Bramble

My dad was in hospice for the last month of his life. We all knew he was terminal(copd) and had heard how difficult the last days often are for copd patients. Dad's lung doc reccomended the hospice. Hospice managed dad's last days so well. He had enough of the right type of medicine to be comfortable those last days. The staff was wonderful, and as many family members as desired could be with him around the clock. Mom was able to stay in his room, which was lovely and not clinical.

In the nineties I knew several young families living in near poverty, while faithfully sending their ABS(We'll just drop out of the health insurance program at work, yeah, that will work.)to HQ so LCM and pals could wear designer clothes, have 'servants' and take fancy vacations to the Bahamas etc. IT wasn't used to move the word--the believer on the field forked all the money out. TWI provided us with Nazi way corps though. They have it all on computer. Let them cut the checks. That would be a real apology.

If my former HFCand LC called to apologise, it would not be healing. It would probably not be all that big of an apology--more on the lines of 'put the past behind' etc, now you can come back to the greatest household yadayada.. There was never just one incident. There were years of suspicion, fingerpointing, searching for reasons to accuse, searching for faults to holdup to leadership to puff themslvs up (we're sooo spiritual, lookee hereat how wicked these believers are.) There was no friendship.No apology will change that. Ugly men with ugly hearts, plastering a forced apology over that won't change it. TWI needs deeper change--in leadership structure, in church government. They need to quit playing the "I'm your spiritual overseer' game. They use the Word to get what they want out of people.

I think Shazdancer may have the right of it. All I can think of--puppets on a string. It's time for the dance to change, puppets. o-dee-ladi-o-di-lahdi-o-dee-loo

Is there a bottom? As we continue to learn and grown, doesn't the well deepen? Aren't new connections and insights made? I think the inward path has to do with listening and learning from our 'other' mind, the unconsciouse mind some say, or sub conscious. The part that is not necesarily verbal or numerical, that speaks in symbol, image, dreams. In my mind I often have a fleeting image of time--but it is not a calendar like i see everyday on my wall. It is a type of line. I can't describe it with words.I didn't think it up, it just happens, I guess it is how that 'other'side of my mind sees time. No boxes. One of my(non Christian) practices is using a set of cards, with symbols, not for telling the future, but to think deeply about a situation before me. The symbols help give a voice I can recognise to thwat other side of my brain. In meditation you can run into a 'gatekeeper' a frightening image. Many people will quit there, oh, meditation is sooo awful. But the gatekeeper is a symbol. It is protecting something important, and can be passed.

um, i'm in agreement with allan w. i can't believe it myself, but there ya go. Life is stranger than fiction

Yes, year 2027. She loved to cook. She made 'fruit soup'--strawberries and rhubab from her garden, stewed together . She was a remarkable woman and in many ways I would like to be more like her. She was tall and lovely with black hair and blue eyes, scandalized her home town by marrying a French man of 40 yrs who ran a saloon, and homesteaded in Montana in 1910 when she was seventeen. Had 12 kids, raised 11, one died at age two. Quit school after second grade to help on the farm, had her kids teach her. Devout catholic, all the kids went to catholic school.Husband was injured in a mining acident in Wyoming, so she then became a high school cafeteria cook.She got a home mortgage in her own name, very rare for women in Wyoming,back then.

I was also counseled by same coord that I could teach my kids to stop crying or whining by use of the magic sppon. Yup, I WANTED silent little robots who held everything bottled up inside. I've seen them in Way circles, too. All big eyed and solemn, not bold, clinging behind a parent. My oldest was absolutely perfect in school--behavior, grades, everything. Then kid missed a couple of days and was behind on math, kept getting answers wrong. Began having stomach aches at math time every day. Child was 8! That was a big wake up call to us.

The one time smack to get attention could become a whole series of get attention smacks, especially with a toddler having a tantrum type situation. Never did see a 2 yr old halt a tantrum with one smack and a some words. My HFC was quite proud of 'outlasting' someone's toddler, smacking and talking until the child was exhausted and quit the tantrum. I never let them have access to my kids, even though they offered to babysit. No way. And he is still a HFC today!

I have, during meditation, but rarely. Sometimes a 'presence', but a couple of times a vision.My Grandmother Anna Clara seemed to want to see me. She died in 1986, I hadn't seen her in years. I saw(or met) her in her kitchen.

I am Doombah Chuckledoodle. Really love my new last name,

The practice of the law of believing Oakspear speaks of is the one I'm familiar with. In the nineties we often had situations that we did NOT take in prayer to the household of believers. One time I had a kindergartener who caught the flu. A week later the child also had double ear infections, a throat infection AND pnuemonia, despite being kept home and cared for diligently. We did not take it to our fellowship, because instead of love or support we would have been reamed. We figured the emotional fall out of a reaming session would not help us believe for our child, the situation was too serious to risk. We should have walked that day. We walked a few months later, though.

