sometimes when i go visit my mother, she mentions that i was a good kid because i was raised by bible principles.
i was crying for absolutely no reason at all.
around 11:30, i felt completely ill. i went up to my teacher and told him i was going to see the nurse.
Thanks, Joysome. I feel very strongly about this issue. My daughter is like a young somebodylovesme...a goody sweet girl, and it used to frost my socks when the JW lady I knew, or her son (my daughter's ex bf) would imply how much better behaved and morally strong JW kids are. Then, they would say that my daughter was "the nicest girl they knew". My head would spin.
Nos, I'm sorry for all the misery you grew up with. You should be very proud of yourself and your growth.
sometimes when i go visit my mother, she mentions that i was a good kid because i was raised by bible principles.
i was crying for absolutely no reason at all.
around 11:30, i felt completely ill. i went up to my teacher and told him i was going to see the nurse.
Just a thought.
Some of you didn't get into as much mischief as teens or young aduts, because you had loving parents who cared. Maybe it was because you made wise choices in your life.
Being a good parent has nothing to do with religion. It wouldn't matter which religion they were, if your parents still raised you with the same expectations of not drinking or smoking underage, and behaving ethically and morally. There are lots of normal kids who behave, just as there are Witness kids who behave. The are normal kids who party too young and too much and there are Witness kids who party too young and too much. If you had worldly friends who were wild, you could have looked around for some that were behaving. They're out there.
This issue is one that just makes my blood boil. My real life experience with JWs had mainly been though a JW teenager . He would admit to me in one breath about the JW kids who drank and were wild, then tell me in the next, that being raised JW was still the best, because he was morally stronger than the school friends who were wild. He chose to hang out with the wild kids, there were good kids out there and they weren't cool enough for him. So much hypocracy.
I am getting the subtle feel from some of you, that you still believe that being raised as a JW makes you morally stronger and kept you straighter longer??? That a JW upbringing is superior??? Is that Watchtower conditioning still part of you??? I am confused.
I have a young adult in the house and a teenager, and they are great kids, who, for the most part, make wise choices in their lives. They have friends who do the same. None are JW.
i'd appreciate any links or book recommendations to help with grief.
i've searched the net, but thought that you would all have some good input.
basically i'm trying to help someone very close to me who is shattered with grief (the death happened only 2 days ago).. please tell me about your own experiences in helping someone in this situation.
Sirona,
You have received excellent advice from everyone. May I echo Little Toe and remember her when time has gone by and all the fuss and attention has faded away. Everyone goes back to their own life, but for your friend, life has been irrevocably changed.
I had a really tough time when my father died 10 years ago. He had raised me and I have no siblings, and I felt very alone. I finally got to a place where life was OK again, it was just a different "OK".
I found this book helpful.
i've been lurking on this board for a couple of months now, taking it all in.
i've really appreciated and enjoyed reading your postings and it's all been very helpful.
i have now a question i'd like to ask.
Hi True North. Welcome to the board.
As an outsider (never been JW), I have observed the huge emotional toll leaving the JW can take. Especially to those who leave family behind. I have often read posters talk about residual fears of Armagedon and death. You said it all. It seems to me, that most need some kind of exit therapy, from researching on the internet and forums like this one, or professional help. You don't want them to become the "walking wounded".
As far as therapists go, you would need one who knows about JW/cult issues. I would ask Lady Lee, a respected poster on this board. I believe she is away for a week or so, but you could send her a PM. I have also found that having other non-JW read Diane Wilson's book "Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness" is very enlighening. Everything that I hear on this board, with regard to freeing family, involves patience. Sounds like you have that. Amazing has written on the freeminds site on how he got his family out.
I have a 16 year old as well, and I know how important friends are to kids that age. Is there any way to start getting her involved in outside activities so she has social contacts who aren't JW? It will make the transition easier. Eventually those JW friends are going to dump her as bad association, and it is going to hurt her like anything.
If you have lurked for a while, you may already have seen this thread. It is Jgnat's thread for newbies, and has lots of resources.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/58215/863175/post.ashx#863175
I hope that all goes well.
he was only 5 months and 1 week old...he was not breathing when they woke up on wednesday, and they tried cpr, but it didnt work.....i am so sad for them.
she was the sister that studied with me before i was baptised, and also the best friend i ever had, in or out of the jws.
she moved away from about 4 years ago, and we had only spoken a few times on the phone since then.. a mutual friend of ours called me yesterday morning and told me.
Eyebrow, mark your calendar to call her again in 3 months, and 6 months and a year. There is a flurry of attention and sympathy right now, but then everyone goes back to their normal life.............except the grieving parents. They will never forget, and a phone call later can be appreciated.
when people hear the name jehovah, they automatically think jehovah witnesses.
i know that in old catholic bibles, the word jehovah might be found or jahweh.
is it the jw's who came out with that name first or did other religions use it before the jw's?
I was raised in the Christian Reformed Church. It is a Dutch, quite calvanistic church, as I recall. They regularly used the name Jehovah, then. I recently looked at their website and they no longer seemed to used that name. I was also at a funeral in a CR Church, and I didn't hear the name Jehovah, once. I guess they saw the error of their ways.
i have successfully deprogrammed my first dub.. my very good friend has finally seen the light.
i am so happy that the shackles have come off.
she is in the process of reading coc and has stopped going to meetings.. i have made my first apostate disciple.. wannaexit
Congratulations, Wannaexit. Is she just teetering on the edge or is she really out?
When you are ready, and if it is OK with your friend, (who may eventually end up on this board, right), could you explain how you did it. Positive experiences like yours are nice to hear about.
this is a question that keeps bugging me, if a non-jw were charming or good looking enough would the jw have a relationship with that non-jw?
or would the jw think it was a test and stick to his or her guns and still reject that person.
No, jukes, but you are amazingly lucky. You just dodged a bullet. You just haven't figured it out, yet.
as some of you know i had rotater surgery on my shoulder in oct. my insurance would only cover a few weeks of therapy.i do many of the excercise's at home but my arm is stuck.it will only go up half way and if i don't get it unstuck my doc.
is going to put me in the hospital and as he said,put me out and crank on it.
i hate hospitals and would appreciate any help or suggestions to unstick it.
kls,
A frozen shoulder from adhesion formation is reasonably common, after surgery or injury. I know other people who have had it rotated under anesthesia to break the adhesions. Their main problem was forcing themselves to keep it moving, after that, to prevent the shoulder form gluing itself down again. Have a look at this site:
how would a jw put in order of importance, priority, loyalty
would the list on paper be different than that actually practiced?
jehovah
Will Power, you have my profound sympathy. You have been married to this man for 20 years, now you and your non-JW children will be far below the Watchtower society.
Protect your children, so they don't catch the "disease". How do they feel about the situation?
Only you will know if you are miserable enough, or your kids are unhappy enough, to end this marriage. I really believe that decisions like that can't be taken lightly. However, if you are horribly unhappybecause of how he has changed your lives, and you can't see any improvement in the future, it is time to make positive steps.
The Watchtower will be the mistress in your marriage.
