Random thoughts...

RavenWolf wrote:

d@v!d wrote:So I come home from work the other day and my wife's friend from Nigeria is visiting and my wife asks me to help her friend to print a form she downloaded on our computer. It's a form to set up a money transfer to a Nigerian bank. Oh the irony I thought. So I ask her if didn't get an email from some prince over there needing help getting his estate money out of the country...

LOL what did she say?

Of course she wasn't falling for a scam. She knows better. It was just the irony of seeing a Nigerian living in the US setting up to transfer money to Nigeria when so many in the US have been scammed into sending money there.

Guest wrote:sometimes i just want the world to stop so i can get off

I'm sorry things are tough. I hope you find peace.

Guest wrote:sometimes i just want the world to stop so i can get off

Aaron, you will be sorely missed here. I am here because of you. I will miss you and I know that many others will as well. I wish you would reconsider.

I will miss Aaron and I just met him. I was super active here from 2012 through early 2015 but not so much lately and we never got to interact much.

He Already Left, left

KaramKaram wrote:He Already Left, left

That's a funny pun that would be funny if it were only just funny.

Got some sort of under construction page. double post.

RavenWolf wrote:

Guest wrote:sometimes i just want the world to stop so i can get off

Aaron, you will be sorely missed here. I am here because of you. I will miss you and I know that many others will as well. I wish you would reconsider.

Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but you may need to take into consideration the issues he's facing with his daughter. I'm sure if I were going through that I would be very sensitive to any little issue here. I pray that she recovers and maybe when things calm down for him, he'll make his way back.

Yeah, truth be told, Aaron is going through a LOT right now!

I don't want to reveal too much - for the sake of his privacy, but he has been in my prayers a lot.

His daughter is maybe needing surgery and that's really soon.

Also - he has a lot more than just that going on. I feel for him - and I think he will be back. I'm hoping so. He emailed me today and told me what was going on. He really could use all the prayer he can get at this point. Thanks everyone who prays for him!

d@v!d wrote:
Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but you may need to take into consideration the issues he's facing with his daughter.

I disagree. He deleted his account immediately after he made his last post in the now locked 2 cents thread.
I know because we were both online and then Aaron C turned into guest.

It's apparent he's tired of the incessant attacking here.

RavenWolf wrote:Yeah, truth be told, Aaron is going through a LOT right now!

I don't want to reveal too much - for the sake of his privacy, but he has been in my prayers a lot.

His daughter is maybe needing surgery and that's really soon.

Also - he has a lot more than just that going on. I feel for him - and I think he will be back. I'm hoping so. He emailed me today and told me what was going on. He really could use all the prayer he can get at this point. Thanks everyone who prays for him!

Thanks. I thought as much. We shouldn't forget him just because he is absent.

On the lighter side...

Guest wrote:sometimes i just want the world to stop so i can get off

You know where I stand. Hope to see you back soon. May you and you family be overtaken by God's love and blessings in every area of your life.

My church had service in my backyard tonight.  Also, there was a wedding proposal there!  It was awesome!

d@v!d wrote:On the lighter side...

Thanks a lot man, it always takes at least a week to get that song out of my head.  Some friend you are. 

RavenWolf wrote:Yeah, truth be told, Aaron is going through a LOT right now!

I don't want to reveal too much - for the sake of his privacy, but he has been in my prayers a lot.

His daughter is maybe needing surgery and that's really soon.

Also - he has a lot more than just that going on. I feel for him - and I think he will be back. I'm hoping so. He emailed me today and told me what was going on. He really could use all the prayer he can get at this point. Thanks everyone who prays for him!

Yeah, I just read his prayer request yesterday afternoon.  My heart breaks for him; when my oldest was 10 days old we had to take him to a pediatric cardiologist--the most terrifying day of my life.  Please let Aaron know he is in my prayers and that we hope to hear his praise report on the other side of this.

