Our immediate family all came out within five yrs of each other . That includes my husband ,me , our three children ,and one of their spouses .
The extended family are still in unfortunately . I have a brother and sister in law ,neice and spouse that no longer have any contact with us . My husband has parents that keep minimal contact .He also has a brother ,sister in law and nephews w/spouses that shun us all . All for just no longer going to meetings !
my mom texted me after i texted her letting her know i felt the quake today.
her only response was "'matthew 24:7".
it really annoyed the hell out of me..
Mr Freeze , you should text me in cases such as these or other emergencies . As an experienced Mother I will provide you with appropriate Mom words of care .
For example : If you had texted me : " Guess what Mom we just felt the earthquake !"
my reply would have been : " OH dear ! Honey I hope you are okay , .....Do you have clean underwear on ?? You know it is always important to have clean undies on in case you get hurt, and have to go to the hospital . Wouldn't want the Nurses thinking you were raised in a barn sweety " Hugs and Love ,Mommy
Now THAT would be as annoying as Hell ,just a different level of hell
just felt a tremor in boston and was on the phone when it happened with a coworker in dc - shook the building there :).
must be the last days!.
Hello , God is looking for Pat Robertson !
hi everyone.. jack and i decided we would go to his local kingdom hall this morning.
although i have no interest anymore in being a jw, i think its still nice to have regular bible discussions, etc, which can give you something spiritual to think about each week.
i love it and i think its damn good for you.. today, jack and i walked in, a little nervous, but were greeted and welcomed like friends.
((((((TIM))))))) ......that is a hug for you . I do know what you mean . I was raised as a witness for 44 yrs then walked away . At first I really needed to belong to something ,to feel a sense of spiritual community . When I left I still believed in God and the Bible . A friend invited me to her church and I attended for a while . It was a wonderful experience . It was what I needed at the time ,a transition period . After a while I just felt my needs and beliefs changed and I no longer needed that kind of reinforcement .
Why not start going to a different place of worship every weekend ? See for yourself what they believe and teach .
I know it was a good experience for me to see for myself other Christians were not anything like the Watchtower described them to be . The Church I went to was encouraging ,Bible based ,and very warm and friendly .
It is all a new education for yourself go out there and LEARN ! It takes time to adjust and to leave a way of life you have been use to for over twenty years . Give yourself time .
beware of the logical fallacy in the first sentence, not to mention all the loaded language.. .
wt 2011-11-15. .
11 vigilant christians refrain from using the world to the full with regard to higher education.. many people in this world consider higher education an indispensable stepping-stone to prestige and an affluent.
Well put NV !
Just in my family I have two young people going to College for the sheer quest of knowlegde . My DIL has a desire to understand genetics and biology . She is not looking at becoming rich ,but possibly doing research into cancer for better ways of treatment .
My son has a real gift in understanding Math . He loves Math and Astronomy . He just called me the other day and is considering quitting his (good) job and going back to school fulltime for his Masters in Math /astronomy . We discussed how it may never be a lucrative carreer (astronomy ) ,But it would fullfil his desire to be learning and doing something he has a passion for ...which he considers worth more than money .
I think if we had encouraged education much more as children they would feel more fulfilled now as young adults . They would have taken advantage of more oppurtunities to seek out what they were passinate about than settleing for mediocre jobs that made enough money to survive on .
Love of learning and having a passion for a particular field always made me think, even as a Witness ,was something God put in us to fulfill .It never felt right we should all be lumped together to only pursue knocking on doors as our life long profession .
shes a nice girl.
nothing against her personally.
she hasnt been in touch for monthes, havent seen her for monthes.. is something happening that she needs my bum on a seat for?.
Witnesses are told to terminate studies after six months if there is no apparent 'progress' ,meaning meeting attendence ,giving up old habits ect .
She will continue though to make casual contact just incase your circumstances change ,and you miss her association so much that you can be guilted into doing more (the future mantra of any JW convert "do more,do more Do MORE ) You will be invited to special talks and the Memorial . There will be special visits to warn you the END is NEAR, and you should seriously consider the safety of the 'ark' of salvation provided by attending the KIngdom Hall .
So now what do you want to do ....are you convinced they do not have the truth ? If yes then I would text her back something like this : " Thank you for the time you spent sharing your unique Bible ideology . However after much serious contemplation I have decided it is not a view we share in common . Good -Bye" ps - no reply necessary
That would be the nice version .... You could be more straight forward and tell her "Thanks ,but I would apppreciate no further contact with JWs .I do not want to be indoctrinated any more with your religious beliefs ."
that is what my wife always says if i express discontent with the present-day organization.
i should just put my unease aside and serve jehovah, regardless of what the other people are doing.
but they are just plain embarrassing sometimes!
I quit going in FS months before I quit the meetings . My thought was the same as others have stated here 'How can I ask others to come into the congregation when I found the people there full of back biting ,deciet,and jealousy ??????"
The prevelant statement "They are imperfect men " started out as an explaination of the Governing Body when they made a mistake. If they are given such leeway ,and they are God's chosen channel , then why are they so hard to judge Christendom ? Are they not imperfect also ?
The congregation of true Christians was suppose to be identified by the LOVE among themselves . In my experience that love proved very shallow and conditional ......not genuine love and caring . I do believe there are individuals among the congregation that have genuine love in their hearts for others ,but it is slowly being sucked out of them .
on friday morning i got a phone call from someone who was interested in buying a utility trailer i had for sale.
the man came over and looked at it and ended up buying it.
i invited him inside our home to fill out the paper work.
I Totally understand ADD.......something very similar happened to me when I first faded . The real love and concern I was shown helped me so much early on when I was so lonely and angry with the WTS . It was something I needed at the time .
At the time I even believed maybe God was showing me I was right about fading ,and that there were Christians out there that really did display true Christian love.
I had several talks with a pastor and attended his church for a brief period . It was a good,positive experience ,and opened my eyes on how wrong the Witnesses are about other religions . The concern and love for each other was comforting and something I longed for , However , I just don't feel the same euphoriaas others in worshipping an unseen spirit creature . I came to the realization that I just don't believe that way . Who knows if that will ever change ,but for right now I just don't feel the need for religion .
Good luck with your journey and discovering what is next ffor you and your family .
P.S. ( I always wanted to be asked to give my experience as a Witness to the Church congregation ,I hope you get to do it )
i was thinking about all the things i missed out on growing up as a jw.
many of those things i will never be able to do anyway, like join in any extracurriular activities or go to senior prom.
but one of the first things i did when i got out if the borg was join a ballroom dance class and go to a nightclub with some of the students in the class.
I made friends with several girls from work and they introduced me to bar activities . Soon one of the girls and her husband started going out with my husband and I ,and we found local bands to follow . I love to dance ,and have had many fun nights going out with friends dancing, and acting like the kids we never got to be in our youth . That first year was a bit wild as I figured out boundries for myself ,but I got a lot of things out of my system during that time with no regrets .
Right away I started celebrating my birthday, and those of my loved ones. I see no reason to pass up an occasion to share love and make memories . I also celebrated holidays right away with non-witness relatives ,and it felt great to behave as a normal human being during these warm family times .
Once I stopped attending meetings I immediately tried out anything I was too afraid of before ....attended Church services,signed up to vote (and then voted), went to movies that interested me no matter what the rating ,tore up my blood card and informed my Doctor of the change .
the witnesses say that if you leave the religion you will become a very vile person.
you will probably get vd.
you will get into drugs and booze, your life will go to hell.. personally, i've been pretty much the same guy although i would now be viewed as a "fornicator".
