Jim, That is so cool! I've never even heard of these types of homes before, so thanks for sharing. And enjoy yourself...there's nothing like fulfilling a dream! Take care and we expect all sorts of stories when you get back! :)
CeriseRose
JoinedPosts by CeriseRose
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15
Going to school...
by Jim_TX inyup - next week, i'll be going to school.
not just any school, though.. i'll be going to the headquarters for monolithic domes in italy, tx and taking a week-long course on how to build their dome homes.
(http://www.monolithicdome.com/).
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42
REPOST: For those without mothers
by Lady Lee inmothers day can bring up many issues for some of us.
for some their mothers have passed away and the opportunity to say i love you in person is forever lost.
for others our mothers are lost to the borg.
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CeriseRose
Lady Lee, thank you so much for this post. This is the first year that I can show how upset this holiday makes me, and it has helped me (although you all have made me cry) to read the other posts.
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Dear Mom,
I miss you so much. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about you, about how easy it was to talk to you when I needed to. I know you'd be happy I have left the JWs. It's odd because if you hadn't died, and Dad too, I would probably still be in it. And miserable. Yes, Dad died too, just after you.
I haven't talked to you wherever you are, first, because I couldn't believe you were anything but 'sleeping' and in God's remembrance, and now, because I don't know what to believe. I know that you've been in my dreams, and there's a small part of me that hopes that it really is you, somehow speaking to me.
I met a man, Mom, a really good man. Just like your Bruce. In one of my dreams you met him, and you liked him a lot. I know if you were alive you'd adore him. He makes every bit of pain and heartache I went through for all those years worth it. I know you'd be happy, no, ecstatic, and you'd probably be bugging me for grandchildren. And you'd have all the crocheting done for the next 20 years in about a week. hehe
I wish so many things I could make different, things I did that hurt you. I don't know if you know but I was devastated at hurting you by not phoning you on Mother's Day for all those years. I know I phoned you all the time, but I feel small and selfish for not seeing through all the crap sooner and not acknowledging you on that day. I can't ever undo that, but I can resolve to remember you on that day now, and honour you now. I know it's not the same, but it's all I can do.
I'm back in school, Mom. I always wanted to study English and now I am. I know that you never got to fulfill your educational dreams and when (not if, when) I finish this, it will be because you started me on the road and you encouraged me through everything. I never failed to know that you were proud of me, that you loved me. When I lost you, I lost the best friend I ever had, the one person who knew me inside out and that is the biggest gaping hole that will never be filled. Some days all I want is to feel you hugging me, or hear your voice say everything will be okay. Some days I just imagine you doing that...it's not the same, but it does help.
If I never get the chance to say another thing to you, even like this, I want you to know that I love you, that I am the person you taught me to become, and that I'm happy. You 'gol darn gone and done good'. :) We're taking care of Bruce for you; your garden is beautiful as always, and the quails are woohooing nightly.
Love always,
Me
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10
A Wrinkle In Time
by TD inas the skipping rope hit the pavement, so did the ball.
look at me, charles.
"charles almost came out.
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CeriseRose
Madeline L'engle's Site is this: http://www.madeleinelengle.com/
The three books I mentioned in my post are all hers. They are basically like a trilogy for story/theme. The next two books focus on different members of the same family and I think of them as separate (I don't know if they are, because I haven't read them yet).
During elementary school the teacher would read us classics. I know I've 'heard' the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the Hobbit. I finally read the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy a few years ago. Oddly enough, my sister, not a reader herself and still a staunch JW, didn't like the look of the previews on the LoTR movies and figures they're demonized. (Of course she and hubby have Star Wars in all it's episodes...no magic or anything in that...LOL). But I digress.
Another Tolkien book I have on my list is the Simarillon. At this point, it's way down the list. hehe -
10
A Wrinkle In Time
by TD inas the skipping rope hit the pavement, so did the ball.
look at me, charles.
"charles almost came out.
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CeriseRose
A Wrinkle in Time, a Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet are the 3 I've read. I didn't read the next 2 because when I found out about them I was a JW and the religious content was a bit 'grey area' for me. I will probably read them as well.
