Carmel

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Posts by Carmel

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  60

  Well I'm Out!!!!

  by ImFreeatlast in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it took a long time, but i can finally say i'm out and i took my family with me.. this is my first post but i have been reading here for a while.

  i was brought up a witness, in a family that was very 'strong' (or so everyone thought).

  i didnt have a relationship with my perents at all other than the 'family study'.

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  Carmel

  DAL, I too married "young'. I was 20 she was 19. That was 45 years ago and we are still a dynamic duo! So glad your wife was open to the reality of the "tuuf". My you both prosper and be well. c armel
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  28

  What will today bring?

  by wings in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for some of you, seems like you have your routines, family, jobs, etc....and you can plan you day and enjoy it.. for others of us, everyday is a struggle to make a good day happen.

  if i don't work on it, i won't have one.

  today will be a good day!

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  Carmel

  It's going to be tough on the tour of the Grand Canyon tomorrow, but alas, I will struggle to make it a pleasant experiance... actually, waking up and seeing the cloudless sky, knowing I'm still sucking air, have my health, sufficient funds, a set of good friends and the respect of my peers.... any day is a good one! Hope your's is rewarding and fulfilling... ' carmel
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  50

  I joined Weight Watchers today!

  by Princess Daisy Boo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am a bit of a yo yo dieter - i have been dieting ever since i was a teenager, and my role model for this was my mom of course.

  in fact one of my very early memories of going shopping with mom and her buying a diet shake mix.

  well... i have a little girl who is almost three and i have been thinking about things and i really need to break this cycle of crash diets, losing 5 kgs and picking up 10 once i have lost motivation.

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  Carmel

  I joined 40 lbs ago! It is wonderful learning to enjoy hunger rather than lamenting being stuffed! all is relative, but hey, new wardrobe and light on the feet are worth the ride! carmel
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  29

  I am fed up with "Where else would I/We Go?"

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it is a standard answer that i get from the few jw's that i speak with.. "the organization has it's flaws, but where else would we go to be among.

  people who strive to do [jehovah's/god's] will?".

  "i don't understand all the doctrine, nor take it as seriously as you do, but .

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  Carmel

  All mammals endure the experiance of being weened from mother's tit! The need to attach to a nursishing supply of pablum is universal and different mothers go about disengagement in different ways. In this case "mother" is more "attached" to the engagement than the infant. Be patient with those that cannot concieve of giving up the passifier! If being sustained through the mental pablum of an outside source, perhaps being that transitional source is worthy of merit,,,,,or not! Some folks respond positively to the challenge you postulate re wether or not it is in fact the truth, while others shrink like a plant without water. There are, as you correctly state, many organizations and individuals who are actively doing "God's will" and to seek for them is a worthwhile persuit. Invariably while doing so the newly activated mind will begin to ponder deeper questions that will re-inforce the in-born need to "know". Once on that path, unless one falls prey to mental diverticulosis, it will lead to a much greater "truth'. carmle
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  36

  If a JW girl falls pregnant to a 'worldly person'...before marriage??

  by Lantana in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've had many encounters with jw's throughout the years and i've found them to be decent, caring people.

  i've attending meetings, read a number of awake!

  and watchtower publications and so on and so forth.. the book 'crisis of conscious' by ray franz was really eye-opening for me and served as a strong warning for those about to enter the organisation...its easy to fill in the blanks from there -- i never became a jw.

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  Carmel

  Welcome Lantana (one of my favorite plants)

  I was gonna make a smarty pants remark about girs "falling pregnant" but thought better of it! Can't misstreat a newbie that way! I hope your 16 year old friend finds a safe house to protect herself and her child from the witchtower...

  carm
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  33

  Around what age do most Witnesses leave the organization?

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my congregation had 85 members ten years ago.

  today,there are only 46. the ones that left the organization were mostly between 18-25 years old.

  i haven't seen many middle-aged or elderly leave.

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  Carmel

  I left mentally at age 12, but it took nearly three years to physically separate from family et al. I never met anyone who had the good fortune that I had to escape that early. Honestly, I credit my early exit for my success in ridding myself of a lot of baggage fairly quickly. Still have lingering traces of patterns of thought and behavior that upon reflection were engrained during the formative years before my escape.

  crmel
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  71

  Copy of New Bookstudy Arrangement Letter

  by grassyknoll07 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this site has a copy of the letter.

  it's in spanish.

  http://www.extj.com/foro/view_topic.php?id=3679&forum_id=1

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  Carmel

  OMG they gave into Satan! Jeeze, what next? Accepting different sexual preferences?

  What's this world coming to?
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  13

  Possible Gods

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm just trying to fill a logical hole.

  many people conclude that the existence of life or the structure of the universe demands that there be a god.

  i don't really agree with this, but i can sympathise with that viewpoint.

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  Carmel

  Can the table comprehend the carpenter? Can the painting understand the mind of the painter? Why struggle to invent a vain imagining? How many the worshipers of an idea that is no more real than the 360 idols in the Khaba? An "unknowable essense" is beyond our comprehension, the divine lote tree beyond which there is no passing!

  carmel
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  13

  I predict Supreme Court for this situation

  by Octarine Prince in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  click for article!

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  Carmel

  Personally, I'd do the same thing that the teacher did. I'd go one further and put the Bagava Gita, the Koran, The Tripanishads and The Kitab' Iqan all next to the Bible. Then add a "Blind Watch Maker" and Ann Ryand too just to show that the desk can hold them all without a problem. Small minds are afraid of being stretched! carmel
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  26

  the meetup

  by sh4m3sh4m3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so, i went to an ex jw meetup last night & the weirdest thing happened.

  one of the elders that went over my questions for baptism with me, was there.

  and i don't live in a small area.

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  Carmel

  That's alright to feel the way you are feeling. I have many close friends that have rejected all religion and are atheists or agnostic. We have much in common in that I don't believe in the same god that they don't believe in. Yet I am comfortable with my beliefs and can allow for others to hold other beliefs and not have it threaten me. Only those that are on shakey philosophical ground need others to believe as they do to reinforce their uncertainty! I've met some wonderful ex jWs at meet ups and I see what you have seen too. Interestingly, a year later some of them seem to be much more at ease and have shed a lot of the angst and anger, so be patient with them. Their journey will be unique as is yours. You can be a beacon of light to them if you want! carmel