Belle

OM, it costs a whopping $2 and JJ doesn't owe me, you or anyone else anything. This is actually stuff we should have been checking and finding on our own, don't you think?

(((((Psalmie))))) I couldn't say it any better than Krys did. Please let us know how you and Kitty are doing.

Oh really? And you know this, how? SOME of it sucks? Just SOME? How about MOST? Sometimes it's wiser to move onto to something that doesn't need to be "fixed". So what do you do with all that knowledge that seems so important to you?

Go easy on the staff today. The night shift had it rough last night. And, Mr. Pyle, you might want to read the rules of the forums or PM Paw if you have a problem.

Then order the book from John Juedes in the links I provided, OM - the side by side comparisons are printed for you to see.

And one more reason why they should share their financial books with the folks who support them. Because there's no accountability - there's no responsibility.

:eusa_clap: Oak, that's awesome!!! Gem-worthy! Thank you!

Tom, I'm not poking fun at you! :( Honestly, I'm not! I was just laughing, mostly at myself, at how, as a kid, this kind of talk was "so lame" to me and now I engage in it all the time and can see the fascination and how and why we remember those things. I LOVE when folks reminisce on here - like the "skitching" thread. I talked on there about the April Fool's Day snow in Mississippi my Freshman year in college (1987) - Heck, I remember that exact date, and even the time it started snowing! It was a really big deal seeing as how it NEVER snowed like that my whopping 18 years of life in that very town. Honestly, I wasn't trying to be mean. I'd remember it, too! In fact, I still have the 3 rolls of film my college boyfriend had to take of me in the 6 inches of snow that fell in one night when I was visiting him in Iowa. I couldn't believe how people were still getting around - the roads were clear - the piles of snow on the side of the road that were taller than me - everywhere we went I made him take pictures of me by the "big snow". Just as a kid, weather didn't seem all that important or memorable to me. I just hadn't experienced enough of it for it to have, I guess. We have the seasons in MS, but nothing extreme ... well, the thunderstorms, but those are cool and we got those quite a bit, so they weren't all that special.

(((((Uptown))))) Those are the exact same things people said about VPW and LCM and the other rotten leaders in TWI. The exact same things they said about TWI. None of the people you're talking about come anywhere close to even deserve being compared to David or Paul. You're breaking my heart. :( You don't need this group. You don't need them to "come around". You don't need any "man" to live your life for God. They should not have that much control and impact on your life. So you like their "research" - GREAT! Did you know that there's already so much research and stuff written that you could spend your whole life reading nothing but those things and never finish? What are you interested in? Old Testament History? The Origin of Satan? The geneologies? Commentaries on Jesus' parables? Hike down to the Doctrinal booths - there are some brilliant people who post down there who can point you toward excellent material that will stimulate your brain and heart. Here's one on Sibling Rivalry Here's a great one on Limiting Our Research Evolving Religion Faith These are actual discussions - you know, where you're allowed to ask questions (even hard, silly or ones to help you personally) - you can bounce ideas off other people and actually learn more about the Bible, God, yourself, etc. than you can just from sitting through some class or listening to some teachings. I just think that if you give yourself a chance to break out of the TWI-mindset (which is exactly the same as the CES-mindset) that you'll find there's soooo much more out there and, possibly, things that really thrill your soul much more than the "class" or "teaching series" of the day. What does Uptown really wish he knew more about? What really intrigues him about God, belief systems, religion, life, the Bible, whatever?

I love it, Jeff! Thank you and I will be passing it along.

I remember when I was a kid listening to "the old folks" talk about the weather and how bad it was "back in (insert year)"... I thought, "HOW do they remember what the weather was like ten years ago? AND WHY DO THEY CARE?" LOL! I guess I'll have to answer those questions when I start subjecting kids to the tales of living through four hurricanes in one year and the year the smoke from the great forest fires hung over the Daytona 500 and the devastation of Katrina and......

My puter at work is fine... as for the home computers, well, I'm thinking that's a personal problem.

uptown, most churches use the Sunday services for praise and worship - it's not meant to dig into the nitty gritty of study - and ya know what? That's a lot of what IS missing in TWI and CES, imo. Knowing how to diagram Greek and read Hebrew and memorize Bible verses and throw words like "meat" and "milk of the word" into everyday language is missing the big picture. If you want those kinds of studies, though, every church I've visited has - gasp! - classes you can sign up for voluntarily - they have focused studies in their different "Sunday School" classes, they offer "outreach" activities and so much more regarding ways to actually "live and give" than these little isolated groups like CES and TWI can. If you don't like the church you visited.... keep looking. The way CES is holding on to their devilish doctrines, practices and leadership - I wouldn't be holding my breath for them to recover - but then again, their foundation was rotten from the get go, imo.

I believe in miracles, too, ex. Here's to hoping you have a remarkable one to share with us soon.

Well, ya know, when she and Shellon started talking about those "pasties" I wondered if you wanted her talking like that out her in public for everyone to read. :unsure: BTW, I've always heard them called "pay-steeze" too.

I've seen her slip you an extra piece of pie, too. I don't know if it's just me (or the drink I spilled on my keyboard) but the "new topic" buttons don't always show up and I can't always tell if there's a new reply anymore. Although, it could have something to do with me forgetting to leave a tip last week.

Oh, ex! I hope Rascal finds his way home quickly!

I'm sorry, Hap, I don't get it. :unsure: Just kidding!

"Shut down and restart, Belle. Shut down and restart" I should know these things. Okay, these are links from the front counter: Driven to Suicide Death in the Promised Land VPW's Cancer and the Resultant Doctrinal Delimma (you didn't ask for this one, Rascal, but it shows his duplicity so well) John S's Banned Paper on Adultery

Suicide in The Way I think the "Driven to Suicide" thread may be on the home page of the cafe, but all I get is a white screen when I try to go there.

Sounds kind of like the way they donated all the ROA stuff to the city and other organizations after it was cancelled. Thanks a bunch, Potato!

(((((Neo))))) It's very, very difficult to realize these things. As WordWolf said, we've been here for years and we're still here so we can help others because so many of us remember all too well what a kick in the gut all this is. Also, there's no timetable or expectations... really. :) Here are two of the threads I've found so far that talk in length about the sexual abuse: The First You Heard of the Sexual Abuse Did VPW teach LCM?

I wonder if some of the men are in a similar meeting....

Well, I just got out of a meeting and I saw quite a few gals there.