bonnie38

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Posts by bonnie38

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  12

  My Lonnng Story...

  by poohbear1962 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  several folks asked to hear my story, so here goes - i hope you don't fall asleep!!

  it's a story that's been told many, many times - i was pretty much raised as a jehovahs witness (my mom was baptized when i was 6 years old), and i simply followed along and accepted for years what i was being told.

  going through school, i just learned to be different (which, in some ways, is a good thing... im hoping that will make it easier to break free).

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  bonnie38

  Pooh,
  Thank you for sharing. Things will get better. I am a single parent, and it is a hard job sometimes. But it sounds like you and your children will be happier without your wife. I'll be thinking about you.
  Bonnie
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  7

  new, too -- from NE Ohio

  by reagan_oconnor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hi, all; i posted a bit without introducing myself, and i apologize.. i'm reagan, i was a jw for the first 20 years of my life.

  parents are still very involved in the organization (dad's the po in their congregation, mom's a reg.

  pioneer).

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  bonnie38

  Welcome, Reagan
  Bonnie
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  29

  curious

  by bonnie38 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wonder what the percentage is of ex-jws who become involved in other organized religions.

  i had a discussion with a psychiatrist friend recently.

  he told me that i am a "psychiatric anamoly," that most "devout" people who leave a religion will join another and become as devout in their new religion.

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  bonnie38

  I wonder what the percentage is of ex-JWs who become involved in other organized religions. I had a discussion with a psychiatrist friend recently. He told me that I am a "psychiatric anamoly," that most "devout" people who leave a religion will join another and become as devout in their new religion. I told him that he and his pschiatrist friends apparently have no experience with JWs or ex-JWs.
  Does anyone have an answer? Are most ex-JWs involved in organized religions or not?
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  17

  new here

  by jurs in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've been a witness for 6 years.

  when a sweet pioneer sister came to my door and i started studying i never thought i would become a witness.

  21/2 years of studying i did get baptized.

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  bonnie38

  jurs,
  Welcome to this site. I am also new. It's weird that you mention that although you missed a lot of meetings last year, you still believed 100%. I was disfellowshipped 4 years ago, and until I came on this site, I still believed 100%. I thought that I was the only person on earth who thought there was a lack of love in the congregation or who thought that forbidding certain things (such as extracurricular school activities) was rediculous. My children are now 16 & 17. My daughter just went to the prom this weekend. My kids missed out on a lot of things when they were little. They are involved in activities in school now. And I have to say it's been a very positive thing for them. It's weird for me that I found this site. The night I first came on here, I was looking for something to make me want to be reinstated. What I found was that I am not alone, that meny people feel he way I do. I have received suggestions from others that have helped me see "outside the box." I enjoy the time that I spend here, and I hope you do too.
  Bonnie
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  16

  New member....

  by poohbear1962 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  ....this is only my second post, so please be gentle!!!

  thank you all for such a wonderful, supporting, loving, caring forum... where the truth at last can be spoken!!!

  ...i have soooooo many posts to make, and soooooo little time!!!

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  bonnie38

  Hello.
  I think I've seen Eeyore, Piglet, and Rabbit around too.
  So you should feel right at home.
  Bonnie
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  205

  HELLO? HELLO? "ALL" SIGN IN???????

  by waiting in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  simon did away with the sex forum - so i must take the tradional route and post under "make new friends.

  " how mundane!.

  fyi ---- for all of us, please take the time to write a sentence or two about yourselves, and encourage new ones to do the same.

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  bonnie38

  Carmel,
  I'm from New York.
  Bonnie
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  1

  High Control Groups

  by Introspection in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  thought you guys might be interested in this article:.

  high control groups psychological toll.

  kaynor weishaupt, mft.

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  bonnie38

  Thamk you. This was interesting.
  Bonnie
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  205

  HELLO? HELLO? "ALL" SIGN IN???????

  by waiting in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  simon did away with the sex forum - so i must take the tradional route and post under "make new friends.

  " how mundane!.

  fyi ---- for all of us, please take the time to write a sentence or two about yourselves, and encourage new ones to do the same.

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  bonnie38

  I was raised Catholic. Began studying with JWs at 13, was baptized at 16. I pioneered from 17-20. I married a "wordly" man at 21; had two children within the next 2 years; divorced a few years after. I decided to go to college after the divorce because I had no job skills, and I needed a means to support my kids. Everyone who was anyone in the congregation disapproved of my decision to go to school.
  My children and I were in three different congregation over the years, and we were treated like outcasts (I believe because I was a single parent) in all of them. Several years later my ex-husband & I tried dating each oher again. I made the terrible mistake of having relations with him, and I went to the elders & confessed. They kicked me out. The weird thing was that they told me that I ended up in the position that I was in because I didn't rely enough on the "friends"; that because I was a single parent & had to work full-time,etc., I was too isolated from others in the congregation. So their solution for me was to completely isolate me. The end of the story is that I haven't seen my ex since that event (he is now remarried). I am still a single parent (and managing well most of the time). I have real friends now who are much better friends than any JWs I knew.
  I'm glad that I found this site. For a long time I thought I was the only person who saw that there is a lack of love in the organization. I don't post often, but I read frequently. The thoughts that people have expressed here (even the ones that I don't agree with) have really helped me.
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  14

  Reading Recommendations

  by Kristen in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'm a bookworm and would love to hear some of your recommendations.. besides the traditional coc, in search of christian freedom, etc.

  books that help facilitate one's journey out, please feel free to share the titles you found helpful to your own growth after leaving the organization.. thanks a bunch!

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  bonnie38

  Keys Tp Positive Thinking, by Napoleon Hill is a good book.
  You Can Have It All, by Mary Kay Ash is another one.
  Some fiction authors that I have really enjoyed include John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Danielle Steele, Leon Uris.
  Bonnie
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  20

  Tree of Life---Ruby slippers?

  by crossroads in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what was the tree of life doing in the garden?.

  i have only one thought that works for me on this.. has anybody else ever wondered?

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  bonnie38

  I agree with Jimmer. It was growing.
  Bonnie