Bramble

State of CO takes care of soldiers grave...not VA. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/.../091310252.html

Still stalled for some reason. http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/...ll.2c80a8d.html

In Montana, the Seely --Swan Highway beween Helena and Kalispell--lakes, forest. Highway 93 beween Kalispell and Missoula--Flathead Lake and the Mission Mtns. Highway 93 near Bozeman MT, Crazy Mtn and the Beartooths, Also Pipestone Pass, same highway. Pintler Scenic route, Whitehall/Butte MT. The drive from Kaslispell To Glacier National Park, and Going to the Sun Highway. Kit's fav, highway 101 is gorgeous.

That is NOT newborn baby poo.

I just learned this in the past year, TL. I have never been a 'good sleeper' and after being ill this winter it got much worse, to the point where I was having memory loss and speech halts. I felt fatigued but not really melancholy or unhappy, no tears etc. just tired. I started on an antidepresent to see if it would help the situation (yup, trial and error-- I'd already tried a sleeping pill and didn't like it, felt groggy half the day.) With in two weeks I was sleeping through the night. My energy level has gone way up!

It says that when I die I'll be 103???

This is a great thread. Thanks for bringing it back. I remember being very smug about having great health back in my twenties, because I was doing the Word. Co- workers, relatives etc would have all types of health problems, and I attributed their problems to not knowing the rightly divided word and believing etc. The whole aging factor never entered my mind! Twenty years later, still in TWI, it became a huge issue when my husband developed a chronic illness. Not a bit of compassion--it was a cause for spiritual suspicion of 'weakness.' Just what the family needed at that time--scrutiny and micromanagement! It was somewhat of a shock to find out, as time went by and we left TWI, that other people actually have compassion and perform acts of kindness when friends co workers etc have a medical situation. When I was quite ill last winter, other parents at my kids schools offered to transport them home after all the after school events they were involved in...not a big thing, but it sure helped with our day to day activities. I was very thankful.

Mental health is contingent with moral health? Wow. As the sibling of a severely mentally ill brother who started manifesting signs of the illness as early as 8th grade all I can say to that is, huh? Mental illness and immorality are not the same thing at all.

We give when we can, too. At least now we don't have to decide between paying some unexpected bill or ABS! Sometimes we have more money than other times. .

The advantage of having a high muck a muck relative( in the nineties, in the area I lived in then) was having an ear to someone higher than the branch/limb corps. If Branch/limb corps tried to come down on someone they were stalled. For a few years we had that same type of political protection because we had a limb coord who was a pal from the 'old days.' Kept the micromanaging sob off our back. Also, tale bearing was common in the nineties--it was part of keeping the household clean. Being able to tattle on a limb coord to your supportive Prez cabinet relative--and having subsequent action taken against the LC --was a power card that was played more than once. People were even reproved for not tattlingas in 'You knew this(weakness in someone's life) was going on!' It was part of what made friendships become distant...and political manipulators could keep the heat on others and off themselves. Gender was an issue, too. By the late nineties married women were with out a voice or an opinion that could be voiced. Everything was related through the head. In the late nineties I no longer felt my husband was the head, anyway. Our HFC was. He could make decisions about our budget, scheduling, child rearing...that we were expected to follow .

Don't forget the wild cards-- (1)Those lower level leaders who are related to high mucka mucks. They have power and protection because of their connections. And they use it. (2)Believers with wealth, especially inherited wealth, that don't have to work 40 hr a week jobs and belong to country clubs etc. They have more pull than their rank would indicate. Also, they are in good graces because they can afford to go to all the advances etc.

The Horus/Jesus similarities are pretty amazing.

'Do you think, at some point in the future, we will evolve spiritually to the place where we all agree? Or at least to a place where we can all live together peaceably?' I don't know that people will ever all agree. I would be quite content if people would get past the notion that 'my way' is the only right and true way, all others are false and evil and destroying the world/humanity etc. To me it seems obvious that so many people, holding that same view of their very different beliefs, are primed for conflict and wars in the name of their god(s). Not to mention conflict with family members, neighbors, co workers etc who think differently than they. Sigh...but then I spent most of my adult years in a cult...conflict with unbelievers was a good thing. It meant we were taking a stand and all that...

Good ones, ploem. The annual showing of the Martin Luther B&W movie. The fireworks following the wow assignments in the big top--ROA. 'Beautiful Ohio' and 'Highway Twenty Nine'

Household fellowship followed a formula. I think it is telling that announcements took twice as long as the actual teaching, which was required to be ten minutes on the dot.

