TrueTomHarley

Has anyone seen my Bible? I left it at a BNB in Mississippi last night.

Besides, everyone gets a free 'end of the world' card per lifetime. It is like a 'Get out of Jail Free' card. You don't whine when your opponent draws one. It's how the game is played. Once a lifetime is within acceptable limits for tolerance if you truly are doing what Jesus said to 'keep on the watch.'

Yikes! A sudden clap of thunder woke me up and made me think God was calling in the chips then and there, and examining all comments for spelling and intent!

Willie, every Witness here (and not all are) is 'pushing it' with regard to theocratic direction just by being here. And, dare I say it, that includes you, for you are here. I mean, Bethel does caution us to be social network smart, which means among other things, that you are safest when you trade comments with those you personally know. If I have followed the thread correctly, you are upset because matters not meant for public distribution are nonetheless posted. I understand that upset. I was blown away by it myself when I first discovered such things happened. I would not do it. But if some do it, they do it. You will not be able to shame them not to. You cannot know what their motives are. Some may mean well. Others may be laughing at the outrage they provoke. Online I learned the three weekly meetings would become two, with a family Bible study night making up the deficit, before it ever appeared in print. This, too, surprised me. Obviously, people leak. I think they should not, but they do. There's little to be done about it.

Can it really be that these characters were as concerned with dress and grooming as we are today?

Why would you assume that everyone here is? We must be 'social network smart.' "Toto, something tells me that we're not in Kansas anymore" is the yeartext here.

It's a little dated. But it does fit the theme of an updated Revelation book: http://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2007/07/will-the-real-a.html

I have never known her to return from sipping Margaritas by the pool. Somebody will have to fetch her.

"Beware, my brothers. In the last days there will be false apostates among you."

I have to selectively quote. If i make everyone read your entire bombastic remarks again, @The Librariangets upset with me. She likes me better than you. I feel sorry for any sun having to tan that ugly hide.

Great grandfather. My grandfather was a Kodak man, back when there was a Kodak. (it still exists, but it is a shadow, and is largely out of town. Well, that's what they told us at Cobb's Hill Reservior, when they unveiled a monument (plaque) to great grandpa. they opened up the facility then and anyone that wanted could climb down and see the infrastructure. Whatever was today is not necessarily the same as yesteryear, but the general pattern is the same, with updates. I don't have it at my fingertips, but if he died at 102 and maintained an office at City Hall till then, his 30 years might be more. Perhaps it is 40. Or perhaps it is his formal employment as C.O, after which there were years of consulting. He is listed as among Rochester's most dedicated public servants. Nobody has heard of him anymore, which is a good reminder of how quickly we are forgotten after our time, regardless of our accomplishments, and how welcome is the prospect of everlasting life.

"This concludes this evening's performance of 'The 1914 Overture,' with Maestro Bruce Q conducting the Forum Orchestra and Chorale, with JTR acccompanying on the cymbals. Maestro Q brilliantly led the orchestra through a strident interpretation of 'Hail to the Chief,' before finally rallying all for a stirring rendition of 'We Will Be Loyal With Caveats!' Our thanks to @The Librarianfor keeping the concert hall open past her bedtime. Tune in next week when we will hear a performance of the timeless opera 'The Overlappers.'"

Yes, of course I'll go along with that. When I bought my ticket from Holy Bus Lines, it was their photos I saw on the terminal wall. That was never hidden from me. I also know that they may hit a pothole or three, for the weather is abysmal and the road is uncharted. Moreover, they do not require me to sit up straight at all times - they allow me to stretch, talk to my neighbor, and use the bathroom. I'd be surprised if the date goes. It's been around forever and it was reaffirmed at the Regional. The herd is running another way at present, but we all know about running with the herd. Perceptions can change. Still, if it goes, it goes. It's not why I'm here. Nobody else can explain why God permits suffering. Nobody else can explain what happens to the dead, why we die at all, and what hope for those who have. Nobody else can explain why human governments do nothing but foul the nest, so that I am not stuck with the pathetic hope that the next leader, this time for sure, will fix things. Nobody else preaches the good news of the kingdom, nor unifies those responding. Nobody else would have kept me safe from the new morality. Perhaps my marriage would not be intact, for few teach the Bible's message of yielding to the other person. The Bible would be an unassembled jigsaw puzzle in my closet were it not for the GB spearheading the work others feel free to criticize but do not offer to do. I owe them loyalty. I will pay it. If understandings change, you do damage control, hope for the best, and pray for Jehovah's continued goodness. It has been that way ever since Jesus spoke about 'drinking his blood.' You can't change people, Bruce. They'll be what they'll be. To some extent, the more one carries on, the more fuel is added to the fire. The less fuel offered, the quicker it goes out.

Try counting sheep. Writing apparently does not do the trick.

"For at present we see in a hazy outline by means of a metal mirror, but then it will be face to face."

Unfortunately, one cannot know anything on the internet. Shiwiii is actually a circuit overseer who is having a bad day.

