Belle

Well, OM, you have to admit that the comment is not too far off from the other ...... eh ..... comments you generally make around here. :wacko: The site has this feature, Mike. Information on it's on one of these two top threads.

It's common knowledge in the marketing world that our brains tend to tune out "negative" words like "not", "don't", "no"...... That's why so many men forget to stop at the grocery store on the way home. The wife says, "Don't forget to pick up milk on the way home" but he hears "Forget to pick up the milk on the way home." What she should say is "REMEMBER to pick up the milk on the way home". :) So when vee pee was saying, "I didn't write the book" what many of us heard was "I DID write the book!" and he was trying to convince us of that very thing!

Well, gee, Brother Speed, why didn't you come say "Hi" or at least wave? :D

No wonder vee pee liked Lamsa so much. :huh:

There's REAL GOLD in some people?? Where??? Do you have to cut them open to get it??? Come on, Man, Spill the beans!!! :P :P :P Awww, Ham, I know what you mean! If I was still TWIt brained I'd be missing out on two of the greatest friends I've had in a very long time. One of them even picked up my hurricane wood, cut the wood to fit my windows and delivered it to my house. I can't think of one TWIt who would have done that for me during my last year in TWI...... Life is so much nicer without the burden of having to judge everyone you meet and decide whether they are "worthy" of your attention.

Remember, OM believes there's no such thing as unconditional love or unconditional giving. Because he can't love and because he only cares about himself, it's beyond his ability to comprehend that some of us might want to give to Paw just out of the sheer goodness of our hearts.

I work with two gay men, one is a Christian and the other hates God because he blames God for making him the way he did and then making/allowing it to be such a reprehensible lifestyle. My take on this is, regardless of whether we think it's right or wrong, it's not our place to pass judgment on ANYONE. Based on my beliefs, I have enough sin in my life - enough beams in my eye - that the last thing I should be doing is trying to get that darn splinter out of my neighbor's eye. :ph34r: It's the GOODNESS of God that leads men to salvation - not the JUDGMENT. ;)

No, it's just fine to me, Jim. Sorry! I actually like the new look better. I think there's an option you can choose, it may be on your browser, where you can make the font bigger. Paw, Bob or one of the Mods probably knows how to walk you through it.

Ahhhh, then we probably know a lot of the same people. Wherebouts are you, Evan? I was born and raised in Starkville and Mama has worked in almost every department at MSU, including the Football Office. Daddy was president of the local bank for many, many years and they were both involved in all kinds of community things. Spent my whole life going to every single MSU athletic event there was. Sudo may have a nice accent, but his taste in schools is not so nice. :blink:

That's pretty telling, right there! Not to mention all the other quotes and reflections you've already posted, WW. It's amazing how we easily dismissed or didn't even realize what he was saying. It's like the sheister was standing in front of us telling us that he was a liar, a theif and had ulterior motives, and we just stood there nodding our heads and drinking the kool-aid.

It's not typical for any Christian denomination churches I've been to lately (and I've been to quite a few). Sunday School and Worship Services are absolutely free.

JBarrax and his study and reviews along with Raf and those who contributed to the re-evaluation of all things TWI taught were very, very, very instrumental in the removal of my TWI blinders and the healing of my brain. :) (well, that part's debatable) I'm really thankful for them and the time they took to document this and to save it. That will be added to my most important bookmarks. Thanks, David!

Admit it, Sudo....you heard three MSU Bulldogs were going to be there on Saturday night and just couldn't handle the embarrassment. We know! I already had Mama & Daddy prepared for the Ole Miss Rebel they were going to have to break bread with. :) Dang, I hate that you and your family is having to go through all that. It's no fun! Tell her next time she wants to do something like that to talk to someone with experience getting away with it (I'd be one of those people ;) . We sure are going to miss you. I was really looking forward to meeting you, even if you are from the wrong side of the tracks. :P

Oh, WayferNot!, I soooo feel your pain! I paid cash for a beautiful, bright, white 2002 Mazda Protege. Only 26K miles and power everything (my first car with power ANYTHING!), remote entry, etc. Not six months after I got it some dude t-boned me at an intersection and did extreme damage to my nearly-new car. I was so ....ed. I don't care that it was his fault. I don't care that his insurance paid for every penny and every day of my rental car. My car is now damaged goods. If I sell it I have to tell them it was in a crash and 1/2 the car was rebuilt. The frame was bent and had to be straightened out....all kinds of stuff..... THAT ....es me off more than anything else. My ex is a police officer so between that and another incident that happened recently, he's probably laughing all the way to fellowship and telling them how horrible my life is now that I "turned my back on God" :blink: I can just hear them quoting that scripture about the devil spirit that leaves and then comes back with seven more friends. I HATE giving them fuel for their manipulative - don't leave the household fear-based teachings.

To the top. :)

GC, this one DOES mention you specifically! See, we really were concerned about you!! :)

GC, you're not specifically mentioned by name here, but you were definitely one of the ones I was terribly concerned about, and I wasn't the only one here. :)

To the top for GC. :)

GC, You're kidding, right??? Every other post on here for days was us worried about you and asking if anyone had heard from you! :D We were very concerned, but didn't know how to get in touch with you. :( I'm sooooooo glad to hear that you're safe and sound!! Glad you got to take your four legged buddy with you too!! Is your home okay? Do you need anything??? Please let us know! So many of us want to help, and would especially enjoy being able to help our own beloved posters like you. :wub: I'll try to find the posts and bring them up so you can see how concerned we all were.

