Leaderboard

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/there-s-no-law-political-crisis-sends-nicaraguans-fleeing?cx_cid=edm:newspm:2019 Another country on the brink of anarchy is Nicaragua. I'm sure I read somewhere that the brothers are not using KHs and are meeting in private homes due to safety concerns. (Or it may have been another country nearby). Here's why. "With a violent political crisis that has ruined the economy and challenged President Daniel Ortega’s hold on power, people are fleeing the country in droves.... Nicaragua suddenly exploded in mid-April, when Ortega’s government announced changes to the social security program, setting off nationwide street protests that quickly turned violent. Demonstrators clashed with security forces and barricaded roadways across the nation, bringing commerce to a halt.... Nearly 13,000 acres of private property — including farmland, forests, mining areas and land intended for housing developments — have been overrun in at least 37 land grabs across seven states..... In one case, hundreds, if not thousands, of shacks have sprung up on undeveloped private land in rolling hills on the southwestern outskirts of the capital. Some of the land had been planned for a housing development, but the squatters have parcelled off territory and some are even wiring their shacks with electricity."

It's better now

Update. Gertrude was going home tomorrow, inter cranial bleeding started further back and she has been rushed back for emergency surgery. Does not look good.

Here is my outfit for Sunday..

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/8/8/17665048/brooklyn-heights-jehovahs-witnesses-watchtower-sign-illegal http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2018/8/9/opinion-too-late-fix-50-year-old-bureaucratic-oops-watchtower-sign#.W2xoDwJLG5E.facebook

@Tortuga Thought loaded... transmitting... "Replies to your public profile are disabled... and I want some salmon."

Emma says I am difficult to buy for so I suggested an anniversary present. It’s not going well.

Yes not only is JW,ORG the #1 most visited religious website out of 77,000 religious websites but it is the #1 most translated website out of ALL 1.9 BILLION websites worldwide. I use this info in service with remarkable success. For example someone says "I have my own religion" or "I go to the Baptist church" then I would say "Thats great then you must know about the #1 most visited religious website JW.ORG?" Then I show them the website and they are always very curious as to why our website beats theirs. LOL

https://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-are-fleeing-their-country-escape-persecution-1063905 It's only a matter of time, before this happens worldwide and we will all have to rely even more fully on Jehovah ❤️

We are almost holding our breathe. This fire thing is so scary. We need the prayers of one another. And, we so need the kingdom!

Update on Gertrude. Operation went well. DR reports zero complication. She is in recovery at this time and expect in ICU at 2:00 PM for hugs and kisses. Thanks All

#5 - THIS MORNING!!!! https://www.kiro7.com/news/south-sound-news/once-again-thurston-county-jehovahs-witnesses-hall-target-of-attack/808980903

It's like the year before the big election, I started seeing all this SJW stuff come out of nowhere. All of a sudden people were having witch hunts against people with the "wrong" views and college campuses become war zones. I mean things were rather divisive in the past, but I don't recall American politics being this divisive. I mean people were using politics to determine who to date, who to ignore, who to block on social media and even which relatives to disown. Both sides, of the political spectrum became extreme, too. I had never heard of white identitarians, before. People have truly become mad. The clay and iron are falling apart, and interestingly a lot of its happening in the us, the uk and former uk colonies such as Canada and Australia.

I like the idea of eating fresh food, unprocessed and bought from the markets. To eat free-range eggs and chickens, and grass-fed beef would be great. This used to be what society had, once. But because of the big $$ that food production is now, we are stuck with what the supermarkets offer. It takes time and a lot more money to source sustainable, fresh, organic, natural food now. Whether we're talking vegetables or meat. Just think, Jehovah gave the ancients permission to eat meat, but they did not indulge in it like we do in Western lands. It's that that's making us sick. Meat was not meant to be the staple. In Mediterranean cooking, you can see that yes, meat is used but sparingly. It is based on pulses, grains, and lots of vegetables and good olive oil. In Japan, another healthy diet, they also use copious vegetables, with meats sliced thinly and as a small part of the meal. Again, grain is the staple. So, vegetarianism or veganism may be what you personally decide, and it's a healthy choice for sure. But also, humans had much better diets in the past, and that did include some meat on occasion. The eating of meat is not what makes us unhealthy, or else Jehovah would not have allowed us to eat it. But it's how our meat is produced and "manufactured" in these last days, along with the over-eating of meat every day that has caused us no end of health problems. Whatever is best for us, diet wise, is what we'll enjoy in the new world. And in the meantime, we eat the best we can now to keep our bodies functioning as best as it can in this horrible system, where even our food gives us grief.

