notinKansasanymore

Not us; it's gorgeous here. Must be almost 70. "Live just, and fear not."

Hey, it's letting me post when it says I'm not logged in. Is that a Christmas present for folks who are afraid to log on? Cool, Paw. "Live just, and fear not."

God Bless Us, Every One! Merry Christmas, ya'll! Thanks, Paw, for the groooooovy trees. Santa came to our house last night. The children each left a very neat pile of reindeer food on the front porch. What do you think happened? The reindeer came and ate it! Love, niKa "Live just, and fear not."

There was an old pickup that might let you ride in the back . . . it's cold on the way to Duluth. Wait, let's go to Florida, instead. Look: there's somebody stopping, going South. That's the weirdest 18-wheeler I've ever seen. Okay, remember: the guy gets in first, the girl hands him the luggage, and the girl gets in last. See you on the BEACH! "Live just, and fear not."

SIX? Oh, my goodness. Well, you are right; it will pass, and I am very thankful for family and friends. And for the folks on Greasespot, who are either family, or friends, or (weelll, what are we to one another?) compadres of some good sort. It's nice to come here. "Live just, and fear not."

Simon, thanks. I'm not sure how well I'm handling it, but I'm certainly getting used to it. This year, I've now lost two uncles, my dad, and my husband's grandmother. This is getting very old. It's time for the black dress to stay in the closet for awhile. The chances, statistically, are probably pretty good that it will (knock on wood). Today, we're getting a Christmas tree. Life goes on, there are children to bring up, there is work to do, and there are cats to feed, jokes to tell, and adventures upon which to embark. I am reminded of the song at the end of the movie, A Bug's Life: "It's the time of your life, so live it well." I'm not yet finished with my changes. Heck, I just got braces on my teeth, as old as I am, last week. I've wanted them since I was about eleven. They look like heck, and are ridiculously uncomfortable. I LOVE THEM! So, let's see what comes next, shall we? "Live just, and fear not."

Okay, back from the services in Texas; Uncle Dan had asked his good friend (also a Baptist minister) to do his services. He'd said, "Are you ready to do my graduation service?" He was on his deathbed once before, but God gave him seven more years. All in all, it was pretty sweet. Not easy, but very sweet and loving. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers; you guys are the best. Time to put up the Christmas tree and deck the halls! Time to grade the last papers and turn in the grades! Time for EGGNOG! "Live just, and fear not."

Sweetsister, I guess the important thing is whether you think it. Notfernuthinbut, I found that sliding-scale counselling was a very big help to me after TWI. It just plain helped to talk with somebody who was trained to know what to listen for, and lead me in a direction that was healthy for me. Personally, I think you're grand. Very nice, always try to pick up folks when they're hurting, and very funny (in a mwah sort of way). I think we all have "moments," good and bad. Yes, we may have problems. We've earned them, haven't we? "Live just, and fear not."

eeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuuw. "Live just, and fear not."

This was originally posted on the humor thread, by MJ412. It's the very funniest thing that I've read in weeks. That said, I admit that I have five cats, all completely spoiled. HOW TO SHAMPOO THE CAT: 1. THOROUGHLY CLEAN THE TOILET. 2. LIFT THE LID AND ADD SHAMPOO. 3. FIND AND SOOTHE CAT AS YOU CARRY IT TO THE BATHROOM. 4. IN ONE SWIFT MOVE, PLACE CAT IN THE TOILET, CLOSE THE LID AND STAND ON TOP SO CAT CANNOT ESCAPE. 5. THE CAT WILL SELF-AGITATE AND PRODUCE AMPLE SUDS. (IGNORE RUCKUS FROM INSIDE TOILET, CAT IS ENJOYING THIS.) 6. FLUSH TOILET THREE OF FOUR TIMES. THIS PROVIDES A POWER RINSE, WHICH IS QUITE EFFECTIVE. 7. STAND AS FAR FROM TOILET AS POSSIBLE AND QUICKLY LIFT THE LID. 8. CLEAN CAT WILL ROCKET OUT OF THE TOILET AND OUTDOORS, WHERE IT WILL AIR DRY. SINCERELY, THE DOG "Live just, and fear not."

You guys are the best. "Live just, and fear not."

Uncle Dan has gone to his reward. He isn't hurting any more. Thanks, you guys, for your sweet prayers. This semester has just stunk, and I'm delighted that it's almost finished. Thanks for being here. Anybody got a joke? (I mean no disrespect by this, but . . . anybody got a joke better than that scud thing?) :(--> "Live just, and fear not."

