MerryMagdalene

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Topics Started by MerryMagdalene

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  7

  TGIF -- Thank Goodness I'm Free

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what freedom are you thankful for tonight and what are you doing with it?.

  i remember a whole lotta friday nights spent at the hall having the "same old same old" drilled into my skull, listening for something they could never say, waiting for something that would never come, wondering where the spirit of life and light and love was that i so longed to tap into... or sometimes just wishing i could be out walking under the stars or be home watching a crappy tv show.

  so tonight i am thankful i am free to do with my friday nights (and all my days and nights) what i will, free of guilt and anxiety and spiritual starvation, and i am here enjoying good company while sporadically playing hide and seek with my young daughter who would be thankful that she is not required to sit down and shut up for long, meaningless blocks of time if she had ever been exposed to it, and i'm thankful she hasn't.. what about you?

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  2

  "Don't Believe Everything You Think"

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i recently saw the above on a bumpersticker and it seemed to express very succinctly something i have been experiencing in seeking out new info for farkel's berta & bonnie thread... i find myself stumbling across intriguing bits and pieces of decades old information and i get to thinking "wouldn't it be amazing if this person was connected in such and such a way with that person?

  " and "if this is true then it might mean that..." and on and on.

  i get very caught up in investigating and theorizing and, suddenly, the amazing tapestry i have been weaving in my head comes unravelled when one more bit of information comes to light and disproves the whole thing.

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  9

  You Dog, You

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's a take-off on panda's thread "which dog breed do you like?":.

  which dog breed are you like?...any thoughts?.

  i'm just a mutt

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  6

  How many true believers do you know?

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jesus words as recorded in mark 16:16-18 identify those who hear the "good news" and become believers in this way: "by the use of my name they will expel demons, they will speak with tongues, and with their hands they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly it will not hurt them at all.

  they will lay their hands on sick persons, and these will become well.

  i know a lot of people who claim to be christians and true believers, but i don't think i'll ask any of them to prove it by the above criteria.

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  What happened?

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  don't know if this is the right area to post this or not, but.... does anyone know what happened in 1944 that caused the society to make the following "refinements" to their legal "arrangement," described in the march 15, 1990 watchtower as follows:.

  for years, the visible governing body came to be identified with the seven-member board of directors of this corporation....the society's seven directors were faithful christians.

  but their role in a legal corporation might have suggested that they owed their positions on the governing body to their being elected by legal members of the watchtower society.

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  24

  letter from mom/letter to mom

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. social
  2. family

  if anybody feels up to wading through what follows and giving me any feedback on it, i would really appreciate it, but, if not, that's cool too.... letter from mom (9/29/04):.

  my dear one,.

  i guess you know no one on earth is as dear to me as you.

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  exhausted

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  then, not having mailed it yet, i received a letter from my mom, also very loving, encouraging me to return, but telling me she will no longer have contact with me personally.

  if i want to drop my daughter (who is only 3) off at her house for unsupervised visits and write letters in my daughter's name to keep her updated, that will be fine.

  and she would also like me to bring my girl to the kh.

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  Why can't I...

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  ...stop thinking just long enough to read a wtbts publication cover to cover?

  ever since i was a kid, it would take me forever to get through a study article or book chapter.

  red flags bearing/baring doubts, suspicions, and lots of extra questions were always popping up ( i guess my jw-installed pop-up blocker was non-functional).

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  Work In Progress

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i just stumbled over upon an article in the 1 august 2001 watchtower magazine that was just too good to pass up.

  i want to use it as the basis for opening up a discussion with my jw mother on the importance of questioning what you believe as well as the right and responsibility each of us has to do so (even jws).

  this magazine appears to be giving "permission" as well as strong encouragement to do just this.

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  9

  In Search of... Good Parenting Tips

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. social
  2. family

  calling all parents who raised children according to borg guidelines or anyone who was raised that way him- or her-self and, thus, is aware of the damage often thereby done.... i was raised as a 4th generation jw, drew away at least a decade ago, and am now the mother of a wonderful 3 year old girl.

  i am looking for some words of wisdom to keep in mind as i do my best to raise her in a sane and loving manner.. any ideas on positive things to keep in mind?

  and what about negative things to watch out for (you know, those nasty things we don't even realize are still part of our psyche until they jump out and scream "boo!")?.

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