so, what would you have done differently..

[Ham]

sorry, it wasn't my last topic here I guess..

over the last twenty, thirty, forty years.. what would you have done differently?

there are some things set in stone that I would not have the cleverness, nor even the inclination to undo even if I could.

One can't exactly undo ones's offspring..

nor should one even want to..

but what would you have done differently? Maybe this is da final report, sent to Squirrels in da far, far distant future..

[So_crates]

sorry, it wasn't my last topic here I guess..

over the last twenty, thirty, forty years.. what would you have done differently?

there are some things set in stone that I would not have the cleverness, nor even the inclination to undo even if I could.

One can't exactly undo ones's offspring..

nor should one even want to..

but what would you have done differently? Maybe this is da final report, sent to Squirrels in da far, far distant future..

What would I have done differently. There's so much. Where to start.

I wouldn't have married my ex on faith

I wouldn't have chosen my major at teh university based on faith

I wouldn't have wasted a night hitchhiking home from twig 12 miles in the dead of winter

I wouldn't have later, when I moved into town, have walked an hour and a half one way to get to twig.

I would never have gone WOW

I would never have wasted 10 years of my life waiting for someone I loved, believing she was going to show up one day.

I would never have put my faith in God to get my car fixed.

I wouldn't have wasted another 5 years of my life after I left the ministry trying to figure out what I did wrong.

I would have spent less time praying and believing and more time doing.

I probablly would have went out to find my fortune in the world, rather than waiting on the Lord and sacrificing my youth, my talents, and everything I could have done.

Trust in the Lord. Who would have guessed my life would wind up being a cautionary tale?

Enough? There's more. These are just the high points.

SoCrates

Edited January 8, 2011 by So_crates

[Ham]

so yes, my friend..

there are a hundred things I would have done differently..

but what does one do with the results that count.. children, grandchildren..

there is a lot that I would change, and a lot that that I wouldn't even if I could..

[Bramble]

I would have spent alot more time with my parents and siblings.

I would not have blown off my teaching career...I'd be in a much better place financially(and health insurance finances) and for retirement if I had stuck with the career...instead of spending years running a twig that had no real effect or benefit on anyone's life and set many up to get crushed by TWI leadershi+...hamster wheel that took no one nowhere but sure kept us busy. Didn't even lead to friendships in the end.

[So_crates]

so yes, my friend..

there are a hundred things I would have done differently..

but what does one do with the results that count.. children, grandchildren..

there is a lot that I would change, and a lot that that I wouldn't even if I could..

I've often heard people say that. Bad things happen, but they often lead to good things. Or everything I went through before led to where I am now.

Wish I could say that. To me life is this random jumble were things happen and as Kurt Vonnegut said some people get cancer and others get free furniture.

All the things I listed above didn't lead to better things in my life. Nor did they help make me what I am today (unlesss you count being a cynical curmugeon).

One of the excuses I got from one of the religious peple I know was it rains on the just and the unjust. My response: Wouldn't mind that if it rained on me once in awhile.

SoCrates

[mstar1]

I would have spent more time dealing with real problems instead of being fearful of imaginary ones...

I would have taken better care of my teeth...

[frank123lol]

If I had not met Mr Ham and his wow brothers I would not have met my wife,

That pretty much sums it up,33 years later.

[notinKansasanymore]

This is a very good question. I think that part of the answer has to be . . . what are you going to do TODAY so that you will be happy with where you go FROM HERE?

[Broken Arrow]

I would have spent more time dealing with real problems instead of being fearful of imaginary ones...

I would have taken better care of my teeth...

"Like" button pressed.

This is a very good question. I think that part of the answer has to be . . . what are you going to do TODAY so that you will be happy with where you go FROM HERE?

Very good point!

[waysider]

I would have moved back home when I realized my doubts about the whole thing were escalating----too late now

[DavidVincent]

I'll tell you what I would have done differently...

Nothing.

I learned more about God and the Bible because of my years in the TWI than I would have otherwise. I just didn't take it "by faith." I was on the ministry leadership "poop" list long before it was common. I spent my childhood in a Baptist church where I got born again as a child, spoke in tongues before I was 12, got sent to Lutheran church to get confirmed and hung out in three or four other churches before the Way came along at age 16. I devoted myself to the folks I was "in it" with, not the "ministry". Oh yeah, I had big dreams about being a big shot in TWI, but then I kept asking all those hard questions. TWI taught me about magical books like concordances and interlinears and things like greek and hebrew and yada yada.

(Important tip for cult leaders... don't show people those pesky concordances, the sheeple might read them and question your doctrines!)

Hey they weren't all wrong. My beta machine is over 20yrs old and still works like a charm! Oh, that Athletes of the Spirit thingie. Got to the end... thought about it for an hour or so... chalked off the price and recorded three Dr. Who episodes over it. William Hartnell rocks.

So is my life all I could ever ask for? HELL NO. I'm 52 years old and I still have to get a "D" or better in next semester's alg/calc into class to finish my degree. But that's okay cause I got a decent job. I learned how to teach in TWI and another believer and I bought a Commodore 64. I teach computer stuff at a respected career college and I've used every iota of what I learned about people and teaching from the my years teaching "twig" in the TWI to make a difference in the lives of everyday people and the occasional felon.

Anyway, I've had my rant now. Probably get tossed eh? Oh well. Look I can't take it back, you know, all those years. They're gone. Kerput. Todalu. But I'm still breathing and still making hay while the sun is shining.

