Thank you for the warm welcome, Lily Rose and NickleandDimed.

This time of year is especially hard for me because of time missed with loved ones during the holidays. Many of those I miss the most have passed away, and that time will never be recovered. I’m sure that I’m not the only one posting here who has this sadness. It was bad enough when we “didn’t celebrate Christmas” because we could still spend time with our families. It wasn’t the same, because Christmas wasn’t meaningful to us in the same way that it was meaningful to them, but it was alright. Then suddenly, we were strongly encouraged to participate in the Magical Christmas Caroling Truck. How do you explain to your folks that we, who don’t celebrate Christmas, cannot be present at holiday gatherings because we are doing a Christmas caroling extravaganza through the city streets? If you are unfamiliar with this particular practice, use this link www.christmascaroling.org/

It’s been a wild ride, but I’m so glad to be on a healing path. Just wishing that it had been sooner.

Oh boy, it’s Christmas truck season again. If you want to get on the sh#t list in the valley, just skip participating with the truck project. That’ll put you in the non-in-crowd quicker than anything.

I always wondered how many of Rick’s security group are packing heat while they walk alongside the truck. (permitted, of course). I bet most of them are.

puddington Wrote:

> I always wondered how many of Rick’s security
> group are packing heat while they walk alongside
> the truck. (permitted, of course). I bet most of
> them are.

It's all so silly.

Welcome Reepicheep. Yes we were ripped off of Christmas -- our families cheated out of a very special time for so many years. Then Lord Fauntleroy wants his C Truck and -- well so much for Saturnalia. Let's go caroling. It was a wild ride and living at the whim of insane people--sick and insane and ruthless.

Cloudwatcher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Welcome Reepicheep. Yes we were ripped off of
> Christmas -- our families cheated out of a very
> special time for so many years. Then Lord
> Fauntleroy wants his C Truck and -- well so much
> for Saturnalia. Let's go caroling. It was a wild
> ride and living at the whim of insane people--sick
> and insane and ruthless.


That just about sums it up for me, Cloudwatcher. Thanks for the welcome. Another thing about the truck that I found so confusing: Rick always said that we could minister to people at this time of year because their spirits are open. But what were we ministering, and what was the goal? The fact that we were a church group was very carefully hidden. It was supposedly sponsered by "That Studio", which says to me that it was all for Rick's business dealings and his glory. We were basically singing, dancing puppets for Rick's amusement and self-aggrandizement.

I don't know what a family that doesn't act like a Body of Christ is supposed to feel like. I think that is the problem I'm currently having. My family operated like a CLW Outpost leaving the church in'82 but still teaching my sisters and I everything they learned there. I don't know how a church should feel. I don't know what a relationship with God apart from them feels like. Family = Body of Christ. Where 2 or more were gathered. Leaving this church literally means leaving my family.

Quote

Welcome Reepicheep. Yes we were ripped off of Christmas -- our families cheated out of a very special time for so many years.

Y'know, Banning Christmas isolates us from outside influences.

Which is exactly what a cult leader wants.

The winter holidays bring enjoyable experiences with non believers.

(Horrors! The outside world is a safe, enjoyable place? My God, church members will ditch me as soon as they find out life is better on the outside.)

Repeat, the winter holidays subtract attention from the high demand cult leader.

Quote

Welcome Reepicheep. Yes we were ripped off of Christmas -- our families cheated out of a very special time for so many years.

Y'know, forbidding participation in Christmas is an effective way to isolate us from a huge array of outside influences and thus trap us further in a cultic group.

A group that tells you to avoid winter holiday efforts and festivities requires you to forgo special times with friends and families outside the high demand group.

The winter holidays bring high risk that you will have enjoyable experiences with non believers -- experiences which cause you to realize you're happier outside of the group than inside the group.

And...attention to the holiday subtracts attention from your high demand leader.

Winter holidays foster bonding experiences with strangers. (Gasp!)

* There's a shared sense of endeavor that comes with the winter holidays.

Even the stuff that's a pain in the butt is something you can grouch about with total strangers. They understand. You see each other in line at the post office, you make that extra effort to go shopping for goodies, arrange to cater something to bring to a party or a family gathering.

You talk with each other at the office, fall into conversations at cafes.

Winter holidays foster bonding experiences with strangers.

What do we get at the Winter holidays?

* Christmas decorations, music, food, and the beloved Ugly Sweater parties.

* Once a year aromas - pine trees, ginger/spice combinations, peppermint.

* Eggnog. Even if you don't like it, the stuff shows up at just this time of year. How many of us would drink the stuff, otherwise?

* Our families

* Seasonal offerings in bookstores, bakeries, grocery specials.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2017 08:05AM by corboy.

Such beautiful posts, all of you. My heart cries for you Tknc. Your family was so toxic from the living word teachings. I highly recommend seeing a professional for help. I did and it helped a lot.

You belong to the family of man now. Try to find the love and connection in a new place maybe. And a new way.

I never gave it much thought back then, but corboy is right. Christmas would be a time to loosen people from the grip of a cult. No wonder the LW leaders controll it so much.

And if the Christmas truck really wanted to minister, why is it driving only thru the super wealthy neighborhoods, like Toluca Lake & Studio City?

corboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Y'know, forbidding participation in Christmas is
> an effective way to isolate us from a huge array
> of outside influences and thus trap us further in
> a cultic group.
>
> A group that tells you to avoid winter holiday
> efforts and festivities requires you to forgo
> special times with friends and families outside
> the high demand group.
>
> The winter holidays bring high risk that you will
> have enjoyable experiences with non believers --
> experiences which cause you to realize you're
> happier outside of the group than inside the
> group.
>
> And...attention to the holiday subtracts attention
> from your high demand leader.

Great observation and great list, Corboy! I can't find the quote right now, but once Lily Rose wrote about cults that demand a very strong "us". What a diabolical way to create a strong "us" as opposed to the us of our family or the us of our society at large. First drill into us that celebrating the holidays with our family is akin to Satan worship. Then do an abrupt about face and demand absolute devotion and maniacal effort for weeks leading up to and including Christmas. Tell your faithful followers that they are ministering to the world by becoming what can only be described as Christmas Nazis for Rick. Pathetic!

Puddington, I always wondered why we weren't caroling near the church in North Hills. Follow the money!

puddington Wrote:
"My heart cries for you Tknc. Your family was so toxic from the living word teachings. I highly recommend seeing a professional for help. I did and it helped a lot.

You belong to the family of man now. Try to find the love and connection in a new place maybe. And a new way."

Tknc, I agree with Puddington. I also got help from a counselor. It was very helpful for me. If you have any way to do seek professional help, please try to do that. I also wonder if you have grandparents or other extended family members who were not in agreement with your parents' belief system? If so, perhaps they could give you moral support. You and your wife do not deserve to be continually controlled and manipulated by your parents' bizarre beliefs and life choices.

Also, you previously mentioned that your parents were in Impact. In my opinion, Impact and other related "kingdom businesses" were a cult within a cult. They considered themselves JRS' elite intercessors. If the Walk could be compared to the Army, then Impact considered themselves the Green Berets. They were taught to live an extreme lifestyle of impoverishment and crazed prophecy sessions. If you look around now, there are many from that group that never quite made the transition to any kind of normal life. I'm making this observation in case it might help turn on a lightbulb for you about what you've been through.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2017 11:39PM by Reepicheep.