Often when I post a snippet of life I go on to expand it on my own blog. That is true of this experience. Here is the new version: When the border guard asked my daughter's friend from Canada, recently Honduras, how she knew her companion from Australia, recently Myammar, who both had come to visit American friends and camp in the Adirondacks, she, caught unawares, said the first thing that popped into her mind: "We're Jehovah's Witnesses." The guard accepted that as the answer, and he pursued the topic no more. Did he do so because he knew that with Witnesses, national divisions mean nothing and they routinely hop all over the globe? Or was he a scaredy-cat who feared they might witness to him? The two had stopped by the house to pick up the Aussie's suitcase, which through some crazy sequence of events that I did not even try to get my head around, yet another friend had stored at my house for safekeeping, they being in and out too much to reliably be at home for pickup and subsequently taking for granted that I was a stick-in-the-mud who would be. I learned long ago that I am no longer TrueTom but my childrens' dad. I do what I am told and I don't open my mouth; it just complicates things. California was burning up on the TV with the state's greatest fire in history when they arrived and they were dismayed at the sight, but there were no mentions of the 'last days' on that account. Their dismay was tempered by the fact that they get around and see and hear of such disasters all the time. For the most part, American TV news cares only about what is happening within the country, and if calamity strikes people elsewhere, it is barely a footnote, unless it is kids trapped in a Cambodian cave. Certain numbers of Jehovah's Witnesses' youth have long volunteered to serve as missionaries abroad, being trained at a school called Gilead to do this. About 20 years ago, the general invitation was sent out to just about anybody, young or old, who could work it into their lives, following the example of Paul ('step over into Macedonia, and help us') to relocate temporarily or even permanently anyplace on earth where there was a preaching need. A sizable minority of our youths take them up on this. My daughter has done so. Though grueling in many ways, she and her husband love the experience. The Branch, she says, takes substantial care to ensure that the experience will be a good one and that no one arrives unprepared. They know that the volunteers are stepping far outside of their comfort zone and they bring them up to speed on cultural, political and safety climate, so that these produce as few surprises as possible. When my daughter experienced severe dental problems, a resurfacing of injuries suffered as a teen, it turned out that she could hardly have been in a better place. She flew to nearby Thailand, which has dental clinics so excellent and relatively affordable that Americans halfway around the world line up to fly there. She did it discreetly, conscious that for most of her new native friends, if they suffered such injuries, they would simply go toothless. However, the locals asked her husband point blank about where they had been, and when they learned the answer, they bore no one any ill will. There is a general gratitude that outsiders would willingly accept vastly lower standards of living, and they are not expected to "go native" in every respect. Not all can acclimate. One friend, of slight build to begin with, became quite ill in her new home and had to leave. I figured she had caught some horrid disease and perhaps her goose would be cooked, even back in the States, but she promptly put the weight back on and thrived. "Some foreigners simply can't hack the change," nod the locals, as they wade through eight inches of routine monsoon water in pedal-to-the-metal humidity. My daughter had sufficient lead-in to her new life and learned how to handle herself long ago. Working with a congregation in the Dominican Republic, the young boys would surround her lodging and yell teasingly: "Hunnah! You are oogly!" But she would reply: "Thank you! That is so nice of you to say that!" and they, unsure of their English skills, would walk away confused. All dads can be relied upon to overstate their children's attributes, but suffice it to say that she is, by no stretch of the imagination, ugly, let alone oogly.

My wife made a couple of pies for an LDC meeting today and ended up bringing one of them home. It's a Sour Cream Peach pie. HMMMMMM! Its good! Obviously LDC doesn't stand for Love Desserts Constantly. 😁

We have a huge fire in Northern ontario and there is a total fire ban in Northern and Eastern Ontario. We have had some rain but its nowhere near enough. Pretty crazy. You can see the fire reports here. https://www.ontario.ca/page/forest-fires#NORE

Pray their asylum applications are approved.

It should come as no surprise we are seeing more and more of this. Humans were just not made with the ability to govern themselves successfully. We all know the scripture at Jeremiah 10:23, saying that man cannot direct his own step. So how can he possibly direct someone else's? Disaster is always the sad result of trying to get around that scriptural standard.

