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We got a very loud alert this evening warning about the wildfires

FWIW: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/emergency-alert-to-be-sent-to-england-and-wales-as-government-steps-up-wildfire-response-with-funding-military-support-and-bbq-ban

Although not big quakes the worry here is where they were located and that there were 3 of them so close together. It causes the meteorologists concern.

I'm in London... and just got a UK Emergency Alert, just past 7pm local time, on my mobile/cell phone :-0 .... I wondered what the noise was, it was the alert sounding!

I'm glad Sister. We thank Jehovah for his provisions. ❤. And thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it 🙏

Our Kingdom Hall was built in 2016 and we have AC (central air). Oddly enough, the temperature is fine when you first walk in, but by the end of the meeting it feels noticeably colder.

My first Kingdom Hall in the '70s had no AC, no fans, only small windows. It was miserable in the summer 🥵 Nearly impossible to keep the children still, babies whining, pregnant sisters gasping.. Yay for air con - and my sincere condolences to those without it.. 🙏🏼💐

So, how do we do that? Paragraph 10 contii: He might fall into serious sin and later feel that everything occurred “suddenly.” Or he might say, “It just happened.” And yet, if he thinks about what actually occurred, he will likely discover that he took some unwise steps that led to his transgression. Those steps might have involved bad association, unwholesome entertainment, or frequenting questionable places—whether in person or online. Perhaps he had also stopped praying, reading the Bible, attending meetings, or sharing in the ministry. Like the young man discussed in Proverbs, he may not have committed the sin so “suddenly” after all. We could start by asking. How is my daily Bible reading?

I'm with you 1000%- drives me nutty, too.. the apostrophe makes the meaning clear and the pronunciation correct.

⠀ Sometimes a tender conscience can make Jehovah seem harder than he really is. ⠀ You make a mistake. You pray about it. You try to put things right. But later, when everything gets quiet, it comes back. ⠀ You remember what you said. What you did. Maybe the look on someone’s face. ⠀ And you feel it all over again. ⠀ We’ve all had moments like that. You know Jehovah is merciful. You’ve told other people that many times. But now it’s your mistake, and somehow mercy feels harder to believe. ⠀ Then you read: ⠀ “Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and go where your eyes lead you; but know that the true God will bring you into judgment for all these things.” — Ecclesiastes 11:9 ⠀ And what do you hear? ⠀ Judgment. ⠀ That word can become so loud that it drowns out everything Jehovah said before it. ⠀ “Rejoice.” ⠀ “Let your heart be glad.” ⠀ Jehovah wants young people to enjoy life. He isn’t looking down on every laugh, every hope, or every plan. He gave us the ability to feel joy. ⠀ But he also knows the heart. ⠀ It can want something badly and still be wrong. The eyes can be drawn toward something that looks harmless, only to discover the pain later. So Jehovah reminds us that our choices matter. We are free to choose, but we are not free from what those choices may bring. ⠀ That’s not Jehovah trying to take the joy out of life. ⠀ He’s trying to keep the pain from taking it. ⠀ But when we’ve done something wrong, the mind can take that warning and go too far with it. We start imagining Jehovah waiting to condemn us. We know he is just, but we begin to wonder whether justice is all we’re going to receive. ⠀ Then Jesus says: ⠀ “Continue being merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” — Luke 6:36 ⠀ Your Father is merciful. ⠀ That matters. ⠀ Jesus had just spoken about people who hate, curse, mistreat, and take from others. He wasn’t talking about small misunderstandings. Real wrong had been done. ⠀ Still, he said to be merciful. ⠀ Why? ⠀ Because that is what our Father is like. ⠀ Mercy does not mean that wrong suddenly becomes right. It doesn’t remove responsibility. It doesn’t mean there will never be consequences. ⠀ Mercy simply sees more. ⠀ Jehovah sees the mistake, but he also sees the person who made it. He knows what happened before it. He knows what you were fighting. He knows where you were weak. He knows whether you are making excuses or whether your heart is hurting because you disappointed him. ⠀ Jehovah sees all of it. ⠀ Sometimes we don’t. ⠀ Guilt can become loud. It can start telling us things that sound true because they hurt. ⠀ “I failed, so Jehovah no longer wants me.” ⠀ That is not true. Make sure of that. ⠀ “I’m being corrected, so Jehovah must have rejected me.” ⠀ That isn’t true either. Correction can help us see where we went wrong and return to a safe course. ⠀ “I still feel guilty, so Jehovah could not have forgiven me.” ⠀ That feeling may be real. But it does not decide what Jehovah has done. ⠀ Paul wrote: ⠀ “Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21 ⠀ Paul was telling Christians not to accept everything they heard as truth. They needed to examine it. They needed to compare it with what God had already revealed. ⠀ We need to do that with our own thoughts too. ⠀ Not every thought that enters the heart deserves to stay there. ⠀ Some thoughts need to be held up against Jehovah’s Word. If they make him seem cold, unwilling to forgive, or eager to reject us, something is wrong. That is not the Father Jesus described. ⠀ So make sure. ⠀ Then hold fast to what is fine. ⠀ Hold on to the fact that Jehovah wants you to enjoy life. ⠀ Hold on to the fact that your choices matter to him. ⠀ Hold on to the fact that he is merciful. ⠀ We need all of those truths. ⠀ If we forget accountability, we may start treating mercy like permission to do whatever we want. ⠀ But if we forget mercy, one mistake can leave us feeling that there is no way back. ⠀ Jehovah gives us the balance. ⠀ He does not say, “It doesn’t matter what you do.” ⠀ But he does not say, “Your mistake is all I see.” ⠀ Maybe you are still carrying something you’ve already taken to Jehovah. You have prayed about it. You’ve made changes. You’ve tried to put things right. ⠀ Don’t let your heart make Jehovah harsher than he is. ⠀ He is just. ⠀ But he is also your Father. ⠀ And your Father is merciful.