I gave them about a year to "get it together" after Chris Geer shocked us all by reading Passing of a Patriarch on a night when we thought that he was just going to teach Corps Night. On that night, I was so worn out from going to endless meetings, working on staff, running a twig near HQ, singing in the choir, etc., etc., that I just watched Corps Night from my trailer on grounds. We weren't supposed to do that, but I'd gotten to the point of exhaustion that I just didn't care. Life was never really the same again. Thank God. As I recall, that was pretty near the Rock of Ages, and "all was revealed" to the Corps, at Corps Week, within a few weeks. People were walking around the grounds, absolutely stunned. Broken hearts were everywhere. The very next day, on his way to breakfast, Harry Cox (sixth corps) drove through a stop sign and was killed instantly. I still miss him, and still blame all this mess for distracting him from his driving. He didn't deserve that. I continued to work on staff for the next year, but left shortly after the following Corps week. I was gone by early November. I went back to college, and patched things up with my family. I could never get those years, those family gatherings, which I'd missed, back; still, it meant something to them that I tried. They knew that I had recognized what they'd known all along; that TWI was not a good place for their daughter to be. After leaving, I kept going to meetings for a few months, and even wrote Craig a letter telling him that he and Chris should do whatever it took to repair the schism between them, because they were tearing apart the ministry. He sent me back a pretty cold, one-sided form letter, as though I was the one who was messed up. I went back to one more Corps week, to say goodbye to my old way of life. Some on this thread have mentioned that it took longer than they'd anticipated for "Waybrain" to fade away; this was also the case with me. I'm glad to report that I have Jewish friends, gay friends, Democrat friends, and highly educated friends; none of these groups was particularly well represented in the Way. The more that I examine my old beliefs and prejudices, the more I see them for what they are: some were right, and some were pure evil. I went to see John Lynn a few times, when he'd come through town, and really like him as a person. I don't follow his ministry very closely, but have always enjoyed spending time with him, when the opportunity arises. I seemed to miss him about half the time, however, during the past few years, because of family responsibilities. I also had the joy of getting to know John Shoenheit a little better; I really like him as a person. We have lost touch recently, but I still think he's great. Beyond this, I really haven't had much contact with many folks with whom I used to fellowship in TWI. Every now and then, I'll connect with someone, through e-mail, but it's not because I miss the ministry; it's because I miss the person. There's a big, big difference. I think that it has to be an individual decision, on a person's own timeline. I felt very fortunate to be single at that time, and able to make the decision to leave without forcing my views on a spouse, or having a spouse try the same with me. Now that I am a parent, I feel extremely fortunate not to have borne children into the Waybrain existence; I would not want to stand before God and try to explain that one. I now think of abortion as murder, ever since I learned that Dr. Weirwille's main motivation for supporting the practice seems to have been to cover his own mistakes. Lots of things, like that, I have re-evaluated. I'm trying to think of things from the perspective of "What would Jesus do in this situation?" Well, life goes on, and we are all charged with finding the path which God wishes for us. Mine diverged from TWI, and I'm personally thankful for that. To all of you who might be lurking and reading these threads, in preparation for deciding whether you will leave TWI or stay, may God guide you in your own decision, and give you the strength to do His will for your life. Whatever that happens to be. "Live just, and fear not."

A week ago, Saddam was an Iraqi. What is he now? * * Turkey. * "Live just, and fear not."

Spring is coming. "Live just, and fear not."

Oh, there you are. Pebble Beach? Coooool. Lift the family, okay? Uncle Dan is in his last day or two. Kidneys have shut down, and the end is very near. It's pretty hard on his kids. Remember that if you want a Christmas card, you can private-topic me your address. love, niKa "Live just, and fear not."

(sound of whistling, all alone.) :o--> "Live just, and fear not."

Sadaam is captured. It's been more than 24 hours, and I've been the only one to post on the 9th Corps thread. Which is weirder? "Live just, and fear not."

White just won the Heisman! Waaaaaay cooooooool. :D--> :)--> "Live just, and fear not."

Oooooooh, the red and green stripes make me feel so festive! I hope that Santa Clause is good to all of you this year. "Live just, and fear not."

Woh. Slow news day, huh? Okay. What kind of shoes does a banana wear? Slippers. Spring is coming. "Live just, and fear not."

What kind of bug tells time? * * (this comes from my seven-year-old) * A clockroach. :)--> "Live just, and fear not."

Thanks, Tom, I'm fine. How are you? Had the last day of classes today. Now, I've just got two big boxes of essays to grade, and finals to give. It started to rain here this afternoon; this is a hard, cold rain. Scheduled to turn to ice pellets and snow right about now. Lots of things are cancelled around here for tomorrow morning. We don't have much weather like this. I mean, it's not like Ohio, or anything. When I worked at HQ, I used to look out the big windows in the OSC building and watch the first bad weather coming in, each year. I'd get through it by saying, "Spring is coming." It's the closest I've ever come to having a mantra. We're supposed to have 2 to 3 inches of snow tonight. Spring is coming. :] "Live just, and fear not."

Yes, I'm not too much into the "hidden" thing. I think it's cool for other folks, though, if they like that sort of thing. Kind of like, some people like lemon chiffon, and others prefer Texas Pecan Pie. Oh, pecan pie. Now, what was I saying? Oh. You can often find information on your family by simply doing a Google search on the "farthest back" ancestor whose name you know. You'll probably pick up on someone else's research. Personally, I benefitted from my mom and my mother-in-law. They are both "into" genealogy, and my mother-in-law in particular presented us with a couple of extremely organized binders last summer, one for each side of my family. That woman is amazing. I've been investigating a few things on my own, too. Interesting to know that traits in our family didn't come from our own brains, alone. I've identified definite trends which span generations. "Live just, and fear not."

This is a "real men will only answer "C" tests. When is it okay to throw away a set of veteran underwear? A. When it has turned the color of a dead whale and developed new holes so large that you're not sure which ones were originally intended for your legs. B. When it is down to eight loosely connected underwear molecules and has to be handled with tweezers. C. It is never okay to throw away veteran underwear. A real guy checks the garbage regularly in case somebody, and we are not naming names, (but this would be his wife) is quietly trying to discard his underwear. "Live just, and fear not."