iamfreenow

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Posts by iamfreenow

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  22

  Big day for me tomorrow

  by iamfreenow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello everyone, i haven't been on here for a while, though i have read a few posts from time to time when i've been visiting my friends linda and trevor.

  i would like to be here more, but i am retired now, and can't really afford a pc or the internet, being on a somewhat limited income.. since i left the watchtower society in august, i have kept myself reasonably busy.

  i attend a couple of evening classes, help my non jw son and his wife out by babysitting when needed, and manage to see my jw sons' children as often as possible.

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  iamfreenow

  Congratulations Marion!

  I hope its a truly wonderful, blessed day for you

  Sad Emo,

  Thankyou very much for that, I am sure it will be.
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  40

  Are JW kids allowed to be kids?

  by tall penguin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had a memory come up today.

  i recall there was a time when kids were allowed to read the subheadings at the watchtower study.

  they cut that out because they wanted kids to participate in the same way as the adults, by answering the questions for the paragraphs.

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  iamfreenow

  I didn't have a normal childhood at all. Right from being able to talk, I was taken out in the ministry, taken to meetings and not allowed to play with other non JW kids. I was fortunate in having a sister only 18 months younger than me, and another JW family with a daughter close to my sisters' age who lived nearby, but they were the only friends I was allowed to have as a child. My first year at school, when I was the only JW there, was very uncomfortable as well, and it was a great relief when my sister and our friend started the following year.

  I am sorry to say that I inflicted the same things on my two boys when they were young as well, though the younger one rebelled against it as a yeenager, and never became a jw, so his children have had a childhood, unlike my older JW sons' children.
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  22

  Big day for me tomorrow

  by iamfreenow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello everyone, i haven't been on here for a while, though i have read a few posts from time to time when i've been visiting my friends linda and trevor.

  i would like to be here more, but i am retired now, and can't really afford a pc or the internet, being on a somewhat limited income.. since i left the watchtower society in august, i have kept myself reasonably busy.

  i attend a couple of evening classes, help my non jw son and his wife out by babysitting when needed, and manage to see my jw sons' children as often as possible.

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  iamfreenow

  Regarding Trev attending my baptism tomorrow, Juni said:

  That's a sign of a true friend!

  It most certainly is. I have been chatting to him about it earlier this evening, and he isn't in the slightest bit apprehensive about it, nor is Linda. He made the comment, tongue in cheek I suspect, that I was there for both his and Lindas' baptisms, which I was of course, so they are returning the compliment tomorrow! Linda said that maybe the local Witnesses will see all three of us leaving the church tomorrow, I'm sure that will cheer them up no end, I can imagine the gossip at their Tuesday night meeting now!
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  19

  How many still live with consequenses made as a teen that still affect you?

  by megsmomma in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with so many of us having gotten baptised at a young age and now dealing with the results of it.... it made me wonder how many decisions made at a young age still could and do affect your life.. example: when i was 14 i thought it was a good idea to marry this weird brother that was our land lord.

  (thank goodness i was too young to do so) also, i thought it was a good idea to have pet monkeys....and a good idea to have my own apartment with several other young jw sisters...even thinking it would be a good idea to have babies.... i was too young to do any of those things...so i have no consequences from having those ideas....yet, getting dunked at that age was perfectly acceptable....and now i still pay the price.. are there any things you can think of that you would have done at a young age that could have made you pay for years to come?.

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  iamfreenow

  I was baptised aged 14, and spent my entire life up until a few months ago in the WTBTS.

  I always put kingdom interests first, as did my late husband, and since the new system was always just around the corner, we never saved that much, and never bought our own home. So now I am retired, live in a rented flat and am on a limited income, with no real hope of my financial situation changing.

