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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

One Year Anniversary

 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY 
We just celebrated our first anniversary; and it has been a great year.  It's very hard to comprehend how, for so long,  the leaders of a cult could have kept us from this life that we are enjoying.  We are experiencing a portion of what we should have been experiencing all along over the past 21 years of our lives.

The truth is that we were meant to be together.  Back in 1990 there should have been nothing to keep us apart.  There was really no logical explanation for splitting us up.  I was doing everything that could be expected to help the local church in Colorado Springs and the pastor that was placed over it.  Ange was a new Christian and according to ntcc rules shouldn't have been pressured to go to bible school for at least a year.  She was rushed to Bible School because it was more important to our so called shepherd and his wandering wife to split us apart.

We have shared this story many times and will not rehash it all again; but I would like to share some of what happened to us in the aftermath and contrast that to how great we have it now that we are together as God intended.

Shortly after Ange was rushed off to Washington to obey the "calling of God" she was called back into the army because of operation Desert Shield/Storm.  I guess God, I mean the MOG (man of God) had it all wrong.  We were so indoctrinated that we couldn't see that this was all a big hoax.  Ange came back through Colorado Springs at some point during her deployment and left everything that I had ever given her in a pile. She had already torn up any pictures she had of me, in an effort to move on.  I knew she didn't hate me; but she was misled to believe that it was not God's will for us to be together.  I also had torn up all of her pictures and thrown away everything that reminded me of her.

 Don's Letterman's Jacket 
We did not discuss these things.  We were not told to do this.  Like so many other implied rules  we were exhibiting learned behavior.  If any thing made us proud we should get it out of our lives.  I threw away my High School letterman's jacket for the same reason.  Is any of this healthy or necessary?  Is this what God meant when Jesus said that we were to take up our crosses and follow Him?

When we reconnected after twenty years we both realized how we had been manipulated.  I thought of Ange so many times through the years and often felt deprived and wondered what kind of a life I had missed out on.  We had so much in common and everything seemed so perfect and natural when we were together.  We thought alike and complimented each other in so many ways.

At Last by Etta James Video Link


Now that we are back together I realize that we missed out on a whole lot of life.  While things are going great for us, we often think about all of the lost years that we can never get back.  We choose to look at those years as a reminder of what the ntcc is all about and to remember those that are still inside the ntcc suffering much of the same.

There are countless  men involved with the ntcc that would be happily married, have families, and live normal lives IF they had attended ANY CHURCH other than ntcc.  

Getting on with our life has included a burden for ntcc members that continue to suffer and for X members who are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.  Is this a calling?  Perhaps; but it is also what any human being with decency would do to help those in danger.

 House and Back Deck
 Note the devil-dishes 
Now we are enjoying life to the fullest.  Our relationship has exceeded our expectations; and we feel that God has not only blessed our union but all other areas of our lives.  I have a great steady job with very good benefits; we live in a very nice house; and we are enjoying life.  If we want to buy nice things for each other we do; if we want to spend more than $40 bucks per week on groceries we do; as a matter of fact we buy whatever we want when we want it.

We are not rich; but we don't live in poverty so a bunch of hypocritical Pharisees can live in the lap of luxury on our dime!

 Holding A Tiger Cub :o) 
We also love being together.  We go places and do things that normal married couples do.  We also thank God for each other; and we are learning more and more to enjoy our lives.  All this normalcy, coupled together with God's blessings exposes the huge disparity between what is right and wrong in the ntcc.

We thank everyone for contributing to our blog.   We do have quite a few readers; and we thank you all for reading and participating at any level.  We hope also that what we share hit's home in some way.

Our mission has been to help people realize that they can have a relationship with God outside of the ntcc!


Christians were never meant to live under the condemnation of cult leaders and their false doctrines!

When you realize how false the ntcc doctrines are and how phony the leaders are by living according to different standards than what they demand of others, it reveals a more excellent Gospel of Grace that puts to shame the ordinances and Pharisaical rules of the ntcc. Because of this, we don't shy away from admonishing others of this destructive cult and its abusive ways. We are determined to make up for lost time by enjoying this life to the fullest!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; Ecc 9:10

Do Everything By Steven Curtis Chapman VEVO link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTeIMursb8

9 comments:

  1. DnA,

    Glad things are going great.

