Gwen Shamblin Lara 13: Shut UP You Paper-Thin Chip Licker!

[RFSurvivor_2]

10 hours ago, SpecialAgentCookieCrisp said:

That music could be used to torture our enemies.

The male vocal lead on these tracks is my brother. 

It was (and continues to be) hard to witness RF “white wash”, underutilize and misuse his voice & musical talents. RF has and is continuing to sculpt his voice/musical talent to sound like some pseudo-southern worship bullshit. I can tell you all right now, this guy sounds considerably better when his voice isn’t being used for this garbage. The guy is not only vocally talented, he is a good multi-instrumentalist and has a good portfolio (excluding RF). 

What a goddamn waste.

Edited August 21, 2020 by RFSurvivor_2

[throwaway9988]

Yes! I remember how good his voice was even as a teenager, great quality, perfect pitch, clean runs. Sounded like a R&B star, really really talented

[NarcissismKills]

On 8/18/2020 at 2:36 PM, AmazonGrace said:

Is there something wrong with her teeth nowadays? I saw some old photos of her in which Elizabeth had a pretty wide smile and nice white teeth showing, but most of the recent pictures have that same tight closed mouth expression.

Bulemia ruins one's teeth like meth does. 

On 8/18/2020 at 1:37 AM, ManyGoats said:

I don't even recognize her face! Make-up and clothes look like her but the face.......

And where is Erin? I haven't been keeping up with this family so am I missing something? Or is she another one I don't recognize?

Erin is possibly trying to find a job like the other leaders who are no longer on the Remnant Fellowship cult gravy train due to Joe Lara and his expensive tastes having arrived on the scene. 

Edited August 21, 2020 by NarcissismKills
Typo

[freefromthin]

33 minutes ago, NarcissismKills said:

Bulemia ruins one's teeth like meth does. 

Erin is possibly trying to find a job like the other leaders who are no longer on the Remnant Fellowship cult gravy train due to Joe Lara and his expensive tastes having arrived on the scene. 

I noticed that in either the Gwen Shamblin Lara engagement or wedding video when Elizabeth was smiling and dancing with her mom that her teeth did look different. She used to have  a beautiful, vibrant smile. Her hair was also much thinner. My heart always goes out to her.

[Xan]

Here's a screenshot from the engagement video from November 2018.  Elizabeth looks dreadful.  And, holy crap -- Gwen's hair.  There have to be Remnant members who privately laugh about her hair.

Spoiler

 

[ManyGoats]

10 minutes ago, Xan said:

Here's a screenshot from the engagement video from November 2018.  Elizabeth looks dreadful.  And, holy crap -- Gwen's hair.  There have to be Remnant members who privately laugh about her hair.

  Hide contents

 

Poor Elizabeth, she really does look awful.

Someone on this board commented long ago that they didn't think Elizabeth was the heir apparent to Gwen's throne but rather Elizabeth's daughter Grace. I'm finding that I agree with this idea. Grace appears next to Gwen in many, many photos and videos and the latest "Life With Gwen and Joe" features her prominently. (We'll see if they make a big deal out of the next granddaughter's 18th birthday.) Grace is cute and personable and I can totally see her taking over one day. She's never known life outside this cult so she's probably a perfect fit.

[AmazonGrace]

Our current stage at the devotionals is a Bible quote that makes God seem like the pettiest mean girl in all of divinity. Cain and Abel both bring him gifts that are the result of their hard farming work, but God is a spoiled child that hates veggies so he looks down at Cain's offerings. What was Cain supposed to have done? Stolen animals from Abel? It was not like he could have walked to the meat store and bought prime cut.

https://www.freejinger.org/topic/32495-gwen-shamblin-8-not-smart-enough-to-think/?do=findComment&comment=1793911

But Gwen likes this quote because she can twist it to mean that if you don't give Gwen your everything you have given nothing.

 

 

[Smalltowngirltn]

Something new in the "Wide World of Gwen"....BRIDAL PARTY REVEALS.  After the list is sent to Gwen and she adds or removes to the bridal party list there is a party where the bride and groom see who their actual bridal party is.  This is just the strangest thing EVER!!!  We all knew Gwen had absolute say in all things wedding but to do a big party revealing beats it all.

