Gwen Shamblin 7: I am the Potato Chip of Life

[Briefly]

11 hours ago, Tuesday’s Child said:

Surely, someone—her husband, a friend, Elle (Erin), her dad—has said something!!! Who can stand by and not notice her wasting away? This is extremely upsetting to me. You’re exactly right, she looks like an older person. Her posture, her frail frame, her hollow face...like a little old lady. I hope this isn’t one of those situations where something tragic happens and then people realize “oh crap, we could have helped her.” But that’s unlikely, since they are blindly believing Gwen about the Smith case. ?????

That is what I wondered, surely someone must realize how unhealthy she looks and probably is.  But she's also Gwen's daughter and Gwen has to be anorexic or have some type of a serious eating disorder.  I don't know a lot about ED's but I think Gwen probably has one.  In one of the earlier threads, it was discussed how Gwen would not let her daughter eat at times.  I'm thinking that Elizabeth had very little chance of actually growing up healthy, given her mother's actions/beliefs/etc. I think Elizabeth has also been raised to be her mother's heir for RF leadership.  She's basically the poster child for success in RF and that includes her weight.  So I don't see anyone else actually saying something - IF they even realize that she's so ill.  Or admit it.

Edited June 15, 2019 by Briefly
added the last sentence.

[OperationSunshine]

11 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

Gwen with the Reader's Digest Word of the Day:
 

  Hide contents

 

How to Get Answered Prayers

June 15, 2019

by Gwen Shamblin Lara

0 Comment

Answered prayers are given to those whose hearts are “abiding” in Jesus. In I John 3:21-22 it says, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” I could write a whole book on examples of answered prayers; not that every prayer results in people getting what they pray for, but there is a definite correlation between answered prayer and wholehearted obedience to God. Just as you seem to have more cooperation from your spouse when you have put his or her needs first, it is true with God also. It is just common sense.

One vocabulary word that you need to know is the word “Triangle.” It is wrong to grab for things in your life, and it is right to look to the Heavens for all things that you want. A common behavior is… “I see it, I want it, I get it,” like a child grabbing a toy. Another example…“I want my husband to help around the house, so I will nag him until he does.” When someone does not know how to get answered prayers and blessings due to obedience to God, they feel desperate and they feel the need to take care of themselves, so no wonder you see desperate behaviors anywhere from tears to outbreaks of controlling anger, boasting, bragging, theft, road rage, co-worker sabotage, revenge, etc. But the Bible says that God does not want us to grab or take revenge because “revenge is mine” says the Lord.

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him some- thing to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21

 

I agree that Triangle is an useful word to know

triangle

noun

tri·an·gle | \ ˈtrī-ˌaŋ-gəl

\

Definition of triangle

1 : a polygon having three sides — compare spherical triangle

2a : a percussion instrument consisting of a rod of steel bent into the form of a triangle open at one angle and sounded by striking with a small metal rod

b : a drafting instrument consisting of a thin flat right-angled triangle of wood or plastic with acute angles of 45 degrees or of 30 degrees and 60 degrees

3 : a situation in which one member of a couple is involved in a love affair with a third person

What it has to do with Gwen's devotional I don't know.

This just hits me hard... The triangle was one of my first introductions to RF.

[feministxtian]

12 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

b : a drafting instrument consisting of a thin flat right-angled triangle of wood or plastic with acute angles of 45 degrees or of 30 degrees and 60 degrees

I had those things in about 4 different sizes...mine were orange neon plastic, about 1/8" thick. We would put tape on the edges so the ink wouldn't bleed through.  That was the cool part of manual drafting...not many goofy angles like 23 degrees. 

[RFfamANON]

16 hours ago, SuperNova said:

...no wonder you see desperate behaviors anywhere from tears to outbreaks of controlling anger,

the term “controlling anger” is an odd choice. I work with trauma survivors and this is a phrase that is only used by the controlled or the controlling. I wonder which one Gwen Shamblin Lara is?

