JOHN BUTLER

A " helicopter parent" is a parent who hovers over his or her children, ever watchful, ever close-by ... ready to guide and direct the children wherever and whenever needed, but at a manageable distance, and close enough to provide real, not imagined protection and security.
Like admin says... it may take ten minutes for police to respond, whereas I have the capability to make bad guys behave themselves (probably) faster than the speed of sound ....about 1100 feet per second.
I have been armed every day of my life, for the past  half-century or so, and have avoided at least three "incidents" just by being obviously armed ( I had to pull my gun, which is otherwise always concealed.
That gun I posted the picture of on another thread is small and light, and has a one-watt green laser on the top, ( my own modification so it works in bright sunlight ...) and still fits in my front right pocket.
I do not expect to get into gun battles ... merely restrain or stop the stupid and undisciplined.  I am never without it, except in courthouses, where it is not allowed ... and airports, and in the bath ... where it is on the adjacent toilet seat, under a towel.
If I expect a sustained fight, I "dress heavier", and differently.
Carrying an unloaded gun around is a good way to get killed .... like trying to outrun an avalanche in a snowmobile with no gas.
OF COURSE IT'S LOADED!
There are people that are sheep, and there are people that are Sheepdogs, like myself ... who have fangs and consider it my genetic duty to protect the innocent (myself included).
An incompetent defense is no defense at all .... and that's why they get eaten by wolves, and  eventually .... the sheep get sheared,  eaten by their Shepherds.
Think of me as a "helicopter gunship" Sheepdog parent.
Once you get that image in your mind ... you may need several beers.
 

@Outta Here   You didn't seem to disagree with JTR Jr, though when he said this
 Quote : "Remember according to the Theocratic Organization ruling at the time of Jesus' time on Earth ... HE was an Apostate."  
God had placed the religious leaders over the Nation of Israel as spiritual guides but Jesus told them they were hypocrites and 'from their father the devil'  John 8 v 44
  You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father
I think that proves my point of Jesus being apostate to those that were supposed to be the spiritual leaders.   

I would like to say how this few words can explain many things that happened in Jesus case and also in today life of people who are believers and participate in some organized religion.  

I am now going to tell you of what took place today. Please read it slowly and carefully. 
My wife and i were out delivering things to a charity warehouse and my wife suggested they we go to visit her mother who lives nearby. 
On arriving at my wife's mother's home, we found that she already had visitors. Hayley, one of our daughters (who has never been interested in the JW Org), and Phoebe (one of our granddaughters), but the daughter of our only daughter that remains in the JW Org. 
Poor little Phoebe, 7 years old, didn't know if she should speak to me or not. Obviously had been told by her mother not to talk to me, but I could tell that she actually wanted to. I spoke to her of course but she didn't know what to do... So that is No1 child that is suffering for no fault of her own.
Now i proceeded to talk to my wife's mum and to explain to her that Phoebe's mum Hannah doesn't talk to me since I left the JW Org and to my surprise my wife's mum already knew the situation, and she had asked Hannah why she wouldn't talk to me, and Hannah had said' Because it is the rules, and I am not allowed to talk to him'. That was my wife's mum's words not mine. 
After leaving my wife's mum's home we drove to Hannah's house to deliver a 'baby chair' a sort of bouncy seat to put a baby in. Hannah was at work and her husband was looking after the other two children. My wife took the chair in to the house and I stayed in the car. Hannah's oldest daughter aged 9 said to my wife 'I want to go and see grandad, but I'm not allowed to'.  My wife told me this when she came back to the car of course. So No 2 child that is suffering for no reason of her own. 
So there we have it. TWO children that are suffering because they want to talk to me (their grandad) and they are not allowed to, and a 29 year old baptised woman (our daughter Hannah)  who is SHUNNING ME because it is the rules of the GB and Elders. Yet Hannah doesn't know why, she just follows blindly without question.... And thousands of others do the same.. 
There is the truth about your shunning, Tom and other blind JW's. Not a rant, just plain truth. But truth is something your JW Org and it's GB cannot handle. 