KaramKaram wrote:He Already Left, left

That's not entirely surprising.  He's been saying for a while that he's just not into the music as much as he used to be.  I wouldn't read anything into it other than that.

ThomasEversole wrote:

d@v!d wrote:
Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but you may need to take into consideration the issues he's facing with his daughter.

I disagree. He deleted his account immediately after he made his last post in the now locked 2 cents thread.
I know because we were both online and then Aaron C turned into guest.

It's apparent he's tired of the incessant attacking here.

It's a combination of both things. But when your daughter is up for surgery ... that has to weigh heavy on your heart. The combination of that and the fighting here ... was just too much for him to handle. He is going through a very tough trial right now and he needs to find all the peace of mind he can. If coming here is too much for him - I totally understand that. He wanted to be built up, not torn down.


Aaron is a great person with a huge heart! I still consider him part of this community ... but he is just taking a break. I'm sure he will be back. Probably after the stress in his life comes to a calm.


He's been one of my best friends for over 10 years now. We met online and have never met in person. But through the years, we've stayed in contact. Goes to show that true friends CAN be made through these forums.

messiaen77 wrote:

RavenWolf wrote:Yeah, truth be told, Aaron is going through a LOT right now!

I don't want to reveal too much - for the sake of his privacy, but he has been in my prayers a lot.

His daughter is maybe needing surgery and that's really soon.

Also - he has a lot more than just that going on. I feel for him - and I think he will be back. I'm hoping so. He emailed me today and told me what was going on. He really could use all the prayer he can get at this point. Thanks everyone who prays for him!

Yeah, I just read his prayer request yesterday afternoon.  My heart breaks for him; when my oldest was 10 days old we had to take him to a pediatric cardiologist--the most terrifying day of my life.  Please let Aaron know he is in my prayers and that we hope to hear his praise report on the other side of this.

Will do messiaen! Thanks for your prayers and support! I just sent him an email and told him how many people here are praying for him and who care about him!



I know there are those here with cold hearts who really could care less for the people who come here. But those folks are outnumbered by the ones who DO care! I told him that too!

LemonMouse it's gone too

RavenWolf wrote:Will do messiaen! Thanks for your prayers and support! I just sent him an email and told him how many people here are praying for him and who care about him!

I know there are those here with cold hearts who really could care less for the people who come here. But those folks are outnumbered by the ones who DO care! I told him that too!

Yes, please keep us posted.

As for those with cold hearts... I'm not sure I agree.  Maybe one or two, but by and large, I've got to know most of the regular folks here pretty well over the years and from my perspective, the ones I think you may perceive as having cold hearts are actually the ones who care most - but they care more about proclaiming God's Truth than being polite and PC, which in the end is what truly matters.

KaramKaram wrote:LemonMouse it's gone too

ah, that guy had the sweetest moniker.

Kerrick wrote:
As for those with cold hearts... I'm not sure I agree.  Maybe one or two, but by and large, I've got to know most of the regular folks here pretty well over the years and from my perspective, the ones I think you may perceive as having cold hearts are actually the ones who care most - but they care more about proclaiming God's Truth than being polite and PC, which in the end is what truly matters.

I don't think anyone here has an intentionally cold heart or have the intention to be destructive - but that doesn't stop someone interpreting it that way, and being cold to them.

I do think its a byproduct of something else.
Here's a few theories.

1) They've got something else going on in their life and this place gets the blowback from that... or the cultural difference in that some families/friends/circles have more abrasive interactions with each other.
2) They "follow" those around who are wrong and preach to them because that's what people in their life do to them or have learned some other way to bully others with their beliefs.

My personal opinion, and I've seen a fair amount of this the years I worked as a counselor, is this
3) there's a certain amount of something resembling narcissism/solipsism or maybe even multiple personalities with some members here. Some of my clients I had back in the day, face to face interactions are always cordial and polite, but an e-mail, a mailed letter or sometimes a phone call will be outright CRAAAAAAAAAZY - like different methods of communication created a different person.