I don't mean the difficulty in living expenses. Those are becoming unlivable, but it's not the problem. In the last five years, many major charities have had embezzlement scandals, all the major banks have had corruption scandals, Peacekeeping forces have been caught pillaging and exploiting the helpless, the world leaders don't even bother trying to do anything but keep themselves in power; major religions have been hit with endless child abuse scandals; even Hollywood's lost any shine it had. And that's not even counting the endless natural disasters and climate change. All the institutions that the human race turned to for someone to fight the good fight, or offer a little hope; have been exposed as being unequal to the task. That's why the fight feels like it's over. I don't mean to depress anyone, because we knew it had to go this way; and in the meantime, our part of Matt 24 is ever-increasing, but deep down, everyone's expecting the end of the world at this point.

This has been happening in China for quite some time now, however it has been gradually getting more severe.

...if they don't leave us alone... 😡😡 https://www.king5.com/mobile/article/news/crime/attempted-arson-investigated-at-jehovahs-witness-kingdom-hall-in-yelm/281-581725138

You know sometimes I also feel like that. Sometimes everything seems almost too easy in my life here. Too peaceful. That's when I try to remember that I have changed over the years and become calloused to it. And then sometimes I tell myself "this is just the calm before the storm," because I don't want to lose my anticipation.

An old favorite I never get tired of.

My favorite song by her. Beautiful voice beautiful song

I just hope I don't get brushed off... 😁

Bananas ?? They are such a waste of time Think about it - once you peel it and throw away the bone, what's left to eat?

Here is a picture of my daughter riding in a Competitive Trail Ride at Palmer, AK a week ago. They ride 25 to 30 miles a day for two days and the winner is based on the condition of the horse and the horsemanship of the rider. She was one of the top contenders as she always is. She is now 60yo and she has ridden in the ride every year for the last 43 yrs.

Its been known that we have the number 1 religious/spiritual website in the world, but there is a lot to be said about being ranked 300 of all websites globally (out of hundreds of millions of websites in the world) and in the top 250 in the US. Featuring our website like we do in our ministry has made a huge difference, and shows that the brothers have a really strong handle on how to get it out there. Also, we can attribute some its popularity to our opposition, as it generates other interests that we many have been unable to generate. https://www.similarweb.com/website/jw.org

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. That's saying something for an organization that gets as much negativity. Now people have been seeing the online Bible Study course for the last few weeks. I really draws you in one you click on it. I am sure to feature that in the ministry as well.

We will be streamlined to a Public Edition (3 issues / year) and a monthly Study Edition. The new Study Edition will be simpler than the former Study Edition but not as simple as the discontinued Simplified Study Edition. Above comments notwithstanding, I like simple. Simple is good.

Bananas can't be all bad ... afterall they share 50% of the human DNA.

I was eating a Banana today and as I looked at it, I wondered and thinking to myself.... all the wonderful things Jehovah has made in wisdom. He made this banana just for me. He made so many fruits and vegetables before man existed. How did he figure out that we would enjoy them before man came to be created? Jehovah is the master planning department second to none. Gen 9:3 says - Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for you. Just as I gave you the green vegetation, I give them all to you. It says may, not must. Jehovah gave us permission to eat meat, he did not command us to eat it.

The new format of the study edition will include the “Some Expressions Explained” box, which at the moment only appears in the simplified. There would also be design changes that allow for a larger font to be used. So it appears these changes begin with the January issue of 2019, rather than the issue that contains study articles for January 2019.

I am not at my computer right now, but As I recall, we have a letter stating the change to a single version will occur wth the January 2019 study.issue. The magazine order still shows the simplified edition available. It will be the Jan mag date not the date when we study it.

Thursday, August 9 Keep on the watch.—Matt. 25:13. We can learn a lesson from ancient times about the importance of being watchful. Back then, many larger cities—such as Jerusalem—were surrounded by high walls. The walls provided physical protection from invaders as well as elevated vantage points from which to watch the surrounding landscape. Day and night, watchmen were stationed on the walls and at the gates. They were to alert the city’s inhabitants of any approaching danger. (Isa. 62:6) It was a life-and-death matter that the watchmen remain awake and attentive at their posts. (Ezek. 33:6) Jewish historian Josephus relates that in 70 C.E., the Roman forces were able to take possession of the Tower of Antonia, adjoining the city wall of Jerusalem, because the guards at the gates were asleep! From there, the Romans rushed the temple and set fire to it, resulting in the finale of the greatest tribulation that Jerusalem and the Jewish nation had ever experienced. w16.07 2:2, 7, 8

From jw-russia.org: https://jw-russia.org/news/18080813-414.html This insidious plot to stamp out Jehovah's people took 9 years, eh? How dastardly Satan truly is; how crafty, lowdown and rotten-to-the-core he really is! (If Jehovah allowed humans to see the destruction of His archenemy soon, I would want a front-row seat!)

