Gwen Shamblin Lara 14: What Happens When Tammy Faye & A Zombie Have a Love Child?

[Tatar-tot]

Looking at Elizabeth I cannot imagine what goes through her head on a daily basis.  The internal messages and mind games she must have in her thought process are probably pretty scary.  
 

Starting with changing her name from Michele to Elizabeth to constantly being harassed about what she eats Gwen has done a real number on her.  
 

My guess her body has got to be pretty beat up at this point.  She must weigh around 85 pounds.  The constant poor eating habits and  the stress of an eating disorder Elizabeth probably needs long term residential treatment just to get her health stable.  
 

I would not be surprised if she has “fainted” quite a few times from lack of food.  I am surprised she has not had a heart attack. 
 

Here are a litany of symptoms anorexia can cause.  My guess is Elizabeth is impacted by many of these issues including the loss of her period:

Psychological Effects:  Adolescents and teens with anorexia have a high risk for other mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Patients who suffer from anorexia are also at risk for suicidal behavior or attempts. According to Time magazine, studies show that the risk of death by suicide among by anorexic women is 57 times the expected rate of other women. Alcohol and drug abuse may be common among clients with anorexia nervosa as well.

The Heart:  Typically, heart disease is the major cause of death in people with severe anorexia nervosa. One of the most common negative effects of anorexia is Bradycardia. Bradycardia is an abnormal slowness of the heart rhythms, below 60 beats per minute. A normal resting rate can range anywhere from 60 to 100 beats per minute. When the flow of blood is reduced and blood pressure drops to a dangerous rate, the heart becomes weaker and shrinks to a smaller size.

One of the primary dangers to the heart stems from a lack of balance of necessary minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. These minerals normally dissolve in body fluids. But with the dehydration and starvation that happens during this eating disorder, the reduction of fluids and mineral levels creates a condition called Electrolyte Imbalance. Some electrolytes, like calcium and potassium, are essential for producing the electrical currents the body needs to maintain a normal heartbeat. That’s why an imbalance of electrolytes can be so dangerous. This can result in a life endangering condition if these fluids and minerals aren’t replaced.   Heart complications are a greater risk when anorexia is compounded by behaviors associated with bulimia and the use of ipecac, a drug that induces vomiting.

The Bones:  One of the top long term health risks of anorexia has to do with our bones. Nearly 90 percent of women with anorexia experience a condition known as Osteopenia, which translates to a loss of bone calcium. Up to 40 percent of the people that suffer from anorexia may also face Osteoporosis, which means an advanced loss of bone density. More than two-thirds of children and adolescent girls with anorexia do not develop strong bones during their critical growing period. Boys with anorexia also frequently suffer from stunted growth. The less a patient weighs, the more severe the bone loss will be.

“There’s a narrow window of time to accrue bone mass to last a lifetime,” says Diane Mickley, MD, co-president of the National Eating Disorders Association. “You’re supposed to be pouring in bone, and you’re losing it instead.” This bone loss may begin as early as six months after anorexic behavior begins. This is one of the most irreversible complications of the disease.

Women and Girls:  Women with anorexia who also binge-purge experience an even higher risk for bone loss. For women, this bone loss is primarily due to a drop in estrogen levels that occurs with anorexia. Other biological factors may contribute to bone loss. These may include high levels of stress hormones. This limits bone growth. Other contributing factors are low calcium levels and DHEA hormones, or dehydroepiandrosterone. Unfortunately, weight restoration does not completely restore bone development. For females, a rapid return to regular menstruation cycles is the key to preventing permanent bone loss. The longer that anorexia persists the more likely the bone loss will be permanent

Edited January 13, 2021 by Tatar-tot

[quiversR4hunting]

I don't understand the name changes of Michelle/Elizabeth and Elle/Erin. I know we have talked about it before but it still baffles me. 

I surprised Gwen & Elizabeth and others aren't fainting frequently. I am sure they are dizzy most days. 

Bradycardia is interesting. I am a runner and yogi. Per my Garmin my average resting heart rate is 56. I don't have an eating disorder and my cholesterol numbers are normal. My bp is on the low end but it has always been that way, I am petite and athletic.  Can someone explain this further? 

 

[Smalltowngirltn]

On 1/12/2021 at 7:51 AM, defraudingjezebel said:

Probably not- especially since Gwen has hidden her son Michael from public for years now, presumably because he does not fit her church's "image". Kind of a less dangerous Shelly Miscavige situation, except he's being hidden away for gaining weight (presumably).  

I can attest that Micheal is only brought in to sit behind a piano and perform.  There is usually a disruption of some sort so that you don't see Micheal slide in behind the piano and then POOF there he is.  He will sing a couple of songs and leave.  Neither time does anyone get much more than a glimpse of him.  I have not been in the church in several years but the last few times it was just Erin/Elle and the children for all to see.

