Posts by FreedomFrog

8

An Open Letter from a PO to active JWs

by iloowy in

jw
friends

hey.

i came across this open letter from a po to jw's in good standing.

eventhough it was written in 1976 a lot of the material in it is still a good source of info to get jw's thinking about beliefs.

FreedomFrog

Maybe this will work for ya.

http://www.watchtowerwiki.org/files/1976_Letter_From_PO_to_JWs.pdf

5

Loss of family, beliefs, life, divorced? Learn to feel, then move on.

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

what i was forgetting to do was learning to feel each emotion and sorting them out so i can then move on to the next phase of the healing process.

i was suppressing them which only caused me to be "trapped" with that one feeling.. recently, i have understood what i was being taught in college.

i have found a sense of peace inside that i have not had for a very long time.

Loss of family, beliefs, life, divorced? Learn to feel, then move on.

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

what i was forgetting to do was learning to feel each emotion and sorting them out so i can then move on to the next phase of the healing process.

i was suppressing them which only caused me to be "trapped" with that one feeling.. recently, i have understood what i was being taught in college.

i have found a sense of peace inside that i have not had for a very long time.

FreedomFrog

I use to worry about the "what-ifs" excessively, even now I catch myself and have to correct that kind of thinking when it does creep up. What ifs and should haves are destructive thinking for me.

My life is MY life, not my children's, parents, friends, adversaries, nor any religious leaders, and so on....thats a great feeling!

It took me 37 years to figure that one out but I'm getting there.

We can be our worse enemies (if we allow it) or we can become our best friend.

5

Loss of family, beliefs, life, divorced? Learn to feel, then move on.

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

what i was forgetting to do was learning to feel each emotion and sorting them out so i can then move on to the next phase of the healing process.

i was suppressing them which only caused me to be "trapped" with that one feeling.. recently, i have understood what i was being taught in college.

i have found a sense of peace inside that i have not had for a very long time.

I've been through them all as many on here have as well. What I was forgetting to do was learning to feel each emotion and sorting them out so I can then move on to the next phase of the healing process. I was suppressing them which only caused me to be "trapped" with that one feeling.

Recently, I have understood what I was being taught in college. I have found a sense of peace inside that I have not had for a very long time. I'm sure there will be more unsettling emotions coming up but now that I know I need to feel those feelings so I can move to the next stage, I am prepared.

It takes work to heal and active work that is. People that I've seen go through difficult situations tend to forget they need to actively work through their feelings. I have read many self help books, studied this very thing in college, discussed my feelings to friends but I (being stuck on one feeling) was not moving on to the next stage. I'm discovering that when I feel angry, I tend to push the real anger down and not face the true cause.

If we take a proactive way about this and not a reactive way, we can heal quicker and get through our challenging times. Proactive is a positive way of handling our feelings. I was reacting to the anger feelings causing a destructive emotional chain reaction. I'm now taking each feeling and thinking about them and acting (not reacting) with them and it's been an amazing experience. Look at it this way, any feelings is life and to feel anything is living. Take the unpleasant feelings and look at them very closely. What causes the anger? What causes the sadness? I've been finding out that when I look at that particular feeling, I'm understanding that emotion better. I then look at the situation closer that caused this feeling and fight to find one positive thing about it.

For example, my family turned their backs on my children and me when I chose to leave my childhood religion. This caused anger but looking at that anger, the positive side of it is that I'm not being controlled by them. When I was part of their lives, I was nagged at the friends I would choose, how I was raising my children, and so on. I don't get this anymore which is a nice feeling.

Now that I've learn to feel the feelings and act and not react to them, I'm finding that getting through some of my more challenging times is becoming less challenging.

I thought I'd share this with all of you in hopes it may help someone else out there. I'm at peace right now and it's a great feeling. I still have work to get through but the work is well worth it and I'm feeling like ME and not what someone else expects me to be like. It's a great feeling to see myself move to the next phase of the healing process and not be stuck in one stage.

