterday.

Most westerners, as evidenced by comments I saw on Facebook, know only one thing about Ariel Sharon—that he was the Prime Minister who evacuated Gaza. They know nothing about the General who took the Sinai desert in mere days, about the strategist who protected Israel from destruction in the 73 Yom Kippur war, and they barely remember the man who took a bold, controversial walk to remember in late September 2000—a walk that thrust him into the Prime Minister's office.

Photo Credit NATI SHOHAT — Flash90/MCT

Precious people with stuff to say worth listening to.

Able to speak what's on my mind and have an opinion.

Good coffee.

So thankful for hopeful news. Praying for you upon every remembrance. :)

Thanks. Appreciate your kindness.

I received a syllabus from a friend. And was looking through it for some Jesus Christ references. It amazed me how little there was about Jesus Christ. Pathetic i bought into it for so long.

It's all too far over my head.

(Said the miner, whilst contemplating his freedom)

It reminds me of

song.

What wayside said, except I can't hear the song.

Congratulations :) When my sister did 5 years it was nice, but I am now always careful to pray for her, where before I kinda took her for granted.

Cr@i!g M@rtin$ale kicked me out. So I am really grateful. I probably woulda stayed on and on.

As Bible and Jesus Christ person:

-- My works will not amount to a hill of beans, ever, no matter what. (Even Jesus said, "without the Father I am nothing." John 5:19).

-- Jesus Christ was never startled or marveled at wickedness. The only marvel he did was at the Centurion's faith. Faith is a marvelous thing. And everything in the world conspires against it.

-- Wickedness is a given in the world. Marvel not that the world hates you. I believe that hatred includes what is within the natural man, and is what psychologists try to pin down as self-destruction or self-hatred. Because Jesus specifically identified that the world, which is temporarily controlled by the adversary, hates us. That hatred is within us, and the only freedom from that hatred is by the renewal of the Lord Jesus and being born again.

-- Met Steve Hill, the evangelist who preached the Brownsville Revival (1990s, Pensacola Florida), through watching videos and reading his books. He wrote in White Cane Religion:

The beautiful thing about God is that He can change a pig into a gentle lamb! He also transforms barking, yelping, and whining dogs into gentle lambs. As soon as the Holy Ghost begins to move, things begin to change. Old things become new right in front of your eyes. Before you know it, the dog begging for flesh as disappeared and a lamb seeking the pearls of God appears.

-- We indeed are wicked beyond imagination without the Lord replacing our heart of stone for a heart of flesh. He did it for me. I know He can do it for anyone.

Jill has had so much troubles. Today I received an urgent request for prayer for her.

Please keep Jill in your prayers. She needs to have the electric on her well fixed (running continuously and producing outrageously high electric bill) and also her phone (which isn't working at all). Jill is in the process of getting evicted and she hasn't been able to find alternative housing. If she gets served with papers during the holiday (when it is difficult to get in touch with her lawyer), she needs to be able to get in touch with her attorney, who says he will be able to follow up and stall the eviction. Also Jill hasn't heard from the mother of her grandchildren, who is a precious bright spot in her life. Many thanks for your prayers.

Jill has been so wounded by her son who still retains the twi cult excuse of her failure to adhere to twi doctrines as an excuse for such inhumane treatment that would be unbelievable unless some of us had already lived through such things as "mark and avoid" and other such rough treatments which could only come from a heart that had separated itself from the kindly affection which "normal" (non cult) people naturally have in their family. Much of Jill's financial troubles have come because she has given money to her son who promised to pay her back but then abandoned her and never has not paid her back in any manner (not with help on maintenance of her house or in any other hopeful helpful manner).

I am so thankful to have this place to bring prayer requests, to share the wounds of my heart with such precious people is a treasure of my life. Thanks so much. .

Billy Graham has been doing miraculously. He is in the hospital again, following his birthday in November. Thanks so much for your prayers for him.So very thankful to the Lord Who has been so gracious to give us such an example of a genuine Christian.

"And they are genuine Christians."

How precious is that. Reminds me of Proverbs 27:2, "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips."