Someone brought up Erin/Elle wanting to leave Micheal and questioned why.  This is fact as I was very close when one of the leadership couples that were bought off and forced out over it.  Micheal was having an affair with a member of the church and also addicted to porn.  Erin/Elle was ready to leave until Gwen assured her she would never see her children again.  I am assuming things must be better or Erin/Elle doesn't care anymore because there have been two new children born since this happened.

[Smalltowngirltn]

13 hours ago, Blue said:

Drama? Don't they have a daughter who left the church on bad terms but is back living with them now (not sure if she's back at rf though)? I could see upper leadership not wanting any stains on the reputations of those in high positions.

Cliff and Lisa Peters do have a daughter that left church and returned to California where they are from.  I am not sure she even returns much to visit the family though I have seen pictures of them visiting her in California when visiting family out there.  There is also been many questions about the Peters' son has Remnant seems to be what he "has to do" instead of being a true part of the church.

The family that you are thinking of that has had the daughter move back (though not in the church) is Tom and D'Linda Law.  Actually out of four children the Law's have had four leave the church.  I wonder what those gatherings are like on holidays though I noticed that they were missing either a son or son-in-law at their recent Christmas celebration.  D'Linda is the most sold out souls for Gwen Shamblin that I ever knew.

I have also wondered if some of the reason the Anger's didn't leave leadership was because of their daughter.  She is now well over 200 lbs.  They do a good job of keeping her hid in pictures but one slipped up on grandmother's facebook page recently.

My final comments concern the Gormsen family.  The death of their son is such a hush, hush thing that I was in the church when he died and didn't even know it.  I often wonder about the wife and mother as she has to be hurting and not able to publicly display it.  I noticed that one of the daughter's named her son after the deceased brother.

[Xan]

14 minutes ago, quiversR4hunting said:

I don't understand the name changes of Michelle/Elizabeth and Elle/Erin. I know we have talked about it before but it still baffles me. 

I surprised Gwen & Elizabeth and others aren't fainting frequently. I am sure they are dizzy most days. 

Bradycardia is interesting. I am a runner and yogi. Per my Garmin my average resting heart rate is 56. I don't have an eating disorder and my cholesterol numbers are normal. My bp is on the low end but it has always been that way, I am petite and athletic.  Can someone explain this further? 

 

The way I understand it, a low heart rate can be perfectly normal if, like you, the person is athletic and in generally good health.  It just means that your heart is beating very effectively at the lower rate.  True bradycardia that requires treatment is usually when the rate drops due to illness, disease, or various disorders.  If your pulse rate is always slightly below 60, you're probably fine.  If it's usually 80 and drops to 50, something is wrong and you'd need to see a doctor.

Bradycardia in anorexics is due to loss of muscle mass - even in the heart - and the body is desperately trying to conserve energy.  Poor Elizabeth.  Her body is literally eating itself.

[Smalltowngirltn]

19 minutes ago, quiversR4hunting said:

I don't understand the name changes of Michelle/Elizabeth and Elle/Erin. I know we have talked about it before but it still baffles me. 

 

 

I have never understood the Michelle to Elizabeth but Erin was changed to Elle due to Gwen having the assistant Erin and not wanting people to get them confused.  Gwen was the one that started calling her Elle and most in the church only know her by that now.

[quiversR4hunting]

1 hour ago, Smalltowngirltn said:

I have never understood the Michelle to Elizabeth but Erin was changed to Elle due to Gwen having the assistant Erin and not wanting people to get them confused.  Gwen was the one that started calling her Elle and most in the church only know her by that now.

Well that is a stupid reason. I once had 4 Karens, 2 Barbs, 2 Joleenes, 2 Michelles, 2 Judys and 3 Lisas, in my office. You know how we tell them apart? They all look different. And if we are in a meeting without them and talking about one we add their last names. Good grief Gwen is controlling in all aspects. 

Thank you for the explanation, my paragraph is all pointed to gwen and her egotistical, stupidity. 

Edited January 13, 2021 by quiversR4hunting

[Marmion]

3 hours ago, Smalltowngirltn said:

I have never understood the Michelle to Elizabeth but Erin was changed to Elle due to Gwen having the assistant Erin and not wanting people to get them confused.  Gwen was the one that started calling her Elle and most in the church only know her by that now.

 

2 hours ago, quiversR4hunting said:

Well that is a stupid reason. I once had 4 Karens, 2 Barbs, 2 Joleenes, 2 Michelles, 2 Judys and 3 Lisas, in my office. You know how we tell them apart? They all look different. And if we are in a meeting without them and talking about one we add their last names. Good grief Gwen is controlling in all aspects. 

Thank you for the explanation, my paragraph is all pointed to gwen and her egotistical, stupidity. 

