Good to have you here, I sure you will enjoy your stay. Check out Amazings thread, Lit toes, Honesty, AlanF and so one (I love reading how various folks discovered the truth is not the truth)
Anyway, welcome aboard!
thecarpenter
thecarpenter
JoinedPosts by thecarpenter
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36
Hi to Everyone
by DawnLS620 inmy name is dawn and i'm a ex-jw, who has been out since l976.
i live in michigan, was born and raised here but also spent about 3 years in austin, texas (1 of them as a witness - the other two running amouk having fun).
i just spent the last 2 1/2 hours on the phone with my dear old buddy, dave, (seven006) whom i've heard some of you know.
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thecarpenter
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27
Why are congregations dissolved?
by mtsgrad inonly once in my life have i heard of a congregation being dissolved (closed down) for reasons of sin.. .
has anyone here heard of congs being closed down?
how often does it happen?
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thecarpenter
This has been happening a lot in NYC, low attendence in some of the congregations. What they do is merge one congregation with another. If a congreation is having a lot of problems, sometimes they will also dissolve it (heard of one congregation in long Island with a lot of molestation going on years back that they dissolved but I don't know how factual that is, my friend may be exaggerating)
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Why 'Determined to Be Rich' Advice is Wrong
by metatron inwhen a witness or ex-witness seeks investment in real estate or the stock market, they often hear .
the annoying advice about those "determined to be rich" ( 1 tim 6:9).
for most of us, this is nonsense.. when this scripture was written, was there a stable financial system that serviced rich and poor alike?.
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thecarpenter
too many elders misapply this scripture. Even the publications go to extreme with it. I presently view it as a nudge not to be overly consumed with the acquistion of wealth. Greedy people compromise on things they shouldn't in order to gain wealth quickly. As Terry mentioned, leading a productive life leads to greater happiness and flexiblity. One of the things that bugged me while I was a witness was the fact that too many people were living hand to mouth, struggling from one financial distaster to another. That made me determined to make the most of my situation, if I was going to work 40 hours, I wanted to get paid the most I can for those 40 hours. This mindset has served me well.
Another thing that concerned me was the idea that preparing for retirement was somehow wrong. Since one had to ensconce themselves in the WT 'last days' mindset, it discouraged people from fully looking into their retirement options. One long time elder and recent senior citzen said to me a few years ago that he couldn't afford to retire. This guy was a regional building committee overseer and spent his whole life volunteering and now will have to work in his senior years doing back breaking work (he's a bricklayer). Nice man but foolish.
There are too many people that I know who are in this same situation.
Some financial prudence is necessary, people should start looking into 401k's and Roth ira's. Although it can be a bit boring, learning how to invest long term can make a world of difference. Taking control of your financial health is almost as important as taking care of your physical health.
thecarpenter 'of the grow rich slowly through a lifetime of hardwork class' -
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Abstain from.... things strangled
by drew sagan innot to long ago a saw a post floating around that had some comments discussing how the wts has basically never really given any opinion on what it means to abstain from things strangled as described in acts 15. we all know that thousands upon thousands of things have been said about 'blood' as mentioned in that passage, but in searching through the literature i have found nothing that describes 'things strangled'.
is there anywhere in the literature that goes into detail on this at all?
or do they refuse to give comments on this at all?
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thecarpenter
Is this the same as choking the chicken?
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Social Anxiety Disorders
by Thinking of Leaving inhi everyone, the guy i'm currently dating suffers from social phobia and it's beginning to affect our relationship.
does anyone have any experience dealing with this?
i have to admit this is all new to me, most of the guys i've dated are pretty normal, but this one seems to need some extra care.
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thecarpenter
Well, I suggest he see a psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders; he also may need medication. A good psychologist should help him find the root cause of the problem, but he has to want to help himself as well. Most people who go throughh these type of things wait too long to get help allowing the illiness to impact relationships, careers, self-esteem, etc... It actually is treatable if he gets help. thecarpenter aka thepsychologist
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Today is Danny Haszard's birthday!
by Dogpatch ingive the man a heads up, although he would never make this known himself, but.... he's a jolly good fellow... :-)).
thanks for all you do danny, and have a happy next year!.
randy.
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thecarpenter
wow, I knew today was a good day, Happy birthday Danny and Granny!!!
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New here....Tired of pain
by Momma of 2 ini don't have a lot of time to post at the momment.
i am a new mother of twin boys...when i get an update picture of both of them together i will use it as my icon..til then you just see jimmy.
here is a link to my story, it was posted on another wonderful board.. http://p196.ezboard.com/fexjehovahswitnessforumfrm14.showmessage?topicid=377.topic.
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thecarpenter
Welcome Bandy, it is good to have you here. Read your story and you certainly have been through a lot. It is good you saw through the witnesses for what they are, you will learn much more from this site as time goes by. I hope you enjoy your stay and when you get a chance, maybe you can come to some of the get togethers we have around the US, even in england.
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HOPE for the best and expect the WORST and you'll not be disappointed!
by Terry inbad things do happen for a reason.
here is the reason.. for bad things not to happen only good things would always be happening.. then, "good" would lose relative distinction with less "good".
the less good would start to look bad in comparison.. suddenly, what use to seem only good would be bad by contrast.. is this crazy talk?.
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thecarpenter
I prefer 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst'... I do this when I prepare for tests or other assignments at school, I haven't been caught unprepared for a test yet.
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Crazy in Dallas Pics... A little at a time...
by Sparkplug in.
p2 or pleaser2000.
we have p2, with my kids, myself and arrowstar to start!.
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thecarpenter
wow, I really envy the great time you folks had in texas. I will get myself out there one day. I'm glad it worked out well.
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Adjusting well after leaving the dubs
by greendawn inafter you left the jws what were some milestone events that helped you adjust to normal life outside the cult eg meeting a genuinely christian group, or getting a good job with high income, marrying a nice "worldly" person.
after leaving i had a nice girlfriend which helped a lot to ease the tensions and an interesting job where i met a lot of people and had some good social life.
soon the jw world became a distant storm far below and after the internet came out i got the long since needed information on some still outstanding issues and lost all esteem for them as i realised the fds was definitely an elaborate con.
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thecarpenter
Hey Tyrone, I'm sorry to hear what you went through, This sort of makes me realize why it is so important to get as much information as you can before leaving and then plan your exit out carefully so that you don't experience the full shock of the shunning and lack of social support.
From a psychological standpoint, you need to do some deprogramming (that's why you gather the info) to realize the dishonesty of the organization; this step also helps to relieve any residue guilt feelings. That makes it easier to start separating yourself from the mind control and also start pursuing outside support structures and friends (I started rebuilding a friendships with my non-witness brother, neighbors and coworkers). Another thing that helped me enormously when I left was the determination not to fall into self-pity and self-destructive behavior trap. I wanted the dubs to see me as someone who was succeeding outside their little world.
One more thing that helped very much was going back to college to finish my degree. I absolutely love it and I recommend it to everyone. Education is life-affirming and really does help you to see outside the box. It also helps in a social way, so many beautiful chicks....