Jim,
I hope you don't mind me asking.... but I notice that you are from NY...as I am too... whereabout in this lovely freezing State? I'm up in Saratoga... 30 miles north of Albany...are you close?
LivingInReality
JoinedPosts by LivingInReality
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12
We cant even get DFd
by JimWood inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/120079/1.ashx.
and after putting the un letters on the cars at the hall.. .
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/121644/1.ashx.
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Bargerons...anyone know some?
by AuldSoul indoes anyone here know the bargerons: ben & julia, tim & rhea, steve (can't remember his wife's name)?.
ben and julia were co and wife for a while.
last i heard, tim & rhea had left the lie.
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LivingInReality
OH God.... now I know why I remember that name.... he was my Circuit Overseer here in Upstate New York. He was an amazing speaker... too bad about the content... but damn, that man could fill the house. I heard that he got in quite a bit of trouble though because he started throwing his own personal opinions into the mix...(SHOCK !!!) for example, he was personally against hunting...so one of his talks contained a little blurb about how it would be inappropriate for christians to hunt...and since he was such a moving and effective speaker...all the drones believed him. After a while though it cought up to him and I had heard years ago he was asked to step aside from being a CO. So what have you heard about the family??
shannon
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Bargerons...anyone know some?
by AuldSoul indoes anyone here know the bargerons: ben & julia, tim & rhea, steve (can't remember his wife's name)?.
ben and julia were co and wife for a while.
last i heard, tim & rhea had left the lie.
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LivingInReality
yup.... i knew a few Bargerons. I'm from Upstate New York, and for the hell of me I can't remember their names... I think one was Kathy. I've been out too long to remember, sorry. But last that I remember some went out to California and the others down towards Florida or thereabout. With a name like Bargeron it very well may be the same family. I'll get back to you on this after I find out their first names.
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Whatever happened to The Bird Flu and SARS?
by jayhawk1 ini am beginning to think the medical community is much like our watchtower foes, i am beginning to think the medical community is wishing for a medical armageddon that hasn't happened.
what happened to sars?
wasn't it supposed to kill hundreds of millions?
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LivingInReality
Uzzah,
Are you associated with the Red Cross by any chance? My daughters grandmother just came for a visit last week and she and I just had a very serious conversation about all of this. She is some important higher up in Washington D.C. with the Red Cross' Disaster Relief. She was at Ground Zero....and she just came back from 9 months in New Orleans/Mississippi...where they asked her to head FEMA in that area. Anyway..what I'm getting at is that she is privvy to A LOT of information that the general masses will never know. And she was discussing the fact that once the bird flu begins to pass from human to human.... we have a pandemic on our hands. She said that they feel as if it is definitely going to happen but they really don't know when, they just keep their eyes on all of the information coming from around the world. When it does begin to pass from human to human she said it will come in waves and she recommended to me that if it were ever to come to my area (Upstate New York) to stay at home, keep the children home from school and let it take its course until the wave passes and things seem safe again. Once again... its not at that stage YET, but they believe its imminent. She said we'd be looking at deaths in the millions worldwide. Scary huh?
L.I.R.
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The Capable Wife....
by LivingInReality inright before i got disfellowshipped in 2002 i was sitting in the kingdom hall listening to an elder give a public needs talk.....and this one floored me.. so the brother starts talking about what it means to be a capable wife...of course all of the scriptures and regular bullshit we've heard over and over....but then he goes on to say...."so what i'm saying sisters is.... to save money to help with the household you can make a garden and get food from that to make your dinners.... you can learn how to sew so that you can make your own clothes instead of spending money to go and buy them at expensive department stores.... and you could look into your circumstances to see if its feasible for you to quit your jobs to stay home and run the household....blah blah blah.." i can't much remember the rest because my head had blown up to the size of jupiter with the hot steam i was about to let go in the middle of the talk.
i decided it was better to get up and go... and i did.
i only mention this now...because (now divorced from my ministerial servant husband of 10 years), i am a single mother that has worked her ass off not only in the secular world, but now as a mother raising two children, getting my college degree and maintaining every avenue of the household responsibilities on my own.
