krys

I hope you all enjoyed your day, fellow GreaseSpotters. I enjoyed deep fried turkey yesterday, and, I'm not sure I want to go back to the other way of cooking it. I hope the love and companionship around your table was as good as mine! And I'm also with DWBH......."peace all."

Happy Birthday, Pawtucket!

I'm sure it will! Fun is where you find it and what you make it. Everyone knows how to find this place..... changing places doesn't change personalities.....so I'm planning on it.

Now Waysider and Bolshevik are illustrious Gspotters in their own right, but on this subject I'm not collaborating with anyone. BUT... I did have a response to your question. There is no numbering system in reincarnation: there is just past lives, current life, and next life.

oops

Indeed - - thanks for the link. I can't come close to comprehending the damage by only reading your words. Those photos really drive it home.

Add me in! That must be a terrible experience. May God's peace and safety rule there.

There is nothing new under the sun.

Teach them yourself. What would you do if there was no school you'd let your kids attend??? allow them to be illiterate?

sorry - - double post

No,Raf! Methinks if iit is circling back, it's not to wallop you again - - he just wants to be sure he did a good job and wiped out everything.

s others have already said, I, too, have been intensely involved for many years. I don't think there was much that someone could have said that would have made me leave. If you try to argue or discuss doctrinal matters, it's not likely you'll win. After all, various denominations also have different viewpoints. Also, Way believers are carefully schooled on them so they may have firmer beliefs than you do (not to insult, but to explain the level of indoctrination). I think you may have better luck appealing to her own intellect and thought processes. If you can get her to see how special she is to God in her own right as she is with her education and in her job, for example, it may be possible to get her to stop thinking about quitting her job now. The Way tries to get its followers to follow blindly; at least they did when I was involved. Try to get her to think for herself. Try to point out the negative difficulties they've had. That should be easy now that we have the internet. Google around yourself and look around some more on this web site to find some really pertinent examples of that. If she wants to "give the glory to God", she would do better to stay away from that organization. Suggest that she not take your word for it, but check it out herself. If she gets some understanding herself, that's much better than being told what to do by your parents. Being separated by distance is never easy. As much as possible try not to harp on this. Of course you need to discuss it; but harping on it is another thing.

CoC? What is that? Am I getting too old for this forum?

Only sort of neighbors, Lanikaigal. The Hudson Valley is bigger than you think!

Perhaps the coffers are thinning down so the number of hands reaching into the till needs reduction. Thus, the increase in the effective take for the remaining selected few.

It is, indeed, good to meet you here. I do hope you'll hang here for a while.

Some of them were bumbling idiots!

Like so many others, I appreciate all you do!

I think that notion came from the Open Forum in a thread about decorum.

Chockfull nailed it!

With all the great suggestions given here - one of the most significant, in my view, was Rocky's about taking care of your relationship with your wife. When you're out, you'll need each other. Even if it means you have to stay a bit longer than you want....if she's not coming along willingly, that would set you guys up for separation and eventual divorce.

You can always go first and tell them about it later, if at all. If you tell them to leave you alone....not to contact you further...they probably won't.

Oh no....it's the same "Christ in me". He is present within me.

Oh dear. My writing skills have gone to hell in a hand basket for lack of use.[sorry />]I wasn't sure about any of this until after I followed your line of questions and DWBH's essay. It was necessary for me to read them and think about what both of you wrote several times, and I don't know if I was beginning to see things the way they seemed to be laid out, or if I became convinced, but now I think I have a better handle on it. The "It" is the spirit from Christ. I envision it as having energy. That is why I think of it as moving water. We all have the same sized reservoir and the input is the same because God is not a respecter of persons. The "pipe" carrying it in is the same size and the flow rate is the same.We as individuals can decide where we would like to use this spirit and how much we'd like to put into each of these areas. We are all different people so we have different strengths and desires. Maybe someone is adept at organization. Perhaps he decides to use his spirit to help people in this way. Maybe he wants to assist the church in this area. Maybe God lays it on his heart to do so. Either way, he becomes adept enough that people notice his skill (it is his fruit) and follow him around asking for his assistance. I don't know for a fact that this is how it works, but I'm suggesting it as a possibility. I do believe that if the spirit isn't being used, it becomes stagnant and then is of no use at all. (I remember the parable of the talents and the man who hid his away and had nothing to give back to his master and how angry the master was that his talent (the gift) wasn't used.) Someone may have a desire to heal. He may pray for guidance in how to do it, maybe he studies other examples or asks others he knows for help. Sooner or later he becomes quite skilled and he becomes known for his fruit. I hope this makes better sense. However..... God has given the gifts and it appears the way I've written this, that the individual may make himself into a gift the way I've described it. That is kind of presumtive....don't you think? Maybe both ways work.

I'm so sorry this is so late. I've had internet and connectivity issues. The best way for me to answer this will not follow your lead exactly in order. I don't think of it as static but rather energetic. Let me give an example: It's like a body of water with one pipe leading in and at least 1,probably more than that leads out. All the in-flowing pipes carry the same volume of water. The owner of the reservoir can decide where the water goes and how much to put there. There could be several outflowing pipes but the circulation depends on the owner of the reservoir. He could add pipes for a time, or slow or stop the flow in some others I'm not particularly concerned whether God or JesusChrist does the filling because for the purpose of this discussion itdoesn't matter. I think the individual believer is recognized by the trail he leaves...well taught individuals, healed individuals, and so on recognized by the greener grass (by their fruits...)