MelbaToast

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Posts by MelbaToast

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  57

  I went to the memorial service for Talia Balletti.

  by hubert in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i sent a pm to one of the forum assistants telling him this, and he said i should post and let everyone know how it went.. i didn't want to do this until mario posted first, because it's about his daughter, not mine.

  but, i know all you wonderful people out there are waiting for some news on the memorial service, and i think mario is too grief stricken to be able to write right now.

  sometimes these things hit you harder after it's all over, because now you have more time to think about it.

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  MelbaToast

  Thanks huburt for attending. Im sure many more would have if they had been able.

  My heart goes out to both Marina and Mario, I hope they can find peace in their hearts.

  Much love, Melba
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  74

  Worldwide Growth At 2% - the new service report

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have the feb magazine with the new report in it.

  if anyone is interested to know any of the figures then let me know and i will post it over the next half hour or so....

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  MelbaToast

  Partakers 2003 = 8565

  Patakers 2004 = 8570

  Hm....5 people....raised from the dead! looks fishy to me..
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  35

  Do you and your significant other share religious beliefs?

  by MelbaToast in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sometimes, i think my husband is much more church oriented than i am.

  i still get upset when i attend church, but lately he has been putting the push on me for us to go back to his church where he grew up in.

  he would like to start taking our daughter so she has a somewhat structured religious belief.

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  MelbaToast

  He, by the way, cannot believe that because of their religion, my former friends and family won't talk to me. In his words "that's plain wrong."........
  

  Terri, thats word for word on what my hubby said. When we went down for my dads memorial he also kept commenting on how all these people at my moms house would talk and be so sweet to him(the people from the borg) ....yet they totally dismiss both me and my sister and not speak to either of us. He found that quite sad and it angered him also quite a bit. He couldnt understand how people turn emotions on and off so quick.

  He doesn't want to understand JW's; he's said he has already seen enough for a lifetime.

  Me too.

  I do believe, especially where we live that church can be an integral part of development....when I said I don't want to push beliefs on her...I meant in religion. I am and will continue to instill moral values..It is one of my responsibilities as a good parent. She has quite a social support group. We have many friends who adore her, and a few of them have kids either a little bit older or the same age as my girl.

  You lie in bed yelling "Oh my God!" over and over. Then you feel the holy spirt enter you, and you're in!

  Wow! I was a member of this church all along and didn't even know it! That was holy spirit, huh! Guess Ive been saved quite a few times then
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  62

  Should I teach my kids about Santa Claus? (Lie vs. Harmless Fantasy)

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i got on a discussion about something i never would've guessed we'd need to.

  she wants to teach our new baby about santa claus, easter bunny, & tooth fairy, but i don't.

  of course, as witnesses we never would have taught that, and i have to acknowledge that i may only be reasoning using that old set of values.. i don't want to look into my kid's eyes and tell her something that i know for a fact isn't true.

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  MelbaToast

  Surely "apostate" sites like this burst many people's religious bubbles. Isn't truth more important than comfortable delusion? You should give yourself more credit than to call yourself "brainwashed" for telling your peers in gradeschool that they were being fooled. Wasn't it your classmates who were brainwashed?

  IP: Rovgm5MqWaCP8W1M Mungo...the only reason I could think of WHY I did that was that....I didn't know what else to do. My mind went into "JW" mode. I was what would be considered a "model" Child. I witnessed at school, not only to my teachers, but also to other students. But I was a loner because no one wanted to play with a person who makes them cry. I think that this incident- tarnished what relationship I had to all the other children..... Stuck out as different....was much worse than believing in a happy, loving entity for simply just one day during the end of december. Let me know when you have your first kid. You will feel totally different about many decisions you have made. BTW: how did his edit get in my copy???? My .02 MelbaToast

  03-Dec-04 02:34 Dec 3, 2004 by MungoBaobab: Correct formatting
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  35

  Do you and your significant other share religious beliefs?

  by MelbaToast in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sometimes, i think my husband is much more church oriented than i am.

  i still get upset when i attend church, but lately he has been putting the push on me for us to go back to his church where he grew up in.

  he would like to start taking our daughter so she has a somewhat structured religious belief.

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  MelbaToast

  Hubby really doesnt press the issue. He just thinks it would be nice if we go to chuch as a family sometimes...I can see his point too...but Im not sure if I want to go along with it yet. Every time we visit, there is a donation envelope in the pew and contribution box AND and offering plate.

  There you go valis, being all Marvin again....you better be careful he got shot by his father! lol

  BTW....are these what I think they are? Are those big kahonies are do I just need more therapy?

  Melbatoast
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  35

  Do you and your significant other share religious beliefs?

  by MelbaToast in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sometimes, i think my husband is much more church oriented than i am.

  i still get upset when i attend church, but lately he has been putting the push on me for us to go back to his church where he grew up in.

  he would like to start taking our daughter so she has a somewhat structured religious belief.

