The Bible doesn't say that all psychics are demons. There are a couple of examples where someone who claimed to be a psychic (or soothsayer) also contained a demon. But to use those examples as a way to say that *all* are that way is faulty logic. The Bible does say that sorcerers are evil...but do a word study on that and you might come to very different conclusions about what the Bible refers to when it says sorcerer. And after studying what Jesus taught, I believe true psychics are probably closer in tune to God than most other people. I also believe that in the Bible, particularly the New Testament, demons usually refer to a sickness or some type of mental or physical health problem...not usually evil counterparts to angels, though those type of demons exist, too. So....rabbit trail here...and this is just my theory: Remember the story in the New Testament when the psychic woman who had a demon followed the apostles around making fun of them? They cast out the demon and she no longer prophesied about them. Then her handlers got really mad because they couldn't make money off her. When the apostles "cast out the demon," they actually healed her. But the illness allowed her access to that part of her mind, so when they healed her, they cut off that short-cut.

Why does it seem that everyone assumes that the Bible is speaking literally? I don't believe that. I know others don't believe that, but in this particular thread, either you believe the Bible literally or you don't believe the Bible at all. I believe the Bible is mostly figurative or allegorical, with a bit of historical thrown in---mainly the history of the Jewish nation--so in discussions of creation and damnation and such, what the Bible is saying is relating principles of living, not science. The Bible is not exclusive. God is not damning anyone. There is no one-way trip to eternal damnation. And there is a lot less conflict between what the Bible says and what science says. Believing the Bible is allegorical really changes the way these kind of conversations go. So does anyone else believe the Bible is primarily allegorical or figurative, not literal?

I think there's a bit of both at play: a predator may not always give a vibe, but he does give information. Often people learn to ignore their vibes/intuition to the point that they won't pick up on something...kind of like a muscle that's never been used. Also, I believe some people can mask their true intent so that only very keenly perceptive/aware/intuitive people could pick up on their true nature. Perhaps part of this is that their minds (the mind of the predator) are so warped that they actually don't perceive of themselves of dangerous or wrong. And lastly, I think Joanne is right in that many people are not taught how predators work and what to look for.

I keep thinking this. Immaturity if he was mid to early twenties, maybe. Thirtyish? I can't imagine. If he was that immature at this age, I sure wouldn't want him in charge of my kids!

I believe there exists psychics as well as those who are naturally intuitive and those who develop enhanced intuition. I am EXTREMELY skeptical of anyone who would charge money for these "skills."

I suppose that it's understood, but having an IMO or "I believe" would help to make this less offensive. But this: In fairness, many (most?) "psychics" are ignorant of what actually is happening. Is just plain offensive, and there's really not much way around it. I don't believe you intend it to be, but it is extremely so. The best way I can think of expressing this: you're basically telling someone, "You're an idiot." Whether or not you believe a person is, it's usually not productive to tell someone she's an idiot. It's certainly not compassionate or kind, no matter how it's phrased.

Certainly! If you have pinterest, search for gray doors and you'll see a great collection. This pic came from Google.

I believe that God is too complex to be simply explained with human words and expressions. This is why there is no voice sounding from the sky. I can't even say "he" or "she" because I believe that God...the Creator, the Source of All, the Divine...is neither male nor female, and yet is also both. I really liked the example of a group of people that had always lived underground. One person goes to the surface and night and comes back to tell everyone of the beautiful lights in the sky. Another goes up, but it's daylight and so all he sees is the bright sun and many colors of nature. But a third goes up and thinks the other two must be nuts because it's raining. It's neither bright and sunny with many colors or dark with thousands of lights above; it's gray and wet. God is different to each of us, depending on what we need to grow. There are no words that can be said that will explain God to everyone and help everyone grow. People are too diverse, and (again) God is too complex. If you want to know God, you have to find God for yourself.

Is it possible they're not getting enough sun, and that's why they've never budded? I agree, pictures would be helpful.

Leadership requires making decisions. I hate it when leaders refuse to make a call, putting it off until the decision is made for them. Just make the call already! Atlanta's Snowmaggedon is a very good example of what happens when you bet against the weather. No children should be stuck in buses overnight in freezing weather! :mad: The leadership (whoever that was) bet against the weather and lost, and that's exactly what happened. Still makes me mad, and I don't even live in Atlanta! :mad: So, yeah, making the call might mean an unnecessary inconvenience, but you've got to do it. Leadership should suck it up and make the call by at least an hour before the furthest person needs to leave home (I liked this suggestion earlier in the thread). And they need to err on the side of caution, so people need to shut up about it and quit whining...of course, the latter will never happen because there will always be some idiot with a big mouth, but that's another thing that leaders need to learn to accept.

Coke has. ;)

:confused1: This is exactly how chicken pox is spread. No, you're not going to transmit the virus through breastmilk. A hygienic and careful adult should be able to keep it from spreading. Adults who have shingles know this and are usually able to keep from spreading the virus. But kids are a different story. The pediatrician advised treating the kid with shingles as though she had chicken pox (with regards to contagiousness). She knew that my niece and my kids practically lived together. Of course, because shingles IS rare, we didn't realize that's what she had until it was too late.