  Even so, I am quite content with my life now, but a little more money in the bank would make it more comfortable.
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  22

  Big day for me tomorrow

  by iamfreenow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello everyone, i haven't been on here for a while, though i have read a few posts from time to time when i've been visiting my friends linda and trevor.

  i would like to be here more, but i am retired now, and can't really afford a pc or the internet, being on a somewhat limited income.. since i left the watchtower society in august, i have kept myself reasonably busy.

  i attend a couple of evening classes, help my non jw son and his wife out by babysitting when needed, and manage to see my jw sons' children as often as possible.

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  iamfreenow

  Little Toe,

  I haven't had as big a surprise in years as having Trev agree to be there tomorrow, and he hardly thought about it, just said yes almost immediately. It would have been a special day with or without Trev and Linda there, but knowing how Trev in particular feels about religion, there prescence will make it even more special for me.

  Jeff,

  Thankyou so much for the welcome. I feel so liberated to be doing this after all those years in the WTBTS.

  Marion
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  22

  Big day for me tomorrow

  by iamfreenow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello everyone, i haven't been on here for a while, though i have read a few posts from time to time when i've been visiting my friends linda and trevor.

  i would like to be here more, but i am retired now, and can't really afford a pc or the internet, being on a somewhat limited income.. since i left the watchtower society in august, i have kept myself reasonably busy.

  i attend a couple of evening classes, help my non jw son and his wife out by babysitting when needed, and manage to see my jw sons' children as often as possible.

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  iamfreenow

  Hello Juni.

  Marion, in the Baptist religion don't they have complete immersion??

  Yes they do, that's what I will be doing tomorrow morning, for the second, and hopefully last, time in my life. It's a long time since my first dunking, so I can't say I'm experienced, but I am looking forward to it.

  RAF,

  Thankyou so much for your kind words. I do feel surrounded with genuine love every time I go to my church, something that has been absent from the Kingdom Hall I attended for seversl years now.
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  11

  Were you aware of any "Bad Blood" amongst JW's at your hall?

  by JH in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  come on now, is it really posssible that everyone at the hall gets along well together?

  maybe during ideal conditions... were you aware of any friction or bad blood amongst members in your congregation?.

  in my case, there was a brother thati didn't want to be around.

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  iamfreenow

  There was always an undercurrent of jealousy and resentment at my Hall, as those with money who were able to donate plenty to the congregation funds seemed to be better thought of than the poorer members, and would get away with minimal service or participation in meetings. I sometimes seemed that, with some people anyway, the size of your bank balance determined how spiritual you were.

  The less well - off were well aware of this of course, and some were very resentdul and highly critical of the better off ones, even if they were zealous JWs.
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  74

  WTS Has Lost +35% of Elders in US Since 1994????

  by Seeker4 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  zack, on another thread, said he heard this figure from the platform at both the 2006 elders' school and his recent pioneer school:.

  that there were 93,000 elders in 1994, and less than 60,000 today, in the united states.. i thought these figures deserved their own thread, as they are shocking to me, and to see if anyone else has heard anything similar.. i'll post a link to the other thread as well.

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  iamfreenow

  This is no surprise to me, knowing how hard the elders are made to work in the Kingdom Hall I used to attend.

  It should worry the Society that so many are stepping down, and even leaving the Organisation altogether, but I doubt they will do much about it, apart from piling more work than ever on those left, and trying to appoint some of the young wannabees who are more interested in the power, prestige and position, and have no idea of the work involved.

  I know elders who are drunks, who have marital problems, and who are worn out by their many duties, but doggedly cling on to their position because they love the power more than their families. I find myself wondering how long these men can carry on.

  I don't know the figures for the UK, but I imagine they won't be much differrent from those in the USA. I know several elders who have stepped down in the last few years, and unfortunately they tended to be the ones who were more interested in helping the flock than the power their position gave them.
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  22

  Big day for me tomorrow

  by iamfreenow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello everyone, i haven't been on here for a while, though i have read a few posts from time to time when i've been visiting my friends linda and trevor.

  i would like to be here more, but i am retired now, and can't really afford a pc or the internet, being on a somewhat limited income.. since i left the watchtower society in august, i have kept myself reasonably busy.

  i attend a couple of evening classes, help my non jw son and his wife out by babysitting when needed, and manage to see my jw sons' children as often as possible.