Edited June 16, 2019 by RFfamANON

[RFfamANON]

11 hours ago, OperationSunshine said:

This just hits me hard... The triangle was one of my first introductions to RF.

@OperationSunshine if it is too much of a trigger then please forgive me and disregard this question but if you are willing can you explain what the triangle is? 

[OperationSunshine]

5 hours ago, RFfamANON said:

@OperationSunshine if it is too much of a trigger then please forgive me and disregard this question but if you are willing can you explain what the triangle is? 

Oh it's not a trigger at all... I just hadn't heard it mentioned in years and went "Woah it's been a long time!" Back then I think it was something that was mentioned on a very regular basis (and maybe it still is... I just haven't heard it in a long time from the RF people we know).

It was explained to me at this.... (Draw imaginary lines connecting it all)

                     -GOD-

 

 

-YOU-                                -WANT-

 

You can't just go straight from YOU to whatever it is that you WANT... you have to go up (focus up was something like an anthem back then) to GOD and then if He says you can have it, you can go down to what you want.

[NarcissismKills]

Yesterday I put in the excruciating effort to watch the June 15 morning webcast. Apparently the High Priestess of total garbage, or perhaps it's heresy, was not present with her "Saints" that morning. Anybody know what RF-paid vacation she was on this time? Oh Gwod, gobs of non-stop jibber-jabber about how great she is. Tons of horrifyingly bad music and incessant clapping. Folks were extorted to clap more, as though that were possible. Hideously vain older men prancing about with electric guitars and failing to hit any notes in their screeching vocals. Lyrics consisting of mind-numbing blither such as "You are my sun and my stars". There was an asinine mention of communion (incredibly disrespectful in tone towards Jesus) and of how "great it is". The unrelenting obsequious praise for Gwen even when speaking briefly about communion was stomach-turning. While passing out whatever they pass out there at communion, the webcast screen was blacked out for a while. (Can someone please describe what the heck happens during "communion" at the Remnant Fellowship?) Then they showed some film of last week's baptisms. Nauseating chatter about the Remnant Fellowship and Gwen being so uniquely fabulous while everything and everyone else is bad. They love to wax rhapsodic about their purity and their sinlessness. Being a normal human who am I to say, but I can't see Jesus being at all pleased with this type of pride. While Gwen Shamblin Lara was droning on and on about Remnant Fellowship in that video, Joe Lara looked liked he wanted to die. No, really, he looked ghastly, sort of green around the gills. You definitely need to check it out ASAP. Maybe he'll jump ship soon. When he leaves, it's going to be so helpful for the captive people in Remnant Fellowship to start seeing things more clearly. I was struck by the fact that random scruffy men including Gwens sickeningly smiling son-in-law, Brandon Hannah, were lined up in a swimming pool dunking people higglety-pigglety. So undignified, no solemnity. Then we webcast viewers were shunted back to that June 15 morning suck-up fest and some very dubious people started "testifying" about how great Gwen is. It was a travesty, a tale of unparalleled fakeness. They were claiming that the wife got badly burned two weeks ago (3rd and 2nd degree burns), but there's no trace of this at all today. So apparently Gwen performed a miracle. The whole story was written out on their phone, and they were reading this nonsense and sobbing mightily. At that point, I had hit the two-hour mark and couldn't take it anymore. 

[NarcissismKills]

This could be interesting reading for some people:

Diet Coke may lead to Alzheimer’s. It's a favorite drink at Remnant Fellowship in general and a particular favorite for Gwen Shamblin Lara. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/diet-sodas-raise-risk-dementia-stroke-study-finds-n749051

[Loolaa]

44 minutes ago, NarcissismKills said:

Lyrics consisting of mind-numbing blither such as "You are my sun and my stars". 

Very Game of Thrones of them ?

[RFSurvivor_2]

1 minute ago, Loolaa said:

Very Game of Thrones of them ?

I dunnt want itttt

but you’re muhhh queeeen 

?

