betrayed...thanks for sharing your story. i'm sorry to hear all that you've been through. please don't give up on hope. even if it's just looking at a flower and seeing hope in it. or maybe a child playing, a bird singing, a sunset or sunrise. They all give us hope that God cares for us. my prayers are that you will find trustworthy, honest people. I started attending churches to find one where i felt at home. i had to remove all the programmed judgements but have found some wonderful people at a local church and attend guilt and judgement free. build your network one person at a time. how about volunteering in a nursing home, a senior citizen center, your local ymca, scouts, 4-H or a homeless shelter ? Toastmasters is also a great organization. Know that you don't have to fix anyone. It's so freeing not to have to shove religion down someone else's throat. Just listen to people and try to fill a need. Sounds like you have some wonderful talents, the greatest being a caring person. Take one day at a time. Some books that might be helpful are A Course In Miracles and The Power of Now. God Bless and keep in touch. Grace.
homesteader
JoinedPosts by homesteader
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27
Totally screwed up.
by betrayedbyall inhi, its been a few months since i last visited the forum and to be honest in that time my life has just continued to go downhill, does it ever get any easier guys, i have been so close to ending it all a few times and dont know how much longer i can take the anquish and pain which i feel every day !!!!!!!!.
i now have no job, no friends, and no desire to fight anymore, i sit here day after day just wanting to sleep so that the mental pain will go away and yet i want peace so much.. my old mum who turns 80 next month, and who has been a witness for 50 years, has been so hurt by the events that led to my dissasociation she has now stopped going to the kingdoom hall, but i can see how sad and confused she is and i feel i have caused her great hurt in her later years, she has a bad heart and looks so worn down, i am worried sick she may pass away in this condition and this is tearing me apart also.
you might remember i lost my job after 28 years after being bullied and putting in a claim of harrasment, i then started up my own business and 10 witnesses worked for me, the lies and deceit was beyond words and in the end i had to close most of the business down, after that it was only myself and a non witness friend who were working together.
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27
Naughty children
by Ellie in.
i heared something the other day that made me sick.. apparentely its been brought out in a talk recently that children are becoming more and more imperfect due to us being right at the end of the system.. i was told that the witnesses are saying that this generation of kids being born have a natural bad streak that makes them so willfull and disobedient.. i don't know what they are saying should be done about it but i imagine they are probably encouraging harsher discipline.. the mind boggles!
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homesteader
ps. One of the best parenting books I read was Children Are From Heaven by John Gray.
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Naughty children
by Ellie in.
i heared something the other day that made me sick.. apparentely its been brought out in a talk recently that children are becoming more and more imperfect due to us being right at the end of the system.. i was told that the witnesses are saying that this generation of kids being born have a natural bad streak that makes them so willfull and disobedient.. i don't know what they are saying should be done about it but i imagine they are probably encouraging harsher discipline.. the mind boggles!
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homesteader
What a terrible label and burden to put upon children! After leaving jw's I found many wonderful, productive, polite and moral youth in churches, at school and in the community. What I am most fascinated by are their social skills, something many jw youth lack. sounds like another manipulative coy to deter people from having children. In my opinion, children are becoming more knowledgable and willing to contribute to society in a productive way. Freethinkers they are.
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My relationship has come to an end because of JW brainwashing
by MM090503 ina few of you may remember when i came to this site back in sept. i was seeking advice about my bf who had been studying with jw.
well i hate to say it but they won.
after being together almost 2yrs we broke up.
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homesteader
IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The jw mind control and brainwashing is very strong and I don't believe you could of done anything to change the situation. Your ex-bf is where he needs to be right now. Enjoy your freedom and pat yourself on the back for not getting sucked into the cult.
God Bless. Grace
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how to live with JW
by freefly inhey,.
my partner in life (26yrs) has been converted to jw by his mother.. i am not one to whine -as very aware many have more troubles in their life.. i suppose one of my fears has been this exactly- as i know he was raised jw and should have saw the "signs.
" he always regularly visited with his mom, which i respected as felt a good sign he had a mother/son relationship.
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homesteader
What a quandary you are in! Do you love him? If not, it's not worth the fight for you or the kids. Don't put them or yourself through it. There's no way to make sense of it....I was a faithful jw for 25 years and regret all the years my children had to hear me and their "unbelieving" dad fight over it. I'm still apologizing to them for missed years of an intact family and their childhood. Your in my prayers. Find someone that treats you like a million bucks....there's a lot of great people around, you deserve to be happy.
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bad people!!!
by susu812 inwhy is it that good people are the ones who get treated like crap??
its like you have to be a jerk, rude, mean just to have good things happen to you.
if your nice then you get stepped all over.
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homesteader
you might want to try some assertiveness training. it takes awhile to get away from that brainwashing on submission.
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Honestly, do you think that JW's really like going to 3 or 4day assemblies?
by JH in.
honestly, do you think that jw's really like going to 3 or 4 day assemblies, especially when it's out of town, far away, and you have to take a motel room, and all the gas money and food money it takes, as well as having to sit down all day listening to endless talks...and that for 3 or 4 days in a row.. and often, they have to take a day off from work, to attend the friday meeting, so no pay for that day.. i think that the jw's are glad when it's finally over, not before.. .
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homesteader
am enjoying everyone's comments....i thought i had adhd (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) because I couldn't sit still for three days. don't miss them a bit...regret all the $ i spent that our family didn't have.
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How many here would classify themselves as Recovering JW's?
by Big Dog inmedical
addiction
n. habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control.
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homesteader
i would say recovered but not recovering....not one bit of withdrawal either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Did anyone find the DC encouraging?
by sweet tee ini remember going to the assemblies and conventions and feeling encouraged by the information that was presented.
in hindsight, i may have just felt that way because that's how you were supposed to feel.
i was a 100% brainwashed fool for many years, if the gb said it, i did, i felt it and i believed it .
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homesteader
I left DC's feeling exhausted (caring for 4 children), worthless (I was never doing enough) and guilt ridden. I always tried to take the children some place interesting like a beach or museum so they would have some fun on our "vacation" Don't miss them a bit.
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no stones please!
by almosthome ini am hoping a little balance is allowed here, or at least the coin's flip side.
this is my story so far, but i am fairly sure it is going to end up a bit differently than most i have read on your site.
the brothers couldn't help my husband, he didn't want help.
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homesteader
Sounds like you need to go 'home' to do some recovery work. best wishes.
just for the record....GRACE is God's love for us UNCONDITIONALLY. He loves us just the way we are and it can't be earned by hours in field service, meeting attendance, sucking up to elders and overseers. Let us know if you find that with JW's. It eluded me.
Grace