Posts by onlycurious

2

"celebrate" christmas ?

by A Paduan in

in another thread the question was put forward "what does it mean to celebrate christmas" .

i posted essentially this but recevied no further input - so my question is am i right - does it really boil down to decorations ?.

as far as i can tell decorations, a tree, wrapping paper and presents on christmas morning are what really separates others and jws, because other aspects of the holiday don't really seem different:.

onlycurious

The decorations is all a matter of culture and tradition. The true meaning of the holiday is the birth of Christ and God sending His Son.

It's a tough one to figure out though because I find myself having to constantly remind my children what the REAL reason for Christmas is while I am in the midst of buying massive gifts and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

I've personally scaled WAY back on all this. We didn't even put up a tree this year. I put out a few things around the house to make it more festive but never got a tree. Partly because our apt is sooooo small and now we have 4 kids in here. yikes....it's crowded.

13

No life of her own

by onlycurious in

one of my employee's is jw.

actually, i have been blessed with 2 of them but one of them was raised a jw and the other was recently baptized and has been studying for 2 yrs.. both of these young ladies are very pleasant to be around and i truly enjoy being around them.

the young woman who has been raised jw is a peach.

onlycurious

Abandoned -

How would I approach that? Aren't they discouraged from reading anything outside the wt? Should I just ask her sometime if she is aware that there is a group of ex-jw's that have formed a forum and then wait for a response?

She is also an employee so that could bring great grief in a couple different ways if not handled properly.

13

No life of her own

by onlycurious in

one of my employee's is jw.

actually, i have been blessed with 2 of them but one of them was raised a jw and the other was recently baptized and has been studying for 2 yrs.. both of these young ladies are very pleasant to be around and i truly enjoy being around them.

the young woman who has been raised jw is a peach.

onlycurious

Can you tell me what the view is of ME? I am a Christian, born-again believer. I am not asking anyone's opinion of my faith now that you are out. I am only inquiring as to how these 2 might think of me. Mind you, one of them is a friend of mine but I don't know that it necessarily matters.

I have been told that once a jw figures out a person won't convert, move on. I have come right out and asked many questions (gently) and made sure to inform her the only reason why I wanted to know is to satisfy my curiousity. I explained I have no intentions on converting and that I am stong in my own faith.

By the way, it seems this younger generation is much more liberal in their thinking. Am I correct? Or is this just a typical stage in life and they all get cloned once they get married and start living an adult life?

I truly appreciate your input as I am here for that reason. I don't have much time for laborious reading at this stage in my life and I would much rather find out from people who have been there.

13

No life of her own

by onlycurious in

one of my employee's is jw.

actually, i have been blessed with 2 of them but one of them was raised a jw and the other was recently baptized and has been studying for 2 yrs.. both of these young ladies are very pleasant to be around and i truly enjoy being around them.

the young woman who has been raised jw is a peach.

onlycurious

Her mom is a 1st generation jw. Dad joined later on and doesn't do service. He WHOLE family is anything but jw's.

There was a suicide last yr in her congregation. As you can imagine, this really rocked the boat. My pastor was asked by this young woman to provide counsel for these people.

They are all in their late teens and early 20's. My pastor friend found himself in the midst of a bunch of grieving jw's and he was shocked. Can you even imagine?

She might even be our babysitter coming up for our home Bible study. Lots of kids (she loves them) but it's small enough that we would rather not have one of us have to watch them every Sunday night. She is up for it. :)

80

My Mom passed away today.

by Finally-Free in

jw
friends

after a lenthy illness, 10 years in total, my mother, margaret stecko, passed away peacefully today surrounded by family.

she was 84, and leaves behind 3 children, 5 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren.

she was a jw but never shunned me.

onlycurious

I am sorry to hear about your mom passing today. Cherish the wonderful memories. She must have had a heart of gold.