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LivingInReality
Right before I got disfellowshipped in 2002 I was sitting in the Kingdom Hall listening to an elder give a public needs talk.....and this one floored me.
So the brother starts talking about what it means to be a capable wife...of course all of the scriptures and regular bullshit we've heard over and over....but then he goes on to say...."so what I'm saying sisters is.... to save money to help with the household you can make a garden and get food from that to make your dinners.... you can learn how to sew so that you can make your own clothes instead of spending money to go and buy them at expensive department stores.... and you could look into your circumstances to see if its feasible for you to quit your jobs to stay home and run the household....blah blah blah.." I can't much remember the rest because my head had blown up to the size of Jupiter with the hot steam I was about to let go in the middle of the talk. I decided it was better to get up and go... and I did.
I only mention this now...because (now divorced from my Ministerial Servant husband of 10 years), I am a single mother that has worked her ass off not only in the secular world, but now as a mother raising two children, getting my college degree and maintaining every avenue of the household responsibilities on my own. And dear god, I feel a failure because I'm not wearing my apron caning my vegetables that I grew from my garden whilst sewing my children's clothes.....
Can you imagine? I get such a good laugh over the Neanderthals that still roam the earth.....
Do tell women, do tell..... what are some of the craziest "suggestions" that you've heard.
good day all
shannon
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A reminder to all of you....
by LivingInReality inshannon here.... a confessed "lurker" for a very, very, long time and a rare poster to the board......i just wanted to drop a quick note to all of you.. please keep doing what you're doing..providing a refuge for so many.
you all make me feel reassured that if in 4 years from now i may have a breakdown (because deprogramming is a lifelong ailment) and need to find strength and encouragement, or even just someone to hear my story and believe me...i will always know that you are all here.
no judgment, no criticism...but instead providing a way for anyone who visits this board a little challenge at times, a large amount of humor, some psychological services...and a great big dose of the real truth.. you guys are great...you make me laugh, you make me smile and you make me feel fantastic about my decision to leave by your constant reassurance that truly living is all about thinking for yourself.. i'll be sure to start posting more regularly because i'd like to start to get to know you guys better and in turn become a source of comfort, wisdom and humor to others that have gone through what we have.. hugs to you all.. shannon.
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LivingInReality
Here's the first post I ever made...I just wanted to post it again so I can re-introduce myself ,especially to any new people who have come along. Sorry for the lack of indentations..makes for a harder read I know...forgive me. Once again....looking forward to making some new friends.
Hi Gang,
I'm new to the board and I wanted to say hello. My name is Shannon, I'm from Upstate New York. I was raised a Witness....was a late disciple (baptized at 19...oh what a bad girl) and married at 20 to a man who's greatest goal in life was to be an elder...(he never got past ministerial servant). I was always the black sheep, which should have told me from the get go to get the hell out, but brainwashing is pretty powerful isn't it? No matter what congregation I belonged to...the elders never liked me, because I loved to think, question, analyze and worst of all, I loved education. What a rebel, huh? My lightbulb moment? I was discussing this with annalice, who is another member of this board (thanks for telling me about it), and have known and loved her as one of my dearest friends for over 15 years..... there are long durations of time that the little things add up, gearing you towards your final departure, but there is always that one moment when the timing is just right and you finally hit the wall..... mine? well, after living in a marraige where I played the dutiful Christian "capable" wife, working hard, knowing my place in Jehovah's marital arrangement (definition: subservient second-rate citizen)...I decided that I wanted to get the college education that I was deprived of and start taking classes. The law was laid down by the lord of the house (definition:you have a penis, you are the king) "Why oh why would you go to college and waste your time that would be more suitably spent studying for meetings, going out in field service or having bible studies, and why go to college to get a degree in a world that is going to end shortly anyway??" To which I replied, "Well gee honey, you and the other brothers get together a few times a week playing in your 'Witness Band' spending money on musical instruments, and your time could be spent doing the same things.....WTF???" The answer was "I am the head of this household and the foremost authority on its spiritual needs and my answer is NO".... Well... that was my moment. I told my husband....we're done. I deserve to be happy, and this organization has stripped me of any happiness I could have ever had in life, from what I lost throughout my childhood, to what I lost in a marraige that was based more on how "Jehovah" told him he could love me (I'll post more later on the sexual aspect of that thought, won't that be a fun thread?) rather than what his heart told him. And here I am !!!!!! I was disfellowshipped at the age of 29, which was 4 years ago..... and the saying Born Again has never taken on a greater meaning.. I felt like a newborn in a big, big, big world. And I'm glad that all of you are a part of it, because I would never wish that organization on even my worst of enemies, and for all of you to find the strength to leave, it speaks volumes on your characters without me knowing any of you....but we all share one common bond, and that is being survivors of that cult. I used to think that being a part of a board such as this, or still fuming over the organization, could only be destructive, it gives too much time and attention to them even after the fact.... but I've come to realize that unless people have experienced what we have, no one will ever know, or appreciate what we've gone through, and still go through. And whether or not we have been out for one year or twenty years, those moments still happen where we can't help but be reminded of our horrible experiences, feelings of loss, feelings of guilt or regret, and if it means turning to a network of friends who can be a listening ear to remind us....it will be okay, that's not our life anymore, we are truly free....then one, ten or twenty years later...we can be thankful for one thing that the organization gave us......each other. I only wish we could save the rest of them, the families and friends that are still captive to their lies and manipulations...but you can't win them all.
Hello to you all, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you. Oh, and by the way, I'm happy to announce, that college education I was forbidden to pursue...well a 4.0 GPA and Dean's list isn't too shabby, now is it? Guess women do have brains and can handle more than just the dishes. Jehovah needs to move out of the Dark Ages.
Have a good one.
<< Shannon >>
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A reminder to all of you....
by LivingInReality inshannon here.... a confessed "lurker" for a very, very, long time and a rare poster to the board......i just wanted to drop a quick note to all of you.. please keep doing what you're doing..providing a refuge for so many.
you all make me feel reassured that if in 4 years from now i may have a breakdown (because deprogramming is a lifelong ailment) and need to find strength and encouragement, or even just someone to hear my story and believe me...i will always know that you are all here.
no judgment, no criticism...but instead providing a way for anyone who visits this board a little challenge at times, a large amount of humor, some psychological services...and a great big dose of the real truth.. you guys are great...you make me laugh, you make me smile and you make me feel fantastic about my decision to leave by your constant reassurance that truly living is all about thinking for yourself.. i'll be sure to start posting more regularly because i'd like to start to get to know you guys better and in turn become a source of comfort, wisdom and humor to others that have gone through what we have.. hugs to you all.. shannon.
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LivingInReality
Hi Everyone,
Shannon here.... a confessed "lurker" for a very, very, long time and a rare poster to the board......I just wanted to drop a quick note to ALL of you.
Please keep doing what you're doing..providing a refuge for so many. You all make me feel reassured that if in 4 years from now I may have a breakdown (because deprogramming is a lifelong ailment) and need to find strength and encouragement, or even just someone to hear my story and BELIEVE me...I will always know that you are all here. No judgment, no criticism...but instead providing a way for anyone who visits this board a little challenge at times, a large amount of humor, some psychological services...and a great big dose of the real truth.
You guys are great...you make me laugh, you make me smile and you make me feel fantastic about my decision to leave by your constant reassurance that truly living is all about thinking for yourself.
I'll be sure to start posting more regularly because I'd like to start to get to know you guys better and in turn become a source of comfort, wisdom and humor to others that have gone through what we have.
Hugs to you all.
shannon
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help! family mbr reading my 3 yr old My Book of Bible Stories
by limbogirl inmy soon to be three year old son asked me yesterday if i was dying.
i was shocked that he knew the word 'dying' and asked where he heard it.
he proceeded to tell me that his aunt (a jw) read him a story about jesus twiste (christ) and jesus was dying.
