Watered Garden

Shifra, I indeed remember that horrible confrontation. So stupid. I was pretty well cowed by then and didn't dare open my mouth, but I kept hoping and praying that wonderful young woman would stand up, yell at him, "Well, hang your own damn clothes up from now on, you lazy, egotistical SOB!" and march right out of the chapel and up to her room to pack. I got the definite impression he had never TOLD her how he wanted his clothes hung. She was supposed to get revelation from God how to match this shirt to those pants, as far as I could tell. If he was that freakin' picky, he should have at least labelled them, for pete's sake. I also remember the 19th WC woman with asthma who actually made it to Colorado but had bad asthma attacks and couldn't do LEAD. First he castigated her by name on a corps night, having had her removed from the premises and made to stay in motel room. Then the day after the LEAD folks returned, she had to sit with the rest of them and listen to the tape! I saw them in the little glassed in room at the end of the dining room (of course you could hear the darn tape all over the place) and she had her head down crying. The last I knew they were still in. He was even meaner and more hateful than his Teacher, with far less regard for the fragility of God's children than God himself has. Oh yeah, one more thing: Some of us don't need hats unless it's bitterly cold and windy outside 'cause WE have HAIR!!!! PS: I used to hang my clothes in the closet by outfit, i.e. pants and sweater or shirt that go together, but after that I quit doing it. The only person who has any right to say a word about the closet is the husband who shares it! I think LCM was just looking for an excuse to rip someone's heart out; must've almost replaced football as his favorite sport. WG

Cattcar, Have you ever taken a class taught by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson titled "Secrets of the Vine" or maybe read the book? Your doctrine and beliefs are very close to his, that God causes the bad things to happen to you as well as the good things. Lessee. I have a disease called insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. I don't know what you know about diabetes. It is a malfunction of the body's ability to produce insulin, in part or in whole. Mine is in whole. My pancreas shut down 13 years ago. At the time, I was involved with TWI. I was asked, "Do you understand what it is THAT YOU DID that caused this to happen to you." The questioner's thought was that surely I had sinned and God was punishing me, or "disciplining" me as the good Dr. Wilkinson would call it, for some sin I had committed. But I think you are saying that God gave me diabetes indeed, but His purpose is not necessarily to discipline me but to bless me, by later delivering me from the disease, hopefully before my legs rot off or I go on dialysis? You have just blessed Satan mightily by ascribing evil to God, or by saying all things are from God and therefore there is NO evil. I'm no scholar, and I really don't care to be, but I do not see any evil in God. And trust me, diabetes, cancer, hepatitis, heart disease, suffering and death are not good things. Personally, when Satan hands me lemons, I try to use them to make lemon chiffon pie, to bring glory to God and defy the wiles of the devil. Ask yourself this: Is Jesus Christ the living Word? Did He represent God accurately? If you answer yes, then look in the gospels and show me where Jesus did something evil to someone. Did He make people sick or heal them? Did raise people from the dead or kill them? Who is the "thief" in John 10:10? wg

I would check some websites of children's hospital. The one here in Cols. is Nationwide children's Hospital and I know they have a website where you can ask questions. There's a good children's hospital in Cleveland also and I think Cincinnati has one. Never having worked in cardiology, I have no idea. I expect you were at a cardiologist's office when you got this information. WebMD is good with explanations, but I think you have to join. I also will be praying. WG

In the midst of all these lengthy discourses I wanted to comment to Ex Cathedra that I think what you said lastly makes sense. I find it extremely difficult to put it into words, but I have been working this very thing in my mind. Still working on it. May understand some of it someday. WG

You may remember the beat up little Toyota Celica I acquired in 1975. It apparently had some sort of an electrical problem, and proceeded to die in the parking lot at Limb. There it sat, undriveable and forlorn, until on a Saturday JM told me to get it moved to he would have it towed at my expense, because some biggies from NK were coming soon and he didn't want them to see my hunk of junk sitting there. (Of course he could have offered to help me get it fixed, but OOOHHHH NOOOOO!) P****, J**n, and I think D** Chamb***** looked at it and we decided it needed a new battery. We went into town and got one, had it charged, brought it back, put it in, and nothing happened. Tried to push start it and it ended up, doornail dead, on a little bridge. So they looked under the hood, I sat behind the wheel, and we all prayed and SIT'd like crazy. I started punching buttons and suddenly the radio came on! I yelled at the guys to pull their hands back, turned the key and it ran fine until we got rid of it in a couple years after Mr. Garden and I got married. I asked them back home what they were doing before it finally fired up, and they said "Praying and SIT." They weren't so much as experimentally jiggling wires. In 1982 I applied for a job at a hospital and the prerequisite chest x-ray showed spots on my lungs. The doctor told me I either had a disease called sarcoidosis or Hodgkin's disease. I had to wait six months for another chest x-ray to prove which one it was. During that period of time, I went to the Rock of Ages. I went straight from registration to the house of His healing presence, wrote in one of the books and stayed right there until I KNEW I was healed. Next six months showed no change. The doctor told me it must be sarcoidosis, as there had been no progression. I told him it didn't matter what it was called, I was healed and the visible signs of healing would manifest themselves soon enough. He gave me a mildly disbelieving look and suggested another chest x-ray in another six months. Six months later, my chest x-ray was totally clear and has been ever since. There's more but I have housework to do! WG

