Bramble

This sounds too easy, but try finding an interest or hobby or develop a skill you didn't have time for in TWI, one that has no TWI memories associated with it. Hobbies helped hubby and I alot, gave us both creative outlets that were positive. It was something we could do at our own pace, no pressure, and yet we had success in the learning. By the time we left TWI we were pretty convinced we could do nothing right or without leadership/authority. We had been in 20 years, most of our adult life, and were used to obeying someone else, arranging our time and money o someone else' plan. It was good for us to work at something on our own that we found suited our talents, plan, self evaluate, strengthen weaknesses we ourselves saw, and grow. Good life lessons there -- and no TWI Authoritay voice in the background.

An internet troll is not part of the community they are trying to stir up. Their only point in being there is to cause trouble--they are not making friends, or sharing common experiences. They are acting out of distain and dislike for the community, they do not respect the others posting. They 'win' by causing as much confusion, hard feelings and chaos as possible, and they like to keep the focus on themselves. Kimberly--here is a pretty good basic computer skills site if you would be interested in such a thing: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/entry_l...pc_index_ie.htm Also, if you search a term like cut and paste in google you can find information.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I didn't leave until my husband wanted to. He is older than I and was in during the early seventies and wanted to hang on until things got better. So I hung in with him for several years because I didn't want to force a divorce and hellish custody issues like I'd seen happen to others who were not 'like minded'. My children were young, we would have had years of custody issues ahead of us. Plus my husband is a great guy I love, I didn't want to lose him and be a lonely single mom with kids who were harmed by all the trauma. In my particular area you just didn't stay married to a cop out, and one or the other of us would have been made the devil spirit possessed bad one( me, I'm sure.) Hubby helped me keep the kids out of the HF drama so I wasn't forced to choose, and they were too young to stay up late for weeknight fellowships or take the class. Eventually he had enough.

I don't know if the HFC kept records about attendance, but i think there was something like a fellowship secretary. I do know the HFC reported back to the higher ups about us. We requested several times over 6 or so years to go to a different fellowship in our branch which was just blocks away from our home as opposed to clear on the other side of a large city, a 30 to 45 minute drive each way. We were denied because our HFC was 'working' with us on various issues, so we had to stay there to grow etc.

Abigail, I do think doctrinal has seen better days. Oh well. Ranchers are busy here, we've had lots of moisture so hay is growing well--which means my husband is busy since he works in the ranch industry.One of my kids does now too! My job won't get busy until August, when schools and Universities start buying for the school year so I have some time off planned--going to a women's drum circle without the family, with a couple of gal pals! First trip I've ever done without the husband or kids or my sister since I got married!

Congratulations! What a neat family you have, Rascal.

There is love there! Thanks for sharing.

I still can't believe someone called Oakspear and Invisible Dan demons--they are two of the most well written, courteous, unflapable posters around. I was interested in hearing more about what Dan was writing about--not because I 'hate Jesus'--because I don't, I actually think the Jesus of the Gospels is pretty cool--and I find it so sad that others worked to shut down discussion. Abigail, good to see you. jeno--Why would I want to know your Jesus when I see how his affect on you has been? I don't want to be like you and treat people like you do.

:( You post, I hear: jeno--It's all about ME ME ME and MY STAND Which is REALLY A GREAT STAND. NOTICE ME STAND! cave man-- OOO Watch out! Devil spirits!!

I only suggested jen-o find a Christian site because non-Christian posters seem to upset her so.

??? How do you know what individuals did after they left TWI? Do you know what churches they attended, what books they read, people they conversed with etc? Some became Roman Catholics, some became Baptists, some went to Judaism, some to paganism, some to Evangelical Christianity, some became trinitarians...there is a wide range of differing beliefs and different viewpoints on GSC , even though we all spent time in TWI. It's a big wide world full of different ideas...GSC has been a place where people do discuss different ideas. Perhaps you need to find a Christian only site? Or start a former TWI, now Christian site?

In the nineties attendance was an issue. You had to call and explain why you couldn't make it.

My husband was an auto mechanic at one point, and I can remember so many weekends where he worked on our old car or spent a day working on a believer's old car, or shopping with a believer who had $500 to spend on a car, helping them find the best deal. When we finally bought a new car--after we left TWi--wow! No weekends of car work! He doesn't even change the oil nowadays. We've attained middle class!

Looks like somebody never met anyone who's life was nearly destroyed by being blamed for their horrible experiences by the religious leaders, using their doctrine in the Law of Believing as the Hammer. You know what killed that little boy? Have you ever thought how that mother managed to live the rest of her life?

