waysider

I'd like to be Under the sea In an Amazing Sea Monkeys garden In the shade.

Hi Patrick I enjoyed a good deal of your post but find I must disagree with you on the issue of believing. The attitude you carry with you, be it negative or positive, has a very real effect on your physical and mental health. This has been proven in a multitude of controlled studies. Likewise, taking affirmative steps to achieving a goal can bring about positive results. Simply "believing" something into or out of existence, however, is not a realistic or healthy approach to life. Unless your thoughts cause you to act in some outward and tangible fashion, they will have no effect on what comes to pass. You can't literally move a mountain by simply "believing" it will move. You can, however, cause it to move by a conscious effort to employ explosives and excavating equipment to facilitate the result. That conscious effort may require that you retain a positive outlook so as not to be deferred from your goal. Too often, people have used this magic believing idea to try to accomplish that which is best accomplished through a concerted and deliberate action (or accepted as being unrealistic.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- But back to topic Death is merely one part of the cycle of life just as birth is one part and childhood is one part and adulthood is one part. Unlike childhood, adolescence and adulthood, though, it harbors an aura of uncertainty that can't be explained by those who have experienced it. Thus, blaming" the devil "gives us a tangible and perhaps necessary focal point to reference our thoughts. I could be wrong, That's just my take on it.

Hi Seth I found it fascinating. Kinda makes me wish I could be around at the start of the new age in 2150 to see "what's next?" Not likely, though. Does it make you wonder why there is such a parallel similarity to all these accounts? It does for me. Surely it must go beyond the coincidental observance of lights in the sky. I think there may be a brief, immediate, parallel and basic explanation observed in comparing it to the music of our generation. ie:The same human concepts presented in music of the 1940s or 1950s continue to be explored in the music of today though the musical forms are miles apart. There must be some profound reason for the similarities. I wouldn't even begin to venture a guess what those reasons are. How can I find this site without going through GSC? I would like to show it to someone at work without bringing them to GSC.

Hmmmmmmm Has a "50s" kinda ring to it. Sounds remotely familiar. I'll have to kick it around in my head for a while.

Dooj My first memory is amazingly similar to yours. When I was about 3, I "woke up" at the back screen door and saw my mother hanging clothes on the line. It was like someone flipped a switch and the lights came on. I can still see that moment in my mind like it was this morning. I have memories of all sorts from that point on but nothing before that. I don't know how to explain the sensation that came over me at that moment. It was kinda like when you fall asleep on a bus or park bench and suddenly wake up with total awareness of your surroundings. That's not real close to the sensation but it's the best description I can muster. I remember very minute details of things that have happened to me, not just as a child. I can remember casual conversations I had 40-45 years ago, including things that were said and what people were wearing. It's a bit weird, actually, and sometimes I wonder if the people in those memories have the same recollection of those events. I can still remember my first day at kindergarten(I was only 4) and how, when my mother came to "collect" me, I felt so sad that I had to go home. This is an interesting subject. I think I've heard it discussed before but I can't remember where or when.

Hi,WG I posted once on a teaching that G. W!negarner did that explained predestination. I have no idea whether or not it was academically accurate but it spoke to me in a very loud and clear way. I'll have to see if I can find that post. If not, I'll try to restate it.But for now, here's a brief glimpse. ------------------------------------- Long and short of it is, seeing something and causing something are two distinctly different things. If you look down the street and see a car about to hit a light pole, it's not at all the same as causing the car to hit the light pole.And, having the option of stopping it is out of the question. Re: the cancer thing. I don't buy it. Sure God saw it in his foreknowledge, but cause it? NOPE. can't buy it. God can teach you all kinds of great truths without causing you to suffer in the process.

John, with all due respect. Picture yourself, if you will, being awakened out of a dead sleep at 3 AM, in the middle of Podunk, USA, with almost no money and being informed that you are a total disgrace to God and you must immediately vacate the state you are in if you have any expectation of even remaining inside God's hedge of protection. Failure to do so could not only result in your falling from God's favor, it could result in your death. Would you still have those warm, fuzzy feelings or do you think you would feel like the world is crashing in around you? I saw this happen to my FLO brothers. Two of them lived in the same "house" as me. It almost happened to me as well, later on, but I had a "cute" wife who unwittingly bought me a reprieve. I'm thankful you never saw this stuff but it really did happen.

Good advice. NY? Nice to see you. Nero-----------You sound like a "kid" that any parent should be VERY proud of. (When you start getting old, everybody's a "kid".) They need your love and support right now, not a bunch of doctrinal razzle dazzle, mumbo-jumbo. Just continue to do whatever you can to help them with what needs to happen at the physical level, and deal with the doctrinal, addiction stuff after things settle down. Who knows? Maybe that stuff will resolve itself anyway. Just my 2cents.

Freebie----Freebie----Freebie!!!! Who'll post the next one? How about you, Strange One?

I'm sittin' here with my grandson Cletus(that's his name), Cleophus(he's the ornery one) and Clara Belle(that's short for Helen). When they saw this, the three of them, in unison, exclaimed, "AWESOME!!" For once, I totally agreed with all three of them. Life is one big, exciting adventure.