Straight from between the sanctified lips of the MOGFODAT: "It is impossible to obey God without first obeying your leadership." This on a SNS tape not too long after we left. I thought, man if Peter and the other apostles had obeyed that little directive there would be no Christians left. Remember in Acts: Peter stood up with the others and said "We ought to obey God rather than men." Guess he would've been kicked out of TWI for saying that to LCM! WG

As long as no one got hurt! While I certainly don't condone trespassing and hijinx, I can certainly see where HQ would make a fun target. Got mooned on Wierwille Road once by some townies. We just laughed. "Showing your behind" is a derogatory term in the South Carolina area, meaning misbehaving and acting stupid. When kids were acting up in public, we used to draw them aside and say "****, quit showing your behind or you'l getting a whuppin'!" WG

Yep, that was us. Our son was indeed a very troubled youth. We were long time TWIts who thought the love we found in one twig or another would help him. This seemed to work in the Carolinas, but then we went in the FWC. Son told me once FWC for kids was like being a Jew and the staff were the Nazis. He was walloped, whipped, whacked and thumped and no one, not even him, even told us about about it. So he did the only thing he knew; he acted out until we were dismissed. So we go to the left coast where we know a couple who are WC grads with four obedient children. They offer to help us figure out what's going on with son. Their method of training relies heavily on corporal punishment. The trip to the North Cascades was Mr. Leader's suggestion. Son is doing better now, finally, but he has a lot of baggage, including some very significant pre-adoption baggage left open from his years in foster care. I love him no matter what and continue to pray for his ultimate healing. He is a very smart, attractive, funny guy. The best thing I can think of to do with troubled children is pray for them in a good light and then just love the daylights out of them! My greatest regret is that we didn't leave much sooner. Son and I have talked and he has forgiven me, but forgiving myself for not standing up for him better is going to take a while. WG

Happened to us too, Copenhagen. Post FWC we were told to dis-adopt our son, who was having a lot of behavioral problems. Seems LCM had decided that anyone who had trouble getting pregnant should "focus their energies in other directions" and no longer would he permit adoption. This also had to do with a WC grad's difficult pregnancy and subsequent death due to complications. However, several years before all this happened, we had adopted our son. The "no adoption" decree had not been doctrine then, not that we would have cared all that much. Now, all of a sudden, we were supposed to have known of this decision by the Great Man of God, even before he made the decision, and were being held responsible and told to throw a troubled child out like a mad dog. What heartlessness. What an unreasonable bunch of boogers they were! WG PS: please be assured we DID NOT comply!

I think I saw the height of this stupidity when I was in Family WC at Rome City. We were volunteered to help process tomatoes. This was actually before the official start of the program, but we were there, the tomatoes were there, and we knew what we were doing, actually much better than the person in charge. Comes time to make salsa. We didn't actually make the salsa but had to watch it cook. The salsa had no garlic and no onion. I politely pointed out what I saw as a glaring oversight, and was promptly informed that Official TWI Salsa NEVER NEVER NEVER contained garlic or onions! Perish the thought! Was I possessed? Did I not realize that THE MAN OF GOD FOR OUR DAY AND TIME AND HOUR absolutely hated garlic and onions? I then suggested we could make him his own little stash of garlic and onion free salsa, which we could also call tomato sauce, and make normal salsa for everyone else. The supervisor was equally aghast! NO NO NO NO NO! If the MOG hates onions and garlic, then the entire WC must avoid them like the plague. This left me with two thoughts: 1) The MOG has NO right to impose his personal preferences on the entire world. 2) This is not gonna be the best time of my life. Fragrantly yours, WG

