stapelia is a genus of south american succulents that make unusual looking flowers:.
besides the appearance, these flowers are interesting because instead of being pollenated by bees, they are pollenated flies.. so instead of giving off a sweet scent to attract bees, all but one species gives off the smell of decaying flesh.. stapelia blooms are sometimes called carrion flowers for that reason.. (this one was blooming in my house this morning and i had to put it outside....).
this raises an interesting question regarding the jw faith:.
I was wondering the same thing the other day TD, brought on by coming across the 'white egret' orchid.. there's other orchids that are similar, the 'flying duck' orchid, the 'bee' orchid, the 'dove' orchid, the 'monkey face' orchid, the 'fly' orchid, the 'bird' orchid and several others... there's even a 'naked man' orchid!! LOL
So.. designed or evolved? Not a question I can answer anyway!!
Love your photo btw, not sure I'd want to smell it though!
i have often laughed at public outpourings of emotion.
just google mike schmidt"s retirement speech in which he loses it and blithers on about his career.
completely douche chilling.. but to be honest, i had a moment recently when i literally balled my eyes out.
I lost a baby, three days old. Two months later I was at the DC. They gave a talk about child rearing and in it suggested not having children (because of being close to the end). I totally lost it. I'm very private and never cry in front of people. But there I was in the middle of a row, unable to escape with tears pouring down my face. I felt so embarrassed, especially when a little boy in front of me turned round and stared. That talk was like a stab in the heart.
i lurked for 2 years on this site before i joined in july 2013. what a roller coaster ride it has been.. first of all, i was a very active jw for those unfamilar with my story having been a longtime elder(21 years), regular pioneer (14 years), convention & assembly speaker, etc.
i am still an active witness because i am older now, with close to 40 years in the borg with some longtime friends.
boy how i have changed!
Like you I'm still 'in' (so to speak) JJ. I know exactly what you mean about the meetings. Years ago there used to be some kind of substance. Now it's all the same regurgitated stuff. I don't go to the mid week meeting anymore. Can't stomach them and I make sure I know what's in the WT before I go on Sunday in case it makes me want to be sick.
Think there are a lot of us on here that are still trying to endure it for the sake of our loved ones!
take this 72 yes/no question test to find out.. http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp.
I'm an INFP... maybe not so rare amongst ex-JWs LOL
i've been given permission to post news of our friend.. kate hasn't been very well.
not well at all.
i think much of it has been a delayed reaction to her df'ing, the general fallout when leaving the wtbs and family issues.. i just wanted to give you guys the heads up and give you a chance to show how much we care about her.. thanks for listening..
Hope you recover again quickly Sam, look after yourself, we're thinking of you.
a world without satan (revelation 20:2,3,7,10).
romans 12- joy in the kingdom hope.
the spirit.. demonstration: family worship.
Marked. Thanks for this OwnAccord. Very helpful for a fader!!
jehovah's help break free.. "greedy people".
but the desire to have more money, power and.
helped student.
Marked
info from someone at the regional convention:.
(sorry about the format).
matthew 6:33 keep on seeking first the kingdom.
Marked
hey :).
for a while, i've sort of been wondering why i always check in with this board... i mean it's filled with great people of course - and is my only link to what's happening in the jw world, but i shouldn't care that much... i'm not a jw, neither is my husband - it's only his batshit crazy family who are and it shouldn't bother me that much.. however it does interfere with my life and when i'm around them, they do somehow manage to make me feel like crap.
i think it's all mad and they are most definitely stuck in a cult, however my husband - who grew up as a jw just sort of shrugs his shoulders and is a bit 'it is what it is' - it doesn't seem to offend him as much as it does me.... every time that i hear about a new change or scandal on here, i think 'surely this will be what wakes them up'!
Could you perhaps find out about another cult religion, Mormons, Scientologists, Worldwide Church of God, Moonies etc... then ask them what they think about it. Talk about all the things in that religion that do the same things as the WT, ie the control of thinking, behaviour and emotions, hiding their history, information control, shunning etc...(without mentioning JWs at all). Get the cogs turning in their brain. They may not see the link but it will make them feel uncomfortable about it. Also ask them what they think about Harold Camping and his false prophecies. Making them think about these things without them connecting the dots at the time may well help them connect the dots at a later time when the thoughts are triggered.
it was a long time coming for me.....when i read about the extened generations, after being raised on1914 being the be all end all, and millions would never die....that was the end.
i was part of the 1975 fiasco, the 6 month only truth book studies, suffered through a disifellowshipping and their version of a rewind.
i finally am free and hope others can eventually look in instead of inside looking out!
Overlapping generation 'new light' at the DC 2010. Reading CoC was the nail in the coffin.
