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I have noticed that in recent times Christian love and civility are being strained. Look at some of the threads and posts in various subjects. Someone will make a comment and the observers take sides. Not just commenting but taking the person to task over the post. If I say “Great Crowd” in a post, someone will have to point out that these people only exist after Armageddon. That riposte will generate a counter attack with a Watchtower quote saying it’s used as a generic term, and so on. Supposedly on this forum, we are all the “good-guys” and the opposers are the ones “out-there” in the world. In the western movie scenario, we have ‘circled the wagons’ to protect us against the Indian attack (apologies to my first nation, aboriginal, etc friends). Inside the wagon circle, we are supposed to be supportive, caring, defending and so on. Instead, these hardy pioneers are squabbling about spelling, counting, typos, limited research, forms, levity, personal attacks and so on. Satan does not have to assault us to get us to fall, we trip over our own feet. I like accuracy as much as the next researcher but is it life-threatening? We make all kinds of allowances for children. *** w94 5/15 p. 12 par. 11 Parents, Your Children Need Specialized Attention *** One couple listened while their three-year-old asked God to bless “Wally.” He prayed for “Wally” on succeeding nights, and the parents were greatly encouraged when they realized that he meant the brothers in Malawi, then suffering persecution. If that poor kid had posted here he might have received a smile if he was under 12 years of age, but a much different response if he was 20. What happened to the kind, loving appreciation for a good effort? Suggestions (even counsel) can be applied if necessary but can we avoid being critical? Human nature is with us always, but how we apply the new personality is a choice. I hope all of our forum participants can upgrade their research and comments but I want to apply tolerance to those who have not reached my exalted level of competence…❤️

https://nypost.com/2018/11/20/1-in-3-americans-get-holiday-burnout-before-christmas/ I saw this earlier this morning, and I saw some eye-opening admissions: Wow. And I've had people tell me at work and throughout my life that I'm "missing out" and "being deprived of fun". I'm being "deprived" of stress, depression, and financial anguish trying to do what corporate America tells me to do.

This one work?

There was an old man who rented an apartment on the second to the top floor of our building. He was so slow, it took him three weeks to move in. A month later, he decided to move to the top floor. As to why he moved? Well...

I had to withdraw from commenting on many scriptural topics for that very reason, that's WHY, you often see only "humor" in my comments. If I have to "defend" details and giving "Insight Volume" additional supporting comments because someone has a critical eye, then I simply do not have time for it. To busy in real life with heavy business and congregational responsibilities (especially with the spiritual ones) Still enjoying the forum, and some of the comments are just "groundbreaking" and extremely up-building. On the other hand, if I ever made anyone feeling bit "green" by my comments then I apologize YES, we need to keep ourselves from "keyboard bravery" as Tortuga pointed out. Great reminder - THANK YOU

I am probably one of those to whom John is referring. I know I have a tendency to be rather blunt and haven't yet learned to refer to a spade as an earth manoeuvering implement but I don't deliberately mean to criticise or offend. So I hereby publicly apologise to any and all who I have unintentionally offended, upset or criticised in anyway by my inability to season my written word with salt. I love you all and I will try harder in future.