We've had alot of health situations, and the finances that come along with them. And like you, there isn't really an end to it, since the illness is chronic and life threatening. I try to spend some time doing something with the family that is fun but low key, like a movie rental. I like to read. Meditation and journaling are helpful... But I also have found medication very helpful a couple of times, when things were really bad, especially because I felt it was important to keep it together for the kids. Not all meds need to be taken for a life time.Sometimes short courses of a med can make a big difference during an extremely stressful time, especially if lack of sleep etc begins to affect your health or ability to function. I went through a couple of scary weeks with short term memory loss, and speech halts, and within a week of going on a med the memory loss and speech cleared up, and I regained a normal sleep pattern.

I think of SIT as similar to meditation using a spoken phrase, and in that way I see it as a positive thing. However, life became really negative my last few years in TWI, and SIT really became an action I took when worry or anxiety loomed. When situations loomed thatwere not best, I think refusing to think about them and filling my mind with endless tongues became busywork for the brain. I quit deliberately and have not noticed a great drain in my quality of life. I do meditate, but I don't use anything verbal.

Can the Way be salvaged? I don't think so. I think it will continue to wither and die off. It could survive I guess if they did a Church of God deal, and moved to more orthodox Christian doctrine. But the structure and authority of leadership in TWI is something that would have to change, and I doubt that the leaders want to give up their power. Plus, most people in TWI are middle aged and have lost their dynamic youth and energy.

I would think that kids raised in the Way would be very judgemental and rigid with unbelievers. I can't imagine that they could show enough warmth and friendship to 'move the Word' like it happened in the distant past. These kids have been raised with endless confrontations and expectations of instant obedience, plus the knowledge and attitude that they are better than everyone else because of the Rightly Divided Word. I would think that would translate to their social skills. They might be able to act sweet for a while, but I expect it wouldn't be long before the demands and commands would start.. I know that in our fellowship in the nineties, new people would come once or so, but no one stuck around for long.

I have some friends who are a lesbian couple. They would like to be legally married. One big issue for them is the next of kin issue. If they were legally married they would be next of kin and able to make medical decisions etc for their spouse if need be. One of the ladies has a loving family, but the other has an awful family that kicked her out and has nothing to do with her--yet they are legally next of kin. They could bar her spouse from the hospital room, and from any end of life decisions. If there are legal ways around that, they are either not aware of them or not able to afford them. Health insurance is also a big issue. Heck it has been an issue in my family adn we are legally married. A lesbiamn couple would ahve even a more difficult time with health insurance $$. The state already is involved--inheretance laws etc.

I think TWI (in the area I lived in, during the nineties) viewed children as an inconvenient burden. They required time, money, attention, and provided nothing to the ministry (well, except that cute kids were good for door to door. I know our HFC always split my kids up between different witnessing groups to share the cute.) Children were to be quiet, (except when they were supposed to be bold) sit still, obey every adult instantly, and never get sick. Chronic illness (like ear infections, any one?) was bad! bad! Oh, and you'd better be smacking them frequently with that rod. Our area ceased to do Children's Fellowship during meetings because the adults needed to hear the Words of the minimog. We rarely told our HF/HFC when our children were ill. There would be no help or prayer or ministering offered. it would just be an open door for the HFC to jump on a 'weakness'. No areas were set aside for breast feeding moms. I remember trying to nurse a fussy baby during a day long limb meeting, and a creepy guy chose that moment to come 'fellowship' with me. He told me he was single because he couldn't find a woman who could keep up with him sexually. He was an HFC, too. I still get the creeps thinking about that. I saw the LC wife smacking her 4 yr old because he didn't want to play the limb games. Fun! Same Mrs Minimog told me she could hardly wait until he could go to full day kindergarten with the after school childcare program, so he would be out of her hair. This was during the full time staff corps days. What else did she do all day? She had an article in the Way mag not too long ago. Yep, she'd someone I would listen to with respect! They didn't want children, they wanted Stepford children.

Hmmm, maybe it is time to find more resources? Or perhaps a practice, like prayer or meditation? I do find meditation helpful. I need a balance between study/new thought/ideas etc and practice/action.

QT, that is unsettling. I've had the same thing happen to me from reading GSC. Some one I thought was one of the white hats, who treated me great, turned to another believer and tried to destroy them. Weird and ugly to know these things. That is one of the reasons my hubby and I haven't searched out many of our old friends--it is so hard to know if we ever really knew them at all.

Hey dancing-- I always read your threads, but not being a Bible scholar I don't post much. Maybe some one with more knowledge than i will hop in!

Carl, there is a thread on Open forum about the Wiccan soldier. I try to update it now and then, and so do some others. Hmm, Bramble..is it fancy enough? Don't I need something like Bramble Moonbeam? I just don't feel it. Heehee ( I know folks are very serious about picking names sometimes.) I have Raven Grimassi's Well Worn Path cards/book, they are quite lovely.