[OperationSunshine]

1 hour ago, NarcissismKills said:

Yesterday I put in the excruciating effort to watch the June 15 morning webcast. Apparently the High Priestess of total garbage, or perhaps it's heresy, was not present with her "Saints" that morning. Anybody know what RF-paid vacation she was on this time? Oh Gwod, gobs of non-stop jibber-jabber about how great she is. Tons of horrifyingly bad music and incessant clapping. Folks were extorted to clap more, as though that were possible. Hideously vain older men prancing about with electric guitars and failing to hit any notes in their screeching vocals. Lyrics consisting of mind-numbing blither such as "You are my sun and my stars". There was an asinine mention of communion (incredibly disrespectful in tone towards Jesus) and of how "great it is". The unrelenting obsequious praise for Gwen even when speaking briefly about communion was stomach-turning. While passing out whatever they pass out there at communion, the webcast screen was blacked out for a while. (Can someone please describe what the heck happens during "communion" at the Remnant Fellowship?) Then they showed some film of last week's baptisms. Nauseating chatter about the Remnant Fellowship and Gwen being so uniquely fabulous while everything and everyone else is bad. They love to wax rhapsodic about their purity and their sinlessness. Being a normal human who am I to say, but I can't see Jesus being at all pleased with this type of pride. While Gwen Shamblin Lara was droning on and on about Remnant Fellowship in that video, Joe Lara looked liked he wanted to die. No, really, he looked ghastly, sort of green around the gills. You definitely need to check it out ASAP. Maybe he'll jump ship soon. When he leaves, it's going to be so helpful for the captive people in Remnant Fellowship to start seeing things more clearly. I was struck by the fact that random scruffy men including Gwens sickeningly smiling son-in-law, Brandon Hannah, were lined up in a swimming pool dunking people higglety-pigglety. So undignified, no solemnity. Then we webcast viewers were shunted back to that June 15 morning suck-up fest and some very dubious people started "testifying" about how great Gwen is. It was a travesty, a tale of unparalleled fakeness. They were claiming that the wife got badly burned two weeks ago (3rd and 2nd degree burns), but there's no trace of this at all today. So apparently Gwen performed a miracle. The whole story was written out on their phone, and they were reading this nonsense and sobbing mightily. At that point, I had hit the two-hour mark and couldn't take it anymore. 

Is there anyway to watch the webcast as a guest, without providing personal info?

[throwaway9988]

2 hours ago, NarcissismKills said:

...The unrelenting obsequious praise for Gwen even when speaking briefly about communion was stomach-turning. While passing out whatever they pass out there at communion, the webcast screen was blacked out for a while. (Can someone please describe what the heck happens during "communion" at the Remnant Fellowship?) ...

It's nothing special. They pass around those wafers that taste like styrofoam and everyone gets a little plastic shotglass that is about 1/4 full of cheap wine.  During this, everyone is supposed to be silent and prayerful while listening to Michael's latest song du jour (often a grating experience since you have probably heard it at least 500 times already, and they probably played it while people were sitting in the Sanctuary an hour before the service even started trying to reserve seats, and they will probably play that same song again after the service is over).

Your descriptions were hilariously accurate  I do NOT miss having to sit through that pageantry every few days

[RFsurvivor]

@RFSurvivor_2 and I joke about how much more free time you have when you aren’t in a cult all the time. We certainly don’t miss it either. 

