you who don't know -- i'm daed but my mother still sends me very short e-mail about every two months.. this morning she sent me an email that said:.
25 today.
it would be sooooo wrong for someone to say -- "happy birthday" .. but its fine to mention that i am 25 today.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR RENEE....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU......................and many more.
My ex-jw mother-in-law does the same thing to my sons. She calls and says something like "somebody turned 25 today"....but never Happy Birthday!
i wonder.
a very typcal witness may see the obvious negatives that jws know they have.
they might acknowledge that there's often a lack of love, that the elders can be demanding, that "new light" can change long cherished beliefs in an instant.......but still they cling on and resist any sort of intellectual discussion as to why the witnesses are off soooooo many times.....what gives??
One recently told me that "Jehovah and His organization is not part of of her life....it is her life."
It's pretty hard to give up your life, no matter how dysfunctional it's proven to be.
<!-- .style1 { font-family: arial; font-size: 20px; color: #009999; } .style2 { font-family: arial; font-size: 17px; color: #009999; } .style3 { font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; } --> did anything in field service make you question the society?
an ex-jehovahs witnesses planted a seed of doubt by stating that she felt to be a good .
witness an individual had to be a conformist.
Even though it's been many years, I remember vividly the last time I went out in fs. It was in an area in the county but outside the city limits. It seemed that every house had a dog near the porch or in the front yard! Any other time, I probably would have walked right up, albeit slowly, thinking "oh, how I must be pleasing Jehovah." But that day, I just remember thinking: "This is stupid....just plain stupid!" I never went in fs again.
when i was a jw, my idea of worshipping god was to put in at least 10+ hrs.
in fs monthly, attend 5 mtgs per wk, study for those meetings, make back calls (or what is now called rv's), conduct bible studies, have a family study once a week, pioneer when able, go to all the assemblies, etc.
what, if anything, do you consider worship?.
When I was a JW, my idea of worshipping God was to put in at least 10+ hrs. in fs monthly, attend 5 mtgs per wk, study for those meetings, make back calls (or what is now called rv's), conduct Bible studies, have a family study once a week, pioneer when able, go to all the assemblies, etc. Now, well ?????? What, if anything, do you consider worship?
recently i had began to have weird dreams, ones i could not ignore and i needed to speak to someone about it.
so i asked one of the elders i respected a lot to make some time to speak to me after the meeting one night.
i knew it would be a conversation that would take awhile, so i told my family to drive in a separate car, which allowed me not to worry about how long they were waiting for me.
I really enjoy your writing. Your stories grab the reader's interest quickly and they don't let go till the end........Thanks for sharing them.
i ask this because as a jw, you are programmed to think your only purpose is to preach the good news of the kingdom....period.
but more and more, i've noticed in my own life a strong pull toward something i won't elaborate on, but it has me thinking that maybe we really do each have a particular purpose and it's up to us to discover what it is.
i know i'm kind of new to the forum, but please let me know if any of you have experienced this same kind of unusually strong pull toward something you can't fully explain.
Thanks, JT, for the explanation. I've read so many things about killing the ego so that one's true Self can be revealed. Your sentence stating that "there is God manifesting...period" helps to clarify what you were trying to say.
i ask this because as a jw, you are programmed to think your only purpose is to preach the good news of the kingdom....period.
but more and more, i've noticed in my own life a strong pull toward something i won't elaborate on, but it has me thinking that maybe we really do each have a particular purpose and it's up to us to discover what it is.
i know i'm kind of new to the forum, but please let me know if any of you have experienced this same kind of unusually strong pull toward something you can't fully explain.
I was hoping you would weigh in on this, JT. Having a purpose does not mean you are "some incomplete-being" as you put it. If you believe in an intelligent creator, then you have to admit that God's ultimate purpose is to express or commincate himself/herself through the act of creation. We, being part of that creation and being created in His image, also seek to express ourselves through the act of using our life to create something in this physical dimension. (I'm not talking about a small tribal diety, either. I'm talking about the intelligent energy force that is behind all that is.)
Please correct me if I am misunderstanding you. I understand that man is body, mind, soul, and spirit. I understand that the ultimate goal is to be present in the here and now and that the presence of God within oneself knows God beyond oneself. I know that knowing who "you" are in reality is the key to this wisdom. But, we were created to exist in this physical world and through our five senses, our thoughts, and our feelings, God experiences His creation through us. So, you're right in that that is all we have to do.....just be present. However, some may be called to create something other....some may feel a higher purpose in order to express the God-within urge to create. Is it so far-fetched to think that each and every one of us is an expression of God's creativity and because of that, we should create something with our life if we feel a pull in that direction. And that, my friend, is also what already IS.....using your life to fulfill your purpose so God can experience your little input in the material plane of existence.
i ask this because as a jw, you are programmed to think your only purpose is to preach the good news of the kingdom....period.
but more and more, i've noticed in my own life a strong pull toward something i won't elaborate on, but it has me thinking that maybe we really do each have a particular purpose and it's up to us to discover what it is.
i know i'm kind of new to the forum, but please let me know if any of you have experienced this same kind of unusually strong pull toward something you can't fully explain.
I don't want to get too esoteric, but I read something not long ago that resonated with me. Basically, if the intelligent energy that created matter "breathed a spark" of His essence into man, then perhaps individually we are not as insignificant as you might think. We may have become separated from Him in order for Him to experience the material plane through us. That "spark" or soul is intimately connected to this intelligent energy of the spirit plane we call God. If that's the case, then is it so far-fetched to believe that we were programmed when we drew our first breath of life to learn a particular lesson or accomplish a particular goal? And when you have an "awakening" experience, is it this internal program prodding you to get on with what you're here for?
Am I saying it right? Do you ever feel acutely aware that you are here to either learn a particular lesson in life or accomplish a particular goal?
if you could have been one of the apostles, would you have given up everything you have today to follow jesus?.
.
If he looked as hot as he does on the Memorial invitation tract, that's a big "yes"!!
i ask this because as a jw, you are programmed to think your only purpose is to preach the good news of the kingdom....period.
but more and more, i've noticed in my own life a strong pull toward something i won't elaborate on, but it has me thinking that maybe we really do each have a particular purpose and it's up to us to discover what it is.
i know i'm kind of new to the forum, but please let me know if any of you have experienced this same kind of unusually strong pull toward something you can't fully explain.
I ask this because as a JW, you are programmed to think your only purpose is to preach the good news of the kingdom....period. But more and more, I've noticed in my own life a strong pull toward something I won't elaborate on, but it has me thinking that maybe we really do each have a particular purpose and it's up to us to discover what it is. I know I'm kind of new to the forum, but please let me know if any of you have experienced this same kind of unusually strong pull toward something you can't fully explain.
