Watered Garden

When we were living on the Left Coast I became interested in making jams and jellies. Or, more specifically, my husband became interested in my making jams and jellies. Another individual in the state introduced me to a product called Pomona's Universal Pectin. This is sometimes sold in health food stores and they have a website through which you can order it. This pectin does not jel using sugar as the pectin, but another substance. Therefore, instead of the usual 4 cups of sugar to 1 cup of fruit, you use 4 cups of fruit to whatever amount of sugar you like. There are two packets in each box. One is calium powder that you mix with cold water. This goes in first (the directions are very specific as to how much you use). Then you measure your desired amount of sugar and mix the pectin in with it. With the fruit, juice, or whatever boiling, you add the sugar/pectin. After placing in jars it has to be hot bathed for 5 minutes. We have been making peach spread this week, and will make strawberry and black raspberry jam. It is absolutely delicious and even I, a diabetic, can enjoy a little of it. I will use probably 1/2 cup sugar for each 4 cups of peaches. Anyone else jammin' this summer? WG

Whether some cancers, all cancers, or no cancers are caused by demon possession or not is an interesting subject itself. I worked in a cancer hospital for nine years. One of the doctors I worked for was a cancer survivor. I used to be amazed to think that had I been "in" I would have been strictly forbidden to work there. Personally, I think the doctrine of cancer being caused by possession with demons is BS. If cancer is a disease that has life of itself, why doesn't the cancer continue to be alive after the patient expires? Kinda like a zombie? Cancer isn't even one disease; it's about 600 or more. Some are more easily curable than others; some not curable at all except by surgery in very early stages. I think TWI, when confronted by the not-so-easily explainable, simply threw in the handy explanation "Oh that is devil spirit possession." And I think they knew they did it. So no, I don't think they believed it themselves (to make a short story long). WG

Catcup, And I thought I had a strange WOW year! Stuff like that will drive you up the wall!, specifically the being left in the dark about what really happened. I'm honored to "know" someone who stuck it out through such horrible experiences. In my year, (1974-75) we had a 7 families of 4 each, two male, two female. One of the families, coordinated by a young man who was later infamous as the limb leader of Alaska during the times Temple Lady and CoolWaters remember all too well. Both the girls were named C**dy and both were attractive young women. Unbeknownst to me, one of them "left the field" and moved in with a man she had met whom she thought was the love of her life. Though they were living with his family, it turned out to be not such a great deal, as he kept her a virtual prisoner. She was not permitted to leave the premises nor to contact any of her friends or family. To ensure her cooperation, he locked all her clothing and other possessions, such as they were, in the trunk of his car. Now, being the roommate of the BL, SB, I was pretty much a slave myself, however, when she held a twig coordinator's meeting one evening she graciously allowed me to stay in my room in our apartment instead of wandering the streets or hanging out for hours in the guy's stinky, dirty apartment around the corner in the same complex. The phone rings, she answers, and all h311 breaks loose. C**dy had called, giving directions to her location and asking for rescue. Seems she had been trying to get loose from this guy for weeks. (Many of us didn't know she was even there). So I am called out of my little room, commanded to stay there and keep my mouth shut, my two WOW brothers are commandeered from their apartment, and I think my car was commandeered also. I insisted on an explanation before I would cooperate and got a brief one, but since SB thought I was a spiritual weakling I wasn't allowed to assist in the rescue, especially since I recommended calling the police (more evidence of my weakness, I guess). So at any rate they all go barrelling off to wherever this girl is being held against her will, and eventually bring her back. She is jumpy and terrified this guy will come after her. She was the most traumatized person I had ever seen. However, I was soon sent away and not allowed to comfort her or hardly speak to her. The next morning her parents flew in from Indianapolis. She was glad to see them, and S tried to explain what had happened in a way that would not make TWI look like they didn't properly train or protect their WOW Ambassadors. They took her out shopping and out to eat and she stayed with them at a hotel that night (I think). The next morning they came over to see us, everything seemed okay, she was going back with her WOW family. They went out to lunch and never came back. C**dy called from the airport. Her parents had come down with an extra return ticket and never told her or us until then that they were taking her home. They took her to a psychiatrist, a minister, and several other interventions, but she eventually went to TWI HQ and talked to the people there and around New Year's she came back and we had a party. She went on to marry a very nice man who got involved with TWI that year and they were FWC grads the last I knew. The thing that I find so annoying still is the subterfuge and sneakiness with which TWI routinely operated. For one thing, why bother to teach the power of God and the power of prayer and "believing" if you are so secretive that no one knows what the h311 is going on? We could have at least prayed for her. And the right thing to do was call the cops if that girl was being held against her will. It's called kidnapping. I don't think the "leadership" over the WOWs was well trained, either. SB did not like having to associate with non-Way Corps who were filled with zeal, love, and enthusiasm, but not "in with the in crowd" of the WC. I think a lot of the WC who were sent out with 27 other people they were supposed to lead and train and love and protect that year didn't know their azz from their elbow about what they were doing. I'm sure I was a special annoyance, because I believed that we were all equal members of the Body of Christ, sent there together by God (yeah, I believed that, too) to save souls and lead people to Christ and a better knowledge of God's Word. Of course I wasn't an Advanced Class grad, let alone one of VP's special friends, but I loved God and trusted Him totally. It was a long time before I really believed that anyone with a WC tag had special powers and abilities. That year, I was pretty sure God knew more than any of them. WG

