I know someone who told me she was disfellowshipped for being materialistic. She said they overlooked it for years, she gave $3000 a month. But their daughters started experiencing another life when they went out in service and hung out with her, that is when they d'fed her. Didn't want them thinking of carreers and such when they should be humble pioneers....
Apostate Kate
JoinedPosts by Apostate Kate
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21
Being materialistic, as a disfellowshipping reason.
by free2beme inmy sister and i, are my mothers only two children.
we were both witnesses at one point, i left ten year ago and my sister left in 2005. my mother remains as the only witness left in my immediate family.
while my sister and i make good money, with our careers and duel income in marriage, we don't talk about it much.
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renting churches
by Cellist inwe just played for a wedding that was held in a church.
the minister officiating didn't belong to the religion that owned the church.
the church was rented and the people being married brought in their own minister.
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Apostate Kate
It is very common. Most mainstream churches don't see the church building as much more than a place to worship, some can afford a nicer building than others.
Some churches will bring in extra money by renting out the church to pay for other ministries which is what I wanted to do when my husband pastored a church and we needed money for different things; building repair, outreach food and shelter ministries to the homeless etc.
It has nothing to do with declining membership, in the US churches are growing. We now are working with a new church that rents a Community building where we meet. We pay $400 a month and are saving for our own building. The church is growing fast we are reaching capacity, and the childrens ministry is held in a trailer that is now full.
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Otherwise Engaged...
by LittleToe injust a little breaking news:.
after several years of a great friendship with diane (previously posted as xena) things have started to really come together recently and i've succumbed to making an honest woman of her (or at least as honest as it's possible to make her.
last night (xmas day) i popped the question and she agreed to marry me (i wonder if she knows what she's let herself in for!!!)..
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Apostate Kate
Oh how exciting!
Congratulations you two!!!
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109
Women are in subjection to their husbands and to the Elders!!!!!
by Gill inthe february 15th watchtower 2007, is spectacularly nauseating!!!
at least i found it so.. i would welcome the opinion of all on the board to this sentiment on page 19, paragraph 8 and9:.
'although subjection can be challenging, women can welcome it as honorable, even as did jesus.
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Apostate Kate
Judges 4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
Imagine an elder obeying Deborah and being sentenced by her.
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What do women REALLY want?
by Abandoned inok, i've heard it all: sincerity, honesty, security, money, love, romance, flowers, poems, promises, and more.
but, in my arguably limited experience, i've been shot down while doing all of these (at differnt times obviously).
so, what do women really want?
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Apostate Kate
maybe we'll hook up. Maybe we won't either
Those were some very wonderful years that I spent alone, and in my so called "prime" too! I learned to enjoy being single, going out alone, dining alone if I was in the mood for dinner out etc.
It was great! I had no intentions of ever dating again in fact I was enjoying my life so much I did not want to ruin a good thing. I'll admit the first year was the hardest. Those urges and all, but after that it only got better. I loved the freedom!
Since I was so happy with my life the way it was, only a person who would have been content coming into my world would have been compatible. I had made the mistake so many times in the past of compromising who I am for a man that I was solidly committed to never going there again. "I yam who I yam."
For me the simple basic outward facts had to mesh; location, goals, personality, doctrines, beliefs etc.
Then the inner qualities had to be stable. That seems to be a problem today because how can we know for sure who someone is, their history, unless you were raised in the same town and knew each other from childhood. (As JWs, most of us didn't get a chance to get to know anyone in our towns that were not JW) So I really scrutinized any potential date as best I could.
I am so naive that I believed what men said about themselves like; I have a few beers after work nothing that could be considered an alcoholic, my wife doesn't understand me, I'm not married, I graduated from the University, I'm here legally on a student visa, I don't smoke I can quit anytime, I love kids, no I am not addicted to online porn.......Do woman misrepresent themselves too?
The best thing I did when I was single was to make new friends. Learn how to be a friend to others. That is something I am still working on after being a dub.
Get out there, be yourself. Have fun!
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Why be obedient to god?
by nicolaou inif a creator god is real and he is the source of life well then i would certainly acknowledge that and give him thanks for my existence and for the universe i live in.
but obedience?.
my mum and dad gave me life, ensured my education, looked after my health and wellbeing, loved me, taught me the value of kindness and friendships and so much more.