As for your idea of the 'truth' and i quote  " It's through meeting  people like this in the "truth", (and there are a few), that  others go apostate."
The JW Org is not the 'truth'. Calling it the 'truth' is just a sales gimmick.  Please remember who and what the truth really is. And i back this up from scripture at John 14 v 6
  Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The JW Org and it's Governing Body are NOT the truth. And Jesus clearly states that NO ONE comes to the Father (Almighty God) except through him (Jesus Christ). 
The JW Org can be likened to a Taxi cab, taking you on a journey. If it was going in the right direction then you would stay in that Taxi no matter what the cost.  However once you know that the Taxi is going in the wrong direction, you get out of it as soon as possible. 

Absolutely. Calling the cops and waiting ten minutes isn't going to get Little Johnny back alive.

Looking at the 'news' on MSN. Yes I know I've been warned not to believe MSN etc.... 
But my point is that world conditions appear to be getting much worse more quickly.
I'm wondering, is it because we have the world wide web, this internet, that tells us everything. Or is it because I'm getting old and not liking 'change'. 
Or, is it really getting much worse more quickly ?
God's words warns us as to what is coming. God's words gives us the signs of the times. But is it now ?
If it is now and if God really wants more people to be saved, then hopefully God will put things into place, so that honest hearted people will know where to find the honest Truth.
10 men clinging to the skirt of a Jew. That keeps coming back into my mind every day now. Spiritual Jews, the Heavenly chosen ones. 
Yes i come on here and spout out loud, sometimes with anger in my heart, but underneath i am looking for truth. May God be kind enough to show us the way forward. 

What is a 'helicopter parent' please ? and do you really carry a loaded gun around ? Please be honest as i will believe your answers. 

Several times in my life I have had stupid people ask me why I was such a "helicopter parent", and was always armed to enforce it.
This is why.
 
 

Facebook.mp4

. “When you give … do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3)
Matthew 6:1 (BBE) Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them
Matthew 6:4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Personaly i think IF you seeking for blessings its bettet to do hours with out telling anyone.

I often wondered why military uniforms had so many patches, braids, medals, and other stuff on them.
Then I realized that men were decorated up like that so that people who "knew the code" could tell at a glance your entire history and experience level, and your motivation levels, and other factors ... like a ten page resume that could be evaluated in two seconds.
I see nothing wrong with announcing that someone is willing to Pioneer ... go out for "sustained combat".
It is hard work, and perhaps they will need encouragement or some physical assistance.
Give honor where it is due!
I would like to see something like the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor or some other appropriate award for "I survived Bethel"....

As for your idea of the 'truth' and i quote  " It's through meeting  people like this in the "truth", (and there are a few), that  others go apostate."
The JW Org is not the 'truth'. Calling it the 'truth' is just a sales gimmick.  Please remember who and what the truth really is. And i back this up from scripture at John 14 v 6
  Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The JW Org and it's Governing Body are NOT the truth. And Jesus clearly states that NO ONE comes to the Father (Almighty God) except through him (Jesus Christ). 
The JW Org can be likened to a Taxi cab, taking you on a journey. If it was going in the right direction then you would stay in that Taxi no matter what the cost.  However once you know that the Taxi is going in the wrong direction, you get out of it as soon as possible. 

@Outta Here   You didn't seem to disagree with JTR Jr, though when he said this
 Quote : "Remember according to the Theocratic Organization ruling at the time of Jesus' time on Earth ... HE was an Apostate."  
God had placed the religious leaders over the Nation of Israel as spiritual guides but Jesus told them they were hypocrites and 'from their father the devil'  John 8 v 44
  You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father
I think that proves my point of Jesus being apostate to those that were supposed to be the spiritual leaders.   

The question just BEGS to be asked .... How does anyone here know she DIDN'T do it?

Holy Crap! ;-) You JW's can twist any post into anything.

