Watered Garden

There is an old thread titled "Child Abuse in The Way" that you should read. It documents a legal case where the leadership of TWI, right up to VPW himself, protected a homosexual pedophile and assigned him the task of leading children's fellowships where he came into regular contact with young boys, moved him to another state when he was caught out by parents, and gave him the same assignment. That time, the law took care of him but not before he ruined lives and marriages. The individual's name and I think picture are posted on that thread, so you can look him up in the sex offender registry of the state where this happened. That good enough for you? There's another thread or two on another pedophile or two, but I cannot remember their names. One of them was quite recent, like 2008. WG

Mr. Garden and I had a nasty over the weekend, but it was lower GI not respiratory, so I don't think it was swine flu. Still feeling woozy from time to time. Spent all day Sunday in bed, eating nothing drinking water and some tea. A gift from a hapless student where he teaches, I suspect. WG

Oh, please don't do that! I should not have taken it so personally! I was wrong and I apologize. WG

You know, I really don't give a rat's behind whether YOU think I am saved or unsaved. If it makes you happy to think I'm going to rot in hell, go right ahead. I don't see anything in Scripture that says I have to prove a damn thing to you or anyone else. And I'm not the least bit concerned about your opinion of speaking in tongues. Don't you people hold the Bible in high esteem? Doesn't Paul say "I would ye all spake in tongues?" Have a nice life, honey, you obviously have it all figured out. WG

Okay, I think this is getting too personal, and it ought not to be so. I apologize and wish to withdraw from the discussion, not because I think I'm unsaved but because I do think it is the right thing for me to do. wG

Let me make myself clear. I am saved to the uttermost. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; I believe that He died for my sins. I believe that those who do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are doomed to roast in the fiery flames of hell for all eternity. I believe that I am baptized in Holy Spirit. Actually I don't just believe this, I KNOW this. I speak in tongues, which my former dyed-in-the-wool Calvinist clergyman says ceased with the death of the original 12 apostles, plus Paul of course. I am saved by grace, not of works. I know God, and I know He loves me and cares for me. I do not ascribe to any "theology", man's explanation of God. I ascribe to Holy Scripture which is God's explanation of Himself, written as holy men of God were inspired by the Holy Spirit. My understanding of Calvin's theology is that everything is predestinated, right down to which shoe you put on first this morning. So it doesn't matter if you believe or not; you're either one of the very special chosen few or one of those most who will roast. I asked my former pastor, in that case, why witness? He said" because God commands it. Even though you will never lead anyone to Christ (the Holy Spirit does that) you are to witness because God says to." Same with praying for the sick: God makes people sick; if you are sick, it is God's will, probably for some unconfessed sin, but maybe because of the fall of mankind. So God will NOT heal anyone if you pray for them, unless He predestinated them to get over their malady in the first place. You understand that? GOD DOES NOT HEAL! There is no use to pray for for the sick, except God commands us to pray for the sick. This is what this guy told me. This gentleman does not visit the sick in the hospitals, nor come to funeral homes or funerals to comfort his parishoners who have lost a loved one. Wherever I look, I see God's grace and mercy and also God's logic. Calvinism is not logical; doesn't make any sense. Perhaps you should set aside Piper, Driscoll and McArthur and read the Bible instead. I like the Amplified myself. WG

Geisha, Number one, I know for a certainty that I am saved. I do not question my salvation. Number two, it is IMPOSSIBLE to pray for saving faith, according to Calvinism. Saving faith versus common faith was determined before the foundations of the earth, according to Calvinism, after the pleasure of God's good will. You can therefore pray until you are blue in the face. You can confess Christ as your lord, and if you're not on the short list, you're damned. Don't ever question my salvation. I am saved by grace, not of works. I am saved by the blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross, and by confessing Him as Lord and believing in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I think Calvinism is one of the most vicious, exclusive, legalistic cults I ever heard of. Every Calvinist who posted on this thread has displayed the same snide, superior, smug attitude of "I am saved and you are not because I know I'm on the short list! nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!" That's exactly why we left the church plant. If you really believe that you are one of very very few whom God has chosen to spend eternity with Him, why not show a little humility; you didn't deserve it you know! WG And if I DID question my salvation that would be straight from the pit of hell, not from the Holy Spirit.

"I think I will leave that to the more enlightened. " Good idea! WG

You know, my next door neighbors garden, also. They have a couple dozen butternut squash just lying out there, untouched. They did the same thing with their tomatoes. I am so tempted to go knock on their door and offer to help process this stuff, but I think they'd be insulted. My parents were children of the Great Depression and also of WWII. They taught me it is a sin to waste food. Grrr! On a lighter note, I think we might grow the same squash next year, and also a few pie pumpkins. WG

Too Cool! Reminds me of "The Karate Kid" where Mr. Myagi could grab a fly out of the air using chopsticks! (shows my age, huh?) ;-) WG

One of my all time favorites and always in my heart dedicated to my precious firstborn grandson.

