Reading COC helped get rid of any residual guilt I had left in my mind over leaving the religion . I was happily surprised to find Ray Franz writngs were humble ,accounts of what he experienced, not hate filled rantings of a disgruntled ex-member .
troubled mind
JoinedPosts by troubled mind
-
-
-
-
54
You Can Overcome WT Phobias!
by leavingwt inearly in the exit process, it's very important to begin overcoming irrational fears.
fear of the devil.
fear of god.
-
-
troubled mind
Lunatic Faith ,I have to say I love your posts . I think your observations are spot on .
-
5
Went to a Witness visitation last night
by troubled mind inthe wife of a former c.o.
and friend of my husbands family for many years .
the family lived a few hours away and we have not had contact for about four yrs .
-
-
troubled mind
His family gets under my skin .....
-
5
Went to a Witness visitation last night
by troubled mind inthe wife of a former c.o.
and friend of my husbands family for many years .
the family lived a few hours away and we have not had contact for about four yrs .
-
-
troubled mind
My husband said last night he has not changed ,he is still a good person that feels love for his longtime friends . Even though he knows most of them would not cast a shadow upon the door to his funeral . HE had to do what was right because that is who he is ......( I love my man because that is who he is !)
-
8
Hot, Cold or Both about religion?
by mythreesons inlet me start by saying my wife and i are out, just not officially.
we have not been going to the meetings for over a year.
my wife and i had decided to check out other churches...i guess we had been feeling a need to do so.
-
-
troubled mind
I have been out five yrs now . When i first faded I still believed in the bible and God just not JW doctrine . I felt the need to check out other faiths . I attended a neighborhood Methodist church and it was a wonderful experience .
I too though had moments of dejuvue when they did skits and it reminded me of the KH. It was a good experience in that I learned everything the Witnesses had taught me about other churches was not true and demons did not hurl themselves upon me when I stepped into church !.... The people in this church are very caring ,loving , excited about God .They also are very concerned in getting their young teens involved and I was impressed how much they do for each other . However after about a yr in a half I no longer felt the need to keep attending .
I think at first I just needed the sense of community . I have a friend that use to be an Elder ,he faded and became a Unitarian and loves the acceptance there along with the social involvement .
There are still times I feel nostalgic about religion and the Bible. For the most part I now think the Bible along with God are just made up by man because we are afraid of death . However I will keep an open mind because one big lesson I have learned is that I may not know anything :)
When I see stories of great sacrifice by humans to help others it warms my heart whether they do it in the name of religion or not .
I no longer have answers to the big questions such as where do we go when we die , is there a God ,ect...? But it is okay for me now . I am comfortable not having answers because one thing i know for sure is NO one does know for sure !
-
5
Went to a Witness visitation last night
by troubled mind inthe wife of a former c.o.
and friend of my husbands family for many years .
the family lived a few hours away and we have not had contact for about four yrs .
-
-
troubled mind
The wife of a former C.O. and friend of my husbands family for many years . The family lived a few hours away and we have not had contact for about four yrs . We were a bit apprehensive about going because we knew some from our old hall might be there .We were counting on since it is a long drive they might all wait for the memorial at the hall today instead .
Sure enough as we walk into the room there is my husbands (Elder) Step-Brother and his wife the ice Queen! With them was another old friend of my Husbands from Nebraska . He came over and shook my husbands hand and said hello ,but then turned away before I got to close ....(I have aposta cooties) His stepbrother and wife quickly exited the room never to be seen again that night ....taking with them this other friend and a few more whispering in hushed tones .
The relatives of the woman that passed are all still witnesses ,but our conversations were of concern and love . We circumvented most JW talk ....
I made it around to all the family and we shared past memories and it went well . I had recently found out that one of the grandchildren has a Christian Mission work in another country so I made a point to talk with him since you could tell he was out of the Witness loop . He was a delightful young man .
So glad we put our fears aside and went to show our respect .It is healing to follow your heart and do what you know is right . I am so glad it was a funeral home visitation where you can share stories of the deceased and really show concern . Had it been just a Kingdom Hall memorial I would not have gone . I told my husband last night the funeral services at the hall only stifle peoples emotions it is not healthy . I think You need to express yourself at these sad times, and you need to hear stories that make you laugh and weep together in order to grieve .