Wishing you all a healthy mental and physical being,

~Freedom Frog~

20

Can you think of a positive thing the JW's gave you?

by Greensleeves in

jw
friends

this is something that will possibly piss off a lot of people.

i left the jw family i was raised in when i was 16. i had a lot of angst and just wanted freedom.

i spent some time in my early 20's reconsidering that decision to leave jwdom and came back to the decision i made at 16, but was more logical and informed that time around.

FreedomFrog

I recently found peace within myself which was an accelerating feeling. As were you, I was very angst and angry.

I'm ending my first degree and just signed up for my second.

The positive is that I did learn how to research (one of the reasons why I'm where I'm at now). I have to admit though, the way I was taught was in a very daunting way but it gave me the beginning skills that helped me learn the proper way for college. Now I love to research.

I'm shy by nature but the service meetings pushed the shyness back a bit. I now have 3 very good friends, one of which is now considered a best friend that I can go over and spend time with. If my shyness was still in the forefront, I wouldn't have made my friends as easily.

9

Update on my Kasey dog and her surgery....

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

well, as you know, i was upset yesterday because i got the news that my kasey had a tumor on her leg that had grown to a huge size and the vet was convinced it was cancerous since it was growing so fast.. good news and great news.... she went through the surgery just fine and they were able to remove the complete tumor (about the size of 3-4 baseballs combined going around her to the inside of her leg).

back in april, it was only about the size of 1 baseball but grew so quickly that if she hadn't had the surgery it could have broken open and the only thing they could have done at that time was put her down.

they were able to remove every bit of it which yesterday they were in doubt because they thought it was in the muscle too much and would only be able to remove 3/4 of it.

FreedomFrog

I hope it was!!!!

Yeah, me too...they didn't say for certain it wasn't but I'm going to believe it is benign. They believe it, so I'll believe it because...well, just because I can't afford to do all the test they want me to do to make 100% sure and believing in something positive is what I need right now. At least I can have her for a while longer regardless.

I love dogs. My neighbor shot mine Wednesday.

I'm so sorry Dinah....people can be so cruel.

9

Update on my Kasey dog and her surgery....

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

well, as you know, i was upset yesterday because i got the news that my kasey had a tumor on her leg that had grown to a huge size and the vet was convinced it was cancerous since it was growing so fast.. good news and great news.... she went through the surgery just fine and they were able to remove the complete tumor (about the size of 3-4 baseballs combined going around her to the inside of her leg).

back in april, it was only about the size of 1 baseball but grew so quickly that if she hadn't had the surgery it could have broken open and the only thing they could have done at that time was put her down.

they were able to remove every bit of it which yesterday they were in doubt because they thought it was in the muscle too much and would only be able to remove 3/4 of it.

FreedomFrog

I don't know why, but something in my gut tells me it was benign.

I'm glad your gut was right.

They sure scared the crap out of me. Personally, I think I would have preferred them not telling me what they "thought" and just gave me a price and what the chances of the actual surgery being successful since they were unsure. Though, I guess, in their defense, they were limited not knowing until they actually did the surgery since I had to refuse a few more of their tests that would have made the diagnoses more accurate.

If I had a different vet, I may have put Kasey down too prematurely because of misdiagnose. I so appreciate my Vet that I'm sure she doesn't know. They really do care about their patients and the owners.

9

Update on my Kasey dog and her surgery....

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

well, as you know, i was upset yesterday because i got the news that my kasey had a tumor on her leg that had grown to a huge size and the vet was convinced it was cancerous since it was growing so fast.. good news and great news.... she went through the surgery just fine and they were able to remove the complete tumor (about the size of 3-4 baseballs combined going around her to the inside of her leg).

back in april, it was only about the size of 1 baseball but grew so quickly that if she hadn't had the surgery it could have broken open and the only thing they could have done at that time was put her down.

they were able to remove every bit of it which yesterday they were in doubt because they thought it was in the muscle too much and would only be able to remove 3/4 of it.

FreedomFrog

Well, as you know, I was upset yesterday because I got the news that my Kasey had a tumor on her leg that had grown to a huge size and the Vet was convinced it was cancerous since it was growing so fast.

