Watered Garden

"I was wrong; even to say that I didn't believe God would do worse for His children than an earthly father would for his was blasphemy. I am comparing God to man! Geez, five years of seminary and you never heard of condescensio?" Come to think of it, and of course I NEVER think of these things when I need to, Jesus did the same thing: He asked if your child asks for a fish will you give him a scorpion, or if he asks for bread will you give him a stone? And I forget the exact book, chapter and verse, but He goes on to say that if you as earthly father will give good things to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give you His children? Gosh, I hope this young man gets a chance to tell Jesus HE was wrong? Uh-huh, how's THAT workin' for ya?

A lightning rod attracts lightning and diffuses it. The man I referred to attracts criticism, talk, and controversy and diffuses it. That is why I used the reference to a lightning rod. They used to put them on top of houses in the Midwest in hopes of saving themselves from a lightning strike. Probably caused more of them, actually. WG

For a long time I doubted myself. I thought I was being 'too sensitive" or "too defensive." 'Pride' was another bugaboo. However, this last church plant, with a young (to me) minister who seemed to be interested most of all in going out to eat on the church's dime at least twice a day and then was promulgating a doctrine I found less than wholesome, really opened my eyes. Young, ambitious pastor meets charismatic lightning rod of a "leader" who preaches with confidence and occasional profanity and frequent downright meanness, a doctrine which is so "thus saith the Lord" that he will condemn to hellfire anyone who disagrees; "the sin is in questioning"; something supposedly new, exciting and different with a new large following; I saw in my mind's eye the young man who was our last BL, who worshipped the ground LCM put his size 12's on. When this guy came over to our house after we e-mailed a letter announcing our departure, he was loud, defensive, and politely belligerent; he and his master both believe that women MUST be silent in the church, yet I was the one doing most of the explanation of our differences (Mr. Garden was smiling hugely in approval) and it didn't matter what I said I was wrong; even to say that I didn't believe God would do worse for His children than an earthly father would for his was blasphemy. I am comparing God to man! Geez, five years of seminary and you never heard of condescensio? Trust your gut; if your skin crawls, your stomach clenches, and you shrink from attending; RUN! My response nowadays to religious people who try to drag me into false doctrines and weird classes is this: "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO COME BETWEEN ME AND MY HEAVENLY FATHER!" WG

Wheat berry pop tarts!???? :o Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the kitchen...... If I never even THINK of wheat berries again, it will be too soon. What the hell were they, anyway? They weren't wheat; I've seen wheat. They weren't wheat. Petrified poop of some kind is my guess. Thank God no one tells me what I can or cannot eat! Wheat berries are what the devil likes for breakfast! WG

And another thought...if this group encourages you to open up to them and share past hurts, really personal stuff, even stuff about TWI, I would probably not. Even friends need to give a little space. The only individual I ever shared a whole lot with about my TWI experience was a licensed psychologist who was treating me for depression. WG

Well, you know, I liked the church, just not the small group. The couple who coordinated the small group previously had decided to allow this second couple to take over. He was the nicest guy; she was to say the least legalistic. This was the same woman I had written about who had the snit fit about me sharing on a chapter of TPDL. I could never find it in my heart, however, to give her a nice blasting face-melt. I figured it would not have done much good. I think it is very wise to use great caution in getting involved in any class, group, retreat, what have you. If your gut is telling you this isn't right, I'd listen. That is what I did with the church plant we recently exited; I was mentally outta there a few months before Mr. Garden started asking me questions about their doctrine, affiliations, etc. I had already done the research and was armed and dangerous. I won't get fooled again! WG

Leafy, if you use the Search function, right under your picture in the upper right hand corner, and type in The Purpose Driven Life, you will find that there are lots of thoughts on the subject from GSC's past. WG

Much of The Purpose Driven Life book is Christianity 101. However, it can be creepy, too. Day (chapter) 19 deals with reproofs and corrections in a church family or small group. The small group I was in when I first studied this book was run by a couple, and the wife, who to my mind was as untrustworthy as Satan, was very excited about us getting to the place where we were always confronting one another, reproving one another and in each others' faces all the time. I suspect what she really meant was there were a lot of things she wanted to get in others' faces about, rather than someone getting right back in hers. I of course had been there and done that, so that was my last adventure in small groupiness. It's not TWI, and you can learn things, but I'd be cautious if I were you. Sometimes that whole experience just gives me the shivers. I think another poster here, I'm pretty sure it was Belle, had an even more adverse reaction than I did. You might PM her for some more insight. I just have gotten to the point that I don't want people in my face, or in my business for that matter. WG