Beautiful report. I don't know why, but it has always irked me how much trouble people have with a little apostrophe S in "Jehovah's Witnesses." Even some fellow believers struggle with it. To me, that little apostrophe S carries real weight. It's the difference between simply being witnesses and being Jehovah's witnesses, people who belong to him and represent him specifically. Getting it right feels like a small way of honoring what the name actually points to. I do understand that in some pidgin and creole languages, the apostrophe S isn't used, and that's simply a language thing.

EL NIÑO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION (ENSO) DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION issued by CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER/NCEP/NWS 13 August 2026 ENSO Alert System Status: El Niño Advisory Synopsis: El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026-27. El Niño strengthened over the past month, with sea surface temperature anomalies exceeding +2.0°C in the eastern equatorial Pacific [Fig. 1]. The July Niño index values were +1.4°C in Niño-3.4, +1.7°C in Niño-3, and +2.9°C in Niño-1+2 [Fig. 2]. The equatorial subsurface temperature index (average from 180°-100°W) increased during July [Fig. 3], reflecting a deeper-than-average thermocline [Fig. 4]. Subsurface temperature anomalies were significant, reaching +10.0°C at depth. Low-level westerly wind anomalies and upper-level easterly wind anomalies extended from the western to east-central equatorial Pacific. Convection and rainfall were enhanced from the central to eastern Pacific and were suppressed over Indonesia [Fig. 5]. The traditional and equatorial Southern Oscillation indices were significantly negative, with values near 2 standard deviations during July. Collectively, the coupled ocean-atmosphere system reflected a strengthening El Niño. The CPC Official ENSO outlook, which synthesizes multiple models from North America and abroad, indicates El Niño will continue to strengthen through the end of the year [Figs. 6-7-8]. During the October-December 2026 season, there is a 69% chance of a historic event that would exceed the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950 (+2.5°C or more for a 3-month RONI value). With an event of this magnitude, the chances of experiencing impacts consistent with El Niño are larger, but they are not guaranteed (see CPC outlooks for probabilities of seasonal anomalies). In summary, El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026-27. This discussion is a consolidated effort of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NOAA's National Weather Service, and their funded institutions. Oceanic and atmospheric conditions are updated weekly on the Climate Prediction Center web site (El Niño/La Niña Current Conditions and Expert Discussions). A probabilistic strength forecast is available here. The next ENSO Diagnostics Discussion is scheduled for 10 September 2026.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0gvsx3xZl4