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Apostate Kate
Whatever you choose to believe about who God is, the Bible says that God is our Father and loves us;
1 John 3:1a Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:
Just as a loving human parent will set boundaries for their children for their children's own protection, God has done so for our protection. It is our choice of course to obey and keep the boundaries or not. It is our choice to accept the love He offers or not.
Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Is loving a hard commandment to obey? Even if one is not a believer in God, isn't it the right thing to do anyway?
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Do You Live a 'Normal' Life?
by Golf inis unhappiness, guilt and a low-self-esteem normal?
let's share some positive experiences.
for me, i seek to find the good out of negative experiences.
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Apostate Kate
Yes, normal for me but as Mrs Jones expressed too, my normal is not normal for most other people. We are quite excentric compared to just about everybody I've ever met. We do not fit in any molds, don't even try to label us.
Normal for me is; organic vegan eating horse training animal loving bilingual born again Christian ex JW charity focused individual who lives in and loves nature not materialism driven guitar playing jeans and boots wearing black leather motorcyle riding Bohemian travelor who can clean up well and turn classic profesional when needed with wheelchairs for wheelchair races in the yard that can be utilized as extra seating when company comes and a skankily dressed manequin in the front window...I could go on..
Normal is as normal does.
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What do women REALLY want?
by Abandoned inok, i've heard it all: sincerity, honesty, security, money, love, romance, flowers, poems, promises, and more.
but, in my arguably limited experience, i've been shot down while doing all of these (at differnt times obviously).
so, what do women really want?
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Apostate Kate
First, someone male or female must really know themselves, who they are. They then need to be honest with themselves and others. I call this a person's authentic self.
Then one must wait and take it really slow. Meet people, make FRIENDS. No sex on the first date, take your time. Don't compromise. Don't get too intimate with someone who does not share the same interests. I think the saying "opposites attract" is wrong. You may be attracted to them but your going to regret the day you got married at some point.
As many have said women want different things. I wanted someone who had a very close relationship with God that I could measure in some way. Thus I married a pastor who was sincere. He basicaly told me that no one, including me, would come between him and his service to his church. That was proof to me he was sincere.
I also wanted someone easy going, who likes the outdoors, redneck living, can build a horse corral and fix an old truck. Must love dogs, chickens, horses, and children. So I waited for 6 years. I would not even date a guy if after talking to him he said something I knew was a red flag. Them red flags are important.
I also would not date a guy who started with sexual advances. So that eliminated 85% off the top. Sex is great but you can't build a lifelong relationship on just physical satisfaction. What may feel like love may be lust and that disappears after the first big disagreement.
The best thing I ever did was make a standards list of who someone would have to be in order to even date them, then waiting until someone came along who qualified. Was well worth the wait! We are even discussing becoming foster parents since we both adore spending time with children, and they never want to leave when children come to stay with us.
You must have mutual goals too! If one person wants to live in the city and one in the country, one wants to work the same job for 30 years and one wants to travel and work in different places...well you will always be at odds. If one is spontaneous and loves adventure, the other needs a routine...here comes trouble.
So I guess what I am saying is, it is not about what women want, it is about what do YOU want.
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Why be obedient to god?
by nicolaou inif a creator god is real and he is the source of life well then i would certainly acknowledge that and give him thanks for my existence and for the universe i live in.
but obedience?.
my mum and dad gave me life, ensured my education, looked after my health and wellbeing, loved me, taught me the value of kindness and friendships and so much more.
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Apostate Kate
Since loving God and loving the world is how we obey, how is that a difficulty? Isn't that something we should do just because it is the right thing to do?
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Post your favorite saying
by Scully ini was just pondering how the wts has, for over a century, been able to convince people to do what is contrary to their best interests with fear tactics that armageddon is coming soon, and i came up with what is going to be my pet phrase for a while:.
"only religion has the power to compel people to embrace sheer stupidity in the name of faith.
" ~ scully, december 28, 2006. i googled it, and didn't see that anyone else has claimed it, so until someone else finds an attribution for it, i'm claiming it as my own.
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Apostate Kate
No good deed goes unpunished