Thanks so much for the independent confirmations. I haven't talked to these folks in quite a while, though we used to live in the same town, and in fact attended the same church for a while. He was on staff but not WC, participated in music ministry, and he and his wife are fine folks indeed. His name was mentioned on a thread a while back as one of the best musicians in TWI with a trained professional voice. That's all I'm saying. But he told me about the paycheck thing. It may have only happened to those whom the MOG and his allies suspected of not giving the required percentage of ABS, or maybe there weren't enough godly spit-blobs surrounding them and that aroused the suspicion of their leadership. WG

When I first found WayDale, and subsequently GSC, I was absolutely astounded at the hypocrisy of the BOD and other leadership of TWI. Example: In 1995, we were soundly castigated for flying from Seattle to Ohio for the ROA. I was diabetic and driving straight through would have been hard on me. But did I really need an excuse? Then I find out that the BOD regularly took vacations to the Bahamas and nice places like that. Did they drive? I don't think so. Did they put themselves into hardship to save money to be used for the outreach of God's Word? Were they more deserving than the rest of us? As far as ABS goes, Waysider is right - it was supposed to be used for the twig to be self-supporting. This was supposed to be the official ABS, self-supporting, take care of each others' needs, supply refreshments and rent rooms to hold classes in, send the surplus to HQ. As the ministry got bigger and needed more money for travel and other perks, that changed quickly and drastically. Some twigs didn't entirely buy into it, but they had to be very careful or heads would've rolled. As far as those whose experience with TWI was absolutely wonderful, perfect, fabulous, and completely godly in every way, I'm really glad for you! If you are not presently active with TWI, I would encourage you to return to the fold of the Promised Land of the Prevailing Word, where hopefully you will find others likeminded with you. I would encourage you to remember to bring your paycheck stub to be checked by your leadership every payday, so s/he can help you make sure your free will donation is sufficient for God to at least spit in your direction. That is what a former staff member told me he was required to do his last few months in TWI. He is reputable and honest, and I am protecting his name because to my knowledge he doesn't post here. God bless. WG

Rachel - I am SO sorry! I was responding to brideofjc and in a hurry. Misspoke myself big times. I"m so sorry! My bad! WG

I have to disagree strongly with you, brideofjc, but I don't have time to muster my thoughts right now, more important things to do. Sounds a lot like the stuff Scientology does with pseudo-Christian labels to me. When you are a "Clear" you have been de-possessed or something. And do not ever in your wildest imagination try to say I am diabetic because I'm possessed. You don't know me from Adam's housecat. WG

Nandon, This sounds very weird to me and not at all biblical. I have had the Advanced Class on PFAL several times and I sure never heard of a devil spirit that possessed you and made you smoke cigarettes although I suppose one could. This whole thing of writing down anything in your past that bothers you is very, very dangerous and if I were you, I would run swiftly in the other direction. People can and will use your past against to prove whatever they want to. I would strongly discourage you from making that list. Casting out of spirits is only done by revelation from God of (a) if there is an evil spirit present, (b) if so, what kind, and © whether or not you may cast it out. I would personally add (d) for more Details on how to go about it. Not everybody who has a problem is filled with evil spirits! I have diabetes. That ain't no spirit, it's a disease! I used to smoke, but I quit many years ago. I didn't get a spirit cast out, I just quit because it wasn't good for me. I would suggest you talk to a Christian therapist, or even a not Christian therapist if you think you need some sort of psychological/spiritual assistance. If you want to talk to someone who has knowledge of the PFAL stuff, I would suggest someone from Wayne Clapp's group, CSF. Be wise and be careful. WG

I did want to thank Bullwinkl for posting the link to TBDBITL doing the Script Ohio thing. The precision with which they cut through the lines without whacking each other with their instruments or having a show stopping personal collision is my personal definition of "mathematical exactness and scientific precision." As much as I love the Buckeyes, and I do especially think Tressel is a class act, they weren't ready for the BCS bowl this year, and only went there because two teams ahead of them lost their last games. I don't much understand the system, and didn't watch the game. I certainly hope Tressel isn't about to get fired or anything. They did real good for the most part this year, but just weren't quite there.....next year maybe. And I agree - let's play a snow bowl next time! WG

There is a TV show on Friday titled "Numbers." It's about an FBI team. The leader of the team is Don Epps, who has a younger brother, Charlie Epps, who is about 27-30 yeas of age, and a bone fide mathematical genius since his childhood.. Charlie helps solve crimes with the use of algorhythms and other stuff I never heard of. The program opens with Charlie saying, "Math is life. We use it every day." No kidding, he does say that. Charlie is played by David Helmstrom, Hegbolt, I forget, except he was Bernard in The Santa Clause 2. Fuzzy haired, dark-eyed, very earnest. Me? My wedding gift to Mr. Garden was a checkbook, and I have never balanced it since. Math may be life, but it's not MY life! WG OKAY - I looked it up. It's NUMB3RS, the actor's name is David Krumholtz.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM STRANGE! Re: Algebra is life. You use it every day? Are you a big Charlie Epps fan? (If you are, you will know who I'm talking about.) WG

