She is 88. So she would have been 62 in 1995, and they had been doing their shtick for a long time prior to that just on radio and in public speaking engagements until they landed their crazy tv show. She is a smart one! Her current line is that the pandemic, and well anything else that is "calamitous" is a sign of the end times. Not THE sign, but a sign, so be ready for THE sign. Brilliant, no prediction that can be pinpointed, and yet everything is a sign. Just keep hanging that carrot out there. Oy!!!

Oh my goodness, she is still out there and recording from a studio in Rochester Hills!!! I can't believe it! Jack passed away and she is keeping it going. I guess donations are still doing okay. Sigh....

It was money making. Back then they hit on their version of crazy book of revelation eschatology and cashed in. They had donations flowing in from everywhere, lived in a mansion, the typical tv evangelist trope. My father in law was very taken with them back in the day. Thankfully he never sent them more than $20. I doubt they believed in anything they were predicting. I would be shocked if they actually believed in the gospel or christian god. It was a snake oil salesman job, and many people who lived around them and knew them were quick to confirm that. But the internet and social media was not a thing so the message didn't travel fast about them. I wonder if they are still out there pedaling their "wares" to the small, aged crowd that might still think they are all that.

Yes, nursing instructors are grossly underpaid in my state compared to what they make practicing. Some could even work part-time in practice and still make more than a full time instructor. So there isn't going to be an expansion any time soon unless colleges decide to pay better.

That would be Jack and Roxella Van Impe. Their show was a trip down crazy lane!

The Dutch Reformed have some VERY strict beliefs, especially among the older generation. In Michigan, they are strictly predestination believers, and some of the older generation are kind of "Dutch people are the predestined people", LOL!

We are felling it but in a different way. We lost nearly all our connections before the pandemic because we are simply too "liberal" for local tastes. Then we retired from 4H and the rocket team because the demands were becoming too much with both of us working and home care for our mothers. Then the pandemic. We really don't have any relationships left. Coming out of isolation since our elderly mothers are vaxed, and we and our adult sons are as well, we can't think of any good reason to try to socialize again since vax rates are low here. We still can't really feel free to find anyone to make friends with so it appears that we need to be comfortable remaining isolated. Two boys are graduating with their undergraduate degrees this year, and one is in grad school. On campus they have connections. Dh and I do not. So we have adopted vanlife part time together, and hope that the more we hit state parks, national forests, and national parks we may meet people who would be okay to have around the campfire. It will work from May-September in Michigan, and but then cooped up again for winter so we are hoping to buy our eventual retirement home near our daughter and family in Rocket City area (not looking in the city itself because we want some space), and will have that as a home base for some van camp excursions in the winter. We may not be "the cup of tea" of some folks in the Bible Belt, but man one thing we have experienced in Huntsville and surrounding area is just a genuine friendliness and politeness. I don't expect to have people "up in our business" like they are here. Maybe I will be wrong. Who knows. It will be a nice change, and we want to make some excursions through the southwest so starting from there will be great. I am grateful for hotspots on cell phones that make it possible for dh to take advantage of his work remotely contract! As long as we live here, I do not see us making any new connections or friendships much less resuming any old ones. To all who are suffering, I wish you the very best as you try to find companionship and friendship. The world has become so much more polarized. I know this transition is going to be really difficult!

Oh my, yes! Not only did that speaker show up in this area, a church not far from here then had a drive in theater set up in their parking lot and showed "Tribulation" movies in the parking lot advertised to all ages and family friendly, but showed beheadings and torture! The pastor excused the rated R type stuff as being good for even little ones so they would be afraid to NOT be "saved" and say the prayer right away. Sigh. And they all though Hal Lindsey was practically a god.

Um. No. Seriously, people here still shun their adult children for anything viewed as non-traditional as far as church goers. Non church attending folks still tend towards a 1950's style outlook on sex, gender, marriage, race, poverty, etc. We are NOT in an area that could be remotely called "mainstream". My son got spit on and yelled at for wearing a rainbow shirt when he was 16. Exactly one UMC is inclusive, and one ELCA Lutheran church. That's it. We do not have an Episcopal church in the county, and the Baptist churches are aligned with IFB, Sovereign Grace, etc. The Nazarene church is openly hostile to anyone who is not super conservative ie. super republican. This is NOT a diverse area. When we visit our daughter and her family in Rocket City, it is like a different universe than here!

Progressive churches are an anomaly in my area. It is super conservative here. The one that I subbed at today (piano) is the most progressive. But, there are theological beliefs that dh does not hold so he is not likely to attend there regularly.

You are right, and though the way it was handled was a bit wild...I think everyone should have gone outdoors to a far corner of the lawn and talked rationally, said what needed to be said, I am glad that there was a stance made. You are right about that, and definitely, maybe I can just contact the lead pastor have a talk, and see if it wss taken care of in a way that will make me feel comfortable going back on the sub list. I do very much believe in the good work they do in the community.

This, and my county has no hospitals with ICU's and respiratory therapists. So we turf all of our fallen to the city hospitals in other counties further overwhelming them. It is positively insane, and frankly, just a gross way of thinking, but people her feel very entitled to spread disease and demand that some other hospital system suffer the consequences. It makes my head spin!