-
17
Things I'm grateful for....
by Lunatic Faith ini only recently decided to change course in my life but am surprised at the daily reminders of what i have to be grateful for.
by this, i mean, things i have spent my life worrying about, or torturing myself with, that is no longer a concern:.
no more door-to-door humiliationno more guilt about not doing enoughi can get rid of most of the dresses in my wardrobe since i didn't like them anywayno more nylons rolling down my abdomen and causing my thighs to itchno more required reading and preparationno more talksno more conventions and all the headaches connected to themsummer is wide openweekly planning is no longer contingent upon meeting nightno more miserable weekends of morning service and morning meetingwhat are you grateful for?.
-
-
troubled mind
My life is no longer stifled following someone else's mandates on how I should live it ,and that makes me so very thankful ! I am in my late forties and just now getting to live and express my TRUE self ....I am thankful I have whatever time is left of my life to really enjoy it now .
This is a silly small example of the little joys I treasure now :
I work with some older retired men driving School Bus. One of those men named Bob had a birthday this past week . I love Bob ,he is a sweet guy that is always making small kind gestures like treating some of the girls at work to breakfast when we are on the road for field trips . He is also a prankster ! Well this week I bought him a funny birthday card and a huge stuffed Monkey ,and it felt so good to see the joy it brought to him . He sat the monkey on his lap and made it look like it was driving when he was in the parking lot .He had such a silly grin on his face ,and the little kids on his bus were all laughing ..... His wife recently had a stroke and it has taken an emotional toll on him .So to see him smiling and being silly again for even a short time made my day .
I thought to myself later that day:
"If I was still a Witness I would not have done that .....and look what goodness and joy I would have missed ."
I have also made it a practice to give small gifts to the kids on my bus when they let me know it is going to be their birthdays .....It brings a tear to my eye to see how so appreciative they are to be remembered on their days . Their little faces beam and eyes light up even when they don't get a gift ,but are just remembered ......It makes me feel like crying when I think how many chances I had with my own kids ,but passed those chances by because it was 'BAD" to celebrate birthdays .
I am so thankful I no longer allow someone else to dictate my life.
-
27
The letter I promised earlier from the Society on Blood
by ldrnomo inthere are four different links on sendspace.com .
each link is one of the pages of the letter here are the links.
page 1 http://www.sendspace.com/file/03vk19.
-
-
troubled mind
Murray Smith
The point you bring out is what my conscience has told me for a very longtime .
When I was a Witness it always bothered me that in these articles they would say " A Christian's conscience would or should allow or not allow this or that... "ect. All the time I would think hey I am a Christian and that is NOT what MY conscience is saying to me .
Finally when it came to the blood fractions ,what was allowed and what was not ....It just clicked with me how this was all so wrong .
Like you said above ....A transfusion is not taking the life from someone ,that person donated a small portion and is fine . The taking of a transfusion is for saving a life,and isn't that honoring the sacredness in life right there ?
The oppression ,by the Watchtower Society , of the individuals right to think for themselves, and act on their own accord is irreprehensible .
-
124
JWN's Night Shift vs Day Shift
by SweetBabyCheezits ini'm sure i'm the very last person to notice the day shift / night shift groups of posters but i kinda think it's funny when i pop in on an evening and discover posters i've never seen, but who have 10,000 posts.. that's all.
carry on.
situation "normal".. edit: hi, night crew, i'm on the day crew, btw..
-
-
troubled mind
It is my bedtime now though ,so I will leave the night shift to do what they may .... zzzzzzzzz
-
124
JWN's Night Shift vs Day Shift
by SweetBabyCheezits ini'm sure i'm the very last person to notice the day shift / night shift groups of posters but i kinda think it's funny when i pop in on an evening and discover posters i've never seen, but who have 10,000 posts.. that's all.
carry on.
situation "normal".. edit: hi, night crew, i'm on the day crew, btw..
-
-
troubled mind
This place takes up way to much of my facebook time