Eyesopen

Hi, I've just been reading along on this thread and up to now have been most intrigued by the interaction between TrustandObey and Oakspear. But I have to say T&A you lost me here. Please elaborate. Thanks :)

Watered Garden - I wish you the happiest of birthdays! May the roads rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, And may God hold you in the hollow of His hand. Rainbow - I see you have mastered the insert... well done and great choice!

I wouldn't mind looking like that myself. :D

(((((((((((((((((((Dot)))))))))))))))))) My heart goes out to you Dot. You have made such a huge sacrifice on the alter of TWI...but perhaps Rainbow has a good idea?? :) God Love you always.

We don't know each other, but that has never stopped me from wishing someone a happy birthday. After all I may get invited to the party! I don't post a lot but I do read a lot. Your posts often give me pause and reason to think a bit deeper. Your insights are wonderfully fresh. Thank you! When Irish eyes are smilin' All the world smiles too So on this day your of your birth I will smile for you. Happy Birthday Kathy, and God Bless you always! :)

That's the rub isn't it? Perhaps that is why so many people followed ole VP, or the Pope. Looking for someone to answer that question. And then many come here...still looking.

Wow, don't know how I missed a birthday greeting. We're both fairly new here so I will dispense with the "welcome" but I will say that I love reading your posts. Happy belated birthday! As the Irish say: May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.

The Irish aren't too particular on who they adopt...as long as they are fun! :D Now if you can if you can drink a lot and still stand or fight well then you can date our women folk; if you can do both...well then we'll bypass the dating and just make you one of the family. :P Lori- I knew about the black Irish part mostly because my Grandmother's hair was black as midnight...so I ask "How come?" The rest of it about the coat of arms took years to figure out. There aren't a lot of dependable records that go back very far in years and there are so many variations of the names, as clan members attempted to hide themselves from persecution. Still trying to find our original tartan. Grandma refused to teach us anything Irish. She always just said "We are American now!" She had no way of knowing how the world would change. :) Fess up...you touched that Blarney stone one too many times didn't you!!!

Out freeking standing!!! Absolutely love it!

Nevada Hookers and Poker and alcohol and meth and nuklear waste and area 51 and scorpions and sagebrush and CSI! (Someday they will say "Nevada" correctly on the show and someday they will stop saying DUI, cause we dont have DUI we have Driving While Intoxicated DWI. And if we're really lucky they will stop showing any city other than Laughlin as being 2 hours from Vegas) OOPPS almost forgot: Home of "RENO 911!!!!" and proud of it!!

I got Inland North. No surprise there. I must have got it from my Michigander parents! I personally was born and raised in Nevada. I would have thought that some western accent had caught on. But I dont buy Pop, I buy Diet Pepsi.

Aint that the truth of the matter!!! Happy St Patty's Day! You may not be Irish, but if you keep telling such true stories about us...well we won't hold it agin ya! :D

How incredibly typical! John couldn't answer you so he passes the buck to the next guy on the tree. He assumes that this guy is actually doing his job and preparing for the class but doesn't tell him about your concerns. So when Tom shows up you basically blind side him and having been unprepared for you he can't even give you a good "reason" why your concerns are not valid. Instead he actually tells you the truth, he's not "working the word" to make the material his own because the Trustees have placed their "seal of approval" on it all so it must be correct. Inferring that MOG that high in the tree don't make mistakes! Wow...what a load...sometimes I am so embarrassed to have ever been associated with some of these people.

Happy St Patty's Day everyone!! My mother was French and Irish, clan Coan. A black Irish clan that in ancient times apparently were friends with or guarded the King. (According to the coat of arms anyway). My dad was German through and through. The disagreements at our house were always a loud and boisterous affair. Never any violence mind you just really loud. (Mostly mom after dad had quetly pushed the right buttons so he could sit back and laugh while she got all worked up) As for wearing green...my eyes are green and I say that counts for something. :P

Self hypnosis...hmmm...hadn't thought of that. Thanks! I always appreciate something new to think on. "LaShanda, Malakasita, get y'all narrow butts over here!" Having lived in Baltimore for quite a while, I can say that clearly there were some people naming their kids this way."

I must admit that I also noticed quite a bit of this repeating business even in Corps meetings. I still hold that not everyone is given the gift of tongues. I Corinthians 12:28-30 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? Clearly all do not have the gift and even less have both gifts of tongues and interpretation.

