All Activity

The Blur — a Scriptural Consideration entry — One of the strangest things about distraction is that it often feels like rest. A person sits down exhausted. They open social media, streaming apps, short videos, news feeds — hoping to relax for a few minutes. And sometimes they do relax briefly. But afterward? The mind feels crowded. Foggy. Scattered. Like somebody walked through the living room of the brain throwing papers into the air. Not everything that entertains us refreshes us. Some things merely numb us for a little while. Jesus warned: “Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down.” (Luke 21:34) That expression is vivid. A weighed-down heart does not stop functioning completely. It just loses sharpness. Urgency dulls. Spiritual reaction time slows. And modern technology excels at producing that exact condition. Not always through wickedness either. Just endlessness. Infinite scrolling. Infinite recommendations. Infinite “next video.” Infinite updates. The system has quietly removed stopping points. Years ago, entertainment had natural endings. A television program ended. A newspaper was folded shut. A store closed. Even boredom existed. (People under thirty may need historical verification on that one.) Now the stream never stops. And if something never stops, eventually it begins shaping the rhythm of the mind itself. That may be why Hebrews 2:1 warns: “It is necessary for us to pay more than the usual attention to the things heard by us, so that we never drift away.” Notice — the danger there is not open rebellion. It is drift. A boat does not drift because it hates the shore. It drifts because it stops paying attention to the current. And this world is full of currents. One recommendation. One click. One lowered guardrail. One “this isn’t that bad.” That is often how erosion works spiritually. Nobody starts at the cliff edge. Satan understands gradual weakening extremely well. Slow weakening often succeeds where direct attack fails. Which is why “soundness of mind” is so valuable. (1 Peter 4:7) Soundness of mind means we stop asking only, “Is this wrong?” and start asking, “What is this doing to me?” Those are different questions. Something may not be openly wicked and still slowly flatten spiritual appetite. And once spiritual appetite weakens, prayer begins feeling distant. Study becomes harder to stay mentally inside of. Meetings feel heavier. The ministry starts feeling mechanical. Not because Jehovah moved away. Because distraction creates blur. And blur is dangerous spiritually. A driver traveling seventy miles an hour does not need complete blindness to crash. A moment of blurred vision is enough. That is why Paul prayed that Christians would have “accurate knowledge and full discernment” and would “make sure of the more important things.” (Philippians 1:9, 10) That expression feels especially important today. Because this system constantly trains people to treat everything as equally urgent. Every notification. Every outrage. Every trend. Every update. But spiritual discernment asks a calmer question: “What actually deserves space inside my mind?” The beautiful thing is that Jehovah does not merely warn us about distraction. He teaches us how to fight it. Clear priorities. Spiritual routine. Prayer. Sacred service. Good judgment. These things sharpen focus again. Almost like wiping condensation from glass. Suddenly the road ahead becomes visible again. And perhaps that is one of the quietest forms of spiritual warfare today — protecting the clarity of our own mind in a world that profits from keeping everybody mentally scattered. based on: https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=E&prefer=lang&docid=2026322&par=26

I would much rather be interested in the quality of the people rather than the quantity.

p.s Brothers Jones and King were mentioned, recently, in a morning worship piece about endurance.

We are not in membership competition with Satan's 'paramours' (I haven't used that word in years). It is just nice that someone noticed us. We are not just that little church at the edge of your town...😁

'Ambiguous' is not my intention, although I do tend to follow verbal games on here. Thanks to all who are putting up with my attempts.

Are there subjects in our literature that you find yourself reading again and again? I just looked up and did some re-reading about our brothers, Harold King and Stanley Jones, who were incarcerated and in solitary confinement for long periods of time. I pray for our brothers and sisters who are being severely persecuted presently, and find I am at a loss for prayer-words and understanding. These accounts help me to try to know how to pray for our friends in our day. Please share any pieces of our literature that are on your read-again list. Thanks, ys, pauline

"A" is ambiguous in a relative sort of sense ... depending on who your relatives are

Klingon is a language I haven't learned yet, but might like to; Bible vImuSHa'

Decades ago, I was much younger.