Good news and great news...

She went through the surgery just fine and they were able to remove the complete tumor (about the size of 3-4 baseballs combined going around her to the inside of her leg). Back in April, it was only about the size of 1 baseball but grew so quickly that if she hadn't had the surgery it could have broken open and the only thing they could have done at that time was put her down. They were able to remove every bit of it which yesterday they were in doubt because they thought it was in the muscle too much and would only be able to remove 3/4 of it.

Anyway, the best news, after they examined it the have a strong feeling that it was not cancerous and was just a tumor. Thank goodness...of course they can't say for certain since I opt out of them doing a biopsy (lack of money)...but at least they feel comfortable saying they really don't think it's cancerous.

Looks like I'm going to have Kasey for much longer than what they first thought. Yesterday they gave me 6 mo. - year but now it can be much longer...YAY!

I get to pick her up tomorrow morning. The kids are excited too. Sierra keeps saying "Kasey's boo-boo is better". Even though the "boo-boo" is better, there is going to be a different kind of "boo-boo" and I'm wondering what she will say when she sees it...I'm sure she'll ask my why Kasey's still hurt. I'll just tell her at least this "boo-boo" will heal and Kasey will be back to normal soon.

I'm going to get a nice Thank You card for my vet tomorrow because of how they helped my small family out with our beloved pet. Giving me such a huge discount and letting me pay it in 3 payments has gone above and beyond of what I had expected. I'll tell you this, if they hadn't done the discount, Kasey would have been put down yesterday for lack of money. I think $200 was well worth being able to keep my baby girl for much longer.

26

This dreaded day has finally came...my Kasey girl has cancer. :-(

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

we've been fighting a tumor that is on her leg...because of her age, the dr and i decided to not do surgery back in april because it would be too stressful and the tumor wasn't growing.. in the past 2 weeks, the tumor took off growing so fast that now she's in danger of it breaking open.

we are going to have the tumor removed tomorrow since the dr. said that she is happy and not in pain and can have a bit more time with her.. we may have her for another 6 months, possibly a year.

i can't put her down just yet and since the dr says she's not exactly at that point just yet, we're going to keep her until she starts going down hill.. i'll let you know when we do get to the point of actually having to put her down.. i'm scared a bit because i'm so attached to this dog as well as the kids are.

FreedomFrog

and somehow cannot put pets in the same perspective. sorry

No, don't be sorry...if it was one of my kids I wouldn't ever be the same. My kids are my life...if I lost one of them, I'd hope that if there is a God out there somewhere he/she could give me strength not to lose it for the other one surviving because thinking about it....I'd really lose it.

I'm having a difficult time coming to terms with the idea my Kasey (a dog) at her end...but I don't think I could survive a child of mine dying before me.

Still...my Kasey is my girl...and I hurt bad right now...my kids will hurt and that will hurt me even more because of that.

26

This dreaded day has finally came...my Kasey girl has cancer. :-(

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

we've been fighting a tumor that is on her leg...because of her age, the dr and i decided to not do surgery back in april because it would be too stressful and the tumor wasn't growing.. in the past 2 weeks, the tumor took off growing so fast that now she's in danger of it breaking open.

we are going to have the tumor removed tomorrow since the dr. said that she is happy and not in pain and can have a bit more time with her.. we may have her for another 6 months, possibly a year.

i can't put her down just yet and since the dr says she's not exactly at that point just yet, we're going to keep her until she starts going down hill.. i'll let you know when we do get to the point of actually having to put her down.. i'm scared a bit because i'm so attached to this dog as well as the kids are.

FreedomFrog

It's 11:30pm here, and it's just started sinking in....

I'm beside myself.....I can't stand it...I don't want to know the results...but I know I have too!!!

I just wish she could be with me forever!!!!!!!!!! Oh it hurts so bad!!!..

I'm gonna go curl up with her tonight knowing that this may be the last night. I ache so bad right now.

MY BABY GIRL!!!!