Dunno if this quote fits or not, but it's a doggone good one: "NOBODY has the right to steal your individuality." Joyce Meyer I just had to post that someplace. In light of what TWI did/does to people who love God. WG

People were shocked and horrified by "Elvis the Pelvis." How vulgar! How Obscene! He must be banned! Maybe he should be stoned! Nowadays we have the genitals-grabbing Michael Jackson, and the obscenity, hate-spewing, " kill all da honkey shoot all da cops, beat the m*****f***** 'til they all drop" rap groups. We've sure come a long, long way since "Love Me Tender." A long, long, long way DOWN! WG

Some prolife group around my neck of the woods has a few trucks with vivid pictures of aborted babies on it, quite bloody and graphic. The first couple times I saw one, I nearly had a wreck. Now I'm prolife myself, but I think this is a bit much, only for the danger factor. WG

My husband and I were at the ROA also, having gotten married two months previously, more or less a few days. We were staying at a trailer on Grand Lake St. Mary's that belonged to my in-laws. I heard the news on the radio and cried, but my husband soon had me smiling again!

I recently re-read a book called Christy, by Catherine Marshall. It is a fictionalized account of the life of a young schoolteacher in the appalachians during the depression or even earlier. It is about her search for true faith in God. It's also a love story. A book our women's group at church studied last year was "Becoming a Woman of Faith" by Cynthia Heald. It's kind of a workbook format, but the questions you answer are good ones that make you think, and it takes you through the Bible. I like Joyce Meyer. WG

And Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston, SC on September 21-22, 1989. WG

Dunno. My 2004 Delaware phone book lists private numbers but no tavern. I remember seeing it, though, I think just on South Sandusky Street? WG

An update: The FDIL allegedly sent in the forms about 1 1/2 weeks ago. She doesn't know what the premium will cost her. I do not think it will be much. If I agree to help her pay for it, I am going to ask for proof of the payment amount. In the interim, since the young lad can't speak clearly at all, a dear lady at our church had gone to the trouble of finding information on a free service in her county called Child Check that will test for speech and hearing, etc. She received and sent in the information fairly promptly and has received information on testing times and places. Of course she opted for the one that is in January 08 not November 07. He will start kindergarten in 9/08. I explained to her that my husband (master's degree, 7 years teaching experience, very smart guy) believes that his frustrationg in his inability to communicate is responsible for a good bit of his acting out, and that I would be happy to take him if I could get a date from her and she could set him up for November. There will be a waiting list for speech therapy, but she doesn't seem to be too concerned. Even as she was explaining all this, he told her something, three times, and her response was "I can't understand a word you're saying!" I think this makes him feel stupid. I really can't understand why a loving God would give a selfish little witch like hers such a wonderful child, and so many of us understand treatments and surgeries and remained childless. My son has been trying to get ahold of the G.A.L. without success. I think it would be better for him to talk to her than me, since he would be a concerned parent, rather than a nosy grandmother. Please keep the prayers coming. I have some stuff Shellon sent me to print off if we ever get a printer, on how dangerous dental neglect is for little ones. WG

