Belle

:eusa_clap: Very well said, Mo.

Sorry I missed it, Hope, but that's soooo darn cool! I'm sure you're busting buttons with pride. Awesome! Just Awesome!

:huh: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/May04...arents.ssl.html I think being a good parent is far more important than being a married parent. If my the dad's an alcoholic who comes home from work, gets drunk and passes out by 9:00pm and when he IS awake all he does is criticize the kids and/or Mom, then the kids would be much better off without that kind of influence. It's good parenting and open, honest communication with kids so that they feel comfortable talking with the parents about life issues that's important, not the marital status. Sudo, are you saying that you think my idea of adopting a child, even though I can afford it, would be wrong just because I'm single? Ya know, Sudo, I think I'll make sure she applies to Ole Miss when she graduates from high school.

You've got THAT right!! I am soooo thankful for whoever the person was who invented the Google Toolbar! PB, that's hilarious!

Is Google broken on your computer?

I know the Florida contingency continues to shrink. Orlando was huge in the early 90's, by the time I left three years ago there weren't 1/3 of the people left. I'm so glad to hear more and more people are coming to their senses. Thanks, Nato!

Kinda reminds me of the time I told my ex we (TWI) had become worse and more religious than the Catholic religion we (TWI) made so much fun of. I shoulda ducked after I said it but it seemed so, well, obvious to me. :unsure:

Spinach Salad with Strawberries Dressing Ingredients 1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice, fresh 1/8 tsp. ginger, ground 1/2 tsp. orange zest 1/2 tsp. Sweet & Slender 1/2 Tbsp. parsley, dried OR 1 Tbsp. freshly chopped, (preferred) 2/2 tsp. lemon pepper 3 Tbsp. olive oil 4 drops hot chili oil Salad Ingredients: 6 cups fresh spinach, washed and torn 2/3 cup sliced strawberries (about 6 whole) 2 radishes, sliced 1 green onion, chopped 3 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds, hulled In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients thoroughly. Place the prepared spinach into a serving bowl. Toss it with the salad dressing. Garnish the salad with the remaining ingredients. Enjoy!

We did. Starting on the first page of this thread, right here. ^_^

:) For those of us with no clue as to who these people are, can you give some background info? Thanks.

All I remember is "But" and "when God sticks His 'but' in there, it's a big 'but'."

Good to see you, my friend. Their lives certainly aren't prevailing either, I suspect. Mine never did to the degree it is since leaving.

:eusa_clap:

Corn Salad All "to taste" and balance the colors: 1-2 cans white shoepeg corn 2-4 tomatoes chopped (plum tomatoes are best, but you need more of them) 2-4 stalks of green onions chopped 1 heaping teaspoon / tablespoon mayo dash of salt more of pepper Mix it all together and let the flavors "mingle" in the fridge for a few hours - best made the night before. I like it spicy so I add more onions and pepper than Mama does. ************ Pico De Gallo also "to taste" and desired color balance 4-6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced 1/2 - 1 diced red onion 1/2 - 1 diced red bell pepper 1/2 - 1 diced green bell pepper 1+ minced fresh jalapeno pepper, without seeds 1+ small clove garlic, minced About 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro About 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice Splash of Olive Oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste ************ Of course, my favorite is a good ole Crawfish Boil :jump:

:(

I can't even watch for some reason... :( It's all very disturbing to me. A minister for GOD should NOT talk like that.... I can't believe I condoned it and listened to it for so many years.

We always had at least one cat while I was growing up. What a hoot, Java Jane! Thanks for the belly laugh today!

Yeppers! They learn it somewhere, don't they? ^_^ A couple my parents were friends with had a dog named Dammit. That was real cute till they had kids.