I can recommend the 3 I read unhesitatingly. I enjoy them even as an adult.
I have yet to read Narnia. That's on my list too. I finally got through the Anne of Green Gables series. It makes me wonder what I was reading through my childhood. Nancy Drew I think. hehe
Blondie: Thanks for the movie heads up! I'm so there. :)
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An honest estimate of ourselves.... (long)
by Theocrat ingod says: ?blessed is the able-bodied man who puts his trust in jehovah, and whose confidence jehovah has become.?
a governing body that made decisions based on the scriptures and blessed by jehovah!
now, he is once again serving as a christian elder.
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CeriseRose
Why? Why must we make an honest estimate of ourselves? Who demands that of us? God? Does he need us to estimate ourselves so he can understand us? No.
You assume that people here still feel an obligation to the god of the WTS. I have news for you...he doesn't exist. He is fabricated out the mind of Fred Franz, and has little to do with the Bible. You won't believe that, because you're not allowed.
Speaking of not allowed, you aren't supposed to be here. If you want to be honest with yourself, you KNOW nothing you can say would justify your being here when you've been told you shouldn't. How about a challenge? You go to your elders, and you tell them what you've been doing. In addition, make sure that there is a letter that goes to the WTS governing body. Let everyone know who you've been talking to, in direct violation of the rules. Oh, indicate that you intend to continue to do it. See what happens.
I like your attempt to make it "us," as if you class yourself along with the others on this board. You have apparently made your assessment of yourself and are satisfied. Do the people here need *you* to be the voice of conscience? Not really. We've ALL heard the rhetoric your selling. We've ALL been a part of your "loving" organization and their concept of "god". It's not news, the only difference is we don't *have* to do anything about it.
What I'd like to know is if your Jehovah gets more upset at a person who's been hurt and ends up leaving the source of the hurt or by the consistent and flagrant lies, half-truths, unaccountability, lack of empathy, lack of true Christian attitude engendered by the WTS and its clones? Who has the bloodguilt for the years of 'new light' over interfering in health and medical choices? Who has the bloodguilt for the THOUSANDS of child abuse cases? Even if you can't believe everything you read on the internet, if even a tenth of those cases are true, this organization has been instrumental in destroying the lives of many. Who has the bloodguilt for ripping apart families by insinuating themselves in the marriage bed and dividing parents and children with unscriptural shunning? Even if that's not "God", do you honestly think that God is backing that kind of action? Wake up.
You don't know any of the people on the board. You don't 'get' what the WTS has done to destroy people's lives. So you go ahead and sit in judgement (which is what you're doing), just as the WTS has trained you. Maybe one day you and the clones like you will understand and find the path to true freedom. It's my fervent hope you do.
BTW, let us know how it goes with the elders. And if you decide not to do so, which is your free choice, then come back and explain to us why. Because honestly, you expect us to buy your sincerity and yet you are being deceitful to the organization of which you are a part.
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10
A Wrinkle In Time
by TD inas the skipping rope hit the pavement, so did the ball.
look at me, charles.
"charles almost came out.
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CeriseRose
Excellent illustration. And I love that book...I think I read it at least 30 times in elementary school, and several dozen more since.
It really is like that...once central organization controlling uniformity of thought. It would be one thing if it truly was from God, but it -is- missing the part about love.
Thanks for posting. :)
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7
My Visit to the LDS
by Elmer J. Fudd ina girl i was dating 'bout 5 years ago was a member of the church of the later day saints, known to it's members as lds.
joseph smith, the book of mormon, you know the bit.
she invited me to attend services on a sunday and i agreed.
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CeriseRose
ROFL...Elmer that's funny. Sorry you didn't 'get any'. ;)
My best friend is LDS (I'm sure all my JW friends think it was partly that influence that caused me to leave them). Regardless of their beliefs, I do know that on the whole, they make strong connected families. She was horrified and blisteringly angry that my fleshly JW sister would shun me over my choice to leave the WTS. To the point that I had to make sure she didn't contact my sis on my behalf and rip her to shreds. The one thing she kept saying to me was "God doesn't want families ripped apart."
