Posts by Gretchen956

12

Open Response to Gretchen956

by Junction-Guy in

jw
friends

i thought i would post this in response to your thread.

i know i may seem very anti-gay from some of the posts i have done over the past 9 months, but i think i will give you some more background.. .

somehwere in my middle teen years ( cant really remember) i started having some odd feelings toward other guys, it wasnt sexual, just some kind of attraction.

JG, As for your prospects for finding someone else to share your life with, I think that first you have to love yourself. You have a lot of positive aspects, but women won't be drawn to someone that has feelings for someone else. I think you have set your standards very high, and I wonder if anyone can live up to that.

I too have struggled with my self-esteem at times, coming from a long history of abuse, and being in a religion that said I was born second-class because of my gender, and lots of other things. I really never felt worthy. When you feel that way its very difficult to have a healthy relationship with another human being who has issues of their own, and a life experience of their own. I'm getting there though and I know you will too.

I think you are on the right path.

Good luck to you.

Sherry

12

Open Response to Gretchen956

by Junction-Guy in

jw
friends

i thought i would post this in response to your thread.

i know i may seem very anti-gay from some of the posts i have done over the past 9 months, but i think i will give you some more background.. .

somehwere in my middle teen years ( cant really remember) i started having some odd feelings toward other guys, it wasnt sexual, just some kind of attraction.

Gretchen956

Dave,
I have always only wished the best for you. I don't know if you are or ever were gay, more likely bi. And that is one thing that gays many times have a hard time understanding. I do know there is some prejudice in the gay community toward bi-sexuals, I have seen it too. I know for a fact that not all gays feel that way (most gays don't) and I am truly sorry that those people are the only ones that you encountered when you needed support.

I did worry about your journey into the ex-gay ministry to cure you, I have lots of reasons for that. But you have to experience things for yourself and I would never presume to try to influence that.

I have also never wished you less than well, nor been anything but concerned when I read your posts. Often I could tell that you were really hurting.

I know that the other thread took a turn that I never intended, but my only point was that you really shouldn't think we are all the same based on your experience with a few of us. My ex-husband was a bigot. He didn't like Hispanic people. He would say, "I know there are nice Mexicans out there, I just haven't met any." Its exactly the same thing. And it is SO not my experience. As a culture all told, I have never met people that are harder working, or have more respect and love for family. And there are many many gays and lesbians that work hard too, that care and give and love.

I believe that karma will out, as a christian you have another view on this, but I think they amount to the same thing, cause and effect. Those that attack and judge, will in turn be judged. And, when people treat you badly in front of others on a public forum for little or no reason, others see that attitude and draw their own conclusions.

I'm glad you are back in the place that makes you happy and with people that truly care for you. I heard you say that you are getting therapy too. So all in all we all learn and grow. I hope there are no feelings. Sometimes talking about the difficult things helps.

Blessings,

Sherry

30

Hypothetical Question

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

i don't pretend to know why the bible has the law about homosexuality being immoral.....the only reason logically is for having babies.. so my question is.. there are two gay couples left on the planet.

will those couples go against their sexual preference to keep humankind from going extinct?.

just askin???.

Gretchen956

ahhhh dammmmit, purps is syphoning all the humor from my thread! oops, there is no humor on my thread. nevermind

To be honest, many gays and lesbians have married heterosexually all throughout history, mostly for safety or security sake. Trust me, there isn't a real active sex life in a lot of cases. Probably what would happen is that either they would find a way for the turkey baster to work or they would have sex only for the procreation and still couple up by their hearts.

Sherry

22

Learning to Think in Shades of Gray and other Colors Too

by flipper in

jw
friends

it seems to be hard when getting out of the witnesses for many to realize that nobody really knows about many things in life.

good and evil, what happens when we die.

those leaving the witnesses may see it as a big loss in not knowing, and some more than others go through a whole grieving loss process with denial, bargaining, anger, etc.

Gretchen956

My philosophy:

If it harms NONE, do what you will. I like the way that is stated because it includes self. So many times we try so hard to treat others the way we want to be treated that we forget that we need to treat ourselves that way too.

I love learning about other ways of thinking, other cultures, other philosophies. Sometimes I even incorporate pieces into my worldview. It sure doesn't threaten who I am in any way.

Blessings,

Sherry

68

Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater Goodbye Watchtower Hello Nothing?

by Magick in

as witnesses who were deeply indoctrinated.

we accepted all of jehovah's witness teachings as a total package, it was "the truth".

there were no cracks in our armor that would allow other ideas, doctrines or thoughts to seep in.

Gretchen956

Good post. Personally I found that JWs were not at all spiritual people. I know we've had discussions before and will again, about what that means. But personally I am significantly more spiritual now than I ever was as a JW.

Sherry

24

Anti-Virus, WHICH ONE????? HELP !!!!

by horrible life in

jw
friends

i have used norton security and anti-virus protection for 2 years.

i downloaded from norton, for what i think was $89.00.

it expires tonight.

Gretchen956

I've had Norton and I've used McAfee, neither of them stopped my computer from getting viruses or getting hacked. I got Kaspersky and I LOVE it. I haven't had a virus or been hacked since I got it.

Sherry

56

I just received a LOVELy letter from Trevor

by mouthy in

jw
friends

in answer to the one i sent him..i had sent him some christian tracts .which he admits he has little use for spiritual things ( which i can understand bless him) but he did say he wouldnt throw them away one day maybe!!!.

he said that he agreed with me that an apology is truly in order ,& wanted to take this time & the opportunity to offer an unreserved apology for his conduct on jwd,of which he is both ashamed & embarrassed to everyone there /\....he also added he wished you all a very happy christmas.. .

he added that he has not been on jwd since ....thought i would let you all know.. so any who do pray .

Gretchen956

Ok sue me but I have to take another tack here. I worry that this swindler is taking advantage of Grace's propensity for forgiveness. It's not like Trevor accidently bumped into one of us and says, oops, my bad. He set out to trick and deceive. As they say in the detective journals, there was malice aforethought.

Grace while you and others pray for Trevor, I pray for you all that you aren't duped a second time.

Sherry

14

BEFORE and AFTER

by Gretchen956 in

i was getting a chuckle about the placement of thread titles this morning:.

criticize constructively - stupid idiots at the meeting.

singing thread - another take on the new wt format.

Gretchen956

9/11 Conspiracies Theory - Went off outside Walmart

20

So close to sending in the letter

by PoppyR in

jw
friends

so, i found out today that my whole family, that is mother, older brother wife and child, older sister and husband, younger brother and wife have gone away together for a week.. previously i would have been right in the center of all that.

this time i didn't even know until after they'd gone.

cant say it doesn't hurt, what a punch to the gut.

Gretchen956

((((Poppy))))

I'm not a big proponent of sending in letters, I think that is going along with their rules, but everyone has to do whatever THEY need for closure. Sounds like you need to have some closure and if that means sending that letter, than do it. As for your family, they are deep in the mind control. I'm thankful you found your way out, and who knows, maybe some day more of your family will too.

Sherry

14

BEFORE and AFTER

by Gretchen956 in

i was getting a chuckle about the placement of thread titles this morning:.

criticize constructively - stupid idiots at the meeting.

singing thread - another take on the new wt format.

Gretchen956

I was getting a chuckle about the placement of thread titles this morning:

Criticize Constructively - Stupid Idiots at the Meeting

Singing Thread - Another Take on the New WT Format

Suicidal Tendancies - Profile of a Sociopathic Organization

See any others?

Sherry