For what it's worth - We can say that the Regular Edition and the Simplified Edition have both been discontinued because the new version is a merger of both. Granted, there will no longer be one called Simplified, and there will be one which we may or may not call Regular, since it will be the only one . . .

Always been some bad personalities where I live so not really.

The night we watched the Broadcast, my wife and I did our normal Bible reading routine, except that we tried to imitate the lessons we just learned. IT was a real eye opener in how effective a slow study of the material can be. That being said, as much as I like (love) this method of Bible reading, I also love reading through large sections quickly to get a sense of the over all themes and a sense of the action in books like Acts. You can read (or listen to) Acts in a day - just a few hours - and it can be a real perspective shift to see it all happening and get how it all connects. I get the feeling that anyone at Gilead would tell you that you need both, the slow zooming in "gleaning", and the broad perspectives. I would of course think that the slow "baking" method is of course more beneficial in most instances, however I think both have their place.

My brother recognised Bro Boyle's (the brother who worked in the art department) voice and realised it was from this He does the voice over (its not quite caleb and sophia 😉)

One of the SKE classes did a Broadway dance routine to the cart song with a brother dressed up like a cart and doing a Bob Fosse routine. I would love to share pictures but we were asked not to...

I shall have you know that 'the corny Cart song' is my wife's favorite I've even started to appreciate it. It took a few years - whereas most of the songs only take a few days - but it nontheless has become a regular listen in this house xD

I really liked how they did not show the decision made by the sister regarding the wedding. Because this could affect the conscience of some brothers and sisters... "The society showed she didn't go to the wedding so we are not allowed to" or "The society approves because it showed so in a video". No, let your conscience decide

Every time a person commits a violent act and the news has to make it clear what mental disorder or neurodiversity this person possesses. Like that Sandy Hook shooter wherein EVERY SINGLE NEWSREPORTER had to make it clear he had autism; I think there was another incident where it had to be made clear this person has Autism. I mean, Autistics are the group most likely to be unemployed, victims of bullying and harassment, struggling with just day to day things and living on their own despite often being highly intelligent, if there is any group that ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT NEED ANY ADDITIONAL STIGMA ATTACHED TO THEM, it's people on the spectrum, but idiots who deliver your news keeps feeding it. That incident made me incredibly resentful to news media. But, to be honest, I don't care if it is a mental disorder that is associated with increased violence, it doesn't need more stigma attached to it. I don't know how these news people sleep at night Sorry for the all caps but words cannot describe how livid that makes me.

This reportedly happened in May of last year in Virginia USA. http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/fires-set-at-jehovahs-witnesses-churches-in-virginia

Mental illness is prevalent these days. Treatment is often expensive, difficult to obtain, and even ineffective at times. Take the tremendous pain that these people suffer, add to it the horrible world conditions that we live in, plus not knowing Jehovah or having hope for the future, and what hope do they have? A person who is suicidal is just looking for their pain to end, nothing more, nothing less. By the time they are trying to follow through, they are usually beyond the point of realizing that this act doesn't stop the pain, only transfers it to others. By this point, they can't see it because their brain is telling them that no one cares and that their loved ones would be better off without them anyway.

These 16 personality types came from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I took a graduate course in personality styles and that was one of the "instruments" we used as well as the Kolb and several others. I can probably still dig up the paper I wrote for that course. MBTI has pretty much fallen out of favor for professional use. However,my educ. department used it on us (teachers) a year or so ago. Wiki Quote: "Some studies have found strong support for construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, although variation was observed.[61][62] However, some academic psychologists have criticized the MBTI instrument, claiming that it "lacks convincing validity data",[33][40][41][63] while some studies have shown the statistical validity and reliability to be low.[38][41][64] Studies suggest that the MBTI is not a useful predictor of job performance.[38][43][65]" I do try to use a variety of learning methods with my students by writing material that is not at all like textbooks (which I don't use at all). MBTI is more amusing than the quizzes on FB.