Beggar for the Spirit

Hi Tim, As I read your post, I thought of the many accounts/stories we have read about in the Bible or heard about in our modern day concerning various brothers/sisters going through very difficult trials. And it seems that some or many of them were able to find something "good" in the disaster that had impacted their life. So is there any "good" that can be found for you in this disaster? Yes it seems so! Look at your words above in bold! There are a number of married couples today, who are living together, who have not been torn part like you and your wife. Yet, while you would give anything to be able to bring your wife back home, there are some who take their wife or spouse for granted. Why? Because they see each other everyday, so they may take their spouse for granted. All that some see in their spouse now is their everyday mistakes and flaws . And so as a sad result, some have even become sort of "tired" of their spouse. But look at you! Do your expressions above show a deeper warmth and strong yearning for your wife? Do your expressions show how you "see" more of your wife's wonderful qualities like you did when you first married her compared to those who are now tired of their spouse? We would never want a tragedy or disaster to strike any couple. But if a husband or wife who is inside such a "Tornado" like you, is now able to see their spouse in a much better light and to have their flame of love ignited even hotter, then to me, now you have found at least something "good" in this disaster

Did this Spider-man movie have any sorcery or "magic"? I ask because I never saw one of the most recent Spider-man movies with Dr.Strange, as I had heard that Dr.Strange practices sorcery/magic.

Hi Eryk, I was able to download conVERsum, thanks. However, I am not sure how this plugin works? I read the description that Bible references are turned into a unified concordance and indexes/links scriptures across my notes. But how? When I press on a scripture in my Obsidian notes, only "traVERture" appears showing the scripture. But where is the "concordance" or "links" to other scriptures for conVERsum? Sorry I am not understanding. But I appreciate your help, thanks

Hi Tim, It took a lot of humility and courage to finally admit there is some "hidden" anger inside you toward Jehovah. So I sent you a PM. Please let me know if you received it, thanks!

Hi Brother Eryk. Thanks for creating "con[VER]sum". Can you please make this an easy download from the "Community Downloads" in Obsidian?

Wow Sister Ross I think you expressed this perfectly about collecting!! That is how I feel. Throughout history people have enjoyed thrill of the "chase", the "seeking of gold", "archaeological digs finding items of historical significance", etc. But even today on a small scale, when finding something we enjoy collecting, it may not be gold, but whether it is a music CD or an old record, or the colorful feather of bird, or a well-designed bookmark, it is the "chase" and the "find" that can be very fun! (BTW - I have always liked the Bee Gees! )

This is what I was hoping for. To hear the variety of very interesting things our dear brothers/sisters collect! A Saxophone and Guitars from the 1970s & 60s I really like instruments, I just wish I could play them Various bookmarks, post cards,and fridge magnets I never thought about collecting Bookmarks. Good idea! Bird feather collection I love birds!! So finding different feathers of various colors would be fun to collect Judge Rutherford Rainbow books I also like collecting older literature from our organization. It is fun building a Theocratic library!

Are you a Collector/Hobbyist/investor? How did you start collecting? What are your favorite collectibles? What’s your favorite item you own, and why is it special to you? How do you usually find good deals—shops, shows, auctions, online marketplaces? I have a collection of sports cards and music CDs. I thought this topic might be fun! A chance to have some enjoyable discussions and walk down "memory lane" about various things we have collected over the years!

