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The Bible says honor men of all sorts at 1-Peter 2:17. Honor is to hold someone in high regard. A husband and wife hold each other in high regard and their friends would do the same if they’re applying this counsel. Genesis 21:8 says Abraham had a party to celebrate his son being weaned. That was special to him. He chose to celebrate his son. We choose to celebrate our anniversaries sometimes. Some friends never celebrate their anniversary. Historical evidence shows, Birthday celebrations weren’t celebrated by Jews or Christians. They’re full of pagan rituals, from making wishes when one blows out a candle to the horoscopes people go by for their birthdays. Those pagan practices have not died out. Those are unclean things. There’s no pagan ritual surrounding celebrating anniversaries of couples remaining married that would be in our celebrations. Now as I write this, I reason that someone could choose to celebrate their birthday without the pagan customs. From what the update says, it’s about how things are viewed customarily - now. So are people still looked at by others as god for a day? When you ask the average person- No. I can see some of the brothers and sisters choosing to celebrate their birthdays because of this. I’ve already seen posts for example of friends on social media thanking God for being alive another year or thanking him for their kids being alive another year. Some friends have been okay with recognizing their birthday and receiving gifts. Others took the counsel and stayed far away from even hinting that they celebrated their birthdays. Could it be said it’s a conscious decision? Possibly. Because again, the update mentioned, things that were looked at as pagan or superstitious then may not be looked at that way now. Peter gave clear counsel to avoid the works of the flesh. In order for us not to offend Jehovah and Jesus or not stumble others, we’re going to have to ask, is any of this a work of the flesh? I personally won’t be celebrating my birthday. But I’m not going to judge anyone if they do. I’m not married. So I don’t have an anniversary to celebrate, but would I show honor to a couple who are celebrating their anniversary- yes. And no one should judge them for it. Jesus does the judging.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/enjoy-life-forever/section-3/lesson-43/ See "Explore"

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That's rough

I understand you so well 😳

When I hear someone sneeze, with a straight face, I ask, "Get any on ya?" Then I walk away laughing in my head.🤣

Think of it as you being loyal right up until the end (at least the end of the prohibition). That said, it still might not have been appropriate. Just because the GB is giving us principles instead of a rule doesn't mean we don't have to consider the principles. There still might be times we'd avoid participating in a toast. So, well done good and faithful servant.

The custom really got started when the bubonic plague was happening. I can understand hoping for God's blessings to prevent that sneeze from meaning a death-dealing illness. It's just considered polite, now. Like toasting.. ☺️

Is that a question or a statement?

Well, some articles I saw said the bombings only set Iran back about a month in their efforts. If true, then the US is only making half-hearted attempts. Politics? International Relations? Does a half-hearted attack placate Russia into not stepping in?

"forces"

A dog

That's interesting. That forces the US to be the aggressor to stop them.

True. I want a wind chime of bearded men toasting...

Iran won’t attack the US but will continue nuclear development, senior Iranian official says https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/03/iran-us-bombing-retaliation-00439125

I just made a thing of this in front of my worldly family this week at a family reunion and now they change it 🤦‍♂️

And baby/wedding showers. I've seen some witness parties that totally focus on and glorify the bride/mother to be.

Caution are involved here because of timing and its locations too. 1. In certain areas wind chimes are use to keep the spirits away In certain areas is wind chimes are just for the wind making music. 2. Many years ago, the confederate flag was the flag for the southern states. Now it has become a racist symbol. 3. Years ago, swastikas was use as a religious symbol and perhaps a good charm. Now it is know known as a antisemitic symbol.

Sneezing - last thing. in Poland it’s basically the same as in Germany: Gesindheit/Na zdrowie I did some research and came across two details: - (non-surprisingly) in Slavic cultures it goes directly to pagan roots and the saying is supposed to rescue the person from losing one of their souls (🫣) - (surprisingly) it’s bad manners! A lot of people do say that when someone sneezed but according to secular Etiquette saying anything about other people bodily functions is 1) disturbing the conversation or social interaction 2) may embarrass the person. The best way is to say nothing. Of course, if someone say “Na zdrowie” or equivalent it’s polite to say Thank you. My take is I can say thank you just as I say after someone wishing me Merry Christmas. And if the other person asks why I don’t say “Bless you” after someone sneezes I’ll ask them “Why don’t you say “Bless you” after someone farts?” 😁

Just installed the minor update this morning and I noticed that the Bing Satellite map as well as the Bing map dark was removed from the available map providers. That is a real concern as it basically makes the assigning of new addresses now more guess work as to where the residences are. I understand that there may be an additional expense for map services, but if at all make it an option to add for an additional fee the Bing Satellite map.

' frothing at the mouth'... I don't mean Jehovah is very angry. I mean he's cleaning up, sort of. Google Translate is a high-intensity Judah.

Without judging your beloved aunt, Sonia, I wonder: when she was teaching the Bible and the issue of birthdays came up, how did she do it? Did she give her opinion or support the FDS's point of view? Did she help the student understand what we believe to be, up to now, Jehovah's point of view on the matter? If I understand her position correctly: no cake, no candles, no song, no gift... well, then it wasn't a birthday she was celebrating, was it? We are currently experiencing major internal changes, which can be very disturbing for some of us who have been in the truth for decades, and for whom all these points were major in building not our faith but our loyalty to Jehovah's standards as set forth by the FDS. Jehovah appreciates our faithfulness in the little things, and the FDS is setting the example. It must not be easy for our dear brothers to revisit these issues, to which they themselves were subjected, and to change them by appealing to biblical principles, reason, and wisdom. I have the impression that Jehovah is frothing at the mouth right now because he wants us to travel to the New World relieved of all unnecessary burdens. So even if it's complicated for us, perhaps we need to make it a matter of details and faith, to move forward along with the chariot. Anyway, the cup is served; we must drink it to the dregs.

Toasting is considered in the Bible Study: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102021243?q=toasting&p=par

I meant: “Are you okay?” as a genuine inquiry and/or as a way to start a conversation.

What??????!!!!!!!