Posts by Love

49

My life ... and how JWD came to be - Part 3

by Simon in

for me, the walls of the watchtower were not destroyed by a single giant cannon-ball but rather every brick had been weakened and suddenly the whole thing just 'collapsed'.. i've alwys been an avid reader and a firm believer that you can learn anything and everything from a good book.

anyway, i was reading a bad book, the creation book, and this time things were different.. normally, the mere thought that the wts could "not be right" could not even be contemplated.

it was like you can't even comprehend the concept or understand the question, least of all imagine it.. yet now, i read the book and things were screaming at me from the pages.

Love_Truth

Unfortunately, I found out I had belonged to an incredibly malicious organisation and they were not just going to let me leave. They had to try and hurt us....Here was someone who was totaly unsuitable for the position and was on a power trip. He liked the authority and he didn't like me because I was never impressed by him.

Oh so familiar. Not just that part, but you nailed the character of the "organization" and the "power trip" that the vast majority of "Elders, POs, COs, DOs, etc, are on. I'm absolutely convinced the "prestige" they expect to get is their primary motivator for "reaching out".

35

Add your own Proverb

by JH in

jw
friends

.

the book of proverbs is full of wise proverbs that give good advice.

with your experience of life up to now, what proverb would you add to this book?

Love_Truth

Here's four:

O Lord, may I never want to look good. O Jesus, may I always read it all: out loud and the very way it should be. May I never look at the other findings until I have come to my own true conclusions: May I care for the least of the young: and become aware of the one poem that each may have written; may I be aware of what each thing is, delighted with form, and wary of the false comparison; may I never use the word "brilliant." ? Theodore Roethke

Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independant, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to it?s liberty and interests by the most lasting bands. As long therefore as they can find employment in this line, I would not convert them into mariners, artisans, or any thing else. But our citizens will find employment in this line till their numbers, and of course their productions, become too great for the demand both internal and foreign. - Thomas Jefferson (1743?1826)

And, he gave it for his Opinion; that whoever could make two Ears of Corn, or two Blades of Grass to grow upon a Spot of Ground where only one grew before; would deserve better of Mankind, and do more essential Service to his Country, than the whole Race of Politicians put together. - Jonathan Swift (1667?1745)

Positive Thinking:

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don?t.
If you?d like to win, but think you can?t,
It?s almost a cinch you won?t.
If you think you?ll lose, you?re lost,
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow?s will;
It?s all in the state of mind.
If you think you?re outclassed, you are;
You?ve got to think high to rise.
You?ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life?s battles don?t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.

- WALTER D. WINTLE, ?The Man Who Thinks He Can.??Poems That Live Forever, comp. Hazel Felleman, p. 310 (1965).

23

PLEASE WELCOME FAIR

by Sassy in

jw
friends

.

i am going to let her tell you if she wants to give her details... but fair is one of our newbies... so new that as i post this she has only been in chat so far.. but has not yet made her first post..

so come on friends.. let's give her a warm welcome!!

Love_Truth

Fair,

Welcome! I wish you the best in getting out of the cult as soon as possible!!

Regards,

Love_Truth

"There are eight rungs in charity. The highest is when you help a man to help himself."
-- Moses Maimonides

6

Damn... that's just mean

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

find this article at: .

http://www.cnn.com/2004/world/americas/02/25/haiti.revolt/index.html bush: u.s. will turn back haitian refugees.

(cnn) --with violence escalating in haiti, president bush said wednesday the united states will turn back refugees who try to escape from the caribbean nation, while the u.n. security council said it will hold an urgent meeting thursday on the crisis.. the president said he ordered the coast guard to maintain a "robust presence" along the u.s. coast watching for haitian refugees.. bush encouraged the international community to provide a security presence in haiti, adding that the first step to peace is to obtain a political solution to the crisis by all parties coming to the table immediately.. the united nations is calling for an immediate halt to the violence and to human rights abuses on both sides.. the security council said wednesday it will hold a session on the haiti crisis at the request of jamaica and other nearby countries.. the council has heard from a senior u.n. official on the humanitarian problems in haiti.

Love_Truth

Yes, well, mean or not, the US has to draw the line somewhere.

However, I'm sure if you'd like to

open your home to them,

feed them,

make sure they have medical care,

provide beds to sleep in,

and security guards or other means to ensure they don't get into the general population and disappear (you do realize that many of them may be criminals, no?),

then I say you write a letter to the Bush Administration, proposing how you would personally do so (feel free to invite like-minded folks to contribute), and have at it!!!

That's my two cents.

Love_Truth- Thinks these things through, has compassion, but understands we can't feed and house the world.

