What do you do with your time now that you are no longer a Witness? (page 2)

Jourles

in no particular order.....well, maybe volleyball is on top I think it's just dandy that all three would be looked down upon by the jw's.

morty

I share in every hoilday ...From Groundhog Day to Christmas!!!

Enjoying freedom to do whatever I want ! Sunday I visited a neighborhood church service Tuesday night went to an awesome Concert : Hinder , Chevelle , Hoobastank, and Nickelback (instead of a boring book study in the new kindergarten primer ) Thurs. I bought a birthday gift for a workmates child and attended her party at the office Fri. night if I am feeling better I plan on going out with another friend from work Also sent out birthday cards to my two Sept. babies . My husband now fills his time in Archery tournaments, and Refereeing High School Football . It all feels very good now .

juni

Anything I would like to do-

it's nice to have the time to read, watch my grandkids, putter in the flower garden, talk with you guys. Just not having to run here and there at the orders of some organization is a breath of fresh air. Enjoying occasions with my adult kids - I guess reliving good times through them and their families that we missed as a family.

I'm not working now, but I do miss my work. Perhaps one day again.

Juni

PeachRose

Now that I am free (or almost free) I am doing things that I never have been able to do such as: Working out at the gym (I was always too tired to work out on the non-meeting days, now I can work out 5 days a week and get in shape), spending time with my TRUE friends (people I've know since freshman year of HS and have never cared whether I was a JW or not, just loved me for who I am inside), and finally fulfilling my dream-going to college (growing up in the "truth" I was told not to go to a "real" college because the new system was coming soon blah....blah...blah) so I ended up going to a 2 year business school, although I am happy with my job it was always my dream to get my Masters Degree, now I'm finally doing it! Life is beautiful! Oh and by the way - I'm also planning a trip to Vegas! Look out slot machines here I come!!! hehehehe

acadian

Spend more time on my art.

Sunspot

For me it's not what I "DO" with my time....but more along the line of what I choose NOT to do with my time! I am not bound to MUST go to the meetings, MUST be at the conventions and assemblies, MUST be out in field service and THEN.....trying to fit your LIFE in all around WTS pursuits!

I can CHOOSE to sit on my butt and watch whatever TV show I wish to......or I can CHOOSE to send someone a birthday card, etc.....and not feel that God is "displeased" with me (OR my choices!)

I shudder to think about all the decades spent in serving a publishing company that calls itself a religion......and THE ONLY religion that God approves at THAT!

BLECH!!!!!!

garybuss

I worked full time right out of high school. My 19th and 20th year, I worked two full time jobs at the same time. When I was 24 I applied for and got a middle management job with the company I worked for and I stayed with that until I was 30. I virtually didn't go th any night meetings from the time I was 21 until I was 30.

When I was 30 in 1974, I quit my night job and I tried to be a rational Witness. That only lasted a few weeks . . . until I saw the year text for 1974. When I started to attend night meetings, the Witness people got a lot meaner to me and by the end of 1974 I was off the radar screen again.

In 1974 I started working with my dad in the cabinet shop, and in 1975 we turned it into a business. By 1979 all four of my sons were born and I worked a lot. Sometimes I'd go 6 months and never take a day off. Lots of days were 12 hours or more.

Now I've been away from the regimen of meetings and door to door fundraising for over 30 years and I can't imagine finding the will do want to do it, let alone the time. It's difficult to make a long term, top line commitment out of something that I enjoy and that makes sense. It'd be impossible for a cause like the Watch Tower Society.

In real estate investment and lease analysis the first thing we teach new agents to do is to list their assumptions and assign those weight and value. We need to do the same thing with any secular (religious) business decision like the one required by the Jehovah's Witnesses for recognized membership in their group.

List the assumptions:
The Lutheran Bible is inerrant . . .
The Lutheran Bible contains a code . . .
The Lutheran Bible contains a code that is represented by numbers . . .
There is a God . . .
That God is omnipotent . . .
The Lutheran Bible is the only message endorsed by God . . .
God uses business corporations . . .
God picked the Watch Tower book publishing business corporation . . .
The Watch Tower book publishing business has made a lot of errors . . .
God still directs the Watch Tower book publishing business . . .
God knows about the errors and it's not a problem . . .

This list goes on and on and it changes almost weekly.
Now assign weight and value to a line AFTER doing research on the line "The Lutheran Bible is inerrant . . ."
My weight value I give to that line is "zero".
My value measure I give to that line is "zero".

Now I'm stuck. I can't go to the code line because I have a source credibility problem.
If I had assigned a 50% weight and value measure to the inerrancy line, I'd only have a 50% total measure to carry forward and nothing could total over 50% all the way through my analysis.

It's like measuring the square footage of a house. Once I have measured the foot print of a house and I know it's 2,000 sq ft, the sum of my interior room measurements can't total up to over 2,000 sq ft.

When my measurements are accurate, objective, and testable, I don't need to defend them or shun anyone who notices my numbers (claims) don't add up. Same with religion.

greendawn

Lots of things can be done, anything from watching films to doing a sport like fishing or swimming, socialising, reading, or doing some kind of gainful activity. It's time much better spent than if used ~~to serve jehovah~~ to serve a multibillion dollar corporation.

delilah

Have you missed the structured life style so much
that you found "religion"?

If you call being a JW structured,( I'd call it something else) I certainly don't miss it one bit! No, I have not found religion, although I believe in God. I have time for my family now, and my children are living a life full of adventure and fun, they are going to have a higher education, get good jobs. My life is full, and busy, but way more fun and fulfilling than it ever was before. It's no longer boring, and humdrum.

What do you do with your time now that you are no longer a Witness?