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  MelbaToast

  Sometimes, I think my husband is much more church oriented than I am. I still get upset when I attend church, but lately he has been putting the push on me for us to go back to his church where he grew up in. He would like to start taking our daughter so she has a somewhat structured religious belief. I am somewhat against going to church (duh) and stuck between a rock and a hard place. I will however take her for special occasions....but I am really at a loss of what to do. I don't want to push any type of belief on her.

  Any experiences from the forum? What do you believe?
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  62

  Should I teach my kids about Santa Claus? (Lie vs. Harmless Fantasy)

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i got on a discussion about something i never would've guessed we'd need to.

  she wants to teach our new baby about santa claus, easter bunny, & tooth fairy, but i don't.

  of course, as witnesses we never would have taught that, and i have to acknowledge that i may only be reasoning using that old set of values.. i don't want to look into my kid's eyes and tell her something that i know for a fact isn't true.

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  MelbaToast

  Parenting, among many other things, can be a condescending excercise ("Don't mother me!"). We feel superior to Bambi when we see him flail on the ice, and that moves us to want to help him; to parent him.
  

  I didnt know helping someone (or baby deer) was synonomys (sp?) with parenting. Interesting view point.

  If you think parenting is such a condescending exercise....have you done it? are you a parent? I don't know enough about you to make assumptions, mungo...just a friendly question.

  Instinctively, humans are much more superior to deer. Thats the truth. So as a superior being on earth, would it not be our duty to help a younger child, or a baby deer, or a bird thats fallen out of a tree? Granted, celebrating x-mas is not really helping the child....or is it? Parents have a role to teach practices to their children....and when they grow up to be big boys and girls, they make their own decisions. Everyone has a coming of age.

  If you want to include all fictional characters, why not rule out the cookie monster, or bert and ernie? Why? Because your child might grow up and find that the cookie monster isnt real?

  That would just be traumatic.

  By the way, naievetity is not ignorance and I don't consider my small child guillible; just innocent and wonderful.

  I was the child in kindergarten that made many children cry because Santa wasnt real. Maybe I have some repressed guilt about bursting all their holiday bubbles.

  Whats really sad is that I was so brainwashed by age 5 I rattled this stuff off at the mouth. Even sadder is that my parents were so proud of their little 5 year old that said "Christmas is all a lie."

  Something to think about.

  Melba of the "cookie monster isnt real?" class
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  29

  What makes people really excel?

  by formerout in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just watching nightline (i think it was) with diane sawyer.

  the stars from ocean's twelve were on there.

  i am not a person who normally gives too much praise to celebs or athletes but these guys/gals (brad pitt, catherine zeta-jones, andy garcia, george clooney, matt damon and don cheadle) were pretty brilliant.

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  MelbaToast

  lol Dano and DrWtson...I was also thinking Microsoft office...Great Minds think alike :)
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  27

  a quiet moment on the beach

  by teejay in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  there was a commercial on tv tonight during a football game... .

  a couple with their backs to the camera were sitting on a beach facing a crystal blue sea.

  soft, tropical breezes blew, seabirds called to one another, gentle waves crashed onto a pristine golden shore.

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  MelbaToast

  My hubby and I have an agreement.

  He gets to look and comment just as long as I get to too!

  We are both people watchers, so we always see the same people.

  But victorias secret catalogs in this house are a nono!!!

  Not until they come up with a victors secret one for ladies ! lol

  my .02

  MelbaToast
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  62

  Should I teach my kids about Santa Claus? (Lie vs. Harmless Fantasy)

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i got on a discussion about something i never would've guessed we'd need to.

  she wants to teach our new baby about santa claus, easter bunny, & tooth fairy, but i don't.

  of course, as witnesses we never would have taught that, and i have to acknowledge that i may only be reasoning using that old set of values.. i don't want to look into my kid's eyes and tell her something that i know for a fact isn't true.

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  MelbaToast

  When he was small, I told my son the story of Santa.

  When he was 7 or 8 he asked me if it was true... Was there really a Santa? How could he get to all the children?

  I told him, "Well, I see you are now big enough to be in on the Big Secret. There is a real Santa, but he doesn't have a red suit and live at the North Pole. The Big Secret is that all the adults are the real Santa! WE (your mom, dad, uncles, aunts, etc) get all the gifts for all the little children! It is the greatest, must fun thing to do! And now you are big enough to know the secret, and you are big enough to be Santa, too!"

  From then on, he helps pick out gifts for others...and loves writing, "From Santa!" on the cards.

  He loves being Santa!

  Lisa: Im am planning on doing the same think with my child (She will be a year old this christmas) Rightnow we ooh and ahh over the pretty lights and she screaches with delight.

  She's seen quite a few santas lately, mostly she just wants to poke his eyes out. LOL!!

  Little kids need fantasy like you need to get up every day. Pretend play makes up the greater portion of ages 2,3, and 4.

  Lett the kid have a little fun. You're only young once. Gees, the kid has its whole life to find out that Santa Claus isn't real.

  edited to say: I cant get this stupid yellow off now!