i just had a wonderful conversation with one of my neighbors who's husband is fighting prostate cancer.. it is a great feeling to connect with those who live near by or next to you, and find ways to support each other, finding laughter and solace.. this was never really allowed with jws.
we were always cold to our neighbors unless preaching work could be done.. my parents had an odd situation in that their next door neighbor lost a son to an accidental gun shooting.
the police were aware of my brother's death many years previously and called on my mother to comfort her next door neighbor, actually asking her to be there when they announced her son was dead at age 12.. my mom had no problem with that but since they had little to no social contact over 10 years it was difficult and probably felt icy.. how sad!.
We had great neighbors for years when I was a dub, they would invite us over for barbeques and swim but we would always make up some lie about how busy we were and won't be able to make it.....can't be sociable with non-believers ya' know....
Now I visit with all my neighbors, invite them over and know all their names. GYMBOB
about 7 months ago i asked the school overseer to take me off the school, as i was 'busy with work exams' things have been good since then (well, sort of...) no talks for 7 months!
but then, my wonderful father, decides to ask the school overseer to put me back on!
he puts me back on!
Zico~
You just have to add something in your talk that is way out-dated.....maybe something about the generation that saw the events of 1914 will still be alive to see the big A, and a quote from a old WT to back it up would be a nice touch! PLEASE?!
my wife left me 5 years ago when i left the jehovah's witnesses.
she got remarried saturday to one of "our" old jehovah's witness friends jay .
jay's wife, judy died 6 months ago of cancer.
New Boy~
Good to hear from you!
Yea, those dubs are a crazy bunch. They love to screw-up weddings, funerals, etc. in the name of their religion....JUST BE GLAD WE HAVE OUR KIDS OUT!! GYMBOB
so, many of you have rightfully challenged my beliefs that standing firm and telling your families exactly what you feel about the wtbts won't work.... i submit that it doesn't work becasue we don't stand together!
if all of us would stand firm say what we know to be true, do it publically, and not back down then i guarentee you there are many in the congs that want out of this crap and their just too scared to do anything becasue they don't want to lose their families.
in my family there are many that call me privately and tell me they know the wt is a crock of shit but won't stand up against it!
Dawg~
You're right, but some folks here are not in the same spot down the road as you are. It's circumstances that differ.
I remember not long after I got out from the dubs, I wanted to call "60 Minutes", "20/20", etc. because of what I had learned. But, IMHO, I really don't think people out there care that much about JW's....only people like us. We know what JW's are really like, we've had our families torn apart and we want them back! So we need to try and talk to them, even when they won't talk to us. This is very hard to do. For me, it's like emotional suicide every time I try to call my family.
Thru the internet we can get support from each other, and that's good. However, we're not going to bring down the borg, the structure is just too well set-up. And I honestly belief there will always be some die-hard witness whackos in this world. We chip away at it as best we can, but the weakness in the borg is it's own belief system.
If we want them to respect our beliefs after we leave the borg, it requires that we show that same respect to them. Let them believe what they want so they don't feel we are challenging them. This takes some time, but they should then see how their belief system has failed them, and we (living a good life away from the witnesses)become the alternative choice. In recent years, look at how many of us have just....left.
This is the way it was for me. But, in the last few years i've come to realize that no matter what you do or say, some people are never going to change because they have too much of their life invested in the borg, and that is really sad.
Don't get me wrong Dawg...I love your style!
and that's all i know.. he was 101 and appointed as a governing body member in 1977.. .
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/97874/1.ashx.
yesidid.
i knew barber back in the 70s at bethel. he was a great story-teller. i remember one time he told us about witnessing to mahamud ali at his boxing training camp....he said he was pretty scared and didn't know what he'd gotten himself into, everybody wanted to throw barber out, but ali was very cool and actually protective to him and took some literature.
his life was a waste, and he should have known better years ago and done something, like ray.
sorry for the bad type, had surgery yesterday on my left arm. GYMBOB
i'm just going to start at the beginning.. i was anticipating the memorial all day.
i was nervous but excited, kind of like standing in line for a roller coaster.. ok. so erika gets ready at her house, and i get ready at mine.
i'm wearing a black suit with a light green shirt, and a tie that had hues of green and yellow in it.
Richie
I just read your post at the request of my husband. He is the ex JW I have never been a JW but I am affected daily by their actions. His parents have shunned him for years now. When he hurts it hurts me.
I guess my need to post comes more from my experience as a mother more than anything. Your mother crys because no matter how screwed up her beliefs are she does love you. You just have to look at her as some one who is mentally ill or an alcoholic and just cant see think rationally. It much easier to forgive if you think of her like that. Your own heart can soften and your hurt maybe less if you view her that way. Just a thought
I think this web site is awesone. You are all so supportive of each other. I for one am thankful you are here.
Thanks everyone for someone who loves an exJW
i just thought of something.
.
this is my first memorial as a member of jwd.. the only thing i could muster up was a cup of coffee and a doughnut.. i'll be around the real stuff tonight.. warlock .
Welcome GoddessRachel!
This will be my 6th in a row missed (I made 44 in a row before that!) and I really love it!
I think tonight i'll take my baby out to dinner on the streetbike and then just cruise past the hall for kicks. I wish I had loud pipes!
some of you are quite old with most of your life behind you.
make the best use of what's left.
forget the years that were stolen from you and wasted by the tower.
Fire~
Welcome! Your post reminds me of a bumpersticker I saw the other day.
It said, "God is whatever you need". I like where you're comin' from.....GYMBB
if you have seen the history channels program on exodus and the plagues, you will see that they have a logical, scientific explanation for the nile turning to blood.
(red).
they used this to compare what happened in the nile river.
I watched the show....
Arthur~
The point that was made on the show about the 1st born of all Egypt being killed because of where they slept doesn't hold water. The biblical account also says that the 1st born of all the beasts also were killed (Ex. 12:29).....they didn't seem to explain just how that happened . GYMBB
what would you say to god?.
god: is there anything you'd like to say to me?
god: is there anything you'd like to say to me?
How about.... where the hell have you been, and where the hell did you come from?
