Watered Garden

You know, I think it just brings back some of the feelings of being excluded by the Exclusive Ones to some of us. But then if it were a site for Catholic priests and you had to be a priest to look at the site, or Amway distributors, and you had to post your Amway distributor number to be allowed to look at the site, that would be the same difference. There are a few WC folks I would love to know what happened to them, if they are "out" etc., but I also think if they wanted to contact me they would do so. So peace be upon the WC site, their administrators, and their participants. God bless them every one. WG

First, let me add my greetings and welcome! Second, I feel for you and your girlfriend. I hope you understand that the pull of this organization is like an undertow to hell. There is, according to TWI, no other ministry that teaches God's Word with accuracy and integrity. In the mid-1990s they actually taught in some areas that if you left, the Christ in you died! My experience has been that TWI mixes some truth in with their own doctrine that they allege hasn't been known since the First Century, when actually it is known in most of the churches I've attended since. She's gonna need a lot of support; they will immediately work with all diligence to drive a wedge in between you. I would suggest if she wants to go back to a fellowship you go together. Be aware, however, that questions are strongly discouraged; to question is to doubt; to doubt is to court death. Oh and by the way: That fellowship leader who said you would not receive God's blessings if you left TWI? He is a liar. You will too receive God's blessings! Who is he to say what God can and cannot do in your life? If the church you and she attend has some community groups I would strongly suggest getting involved in one of these; it will seem enough like a TWI fellowship to satisfy the need for small group closeness that many people miss when they first leave TWI, but it won't be as invasive as TWI (I hope). If you don't feel comfortable going, hopefully together, to a pastor for counseling, some good secular counseling can help. She has basically been ripped loose from everything she knows and is used to, and may well go through a rough patch emotionally. Good luck and I'll be praying for you! WG

Exactly my thoughts at the moment. And of course Sprout reminded Mini that the dog would probably be eaten as well. However, the whole incident was good at the end. Apparently schnauzers are not as bright as my little Bodacious or maybe it just wasn't bonded to its new family. Also it is not neutered, and therefore needs a brain adjustment in the worst way. WG

Absolutely! It is an absolute abomination for anyone to be permitted to meet with friends on a weekly basis in their home, especially to pray, sing hymns and praise God! That pastor and his wife must be made an example! Take them to the nearest soccer stadium, assemble all of their neighbors, hang them, draw and quarter them and parade their disgusting heads around on pikes! Oh, Wait! This is America. Our Constitution says " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,'" so maybe it should be used to start the fire to burn their worthless carcasses. I bet if they were Muslim, Jewish or Wiccan, there would be no objections whatsoever. Or if it was a meeting of NAMBLA that would be okay. I believe you can be Christian and conservative or Christian and liberal, but the knee jerk reaction on GSC to soundly condemn any Christian group that has problems like this astounds me. And yes, there was one twig of WOW's in Ft. Worth who met in someone's home and were asked not to take up all the parking, but that was eventually resolved. Being a good neighbor is important, but it is a two-way street. And no one can say whether the pastor and his wife were baldfaced liars about what the county official told them or not, though y'all seem to assume they are. And by the way, a community group is NOT a business, it's a community group. WG

Well I got to meet the Scottie and it is actually a miniature Schnauzer. Cute little thing but I don't like the way it acts around the Mini all that much. He tends to mess with dogs, and while my wonderful cocker can dish it out as well as take it, the schnauzer already snapped at him once, and grabbed my hand for something, which got him a grasped, shaken muzzle, and a firm "NO! BAD DOG" from me, since I wasn't doing anything remotely threatening, just looking at a bur he'd got caught on his leg when he ran off to explore the woods. He did calm down a bit. But he is Sprout's dog and doesn't respond much to anyone else, which Sprout loves, but is not IMO a great thing in a family pet. They need to get it scanned for a microchip, and then maybe the real owner will get it back. We'll see. It is cute. WG

