jardinero

SOCKS!!!! GASP!!!!! DON'T LOOK!!!!! J.

Reminder. J.

Dear, dear Coup ~ Happy 50!!!!!! Enjoy your dinner and live it up! It only gets better from here. Thinking of you on your special day! J.

Well said, Zix. Nice to see you back in these parts! J.

You're welcome, T. I'm home now and exhausted, but well. Saw Mr. T in chat. Miss you! J.

Just bumping this up so you have time to see Part I and plan for Part II J.

Hiya John ~ I wondered where the heck you were! Glad you and wifey and dauther got to have some time and so nice to hear you are doing well, darlin! Come chat with us when you have time! J. xoxoxo

Hello all. I've been traveling, so don't know if this is covered elsewhere, so excuse me and someone link to it if it is already posted and discussed, but wanted to give another South Park plug for Part II of the Cartoon Wars episode coming this coming Wednesday at 10pm. If you have been in a cave for the past number of months and have missed the MSM's unprecedented political correctness in covering the Danish Mohammed cartoons and resulting Islamic world reaction - - no worries, as our friends at South Park take the free world "ostriches" on! Here's a recap from one of my favorite news blogs: South Park Takes on Islamists (from Captains Quarters blog) and a plug for Comedy Central (drum roll please....how far will they let Matt and Trey go in their 1st amendment skewering?????? Stay tuned): Cartoon Central scheduling And from the up and coming blog of The Anchoress, this gem: Don't miss it. J.

Hi Glad to hear all 3 of you (and yours) are all O.K. These storms can be scarey fur sure. So sad it hit so many folks in TN and elsewhere. J.

Thanks, MIT. I grew up on a street with cherry trees that lined the street, so in the spring when they would bloom I would rush over to cut a twig of blossoms. I loved the smell and sight of them. J.

Hi Sus! Happiest of birthdays to you. Hope T and the gang treat you like a queen - - you deserve it! J.

Hey, whatever it takes J.

Hi Shell ~ I'm very happy for you. I hope you and K find a wonderful place that's "just you", feels homey, comfortable and works out great for her school, etc. How exciting! Keep me posted. J.

Woo hoo! Another convert! Didja vote yet, CW????? Belle, slap some goodies on this girl! J.

Belle????? Hello????? Is this thing on???? Oh! She must be baking! Free beer (from Rhino) and (as soon as the goodies come out of the oven) wonderful Southern delicacies in Live Chat. (Ex 10 is first in line!). Darn! Where are Sharon's cookies when you need them????? O.K. Besides geeky, artsy folks like Garth who predictably would like Flash ( ), the rest of you just be patient while Live Chat loads (bathroom break or something), then you can type as fast as you want and keep up with all the chatter - - cuz LIVE CHAT ROCKS!!!!! LIVE CHAT ROCKS! VOTE LIVE CHAT!!!!! J.

Quick Southern "Belle" - - Whip out your menu of southern delicacies, cookies, pastries, etc. Ex10 can be bribed - - woo hoo!!!!! Live Chat, here we come! J.

A convert! :) Keep 'em coming, folks - - there's still time to vote. * LIVE CHAT: try it, you'll like it!!!!!! *paid for by the "Vote Live Chat" committee of Belle and Jardinero

Well, besides some great logic that warrants re-reading from Mr. Heller (nice to see you stop in for spring break ), Goey and Jerry above, I didn't want this gem in Jerry's post to get lost in a long post: So, yes, morals, lifestyle, motive, character would ALL have to play a part in that. I would suggest that people, like Johniam, who say we believe that VPW was a man of god who happened to sin in his flesh as opposed to a sexual predator who happened to have a bible ministry..." - - have other things motivating them to so desperately want to defend this man when there is such a body of evidence which, IMHO, can no longer be dismissed.J.

(a secret "woo hoo!")