The Hemlock Lake to Rochester fresh water channel is gravity fed. Once the water reaches city reserviors, of course, it is pressurized. I do notice, however, that I have taken you up on your constant taunt: 'challenge me on ANYTHING - PLEASE DO IT! - and see if I am not the VERY PERSONIFICATION of TRUTH' and you skulk away, tail between your legs, with a 'oh, sorry, I was talking about someone else.' Too scared to walk the sewers, are you? My great grandpa would have eaten you for lunch!

We have stumbled upon another way in which one might thwart the nefarious JWI. Just when he is about to shanghai the very stars from their orbits, respond to one of JTR's taunts - he offers up dozens each day - and bicker it out with him for several pages. Poor JWI will put his head in his hands and cry, despairing that he will ever complete his points. Or perhaps he will be grateful for the camouflage provided, since it is not his aim to shine in the first place. Plus, it makes for fine comic relief.

Alright, big man! You are treading upon sacred territory. "Shit Happens" was your daily text? For five years? ONLY for five years? What a newbie! My great grandfather was city engineer of Rochester for 3 decades. It is he who authored a fascinating tome about sewage conditions in the city. It is he who designed the city's water supply from faraway Hemlock Lake, laying infrastructure still in use today, 100 years later, though valves have been replaced. It is he who wrote another page turner that sits proudly upon our family hearth: 'Flood Conditions of the Genesee River,' looked to as writings of Moses by those who would later design the Mt. Morris dam 50 miles upstream and finally put an end to floods that periodically ravaged the city. It is he who, after he retired, continued to report and consult at his City Hall office until he was 102. 'Yea, though I walk through the Valley of Turds' my rear end! For 5 years? Try 30. And he didn't wear no Rolex watch, either.

For whatever it is worth, when I think of it, which is not often, I imagine I will die in this system. Of course, I am 'up there,' but not absurdly up there. And when world conditions seem too outrageous, I imagine the end could come sooner. But for the most part, I don't think of it, instead preferring verses that assure us that Jehovah will pull us through perilous time. I don't spin my lack of interest in dates into a virtue. Perhaps it indicates dullness. But it strikes me as reading a bus schedule that some try to worry out every detail. When the bus comes, it comes. If I have been behaving, I should be okay. He's not tripping ME up with his flattering speech, let me tell you that.

Since that is the case, it probably is less of an issue than you suppose. He makes the same point himself in his ever-so-lengthy rebuttal - so lengthy that I nodded off before I got to it. Does JWI need an apologist? He has not asked for one. Nevertheless, perhaps I am like him in a few regards. Perhaps I am more like him than he himself is. 1.) I am a good writer, if one is not fussy. 2.) I can explain Jehovah's Witnesses inside and out - at least the portions of it that interest me. Not all do, such as things that happened in Russell's time. Who cares? These days complete villains makeover their image in decades 3.) I am not good at anything else. Therefore, if I choose to offer my 'gift,' it is going to be writing about the faith I know so well. I can and do write about other things, but the dialogue ultimately comes around to the same thing: 'it's all screwed up because we 'need the kingdom.'' Now, if my gift is anything other than writing, I can offer it to my heart's content, and receive nothing but praise for it. But if I write about the thing that most interests me, I am subject to misinterpretation by some on my own team who think that is wrong. Of course, i could write about how we know there is no hell-fire or trinity, but that gets old and you find yourself talking to the most stubborn people on the planet. So I write about topics of the day. Alas, we have some people who misinterpret mere knowledge of political things as 'taking a side.' Perhaps JWI has felt some of that frustration. If he has not, I have. I have not read Franz' book, the same as I have not read ARC report material gift-wrapped for me by those who hate us. I am not opposed to reading the report itself, and I no doubt will, as such material is included in the new book. As to Franz' book, there hardly seems a point to my reading it, since everyone else sums it up for me. However, it's hard for me to find fault with him for writing it - whatever he goes on to say is another thing. He leaves Bethel as he is getting on in years. it is a 'vow of poverty' place; he does not leave with a 401K. What is he to do? Work at Mickey D's?

Actually, those sites are all jealous of him, for his collection far surpasses their own for numbers and quality. The secret is to water and fertilize them each day. Don't hold back on the cow manure. I actually do not recall pointing it out. If I did, then it is 'silly me,' for it is a little like pointing out that bears live in the woods.

I have also come to regard him, I hope not incorrectly, as a provider of accurate information, within the limits of human perception. When he writes about 'out there' topics, he does not do what apostates do: throw as much dirt out there as they can, uncritically, hoping that as much of it as possible will stick. His sympathies lie with the home team. He does not want to send them back to the showers.

I think admin has made it pretty clear that he is not. He has mentioned before how he is unconcerned with our 'corporate agenda.' @The Librarian, the old hen, is. (I think) She has sat behind me at our Hall from the day before anybody else was born, rapping me whenever I slouch, scolding everyone for the slightest misbehaviour. Brothers have thrown away their prepared funeral talk remarks about her, despairing that she will ever require that service. Eventually, she will, and "Ding Dong, the witch is dead." will probably suffice.