    Deborah and I have always had a good relationship, and enjoy each other (17 years), but the great relationship we already had has only gotten better now that we are not involved in the cult anymore.

    Tanya and Verna tried to get Deborah to leave me, and report back to Graham in 2007.

    Gregory

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  2. Thanks Gregory,

    We are glad that you were able to withstand the onslaught of the ntcc. They have been persuasive in destroying many marriages. I can't speak from experience but I think that you really must have a deep devotion to each other and God to be able to leave the ntcc with your marital and spiritual relationships in tact. All it takes is one weak person and a family is destroyed. The ntcc's take on this would be the exact opposite of course. You and Deborah both give people a lot of hope.

    Don and Ange

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  3. Hey, I'm so happy for you guys. Screw the NTCC. The NTCC doesn't bring happiness. The NTCC brings misery, poverty and bondage. I'm glad for Deb and Greg also. Tanya and Verna remind me of Jezebel. A couple spoiled old busybodies. If I recall correctly, Verna tried to get between the Reeds a well. This woman is supposed to be a "Christian" woman? Verna? Are you kidding me? She is nothing but an old busybody, gossipy, nosey, match making, marriage breaking hag!!!

    There! Get some of that. It is what it is. I'd rather deal with a straight up tramp who keeps to her self and minds her own business. I've heard enough about Verna to make me puke.

    Here is the definition of a busybody: "A person who meddles or pries into the affairs of others". If that ain't Verna my butt ain't white.

    Chief

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  4. I meant to write...

    If I recall correctly, Verna tried to get between the Reeds "as" well.

    Chief

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  5. Thanks, Chief. You certainly had us cracking up (no pun intended)! We've never seen your posterior but feel certain it is, indeed, lily white; and in like fashion the things you say of verna are equally accurate. White fourth - point - of - contact aside, verna is as you describe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ange said:

    "We've never seen your posterior but feel certain it is, indeed, lily white; "

    Don said:

    Sorry Ange, butt, I felt the ownership of this comment needed to be revealed. The comparison of a white butt to lilies is not a parable I wish to be associated with at this time.

    Jeff, you certainly have a way with words, I'll give you that. As always you are on the money. The women of the royal families are just as guilty as the men in my book. TK and VD have probably destroyed just as many marriages as anyone in the ntcc. That's pretty low when you have to get your wives to do your dirty work for you.

    DnA

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  7. Oh yeah, some of those busybody women are real low down. That's what happens when so many of them remain idle as long as they have. Like VD and TK, they worry about everyone's business other than their own. They need to get a job and spend less time in the church, GOSSIPING. That would fix the whole problem. They wouldn't have time for all that mess. Stop trying to play the matchmaking and marriage breaking game. Let people make their own decisions without any input from the peanut gallery. Bunch of busybodies is what they are.

    We saw it at the conferences every time we went. Everyone wanted to get in your business.

    "What church are you with, are you a minister"?

    They are just trying to size you up to see what "class" system you are a part of. First Class. The king and his closest associates: RDUB and his closest yes men. Second Class. The kings courtyard: Pastors. Third Class. The knights round table: School of rule teachers. Forth Class: The armed horsemen: Minister helpers: The Fifth Class: The pawns and the paupers: All church members (unless you bent over extra hard for the pastor or the overseers when they came to visit). Then you are one who carries the horseman's shield or shines the knights boots.

    "Oh, we pastor the such and such church".

    Big deal. Do you want a badge.

    "Oh Reverend so and so, these are your church members?"

    "Praise God, it must be a real blessing to have them."

    Like we were someone's property or something.

    "Well GAWD bless you brother and sister, I'll be praying for you."

    I wonder what they are going to pray for. That I become more godly like them? Thanks but no thanks.

    Chief

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  8. Many congratulations and blessings, Don and Ange.
    You two deserve the best!
    "Dismiss not a sensible wife; a
    gracious wife is more precious than corals." Sirach 7:19.
    "Happy the husband of a good wife,
    twice-lengthened are his days; a
    good wife brings joy to her husband, peaceful and full is his life. A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the Lord; be he rich or poor, his heart is content, and a smile is ever on his face." Sirach 26: 1-4.
    Sirach is one of seven books of the Bible removed by Martin Luther.
    And I say, "This goes both ways!"
    ;-) Pinky

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  9. Thanks, Pinky.

    It gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by. Our only regret is that we didn't marry sooner, like twenty one years ago!

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