Zoom is definitely a good provision. I especially like the live streams for assemblies, this particular venue was my one of my first experiences of an assembly when I was about 11, it was an international assembly, 4 days! Although apparently years before that assemblies were much longer and went on much later. Yes, it's not the same as being there , for a few magical days you really feel you have come out of this drastically terrible system. Will just have to close my eyes and imagine 😁💭💭

It's getting hotter everywhere brother. It's not the same world as back then. We have KHs without AC that have had to go Zoom only in London during the 5 heatwaves so far this year. This is unprecedented and will only get worse. All fans and AC units in the UK sold out in June and we have none in the shops. Last week in our monthly Announcements from branch we got a reminder to check our go bags because of the risk of wildfires in the UK. Yesterday we got the fulfilment ... From BBC news.

I don't care if AC makes me soft, at least I'm not sweating. 🥵

Yes the scence of this world is getting worsen everytime as it is closer to the GT. But remember what Jesus said "...for these things must take place, but the end is not yet." (Mat 24:6) We need to endure all of this things in the last days until GT. Eduring this means our lives. fruitage of Jehovah's holy spirit helps us to make until the new world.

Yea Life is getting harder these days I couldn't imagine the GT. Oil reserves is depleting now because of war.

That’s what I’m thinking. We don’t even know what hard is I’m sure.

Well said sis, it's shocking how many disasters this poor old earth is going through. Love to all.

I feel for you Julie, this heat is unbelievable. Good to be on Zoom, not like being there but I do understand as I haven't been able to attend for about 5 years. Streaming helps us feel included. 🥰

Of course you are all in our prayers, as well as our family in Venezula. These disasters happen so fast and furious that it is hard to wrap our minds around it all. How Jehovah's organization keeps up with all the disasters is beyond me! The cost and the volunteer manpower needed for disaster relief committee's has to be enormous, yet it is always there and ready for the next disaster. Keep donating, keep praying and keep the faith!

The earth is definitely in peril. The weather patterns are so far off and every single decision greedy men and corporations make just plunge it further into disaster after disaster. These data centers going in all over the world are the last nail in the coffin I think. They will cause untold damage to the water and atmosphere and sink innocent people who depend on these resources further into despair. It's no wonder the Bible tells us that "men will become faint out of fear". The news media is geared to make people afraid of absolutely everything - everything we eat, every kind of medicine we take, every phone call or message we get, every place we go, - every decision we make is a wrong one. The stress of life is getting too great and people are going nuts because they can't handle it. Seems like life is nothing but mass murders, natural disasters, fear of another world war and general craziness. And this all BEFORE the GT happens! Life after the GT starts is something we all must spiritually and mentally prepare for now - I have a feeling what we are experiencing now will feel like a cakewalk compared to after the GT starts.

One of the other things in cart work is ants. Our bench is sitting on top of about 5 small but busy red ant hills. Last week we got harassed by them, badly. This week I bought peppermint and cedar oil spray to help deter them, made a bit of a difference but they kept coming back. I'm familiar with diatomaceous earth, I'd love to attack these nests with this powder so I called Jack, the cart work brother, who called the city. So far they'll let me coat the nests under our bench and possibly more benches and play places in the park that's having problems with ants. I understand it's a real problem. Yay, bring on the ants! Any other suggestions? I'm open!

With all the cooking I did a few days ago I still had some things to use up so I took out hash browns, peppers and onions out of the freezer. fried them up. Had 8 eggs shaken up/scrambled in a quart jar, 2 oz left over sharp cheddar, 8 sausage links and 2 sausage patties. Whew, trying to use up all the things in the freezer and show the man-child we don't always need to buy more groceries. Put the potatoes/onion/peppers in a greased 9x9 pan, added cut up sausage, scrambled egg and topped with cheese. Yes I could have added spinach but I can't stand cooked spinach and its green.......son won't eat green! Baked for 45 minutes. That was done Monday night, today I needed a simple day of cooking after service so I reheated the 'Quiche' and added garlic bread, happy man!! Easy for mom! win, win.