Monday, May 25 Each one will carry his own load.—Gal. 6:5. In some lands, parents or other adults may be expected to choose a mate for their single relatives. In other lands, family or friends find a potential mate for a single person and then arrange for the man and the woman to meet to see whether they are compatible. If you are asked to arrange a courtship or a marriage, consider the preferences and needs of both parties. Once you identify a prospective mate, find out as much as you can about the individual’s personality, qualities and, above all, spirituality. A close relationship with Jehovah is much more important than money, education, or social status. Remember, however, that the single brother and the single sister should make the final decision about whether to get married. w24.05 23 ¶11

Substance use and abuse has become well known in the past several decades.

Oops ... miscounted the words One early Klingon in Star Trek did not look the same as the Klingons in more recent Star Trek shows

Kinda sucks because i was really wondering if there was some payoff to it, like maybe they would have ran past some cart witnessers while running away from someone. IDK i always figured if i became famous or popular or something online, i'd sprinkle some easter eggs in my stuff (This is assuming what i'm doing i have full creative control over, like if i'm a live streamer or something and not a random actor. Last thing i need is to throw an easter egg and i'm stuck saying or doing something dumb....like if i have to carry a pile of books, and i decide to put a NWT bible in the pile, and the next thing i know i have to push an old person down the stairs)

I have mixed feelings about someone creating a JWPub file. It seems to open opportunities for misleading information to appear as authorized publications. However, I would love to see the MW, Assembly and Convention transcripts as JWPubs...

Paper masquerading as china, sounds a bit like this system which, like a cowboy film is all about appearances but no substance.

Setting the table, while often fancy, can be fully functional even when the plates are paper.

Those early Klingons in Star Trek did not look the same as the Klingons in more recent Star Trek shows

The JW website only reports active publishers

US Dept of the Census does not survey for religion. Having worked for that entity, I noticed that the methods and the math was very skewed. Also the people that respond are differing. Homosexual persons were likely to respond in order to get counted, even if the survey/subject had nothing to do with the demographic they wanted to respond to. Our brothers keep accurate tallies.

I agree. One of the problems with these lists, as they themselves explain, is that they group by movement rather than by denomination. In addition, the numbers of some of these religions are surrounded by controversy. For example, the city I live in is an important urban center in the interior, with quite a bit of diversity. A keen observer will notice: - Protestantism: led by the Assembly of God denomination, with the largest number of members and temples. Several other denominations make up the numbers. - Adventists: strangely seem to have many (3 temples just in the territory of my congregation), but their presence is quite irrelevant. - LDS: The number of members is controversial, with reports that they count baptized members even if they've been out of the church for years. They don't surpass the Jehovah's Witnesses in numbers here in the city.

US Dept of Health has issued some screen time limits by ages. Others have been mentioning this as well. I am glad we have 'Caleb and Sofia' and other valuable info on JW.org for our very young ones. A hired helper that comes to my house has a five year old son with unlimited tablet access. He can't read but gets lots of video info. He has said he wants to grow up to be a lawyer for murderers b/c that's where all the power is. She enrolled him in a mixed martial arts program, but dropped right out. Now she is trying gymnastics for this kindergartener to counter effect tablet time. I asked about just taking tablet away and she said her grandmother said no b/c he will have a fit. (They live with her grandmother). The Rbt Kennnedy Jr. report says under one hour daily for his age group. I mentioned it to her. I would like to introduce her to JW.org for things to share with her son. She has lots of questions about religion. She also likes to spend lots of time here, when she is getting paid to help, on her cellphone. How have you been successful in sharing Caleg and Sofia with worldly single moms?

Just to clarify: the most recent Brazilian population census was conducted in 2022, and before that we only had the 2010 census as a reference. I believe so!

OT? The phrontistery lists words about words. Most US tv game shows these days are word or trivia based. Previously, some tv games featured timed activities. This approach may have proved too costly or dangerous. Many word nerds, here, are attracted to games involving linguistics.

They are part of the 20+ million at the Memorial each year. Maybe candidates for the call after BTG is destroyed?