My niece got shingles as a tween. She had the varicella vaccine (chicken pox) but never the chicken pox. Interestingly, her pediatrician said that she has seen a rise in shingles in children. Normally, it would be considered an "old person's" disease but it has become more common in children who have received the varicella vaccine. But understand two things: (1) she didn't mean that shingles in kids is common. It's still rare, but apparently, shingles in kids used to be almost non-existent. (2) she didn't mean that the vaccine was causing the shingles. As she explained it: shingles is caused by the same virus that gives you chicken pox. Some kids, when exposed to the chicken pox after already having the vaccine, got the shingles. It works basically the same way anyone gets shingles...you have to have had chicken pox first, then in some cases (usually immune deficient cases, as older people often are and in the case of my niece) when exposed again to the chicken pox, the virus develops into the shingles. One other thing to note, since shingles really is a form of chicken pox, whoever has shingles can be just as contagious as someone with chicken pox. :glare: My non-varicella-vaccinated kids caught the chicken pox from my niece. My vaccinated ones didn't or had extremely light cases.

Thank you all for commiserating with me. I considered sending my younger ones off to school next year, but they enjoy learning. I don't want to kill that. Isn't that so ironic...and ridiculous? I sincerely see co-ops being our future. The teachers are free to be creative and do such a wonderful job keeping learning fun and productive! I just can't keep doing it all myself. It's a shame there's not more options with sports...that's the only reason ds is even at his school.

Seriously, what is the point of piling so much work on kids that they're cramming to make the grades and then tossing that information aside so they can rush into the next assignment? Let's rush through these assignments and mark them done. Who cares about the students? As long as they keep up those grades, that's all the matters. They're not retaining the information. Any love of a subject is quickly squashed. Subjects that they don't really care for soon become hated. And if any student can't keep up with the mountains of work thrown at them, it's their fault. They're just "not college material." :cursing: :cursing: :cursing: /vent off

:lol:

I strongly encourage it, and sometimes, depending on the situation, require it. It depends on the attitude. But I don't always require it.

I used to wonder about the point of these vests, too, until it occurred to me that it's really not that different from layering tank tops under your shirt...except you can take off the vest when you warm up. It's also very nice for those that don't like a lot of bulk around their arms. For mild weather, it really does make sense. For really cold weather, probably not so much.

Two Irish Guys Sneaked Into The Super Bowl Without Tickets and Snagged $25000 Seats Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but all I can think of is

I have three different types of Miracle Gro. One for general houseplants, one for orchids (a mist), and one specifically for African violets. They're the same brand, but different formulations. I cut back and repotted almost all of them. Some liked that. Some didn't. My little succlents (hen and chicks, I think, or some variation thereof) didn't, but they weren't very happy before. I'm not sure what they want. I wasn't giving them much water before, and then I tried more, but that hasn't helped. Sp I'm going to go back to less water and more light. They liked being outside when it was warmer. I'm not sure whether my African violet got more upset about being repotted, or the fact that I relocated her to a sunny window...where the cat found her and enjoyed rubbing against the leaves. :svengo: She (the violet) has since been moved to under a lamp. She's starting to perk back up a bit. The orchids didn't get repotted (that would require breaking their containers), but they're doing the same. I'm hoping I can get them to bloom again. The others have new growth and are doing great...so far. I just want to keep them on that path and not that fizzle, or worse. I have never really fertilized my plants. Or repotted them. I only watered them when they needed it. Trimmed away dead growth if necessary...and they lived just fine. But that's all. Never grew. Never bloomed. I think they need a little help. I've started using filtered water or rain water for them, too.

What do you? I am trying to get my plants to THRIVE instead of just exist. I have several that I've had for a while and they haven't done anything...they haven't died, they haven't grown, they haven't bloomed. Please share your secrets! I did buy a book and am following it, but then I bought Miracle Gro, and the recommendations on the bottle are different from the book. :glare: So then I started reading online and I've seen "Miracle Gro is bad, don't use it," then, "Miracle Gro is great, use it just like it says." :confused1: (Apparently, plant food has the same issues as human food. Don't eat this, don't eat that. LOL) I want nice plants that thrive, but I'm not making my own plant food. I don't have time for that. And Miracle Gro is very easy to find. (I do save my coffee grounds, though. I was using them outside, but now I found that African violets like them, too, so my African violet is now on rotation for coffee grounds. Maybe that will help it to bloom.)

Just an interesting note...my MIL (Chinese) INSISTS that rice should washed THOROUGHLY before cooking. And she believes she needs rice every day, every meal is even better. (Thankfully, she doesn't hold anyone else to that, except for when her kids were little and still at home.) FTR, she's also very big into lots of fresh veggies.

I'm taking my dd to a Supernatural convention for her 16th birthday. :) It's just going to be a long weekend, but she is very excited about. She's a huge fan and doing something like this is something I know she'll really, really enjoy. I enjoy SPN, too, though not to the extreme that she does, so it's something we can enjoy together.

Vicks salve, either on the chest and back or on the feet, covered with socks. Helps with congestion and fevers. Ginger can help with the stomach and fevers. Try it as a tea, Ginger Ale made with real ginger, or make a very strong tea and add it to a warm, not hot, bath. Nettle is good for congestion, and makes a pleasant tea (sweeten with some honey if you want) . Guafenisen (plain Mucinex) is very good at thinning mucus and helping with congestion. It's a gentle medicine that doesn't cause hyperactivity or drowsiness and doesn't dry out the nose like Sudafed.

I work at a grocery store. Yesterday, I couldn't believe how many times I had to suspend a transaction because people forgot their payment (had to go back to the car to get their purse, etc.)! Way more than normal. And then I had so many people comment on how scatterbrained they were (aside from those forgetting their payments). And I wasn't in the best shape myself. I was unusually UNfocused. I'm not very knowledgeable about astrology or anything, but I know that full moons affect some people, so I'm wondering if there was something going on in the stars? Anyone know anything about that kind of thing? *This is not meant to be some scientific thread about the accuracy of horoscopes or anything. :coolgleamA: