MERRY CHRISTMAS WARTBURGERS!

Jesus is indeed King! … Prince of Peace, Lamb of God, Alpha and Omega, Author of Salvation, Wonderful Counselor, King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

“Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God?”

Woke up this morning to fine dusting of snow, an overcast sky and a balmy -4C (+25F). The entire house is still asleep. Time to turn of the outside lights but leave the trees on (both basement and main floor). I’ll set up breakfast for everyone. Maybe eggos….maybe pumpkin pie…

Listening to Family Radio playing their Christmas music; grateful to the eternal God for the family and friends He has given me over the decades
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Merry Christmas TWW denizens.

researcher,

I’m so sorry. Christmas can be a difficult day. A prayer and a (((hug))) to you!

researcher: What everyone — including Dee, Todd Wilhelm, and some on the last few TWW posts — wrote about having a Merry Christmas, the meals eaten, etc.

I would’ve joined in the conversations, but I would’ve sounded too much like an echo chamber.

And reading all your comments has helped me a lot….while I’ve had the best holiday season in my slightly over six decades of life, the last several months have been VERY hard….full of non-stop flashbacks from a lifetime of abuse.

I don’t write that as a pity party….I write that as someone speaking not only for themself, but for the many others who’ve no place to go to see a friendly face, to hear a friendly voice.

Today (Christmas Day), I’d love to have gone to a local Timmy’s (Tim Horton’s, a Canadian coffee “store” franchise ), but I can’t even go out for a walk in today’s beautiful sunshine. I’m physically fit and able, but this round of flashbacks and all the other healing that’s going on leaves me unable to go anywhere.

So for all of you everywhere, I repeat what Jack wrote: “whatever your tradition (or if there isn’t one) have a happy Christmas.”

Ten packs of Timbits and maple-glazed donuts,
Mochas and coffee; a hockey star owned it,
Giant paninis with red onion rings,
These are a few of my favourite things!

researcher, have a blessed day. I would do a Timmie’s run with you anytime.

researcher: .I write that as someone speaking not only for themself, but for the many others who’ve no place to go to see a friendly face, to hear a friendly voice.

Write on. Keep talking. Sharing is caring. Escape, expose, enlighten. It took about 4000 first person accounts to complete the picture of the Holocaust, yet there remain blatant mentally challenged deniers – pitiful souls. That level of denial undoubtedly qualifies as self harm.

A thought: in regard to male predators, they are actually ALL THE SAME GUY, presenting themselves in different cosplay venues where they embed themselves comfortably in camou.

That could be: political office, academic authority, law with badge, military with medals, clergy tanned & attired (clergy collar or pricey sneakers ripped Designer jeans) & platformed (pulpit or stagey bright lights high tech sound), CEO with interns, friendly neighbor, huggy uncle, gropping grandpa (former US Prez was groppy grandpa from his wheelchair according to several honoree girls that posed in photos with him – sorry Barbara, sad but true), Hollywood producer/director/actor type, television celebrity offering “opportunity”. ALL THE SAME GUY.

The Internet has disrupted THAT GUY – that same guy popping up everywhere, his snake oil game of poison.

Example: Disparate individuals (they in NO WAY knew each other) sharing similar stories from coast to coast, connected the dots for predator Cosby’s unsuspecting prey.

The Internet for survivors is like DNA for forensics. Completely changes the game.

And for lying so-called “survivors,” the Internet exposes them, too. Example: the case of Monique de Wael who created the false narrative of herself as “Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years.” All lies. The exposure of the fraud is the documentary “Misha and the Wolves.”

The Information Highway of the Internet should strike terror in the heart of fraudsters. As long as there are witnesses, keyboards, devices, and fiber optics, there’s evidence that is neither buried, lost, nor forgotten.

Every day is a bad day for predators.

Every day is a great day for God’s goodness, blessedness, and truth. All praise and honor to our Creator God, His Son Jesus, and God’s Holy Spirit. Blessed be His name.

And thank God for the Internet, for Dee, for TWW, and for TWW readers and commenters. God’s blessings to you all.

Thanks to those helping others. I think in particular of an elderly couple who volunteered 5 hours today (7am to noon) at a local seasonal shelter for those who are homeless (currently housed in their church) so those there could sleep in (normally they have to leave by 7am and can’t arrive back until 6pm) and have shelter on Christmas day when places to shelter during the day like local coffee shops or public libraries are closed.