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LivingInReality
touchy subject.... but if i may share my feelings as a mother of a 3 year old myself....i respect the feelings of others that you could just counter the effect of your JW ex-relatives by empowering your child with the ability to reason for himself but there is something more important to take into consideration....
your child is only 3... when he sees pictures in the "My Book of Bible Stories" of people on a rock as the flood waters are just about to swallow them up with faces of pure fear, or Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt, or Jezebel getting thrown out a window for the dogs to eat her....(need I go on?)... this is not the shit you want your 3 year old to have to ponder over. These images are a brilliant strategy on the part of the society to begin their mind control through fear of our little ones.
Reason with your child all you want, but those are images and stories that a 3 year old will be affected by. As parents we don't let our kids watch blood and gutts movies, or see pictures of mutilated dead people etc. etc. Why would we allow pictures depicting a "loving" god killing people who didn't listen to him? No matter what you say to "undo" what he might see.... they are going to KEEP showing him the book, keep telling him stories, and keep trying to instill a fear in him.....
My vote is to put your foot down with the family.... this is YOUR child. It is YOUR responsibility to keep your little one free of all of the fear that those sick mind controlling cult members dish out to a child. I agree with all the others who said to get a restraining order and do whatever it is to make sure that they don't see your child again unless they stop. Give them the choice...if they don't listen, you gave them fair warning.
Remember something else here..... if they don't listen to you about leaving religion out of your child's life, they are disrespecting your right to raise your child.... and that sets a precedent for the rest of your child's life... do you want your child to eventually see that they have no respect for your role as the parent?? At first they don't listen to you about this....next it will be something else, and then something else... Put your foot down now and let them know that when you make a choice about the way your child will be raised, it's your choice to make and if they can't respect and abide by your rules...then there is no place for them in your child's life.
Good luck....
shannon
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I found this VERY offensive. What about you?
by Gill inwatchtower, may 15th 2006.
(back page).
the value of 'a weaker vessel'.
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LivingInReality
uh-oh, it seems the Watchtower is backing themselves into a corner.... remember the talks we would have about "Masculinity and Feminity" especially at the assemblies? They talked about Jesus "giving way to tears" when he heard that his close friend Lazarus had died? ....Well now, doesn't crying denote some "emotional limitation" on Jesus' part.... either they need to do some damage control to assure everyone that Jesus wasn't gay... or that women being the emotional ones, hence having "emotional limitiations" is not as demeaning as it sounds.... oh the tangled webs they weave when they practice to deceive....
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"Joined-As-Adult" JW's: What need did the WT fulfill for you?
by Check_Your_Premises in.
were you able to fulfill or remove that need in some way?
did fulfilling that need make it possible or easier for you to exit the wt?
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LivingInReality
I was raised a Witness too.... but my dad came in as an adult, fresh out of serving in Viet Nam...and brought my mom in with him. My now ex-husband, came in at 20...after leading a life going nowhere through drugs and alcohol. It seems to me that people who are searching for "answers" about life are prime pickings for the organization. It's easier for people in a weakened state to have someone tell them everyday "this is what music you can listen to... these are the clothes you can wear, this is the way you need to lead your life...." and it takes the stresses out of their lives for having to make decisions for themselves.... eventually when they grow a bit stronger as individuals, it's too late...their enslaved.
Face it, isn't it easier for people to do for you , then to have to struggle with doing for yourself.... i think that's one of the greatest snare tactics for the Witnesses.... remember they always preach to "find the meek" what they are really saying is "find the WEAK"... they prey on people who are in vulnerable emotional times... don't you ever notice how much attention is given to new inductees... the constant invites to gatherings, people coming over with meals, car rides given if needed.... quite a picture of "family" love... which dries up over time when their real nature takes precedent of becoming a policing agency trying to "turn people in" and get others in trouble. It's like the Salem Witch trials of the 2000s.