johniam

I liked Dan Moran's song 'Let us magnify His word' that got in the early 80s songbook. As for way prod music, I'm like an oldies station for our fellowship. There are folks who write their own songs, but I often get the nod for big fellowships. I play songs like Gotta be God, Last night in Galilee, Putting wings to your prayer (pressed down), Daddy's arms, One by one, and the like. I got a huge response from the Cowboy's Father. That was on the 'Fellow workers with God' recording (1988). Not sure who wrote it but I think Dave Lutz sang it. Even the 20 something kids of old believers like that stuff. What can I say? It lives!

quote: Can you imagine Rosie having a (nice little) twig in her house and leading adults into songs like those mentioned here, with appropriate actions? Like "Going on a Bear Hunt"? "If You're Happy [blessed] and You Know it, Clap your Hands"? Etc? Mmmmmm..... In her case it would be....if you're ugly and you know it, hit your face.

Who would WANT to live forever in this life? Human life seems to gravitate to routine. Been there, done that. How many times can one be there and do that before just...losing interest? Phyllis Diller and Ernest Borgnine died this year in their 90s. Both George Burns and Bob Hope seemed to check out very soon after turning three figures; like that was the only reason they stayed alive; to hit that milestone. I heard a comic say recently that if we all have eternal life, then after a few thousand years everybody will still end up looking at their watches a lot. IMO, one's outlook on life definitely has an impact on how long they live. If someone has spent years feeling trapped in life, not enjoying it much, they can become vulnerable to physical diseases. I bet a lot of suicides are borne of feeling like a temporary feeling is never going to get any better, so why not? But the idea that you can live longer solely because of your "right believing" is just another form of self righteousness.

Last weekend I went to my 40th year high school reunion. Totally euphoric experience. Last year I posted somewhere about how I'd paid a price for choosing twi and how nobody from before twi wanted anything to do with me. Well, last December I was sent a link to the reunion website. Ever since then the anticipation had been building to a climax. Pretty much every day I'd spend time thinking about what I'd say to whom. Not distracted to the point that I couldn't focus on anything else, but definitely fixated. I figured they'd remember what a stoner I was plus maybe they heard I was in a religious cult so I wasn't sure that anybody would want to talk to me. (Umm...I don't know that guy.)But I had to find out. I didn't go to the 10 year reunion because it was during Living Victoriously. I plain chickened out of the 20 year one and we didn't have a 30th, so I hadn't seen most of those folks since HS. The reunion website allowed private communication between anyone who registered on it, and 2 guys sent messages to me. I sent messages to 2 others which were answered positively. During the last month there was a final count of who was coming. Our class had over 400 in it and about 100 came. I prepared by reading people's personal profiles, pouring over yearbooks, and just letting whatever memories I had come. Most of us didn't bring spouses, rather brothers, friends, or people from other graduating classes. I came with the guy who got me in the word, also a classmate. He wasn't expecting much, but had long conversations with 3 different people and was glad he came. When we got there my stomach was in a knot. Emotionally charged up. Some recognized me instantly, others were amazed when they saw my nametag. I still thought it possible that not many would want to talk to me; thought I might spend most of the night at the bar. I did have 6 drinks; more than usual for me, and the adrenaline I felt absorbed all the alcohol. But I had a wonderful time. I kept going from person to person, small group to small group, talked to several people, at least 15-20 or more. No awkward moments. I had a few very pleasant conversations with people I didn't care for while in HS. One guy came all the way from Austrailia. Going to this satisfied my curiosity, and, I think, did the same for others about me. I'm guessing that some people, after talking to me, thought to themselves, "How does he remember that...in fact, how does he remember ANYTHING?" Anybody haver similar experiences with reunions???

Hmm. What's worse? A dog named Tick, or a boy named Sue?

I thought Dave Garibaldi was Takit's drummer.

quote: it fit together like a hand in a condom. Head gasket for a hot rod. Dannon or Yoplait? Sugared or plain? 1978 basement of BRC neo fascist Sam Drucker lady orders me to pass the familia.