Why some of us are hesitant to recommend a specific mate is... - because unlike recommending a car or job - marriage is "sacred" and eternal in Jehovah's eyes - so we want to be very, very careful in overly influencing, motivating, pressuring a brother/sister toward another mate, even if they are seeking recommendations. However, we want to help our single sisters/brothers if they want/need. But rather than recommending a specific person as a marriage mate - we would try to recommend "qualities" - the good spiritual and loving qualities we have observed in someone - another single brother/sister we know well may have certain qualities our friend is seeking. - so since our friend has asked for our help, it would be a kindness to share our observations it is not carrying another person's "load" of responsibility to simply give some guidance and "recommend" qualities we observe in others. In the end, it is our friend who makes his/her own personal decision. Are there any Bible examples that can help with the question of whether it is right or wrong to give some help/guidance to singles ones who seek a mate? So a single brother/sister who is interested in finding a mate... - may have to "inquire" of others, like the article mentioned. - some single ones may need help from others in finding a mate because they find no one in their area - or some may need help, not just finding any mate, but a good spiritual person. - But what good would "inquiring" do if everyone "shut their door" to this single brother/sister? - What if no one was willing to share any "favorable comments" about the qualities they have observed in another person to help their friend find a potential mate? Yet, we still have to be very careful... - influencing or pressuring our friend to marry someone we know - our friend may view us like an "Uncle", "Big Brother", "Father Figure", "Big Sister", "Mother Figure" or we have a measure of authority in the congregation, and so any opinion, advice, recommendation we give to our friend, may have much more impact or influence on our friend's decisions than we could know! Even if we feel a certain sister or brother would be a "good match" - it is better if we are only recommending certain qualities we have seen. - that is different than recommending a specific person for our friend to enter into a sacred marriage with! So it is not "wrong" to help a single friend seeking help/guidance in finding a mate. However, as mentioned above, what will our recommendation be? - To motivate our friend to marry our cousin or some brother/sister we know in another congregation? - To try and quickly set up a "date", to be a "matchmaker"? - Or to ask our friend what qualities are important to him/her? - and to help them by sharing some good qualities we have observed in a "Ruth" or "Boaz"we know

Here are some other factors we could consider as Christians in evaluating whether or not Jehovah would approve of our entertainment choice of reading or watching the "The Odyssey" The "divinities" or gods in the the Odyssey (Info from Encyclopedia Britannica and Stanford University) The “divine” means the Greek immortals (gods/goddesses and other supernatural divine figures) who intervene in human lives—sometimes helping Odysseus, sometimes blocking him, and sometimes demanding punishment/revenge after wrongs. Athena — protector/strategic counselor; supports Odysseus and Telemachus Poseidon — sea god; Odysseus’s main divine antagonist (especially because of Polyphemus) Zeus — chief god; supreme authority; intervenes to allow Odysseus’s release and later sends storms after appeals Hermes — messenger/facilitator; helps in crisis situations (e.g., mediating for Odysseus’s release) Helios — sun god; avenges his cattle being harmed by sending catastrophic consequences (via Zeus’s storm) Ino (Leucothea) — a sea goddess/supernatural helper who rescues Odysseus at sea Other immortals/supernatural powers (important in the plot) Aeolus — “master of the winds” (a supernatural power who provides winds that are mishandled) Circe — enchantress/different divine-sorceress power who transforms men (clearly a supernatural “immortal-level” figure in the story) Calypso — nymph who keeps Odysseus captive for years; release is secured through divine intervention

