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Wow! I like the details,that writer's edge. Was going in in a car group Sunday and said sorry, I have to hand out no doze but the brother who is a writer was amused by the journalistic approach.

We have told people for years about the end of Babylon the Great. Might move some decisions or motivate persons who have been called on. Cant hardly wait. We had a sister (now passed) who wold ask during an invitation campaign. "What if every person showed up at the Hall?"

that's what they should have been thinking yesterday already But many nonJW and exJW may come back because of it... I hope they'll be able to endure during the whole thing

“I need to hide all my chocolate.”

Different reactions for sure. "Oh oh not yet Jesus, Ihave many things to change" "Hmm, not yet, I still have to pioneer" "I have to simply my life first" "Im living a double life, I need to change."

I hope the brothers announce that the Day of Jehovah has begun instead of the Great Tribulation has begun. It puts the focus on what Jehovah is doing instead of how it will affect us.

@ChrisW beat me to it! Very proud of you my brother. Happy to hear you went AND stuck around. ^^^^^^^^

I'll start a day by day journal on this very day of announcement

It is strange they want so much money for it. Seems its rivaling military spending now?

Getting more and more obvious every day.

I can’t help but wonder what it will be like to suddenly receive a warning or announcement saying, “The Great Tribulation has begun!” Have you ever imagined what our personal reaction would be? It would mark a step toward the transformation and destruction of everything we know as the system.

I'm so proud of you. I'm proud to call you my brother. I understand why you were distracted but your presence at the meeting allowed you to receive encouragement from Jehovah and your spiritual family. One step at a time. 💚

Also, a quick update on the meeting. I ended up coming in a few minutes after the meeting started. A lot of people smiled and waved and we're really happy to see me, one person even came up during the meeting and gave me a hug from behind as I sat on my chair. I really enjoyed being there in person, but I will be completely honest with you guys, my focus was inwards rather than outwards. I sat there and nearly right away, Satan jumped on my back by means of a message from my wife expressing her disgust and outrage at the legal system and hospital system in the UK...a system that was essentially leaving her to die on her own without much practical help. I know she wasn't thinking about the time difference, I know she wasn't really aware that I was sitting at the hall when she typed that message. But it immediately arrested my attention and all the feelings and emotions came rushing back. I spent the first 10 or 15 minutes of that poor brother's talk in tears, just fighting to wrestle my attention back and try to pay attention. The Watchtower study was a shambles, I faded in and out of awareness as brothers and sisters made really good comments around me. I couldn't really concentrate, I kept having to pull my attention back to the study...it was really hard not to give up and walk out and sit in my car. But I stuck it out, I stayed. One older brother approached me right after the last prayer and shook my hand and said he missed my comments and my presence and it was good to see me back, and...laying everything out on the table...it opened a wound. I know he didn't mean it that way, but it made me immediately aware of what I was NO LONGER doing...and it hurt. But I stayed, and I associated a little. A brother invited me out to eat, throwing in for good measure that he would pay for the meal, but I turned him down. I'm deeply grateful that he even thought of me, but that wasn't really the point of me going to the meeting today. I know Jehovah uses the friends, and believe me, I DID get encouragement from being there and seeing everyone...despite how I sound now. I'm just choosing to be blunt, I'm choosing to say the things that I often leave unsaid. I went because I needed to speak to my best friend today...I needed to be in his house...to be close to where he was. I felt peace sitting there, I felt like a couple of pieces of the puzzle that make up "me" suddenly clicked back into place...it felt warm and comfortable. Again, I'm not claiming that I'm healed, that everything is good now. I'm fully aware that I may regress at some point, but for right now I feel like my battery was recharged somewhat, and I'm happy with that for right now. Thank you to everyone who read, commented or left an emoji. I'm trying very hard to be transparent with all of this, it's not easy when it feels like I'm 30 ft below the surface of an ocean and I'm struggling to kick my way back up to the surface just to take a single breath of fresh air before I get sucked back under. I know Jehovah is there, he's already proven that many times over. It's on me to stay close to him, it's just a little bit harder when I feel like Satan and his demons have climbed onto my back and are refusing to let go.