I read this thread last night and decided to go back and read the section in I Corinthians again. Low and behold but it read the same way it did the first time that I had read it long before ole VP put in his two cents worth of incorrect interpretation. The gifts (all of them not just the 9 listed) are from God they are His gifts and He decides who gets what and/or how many according to the need of the body. The gifts are for profit to the body of Christ. Therefore they are given to those who can administer and operate them at the time. I remember VP saying that it was stupid to have one person with Tongues and another with interpretation, because what if one of them doesn't show up for church? How stupid that sounded then and now...why did he always feel the need to limit God? God clearly states that He could give a man several gifts as He (God) desired. VP interpreted that verse as saying that man had the ability to get extra gifts from God because the man wanted them. I don't know about you but my child can ask for a motocross bike all day long but until I believe that he can operate it safely and in the correct places I am not giving that gift to him. It certainly would not benefit the family if he were to wreck the stupid thing or worse hurt someone. The chapter goes on to use a couple of analogies that emphasize the different jobs of the individual parts of the body and how each one is important and dependent upon all of the others to make one whole and entire body. Those parts that appear feeble or uncomely should not be cast out or critisized. God gives them something extra to make them equal to everyone else so there is no schizm in the body. I do not see anywhere in the section that states "All 9 all the time". I think that was just another TWI thing to make people feel inferior to others that "were walking in the spirit" doncha know. As for true manifestations of Tongues, Interpretation or Prophecy. It is obvious from this thread that many "faked" it and I do not doubt the truth of those statements. As I have already demonstrated I do not believe that God gave everyone the gift of tongues. Think about it how does that benefit the body of Christ? Perhaps at the true moment of becoming born again the new believer could have spoken in tongues to "prove" it to themselves (I haven't gotten back into this research yet), but what would be the benefit to the body if every part of the body could all do the same thing? Using God's analogy "if your eye could see, smell, hear, taste, touch, pump blood, walk etc what would everything else do? So thats what I see...how about ya'll? :D

I don't know what to say.... :unsure:

I totally agree with this sentiment! It is a noble thought but TWI isn't going to change any time soon. I hope they don't waste their young lives on this endeavor.

QT Apparently you have asked a question that is causing some thought but has not garnered much response as yet... I have always considered a person to be of strong faith when their faith or belief in their God overshadows or influences their every decision and action. I do not distinguish between religions with my definition. So a Muslim fighting a holy war could be strong in faith just as a Catholic Nun ministering to Aids victims in Africa could be strong in faith. In my book it is a matter of trust...how much does a particular person at any given time trust in their God? This determines their level of faith. Just my opinion and my definition. Edited for spelling....ooops!

In the mid 80's I attended a weekend retreat at my LC's house with all of the other BC's. One evening the "boys" all went out, I don't know where and didn't care as I did not have a male counterpart at the time, but the LC's wife and most of the BC's wives all went down to the basement. The basement was completely finished and they had a kind of second living room set up. Anyway, I was invited to join them for a movie. I went; and they turned on a Lesbian porn flic. I sat in long enough to get the idea of what was going on and then I retreated upstairs where a few other women had stayed. I was told in not so many words that if I didn't like what was "happening" downstairs I should probably just stay upstairs. So... was there a policy? I never heard of one and it certainly was not discussed.

Bumpy-I am pretty certain that you didn't mean to...but really not "all" Corps were like this. At least one that I know of for certain. So for my sake if you could please put a "some" or even a "most" before a comment like that? Thanks. :D I am sorry for the pain that you endured at the hands of our brethren, and even more so for the pain you certainly went through in Oslo. I heard a faint "grumbling" about this when in happened. But honestly all I got was that something "terrible" had happened. I am certain that my Limb Leader knew about it because as I recall there was a lot of frantic activity around him for a while. But I was not included in his inner circle. "That is nothing to be ashamed of walking away from. You can't say, and no one can tell you that you abandoned squat when the quack doctors were ready at a moment's notice to amputate you right out of the body the moment you didn't or couldn't work to par for them." Full Circle-That is probably the best analogy that I have ever heard to describe the M & A practices that the Way employed. Wanderer- It sounds like you are doing more for the household being away from TWI than you did when you were with them. Bottom line is if you love God and are trying to imitate Christ than chances are that you are heading in the right direction. You did not abandon the household. Your leadership left you high and dry. But they answer for that...not you. Foot_on_a_rock- All I can say to you is while you are on this site please take advantage of the incredible volumn of information that is available here. While you read things read them with an open mind and remember that the people that wrote them really lived it. No body here will try to blow smoke up your a$$, concerning their personal experiences with TWI. And you are getting some good advice from some really great folks on this thread. It doesn't hurt to listen...does it? You sound like you are truly searching for the best way to serve God...so search with an open mind and a meek heart. There are some good teachings at TWI but as in all ministries/churches there are also some not so good teachings. Learn to discern them so you can make sound decisions. Above all keep the faith no matter what church you attend. :)

TBone- Where do I get a cup of cappuccino that looks like that? YUM!!!!!!

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood...Great point Kit. Nandon- Thanks for the quotes, they contain some compelling analogy.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... Thanks!