What if a person at the door is an apostate? We have to use discernment and insight at the door. As Brother Mike @Mike047 said, "apostates are not likely to wear badges" Simply because a person at the door raises a controversial topic or their words/tone sound "apostate", does not make them a true former Witness who turned traitor. Sometimes a householder(HH) who has never been a Witness has heard rumors or myths from relatives, friends, internet, about certain "hot" issues involving JWs, such as child abuse, the blood issue, etc. And their personal conscience or sense of justice may cause them to be frustrated or even angry at us! And therefore they may act and speak "like" an apostate, but they are not. Jehovah understands that some unbelievers will hear rumors/myths/lies and become upset or angry with His people or even Him! Yet Jehovah is compassionately reaching out to such ones through us in the ministry. So here are a few suggestions to help us try and determine if the HH is a real apostate or not: If the HH raises a controversial topic or their words/tone sound "apostate". And if you are concerned the HH might be an apostate, then... ask kind but discerning questions like, "Have you ever been to a Kingdom Hall?", "Have you attended any meetings or assemblies of Jehovah's Witnesses?" Questions similar to these might draw out the person to express how he/she used to go to meetings or that he/she used to be a JW. We can gain insight from their answers. If the HH is being evasive/suspicious in his/her answers, then we can... use a more penetrating question to expose the HH's motives Just as Jesus did with opposers in his day: "...the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to (Jesus) while he was teaching and said: "By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?”  In reply Jesus said to them: “I will also ask you one thing. If you tell me, then I will also tell you..." If our penetrating questions reveals in some way that the HH used to be a former Witness, then we can politely end the conversation and leave like Sister Hannah @TheKid23 mentioned she did in 1 of her posts above. But If the HH's answers seem genuine and indicate that he/she has never been a Witness, then we can... decide how we want to respond to their "hot" questions. If we give a kind, gentle answer and the HH seems to be a little more responsive or at least calms down from their initial "attacking" words, then we may be able to continue giving a witness. BUT if the person still seems agitated/upset/angry. we can use good judgement/discernment to determine whether it may be better to politely take our leave even though the HH is not an apostate, but to follow Jehovah's higher ways concerning any potential arguments, "Before the quarrel breaks out, take your leave" (Prov 17:14)

Hi TIm, Good to hear from you. And we are all glad you are hanging in there. Has there been any news about your wife's situation?

I love this new feature for JW Library!!! Here is a screenshot below. This is just 1 way a person can set up their iPad to study the WT Lesson. (Left Side) WT Lesson (MIddle) English NWT (Right Side) Spanish NWT

Great update! Thanks

HI Julie, So sorry about the situation with your son. I understand your concerns and worries. So what can be said to your son to help him? You mentioned that your son has "...a lot of mental health issues, he hasn't experienced romance before and this is a very synthetic version." But even people who have no mental issues can get very confused when it comes to the complicated emotions involving our deep inner feelings, love, sex, etc. So it could be that anyone could feel confusion about their feelings after having started some kind of connection with someone who is transgender. So do you think this illustration and suggestion could help your son? (Illustration) I have a drawer full of old computer & iphone cords and wires. Somehow they get all tangled up even though I try to keep them separated. When I pull everything out of the drawers, there is such a tangled, complicated mess. I don't even know where to start in "untangling" the mess. In a similar way, maybe some people who feel some form of connection to a person who is transgender is also all "tangled" up inside? Meaning that maybe they just like the "person", and possibly they feel some kind of closeness or bond because the transgender person understands them, sympathizes with them, etc. We have to remember that a "transgender" is a person. He/she was born with Jehovah's qualities of compassion, kindness, goodness, love, etc. So it is understandable why a person could feel a connection or bond with a transgender person. So your son could just be all "tangled" up inside, and may not really desire a romantic/sexual relationship but he is just so confused? Your son may have a "tangled" mess inside him trying to sort out if he just likes the "person" or if his feelings stem from romantic or sexual feelings or is this just friendship?? So since the most powerful thing that can be said to any person, including your son, who is sadly dealing with these tangled feelings, is from "the word of God" which is "... alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern (and "untangle") thoughts and intentions of the heart", then how about this powerful story in the Bible about a special friendship BUT... that some people have confused to be about a homosexual relationship? Maybe having this story explained to your son from the perspective of trying to help him "untangle" his feelings could be very powerful? Sister Julie, This story can be explained to your son from this perspective: "Notice that 2 men had "feelings" for each other. They even developed a stronger bond, a stronger love, than the love of women that some men have had. Yet both David and Jonathan did not mix their feelings of male friendship with any romantic/sexual feelings that should only be directed toward a wife. David and Jonathan didn't think that just because they found some things in common between them and became friends and developed a bond that this could mean that other emotions were involved such as romantic or sexual feelings. No, these 2 good spiritual men did not confuse their friendship, their bond, for a homosexual relationship". And so maybe using this powerful example from the Bible could help "untangle" some of the tangled feelings your son may be experiencing?