A possible reason , whether acknowledged by RF or not , is to change the member's sense of personal identity , by changing the name .  It falls under thought control , on the BITE model of cults and high control groups .  https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/a-victim-centered-approach-to-sex-trafficking-cases  I am not sure if in regard to the second explanation , given in regards to Erin's name change , my experience is at all relevant , it might not mean anything , but when I was in this one Nazarene church , and the youth group was divided into smaller " cell groups " , there was this stated rule that no two people were allowed to have the same given name .  So if you found yourself with the same first name as someone else in the same group , you either had to find a different group to join , or choose a different name .  My sister had the same first name as a previously existing girl , so she just went by her middle name .  As far as I am aware , this was the only instance of mandatory name changes taking place in the church .  

[Laura2730]

I found these other photos of Elizabeth, she's looks so much healthier in them than she does now:

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

In that 1st photo, Gwen also looks so much better. Less skeletal, no zombie pale makeup, a genuine smile, and no crazy haystack hair.  

I know the photo is a few years old, but what the heck happened to Gwen to make her look the way she does now?  It's so much more than just normal aging

[Scrappinmac]

Michelle/Elizabeth looks so pretty in those pictures! 

[throwaway9988]

Years ago I heard Michelle started going by Elizabeth of her own volition just purely because she had never really liked having the female version of her own brother’s name, which seems like a pretty normal reason to me. The reason for Erin—>Elle is such a hilariously stupid reason...but also a sobering reminder of just how much control Gwen has over people. 

It’s always nice for me to learn about all these second-generation inner-circle teens/adults escaping from Remnant. I guess maybe they were hurting as much as I was but just hid it better. I wish we could have been honest about things at that time and had better friendships because of it, but Im happy for them that at least they have escaped now. 

Edited January 14, 2021 by throwaway9988

[adidas]

12 hours ago, quiversR4hunting said:

Bradycardia is interesting. I am a runner and yogi. Per my Garmin my average resting heart rate is 56. I don't have an eating disorder and my cholesterol numbers are normal. My bp is on the low end but it has always been that way, I am petite and athletic.  Can someone explain this further? 

It’s not a concern for you. Physically active adults often have a heart rate below 60bpm.

https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/about-arrhythmia/bradycardia--slow-heart-rate

It’s nothing to worry about for people who are fit, which sounds likely for you. In fact, it’s normal and common for people who train hard and often. My BP is low and my resting heart rate is usually around 50-52 but because I have a high level of fitness it’s fine. People who do meditative breathing often have a lower heart rate as well (and athletes can have resting heart rates in the 30-40bpm range). As long as there are no other symptoms (tired, weak, dizzy etc) it’s all good. It means your heart is healthy and efficient, and doesn’t need to work as hard to pump your blood.

BUT it’s only okay if you are a fit person who exercises regularly. For someone with an eating disorder it can be dangerous. 

More info:

https://www.healthline.com/health/athlete-heart-rate

[LifelongRFSurvivor]

Im watching the service tonight for the first time in many years.. I’m finding some reassurance that Gwens health seems to be failing. She’s stuttering SO much more than she used to and she seems to zone out and get confused frequently. She forgot her glasses today had had someone bring them to her because she couldn’t remember which scripture she would be beginning with.

Watching this service as an adult is making me understand why it was so hard for me to understand as a child. Gwen speaks pure nonsense with no context. I’m sure once members are conditioned, they can zone out and only absorb the buzz words. To someone with little education I’m sure Gwen sounds eloquent but I would honestly have more fun watching CSPAN. 

As for the content of her sermon, the beginning of it was explaining/justifying her stance on the 1984 NIV Bible, the middle was a straight scripture reading and it veered into name dropping leaders and praising their success.

She got way off track and she’s been kind of mumbling about being a “New creation” ah getting children involved as ambassadors for christ. 
shes been quoting 2 Corinthians 5 over and over.
Sometimes I’m convinced that’s the only part of the Bible she knows. 
 

I may post again after the service, but I also may duck out because I hate to watch an elderly anorexic woman beat an even more anorexic and dead horse..

(Also the music got worse somehow. That’s what happens when you send Michael away and leave John Radebaugh)

 

Adding this: David Martins stated that he would rather be at a church service than the superbowl and told Gwen that she had “outdone” herself today. If this incoherent nonsense is outdoing herself, I’m glad I missed the last few years...

 

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by LifelongRFSurvivor
Spoiler for multiple photos. Addition to post

[Blue]

Quote

Watching this service as an adult is making me understand why it was so hard for me to understand as a child. Gwen speaks pure nonsense with no context. I’m sure once members are conditioned, they can zone out and only absorb the buzz words. To someone with little education I’m sure Gwen sounds eloquent but I would honestly have more fun watching CSPAN. 