Researcher,

I stand with you, I stand for you, may our love uphold you <3

Shannon H.: A prayer and a (((hug))) to you!

Thank you, Shannon H, for your prayer and your hug. 🙂

Ava Aaronson: Write on. Keep talking. Sharing is caring. Escape, expose, enlighten. It took about 4000 first person accounts to complete the picture of the Holocaust

And finally, after WAY too many years, the abuse — the attempt at genocide — done to First Nations / Indigenous people in Residential schools is coming to light….

I know I’ve written this before….every time more graves are discovered on the grounds of a Residential school (no matter how old or derelict the school), I’m ashamed to say I’m Canadian.

On the other hand, some of the people who volunteer to do the ground-penetrating radar and forensic anthropology needed are Canadian. 🙂

Ariel: I stand with you, I stand for you, may our love uphold you <3

Thank you, Ariel. 🙂

researcher: I know I’ve written this before….every time more graves are discovered on the grounds of a Residential school (no matter how old or derelict the school), I’m ashamed to say I’m Canadian.

I would be ashamed to be Canadian if we did nothing about it. Nothing can undo what has been done in the name of a colonial version of Christ. But really was it Christian or was it colonial supremacy? A belief in a ‘better way’? Either way we must deal with the fall out. Honour the treaties as written, follow through on reconciliation and never forget.

The ideals of the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms are good and we are all sharing this space. We can share it as Canadians, together, building something better, taking the best of our past while remembering/acknowledging/reconciling the worst so it never happens again.

If Canada cannot find common ground in it’s citizens ie to borrow from the Americans – if we don’t hang together – we’ll hang separately.

China ride roughshod over our electoral process, India set up the assassination and intimidation of Canadian citizens, the current American administration is calling us the 51st state.

If we don’t start being Canadian, we’re going to be under someone else’s thumb – serving their best interests and they have no interest in “reconciliation”.

Merry belated Christmas to everyone!

Thinking of you Dee and GBTC too. Thank you for making this space possible and for making it a blog with comments. I’ve certainly contributed to your work load over the past 18 to 24 months with the spiritual abuse at Park Street Church in Boston, MA. Your work has been a gift to many, and to me, it extends beyond the digital confines of this blog. New contacts in the area and fellowship with other survivors of that slow train wreck that continues to unfold.

If you are back in Boston in the future, I hope I can meet you!

Also, your profile picture on Twitter gave me a good laugh today! I accidentally closed my TWW tab so I Googled TWW to reopen it. I’ve never joined Twitter, but was looking at a recent post you made that was excerpted by Google. I was able to see you had a headshot as your profile picture so I thought I’d see you… but when I was able to zoom in to see it… too funny!

Jack,

I love your comment, Jack. 🙂 You make many good points. 🙂 And there ARE many good things we (Canada, Canadians) do (omitting a VERY long list). 🙂 And we’ve been working on various kinds of meaningful reconciliation. 🙂

There are so many good things 🙂 ….I just wish, very big sigh — and I know it’s impossible to change the past, and that the good, the bad, and the ugly exists 🙂 — I just wish the bad things never happened in the first place. 🙂

researcher: There are so many good things ….I just wish, very big sigh — and I know it’s impossible to change the past, and that the good, the bad, and the ugly exists — I just wish the bad things never happened in the first place.

I get it. Sometimes it feels there’s no justice and that bad guys always seem to win.

But we cannot undo events that occurred before we even existed.

I grew up in a small town with a sizable indigenous population in the area. My elementary and junior high had a number of indigenous students, my graduation class, practically none. Even among themselves “Indian” was a disparaging name.

Racism, homophobia (in my high school anyone gay or trans would get their rights and some left’s too) were all part of the cultural landscape.

They’re still here but my son has two trans friends and a more diverse student body including indigenous students. He’s mixed culture himself and has never experienced the overt racism I’ve seen.

When I got married twenty years ago, we had to put up with inappropriate questions – if you want to make an enemy, just imply to my wife that she’s a mail order bride. The bank denied her access to our accounts because she didn’t look like her last name.

Now mixed marriage is common and we haven’t experienced that as much.

It feels like turning the Titanic with a spoon but it is and will get better.

The bad guys are not winning even when the good guys appear to be on the ropes.

If you’re a Christian then just look at Jesus. When executed the bad guys thought they’d seen the end of him….two thousand years later, still here.