I think what helped me the most was just being able to quietly think through the last three years we were involved and the illogical demands made on us. What kind of organization demands parents abandon or beat their child half to death? What college or university training does the kinds of things FWC did to us? And honestly, going to several churches helped me, too, especially with my issues with child care. One church in particular impressed me with the tenderness and love they extended toward little ones. Over three hundred members, even more attendees, and not a wooden spoon in sight! I was a pretty smart cookie at one time in my life, I think that God is helping me regenerate some of that. WG

Not early, not long, three months in 1993 BUT When the motion picture Black Hawk Down came out, about Mogadishu, Somalia, and Marines being killed and all, I had no idea it was anything but fiction and was shocked to learn the incident had tragically happened, but in September, 1993, when we were shut away from "the world" learning how to line up chairs in the dining room. I felt terribly cheated; I could have prayed for those people, that situation, the families, my country had I known. And it made it seem like an occurrence of such magnitude was belittled in the eyes of the Powers That Be; the awful possibility of someone hiding a bottle of Jack Daniel's in the trunk of their car and sneaking off for a snort at midnight was much more important. I know I'm not wording this very well; I hope some of you understand. I guess some of it was I didn't realize at the time how totally cut off from everything and everyone we were, as I was immersed in culture shock, fearful, and harassed constantly. WG

I remember someone, maybe Ralph D., stating that VPW had adamantly stated his name was never to place on anything at least while he was living. "So I guess he meant 'over my dead body!'" this individual joked. So it gets built, VPW dies, and there goes his name on the building! WG

Congratulations from me, too! WG "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." Carl Sandburg

Turnips? I thought that was a beet. Actually, I received attention early on from the garden coordinator, who thought it marvelous that someone had come along who knew a radish from a weed. I still have his attention after 32 years! I do have to add that in spite of the forced nature of our labors, the garden was the one thing I truly enjoyed about that place. Made more sense than getting yelled at over someone sleeping in who'd specifically instructed us NOT to disturb him. WG

"Excuse me. I think I'm allergic to ....!" (Sneezes) "Excuse me. I think I'm allergic to bull****!"

Changeling? WG

Kimberly, you need to sucker the tomato plants. Cut off most of the leaves that are not bearing. That will send the strength into making fruit. I learned this from a woman who was a Baptist preacher. She told me that is how God succors us; gets rid of the unfruitful parts of our lives so we can bear more fruit for Him! It works too! WG Mr. Garden and I are making jam today. Over 22 jars, mostly half-pints, of strawberry, and the black raspberry is next. We have a Victorio strainer with berry screen, and use Pomona's university pectin, which uses far less sugar than regular pectin. Very tasty, too, more like fruit with sugar than sugar with fruit. Very very labor intensive, but we only do it once or twice a year. We put up quite a bit of tomato this year too. Been raining all day. My main patch of sweet basil is flourishing like crazy. I've used so much it hasn't had a chance to try to flower. Before that happens, I will cut it off, bring it in and dry it in the microwave or the food drier. Microwave is easier. I planted cilantro seeds in the big pot on the front porch, and am thinking of growing some kale. I saw a recipe for Tuscan Kale that looks really interesting, on PBS. WG

HB from WG!

By the way, I wanted to thank Sky4It for starting this topic. It was very helpful to me in understanding what was going on in the church plant with which we were formerly involved. WG

WG

Pecans! You got pecans! We had a pecan tree in the backyard in NC. The squirrels would run up in the top of the tree and shake the nuts loose. We'd heard them hit the ground, and the dog was trained to chase the fellas back up in the tree while I collected them. Not to worry, though, I'm sure they got their share! WG

ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY INSPIRATIONAL!!! THE BAND IS IN THE TUNNEL!!!! O! H! wg

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." WG

My Fair Lady. We must have posted very close to each other. Any idea where my line is from? (Hint: there was another one a few pages back from the same flick. This is a different character in that flick).

"And you're under arrest, you son of a bytch!" WG

Bumping this up to the top in case anyone who came here since 2004 knows anything about them. Thanks. WG