Thank you for being brave, I am new to social media and struggle with praise and constructive advice especially when I can’t see the person, as such I run like a scared bunny when I got “construction advice” for my first few posts. As such I just read mostly now. Too scared to post. So thank you, it needed to be said. [emoji3059][emoji847] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is just a personal viewpoint, but I feel that we as a group have improved over the years. A few years ago it seemed that more often than now there were some posts that had some strong words and there sometimes were some serious debating/bickering. Some member even stopped posting or left JWtalk because of this tension. Maybe some others will also agree that they have observed this improvement. And I would like to say also that there are many members here who have rarely or never written anything critical or hurtful! And many of these ones are our sisters. I remember reading certain posts by some of our sisters that are outstanding examples of kindness and tactfulness. In fact, we as brothers can look to some of our sisters' example in displaying such beautiful patience with 1 another and trying to be more understanding as to why the other person is asking such a question or making such strange or defensive comments. For example, I have seen some of our sisters reply to someone's incorrect facts or rigid views with such a delicacy and thoughtfulness that the other person didn't even realize that they were just corrected/counseled. In fact, I have often seen the person who they responded to hit "like" or "thanks". So I want to thank many of you sisters who because of your sweet humility, you don't look to pounce on a post that has incorrect facts or respond with an air of superiority. Sometimes a member will ask a question, and to many of us it may seem like such a basic question or we feel that as 1 of Jehovah's Witnesses, that person should know better. This is where we as brothers, including myself, need to improve. As men, we have this tendency to like facts, accuracy. Which is good, unless, we are putting this ahead of the priority of love and kindness. And whether we are a brother or sister, sometimes our pride likes correcting others. We may not even be aware of it, but correcting others can make us feel like we are knowledgeable or spiritually strong. And while facts and truths are very important, Jehovah did not inspire these words: “. . faith, hope, facts, love; but the greatest of these is facts.” (1CO 13:13) So I as a man, knowing my tendencies and me as an imperfect person and influenced by the prideful and arrogant world around us, I need to try harder to cultivate the wonderful qualities that show others that I care about them and express words that encourage and motivate others. So myself and we as brothers must improve, but please sisters, continue being patient with us. And finally, I think there is another aspect to this issue that I am grateful Richard mentioned and it is valuable: So what makes our forum encouraging and comforting is not only the way posts/comments are written, but how they are read. As servants of Jehovah who view accurate knowledge and truths as very important. But we must humbly acknowledge that sometimes what we post may be only be partially accurate or is not accurate at all. And so if another brother/sister feels that it would be loving to help you or me with something incorrect that we posted, then how kind and loving it would be on our part to show an appreciative spirit for the any adjustments in understanding or counsel that is shared with us. Many of us, and I include myself, can be too sensitive, even defensive at times. We also may have issues with pride in that what we post we want everyone to like and agree with. But yet our brothers/sisters cannot agree with things that are not Truths, not scripturally accurate or are speculative in nature. So if someone does correct us or counsel us, even if it not written with a loving and kind tone as it should, let's try to imagine our self in the shoes of an elder who is giving counsel/advice and ask, "How would I want that person to respond to my counsel/advice?" I would hope that they would respond like this: "Oh, I see now that what I said was incorrect. I want to thank you for helping to better understand. I do appreciate Jehovah's Truths, and so I want to speak the accurate truth as much as possible. So thank you for caring about me enough to help adjust my thinking" Can you imagine if we all responded this way here on JWtalk when someone corrects us or counsels us? When we respond in such a humble way, this endears us to others and most importantly, our Father Jehovah sees that accurate knowledge and Truth are important to us . And Jehovah will espcially appreciate seeing how we have become very soft clay and we can be corrected on anything. And even if the advice, correction, counsel seems cold or harsh, we can find what is good in it and helpful so that we may go on pleasing our Father Jehovah.

Johns reminder applies to all of us, we all get a little 'keyboard bravery' at times. It's human nature and the nature of the forum for us to offer our opinions, sometimes that appears confrontational or contentious when it isn't intended to be. We all need to be more loving in what we write and what we read.

That's why I rarely post here anymore. And it often feels like there is kind of a gang mentality, especially if someone has a opinion that's different from the majority. They'll all jump you and try to show how ridiculous your opinion is. I don't need that. In person they probably wouldn't have the guts.

Thank you John, great reminder. Any of us can fall into this trap - we are human, and sinful after all. Paul also wished to do the right thing, but admitted he failed. We all want to do the right thing by our brothers, and sometimes we just don't think things out before we speak (or write). So, it's good we hear the 'straight' truth, from time to time. We all need the readjustment. And Nina, I hope you get to see the lovely nature of this forum. Overall it is a great place, with positive and upbuilding comments. We can have a laugh and deep spiritual discussions with friends from all over the world. But, we can do with a bit of a polish sometimes too.

John, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! This has needed to be mentioned in our family for a long time. We get enough criticism from Satan's world. Our circle needs to encourage each other, remembering that some of us do not have the opportunity for a decent education. Some of us do not have the capacity to learn as well as some others. Jehovah sees our efforts and our potential . Should not we have the mind of Christ and overlook our dear brothers' and sisters' imperfections? If we are nitpicking now, it will certainly divide us during the GT. Abraham Lincoln took notice of Mark 3:24 in connection with the American Civil War; " If a kingdom becomes divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." W e have a tremendous bank of information about Jehovah's people suffering intense persecution. One of the most important tools for them, after Jehovah's holy spirit, was the brotherhood. We need to practice now, how to appreciate our dear friends. We may have to die for someone with whom we do not get along. What a tragedy that could be, to lose our life, our approval from Jehovah, because we did not like a fellow believer.