Never heard O'reilly on his show. He appeared on an episode of Rizzoli and Isles. I think Isles is sexier than Rizzoli. Angie Harmon is just too pretty, too well chizzled. I wonder if she is what John Lennon meant by "she's so good looking that she looks like a man". She was like that on Law and Order, too. But O'reilly was on that show. He sounds like Rush Limbaugh. I like some of what he says, but don't agree with him on other stuff; he's got his blind spots. As for John Reynolds, he sounds like he really really thinks twi is the only thing relevant in the whole universe. Glad it's him and not me. He probably posted that on Facebook, Ham. Jesus once referred to Galilleans whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices. He didn't say it could have been prevented by anyone being spiritually plugged in.

I heard while in twi that Martin Luther was against Jews. It wasn't a big deal. In case you haven't noticed, they're against us. BTW, what about people who've been kidnapped and deprogrammed and, in some cases, killed. Is one of them too many?

So you admit that you think the catholic church is a "sin laden organization"? All those millions of people put in the box of 'sin laden'? When are you going to stop obsessing about what you can't control and live your life?

quote: Perhaps, those who scoff at twi's association towards evil.....might gain a deeper perspective of institutional failure by reading the following article. I agree with Excie; as long as the catholic church still exists, twi won't even get on the radar. I bet Jerry Sandusky never got anyone born again.

quote: I'm sure Rosalie and Donna have pondered that same question, and came to the same conclusion- with about $50 million missing, the IRS/FBI would follow them to the ends of the earth. OK. Another wrinkle. This reminds me of 2 lines from the first 'Die hard' movie. Bruce Willis asks Hans, the bad guy, "Why did you have to blow up the roof?" Hans says, "Because if you steal $600.00 you can just disappear, but if you steal 600 MILLION dollars, they WILL find you, unless they think you're already dead." So here's what twi should do. Send invitations to everybody, spinoffs included. It'll be like Hezekiah's passover. All is forgiven, let's reconcile, it's all good...yeah, baby! Then during the big meeting, have a communion with poisoned wine. Everybody dies then they torch the WOW auditorium deliberately leaving a note behind saying that the word IS over the world and Christ HAS returned and they're gone to their private Idaho island and the IRS/FBI just might fall for it. Those cult people, y'know.

Couldn't they just dupe someone(s) and have them mind the store and when the IRS comes the twi people are gone and, but, but, I'm just the accountant!

I visited southern CA 25 years ago. They had lanes of traffic on freeways designated as carpool lanes. If you drove in those lanes with less than 4 people in your car, you could get a ticket. Something like that. So people were putting mannequins in the front and back seats so they could use those lanes and save time. Maybe at the STS twi could.....

Wouldn't surprise me. Let me get this straight: twi has, what, 40 million dollars stashed away? Fewer and fewer loyal followers? Why haven't they just left and bought a tropical island somewhere? What are they waiting for? Are they having trouble deciding who all gets to go and who gets left behind?

No failure. Each person has to choose what they feel is right for them. I put myself through many anxious moments for years. It was about when I turned 30 that things changed. That song by Bonnie Raitt. I can't make you love me if you don't. I can't make your heart feel something it won't. That song came out about the time I got married, but I think there's some truth in it. I just had to make up my mind that I was going to enjoy my life even if I NEVER got married. Once I did that I was peaceful, not anxious anymore. Then I met my wife.

I probably posted that stuff in the prayer forum. To recap, he had been eating with a feeding tube since last September, had a successful surgery May 8, has been on the mend since. Don't know if he still requires the feeding tube or not, don't know if he's out of the woods or not.

quote: I am in one of those "any two believers" marriage. Twenty five years of shared goals and seven kiiddoes later, yeah we are still together. maybe any two believers CAN make iti work, but it sure is mighty lonely without genuine attraction. it seems like a real waste to spend an entire life time eith someone who barely tolerates your presence because you are traveling in the same direction I think it was a really REALLY bad idea. Rascal, I'm not picking on you; I think there's a lot of substance in what you said. What I'm wondering is, what were your options other than just to keep waiting? I was 34 when I got married and I sometimes thought my time had passed. Marriage is serious; you don't want to do it lightly, but you want to get it done while you're still young. There's a woman in STL who got into twi in the mid 70s. Very attractive. She is now 60 yrs old. Never married. From the snippets of gossip I've heard, she has been too demanding. Wanted to marry Jesus, or something very close. No man ever measured up. But that's the other extreme. Either it's any two believers can make a marriage work, or nobody's good enough for ME! Of those two, I'll gladly take the former.