13

No life of her own

by onlycurious in

one of my employee's is jw.

actually, i have been blessed with 2 of them but one of them was raised a jw and the other was recently baptized and has been studying for 2 yrs.. both of these young ladies are very pleasant to be around and i truly enjoy being around them.

the young woman who has been raised jw is a peach.

onlycurious

One of my employee's is jw. Actually, I have been blessed with 2 of them but one of them was raised a jw and the other was recently baptized and has been studying for 2 yrs.

Both of these young ladies are very pleasant to be around and I truly enjoy being around them. The young woman who has been raised jw is a peach. My bro-in-law met her and immediately recognized that she truly isn't like any other witness he has met.

She has a huge circle of friends outside her congregation. One of them is a pastor at my church. She was having turmoil in her congregation with someone and fled to the pastor and his wife's house. While there, she stated that "she knows they are her only true friends. All of her other friends are only her friends as long as she is a jw."

Wow!

We personally had a bit of a heart-to-heart the other night and she started crying. I asked her if she felt like she own her own life. She said "no."

I asked her if she felt she is living her life to please others and she said "yes."

Do any of you see any glimmer of hope in this or am I just being silly and hopeful?

29

I told my wife why I wouldn't comment at the last WT Study

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

i told my wife (faithful jw) that this past sunday, i found some objection to the .

wt study and could not raise my hand.

she had wanted to know why i did not comment.. .

onlycurious

The words "love is patient, love is kind..." come to mind here. Your eyes have been opened yet your love for your wife has called you to be cautious and 'handle with care."

Very wise. I am excited for you and look forward to reading about your journey out.

68

What Do You Do for Work?

by Good Girl or Bad Girl? in

jw
friends

so, i have a good job, but i hate my boss.

it's gotten to the point (beyond the point) that i just need to get outta here.

it's not even worth going to hr about because she makes sure you get fired if you do that, but not before dragging your reputation through the mud.

onlycurious

I manage a resort for my in-laws. After 11 years of living on the property, I am ready for a change.

So, I have started my own home gourmet candle business and absolutely love it. Every time my husband complains about his body aching or his lack of pay, I tell him not to worry...I am selling candles. It's great and in a couple years....I should be doing very well.

2

Since when are JW's "Christian"?

by onlycurious in

i remember when it was "christendom" and christians were a dirty word.. now the wt is touting that they are "christian"?

when did this happen and why?

was it a planned event, a strategy of sorts?.

onlycurious

I remember when it was "Christendom" and Christians were a dirty word.

Now the WT is touting that they are "Christian"? When did this happen and why?

Was it a planned event, a strategy of sorts?

I remember running in the house, shutting all the blinds and curtains and crouching in the corner when the witnesses were on my street.

I was raised knowing this was a cult even though I wasn't even raised in a very Christian home or anything. JW's were pesty people that put their foot in the door if you opened it and declined their invitation for a home study. At least that is the feeling my mom gave us. We were NOT to open the door or even make a peep. It seemed like forever before they would leave.

35

Just attended my first 'Church event' in over 40 years! Maybe two!

by AK - Jeff in

in spite of the fact that i consider myself christian now, post exit of the watchtower religion, i have not attended a single religious event or sermon inside a church since i was 5 years old [1960].

today, we attended the christmas play for my 5 year old g-daughter at the church where she attends pre-school.

i was absolutely ecstatic with the program.

onlycurious

Isn't it SO different to have Jesus in your life? He is the missing element and brings us so much peace.

I am glad to see you have taken that step of faith and moved forward despite your reservations.

One great thing about the protestant faith is that each individual church has a different feel to it. Some denominations are very conservative and will attract conservative people. While others are very charismatic and will attract people who are more comfortable outwardly expressing their faith in worship. It can be very interesting at times, I'll just say that.

Enjoy the journey God has you on and remember, the church is made up of people. The fact that you have been removed from a cult is a HUGE testimony of God's power and love and He will use you in mighty ways....get ready for the ride of your life!

SC