 

I also want to touch on something said earlier about dress codes.  An email is sent out each week with the colors for the week.  This is something that absolute must be obeyed and NEVER think of wearing bright colors or patterns as they do not look as good on her broadcast.  One color that was left off is beige which Gwen prefers for her spring events.  Not a cheap beige but a pretty linen beige, almost khaki, to show off the crispness of our lives in Remnant.  With each of her festivals she sends out detailed color instructions and I remember often be contacted as an out of towner to make sure I had the correct wardrobe.  Another item used in her control in that if you are in "God, or Gwen boundaries" there is an unlimited wardrobe to be shared amongst the Remnant members.

[formergothardite]

2 hours ago, Smalltowngirltn said:

This is something that absolute must be obeyed and NEVER think of wearing bright colors or patterns as they do not look as good on her broadcast.  

I have a burning desire to wear a neon pink, brightly patterned outfit with a large hat and go sit on the front row.*

*joking of course, but what do they do with guests who show up in unapproved colors? 

[RFsurvivor]

Just now, formergothardite said:

I have a burning desire to wear a neon pink, brightly patterned outfit with a large hat and go sit on the front row.*

*joking of course, but what do they do with guests who show up in unapproved colors? 

Front row is reserved for Gwen and family so good luck there ? (or atleast it was when I was a member)

[formergothardite]

2 minutes ago, RFsurvivor said:

Front row is reserved for Gwen and family so good luck there ? (or atleast it was when I was a member)

This reminds me of my small church days when people had "their" pews that they always sat in. If a visitor sat in "their" pew certain people would always get in a huff about having to sit somewhere else, but I don't remember them actually telling the people to move. Is Gwen rude enough that she would demand a visitor to go sit somewhere else? That they can't sit with her family? I can easily see her being that rude, but it would also ruin the love bombing thing that is necessary for drawing in new cult members. 

[RFsurvivor]

Just now, formergothardite said:

This reminds me of my small church days when people had "their" pews that they always sat in. If a visitor sat in "their" pew certain people would always get in a huff about having to sit somewhere else, but I don't remember them actually telling the people to move. Is Gwen rude enough that she would demand a visitor to go sit somewhere else? That they can't sit with her family? I can easily see her being that rude, but it would also ruin the love bombing thing that is necessary for drawing in new cult members. 

Not sure if they still do it, but there were ushers who would sit people and if you wanted to have a certain seat you had to get there pretty early. I also think there were little reserved signs but I can’t remember if that was only at festivals or every service. 

[Marmion]

If Remnant Fellowship is anything like their Pentecostal general equivalent , they will have reserved seating , at conferences , and what not , at the very least .   For an example of what I mean , if you can stand the mass hysteria portrayed , here is a video .  

Spoiler

 

 

[AmazonGrace]

God wants you to commit genocide, a full and complete genocide,  and if you let a single infant live you're a sinner. 

 https://www.freejinger.org/topic/32495-gwen-shamblin-8-not-smart-enough-to-think/?do=findComment&comment=1794433

 

[SunnySide]

On 8/20/2020 at 12:23 PM, freefromthin said:

I don't know whether this has ever been shared on one of the threads, but you can see what some of the church events are like here. I would love for a former member to chime in on how it felt to be pressured to be camera ready at events and to have to pretty much be the epitome of fashion. It also seems like Gwen prefers that everyone around her be happy, so that has to be exhausting as well. I also noticed that the showed the "untied leadership" making the announcement of Gwen and Joe's engagement.

Knowing only a little about Gwen (she likes to be thin, she has a mega church). I watched the video and my thoughts are this: wow, everyone in that video looks so nice and put together and happy. But are these people okay? I mean how brainwashed, mentally,  emotionally, and financially manipulated are they? Will these people in the video ever really be okay if what they believe in crumbles, or they part ways with the church they’re in? Gwen is like someone who never mentally or emotionally matured past playing dress up with mommy’s nice clothes and makeup and expects all of her followers to look exactly as she expects them to. Which has got to be exhausting. Does anyone on here know how families of normal income keep up with her demands for certain color schemes for service and special events? Seems like a lot of clothes to have to pick from. 

20 hours ago, Smalltowngirltn said:

Something new in the "Wide World of Gwen"....BRIDAL PARTY REVEALS.  After the list is sent to Gwen and she adds or removes to the bridal party list there is a party where the bride and groom see who their actual bridal party is.  This is just the strangest thing EVER!!!  We all knew Gwen had absolute say in all things wedding but to do a big party revealing beats it all.