Hmm, somehow it seems to me that being in a ministry like TWI (or like the one a current poster advertises)that has such huge signs, miracles and wonders--why does it then happen that the people in those ministries treat those outside their sphere with such contempt? Is it because their relationship with God is a type of 'cool clique'? "We've got ALL the answers, babeee, and you are scummmmm!" I don't care how many miracles happen. I respect people who treat other's with dignity in the name of their God. Some prices are too high to pay.

Well, what I learned from the Mo stalking situation is that she handled herself with dignity, grace, and constantly mopped the floor with her rather creepy stalker. She was a credit to her personal character and church. Sheeesh. We are all pretty grown up here. We are all aware that there are different churches, religions. How hard is it to use google to learn something about a church. Do you really need to badger someone of a different belief so everyone will know how awful YOU think it is? Stalking looks alot like bullying to me. The stalker came off--to me--looking unstable. Not like a great believer.Just a meanie.

Quality of life... *I LOVE to be able to use my talents, which in my past TWI life were not valued. At nearly fifty I am beginning to see things happen, am beginning to have some success. *I am glad that hubby and I can make decisions concerning our lives, children, home, finances, church/religion without any interference from people who truly believe we should obey them. *I'm glad we were able to move to an area of the country with little crime and terrific schools.All the TWI fellowships here died out in the nineties and we were told it was spiritually dark.. * Life has ups and downs--but the downs are not paralyzing and devistating due to guilt, and the ups don't make us smugger than thou. *I LOVE having a home of my own, a home that no one with manipulating, controling intent feels they have the right to enter and inspect. *I love being able to give where I see a need, not because I have to.

I went to Catholic college, too. I only knew one girl who was on the pill, and she was engaged. I wonder how many of the scores ended up pregnant? I wonder if those guys even cared? Guess they didn't.

Thanks for the hugs exxie. Bro is doing okay right now, not terribly aggitated. His landlord likes how clean his apartment is, and is willing to overlook the bunker in the crawlspace (a sleeping bag and water bottles, energy bars...) Housing has been the hardest part. If he loses housing he can't live with me or sis--freaks out with noise, commotion, disorder etc. out. And my other brother travels...that leaves expensive kitchenettes and motels. Disability is less than $700/month, so we all have to pitch in...

When I was in college there was a certain floor in a men's dorm that had a bunch of 'freshman mixers'. Drinking age was 18 in Montana back then. I remember older girls warning us not to get drunk at those parties because those guys kept a scoreboard of freshman girls they nailed. I always had a group of friends who watched out for each other. Even guy friends who'd warn you about a guy(he's a pig type comments)

My husband is diabetic and considers the glycemic index for foods all the time. He has a booklet he received at a diabetic info class. But there is alot online, too. White bread, white potatoes, white rice--all high. http://www.carbs-information.com/glycemic-index.htm

If you think GSC people are some of the most damaged people in our country, you've led a sheltered life. You might try spending some time with, say, someone with a serious mental illness. People here, as far as I can tell, can function in society with jobs, homes, families, friends... My siblings and I take care of my very mentally ill older brother. Sometimes, rarely, we will get a glimpse of the boy we remember, before the onset of his illness-- delusions, mood swings etc. Now, there, that's damage.

Pretty good, but you forgot the debt requirements(1992?), which dropped many people from Twig Coordinator responsibilities and advanced classes, and there were TWO advance classes ACgrads had to attend, the PFAL one, and the WAP one, to maintain their advanced class status. Also couldn't be a TC if you weren't an advanced class grad of the latest variety.

Heehee. My grandma was 4'10, my aunt(Bitsy) was 4'9. I'm a whopping 4'11. My unknown race gr grandpa(he was English! grandma insisted) didn't look Caucasion and was barely 5ft.

When ordinary way believers can pick and choose which fellowship they want to attend--meaning, a believer is not 'assigned' to a fellowship--that will be a big change.Of course, then the unloving legalists will lose their fellowships, which could only be good for the health of the believers. What standards are any leaders in TWI held to? Keep their higher up happy and looking good? As long as they can bully people into silence, a leader can be an unloving creep and still be held up before others as some great believer. I've known believers who moved halfway across a county to get into a different fellowship.

I don't know why mine hurt, but they always do, alot. I go to a Women's imaging clinic so I don't think they are unskilled.

Think of all the bleach we inhaled, couldn't be healthy. I know for both hubby and I (he is type 2 diabetes, I have a bizarre immune related disease) fatigue was one of the first symptoms. both of us had fatigue for at least a year before we were diagnosed. Did we pay attention? Not even a little. Gotta go go go. Can't be slothful!!! Go until you collapse. I am so glad I'm out.