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  iamfreenow

  Hello everyone, I haven't been on here for a while, though I have read a few posts from time to time when I've been visiting my friends Linda and Trevor. I would like to be here more, but I am retired now, and can't really afford a pc or the internet, being on a somewhat limited income.

  Since I left the Watchtower Society in August, I have kept myself reasonably busy. I attend a couple of evening classes, help my non jw son and his wife out by babysitting when needed, and manage to see my jw sons' children as often as possible. He initially told me he would be shunning me, and denying me access to them, but he has relented. I also have much more contact with my non - jw sister, and see my jw sister quite often as well. She and her husband are currently trying to fade, having never been over - zealous jws and irregular at meetings for years. They seem to be managing it far more easily than I was ever allowed to.

  Apart from that, I have been attending my local Baptist church regularly for the last few months, and it has been a truly joyful, refreshing experience after all those years attending the Kingdom Hall, which is actually only a few minutes walk from the church I now attend. I often see my former brothers and sisters going home from their meeting as I am leaving my church, and if looks could kill....I expect the elders are well aware of where I am worshipping now, and I can imagine some of the comments, but I really don't care what they think. I am very happy with what I am doing now. I started off just attending on Sunday mornings, but I now occasionally go on a Sunday evening as well, and attend a weeknight meeting. I will never be as busy in the Baptist church as I was as a jw, I wouldn't think, but I am very happy to be there now.

  Tomorrow morning, I am taking the step of being baptised as a Christian. I have been thinking of this step for a couple of months, and am sure that it is what I really want to do. I know Linda and Trev have a few reservations about it, and perhaps think it could be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, but they are being supportive as well. They have seen no need to pursue spiritual things since their exit from the Watchtower, so their feelings are understandable, but I could never lose my belief in God, and since leaving the JWs I have learned so much about what true Christianity really entails, that we are saved by grace, not works, and that salvation is a free gift, not something one has to put countless hours knocking on peoples doors to attain. It's almost 46 years since I was baptised as a JW, and although I had many happy years in the WTBTS, I feel that even happier times are ahead of me. I am not apprehensive at all about tomorrow, on the contrary I am very much looking forward to it. The congregation at my church are such warm, genuinely - loving people, who have welcomed me from the very first time I went to their church. They haven't pressured me in any way to join them, I have made the decision myself, but of course, they are delighted that I have.

  I invited Linda and Trevor to be there tomorrow, thinking that Linda might come, but not expecting to see Trev there. Apart from weddings and funerals, he hasn't been in a place of worship since his last JW meeting in 1999. So I was most surprised, and delighted when he agreed to come along with Linda. I imagine it will be a one off for the two of them, and no one will pressure them to go again. They won't be love - bombed either, but I am so grateful to the two of them for being willing to be there for me. They are true friends, the best I've ever had. Not only that, they have invited me to dinner tomorrow to celebrate my big day, so I imagine one of us will post about the experience.

  It's a big step for me tomorrow, one even a year ago I never thought I would take, but I am looking forward to it so much now. I only wish those I left behind in the Wtchtower could experience the joy and satisfaction I have found in the last few months. I now feel that I am worshipping God in the way he wants to be worshipped, and there can be no greater cause for joy than knowing that.

  love.

  Marion
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  6

  19th Birthday Party

  by Madame Quixote in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my daughter will be turning 19 on the 24th.

  this weekend we're having a dinner party for her at indochine restaurant and then taking her guests to the movies.

  i am so pleased that i am able to do this without one iota of fear or guilt like the jws wish they could still impose on us.

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  iamfreenow

  Happy birthday to your daughter, Madam Quixote. It's my 60th today, and the first I have ever celebrated.