The ugly side of the believing doctrine was when someone had a huge bad problem--and didn't receive the deliverance they were supposed to from their Father God. Gasp! how could that happen?--but it happened all the time! Eventually the fingers point to the hurting person, and a hefty load of condemnation and suspicion grows around. Also, people with few needs or lots of money, or good tricks for hiding their needs, become extra special spiritual because they believe God and can brag about him. Lived through that, it was ugly. Kick 'em while their down, loose all compassion, look at outward materialistic things as a 'witness'. Yuck. Glad to be free of it.

We talked to leadership about debt when it first became a ministry issue (in like '93?) I can't remember the exact date. We had med bills due to a birth complication issue and were counseled to sell our house(though at first a mortgage was allowed)--debt being a spiritual weakness that affected our abundance) and move away from the little twig we ran to the Limb city where the Word was hot (and rent was higher than our mortgage). Being extra meek, we did as suggested and got to pay capital gains on the sale, too! Plus we still had the med bills which didn't evaporate due to our obedience and 'believing action'. And our fellowship was across town in a subdivision we couldn't afford to live in, so we got to travel 30 min or more each way three times a week with tots. We were counseled to keep a budget in a ledger book, which we did. Leadership could look at this when they wanted to. It took us years to get out from under those bills, I did a home daycare, we had little kids and couldn't afford the daycare if I worked anyway. Daycare left my house not so decent--toys in the living room etc. More issues. Our Leadership was obsessive compulsive about a budget balancing to the penny. At one time our leadership specualted that we were barely 'household' due to the debt. If you were in debt in the early stages it wasn't a big deal, but of course then leadership knew who was 'weak', and as they continued to clean up the household debtors were under constant suspicion, with more and more hoops to jump through. No one in our branch had new cars later in the nineties except one couple with family money and the corps on salary. Everyone else drove used, some more used than others.

Heehee--you're on TWI's Mark and avoid list for sure, now! From what I've seen the more liberal mainstream churches like Episcopal are most likely to be open toward other ideas but churches don't have the lockstep doctrine attitude of TWI. Even the Methodist church we went to would have a wide variety of thoughts on issues in the adult Sunday school, and no one was reprooved for their different ideas. Far more freedom of thought allowed.

We did try churches after we tried the exway group in our area. I was comfortable in a litugical service, probably because I went to paraochial school and mass throughout my childhood and really had no horribl memories associated with those. Hubby found it boring plus he wasn't sure where he stood on doctrinal stuff, though we eventually went to United Methodist church like he had been raised in. In many ways I felt like I was playing a role, similar to how I felt those last years in TWI. Plus, quite honestly, I was a full time working mom and it seemed the demands on my time to be more involved kept increasing, even though I was not even well versed in the church's history or doctrine details. And as far as making friends I found I had little in common with the women I was getting to know in interests etc. Eventually I took a Wicca 101 little seminar in my area because I was curious and had been reading Wicca books, and met a couple women who I had much more in common with. I didn't feel I had to playact a church persona and could be myself. It wasn't a family activity, but for our family, neither was church unless I forced the issue--and that was unpleasant and made me weary. I eased out of church and moved on.

We've had an unusually cool spring, plus a few storms with very high winds and hail so the garden has taken a hit. i killed yet another purple basil! And most of my sunflowers broke in the wind. The rest of the herb garden is fine, even the caraway that is so tall and spindly. I don't know that we will have good tomatoes or peppers this year. We've protected them with pvc arches and plastic but they have not grown much due to the cold weather. Perhaps we will get an extended hot fall like we had a few years ago.

Rather odd that he has so many ex twis on his myspace then, what with TWIs M&A against those who left the household.

Bob Stanley wasn't in TWI in the nineties. I thought he left in the late eighties. Most of IL left with Joe Guarini, didn't they?

If homosexuals are all so deviant in their sex lives and practices, then why do they want to get married, anyway/ Wouldn't that put a damper on free wheeling promiscouos lifestyles? if your doctrine demands the impossible of people--change your sexual orientation--or a lifestle that you yourself don't have to live--you didn't change so no sex/lovers/spouse ever for you!-- then you should expect people will want to know exactly how this doctrine helps the homosexual live a blessed and abundant life. Because it looks like you are asking the impossible and then condemning people as abombinations and sinners for not meeting your standard.

I heard about it at that time but did not read it until I found GS Cafe. The loss of so many was explained as devil spirit seduction. Craig did a wghole class to expalin it called the Leadership tapes/Galations tapes. I can't remember if all believers or just those in leadership/twig leader type positions.

Heehee Jeff. No I am not a homosexual. I'm hetero, married almost 20 years with three teenagers. In TWi from college to my forties, I am now pagan/Wiccan. I know quite a few gay people in my community due to the pagan connections.

*Shrug* Maybe your pride in your intellect and Biblical research skills needed a prick, Word Wolf. Seems it pained you. Maybe you should explore that--if you dare.