I really didn't know anything about the filth at the top when I was in there. I thought it was a ministry from the Lord and I was doing my best to live up to the Word's direction in the context of that bunch. But the delightfulness of enjoying living, living without fear, was not there. I felt that freedom from fear and freedom from recrimination by watching Duck Dynasty and was able to freely laugh. It was just so delightful.

Duck Dynasty seems so clean and truly funny. I only recently watched "I'm dreaming of a redneck Christmas" because it was at Redbox. Laughed so hard. I just found that I could watch them on the AE website. It was just so nice to watch. Laughed, too. And it was funny not making fun of anyone. Just funny. (like, "Have you caught anything?" Not an iota of mean.)

Was so different from the pervasive mean ness of twi's constant insulting others, demeaning others, etc. etc. I could enjoy Duck Dynasty like I couldn't enjoy twi meetings.

In the light of the "short on compassion" it becomes more clear why Holy Spirit kept bringing true charity to my thinking (over and over, different versions, different highlights, but hardly a day went by when I Corinthians 13 wasn't in the forefront of "what do I need to do today" (And Charity still is a lovely girl and I still think about her and try to line up my thoughts with hers always.) This Christmas has brought a precious light to the holidays: How precious it is to come to the Lord as little children.

Little children are able to comprehend the wonder, the majesty, the glorious impossibilities of the Christmas story. I know I am running the risk of presenile dementia, but am trying to focus on the unbelievable awesomeness of God's giving His only begotten Son. And those Christmas carols of the wonder of that silent night are more and more precious.

Thanks for highlighting my error.

I have the 1828 Webster's dictionary to remind me of the life-before-twi definitions. Even for such a simple thing as The Way (Jesus Christ) I need to replay what the Bible says and ignore the rants from that farm in Ohio. It gets easier every day, every year. Thanks also for the support of this place!!!

From CFF:

HUMOR OF THE DAY:

Christmas Riddles

Q. Which of Santa's reindeer has bad manners?

A. Rude-olph!

Q. What's the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet?

A. The Christmas alphabet has NOEL!

Q. What do call Santa when he stops moving?

A. Santa Pause!

Q. Where does a snowman keep his money?

A. In a snow bank.

Q. Why are Christmas trees such bad knitters?

A. They are always dropping their needles.

Q. How much did Santa pay for his sleigh?

A. Nothing, it was on the house!

Q. What is invisible and smells like milk and cookies?

A. Santa's burps!

Q. Who says "Oh, Oh, Oh!"?

A. Santa walking backwards!

Q. What nationality is Santa Claus?

A. North Polish.

Q. What did the Gingerbread Man put on his bed?

A. A cookie sheet!

Q. Why was Santa's helper depressed?

A. He had low ELF-esteem.

Q. What does Santa clean his sleigh with?

A. Comet.

Q. What do you get when you deep fry Santa Claus?

A. Crisp Kringle.

Q. What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire?

A. Frostbite.

Q. How do you know is Santa so good at karate?

A. Because he has a black belt!

Q. What kind of bug hates Christmas?

A. A humbug.

Q. What two countries should the chef use when he's making Christmas dinner?

A. Turkey and Greece.

Q. What do you get when you cross a cat with Santa Claus?

A. Santa-Claws!

Q. What do you get when you eat Christmas decorations?

A. Tinsilitis!

Q. What did Mrs. Claus say to Santa when she looked in the sky?

A. "Looks like rain, dear."

Q. Why are there only snowmen and not snowwomen?

A. Because only men are stupid enough to stand out in the snow without a coat.

Q. How do you know when Santa's in the room?

A. You can sense his presents.

Cheese Straws

Serve these clever little appetizers instead of bread at lunchtime or for supper.

MAKES ABOUT 24 14" STRAWS

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Dust work surface with ¼ cup of the parmigiano-reggiano. Lay unfolded sheet of puff pastry on top of cheese, then sprinkle with ¼ cup more grated cheese. Gently roll dough out with a rolling pin, pressing cheese into dough, to a thickness of about ⅛". Dust with more cheese as needed.

2. Cut pastry into long ½"-wide strips. Give each strip several twists, then lay ½" apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then remove from paper and serve.