[Tuesday’s Child]

8 hours ago, NarcissismKills said:

Yesterday I put in the excruciating effort to watch the June 15 morning webcast. Apparently the High Priestess of total garbage, or perhaps it's heresy, was not present with her "Saints" that morning. Anybody know what RF-paid vacation she was on this time? Oh Gwod, gobs of non-stop jibber-jabber about how great she is. Tons of horrifyingly bad music and incessant clapping. Folks were extorted to clap more, as though that were possible. Hideously vain older men prancing about with electric guitars and failing to hit any notes in their screeching vocals. Lyrics consisting of mind-numbing blither such as "You are my sun and my stars". There was an asinine mention of communion (incredibly disrespectful in tone towards Jesus) and of how "great it is". The unrelenting obsequious praise for Gwen even when speaking briefly about communion was stomach-turning. While passing out whatever they pass out there at communion, the webcast screen was blacked out for a while. (Can someone please describe what the heck happens during "communion" at the Remnant Fellowship?) Then they showed some film of last week's baptisms. Nauseating chatter about the Remnant Fellowship and Gwen being so uniquely fabulous while everything and everyone else is bad. They love to wax rhapsodic about their purity and their sinlessness. Being a normal human who am I to say, but I can't see Jesus being at all pleased with this type of pride. While Gwen Shamblin Lara was droning on and on about Remnant Fellowship in that video, Joe Lara looked liked he wanted to die. No, really, he looked ghastly, sort of green around the gills. You definitely need to check it out ASAP. Maybe he'll jump ship soon. When he leaves, it's going to be so helpful for the captive people in Remnant Fellowship to start seeing things more clearly. I was struck by the fact that random scruffy men including Gwens sickeningly smiling son-in-law, Brandon Hannah, were lined up in a swimming pool dunking people higglety-pigglety. So undignified, no solemnity. Then we webcast viewers were shunted back to that June 15 morning suck-up fest and some very dubious people started "testifying" about how great Gwen is. It was a travesty, a tale of unparalleled fakeness. They were claiming that the wife got badly burned two weeks ago (3rd and 2nd degree burns), but there's no trace of this at all today. So apparently Gwen performed a miracle. The whole story was written out on their phone, and they were reading this nonsense and sobbing mightily. At that point, I had hit the two-hour mark and couldn't take it anymore. 

This made my day. How can we see this atrocity?

[NarcissismKills]

18 hours ago, OperationSunshine said:

Is there anyway to watch the webcast as a guest, without providing personal info?

I don't think so. 

11 hours ago, Tuesday’s Child said:

This made my day. How can we see this atrocity?

Set up a WeighDown online account. 

[NarcissismKills]

On 6/11/2019 at 3:10 AM, luv2laugh said:

Gwen thrives off of her own ideas such as celebrating Jewish feasts and wardrobe requirements. 

Christianity has nothing to do with starving yourself and IMO, Gwen’s entire religion is basically anorexia, although she’d disagree.

Your post is so good! Your assessment of Gwen Shamblin Lara and her Remnant Fellowship cult are spot on. 

Those Gwen-ified versions of Jewish feasts are offensively fake. I am frankly surprised that her cockamamie events haven't yet been targeted by authentic Jews whose religion is literally being trivialized, disrespected, and dragged into the dirt. I wonder how to direct their attention to this cult's ham handed cultural appropriation. Any ideas? 

The ubiquitous costumes are the products of a grotesque confluence of ignorance and superficiality. Gwen’s actions and words are constantly expressing her need to be looked at and thought "pretty". Forcing her followers to coordinate their outfits with her passing whims is beyond insanity. 

Anorexia as a religion? Errr, that's truly mental and probably criminal. Anorexia has been studied extensively and has been characterized as a particularly difficult to treat illness once it takes hold of an individual. To preach anorexia to children is clearly endangering their lives and is therefore completely illegal. 

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/chronic-eating-disorders

Look at the extreme caloric restrictions imposed on India Oxenberg and other slaves / followers at the hands of Keith Raniere, the leader of the NXIVM cult that's currently being prosecuted. 

https://nypost.com/2019/06/07/allison-mack-allegedly-starved-dynasty-star-catherine-oxenbergs-daughter-india/amp/#aoh=15607809092418&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s

BTW, I am trying to build a habit of typing out the full names of Gwen Shamblin Lara and the Remnant Fellowship in every post and to always include the word "cult". This will supposedly help people find these discussions and hopefully make them aware of the dangers inherent in being part of Remnant Fellowship. If we can save even just one innocent child from this cult of "godly" anorexia. 

