my husband is fourth generation, not third like i said in my post yesterday.
his great-grandmother claimed to be one of the annointed.
he has more relatives in the "truth" than you can believe.
Welcome!
I haven't read your other posts yet, but this is a great place for support and empathy. Guilt is a hard thing, and forgiving ourselves sometimes seems even harder! You sound level headed and I am happy you have found a place to voice yourself and find strength. All the best and I'll keep an eye out for your posts!
Kitten Whiskers
the first few years after i got my head out of my jw ass i assumed that worldly associates would be fascinated to hear of my escape....wrong.
most of them looked at me like "what the f--- are you talking about?"...
"who cares?
I had a new friend extend sympathy and understanding. That really helped me. She knew of someone in her church (southern baptist) that was raised jewish and how his family deserted him just like jws. She was concerned and tried to relate.
I had some family members express joy to my grandma (non-jw) and she told me about it. Cousins contacted me to tell me merry xmas (after they got a christmas card unexpectedly!) and my mom's cousin told me in a christmas card how glad she was to put us on her xmas card list and that she'd been praying for us for years. That caused me to pause. I didn't see her too much, but she is nice and I've always liked her, and here she was praying for us. I can honestly say as a witness I never once specifically prayed for her. Made me think.
Other than that, I never had worldly friends. Just worldly family. I am struggling to make them though! I am slowly emerging from the witness cocoon.
some people seem to need a lot to be happy, while others are happy just with the minimum.. what small thing made you happy lately?
your husband perhaps.... .
ok, for me, a sunny warm day, and i'll be outside and walking around and happy.
The kisses from my children when I drop them off at school (they always struggle to be the first to plant one on Mama).
The caress of a slight breeze across my neck and shoulder on a warm day
The songs of the birds in the morning and dusk as I lie in the hammock
Watching nature shows of animal families and the closeness of the parent to their young (we can learn a lot from them as a society!)
Coffee with lots of flavored creamer
my husband kissing my neck and forehead (right now!!!!)
a new magazine in the mail to leisure over
The weekend- when we are all home and can relax and play together!!!!
the hospital, not yours.
would you want to exchange the child to try to correct the mistake?.
this actually happen to me.
That was such a fear of mine. That someone would steal my baby. Nowadays fathers can stay in the room with the mother 24/7 and the babies don't hardly have to leave the room at all. Thankfully we have DNA testing now. I can only imagine your mothers trauma and fear that day. She must have been wild with fear. At least I would have been. Sorry, can't comment on if I would give up my one year old I believed to be mine. I can't emotionally even begin to try to walk down that road. My heart aches for anyone faced with that.
my oldest daughter is a tough one.
she is a real sweetie with everyone else but a real kick in the pants at home.
geez, sometimes she knows exactly what buttons to push.
I feel for you. Sincere apology is a wonderful thing from a mother in my opinion. I can only imagine how tough the teen years will be with my kids. It is a tough age and almost like a fight for supremacy!!! (At least remembering back when I was).
Remember, all little girls want love from their mama. I used to tell my mom to go away when she tried to talk to me. Looking back that saddens me, because she hardly ever wanted to talk like that, and when she did I was going to make her work for it. She always took me at my word and left me alone. I just wanted her to fight for me. To really show she was going to care and not let me stop her love. Stupid teenage thinking.
She is testing you probably. Be sweet and hopefully it will crack her hard shell!!!! Hugs to you, and congratulations on loving her so much! I hope she sees that and cherishes it.
Kitten Whiskers
..call the god of israel/abraham, issac and jacob that.
let's get that straight.
i still believe in ywhw and jesus, but he term "jehovah" may be wrong, imo.
Interesting you should bring this up. I was just thinking today how much I DO NOT want to use it. I always feel guilty, and like a JW again if I do. I use Heavenly Father, God and Lord.
I hate to say it, but I feel like I detest the name because of what I have associated it with my whole life. However, when visiting a friends Baptist church, they used it in song and carried a banner with the name at Easter. So at least I know JW's aren't the only ones who use Jehovah, although they would make you think they had it copyrighted!!!!!!