That's where those like myself come in.

See, I am the polar opposite of solipsistic. My interactions online, via phone, face to face have the same weight. The "its just an online forum, its not a big deal" stance is obviously part of the problem and I couldn't disagree more.

Its still a REAL PERSON having a REAL CONVERSATION. The only real difference is distance and communication medium.

My fault here (and I'll be the first to admit it) is two fold - see, I'm used to naturally commanding respect because of my appearance and that's 100% ego. That didn't really show up until later in life when I got to where I warm up with a set of 10 rep of 315lbs on the flat bench. I mean, who tries to piss off someone 3 times stronger than they are in real life?

No one.
...and I'm used to that.

The other part of it is if there's no clarification, extending an olive branch or at least saying they didn't mean it that way but instead say "this is just how I am, deal with it"... I'm not above waiting YEARS for an opportunity to use their defects against them in a completely honest manner...

KaramKaram wrote:He Already Left, left

I talked to him on Facebook and he wanted to let folks know that it was primarily because his tastes in music have changed and most threads just no longer interested him.  Also for whiners haha.  He wanted me to pass on the fact that he deleted his account to avoid the possibility of someone figuring out his password and masquerading as him at a place he doesn't check regularly and therefore wouldn't be aware of.  So if you're going to leave, he recommends doing the same to be on the safe side.

ThomasEversole wrote:

Kerrick wrote:
As for those with cold hearts... I'm not sure I agree.  Maybe one or two, but by and large, I've got to know most of the regular folks here pretty well over the years and from my perspective, the ones I think you may perceive as having cold hearts are actually the ones who care most - but they care more about proclaiming God's Truth than being polite and PC, which in the end is what truly matters.

I don't think anyone here has an intentionally cold heart or have the intention to be destructive - but that doesn't stop someone interpreting it that way, and being cold to them.  

I do think its a byproduct of something else.  
Here's a few theories.  

1) They've got something else going on in their life and this place gets the blowback from that...  or the cultural difference in that some families/friends/circles have more abrasive interactions with each other.  
2) They "follow" those around who are wrong and preach to them because that's what people in their life do to them or have learned some other way to bully others with their beliefs.

My personal opinion, and I've seen a fair amount of this the years I worked as a counselor, is this
3) there's a certain amount of something resembling narcissism/solipsism or maybe even multiple personalities with some members here.  Some of my clients I had back in the day, face to face interactions are always cordial and polite, but an e-mail, a mailed letter or sometimes a phone call will be outright CRAAAAAAAAAZY - like different methods of communication created a different person.  

That's where those like myself come in.  

See, I am the polar opposite of solipsistic.  My interactions online, via phone, face to face have the same weight.  The "its just an online forum, its not a big deal" stance is obviously part of the problem and I couldn't disagree more.  

Its still a REAL PERSON having a REAL CONVERSATION.  The only real difference is distance and communication medium.

My fault here (and I'll be the first to admit it) is two fold - see, I'm used to naturally commanding respect because of my appearance and that's 100% ego.  That didn't really show up until later in life when I got to where I warm up with a set of 10 rep of 315lbs on the flat bench.  I mean, who tries to piss off someone 3 times stronger than they are in real life?  

No one.
...and I'm used to that.

The other part of it is if there's no clarification, extending an olive branch or at least saying they didn't mean it that way but instead say "this is just how I am, deal with it"...  I'm not above waiting YEARS for an opportunity to use their defects against them in a completely honest manner...

I totally agree about real people and real conversations.  If folks treated each other here as they would in person, I think this would be a vastly different place.  And thanks for your honesty and humility in your own faults too.

Any of those scenarios are possible, and while it helps to know where your audience is coming from, we should be careful in assuming anything about each others' personal lives.

But again, treating people online as you would in person and with respect goes a LONG way and is something we can all grow in.

Thomas, I emailed you through CMR so whatever email you use for your account here, it'll have a message from me.    Let's talk about this more privately.