outandabout

I agree that sorting it all out is complicated. Yup.

I had doubts way back in '81,'82.... I was in a southern state with a couple in charge, both ordained. I could not say a word to my room mates or anyone without it funnelled back to them. I was constantly harangued for the most minor things, things I innocently said that somehow didn't line up with "THE WORD." Eventually, I was so totally oppressed, afraid to say or do anything. I was told I was "poison to the branch" by the male ordained leader. What did I do? I don't know. I worked, went to all the meetings, paid my share into the family fund, ABS'd, didn't lie or steal. I got a guy into the class, and I didn't see these holy ordained people produce any fruit of their own. I certainly wasn't sleeping around even as a single person. I was TOTALLY unaware of the sexual goings-on in the "ministry." The atmosphere of total oppression and condemnation in that branch indicated to me that something was not right. I didn't get it yet intellectually but deep inside I knew something was wrong. It wasn't until 1988 that I walked away, but since that time in the early 80's until the day I left, I never felt good about TWI.

If this is true, it's pathetic. "Oh please come back, we won't abuse you as much this time. We could use your money though".

Hah, this all reminds me of my best friend telling me how her mother used to say really sarcastically, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" when all the bickering and crap would start to go on. So to this day, we sarcastically say "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" to each other when the season gets to us.

Yeah, George, you should have ASKED GOD what to get people for Chrismas. And you need to RENEW YOUR MIND so you can enjoy the holidays, and now that you didn't, you are OUT OF FELLOWSHIP. But, really, I know what you mean. I got sore legs from going up and down the ladder the day after Thanksgiving (putting up the lights), then dragged all the boxes in from the garage to decorate the living room, then later got into a fight with the hubby because I was "nagging" him about when we would get the tree. One bright spot was when my daughter (age 16) actually helped me decorate it. But on Christmas eve, she got all mad at me because I asked her if she was in bed after she went into her room and closed the door (so I could take the gifts down to the tree.) Actually I "ruined" her Christmas because I asked her too many times when she was going to go to bed. Yeah Merry Farking Christmas. Not to mention, the gazillion Christmas cookies I baked that nobody wanted.

I save 20% of my income every time I get paid that used to go to TWI for "the Move of the Word." yeah, right, the move of the Word, yeah right.

If I were her, I'd use some of that ABS for plastic surgery to get rid of that turkey neck.

And then they made one up: "Uncle Harry Day" which became "Burn the Chaff Day."

Wow, that was weird, hearing that VOICE again.....whew trippy, don't know quite how I feel about that...ooh,ah ew

This reminds me of the old days of Trancechat. Ex-TWI people were referring to LCM as "Loy" a lot. Some poster from somewhere else asked "Who is this horrible Loy creature?"

Run run far away

Q. Can I freely avail myself of your fellowships? A. Yes, but only if you attend at least three times a week, as well as all branch meetings, study sessions, "fun" nights, and classes. Then after forcing you to come to everything, we will restrict what you can come to if you don't meet our standards in your life (i.e clean house, no debt, kids never bratty or misbehaved, teens never sullen, over 10% of income give to us etc.) So, yes you may freely avail yourself of our fellowships.

Silly me!!!!

How come I don't have permission to start on a post on the "Silly" forum? I'd contact the administrator directly but I can't figure out how to do that. I don't get it. What have I done?

It's rather interesting, isn't it, that TWI pushed administrations and what is written TO us. They belittled the Gospels, and exalted the Church Epistles as TO us. The Old Testament FOR OUR LEARNING etc etc. BUT when it came to ABS, suddenly we have the tithe of the Old Testament magically being ok in the current administration. Could it be because it had to do with MONEY??? And Vee Pee used to teach often how the love of money is the root of all evil. So here's a guy who seems to understand how the love of money is an evil force driving much of the misery in the world, yet he himself took part of the same.

Regarding Jesse Jackson, it's just funny that he tends to show up EVERYWHERE (like Zelig) when there's an opportunity to cause, or be, a part of dissent and upheaval. In CA, when Gray Davis signed the bill for illegal aliens to get driver's licenses (which went nowhere and Davis got KICKED OUT) there was good old Jesse on the stage as Davis signed the bill. (which went nowhere as I just said due to the outrage of the CA citizens) My husband and I looked at the TV and said to each other "Isn't that Jesse Jackson?" referring to the face among others on the stage. And lo and behold indeed it was. WE actually laughed. He's always around when there's trouble brewing.

do you think of him every time you waft the garbage bag? or do you just cram it into the wastebasket without filling it with air first, thinking "Hah, I'm free of you now!" I leave dishes in the drying rack to air dry and always think of my WOW sister who made me dry them with a towel and put them right away. Oh yeah, and I put the bread in the fridge, fondly remembering my coordinator who would NEVER allow bread to be in the fridge, (but the butter HAD to stay out). Why was it that the coordinator made EVERY dang decision down to where to keep the bread? And then there was the other Way Home coordinator who wouldn't let me hang a towel in the bathroom because it "didn't match." Then she hung up all of hers and they didn't match either. Well, gotta go check the top of my fridge now.

In trouble with who? Some one in the Way Home?

I was replacing the bag in the kitchen wastebasket and I remembered how I always waft it around to fill it with air and then put it in the wastebasket. Yes, a carry-over from Trash Detail at ROA. I still do it to this day.

You can't go if you're in debt???? That is STILL going on??? And why in the heck is that ANYONE'S business????

I would like to see evry last person who is still in see the light and leave.

The new testament says "you reap what you sow' and it says "as a man purposeth in his heart so let him give" Seems pretty simple to me. That 10% tithing doctrine was a total rip-off. VeePee justified it by saying we should not do less than the tithe in the new administration. "Should we do less?" Who were we giving to? to God? Maybe we thought we were. We were sending in our hard earned cash to HQ for them to do with WHATEVER they chose, accountable to no one. If we dared ask where the money went, we were reproved. We trusted that God would bless us. We listened to Craig's rantings about God not spitting in our direction if it wasn't MORE than 10%. So not only did we end up under the LAW, we were MORE than under the law. Totally perverse. A total rip-off. How dare they. Some of us were barely getting by and yet we still faithfully gave our 10%, 15%, 20% along with Corps Sponsorship, Love Offerings, and more. Greedy bastards.

That's quite true, in fact I recall scrubbing oil stains off the circle drive.

I wrote songs, sang and played the guitar. I was pretty much a solo act. I was never one of the well known Way Prod acts but I did get a chance to perform here and there. Is still have a tape that I produced in a studio that another believer owned.