I am looking forward to reading others comments.
Kind Regards,
Kitten Whiskers
i was raised among the witnesses and left in my early 30's due to a mixture of doctrinal disputes and social isolation.
my mother and both of my sisters remain within the organization.
i also have two brothers, one df'd, one who never quite caught the watchtower bug.. my road within the organization was a rocky one that eventually lead to a place where i found myself socially isolated within the congregation as a person simply unfit for fellowship with proper, upright, theocratic people who must cut off all 'worldy' association, suffer the ensueing isolation, and eat humble pie until such a time as they determined i was 'spiritual minded' enough for them to associate with.. baptism was held up as my expected goal, but despite trying, i was never quite good enough for them.
Greetings Dave! So happy to see you here and jumping right in. Thank you for sharing your story! This board is addictive and I am sure you will have a lot of fun here.
So glad to hear you have a beautiful immediate family! Pride in our children is such a glorious feeling. So happy to hear she has grown into a beautiful woman and that you have a partner to share your joy with!
I find it so insulting you were treated so badly by such unfeeling and hurtful individuals! You are certainly proving them the liars! Welcome!
Kitten Whiskers
hey all,.
there are a few "what damage did the watchtower do to you?
"-type threads floating about, and it's easy to get sort of down over it all.
Great thread Dave! (I always hear Fry's voice when I read you! I love it!)
We are enjoying our lives. Period. The kids are in softball, something hubby never got to do. They have been in community theater plays (our 8 year old daughter has been in two, the 5 year old son in one), they have been in a church christmas concert, been to birthday parties and had them, had their first visit from Santa and 2 visits from the easter bunny. The tooth fairy has made several visits and they have made friends with the neighbor kids. They've had valentines and all the things that make being a child magical.
We are talking about settling into the community we have been renting in (buying a house) and I am planning on joining the work force with no guilt for not spending the time in service! Yea! More money for us and a better use of my time.
As soon as we buy a house (probably the one we are renting) the first three things we are dying to do are:
1. Get a cat
2. Paint these god-awful dreary cream walls
3. Landscape this vacant yard and give the place some character
Summer is looking good and we are excited. We have a family wedding this summer (non-jw) and I am laughing inside to see if my sister still shuns me. She'll catch @#!! from the rest of the family if she makes a stink. Mom has given up not talking to me (probably because we haven't da'd or df'd)and has actually called twice.
It is going to rain today so I don't have water my plants! My dishes are done (a chore I hate), Our daughter is over her athma attack from 2 days ago. The birds have been singing lovely tunes and life is sweet.
Oh, hubby got a bonus check this week! Yea! and I think my broken couch is still under warranty I'll just have to pay shipping on the part. The hamster hasn't died yet (he's getting old) and the fish are still swimming. The lawn is mowed and hubby edged the driveway and sidewalk. The sidewalk is now 5 inches wider than previously! What a man!
Kitten Whiskers
You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with Mr. In-Between!
in the spirit of jeff foxworthy's ," you might be a redneck ", describe the thing that we'd do that might just get you tagged as a jehovah's witness.
i'll start.
you're goin through a drive thru and the cashier gives you $2.00 too much in change, you return it after having driven 50 miles in the other direction.. .
Welcome countolaf!
Kitten Whiskers
i first suffered from hayfever about 5 years ago and get it round about june.........................but i seem to have started already .
my eyes are so itchy and red................is it possible to have it start it now it seems too early its still only april.. i dont want to suffer this for months , its been bad enough when it lasts for only 4 weeks.
so do any of you here suffer and when does it usually start for you ?.
I take zyrtec, nose spray and get 2 shots a week and still keep the Kleenex company in business!!!!!!!!! They start early and go till a good freeze, although mine seem to be more intense in spring than fall. Kitten Whiskers (passes the kleenex with lotion to the next poster)