There are lots of different kinds of birds. Some birds are finches and eat seeds. Some eat insects (we like those guys!). Some eat flesh and are called raptors. Some eat bird seed right out of my feeder. I have a married couple, goldfinches, who come and help themselves, and while the wife is eating, the husband gets up on the porch roof and sings to her. Winter can be very hard on non-migrating birds. Here in Ohio, the robins do not always migrate and one took up residence on my front porch. It ate all the berries off the hollies, and then one morning I found it frozen to death. Sadly, I researched the subject and if you ever have starving robins around, go to the bird food store or section of your supermarket and buy freeze-dried meal worms for them. Was there a particular bird you have seen that you want to identify? Try google images. WG

Was a WOW in Ft. Worth, TX 1974-75. We were divided into families of 4, 2 male 2 female, 7 families, 28 people. Ft. Worth was spread out all over he11's half-acre, so some of the branch we only saw sporadically. It was a very strange and wonderful year. My WOW "sister" was the branch leader. She was interim 4th WC and did not want to be there. She was, after all, a member of an extremely elite group, the Way Corps, and did not want to lower herself to associate with mere humble peons, especially the worthless piece of crap she had to LIVE with. She worked diligently and persistently the first half of our WOW year to get rid of me. One day, she looked me straight in the eye and said, in her delicate Southern drawl: "Ah don't lahk yew. In fact, Ah cain't stand to have to look at yew. Why don't you go away, be a beach bum in Florida or somethin'? Ah don't want to spend this year with yew!" In spite of the dagger in my heart at that moment, I looked right back at her and said, "S****, I came here to serve God, not you. If you don't like being here with me, YOU leave. Get your own apartment or something. God sent me to Fort Worth as His Ambassador and if you don't like it that's your problem." K*** Mal***** was one of the WOW roving coordinatorss that year and S spent hours in his van his first visit, I assume trying to get him to kick me off the field. That didn't work, so she played wicked stemother to my Cinderella for a while. I had to do all the laundry, cleaning and cooking to her specifications. We didn't have a vacuum cleaner, and used the ones available at the apartment complex's office. They were Kirbys and had no bags in the them, and I had to dig the crap in them from everyone's apartment out every time they were used, with my bare hands. In the unlikely event she was going to use a vacuum, I still had to clean it for her. I did all this with a cheerful demeanor. I worked, put all my money in the family account, while she worked two or three days a week as a lunchtime waitress/barmaid in some exclusive club in downtown Ft. Worth. Her tuition checks of course were hers to do with as she pleased. If I didn't work, I wasn't allowed to eat, so I made a point of having a decent job. I had decided to love this woman into being loving toward me. I figured God loves me when I'm being a selfish, nasty bytch so I can do the same to her. And sure enough, it started to thaw after Christmas time. I flew home for Christmas, and in spite of my family's distress, went back, and I was surprised to find she had missed me a little. Either that or my bringing dishes and silverware I had stored in my parent's basement helped out. At any rate, we ended up on pretty good terms with each other. We ran several classes. Some of the WOWs stayed in Ft. Worth after their year was up. Looking back, I really can't remember a lot of signs, miracles and wonders. To me, the fact that I lasted the year was a miracle. I learned to return love when given hatred and contempt. I learned to stand up for myself. I learned to hang in there and finish my commitment no matter what. WG

Just confirms that this guy is insane, IMO. This stuff doesn't even make sense! It just amazes me that anyone would say such stuff and then claim to be The Man of God For This Day and For This Time and For This Hour to the Entire World. And he used to get soooo angry if he thought anyone was even remotely suggesting he was anything other than the world's great living Bible Expert. This is some of the most hateful ungodly stuff I've ever read. WG