Hmmmm! "A spirit of Wierwille type BS" I think he may have skipped that one in the Advanced Class.

Okay, again I'm off topic. I remember VP smuggly criticizing denominational Christianity for using "five senses" criteria in determining where to send missionaries. He flat out stated that he just asked God where to send them and God told him. He made a big deal out of it. The guy was either delusional or one dang good con-man.( probably both.) The same hype surrounded ordinations. We were always led to believe that an ordination signified a genuine gift ministry. When someone got ordained, people would speculate on which gift ministry/ies the person had. I think there must have been some who actually did, but that's not really the point, now is it?

Hmmmmm. I'm with you on quite a bit of that, actually. 1. "Believing" is a crock---------check 2. "We must tithe" is a crock----check 3."It's your own fault 'cause you didn't blah, blah, blah" is a crock---------check Bad stuff happens because sometimes bad stuff just happens------check Here's where it gets sticky. I can't even count how many times I've heard the following section of scripture used to show that God does not tempt us.(also translated "try" us) --------------------------------------------- James 1:12-17 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to him that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted neither tempteth he any man.: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. ------------------------------------------------------- Then, of course, you have the stuff about God being light (and no darkness) and "God is love" and the God tests us theory seems a bit thin. But, I could be wrong about what these scriptures mean. Back to topic The guy seems Waaaaaaay too obsessed with elevating Wierwille to a super hero level for me to even want to try to give him a "listen". Just my opinion.

On your mark.Get set.------------------Post!------------------------

Scout Most reputable places are more than happy to offer that service to you regardless of the model. I have no idea what you should expect to pay in terms of a fee. For most places, it's kind of a "foot in the door" opportunity. They get to show you they are competent and develop a business relationship for the future when you need to buy strings and picks and widgets and gizmoes. And, it's a good way to see if they might offer lessons at your level. My nephew is a guitar instructor in the Cleveland area. He actually has a waiting list of people who want to enter at the beginner's level so you may encounter that if the teacher is very good. Good luck to you. I hope you have a rewarding experience.

I never really thought of it like that, Twinky. Dunno why. Just didn't. One person I sponsored(a very small amount) is still in and holds a "leadership" position. Another is in a splinter group and holds a "leadership" position there. Thinking about that is probably worse than the other way around. lol! In Fellow Laborers, we were "self-sponsored". We had to ABS, sponsor a corps member, and work for them for free on top of that. But there was always a lurking feeling that if you left the program you would be letting down the believers in your hometown who were counting on you to come back with spiritual enlightenment when you graduated. I guess you could think of them as the FLO counterpart of a "spiritual partner". In my case, that feeling was compounded because my family was "in the Word" also. I can't remember any who quit the program,though I'm sure there must have been some. People left FLO because they got "tossed" out, usually in the middle of the night. We were never, ever given a reason. I myself came close one time for something completely asinine.(on their part, not mine) We were instructed to never discuss them and carry on as if they never existed. In other words, "Just get over it!." Maybe that's part of why this "Get over it!" stuff rubs me the wrong way. It didn't help anyone one iota to ignore the contributions these people who were excused made to the program. I think leadership knew we had these feelings about our commitments and used that knowledge to make us feel guilty. (and thus controlled us.)

Hi, Scout Here's a link to a company that produces very good quality self-instructional materials. They use a complexity rating of 1-5 to help you find what is best suited for your purpose. http://www.homespuntapes.com/welcome/default.asp

Euripedes, who died in 406 BC, said: "The tongue is mightier than the blade." "Many wearing rapiers are afraid of goosequills." Spoken by Rosencrantz in Hamlet (Aprox. 1600) "From this it is clear how much more cruel the pen may be than the sword." From The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton (1621) "Go on doing with your pen what in other times was done with the sword." Written by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Thomas Paine (1796) "Beneath the rule of men entirely great, THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD." From ActII of Richelieu (1839) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton Yes, Wierwille is dead and can't "hurt" anyone personally, but the ideas he promoted live on in his written works and are rooted in the recesses of our psyches. That's why it is vital that , although we should learn to deal with the damages in our daily lives, it is important we never fool ourselves into thinking these things did not happen or that they can't happen again to us or to others. IMO edited to note that I gleaned these quotes from "trivia-library.com"

It's much too groovy a summer's day To waste runnin' 'round in the city But here on the sand I can dream away Or look at the girls if they're pretty -------------------------------------- Nothin' on my mind -------------------------------------- And I dig it!

I tried to get a password for their site but apparently "genuflect" was already taken.

One of the lucky ones who got away!

Your Long Journey----written by Doc and Rosa Lee Watson From the Raising Sand CD by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Yeah, I know, an unlikely combination. (but it works) Powerfully haunting. I can't stop listening to it! Did I mention it's powerfully haunting?

Is that a number, a letter or a geometric form?

I have NEVER seen this. Therefore---------- It has NEVER happened. I think you are all just being negative and trying to drag down the hospitality industry, which we all should know by now, was inspired by direct revelation from Gawd!! That's from session #1 of Power For Abundant Traveling. Hotels 6:1 "And the Lord said, 'Let there be Hotels!'" And the hotels prospered and multiplied. I think it's about time you all stop bashing this noble industry and GET OVER IT!!!!