I feel like especially those with  background in religion also just fill in the blanks themselves. Did you find that to be the case when you were there?

We'd bring up something inaccurate to family members, and they would spend 20 minutes explaining how Gwen was right because.... and just fill in so many things Gwen never said. They said it was us just not understanding her. I say it was them twisting her theology so make it palatable. I mean, come on, a prophet should be very clear and easy to understand for everyone, right? Or they would say that you just had to go to RF to understand because she filled in all those blanks in other sermons, but it seems like she hardly ever preaches! Between their "shows," weddings, and how often they just play recordings.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Blue

[Coleman1993]

So when I was in middle school I met the Day family. I guess they moved to Texas briefly because they had some family members who lived near me. This was around 2008-09. My neighbors were good friends with the Days family members and they met the Days from their church and became good friends them, their kids too were homeschooled. I remember the Day family because they had a bunch of kids and they were all home schooled I still follow the older girl on Facebook because she is my age. I remember them moving to TN and didn’t follow them really after that. Recently Tiffani, the mom, popped up on my Facebook and I fell down this freaking rabbit hole about their lives since meeting them, then Gwen and Remnant. It was an easy transition I believe because they already home schooled their kids and were always very involved in their church. This was just a step up. I know they’re loaded because they lived in this massive house in my neighborhood. I believe the dad was successful in the financial world. They were always going on large family trips all over the world. It’s sad to me that I can see them sucked into this world. I immediately started seeing Tiffani dressing her kids in these really random outfits and posting that her 18 year olds were already married and having their own kids! I thought oh well maybe that’s just their thing but It’s really all shocking to me that I’ve found this out recently and I’ve been googling stuff about this “church”for DAYS. I’ve read a lot of testimonies of ex members and Its absolutely wild. Something fishy going on here, I truly believe this is a full on abusive cult especially to the children being raised here.  I can’t imagine being involved in something like this as a kid and growing up into it. Scary shit. Gwen seems like a narcissistic, manipulative, psychopath to say the least. 
Can someone give me more Insight on their family from a new perspective I only knew them before they moved to TN. 

Edited January 17, 2021 by Coleman1993

[Tatar-tot]

You know, that navy dress is the most normal thing I have ever seen Gwen in. 

[RFsurvivor]

2 hours ago, Tatar-tot said:

You know, that navy dress is the most normal thing I have ever seen Gwen in. 

I agree! Granted we can’t see her feet so who knows what type of shoes she’s wearing ?

Edited January 20, 2021 by RFsurvivor
Spelling is hard

[ElleHouston]

16 hours ago, RFsurvivor said:

I agree! Granted we can’t see her feet so who knows what type of shoes she’s wearing ?

She’s probably wearing those space gladiators 11s. Those platform shoes strippers wear ? 

[SpecialAgentCookieCrisp]

I think it looks like one of those Native American/Indian vests you would make in kindergarten out of a brown paper bag. The way it hangs anyways. But for sure better than some of the others. She seems to go back and forth between party girl attire and matronly. 

[AmazonGrace]

Gwen has nothing to say about the inauguration.

[throwaway9988]

2 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

Gwen has nothing to say about the inauguration.

Other leaders do drop hints in more private settings about how people should vote. In my experience Gwen usually stuck to vague fear-mongering about how God will curse our country with regard to various political issues unless everyone joins the Remnant and starts obeying God, and then when inevitably something happens at some point she can claim she was prescient ?

[ChadelBaj]

She made a telling comment in her loooooong “sermon” on Saturday. She said something like, “ well, they are taxing me too much.” I was like, oh shit Gwen! Tell us how you REALLY feel. ? 

I was going to a screen grab but I forgot and now the video is gone. 
 

I did grab screen shots of Elizabeth and Erin? Elizabeth was singing her heart out next to her mom, but Erin looks tight-lipped and very unhappy. She would only start singing when the camera head on was back on them. I felt really bad for her. 

i have been following this thread for a long time, often just as a lurker, but I’ll be honest with you all, this has become more than just a snarking thread to me. The most recent people to post about being ex-members (talking about the youth growing up in the church) have brought out the seriousness of this cult. It makes me so sad and fearful for my family. I’ve known the reality of this for a long time, but COVID and politics and all this other world shit has reallY brought their dissolution to light- it’s not just something I can ignore any more with pleasantries and talking about the weather. I am honestly having a really hard time with it. 
That is about as personal as I can be without giving away my identity. But I appreciate all of you and always look forward to reading your comments. 
 

Here are some pics 

[WeirdHarold]

9 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

Gwen has nothing to say about the inauguration.

I wonder how many Q followers are also in Remnant.

[throwaway9988]

Anyone else think of Gwen when they heard the rumors about Biden removing Trump’s “Diet Coke Button” from the Resolute Desk?