38

If Jesus died so Christians can be saved......

by DevonMcBride in

jw
friends

than why aren't there "thank you's" going out to those responsible for his death?

obviously god pre-planned the crucifixion and resurrection.

so those that killed him were following god's plan.. devon

Love_Truth

First, you need to ask your self who deserves the ?thank you?, the one who died for us, or the ones he died for (including those who put him to death):

There once was a bridge that spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it.

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening, as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught
sight of the train lights. He stepped to the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was not securely in position, it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard.

He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength!

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. "Daddy, where are you?" his 4-year old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the train as too close; the tiny
legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die.

He took a moment to make his decision. The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

Now if you comprehend the emotions which went through this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died? How does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a single thought to what was done for us through Jesus Christ?

Those of us who believe and appreciate his sacrifice for us say our "thank you" to Him, not those humans responsible for His death, who were imperfect, (just as we are) and able to apply his Ransom sacrifice, if they would only put their faith in Him.

57

The Right to Discriminate

by RubyTuesday in

jw
friends

every one discriminates, and everyone is discriminated against, at some time.

discrimination is using your judgment to make decisions about whom you will associate or reward with use of your time and property.

all people discriminate in their personal associations constantly -- you discriminate in whom you choose as your friends, lovers and business associates.

Love_Truth

Phantom,

When you "reply" to someone, here's the procedure:

Hover over that post, (Derek's, in this case) for example, "Re: The Right to Discriminate", and a drop down menu appears, select "reply", a dialogue window opens, you type your reply, then scroll down to the bottom of the dialogue box, and click "submit". (As an added caution, select all the text you wrote, and copy it, in case you get an error upon submission. That way, you can simply paste it back in and hit "submit" again.)

If you follow those instructions, rather than appearing as if you replied to the main (anchor) post, it will be easy for anyone to see who you are replying to., as your post will show up a s areply to Derek, in this case, as ?Re: Re: The Right to Discriminate? when examining the thread.

Hope this helps (no charge for the lesson).

Cheerio,

Love_Truth

14

A MUST--You won't regret it!!

by patio34 in

http://www.themeatrix.com/

you've got to watch this - about the big agri-corporations and the food you eat.

turn up the volume; you won't want to miss any of the very creative and factual cartoon docu-drama.

Love_Truth

patio34 & talesin,

Just wanted to clarify- I was referring to organically raised, not locally raised, Beef, etc.

I eat (mostly) locally raised meat, which yes, costs about the same, or less than, the mass-produced and marketed stuff. Most locally raised meat avoids the crowded conditions and cruelty, but by no means avoids use of hormones and antibiotics.

However, "locally raised" does not mean "organically raised". Organically raised cattle, for instance, take approximately three times as long (and 3 times the cost) to produce, on a per pound basis, as hormone and antibiotic fed cattle do. That extra time has to be passed on to the consumer, after all, it's a business.

Incidentally, Mennonites (here, anyway) use the big production barns and techniques of the poultry industry, for the most part.

I would suppose that the "free range" poultry you referred to, however, is indeed being raised free range.

Just a word of caution.

9

Thanks everyone, Mom update

by Sadie5 in

jw
friends

thanks everyone for your warm wishes.

after several hours in the er with blood tests and x-rays being done, they said mom has cellulitis in her right foot.

she still is unable to walk, but they sent her home after giving her a shot of anit-biotic and prescriptions for more.

Love_Truth

Glad to hear they diagnosed it and can now begin treatment.

Best wishes.

57

The Right to Discriminate

by RubyTuesday in

jw
friends

every one discriminates, and everyone is discriminated against, at some time.

discrimination is using your judgment to make decisions about whom you will associate or reward with use of your time and property.

all people discriminate in their personal associations constantly -- you discriminate in whom you choose as your friends, lovers and business associates.

Love_Truth

Ruby,

That's my point- I, as usual, don't get the "point" of Phantom's post. You are clearly female, and he's addressed his post to a white male. Hmmm.

Regards,

Love_Truth

14

A MUST--You won't regret it!!

by patio34 in

http://www.themeatrix.com/

you've got to watch this - about the big agri-corporations and the food you eat.

turn up the volume; you won't want to miss any of the very creative and factual cartoon docu-drama.

Love_Truth

Yeah, I live in farm country, and have been to many operations and slaughterhouses, so I'm familiar with what the cartoon says- It's all true.

Your alternatives are to go with organically raised products (very pricey) and/or raise the meat and produce yourself.(I do some of each).

In the big picture, it's a shame, but if these practices were stopped, it would result in much higher prices. My gut feel is that most people would not deal well with that, and that is why these practices will remain.

Bottom line is that there are lots of nasty, unhealthy, dangerous things out there, and it's up to each of us to "pick our poison".

Cheers.

Love_Truth

Posts by Love_Truth