We got our flu shots. The high school where Mr. Garden teaches has had 100 absences per day. Mr. Garden is not feeling so well with an upset digestive system. I feel fine. God bless you guys! Hope you all feel better soon! WG

Waysider: "Dreams are caused by devil spirits who have either gotten through the trap door or are trying to." Cucumbers will give you dreams, too. So will Ambien, Darvocet-N 100, and numerous other medications. I understand some illegal substances give you flashbacks, but I don't think that's the same thing. WG

Hey, I'm gonna think on this and get back to you. I agree, it's very interesting. Biblically speaking, Jesus told his disciples that whoever would be greatest among them would be the greatest servant, but we sure don't see that in the groups you mentioned, Jeff, or a whole lot of others. It makes me nauseated when I see these young guys emulating the Rev. Whozits because they think he is The Man. More later... WG

When Harry Met Sally? WG

Absolutely wonderful. She may well have saved that young man's life in more ways that one.\\ wg

Retired grammar police agrees with Oakspear. WG

I thought Gibbs just said that about liquid nitrogen in the thermos to get her to confess. Anyway, I'm no scientist, so I just enjoyed it. Especially Ziva giving Tony that drink that made "BlueTooth" a little more personal for him! WG

Jeff - EXACTLY! That was the first "uh-oh" for me. I think I tended to watch behavior and attitudes; Mr. Garden simply decided he didn't agree with the doctrine. I first noticed changes in the young guy, and then checked out his mentor/tupos online, and realized the guy here was emulating the speech, dress, attitudes and actions of the guy on the left coast. It gave me a TWI flashback, ever have one of those? The BL in our last area didn't really remember VPW; he did, however, think LCM was the cat's whiskers, and imitated LCM's speech patterns, dress, mannerisms, even the way LCM moved around the stage. It was deja' vue all over again! My only regret is that I never got to gently share my heart with the "kid" as to where this may lead him, but I doubt it would have done any good. He is as stubborn as a Missouri mule with his butt in a warm barn and his head out the door in a snowstorm. There's a lot more, but I have to get to work. Very perceptive, Jeff! Thanks! WG

Well I have not broken the big 10; don't even covet my neighbor's pickup truck. I do pray for all the people out there who are being used and abused by wannabes like the aforementioned individuals. And I do see evidence of the existence of God in other things. And I do see His blessings on my life. And yeah, there is suffering in this world. I'm not afraid of suffering as much as I fear being misunderstood, and I don't fear that as much as I fear that God hates me for my imperfection. It just annoys me greatly when people misrepresent God; like T-Bone said it's always YOUR fault and you blew it somewhere. As the first WC grad I talked to after diagnosis said, "Do you understand what it is THAT YOU DID that caused this to happen to you?" Well, lessee, I think we are pretty much giving every spare penny to TWI so it's not the sin of shirking on ABS. I am doing my damndest to learn to be very very meek, humble, submissive, jump through all the hoops to be always in all subjection. I am trying to be blessed about living somewhere 3000 miles from my sick mother, where it rains all the time and I never see the sun. I am very very kind and loving to my son, even when he tells me to go F myself. I am trying to be a groveling idiot, not a woman who loves God and has more than two brain cells. So what DID I do that caused this to happen to me? Oh, I know, I was born wearing the wrong set of genes! And it ticks me off when I am told that God does not ever heal people any more, because it is God who brings sickness and disease in the first place. If you get hit by a cow pie, it was God who flung it, not Satan. (Satan doesn't need to work too hard these days; Christians think God does all this dang to them instead of the devil, so he can just sit back and laugh his azz off.) It ticks me off when some know-it-all announces that no one speaks in tongues any more because that died with the apostles. God does not give revelation to just anyone who believes, only the special few. I so wanted to just stand right up and SIT right in his face when he said that. Could I learn something from Piper, McArthur, Driscoll, Calvin Himself? Maybe. But I don't think I will ever read any of those guys when I so strongly disagree with some of the doctrines which they clutch firmly in their right fist and will never loosen their grip: Election of the few, limited atonement, God is a God of hate, not love (yes, Driscoll said that)and women are inferior subhumans placed on earth to be the servants of men. Nope. Wouldn't want to waste my time. WG

It sure is! I looked at our one big gangly tomato plant that is slowly frosting to death in the front flower bed and there are a half dozen or so big green tomatoes stashed between two holly bushes. I'm bringing them in for the last hurrah! Got some cilantro growing in big pots on the porch, where even when it is cold they get lots of morning sun. Seems very happy there, along with some stock for the sweet smell. (Stock is a flower that grows in cool weather and smells real purty). I want to try more beans next year, different kinds than just the green beans. Maybe limas, or who knows? I've gotten so much inspiration from this forum!!!! WG

I enjoy reading my Bible. Peoples' opinions about God are sometimes wonderful, sometimes not. I'm sure the young pastor I mentioned reads every one of the authors you do. He is a staunch, devoted, Reformed Calvinist who is convinced that Mark Driscoll is the greatest man of God alive today, much as in the early 1970s many of us were convinced that VPW was the greatest man of God alive for that day. That was another factor in leaving the church plant. I've seen what idolizing an authority figure like that does to idealistic young men. It was not pretty then and it is not pretty now. I am absolutely burned out to the max from having this stuff crammed down my throat or thrown at me like cow pies. I had TWI to convince me I was totally useless, utterly worthless, definitely second rate because I'm a lowly female, and all that other happy BS. I don't need to hear it again from Driscoll, McArthur, Piper, or John Calvin himself for that matter. I am a child of God with the power of Christ in me and on me. Period. I answer to the Lord Jesus Christ, not that two-bit, smug, holier than thou know-it-all kid preacher who wouldn't know how to pastor God's people if Paul himself came down from heaven to show him. WG

I did not realize that the evil Ari showed up in the first season, disguised as a corpse, to attempt to retrieve the dead body of a terrorist that Gibbs had shot. Kate has this weird attraction to him and he plays her. What a creepy guy! WG

I think I first heard The Red Thread in the Adv. Class. I did hear Oral Roberts himself recite it once at a class. Pretty impressive. WG

Yeah, when I saw the title I thought it was a oxymoron. WG