God help those poor folks in the "TWI offshoot" I'm hanging with now. Just last Sunday I had to up and say how the "meeting" reminded me of a twig fellowship. (NOTE: that statement is called an "insult.")

Well, anyway... I love all of you folks... every last one of you. Yeah, even the ones that bent me over the fence rail for a go or two. God is still God and I'm still a favored child.

BTW... if you know a sweet gal name of Linda, a chain smoking, ex-cabbie, red head from Minnesota... well she is sleeping now. Her kin found me and I'm doing her funeral next Sunday. Say a prayer for her family and I'll say one tonight for you.

[Catcup]

sorry, it wasn't my last topic here I guess..

over the last twenty, thirty, forty years.. what would you have done differently?

there are some things set in stone that I would not have the cleverness, nor even the inclination to undo even if I could.

One can't exactly undo ones's offspring..

nor should one even want to..

but what would you have done differently? Maybe this is da final report, sent to Squirrels in da far, far distant future..

So what would I have done differently?

In 1972 when my boyfriend did not want to accept his mother's invitation to us to visit her church, I wish I woud have just let it go and not pressed him for us to go just to please her...

[leafytwiglet]

I won't say i am sorry I was involvedin TWI because ... well I found my Darling Hubby who really means the world, the moon, the stars, and the universe to me.. and by meeting him I got my darling daughters... but I should have stayed in business school and finished it.. but then I wouldn't have my hubby and girls... I guess really I shouldn't have gone WOW... no that helped me to grow up and understand that my walk with God was just that... MY walk with God... also was instrumental in me meeting Hubby.

Okay what I really wish I had done was drop it all ... the way teachings, when I got out.... I should have realized it was all a pack of lies sooner... i should have listened to my gut instinct right from the begining... but then I really wouldn't have become who I am today... and I am a keen spotter of all things Baloney pucky .... now .. thanks to TWI.

SO my biggest regret is the superior attitude I picked up thanks to TWI.

I was one of the lucky ones... I wasn't in that long... my life was slightly derailed by TWI, and my relationship with my parents was bent a bit.. but it was not that good to begin with. (alcoholic stepdad who abused the entire family)

My WOW year turned out to be probably one of the most life changing years of my life... and was probably one of the happier ones, judging by what I have read of others. I consider myself very lucky.

I think what I would most change is the whole "I know it all attitude"... and the not listening to others, and thinking I knew "the only truth".... The years of holding on to that.... I would change that, because that is the one thing that held me back the most.

Edited January 9, 2011 by leafytwiglet

[johniam]

The only thing I would have done differently is I would've left twi around 1990 or so instead of being forced out in 1994. Originally, twi was a safe haven for me. Then after 1989 when the loyalty letter hit, it slowly became more and more abusive. Other than that, nothing different. TWI not only gave me a belief system, they gave me a support system (people). I met my wife there, and established rapport with many other people which continues to the present day. Getting involved with twi is the smartest thing I did in my life. 34 years later.

[chockfull]

I'm reluctant to try and second-guess my life. As a young man, I wanted to do something in life that had meaning, beyond the mundane. Under those auspices I joined TWI. That led to me being strung along with visions of how my life was making a difference to God, built up greater and greater from the start. More classes, commitment, programs. Years of my life going wherever I was told and obeying what I found out later to be two-bit dictators like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. I found out that I had better Christian examples in my own parents who raised me than these false prophets and teachers running TWI.

TWI taught me that I shouldn't waste my life pursuing second-rate causes. But after seeing how they lived who were telling me these things, what is more of a second-rate cause than selling out to be the curtain holder for the man behind the curtains? I resolved never again to allow my life to be used to prop up moral midgets.

I can't change the past. And there's no crying over spilled milk. But if someone has the chance to forge their future without having to do what I did, do it.

[JavaJane]

There is one thing that pops out at me: I would not have marked and avoided my immediate family.

Other than that, everything I did with TWI led to my marriage and my daughter, who is worth every bit of pain, suffering, and mental anguish caused by TWI.

I don't believe everything happens for a reason, but if there was any good that came out of TWI for me it was that little monster who woke me up at 4:00 this morning.

[Grace Valerie Claire]

On 1/7/2011 at 7:26 PM, Ham said:

sorry, it wasn't my last topic here I guess..

over the last twenty, thirty, forty years.. what would you have done differently?

there are some things set in stone that I would not have the cleverness, nor even the inclination to undo even if I could.

One can't exactly undo ones's offspring..

nor should one even want to..

but what would you have done differently? Maybe this is da final report, sent to Squirrels in da far, far distant future..

Ham, I would have gotten out of TWI sooner than I did.  Also, I would not have taken the AC; what a waste of time, and money!

[Grace Valerie Claire]

On 1/7/2011 at 7:26 PM, Ham said:

sorry, it wasn't my last topic here I guess..

over the last twenty, thirty, forty years.. what would you have done differently?

there are some things set in stone that I would not have the cleverness, nor even the inclination to undo even if I could.

One can't exactly undo ones's offspring..

nor should one even want to..

but what would you have done differently? Maybe this is da final report, sent to Squirrels in da far, far distant future..

Ham, interesting post.  I think most of us, would never have gotten involved in TWI, if we had known how evil it was.  Just my opinion.

[Thomas Loy Bumgarner]

I would have never gotten involved with TWI at either ECU or ASU, would have gotten my BA in Music much sooner and probably would have gotten a MSM(Masters in Sacred Music), maybe had a full time Organist/Director of Music in either a Lutheran or Episcopalian Church, gotten married and had kids, and likely would have never come out of the closet as a gay man.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Thomas Loy Bumgarner