 

I also want to touch on something said earlier about dress codes.  An email is sent out each week with the colors for the week.  This is something that absolute must be obeyed and NEVER think of wearing bright colors or patterns as they do not look as good on her broadcast.  One color that was left off is beige which Gwen prefers for her spring events.  Not a cheap beige but a pretty linen beige, almost khaki, to show off the crispness of our lives in Remnant.  With each of her festivals she sends out detailed color instructions and I remember often be contacted as an out of towner to make sure I had the correct wardrobe.  Another item used in her control in that if you are in "God, or Gwen boundaries" there is an unlimited wardrobe to be shared amongst the Remnant members.

Ok so the bridal party reveals. Does this mean that if you have say 40-50 people at a party and the bridal party list is announced that you have friends and family who didn’t make the cut hanging around afterwards trying to be happy for everyone else when perhaps there’s a close friend/family member who’s upset they didn’t get asked? With Gwen having all the final say there’s no way she could possibly know that the bride is closer to this cousin than that sister and so on. So you just end up with a confused bride or groom and lots of hurt feelings? Does Gwen only pick good looking people so that the photos look the best they can?

[AmazonGrace]

I have no actual experience but I would guess that Gwen doesn't give two shits about anyone's hurt feelings, and it's not about emotional intimacy as much as it's about looking good for the photos and a way to reward and manipulate good cultists. 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

How did we find out about the Bridal Party reveals? Inquiring minds want to know. Is it posted somewhere on the RF.org site or on an RF member's FB?

I'm sort of surprised that the news got out as it shows that Gwod really does control every tiny aspect of RF-ers lives.  Although maybe they rationalize this as being "under authority."

Seriously if Gwod gets to choose the bridal paryy and the wedding colors why not go all out and admit she arranges marriages. Not merely suggest A and B should get to know each other.

Oh no, nothing that subtle.  Just full on 'I've decided you A will marry you B. Your wedding date is XX,. Now go change so we can photo/film the fake proposal. We've already written your fake meeting/dating/ getting engaged story'.

I might be a touch cyncical, but I can believe this has/is happening (Hannah Langsdon Collins anyone).

[ManyGoats]

I'm curious to see who she'll match with Grace. She's 18 now so how far is she from Remnant marrying age? Ideas, anyone?

[Smalltowngirltn]

4 hours ago, ManyGoats said:

I'm curious to see who she'll match with Grace. She's 18 now so how far is she from Remnant marrying age? Ideas, anyone?

If my memory is correct Gracie is only about fourteen years old.  I know the Rickman, Walters, Stites and Dunns all have sons that are around Gracie's age and would be Gwen approved.  However there as often been talk that Elle would be a "interim leader" as she is charismatic and very well liked with Remnant members.  In fact its always amazed me how Brandon and Elle seemed to buy more into Gwen's "religion" then her own kids do.  One thing is for sure Micheal will never do any preaching.  Is talking voice is so squeaky and funny that no one could stand to listen.

 

[SunnySide]

So the video about having Godly parties. I ended up hitting mute at one point. My opinion is this. There is nothing wrong with being faithful and having a relationship with the deity or savior of your choosing. There is nothing wrong with praying or saying grace before meals at a party. But the pressure for everything to be so God centered has got to weigh heavily on everyone (especially the young people in this group). I can’t imagine having been a teenager and hoping my parties lived up to the standards of my grandma/stepmom/church leader. It seems so stressful to always be “on” for the sake of the ministry. I was raised Catholic and still am. I had parties growing up where even as teens nothing truly bad happened, maybe an adult heard one or two kids cuss but that’s about it. 

[ManyGoats]

55 minutes ago, Smalltowngirltn said:

If my memory is correct Gracie is only about fourteen years old. 

Well, I feel pretty silly. In the video about having Godly parties, I thought Gwen said it was Grace's 18th birthday. But when I went back to listen again, she does not say that. 

What reinforced my erroneous assumption was seeing a couple of photos of her as a bridesmaid in the Snapp & Kirkmeyer wedding. I'm not used to 14-year-old bridesmaids. (Unless I made that up, too! Ha ha!)

Is this not her?

