Posts by purplesofa

Consider how another Christian was able to help her Bible student. The student was attending meetings and sharing in the ministry and had already expressed a desire to get baptised. However, she appeared to be relying too much on herself rahter that on Jehovah. "As a single woman, she had become more independant than she realized," the Witness recalls. "I worried that she was headed for a physical breakdown or a spiritual fall.

So the Witness too the initiative to reason with the student on Matthew 6:33, encouragin her to adjust her priorities, put the Kingdom first, and trust in Jehovah to work matters out for the best. She asked her frankly: "Does living on your own sometimes make it difficult for you to rely on others, including Jehovah?" The student admitted that she had almost quit praying . The publisher then encouraged her to follow the advice found at Psalm 55:22 and throuw her burden on Jehovah because, as 1Peter 5:7 assures us, "he cares for you." Those words touched her heart. The Witness says, "That was one of the few times I saw her cry."

I cold not help but think this Bible student would soon have quit her job to be in service more or whatever to gain what it took to be baptised. And that her independant spirit was squealshed (hey its a word in Arkansas) She would become a robot like all the others and really start to cry alot.

And I really did not figure out why her being independant was the problem........it just seemed distorted and twisted.

15

They just DO NOT think!!!

by Jez in

jw
friends

during talks, the audience just don't think.

the speaker can shoot off some stat, a comment, but "where is the evidence for what you just said?".

the speaker can give a really great story about how a drug addict became a jw, how it saved his life, but do they think: "yes, that is one neg example in the world, but what about the positive examples?

purplesofa

I really do believe that meetings put us in a trance state and we just kind of are there filling up on BS.

OOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...........most are proably having an out of body experiance...!

113

What is good and what is bad music?

by hillary_step in

a hundred years ago or so, when women did not all look the same and screech like ancient hinges, and strip malls were just a nightmare in a squirrels mind, i wrote a jazz column for a newspaper.

it did not last long as i was eaten up by the wt and became a regular pioneer with an irregular notion and a pile of scruffy s8's.. .

i well remember one issue in which i took great exception to a comment made by duke ellington which seemed to me to be far to general and subjective to make much sense.

purplesofa

Moody Blues concert I went to ..they played with an orchestra..........it was awesome music, so that was GOOD.

I would say William Hung from American Idol was very BAD!

37

Do you find any value in attending the occaisonal meeting?

by 24k in

jw
friends

do you still attend the occaisonal meeting with your believing family members?

if so, do you find any value in what's presented?

i still attend the occaisonal sunday meeting with my believing wife in an effort to show my respect for her feelings and my willingness to be tolerant.

purplesofa

I thought I could, but best I don't as now I would walk out if something was said I could not stand. I used to walk to the bathroom when the old school overseer gave counsel to the youth. He was harsh and not encouraging at all.

If I went now my disgust would be obvious.

41

Gas price in your area?

by JH in

jw
friends

here in quebec, ordinary unleaded is 94.4 cents a litre.

(that's the cheapest gas!!!).

there are 3.78 liters per american gallon, so this would give $3.57 a us gallon..... what's the price of gas in your area?

purplesofa

$2.27 for Shell V-power on Saturday.

Arkansas

14

Thinking back

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

my bookstudy was at an elders house that lived a bit out of the city.

a small road with only his house and another.

the other house was the first you passed.....unsightly....trashed cars.......broken down bicycles............not trashy, but not like the bit of paradise at the elder house.. i remember the elder telling us how the man had become ill and lost his job working for the waterworks department, a city job, with little wages.

purplesofa

My bookstudy was at an elders house that lived a bit out of the city. A small road with only his house and another. The other house was the first you passed.....unsightly....trashed cars.......broken down bicycles............not trashy, but not like the bit of paradise at the elder house.

I remember the elder telling us how the man had become ill and lost his job working for the waterworks department, a city job, with little wages. Eventually, he got his electricity turned off and was still living in the home. There were children living there I remember. and what looked like a Grandmother.

I remember passing by when the children were outside at a picnic table doing what appeared to be homework, with an elderly women. They were orderly kids, not unruly.

They lived there quit some time without electricity. It was getting to be colder weather and I remember inquiring if they got power. I can't remember now ----the reply. but I remember seeing plastic over the windows.

But for the life of me...........how did all us witnesses pass by there week after week knowing they were without power and not take up a collection to help them?

It really sickens me as I think of it today.

46

Hey!

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

i have had this nickname online for over five years.

when i signed up at this discussion board i really was looking for fellow jw believers, looking for some new freinds.

what i found was something so much better.

purplesofa

I would like to take this time to thank four special people from this forum

ummmmmmmmm i know i listed Five.......but one is a Dog!!!!

46

Hey!

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

i have had this nickname online for over five years.

when i signed up at this discussion board i really was looking for fellow jw believers, looking for some new freinds.

what i found was something so much better.

purplesofa

I just finished reading CoC. It will forever change my life.

The last two paragraphs of this book are worth writing down now.

"Life is a journey, ans we cannot make progress in it if out focus is mainly on where we have been; that could lead to emotional inertia or even spirtiual decline. What is done is done. Teh past is beyond our changing, but the present and future ar ething we can work with, focus on. The journey inevitably contains challenge, but we can find encouragement in knowing that we are moving on, making at least some progress, and can feel confident that what lies ahead can be fulfilling.

Whatever our individual circumstances may have been, we can each put confidence in the truth of these words of the apostle, "We know that by turning everything to thier good God cooperates with all those who love him." (Romans 8:28, JB) By holding to conscience and staying true to our Head, God's Son, we suffer to lasting loss, but do gain that which is of immense and enduring value. Assured of that, we can feel as did the apostle:

Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.....one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of upward call of God in Christ Jesus.---Phillipians 3:7, 13, 14.

I would like to take this time to thank four special people from this forum:

Big Dog

IP_SEC

sKally

theotherside

ithinkisee (early posts inspired me.)have not had time to read recent ones.

Thanks for all who give of themselves and for the great comic relief found here in a time of turmoil within myself with my religion. I hope to be able to read all the posts I have bookmarked while trying to heal these last few weeks. And I look forward to getting to know you all better, a most couragious and loving people you are, true lovers of the truth.

I have got to clean my house and lose this KaZillion pounds I gained glued to the computer and reading this book..............ps, In Search of Christian Freedom is next.

46

Hey!

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

i have had this nickname online for over five years.

when i signed up at this discussion board i really was looking for fellow jw believers, looking for some new freinds.

what i found was something so much better.

purplesofa

Sofa, I assure you that your account of reading the book is greatly appreciated by us. Keep on!

Thanks ...........and will do!