Honestly, my cousin gave the funeral talk and he said so many things about my grandpa that I never knew...it made me feel ashamed. My grandpa was in the truth is entire life, my step dad's family has five generations in the truth, so it runs deep in the family. But to be completely honest, I never really got to know him like that. I was around him from when my Mom married my step dad at the age of 6. We moved to the family farm that had been in their family for generations only to sell the farm a couple of years later because the farm simply didn't pay for itself anymore. That sort of caused a rift in the family, so it was a bit strained growing up. As a teenager, I was too full of rebellion to really get to know him, and then I was incarcerated for 15 years after that, so I really missed out on all those memories that my cousin spoke about at the funeral. It wasn't until after I got out of prison that I really got to know him a little bit, and I liked what I saw. He loved to reminisce, he remembered things about being in the truth and the early days before they were even elders, back when they met in a tiny schoolhouse as their Kingdom Hall. We had many good conversations when I would stop by their house and visit for a while, I think one of the primary reasons that family rift healed was because I was one of the only grandchildren stopping by on a semi regular basis just to visit. But it wasn't too long before he started losing his eyesight and withdrawing into himself, although even then we had some good talks about the good old days. He had forgotten more about farming than most people would ever learn in a lifetime...and he knew more about the area where he grew up and the people in it then probably 99% of the other people living in that area. Listening to him was like watching a movie in your head, that's the best way I can describe it. He was very good with names and remembered details that most people would consider irrelevant, but those tiny little details actually gave the spice and the flavor to his stories. That's what I remember about him most, thanks for asking. I know we all look forward to seeing those we love brought back, I don't think it'll be long now

Before I went to meeting this morning I read your post out loud to my husband. We both cried. Not only because of your pain but because you said so many things we all feel at times. And so even at your lowest point my brother you helped lift so many. You pushed yourself and also pulled along those who were needing a little extra. Thank you for sharing it. We pray for you and your wife. Soon we will see Jehovah's deliverance from all our troubles.

Tuesday, August 18 Let everything you do be done with love.—1 Cor. 16:14. Our greatest example, Jesus Christ, was motivated by love—love for his Father and love for people. That love moved him to work hard and perform humble tasks for others. (Matt. 20:28; John 13:5, 14, 15) Brothers, if you are motivated by love, Jehovah will bless you and will help you to reach your spiritual goals, such as qualifying as a ministerial servant. (1 Pet. 5:5) In the world, people who promote themselves are often admired. Not so in Jehovah’s organization. A brother who is motivated by love, as Jesus was, does not crave power, authority over others, or status. If such an ambitious person were to be appointed in the congregation, he would likely refuse to do some of the humble tasks needed to care for Jehovah’s precious sheep. He might consider such tasks to be beneath him.—John 10:12. w24.11 15 ¶6-7

When I was younger I quarreled with the idea that Jehovah lets or allowed evil sometimes to happen. I have been thinking about it. Is it reasonable? Is it loving? Let me share my experience with you. Maybe my conclusion might not cover every case because of the complexity of life, but it might help you understand why it's the reasonable thing to do both from a human and divine standpoint. Scenario 1: You are in charge of 10 people. You have to care for everything they need to carry out a project. So imagine you have provided all the materials they need, the training they need and are paying them well. So which would be loving: Giving them the freedom to carry out their work unless they ask for help, or micromanaging every thing they do and it has to be vetoed by you? Which would be inconvenient for them? Which would be wise and fair? Scenario 2: Now extend that population to a million people and a thousand projects. You have provided everything they would need including training such that nothing would go wrong unless they disobey you. Which would be loving, or wise, or fair? Freedom within limits or micromanaging them? I know I am not covering every case. Because we still have mental health, sickness, and imperfections which it doesn't cover. But this scenario covers whether it would be reasonable for Jehovah to intervene in everything humans do. Or he would allow events sometimes to take their natural course. If I was Jehovah, which I don't hope to be, because of the enormous responsibility involved, but if, I would go for freedom within limits. One of my limits would be if an event would make any of my word come false and I cannot lie. For example, if the preaching work has to be preached all over the earth before the end, then I would intervene to stop anyone who desires to make that invalid. Or if I tell Satan to test Job and not take his life. Then I would intervene if Satan oversteps his side of the agreement by going after Jobs life. Why? Because these are principles on which the freedom within limits relies on. Just my 2 cents.

