I was at the 1978 convention at the Astrodome. I wonder how many of us have been at the same place at the same time over the years. Maybe we've served each other in the food lines, or cleaned the bathrooms together, or sat next to each other at conventions, or bumped into each other and said, "Excuse me brother/sister."
pennycandy
JoinedPosts by pennycandy
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17
The last International Convention in Houston?
by Bryan ini assume it was an international convention.
i remember our house was full of relatives from ok including a tent or two in the yard.
anyone remember the year?.
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55
They broke ground on my new house!!! :D
by Elsewhere inthis is a pic looking down on the lot of my new house from the second story window of another new house.
when finished it will be 2005 square feet and one story.. .
in the foreground is the back of the house and in the distance will be the front of the house.
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pennycandy
Awwww, it's so cute. Congratulations!
Find out what day they're pouring the slab and go write your name and the date in the wet cement like we did.
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33
How do you cheer yourself up?
by Sirona inif your jw family upset you, or if you're having "one of those days" (or weeks, or months .
is there anything that you actively do to counter the negative feelings?.
i usually try to go into "look after myself" mode and spend some time alone just relaxing or having a good cry .
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pennycandy
I am so happy in my life I really rarely get down. But when I do, it's usually a superficial reason that just sets off a little case of the blues. I don't do anything to get rid of it. I guess I kind of brood. You know how Elton John said it feels so good to hurt so bad. I use it as an excuse for some time to myself, go to bed early, get a few extra hugs from hubby, and I'm back to happy in a day or so.
Most every day I thank the Lord that I don't have much to be upset about these days. I'm very fortunate in my life.
Love to everyone with the blues right now . . .
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EVASIONS! Techniques JW's use to avoid dealing with the truth about TRUTH
by Terry inmy weekly conversations with my old friend, johnny, who was responsible for bringing me into the watchtower society, have proved to be a herculean task.
he is still active in the organization and greatly skilled at avoiding anything unpleasant for him to face.
i've learned to identify his evasions as such and prepare myself mentally to deal with them.. what evasions have you encountered?.
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pennycandy
When "witnessing" to anyone, information in my brain only travelled in one direction, out. Any objection was considered only enough to choose the appropriate answer. No matter what facts were presented, the moment it was clear the person wasn't "listening to reason" or interested in learning the truth, the mental turnstile closed, and a polite exit was made. When I would lose a religious argument, I would kick myself because I didn't choose the right words, or wasn't familiar enough with the rebuttal. The thought never entered my mind I could be wrong.
So I'm afraid nothing would have worked to make me see things differently, until I was ready.
Although . . . I do remember as a teenager talking with a Greek scholar at the door once who was well-versed with the John 1:1 argument. He was so sure and so specific in his facts, I left shaking my head, feeling sorry for him that he was hurting Jehovah with his mistaken beliefs and wishing I knew how to make a better arguement. But, what he said always stuck with me, for years and years. Hmmm, there's no article in that verse. You cannot accurately insert the article. But I thought ours was the more correct translation?
John 1:1 was one of the first issues I tackled when I started researching. I guess it was a seed planted that took years to sprout.
I have very politely and discreetly planted seeds in many people. Some have already had results. A subtle question or remark may be all someone needs to get them thinking on their own. But most often you will never know if a well-placed comment is immediately disregarded or if it makes a spark.
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15
Anyone have a pet iguana?
by MoeJoJoJo init wasn't a pet we actually wanted but now that we have the iguana, we actually like it.. how we came to own zilla (short for godzilla): i was having a yard sale last weekend and my mom brought some stuff over to sell.
well she and my sister worked the yard sale while i went for my dentist appointment saturday.
while i was at the dentist someone stopped by and dropped off this iguana--he told my mother that we could sell it in our yard sale or keep it as a pet because he has a baby that was born premature coming home from the hospital, and they can't keep the iguana anymore, please, please take it.
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pennycandy
You definitely should go get yourself a good book on iguanas. They do require specific care.
I had one for a few years. Named him Micky because he had a cute little flat none like Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. He once jumped from too high and broke his leg. We spent a couple hundred bucks on little xrays and a little cast. Yes, I have to admit it was a humorous sight. By the next morning he had wriggled out of the cast but was better within a few weeks. Actually, at the vet that day we found out he was actually a she, but by then it was just semantics to us.
When we had a baby (human), we advertised him, uh, her (Micky), in the paper and gave him and his humongous cage to a nice single lady. Lizards commonly carry salmonella which we were told could be dangerous to a baby. I miss him sometimes, but am sort of glad he went to a new home before he got too large. I know, I was an irresponsible pet owner. I know better now.