did a few years ago my family first went to Virginia then spread out to Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri this is on my mother side. what funny is i have not found anything on my father side

The death toll from the Camp Fire reached 83, officials said Wednesday, as emergency agencies kept a close eye on the rains and the possibility of debris flows in the burn zone. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, in a briefing at the Cal Fire command post in Chico, said two more people were found Wednesday - one each in Paradise and Magalia. He said 563 people remain unaccounted for, a drop of 307 in just a day's time. "I'm encouraged by the fact that we're continuing to account for and locate people," the sheriff said. Cal Fire and other agencies warned that the rains, which are expected to last through Friday or possibly Saturday, could create potentially dangerous flows of ash, mud, trees, rocks and other post-fire debris. Six different agencies issued flash flood alerts for the mountainous area surrounding the Camp Fire burn zone. The U.S. Geological Survey said areas north of Paradise, including Concow and Pugla, were most at risk. "The rain is of concern to us," Honea said. However, he said he doesn't think any human remains will be washed away by the rains. The National Weather Service said the Chico-Paradise region got about 1 inch of rain as of Wednesday night. The greatest risk of debris flow was likely to occur Thursday night through Friday, the service said.

Greg is in Melbourne, known for its changeable weather.I'm up north in our tropics. 28C (81F) at 8:30 am. Will only get a few more degrees higher today, but the humidity! YUK!As Australia is about 80% the size of the US, the weather has a big spread as well, depending on where you live... Ie like Seattle v San Diego or Boston v Florida. So while Greg is in our South, his weather is more like Boston (Your North). They get icy winds from the South Pole. We live in the tropical north, (more like Cuba), and don't have seasons per say, more like wet season and dry season. Wet season (just starting now) is hot and humid and breeds hurricanes, (like the one we had last year Cat 4), and like your recent one Florida way... Ah, the life down-under.... Older {waiting for wiser} [emoji1353]

So glad I don't like turkey and that I have been able to have a quiet day getting ready for tonight's meeting.

On way home from service, (and errands) a rock hit my front tire. Flattened it. Immediately. I sat beside the road, in the dark, for an hour and a half. I prayed for safety. And, I wasn’t moved to put on my flashers, but to wait. I’d phoned Triple A, the roadside service. There was a place to park, a miracle, (almost) I know I didn’t have my flashers on, but a good thirty cars, even a sheriffs vehicle sailed past me. And, people know my car. That shocked me. I told them at the store what happened. They will let the community know. I drive a Subaru. And I know the rock hit the sidewall. Now, I get to find out if I will have to get new tires. It’s parked outside, with the sissy tire on.

Florida is known for having nice weather - however, that does not mean that it does not get cold here. Just because we do not get snow and sub-zero weather does not mean we do not need sweaters, jackets and coats. I remember when I was a child in elementary school, when the school year started my Mother would examine our clothes to see what we may need for the school year. Since children grow constantly our winter-wear from the previous year may not fit us. So, if we needed a new coat or jacket, she would budget it in and purchase it for us before the first cold weather. The kids at school, while struggling with their too small stuff from the previous wear would comment how they would like to get their new coats when the cold weather came - instead of having to wait for some "stupid holiday" - and they thought I was deprived ???

I haven't witnesses any of this, but what a beautiful person you must be to admit your mistakes openly. Jehovah loves you very much. Also, thank you so much Brother for the reminder. It can be so easy to be critical of people's flaws, and especially tempting if that person seems to get themselves in the situation time and again. So it's good to remember just how many times we ourselves fall short every single day, and how Jehovah doesn't bring up out past faults us, but rather He is loving and patient with us. The GB has been so good about this subject in our recent WT studies. People are hurt and broken in these last days, even in the truth, and it should be our goal to lift them, rather than kick them while they are down.

During my elementary school years I remember talking to a classmates' mother while she waited to pick up her child. She asked me if I was looking forward to the holidays, so I told her I actually didn't celebrate them as I am a Jehovah's Witness. She then emotionally started to tell me how much she truly hated Christmas. She was a single, low income parent with 2 kids, and every year she dreaded having to explain why other children got expensive gifts like bikes or video games, she could only afford very little. Because children don't understand adult situations, they would often go on about it being "unfair" and how they wished they had more money or another parent. Or how friends would give better gifts than their mother. Even as a child it broke my heart, I can't even imagine that kind of pain. If that didn't solidify my choice in not celebrating it, I don't know what did. People are so preoccupied with getting gifts for themselves that they forget how to treat their loved ones. I can't even imagine being that mean to my Mama.