I was in FWC for three months, and mostly what I learned was what a worthless piece of poo-poo I was, every thought, word and deed since the day I was born, and the senior WC and staff would need to rebuild me from the ground up if I were ever to amount to a hill of beans. Before that, there were deep dark spiritual secrets that were known only to the WC, to which I was never to be privy, because I was simply "not spiritual enough to handle it." That included when I was in FLO, which had the exact same principles and did the same grungy work for free. I remember, and this is silly but it stung deeply at the time, kind of like blundering into a hornets' nest you didn't know was there, one time when we lived in Charleston and there was some big whoop-de-do about naming something, some Charleston-type theme, and since there was a High Country Caravan in Colorado, I suggested "Low Country Caravan" or something siimilar, because Charleston calls itself the Low Country (due to sea level, not anything remotely spiritual). I was very haughtily informed that High Country referred to "The High Country of God's Word" which was something for only the Corps to know, because the rest of us were too dumb and dull-minded to possibly understand the in-depth spiritual secrets and meanings of the term, and to suggest anything playing on that sacred term was insulting to God, God's Ministry, God's Way Corps, and even the Man of God Himself, VPW. It may have been a banner they were making for use at a limb meeting or the ROA. I was of course properly humiliated, embarrassed, and put in my lowly place. I never volunteered anything again as long as that couple were in charge. The husband had assisted VPW with research for one of his most famous and controversial "research" books, and I guess that made both of them very special. The extra-special "training in the Whole Word" the WC received and the rest of us could never understand was used on me as a bludgeon more than once, but that's okay. I like to keep my walk with God as uncomplicated as possible. WG

Yep, I'd never borrow it. WG

I think that's hilarious! It is really sad in a way. I haven't been there except to go to the Home & Garden Show, which is in February (I think( and was very nice. Are there any really cool cities in Ohio? I haven't been to Cincinnati either. Columbus is desperately trying to become a tourist destination if you would love a tour pointing out all the exciting gang insignia sprayed all over, and the house in Whitehall that Extreme Makeovers built for a gentleman who struggles to pay his suddenly elevated property tax. WG (OH AND DON'T SAY NEW KNOXVILLE, PLEASE DON'T SAY NEW KNOXVILLE!

I don't use my real name to protect myself and my family from a lot of things. I doubt if anyone "in" would much care who I am but if they did they could hurt my loved ones. There are a few people who know who I am on GSC. I post stuff here from my present that I wouldn't much want anyone to know I posted, either. I do use my real name on Facebook, but I don't much like Facebook and may deactivate my account. WG

If you want to live the 5 principles I think that's fine. It's your life. The problem I have with that is I think they contribute to a regimented, legalistic lifestyle that is incongruous with the life Christ came to give us. Jesus Christ's life, suffering, death and resurrection freed us from the curse of the law, and I think most individuals who call themselves Christian have been trying to get back under the law ever since, or at least put others under the law. Self-discipline is a wonderful thing, if it's voluntary. Involuntary self-discipline to regiment oneself to an artificial standard of impossibly perfected legalism is neither loving nor logical in a love walk. IMO. WG

Here is how to get rid of slugs. You take several shallow bowls, about 4-6 inches across and set them in the garden so the lip of the bowl is almost level with the soil. Fill these with beer that is very fragrant - plain old Budweiser is excellent. At night when the slugs come out, they will slide right down into the beer and drown. And you don't have to feel bad 'cause they died happy! They do! I've seen the little smiles on their faces! WG (Seriously, this works). You can also sprinkle them with salt and watch them slime themselves to death, but this seems cruel, plus I had a dog once ate a salted slug on his way out the door. EEEWWWW!

Is that woman Fannie Brice? WG

When we were first married, I used to trail along behind Mr. Garden, not out of submissiveness, but because I was looking around, especially in department stores and malls, etc., until one day I followed him right into the men's room! After that, I paid more attention! WG

HB from WG!

I think the gray things next to the tip of its tail are roots of the tree. I was always under the impression that Michaelangelo was gay. I remember a long time ago reading one of those fictional biography books; "The Agony and the Ecstasy"? Also he bootlegged corpses out of graveyards to dissect to learn anatomy; punishable by execution. That was a rumor, probably or fiction, but may have been true. I don't recall a lot of the book but I think they made a movie of it. Even if it's true, he sure didn't study female anatomy. And yep, Eve's face was definitely transferred from somewhere else. I know I've heard that sin makes you ugly, but that's ridiculous. I think he may have used different models for the before and after. He was known to paint faces of people he either liked or disliked, or even himself, into crowd scenes. In the "Last Judgment, some saint or other is shown holding his skin, having been martyred by flaying alive. The face of the saint is some enemy of Michaelangelo's while the face on the skin he is holding is that of the artist himself! WG

Is the serpent portrayed with a woman's top half or are those man-boobs? WG

That was because they greatly diminished the role of Christ, replacing Him with The Ministry. I will never again allow an organization get into my head like that. WG

I always found it very interesting that the women in TWI who expounded on the grovelling submission of their sisters were the selfsame females who ruled their husband with an iron fist in a velvet glove. The individual who hammered me as I mentioned in my last post was not very submissive; she could act like it, but every so often a little glimpse into a private moment told the rest of the story. Of course, she was more than willing to turn me into a grovelling idiot. But that was TWI-doctrine. Remember that book "The Total Woman" TWI promoted in the late 70's early 80's how to manipulate with sex and never be straightforward and tell the truth? My husband told me early on if all he wanted to hear was his own opinion parroted back at him, he would have gotten himself a good tape recorder. He asked me what I think because he wants to know, and he is smart enough himself to realize the "intelligent woman" is NOT an oxymoron! WG