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Pick a church . . . Eenee Meenee Minee Mo
by pennycandy inafter enjoying the spiritual freedom of being "out" for a few years, i now feel the need for more christian fellowship.
however, never having gone to any church, i'm at a loss at what to try.. since there's such a variety of spiritual beliefs here, and i know churches vary greatly even in the same religion, maybe some of you can give me suggestions.
1. no dramatic rituals or costumes (incense or big hats).
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pennycandy
Such great ideas! I will follow up on every single suggestion. Well, maybe except for the God Detector one. Bless your little heathen heart, Elsewhere, gotta love ya!
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Pick a church . . . Eenee Meenee Minee Mo
by pennycandy inafter enjoying the spiritual freedom of being "out" for a few years, i now feel the need for more christian fellowship.
however, never having gone to any church, i'm at a loss at what to try.. since there's such a variety of spiritual beliefs here, and i know churches vary greatly even in the same religion, maybe some of you can give me suggestions.
1. no dramatic rituals or costumes (incense or big hats).
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pennycandy
After enjoying the spiritual freedom of being "out" for a few years, I now feel the need for more Christian fellowship. However, never having gone to any church, I'm at a loss at what to try.
Since there's such a variety of spiritual beliefs here, and I know churches vary greatly even in the same religion, maybe some of you can give me suggestions.
Here's what I'm looking for:
1. No dramatic rituals or costumes (incense or big hats). Although I'm still unsure how I feel about taking sacrements.
2. I don't want anyone falling over on me from getting too much Holy Spirit. Also want to be able to hear the speaker instead of whoops and hollers and tongues.
3. I prefer basic Christian doctrine. Not lots of rules and interpretation. Had enough of that my first 30 years.
4. I'd like to grow spiritually. Maybe a church that offers a small bible study or classes.
5. I want to go when I feel like it and not be made to feel guilty.
Surely there's one out there for me somewhere. I live in North Dallas, so there's plenty to choose from. It would be nice to at least narrow down the religions that aren't for me personally. Any thoughts?
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Still guilty after all these years
by pennycandy inan interesting thing happened when i visited my jw family a couple weeks ago.
now, i consider myself a pretty well-adjusted person.
i spent the first 30 years of my life in the org., but now i have a wonderful life with my husband and children.
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pennycandy
An interesting thing happened when I visited my JW family a couple weeks ago.
Now, I consider myself a pretty well-adjusted person. I spent the first 30 years of my life in the org., but now I have a wonderful life with my husband and children. I visit this forum every few weeks for entertainment and to keep touch with what's going on, but have pretty much moved on.
I stayed a week with my parents, and when Sunday morning rolled around, I wondered how I was going to handle it. Will my mother ask if I'm going to the meeting with her? She just thinks I'm lazy about making meetings and probably inactive. As time to get ready got closer and closer, I got more and more nervous. Should I just get the kids dressed and go? It would be kinda nice to see everyone I grew up with. But the pressure and questions would be a pain to deal with. "Which congregation do you go to?" "You must know Brother So-and-so?" and the dreaded "So how are you doing in the Truth?" But then I thought about how I didn't have an excuse to miss it. Nobody was sick; it wasn't first thing in the morning. If I didn't go it would be a deliberate absence. How would that look? I made up my mind I would go. I would surely feel better afterward if I went.
I stood up feeling the same old dread and the same old guilt. OH MY GOD! What just happened here? The struggle I just had in my head was the same struggle I had for so many years when I thought it would be unappreciative of Jehovah's provisions if I missed a meeting. What in the world was I doing to myself?
So I slapped myself in the face and snapped back to the real world. I know in my heart going to the KH is not the way God wants me to serve him. I'm a grown up. If I don't want to go to the meeting, it's none of anyone's business. Mom can think what she wants, but I'm not going to be ruled by the same need to please I always was before. It's just crushing.
I deliberately missed that meeting, and also the book study and service meetings! I didn't make any excuses, just didn't go. And Mom didn't say anything. Of course, after such a blatant act, I'm sure I've sunk to a new low in her eyes. I have a feeling I'll be getting a serious talking to soon.
Such a small thing, barely an incident at all. It was scary, but also liberating. It also may have been the first step toward losing my family altogether. But it did give me strength. To thine own self be true . . .
Just thought I'd share.
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pennycandy
Very sincere, very true to WT doctrine, just not enough endurance to do all the reading or make it to all the meetings. In other words, I was a bad witness.
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73
Tell us about your avitar.
by carefully faded ini loved the recent topic asking what each of our screen names means.
great question as i have always wondered about quite a few of our screen names.
as i was reading the responses, i looked at holey cheeses - king of the juice's avitar and thought about how i have been wondering for the past three years, what the hell that is a picture of.
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pennycandy
My cousin Elsewhere (avitar Alfalfa) directed me to this board, so I figured I'd stay with the theme.