Hi again, Tim. Was talking to a sis and Brother today. He writes, also, and we were talking about our recent losses. His Dad passed away beginning of Covid. He sometimes writes down things he would say to his Dad to catch up his incomplete conversations. I mentioned some convos I wish I could have with Keith. Just wondering, are there any things your grandfather said that you would like to add on to or think? Would love to hear more about him.

Tim, hope you can get on a zoom chat just for association from ones who care. Nobody knows your situation right now, but many are concerned and would like to offer compassion, if not specific answers. Thinking of you, YS.

At any time Jehovah could have stopped Cain from murdering his brother. At any time Jehovah could have prevented the Jews from killing Isaiah in such a horrific way. At any time Jehovah could have stepped to save his own Son on the torture stake. Some in the congregation may experience pain. We ourselves may also experience pain. Such as the pattern of the Witnesses of God. Witness in Greek is μάρτυς, from which we got the word 'martyr'. But never must you believe that it means Jehovah has abandonned you or does not care about you. All of your acts of long suffering are written in his book. Your hardships are not in vain, they are a response to Satan who claimed that he can make each and every individual to turn away from Jehovah the moment we face hardship. Satan's challenge involves you personnaly. Will you prove him to be a liar and sanctify the God of righteoussness?

Tim, even while you felt that your thoughts toward Jehovah had gone quiet, everything you wrote shows that your heart never really left him. You were overwhelmed, grieving, frightened for your wife, and simply exhausted—and Jehovah knew the difference between silence caused by indifference and silence caused by pain. Going to the Hall was the right thing. So is honestly telling Jehovah where you have been. You may have felt far away from him. I know he was never far away from you. ub Dave

>>He said Jehovah misses my grandpa’s thoughts. Not just his presence...not just his service...but his thoughts. I don’t know why that hit >>me the way it did, but it felt like someone reached inside my chest and pulled a cord I didn’t even realize was still connected. Because if >>Jehovah misses my grandpa’s thoughts, then Jehovah has been missing mine too...and that realization crushed me. For the first time in a >>while...I went home...fired up my computer, made myself a steaming hot cup of Maxwell House...and started doing some personal >>research. Waoh! That's profound. Jehovah missing our thoughts when we are dead. It's a profound truth which has always been there but on reading that verse, which says Jehovah discerns our thoughts while we are living... So if he misses our thoughts when we are dead, it shows a connection to Job which says Jehovah in fact yearns to bring his faithful ones back to life. Waoh! No wonder it hit you in a different way. It hit me like a Wow! moment. I learned one thing: Our thoughts are a shared relationship we have with Jehovah and no one else, unless we choose to share with others. And if Jehovah misses it, then surely he yearns to bring us to life in the resurrection so that relationship can continue. I wish I had an opportunity to share that with someone else in a way they can understand how valuable, cherished and loved we are by Jehovah even if and when we sleep in death. That's profound bro. Very profound. Thanks for sharing. Next time I happen to read Psalm 139 I would attempt to try it on the other lines, not just that line on discerning our thoughts while alive. Thanks for sharing.

Jehovah may have been missing your thoughts, because He has been reading your heart's letters, Tim. He wants you to read them outloud to Him, dear brother

We love you Tim! Empathy is not my strong emotion, but you moved me too. This system stinks and watching our loved ones suffer takes it out of us. I hope your wife finds good help. That constant search is hard too. May Jehovah give you both the strength you need and the peace of God that protects your heart and mind (Phil 4:6-9).

A bit random, but I wanna see a Caleb and Sophia video/arc where one of the bullies actually start to learn about Jehovah and that type of conflict