I am so sorry about your Bucky. That is just a shame! I am fortunate to have good neighbors who, while they liked my lab much better than they like my cocker spaniel, are very aware when she decides to take a run across their driveway, with me in hot pursuit, and watch very carefully. She is getting better about staying on her own 4 acres, but when she sees a kid, aka her new best friend, she can't resist. Mr. Garden thinks I'm paranoid. I say I'm prudent, so many times she goes around her yard with me on the other end of a leash. WG

Thanks for the info, y'all. Sprout says this one loves the baby. We'll see how he does with our cocker spaniel and MiniSprout. I think he's pretty young. Probably given away because his original humans couldn't spend time with him. As far as interaction with children. I got my lab, Sophie, because the people who had owned her from puppyhood said she was vicious around their child and might harm it. This of course because they had no time for her and didn't want her any more. She was the best damn dog I ever had or ever will have. If I can only have one dog in heaven, I want it to be her. She let Mini crawl all over her, loved him extravagantly, and would have died protecting him if need be. You cannot tell just from the writeups. I've seen pit bulls that were wussies. Maxx, our first cocker, used to kill moles in the garden. He only brought one in, though, when we were on vacation and a friend was dog/house sitting for us. She was not real impressed when he came prancing in the house with a little mole butt hanging out of his mouth. She was less impressed when she found out it was still alive. WG

The Sprout just wrote me last night that someone had given him and his wife a Scottie. It is, he states very sweet and lovable. Fine with me, but I'm concerned about whether it likes kids (to play with, not for breakfast). Has anyone every owned one of these dogs? WG

When I am working in the garden or flower beds, I feel like I am in one of the few places I can really make a difference. A couple of afternoons ago, I got out and painted straight Roundup on the leaves of some very nasty weeds, the kinds of thistles that have long, long roots and cannot be killed by ripping them out. The roots go down several feet and will just regenerate in a couple of months. Genesis says thorns and thistles (3:18) are part of the curse and I believe it! :( wg

Though I cannot find any documentation, I am easonably certain that poem was written by Edgar A. Guest, who wrote many little poems of the wholesome, encouraging sort, all as I recall in iambic pentameter. WG

This actually happened the beginning of our tenure. Mr. Garden was a 3rd year FLO; Waysider and I were in the 4th. So Mr. Garden had been there a year when we joined the happy throng. The limb HQ was a former dance barn in what was then more of a rural setting than it is now. There was a small house adjacent that was also part of the property, where the limb leader and family resided; not nearly as luxurious as the ones they leased for their enjoyment in later years. Behind the house and barn the land dropped away. There was a creek at the bottom of the hill with trees around it. Semi-unseen beyond the creek was a very large organic garden. Mr. Garden was in charge of the garden. Watering the garden was a problem, so they had a large kiddie swimming pool, the kind with sides about 1 1/2 to 2 feet high out there; there was enough hose to fill it with water, and then we carried buckets of water to dump on the plants. Once while Mr. Garden and some others were harvesting stuff out there, he noticed some very large bees buzzing past his workers, preceded by a loud BOOM from up on the hill. He realized what it was, and ran up to the back of the house to find the limb leader had set up a target at the edge of the hill behind the house and was practicing shooting his .45, blissfully unaware he could have taken out a couple of free laborers with his misses. (The guy wore coke-bottle-bottom glasses and wasn't the greatest shot). Mr. Garden went ballistic, no respecter of persons he. The guy did blast a respectable hole in the side of the swimming pool sometime later. Mr. Garden didn't like that, either. But at least the hole was in an inanimate object. He did manage to poach a duck the following spring. The guy didn't even look first to see if anyone was down there. Or maybe he just thought a pistol shot wouldn't carry that far. It was a Dirty Harry size pistol, though, and most surely would have caused grievous harm or even death. WG

Oh and let's not forget that Ohio Limb HQ had been a dance barn complete with bar, and we were also digging broken beer bottles, rusty tin cans and all kinds of nasties out of there. The best part was when a snake of mysterious genus swam from one end to the other. The mass exodus from that creek would have won a track meet. I am embarrassed to admit that I remember kind of claiming a need for a potty break and sort of not coming back....that was the stupidest, most disgusting thing we had to do. But not as dangerous as getting shot at. That happened but not me personally. WG