Hollywood routinely wastes money and time and resources on movies. Ever wonder why, lately, they seem to do a lot of remakes of classic old movies whether they make money or not? In 1990 the remade 'Father of the bride' with Steve Martin as the title character. Big wedding. HUGE! Biggest wedding I ever saw other than Charles and Diana. Then, right at the climax, during the wedding ceremony, the minister can't even say the word 'God'. He says "Dearly beloved, we are assembled in the sight of society...". What? First of all, that's redundant. The 'we' of that sentence IS society. We are assembled in the sight of ourselves? Hollywood doesn't need money. They are preaching today's 'flavor of the decade' state religion, politically correct. PC is a pseudo religion, but its converts can be just as torch carrying and self righteous as any other religion. My friend, Russell Coleman does a song called 'The whores of Hollywood'. Its chorus repeats, "they are the whores of Hollywood, selling their souls as they sell their lies, they are the whores of Hollywood, promoting everything but Jesus Christ". He gets a good response from that song.

I used to pray for God to "multiply my sleep". This would happen if I had maybe 3 hours before I had to get up and didn't want to be tired all day. I first heard this done by another believer. Don't know how ministry wide this was, don't know if it actually helped the situation, though it seemed to at times. Anything's possible. So... Is it also possible for God to "multiply" our middle years? That way, even though time has been lost, with God's intervention, we could feel as though we got a full life, even though time was lost somewhere. Just a thought.

I know a guy from the 11th corps. He said during his first year in residence he had a meeting with John Lynn. During the talk this guy said he was lonely. That sounds like it could have been seen as weakness, but JL later gave him the names of 4 single women, one of whom is now his wife. One thing I KNOW they had in common is they both came from well to do families. They just became grandparents for the first time. Seem to be OK. Every girl I thought I was in love with didn't work out, before and during twi. One time there was an engagement. I met my wife at twig. Had our first date 2 months later, married 3 years later. I never felt in love with her like I did the ones that didn't work out. But we're almost 24 years now. Everybody's experiences are different. My mom married during the depression. She had to elope; her parents wanted her to marry a more educated man. She said the night they married she felt euphoric in love, but she hoped at the time she would still feel that way 10 years later. They didn't have any kids until 1940, she had to work before that and my dad got a correspondence course degree and got hired by Lear Inc. early 40s. It was death that parted them. But saying that any 2 believers can make a marriage work? It's just not that simple. Prayer is helpful. So is giving without expecting to receive again. If one of the 2 people is doing all the giving, that's a problem.

I think there's a happy medium here. First there's the idea that everybody has just one perfect mate in life and that person is blowing in the wind and hopefully you will find that person and live happily ever after. How many people have that happen? Not too many, probably. Then there's the idea that "any two believers can make a marriage work in the renewed mind" or whatever. How many people have THAT happen? Probably more than the other. I think there's several people each of us could have married and had success with, but not "every believer". How many times do you suppose two people have had feelings for each other, but one of them has cold feet, so the other one marries someone else? Paul McCartney is certainly an advocate for the first scenerio. He has cranked out a lot of silly love songs. In 'Maybe I'm Amazed' he says "maybe you're the only woman who could EVER HELP ME!" Yeah, we all feel like that at times, but over the years it takes more than intense feelings to have a successful marriage. I thought it was almost cruel that when Paul was 64 he was being divorced by that one legged golddigger. One thing that has helped me is realizing that I'm not married to a page of scripture or a teaching tape, I'm married to a human who, like me, can be fickle and difficult. Sometimes you just screw the biblical principals and deal with that person as an individual. IMO.

Hi Raf. Ironically, that was the heart behind burn the ballast day. You rid yourself of stuff that had a harmful effect on you. The only difference is that burn the ballast was a public acknowledgement that you did this (like that really made anybody holier), and you did it privately. But it obviously made for a lighter burden for you. Not long ago I went through 4 tomato boxes of old sns tapes. More than 90% of the contents were put in the trash dumpster. I don't know when I'll move again; I just don't want stuff like that to clutter the process.

Love is brown. I guess brown looks bright compared to dull gray.