Politics mixed with religion always seems to equal a poisonous brew. I thought the KJV came from the Stephens text? WG

I'm allergic to statins. Got put on the ever popular Lipitor a few years back, broke out in hives, ached all over, felt weak, got purple blotches on my shins. I still have keratoses from that time on my back. (Keratoses are "old age spots" and I'm way too young for them.) I take Zetia and it works for me. I also somewhat watch my diet, especially with being diabetic. Now for the traditional/alternative argument. Why not use both? The human body is intricate and complicated. When I ripped some tendons in my elbow, (with the help of my grandson), chiropractic helped me more than allopathic medicine ever could have. However, I don't think there is much chiropractic could do to resurrect my islet cells from the dead. That would require a miracle and some natural stuff might could do it, or more of them could grow. from proper herbal treatments. I don't know much about herbal solutions, but I believe they are out there, and until or unless I find one, I'm using my pump. God made every one of us unique. I just want to work with Him to make my body healthier and that includes all modalities of medical care. Ultimately, IMO, the doctor you need to include most is Jehovah Rapha. WG

Glad you are around sometimes. Don't dance too much in the kitchen or the cake will fall!

Our wonderful vet allows families to bring the pet in and stay with them. My husband took Maxx. First she gave him just sleeping medication, until he was in a deep sleep and snoring happily. Then she came in with a tourniquet. My husband held Maxx in his arms as he breathed his last. Had he just been extremely old, which he was, I would have just let him slip away at home. But he had a big cancer in his belly and was in a lot of pain. The day before he died, I had four strong pain pills for him, and he got up, walked around and had a very good day, better than he had had in a month or so. The day after that I still had pain pills to give him, but I could tell they weren't doing as much good. Sophie, I dunno. She is 60 lb and really hard for me to lift, but we doubled her Deramaxx to 1/2 tab every morning and evening and it has helped her a lot. The dampness we're having today is bothersome to both of us. She is, as I've stated before, one heckuva dog. She barks in anxiety sometimes in the evenings, and since we are having a small group here starting next week, I'm gonna get her some meds so's she'll sleep through small group. Nothing heavy duty, just a little Ambien for doggies. WG

It kills me to think that Sophie, my lab, at age 6 was headed for the same destination. The people who had had her from a six week old puppy were moving and needed to fix their house up to sell it. They had had a child and both of them worked 12 hour shifts. The story they told me was that she was vicious and might harm their 22 month old child. She was hugely overweight, neurotic and confused. Where did she belong in the order of things now that they had a child and careers? There was no place for her. Naturally, she tried to make one the only way she knew, by being somewhat aggressive and pushing to see where the boundaries were. They were going to have her put down if I brought her back. I took one look at her, snarling through their living room window at me before they opened the door, and decided she was too good to give up on. Under the growling blubber lived the granddaughter of a national champion. We walked and walked and walked. She had been to puppy school and knew how to heel, sit, stay, the whole bit. We tried dog foods until we found one she liked and we could afford, and eventually she slimmed down. We explained to her the pack order in our household and she fit in quite nicely once she understood. She is the best dog I've ever seen. She's 14 now, absolutely ancient for a Labrador retriever. She has cataracts and bad arthritis, and I suspect is losing her hearing as well. She can be incredibly demanding. The thought of what is to eventually come breaks my heart and I cannot continue this account. Once I read of a young woman who came into a shelter with her dog, about 6-8 years old. Her complaint was that the dog no longer played and she wanted to trade her in on a puppy who would play with her. The girl at the shelter had the guts to say "No. There is no puppy here for you. And I hope when you get old and can no longer play, that someone brings you to a place like this and wants a newer, younger, more playful model." I made Sophie a promise the first year we had her, when she tried to follow or jump into every SUV she saw that looked like her previous owner's. I told her I would never ever leave her. And I won't. I will go to the vet's office for the last time with her, to whisper in her ear at the very end my thanks for her selfless love. WG

Please convey to her that I for one would never, ever, think she would anything but good! And may the armpits of that imposter be infested with the fleas of a thousand camels! WG And she can contact me through my profile should she wish to do so, ever.

Thanks, Twinky. I will keep Dooj and that situation in my prayers. WG