I can’t believe how financially stressful it must be for those living on a fixed income. About all I could give is a lump of coal. 😁😁😁😁 Cant wait till December 1st when our drug store turns on the Christmas music and the speakers are blaring it out for a whole month. I live just a block away. 🤢. 🤮

I ate some the night before it got posted 😭

Thank you for the reminder, I find it extremely discouraging when someone publicly points out someones faults or even their perceived faults.

mom always said we have some American Indian in the Family she didn't know what tribe when i took the ancestry dna test i was hoping it would show but it didnt

On special Greg! $88 AUD. Just in case you were wondering, big brother is watching. We talk about DNA tests, and look at my 'sponsored' ad on my forum! Older {waiting for wiser} [emoji1353]

Spoke to my Auntie today because I wanted to look at my fathers side of the family on Ancestor.com, I really don't know anything about my mom's side. She told me we came from Germany and from Poland. I knew about Germany but not Poland. In my initial, very primitive, look I found we are mostly in Illinois (Chicago) from late 1800's on and Pennsylvania. My family name is Hecker (there is a Hecker Illinois, curious) And my G grand Father came from Greidz, Germany. Auntie also told me we come from Poland from GG Grand father, but I have yet to confirm that. I did message a man, who turned out to be my GGG uncle, and that was fun. I ordered the DNA tests for both of us. Looking forward to the results.

Oh I don't know Richard, I was happy when I woke up to McMolly smooching my nose

In a broad expansion of the controversial military mission along the southwest border, the White House has authorized extensive new powers for U.S. troops to potentially use against migrants, including searches, detentions, crowd control and, if necessary, deadly force. A memo signed by White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly authorized the 5,900 troops on the border to protect Border Patrol officers and other U.S. personnel. It could put U.S. soldiers or Marines in direct contact with migrants for the first time since President Trump rushed them to border posts in Arizona, Texas and California shortly before the Nov. 6 midterm election.... https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-border-troops-20181121-story.html I feel this will apply to the Christ's brothers and associates very soon! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

very touching, thank you my brother

I want to thank you all dear brothers and sisters who replied to my status! I feel much better now (till I get next bad news:) Living here is very interesting and exiting! Hope to meet you all in person soon and tell you more. Thank you very much!!!

Hi y'all! I went to the meeting tonight, pain and all, including hopping around with one foot in one shoe and one foot practically out the other shoe because of the swelling. And Jehovah blessed my effort! 😀 We met our new Circuit Overseer, and his talk was extremely encouraging which I'll share a few golden nuggets with you guys at another time. So I go up to him after the meeting like everyone else, and after our introduction, he drew me to him by saying "come here", and said "what's your name again"? I told him and then he said "and how you doing young lady"? I was completely floored!!! Jehovah knew that I needed that, and he gave it to me! OMG! I then I introduced myself to his wife, shared with her by saying "your man knows how to talk." To which she laughed and then said "yes, he can be quite a charmer." I tell ya, all of a sudden my physical and emotional pain seemed to have reduced, if not disappeared. Does Jehovah help us to endure or does he? And he'll use whoever and whatever to do so. And get this: I wasnt really planning to go out in service tomorrow morning what with everything I'm feeling emotionally and physically, but yep, Jehovah heard me and it was like he said "oh yeah? We'll see about that."

Hey, it's still leaning, so we can still take those crazy pictures. But the boffins have engineered a way to keep it at a safe lean, recovering from the days when it was closed for 11 years, and clouded in scaffolding as they tried to rectify. Now it's 4 cms or 1.5 inc straighter! https://www.sbs.com.au/news/leaning-tower-of-pisa-straightens-up?cx_cid=edm:newsam:2019

Y'know, I'm gonna call that lean a design feature... from the article: 'The medieval tower, a symbol of the power of the maritime republic of Pisa in the Middle Ages, has leaned to one side ever since building started in 1173' So, a Maritime power, what does it have? Ships. What do ships do when they are under sail? They lean.... (Sorry, I couldn't get the bolding to stop)

Both my wife and the cat on her were snoring.