Good question, Rejoice. For many of us who have checked them out at various times after leaving twi, they were stopping points to help us leave the twi mindset while we still had the opinion that twi/piffle had the corner on truth. Unfortunately, if you hang around many of the offshoots very long, the same types of dysfunction become apparent very quickly. For example: - Those in the Geer groups ("licensed" to run the "Walking in God's Power" series, et al) - - IMO, still have the Wierwille worship running deep in their mindset. So it's a "don't ask, don't tell" - - there's a big elephant in the room (VP's story as reported all over the Internet) - - but don't you dare speak ill of the idol. - Also, parallel to that with many of those Geer groups (I am acquainted with 5 who are pretty heavy hitters in his group), is that we will all speak "the same" belief. So, don't ask any questions, shun any of the former twi leaders/clergy who can think and are questioning past research and don't necessarly agree with Geer's take on the world, be prepared to be a bit of an outcast if you don't march in step with the groupthink. And God forbid you should think anything other than that CG is the new MOG. (Of course, this is never out right discussed, just practiced.) Central to these groups, in my own observation and in my own discussions with having visited them - - is the "we are right" mindset. We are right in our worship of "the Word" is more like it and there is no room for, acknowledgement of, or respect for the greater Body of Christ that "just doesn't know the word like us." It's "God in a Box" at its best. - There are many independent home-based fellowship types (some solo, some grouped in a local region) led by former twi folks / Corps / "clergy" who don't want to have any part of CG's gang, Hendrick's gang, CFF, Lynn's group, etc. and have various degrees of loyalty to vpw's teachings, Piffle, and/or their own take on the Bible. Great, sincere, wonderful, kind folks who teach and seem to have a great passion for what they do and what they feel God has called them to do. Just don't ever get curious enough to expose their hero, vp, because you most likely will be called on the carpet for "thinking evil" of a brother (and for some, the all important "Father in the Word" role). - Then there are all the former leaders who, "as I see it" (that's my opinion stated here) have varying degrees of that need to be in the spotlight still (and they are in all the groups listed above). They were NOT elected to succeed vpw. In all the chest thumping and turf wars that went on post-POP, many have opted their calling is still to "teach the Word" - - and God bless them for their sincerity. I have observed a couple of troubling patterns with some of these former leaders. 1) some have never worked an honest day in their lives since college (if they attended) or joining the Way Corps way back when, and are obsessed with their work, more so they can maintain the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed (yes, I know there are exceptions). Some of these really know how to play the "tithing" game with the few well-off professionals they have in their groups, stilll live in the homes disporportionately extravegant versus those in their "group", are quite content with their mini-MOGness - - and are still quite focused on "being right" or "the sole (or main) source of truth". And 2) Many of these leaders have yet to "come clean" in my opinion for what they know to be true of the true history of vp, ha, cg, lcm, etc. Their group "partcipants/followers/minions" are made up, in part, of those who participated in a twig way back when twigs were actually somewhat autonomous - - and have no idea the relationship to what was promoted and the what was really going on at HQ and at many of the limb/region leadership levels. It's kind of like someone in a witness protection program who has no past (don't ask/don't tell again) - - just keep teaching "hot bible" and gloss over the rest. Overall, I think that many of us former twi-ites had an idealistic desire to be a part of something wonderful, Godly, bigger than ourselves, something that helped ourselves and other people. I think it would be safe to guess that those who don't know some of the information contained on this board, would still be motivated to participate in an offshoot for the same reason. I don't begrudge any of them their right to choose what they want to do, just offer my opinion/perspective/experience as one who was involved in twi from the earlier days til POP and then DID participate in various of the offshoot groups for a time. And as our dear friend Mark O. would say, YMMV. J.

Happy Birthday, +odd ~ Thank you for the rich and thoughtful perspective you bring to our discussions! Hope you have a wonderful day, my friend. J.

Hello WG ~ Hope your birthday is as lovely as you! J.

From Chas: I would agree, with the exception being that any thread that "the Mike" hijacks, should immediately go to the soap opera section. J.

Oh then, Shell - - THAT was funny! J.