Wow, George, as well travelled as you are, I'm surprised you apparently aren't aware of all the great things to do in the places you seem less than thrilled with. But, then again, most of the fun and adventure depends on who you're with and what your attitude is. B) Rascal, I would love to have a month to spend in all the Smithsonians and I still think that wouldn't be enough time! Heck, I think it would take a year of playing tourist to see and do all there is in DC. I have played flag football with the MSU Alumni Mud Dogs in front of the Washington Monument. Boston is awesome! I've been there twice now and I still haven't seen and done all I'd like to. The Summer Shack does have awesome seafood and the best dang oysters I've ever had (and I'm quite the oyster connoisseur). Las Vegas has some of the greatest shows, especially Danny Ganns and the Blue Man Group, off the top of my head. Although I've never been, my parents, their friends and a lot of my friends absolutely love going there. Jim, my little brother lived in Taipei for five years. If you're headed that way and would like some info, just give me a holler. I love St Augustine, but so many of the small "quaint" towns are getting too commercial. Even Gatlinburg, TN isn't what it used to be, although the Hippensteal B&B right outside of town is so wondeful that you'd not want to leave. I'd also love to whitewater raft on the Colorado - heck, I'd like to whitewater raft ANYWHERE! I'd love to go to Hawaii and Alaska. I've been to or through just about every state, but never those two and I've only been to Mexico as far as other countries go, so anyplace outside the US would be fascinating to me. Excellent question! I've had fun daydreaming about my answers! :P

Maybe it's because I have only been out and divorced for a short time or because I share too much of my life with people, but I tell those hard hearted jerks trying to push their beliefs on me that I used to be in a religious group that expected us to do the same thing and that I'm not interested in groups that promote that kind of behavior anymore. Depending on the situation, I may ask a few questions about why they feel it's necessary to talk to me like that or say what they're saying.....then I politely say that it sounds too much like a religious group I was abused by and that I try to stay away from people and groups who remind me of the practices and beliefs of that group. There's a very nice, very sweet, very smart co-worker whom I really like but she's a devout Southern Baptist and frequently used to invite me to her church. She had no malice in her heart and was genuinely concerned about me and wanted to help in the only way she knew how. I told her that I appreciated her concern and invitations but that I was taking a break from anything religious right now. She respected that decision on my part and now we can talk more freely because she doesn't try to impose her beliefs on me or see me as a "project" or someone who needs to be saved. I just try to be honest and very clear (aka blunt) without hurting the other person's feelings. But sometimes all you can do is what Ham said and tell them to back off as forcefully as necessary.

This was posted by Janis on the Thank You Thread and I thought it was an excellent question for us to discuss here: I need to vent, if you want to go you can. A little background first. I decided to leave the Way International in 1989. It was not an easy decision for me. For me, it had to be based on God's Word as that is what kept me around for the time I was there to begin with. I did that and have not regretted my decision. What I find so sad, is that where I have grown and changed and am honest with myself and others I still find that there are people also not associated with the Way that maintain the mental attitudes that caused the division to begin with. People you think you know are hard, legalistic, religious and mean. Then they turn around and want you to feel bad or like in my case I let it get to me and I get mad and I cuss them out. And that isn't nice either and it causes more trouble. Has anybody been through this, and what did you do to not get caught in a trap? Thanks for listening and even though I try to act all tough and not let those see, it really hurts me that people feel like they have to force their beliefs on me or confrom to their ways.

2Life, I've been through Charlotte a bit in the past, but don't have any trips coming up that take me through there. I'll definitely keep you in mind when I do. :) I contacted my Texas relatives and friends regarding Rita and one e-mailed that they had the perfect evacuation route & shelter from the storm.....they were in Germany! Her husband works for an airline and they have been scooting all over the world with the benefits. You're gonna love it!!

UBER COOL!!! Thanks so much, y'all!!! :wub: You're kindness is overwhelming. Paw, words could never come close to expressing how much your site has meant to me and my healing from TWI. I've met some of the most wonderful people here and look forward to more face-to-face meetings of those who have carried me for the past six years. Bob, you're a genius, but you already knew I thought that. ;) Thank you for sharing your talents with us and making this move go smoothly.

Hmmmmmmmm, I don't know what kind of responses I was expecting, but this wasn't it. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that OM thinks they are full of it and that they weren't sincere in their offer. I know that some people consider the Mormon religion a cult and that there are some things they believe and require that are definitely questionable considering other people's beliefs. I also know that there are some really good Mormons, just like most of us were really good people when we were in TWI. We were all fully persuaded in our minds that what we were doing was right and we really wanted to help people (okay, y'all did. I came in after the "people don't care what you know until they know you care" teachings of TWI). I've met kind and rude people of all persuasions. After my experience with TWI I try to avoid pigeon-holing and lumping "all kinds of...." into one big classification. I prefer to look at the individual without any labels. With that perspective, these young men were polite, kind-hearted and (I believe) genuinely would come help me if I were to call them. Just as I believe some of you would have made the same offer during your tenure in TWI before we were jaded and forced to witness instead of sharing from our hearts with genuine concern and love for mankind. I wanted TempleLady to know that I had a very pleasant experience with two ambassadors from her church. She takes a beating on here sometimes for her beliefs, and, while I may not be part of her church I thought she might enjoy a little positive feedback for a change. Maybe we should start a thread on conditional vs unconditional giving since some people obviously still have the TWI mindset that nothing is free and unconditional friendships, love, giving, etc. doesn't exist. Pity, they're truly missing out on a lot in life.