This is rich. Today's devotional tells us how to become a less controlling person!?! 

http://www.gwenshamblinlara.com/a-life-of-no-worries/

Gwen Shamblin Lara, Remnant Fellowship, cult, anorexia, brainwashing 

[Concerned1954]

On Facebook Gwen put up a picture of Joe Lara announcing he is the best dad ever.  

Of course if you don't count not paying child support for years or leaving child and mother in the early years as facets of being a good father then, well yeah, the race is competitive.  

 

[AmazonGrace]

Spoiler

 

A Life of No Worries

June 17, 2019

by Gwen Shamblin Lara

0 Comment

When you go in prayer to God in the name of Jesus Christ, without fretting or manipulating anything to make it happen, God will answer your prayer. Do not think this is necessarily slower; in fact, it could be faster. This builds your faith. When you go to God and refuse to grab, you develop a relationship with and a dependence on God. And you stop being the forceful person, the controlling person, and you start seeing what a great God He is. He gives you the desires of your heart. You can go to bed at night with no guilt for overeating, overspending, overtalking, overdrinking, or grabbing. You have no worries and it is beautiful!

How do you get answered prayers? You obey Him. Jesus said in John 14:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:12-14

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” John 14:23-24

 

I have never ever gone to bed with guilt for "grabbing" but maybe it's just me.

[CTRLZero]

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.

What was Jesus doing that Gwen Shamblin Lara emulates?  Accumulating wealth, shopping, substituting spouses, color-coordinating theatrical cult productions? 

[quiversR4hunting]

Father's day post - oh wow. So did she say anything about he father of her children? I have friends that are divorced and at least one of them posted that her ex-husband is a great selfless dad and the kids are lucky to have him as their dad. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

23 minutes ago, quiversR4hunting said:

Father's day post - oh wow. So did she say anything about he father of her children? I have friends that are divorced and at least one of them posted that her ex-husband is a great selfless dad and the kids are lucky to have him as their dad. 

Ha! She likely wants to pretend her ex husband of decades doesn’t exist. 

[NarcissismKills]

9 hours ago, Concerned1954 said:

On Facebook Gwen put up a picture of Joe Lara announcing he is the best dad ever.  

Of course if you don't count not paying child support for years or leaving child and mother in the early years as facets of being a good father then, well yeah, the race is competitive.  

 

How much custody did these monsters take from Liana's real mother? 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I don’t think Elizabeth will be able to successfully take over. I think it will be Grace. They will marry her off to RF royalty at 18 or 19. Then she will start to take over being the face of RF.

[Concerned1954]

 

1 hour ago, NarcissismKills said:

How much custody did these monsters take from Liana's real mother? 

Court is in late August.  Not sure if failure to pay child support is an issue.  One might assume the cultish nature of Remnant Fellowship will affect custody arrangement.

There is also a lawsuit in Virginia that Gwen must deal with, presumably by fall.

[SuperNova]

10 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

When you go to God and refuse to grab, you develop a relationship with and a dependence on God. And you stop being the forceful person, the controlling person, and you start seeing what a great God He is. He gives you the desires of your heart. You can go to bed at night with no guilt for overeating, overspending, overtalking, overdrinking, or grabbing.

I would call Gwen Shamblin Lara forceful. She forces her views on other people. She forces her congregation into rigid diets. I would also call her controlling. She controls other people's weddings, the color of their clothing, what they eat. She tries to control what outsiders say about RF and isn't above threats to "force" that control. 

Gwen herself has admitted to overdrinking. Even if her pockets are deep, there is little doubt that she overspends. Nobody needs multiple homes filled with expensive antiques. Nobody needs a huge wardrobe of costly apparel. Gwen is most definitely an overtalker. She has countless videos and books and sermons that are nothing more than her unchecked ego running rampant with a thin veil of religion to force her strange ideals of what a body should be.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Gwen.