This! A lot of christians, my husband included, have been forced by conscience into the done category. I am hearing of more and more dones in our area, and I do not think this an anomaly unique to my region.

OP, I am with you 100%. If you jump down to the church and masks thread, you can read about my experience today with this issue and the problem it caused for one community this morning.

It really is! And this church does a LOT of good things for the community, food pantry clothing pantry, utility assistance, pay for licensed therapy and counseling for abuse victims, and after school tutoring now that all the tutors are vaccinated. To think of all of that coming to an end because of this kind of thing is gut wrenching! I am not a Christian anymore, but I sure do believe in all the good they are doing. But the drama really upset me, and Dh attended with me today which is only does off and on when I substitute, and it was never closer to where he was. So he doesn't want to go back for a while. He does think I should just go off the list for now, but then give them a chance to sort things out, and maybe sub for them in the fall. They really do some wonderful work in the community.

Ugh! I am back in school part time - just six credits per semester - and paying out of pocket. FAFSA only gives my kids student loans. I used federal loans back into the day so am not eligible. No FAFSA for me!

Color me not shocked. I have a few covid reasonable churches in the area that I allow to call me if they need a substitute pianist on Sunday. Got the call today. Y'all there was a meltdown! Apparently, the wife of one of the pastors has been very vocal about not getting vaccinated and encouraging others not to do so which I am guessing has been a source of distress in the church, but I don't know only guessing from the accusations made during the yelling which was way too close to me for my comfort because the piano is close the administrative side exits to the hallway/narthex. Well, she showed up today with no mask though the church has not dropped its mask mandate - no mask, no entry. Oh my goodness, it was banana pants out there, just epic yelling, name calling, some folks wanting the pastor fired because of his wife! Sigh, I slipped out the other side and thankfully my check had been left on the piano so I did not need to speak to anyone. I immediately fired off an email to the senior pastor saying I could no longer be on their sub list. Life is too short to get up on Sunday, leave my family, and have that drama. I am fully vaxed but chose to wear a mask at the piano anyway since that was the sign on the door and I would rather just role model being sensitive to others. That pastor's wife sings on worship team every other week, and well, I would imagine from here on out that is going to be controversial. The $100 fee that I charge just isn't worth the possibility of being close to that drama. I really hope they did not have a bunch of visitors because first impressions are a thing, and this was a bad one.

Dh and I realized today that since our youngest is graduating May 2022, this winter/spring we filled out FAFSA one.last.time. 💃🍨🍹📢🎶💐👏

Wonderful! I have only done three miles this weekend. I am trying out new shoes and a new way of talking my ankle. Lots of trial and error with the taping so I woke be doing anything long until I figure it out. Hope it stops raining, and you have a wonderful hike tomorrow.

We had to run to the hardware store and the lumber yard today. We, who are vaccinated, were the ONLY people with masks. O.n.l.y. Masks signs had been ripped off the doors, and the stores were so crowded. We went back to the car and waited for it to clear out. In a county with a vaccination rate of under 40%, it is a foregone conclusion that liars were present. I no longer have any grace, patience, or mercy for such individuals.

I have seen this too, including a nephew and his wife. These folks will no longer be on the list of relatives that we choose to have a relationship with, and that list is likely to grow. It is amazing to me what people will cop to with pride on social media. 😡

We are purging the house and getting rid of all of our education and science supplies since we retired this year from 4H and the high school rocket team. We have just an accumulation of lots of project items, kits, reference books, you name it, and we just do not need to move it to our Alabama home. We even have antiques.that were supposed to be refinished and we didn't get around to it. They are going too. I still.have some things left from my event planner days. The goal is to make a Goodwill run every week. If we just spend one hour a week working on it, we will have most of it done by Labor Day. I have several classical works to practice since I am accompanying a college vocal student on her senior recital. I am growing some veggies, and will dehydrate some it. Our lilac bushes which are REALLY old are not producing anymore, and dying. So we need to cut them all down which means having brush piles to burn. Other than that, we are camping a lot. We spent April 30- May 9 camping, and go again June 3-6, June 28-July 4, and July 31-Aug 3.

It is the same, but the purge began back in November, and letters were sent out specifically stating they were getting rid of the folks that put "fear over faith". Now that said, my mother informed me that the church is " Wesleyan affiliated" and the pastor holds his ordination papers with the Wesleyan denomination. But in some sort of strange rules twist, are nondenominational. I really do not know how that works.

Oh, one would think! It seems like a Chicken Little kind of thing so one would assume their people would eventually catch on and stop their crazy, panicked responses. But nope. I have to wonder if church offerings go up every time he preaches this whacky stuff. Follow the money is always my motto when something smells rotten in the state of Denmark, as the saying goes. Not a number, here is a blog from Mott Children's here. It doesn't give an estimate of the percentage of children who get long covid, but describes it better than I can. https://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/childrens-health/long-haul-covid-kids

Agreed and especially when the church two blocks down has been anti-mask all along AND preaching that the vaccine is the mark of the beast. These folks do not have all their marbles, so they cannot be trusted!