Quote "but vulgarity should be limited to those who cannot think well enough to express themselves without it.  Thinking correctly is hard work, and many are lazy. "
Um, horses for courses i think. Street cred' is very necessary for some people in some places. Thinking correctly for those in the working class regions is totally different to thinking correctly in the upper class regions. It's not a lack of intelligence, in fact it could be showing intelligence. 
Quote : " I find vulgarity offensive ... because it means , generally, I am in a conversation with a stupid person, not because I am personally offended by the vulgarity. "..   That seems a narrow minded judgemental attitude.  
Reminds me of an Elder once telling me that he and his wife went to their first Memorial dressed in 'their normal clothes'. They were Hippies and his wife was wearing the shortest brightly coloured mini skirt that she had. Were they wrong ? No, they just didn't know what was the right way to dress for such an occasion. 
The same with language, you could be a very intelligent person but have never been taught what is deemed the right words to use.  

There's no smoke without fire.

 

Gather around Grasshoppers, and listen to the wisdom of Jimminy Cricket.
To John Butler, this is a second hand, or third hand rumor.
If absolutely true, the fact remains that John did not cause anyone harm, and has no personal responsibility for the evil people do.
However, just ACCUSING someone of this particular crime can ruin the accused person's  life FOREVER, because it ruins his reputation FOREVER ... whether he is guilty, or completely innocent.
If John does NOTHING .... he has not personally CAUSED any harm to anyone.
If he acts, and the accused is innocent ... no one remembers that .... only that someone thought he was CAPABLE of doing whatever it was.
The Gossip Mill never sleeps, and grinds up anyone.
Second hand information, or third hand information is GOSSIP.
Sometimes doing the "right" thing is so complicated it is impossible.
.... best we can hope for is not personally causing harm.
But, sometimes like a frog in a pasture ... we just have to jump ... and the grasshoppers  have to scatter, or become frog food.
 
 
 

I read somewhere that it is inappropriate for a man to bathe in past glories.
Now that I am retired, the only rank I have, is bathing infrequently.

Here in the United States we call them "Baby Buggys". 
I understand in the UK, they call the hood of a car, which covers the engine compartment a "bonnet".
The best way to make a baby buggy, is to continuously tickle its feet.

@limmy  Apostasy is the formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person.
Not necessarily turning away from God, but turning away from a 'religion' 
Jehovah's Witnesses are a religion. but they do not have a monopoly on God. 
Monopoly : the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service
Quote: " Paul to was accused of Apostasy by the religious leaders against the mosaic law! "
So no problem in being called an apostate then is there ?  Even Jesus was apostate to the way that God had told the Nation of Israel to serve Him. Turning away from the old, turning toward the new. 
We can tell you are a newbie, you have much to learn.  May you have peace though. 
 

Quote "but vulgarity should be limited to those who cannot think well enough to express themselves without it.  Thinking correctly is hard work, and many are lazy. "
Um, horses for courses i think. Street cred' is very necessary for some people in some places. Thinking correctly for those in the working class regions is totally different to thinking correctly in the upper class regions. It's not a lack of intelligence, in fact it could be showing intelligence. 
Quote : " I find vulgarity offensive ... because it means , generally, I am in a conversation with a stupid person, not because I am personally offended by the vulgarity. "..   That seems a narrow minded judgemental attitude.  
Reminds me of an Elder once telling me that he and his wife went to their first Memorial dressed in 'their normal clothes'. They were Hippies and his wife was wearing the shortest brightly coloured mini skirt that she had. Were they wrong ? No, they just didn't know what was the right way to dress for such an occasion. 
The same with language, you could be a very intelligent person but have never been taught what is deemed the right words to use.  

you are one very funny man  
 

To quote Sean Connery as James Bond in the movie "Goldfinger":
" ..... Never was a man more misunderstood! ..... "
I understand this, as with my size and appearance, and to avoid being misunderstood by curious neighbors ... I cannot dig holes in my back yard at night, in the rain, with a flashlight.