So...as you were leaving, did you leave anything in the contribution box? hehe
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Dub In The Pub. Update.
by Englishman inremember when i used to regale you with tales of dub in the pub?.
he's still an elder, but has a new occupation.
he's playing in a wurzel style band.
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CeriseRose
Totally unrelated, I was in England for 3 weeks and completely fell in love with going to the Pub. I'm not even much of a drinker. I just loved the atmosphere. *starts hankering to take a trip to the lovely British Isles*
*sighs dreamily*
Okay on your question/observation...I know of a CO's wife who is an alcoholic. They're in good standing because she masks it as illness and other things. But she does get drunk nightly. I also know people who aren't so well connected that got drunk once or twice and went on public reproof.
The PO in my last cong. was a guy who liked his booze...every year a group of us went to a wine festival and every year he got really 'happy'. In front of 60-100 JWs. No one ever called him on it...but we all knew it was one standard for him and his friends and another for someone not so 'prominent'.
And they say it's avoidant of politics. *snort*
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May 1st Watchtower.
by mouthy ini dont know if this has already been posted .sorry if it has.
i understand the above wt in letters to the readers takes time to tell all that the holy spirt is not a person ( still a thing like electricty).
it cannot believe they can tell the people that they cannot be indwelt by the holy spirit .but they can believe they can be indwelt with demons.....go figure that one.!!!!.
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CeriseRose
I was curious too, not just Mouthy, but how do all of you get your hands on new WTS publications? not that I particularly want to, but I know 90% of the people in this territory and would have trouble just getting one even in street witnessing....I'm amazed at y'all. hehe,
I haven't read the May 1st WT...but the holy spirit as 'electricity' is what they were still teaching as of January. What I never understood was the semantics about asking for a "portion" of holy spirit (because we are not to presume to ask Jehovah for a specific amount of it; it's up to him to determine how much we need/are worthy of receiving).
Also, in Acts it indicates that the holy spirit was upon these ones, and they could speak in tongues...what difference is that from demon possession where one speaks gibberish? Maybe the demons are merely 'bad voltage'...
Y'all make good points. Part of me wants answers and part of me would rather remain ignorant to all religion right now. Just the space I'm in, I guess.
edited: I got a giggle out of this: I posted part of this to my boyfriend, because I love the turn of phrase: "The demons not marterializing is more "this is what you should believe" it protect them from answering for where 300 million seething demons hang out." His reponse was "Starbucks?". ROFLROFL
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Why do you keep posting here?
by ScoobySnax inyou know i like to post these dumb'uns but i was thinking this tonight as i sat here thinking what to post.
then i thought to myself, why am i sitting here "wondering" what to post on a forum like this.
i think i get more than the fair share of stick here for posts i have made because of what i do post, and i can live with that.
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CeriseRose
As so many things "ex-JW" comes back to labelling. I'm always interested in how people define themselves (I'm Todd's Mom, Julie's Dad, Mark's wife, etc.). I think in this situation both Minimus and Joyzabel are correct, but only if you look at it from different standpoints.
From a pure semantics, Minimus is correct. Most of us were JWs or identified as JWs and now we don't, so ex-JW from that standpoint is correct.
But what does ex-JW mean? What is the connotation of the label? For some, it defines them, and could possibly limit the healing and growth necessary to truly leave the org if that's what they want. I don't think it's so much denial on Joy's part as wanting to be free of a term that limits her definition of herself (of course, I'm only going by what I'm reading and certainly am not speaking for Joy, simply trying to make a point).
Labelling by it's very nature doesn't always foster change or portray an accurate picture of the person we are. I don't call myself an ex-JW, personally, because that would denote in my mind that all I was was a JW. I am a person who is many different things, and have evolved over the years. My JW experience was part of that, as was my upbringing, my parent's divorce, my successful and failed relationships, my work and school (life?) experience, and my parents' deaths. All of these things became facets of "ME" and that is a work in progress.
So while I understand how others might define me as ex-JW and would be correct on the most basic level, it really doesn't explain who I am, or the composite that makes up me.
Just my 2 cents.