[Blue]

54 minutes ago, SunnySide said:

So the video about having Godly parties. I ended up hitting mute at one point. My opinion is this. There is nothing wrong with being faithful and having a relationship with the deity or savior of your choosing. There is nothing wrong with praying or saying grace before meals at a party. But the pressure for everything to be so God centered has got to weigh heavily on everyone (especially the young people in this group). I can’t imagine having been a teenager and hoping my parties lived up to the standards of my grandma/stepmom/church leader. It seems so stressful to always be “on” for the sake of the ministry. I was raised Catholic and still am. I had parties growing up where even as teens nothing truly bad happened, maybe an adult heard one or two kids cuss but that’s about it. 

I feel like the pressure is so on when we around our RF family. We love God and give Him the credit due, but they find ways to turn every teeny tiny thing into something religious and it's exhausting sometimes. We do know people who are more "normal" and don't have to refer to every tiny thing as a "sweet blessing" and don't have to thank Gwen every other second for her guidance, but it feels like they even turn it on once they're at an event. It feels like it's one big show to please Gwen.

[smittykins]

On 8/23/2020 at 9:32 AM, AmazonGrace said:

Cain and Abel both bring him gifts that are the result of their hard farming work, but God is a spoiled child that hates veggies so he looks down at Cain's offerings. What was Cain supposed to have done? Stolen animals from Abel? It was not like he could have walked to the meat store and bought prime cut.

I’ve actually always wondered that.  Cain was a farmer, what was he supposed to do?  I can’t remember which one, but when I posed this question to one of my pastors, he claimed that “it was his attitude.”

Edited August 24, 2020 by smittykins
Forgot a word

[RFsurvivor]

13 hours ago, SunnySide said:

Knowing only a little about Gwen (she likes to be thin, she has a mega church). I watched the video and my thoughts are this: wow, everyone in that video looks so nice and put together and happy. But are these people okay? I mean how brainwashed, mentally,  emotionally, and financially manipulated are they? Will these people in the video ever really be okay if what they believe in crumbles, or they part ways with the church they’re in? Gwen is like someone who never mentally or emotionally matured past playing dress up with mommy’s nice clothes and makeup and expects all of her followers to look exactly as she expects them to. Which has got to be exhausting. Does anyone on here know how families of normal income keep up with her demands for certain color schemes for service and special events? Seems like a lot of clothes to have to pick from. 

Ok so the bridal party reveals. Does this mean that if you have say 40-50 people at a party and the bridal party list is announced that you have friends and family who didn’t make the cut hanging around afterwards trying to be happy for everyone else when perhaps there’s a close friend/family member who’s upset they didn’t get asked? With Gwen having all the final say there’s no way she could possibly know that the bride is closer to this cousin than that sister and so on. So you just end up with a confused bride or groom and lots of hurt feelings? Does Gwen only pick good looking people so that the photos look the best they can?

In response to how brainwashed and manipulated the members are....so incredibly much. As a former member, I have been undoing the indoctrination for years.

As for the bridal party reveal, I am not 100% sure what exactly @Smalltowngirltn is referring to (maybe some new BS since I left) but I can speak to my experience. 
 

Gwen had the ultimate approval on bridal party members. People would be vetoed by Gwen for various reasons including they were not at their ideal weight (ie not a stick) and they were not strong members and shouldn’t be on stage to represent Remnant. In addition all bridal party members had to be remnant members.

I personally was not allowed to be a Bridesmaid in my former best friends wedding because I “needed to work on my relationship with God” and my sin was evident since I had gained weight (I wore a size 8 dress to that wedding....so pretty normally sized ?). While I wasn’t a bridesmaid and on stage, I ended up helping the bride significantly more than the bridesmaids throughout the day and did what most people’s bridesmaids do...Even though the experience was emotionally and mentally difficult, I am so grateful that I went through that painful experience because it helped open my eyes to the hypocrisy and double standards that is Remnant Fellowship.

[Xan]

48 minutes ago, smittykins said:

I’ve actually always wondered that.  Cain was a farmer, what was he supposed to do?  I can’t remember which one, but when I posed this question to one of my pastors, he claimed that “it was his attitude.”

This is why I dislike the Old Testament.  Not only is it full of irritating "begats" but also the God of the Old Testament is sort of capricious and narcissistic.  Sacrifice animals to me!  Prove that you love me -- go kill your son!  Everyone in that town needs to die -- even babies!  Kill all the firstborn sons!  No -- kill everyone and everything on the planet except one family and a bunch of pairs of animals!  

This isn't a deity that I can worship.  New Testament Jesus is so much easier to follow.  Old Testament God is a pain.  (I'm waiting for lightning to strike but I don't think it's coming any time soon...)