Let's see..... Tree is up and decorated. Pretty xmas music is playing. Gifts are waiting to be wrapped, cookies are baking. Yes, I guess I do celebrate Christmas. I feel like I have 30 years of deprivation to make up for and I enjoy every minute. My husband and I went shopping on Saturday and had a wonderful day. We both enjoy looking for unual/handmade things and interesting books. Then we get a few gag gifts and some practical (Socks, scarfs and sweaters) gifts for each of our kids/kids-in-law and my one grandson. It was a relaxing and fun day with a long leisurely lunch at an Italian restruarant in between the shopping. We pay cash and spend a fairly modest amount for our income. My husband doesn't really want any gifts this year and requested that everyone contribute to the Carter center for Peace instead. So I don't feel we are being materialistic or greedy in the way we celebrate. I give to the Salvation Army and buy gifts for kids in foster care as well. I can understand people who don't want to do it, but for me it's something I enjoy. I don't feel one iota of guilt. Merry Christmas!
LisaRose
JoinedPosts by LisaRose
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58
DOES ANYONE STILL NOT CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS???
by chuckyy injust wondering if anyone still does not celebrate xmas since leaving jws.....or like me do you think"to hell with it", and join in the festivities.
if you do celebrate it, do you still have pangs of guilt for celebrating this "pagan" festival???.
chukky.
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43
JW Children and the absence of Christmas
by Clam inive just collected my 6 year old son from school.
he sat in the back of the car and told me about a little girl from the year above him who has to leave her classroom and sit in his due to christmassy things going on.
my youngster remarked "she doesnt believe in christmas.
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LisaRose
I used to take my kids to Disneyland or another theme park on Xmas or Thanksgiving. No lines and they didn't feel so bad about not having the usual thing. Of cource, now that they are grown we all do a real Christmas.
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When you tell "worldly" people about life as a dub...
by wanderlustguy indo they get angry?
gets furious to the point i haven't even told her 10% of my past as a dub.. do you find it strangely amusing tha they get angry, and laugh or chuckle for some reason?
i do, and i think it's because i find it so ridiculous now and to see someone get flustered over it kind of reaffirms my feelings.. does it make your relationship difficult?
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LisaRose
I told someone at work that I used to be a JW. I later heard back from someone else that i used to be Amish! Most people seem a little uncomfortable with it, like they think I'm a little wacko even though I'm not one anymore. But I'm not going to pretend that it never happened. It's part of my past, I've moved on and learned better, but its part of what I am now.
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41
SCARY(actually hilarious) JW Urban Legends (smurf content)
by *jeremiah* indoes anyone have any dub urban legend stories?.
i remember a story running rampant when i was in my pre-teenage years that went a little something like this:.
word on the street was that a young child went to the circuit assembly with his parents.
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LisaRose
My daughter was totally terroized by the Smurf thing. Her Grandma told her about it. We had to throw away all the Smurf toys that day. I thought it was BS at the time, but she was so freaked out I had to do it anyway. She was about 8 at the time so that was '83 or '84. I heard the John Denver story too.
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41
Do you dream you are back in the Borg?
by uriah ini have depressingly frequent dreams of being back in the borg.
i am out on the work thinking why am i here i don't do this anymore.
i am in kingdom halls with my mag - underlined!
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LisaRose
I've been out 7 years (after 28 in). I have dreams occasionaly. They are usually not to stressfull, just weird. I think I'm kind of just now coming to terms with leaving. At the time, I just walked away, wasn't DF or DA. I still thought it maybe it was "The Truth", but knew I just couldn't do it anymore.
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21
Why does this hurt so much?
by lola28 inokay, here it is a few months ago i sent in a letter to da myself, the elders refused to da me ( there is a first time for everything, i guess) and well i just kinda let it go.
over the last month i've come to realize that life is too short to spend it doing something that does not make you happy.
i think that a very small part of me still held on to the idea that it might be the truth, but after giving it a lot of thought i've come to realize that i have not believed in this for a long time.
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LisaRose
To me, it's like a divorce. No matter how bad the marriage is, it's still painful to go through the divorce. It forces you to come to terms with the fact that you made a mistake and you must correct it. But if you don't you will never begin to heal and recover. It just takes time.
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LisaRose
We had a creepy elder who was beating his wife. Their kids felt her life was in danger so had her removed from his control. He killed himself. Pretty big scandal at the time.
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Who else has trouble making friends?
by new light inhaven't posted here in a while, but i"ve been out now almost three years.
just looking to hear from others who have had trouble making friends due to a childhood of jw antisocialism toward the real world.
it's really starting to piss me off that i still keep people at a distance and do things to nip any new friendships at the bud when it gets that far.
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LisaRose
It took me a few years to begin to make friends. Now I have lots, even though I am basically an introvert. Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there and risk rejection in order to connect with people. The more things you do the better chance you will meet and connect with someone. Sure beats the lonely years (For me) as a JW.
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Myers Briggs personality sorter
by becca1 inhey guys: this is my first topic.. have any of you done a myers briggs test?
a lot of employers use it in the interview process.
it's highly regarded and personally i have found it very accurate.
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LisaRose
I have always tested as INFP, taken the test a number of times over many years. I did quite a bit of research on it. I felt it gave me insight to some of my personality quirks and I have used it to improve in many areas. It's one of the things that helped me break away from JW's . In my opinion, the society tends to favor ESTJ or ESFJ's as they are extroverted (enjoy the meetings), like things spelled out in a very straightforward fashion (Sensing as opposed to intuitive), and Judgers - who may have a tendency to have black or white, right or wrong thinking. I realized that I was a total wrong "Fit" in the organization. It wasn't my fault, I just wasn't wired that way. And others who took to it aren't 'better, just more suited to the lifestyle.
It doesn't mean that other types would't also leave the org, but maybe the things required of JW's are maybe a bit easier to swallow for other types. I can't imagine anything harder for an INFP than to bank on doors trying to get people to change their religion! It never felt right to me.
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Mystery Flowers
by Good Girl or Bad Girl? ini received a beautiful bouquet of tulips back in february after my breakdown that ended up being the gateway to my wts escape.
the tulips were left outside my apartment door.
i tried, in vain, to find out who gave them to me.
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LisaRose
Pay it forward --- Give someone else some flowers --- really it will feel good.