Barry and Kathy went in the Corps? Barry was a WOW brother in Ft. Worth 1974-75. Bless his heart! They used to live in the Evansville, Ind. area, but that was many, many moons ago. WG

Thansk for the reply. I used Yahoo people search and there is indeed a Mike and a Sue Copper listed but their number isn't. I did put in Middleburg. Darn it! Mike and my husband are distant cousins. They left TWI long befor we did, and we lost touch. I hope they're doing well. WG

Yippiee! Enjoy your new digs, too! WG

Being an oldie but goodie, I tend to stick with the classics. I curerntly wear "Beautiful" by Estee Lauder. I also like Anais Anais, which is lighter, and I like the original Oscar de la Renta, and the original fragrance by Ralph Lauren, which I think is called simply Lauren and comes in a square dark red bottle. Just a few suggestions. There are a lot of new ones out there that probably don't cost as much. Eddie Bauer has a couple of nice fragrances for women, also. WG

Me too, Bliss.

Right on, WordWolf! Reminds me of the time when paying a mortgage was declared unacceptble. LCM said on a tape, "I never owned a home and it hasn't hurt me any!" He never had to, the SOB! Mommy & Daddy to college to TWI to the castle in the woods! He lived under mortgages all right, he just never had to make the payment! Regarding work: Abigail, you have great insight and provide healing words to others. Thanks. I, too have been under bondage to the words of those who would run my life. Nowadays, if someone would dare say my house isn't clean enough, I'd hand them a mop and say "Go for it!" Knew a WC grad once a long time ago who got up at 4:00 am and went to bed at midnight. Her house was totally clean all the time. Her children had to pitch in. Even the two year old folded washcloths and diapers when the laundry came out. There was no kindness, no compassion, no empathy emanating from that woman's life, just Clorox and Parson's Sudsy Ammonia. WG

Sounds interesting. Wouldn't you know it, Splenda comes on the scene, a diabetic's dream, and I'm allergic to it! I always used serrano peppers and cilantro. It's basically the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook with some heat thrown in and a bit more salt. I completely agree Romas are the best when it comes to salsa. Thanks for posting your recipe, Dot. Wish I could use it! WG

Wonder if it would be possible search the websites of some of the off shoots and find out if any of them recently had a camp in IN or IL, and/or is promoting a doomsday scenario? And Uncle, I seriously doubt if this is something of the magnitude of Jonestown. I wouldn't worry about something like that. Can't think of a group that's been around 20 or so years that's a TWI offshoot, but I was "in" 11 years so wouldn't have heard. TWI keeps you in the dark about that sort of thing, lest you check it out and find it superior to them. WG

They really need to sue Jesus Christ who said "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life." How dare He infringe on their copyright? Who does He think He is, God's only begotten son or something? That's the verse I was always told they got their name from. WG

Perhaps to some people it was a question of legal right versus moral right. We stayed in, and have moved on. If someone offered me PFAL as "God's Word on a silver platter" today I would decline. I already have that. And I don't like the strings attached to the platter. But had we left and had we had a set of tapes, uh, I really don't know what we would have done. I would have preferred driving to HQ and finding His Majesty and inserting them retrograde (a medical term but you get the picture I'm sure.) WG

Dear Concerned Uncle, You say you and your family are concerned Christians, and I am too, and I would suggest a LOT of prayer. They may not contact you for a while, but trust me, God knows what went on at that camp and He will guard them from harm. It is not uncommon for TWI to "circle the wagons" whenever things are not going their way. There are dire prophecies, vaguely referred to except for the elite ears to hear, and the Household is gathered within the hallowed walls of Zion, the only place on earth where God can protect them. (That's what they call their headquarters in New Knoxville, Ohio sometimes.) It's also not uncommon in any setting for people to return from a summer camp situation all fired up, renewed in commitment, on fire for the Lord, or TWI, or whatever. There is a forum on this site called The Prayer Room. I'd like to see you post your requests on it. One tip: Don't use names; the Way has people who peruse this site for names, situations they recognize and can identify the "innies" involved, etc. You could get your family in trouble that that would not help anyone right now. We call 'em the "WayGB." Watered Garden aka WG