Ham, I liked the Universalist church I attended, too. It was a big deal for me the day I could listen to someone talk about the Bible without cringing, critiquing or condescending to them. Dooj – I think that was a wake up call for me, too. The day I woke up and realized, “This is MY house – MY dog – MY car – MY stuff and I’m not doing too bad, thank you very much!” I realized I am actually doing a pretty darn good job of taking care of myself and I’m not nearly as stoopid, incompetent and “unprotected” as TWI would have me believe. THAT gave me the confidence to keep on keeping on. Notta – I think a divorce group would have been ideal for me at the time. Wish I had thought of that. Leaving TWI is like a divorce – it was an all consuming part of our life, and, just like with a divorce, you lose your friends because they pick the former spouse over you. Another Spot – I hear ya! WayDale and GSpot were life-savers for me! David - :eusa_clap: Glad – I’m so glad all of the people I tried to get involved were too smart to fall for the b.s. I was feeding them. The only guilt I had about it was not being able to get my ex to see what I saw. Mo – AMEN! I never realized how secretive we really were during our TWIt days – least, I was. If I knew someone was likely to argue or debate me, I’d avoid them. I certainly never shared some of the more bizarre things we did – like taking inventory of our whole house – stockpiling potable water tablets – etc…. It’s so much nicer to just “let it all hang out” – love me or leave me, but at least you know who “me” is for real. :D Java Jane – I hear ya! It’s like having the rug pulled out from under your feet when you never even saw the munchkin standing there threatening to pull it. Somewhere during my own recovery process I decided that I was going to quit trying to please others or to live up to THEIR expectations of me. I decided that I was going to be, do, say, feel the way I wanted and if they didn’t like who I was then so be it. I mean, I put up with the quirks of other people and dearly love friends I disagree with or who sometimes disappoint me, but I still love ‘em, ya know? Why on earth would I think that friends and loved ones wouldn’t feel the same about me? Why on earth would I want to try to hold onto and appease people who wouldn’t??

Will she make it 23 days or will her lawyers get her out? Will this change her?

Excellent answers, y’all. Thank you very much! Sprawled Out, thank you – yes, I’m afraid I’m much more in touch with my “authentic self” than some folks would like. I’ve certainly lost the quiet, submissive aspects of my self that were prominent during my TWIt days. :D Someone in the process of leaving TWI sent me a PM and this seemed like a good topic for the person to see different thoughts on. I think that getting involved in community activities, clubs and non-religious organizations we never had time for are great. It also helps us to rediscover the hobbies and interests we had before we weren’t allowed to have them. I was so socially retarded, so getting involved with dog training and AKC shows really helped me get over that and introduced me to something I’d never known much about, much less been all that interested in. From there it was a spring board into other interests. Rascal, I LOVE those two lines! Yes, there is a distinct advantage for those who got involved later in life. I was in my mid-20’s and already on my way to accomplishing the life goals I had – silly me thought TWI would help me get there quicker, safer, easier, etc…. As for the clean slate – awesome analogy! When we leave, we really are a clean slate in so many ways, aren’t we? We now have the power to become who WE want us to become and not who someone else wants us to be. (((((Penguin))))) - Sooooo good to see you!! WG, LOL! The number one reason you’ll never see me try out for any kind of reality show, much as I might like to. LAE, yeah, I have thought about adopting. I’ve actually gathered quite a bit of information on it thinking that if I’m not married by the time I’m 40, I might do like a friend of mine and adopt a child for my 40th birthday present. But, I’m just not too sure about being a single mom. Doesn’t seem fair or right to intentionally bring a kid into a situation like that.

Y'all have made me want to grill! I've gotta get the rust off my grate, first, though.

Sorry I couldn't be there. :( I'm off to listen now. And, Todd, love your artwork!

In the process of discovering all the evil, deception and wrong teachings of TWI - during the sleepless nights - the horrifying realizations - the terror of getting caught reading things online - many of us eventually came to the point where we decided the pain of taking some kind of action and the fear of the unknown was much more desirable than the living he11 we were currently in. We somehow gained the courage to stand up for what we had learned and believed to be the truth about TWI and its abuses OR we didn't, but were "found out" and subsequently forced into action - generally, action we already wanted to take but for whatever reason hadn't yet. Once we were free from the bondage and oppression, we found ourselves in a unique position - fully self-reliant. We had been conditioned to "bring every thought captive" to the doctrine of TWI, our husband, leadership, etc. Thinking and making our own decisions was a foreign concept for some of us. Steve Hassan talks about the "authentic self" in his book Releasing the Bonds: Enabling People to Think for Themselves, but it's mostly geared toward reminding your loved ones of who their authentic self is and not necessarily focused on the individual's own actions toward emotiona/mental recovery. How does one regain their self-esteem, their sense of self-worth, confidence in making our own decisions, taking care of ourselves, asking for help when we need it? How do you / did you get back to the "real you"?