Happiness is goggling places and homes where you used to live, feeling very nostalgic and weepy, and then remembering that better times are just ahead. Happiness is remembering the holidays where you had your whole family alive and around you, feeling weepy knowing that a third and then some are gone, and then remembering that you'll see them again...if only you'll be good, lol. OMG! And happiness is seeing, somehow, a cute little doggie below your message here and trying to figure out he got there when all you did was press the edit button, so you say to yourself "oh well."

Our newest video on being honest in all things was quite specific about mental, moral and physical honesty. Br. Cook did a good job of showing the need BEFORE an application to work on Kingdom projects is filled out. Very good reminders.

Happiness is waking up to a cat snoring on your chest..

Perfect. Maybe I should ditch my low carb diet and just eat this. Being fat is probably way more fun than getting hospitalized with E. Coli. 😂

See, you never hear of these types of scares when it comes to pizza, or donuts, or chocolate... makes you wonder. It could be a sign. 😉

I see I need to take the lettuce off of my BLT. I’m ok with that - as long as I don’t take the bacon off. Hey, I can use chicken instead. Wow, am I glad Jehovah gave us meat to eat.

When my grandma died my mother flew to England for the funeral. My grandmother had taken a fall around end of November, as far as I remember, the funeral was beginning of December. Upon returning, my mother told me how her sister was completely frustrated from all the time she had been spending talking to doctors, managing the funeral, all the paperwork and bureaucracy and mourning and how she had hardly managed to buy gifts or make preparations for this year's Christmas festivities. My mother had told her why not keep it simple this year. No fancy meals, no big gift giving. After all, she had just buried her mother. Everyone would understand, right? But for my aunt, it was still an important to host the big annual spending festivity for the wider family circle with all the usual fancy nonsense surrounding it. The truth shall set you free.

Sometimes, all this holiday stress can lead to depression and even suicide. The scanner chatter just mentioned police being dispatched to a home where a person was feeling suicidal because of the US holiday, Thanksgiving.

Funny you mention this, because even though people know they can't afford it and they KNOW how stressful it is, they cave in to the peer pressure and social obligation, so they go into needless debt. And since people don't see their extended family but once a year, the pressure is greater because they'd have to wait till next year.

B- boring E- exceptionally E- edible F- fiber

Before we had the “Examining the Scriptures Daily” book to read for our daily text, we had the “Daily Text and Comments” in the back of the Yearbook each year. But before that, we had a publication called “Daily Heavenly Manna” with a scripture for the day, pages for recording birthdays, marriages and deaths. This publication was printed by Zion’s Watchtower but written (authored) by a sister named Gertrude W. Seibert. She was associated with the Bethel family at 124 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn. My copy is dated as 1907. It was used for years. It is mentioned in some yearbook reports and is note in the Proclaimer’s book on page 201. She offered to update the publication in 1926 but by then the writing of literature was done by appointed brothers. So the offer was declined. Seibert died in 1928.

Xylon (ξύλον) was also the word used at Esther 7:9 in the Septuagint for what Haman was hung up on. That was a very tall pole. εἶπεν δὲ Βουγαθαν εἷς τῶν εὐνούχων πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἰδοὺ καὶ ξύλον ἡτοίμασεν Αμαν Μαρδοχαίῳ τῷ λαλήσαντι περὶ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ὤρθωται ἐν τοῖς Αμαν ξύλον πηχῶν πεντήκοντα εἶπεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεύς σταυρωθήτω ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ.

Thank you, sister Virginia. Every individual is unique, and some have abilities that others don't. Others have limitations that we don't. But since we don't know each other personally it can be a challenge to remember that we might not be aware of another's limitations. I have been getting a couple of PMs recently from one brother in the forums here, who apparently was born in sickness and does not have a good memory as a result. He considers himself "very unintelligent." He faces challenges that we might not be aware of. Although I reassured him, it must drag down on his self-worth if he sees the kind of posts some have been putting in the topics. Some just don't realize what kind of background our brothers and sisters here come from! Thank you, @jwhess for reminding us of this.

Must be saving the best for last. 😂

Brilliant all!

I just saw one on turkey and now lettuce again. I eat a lot of salads, so this is scary. I seriously like moving to a rural farm and growing all of my own vegetables.