shopaholic

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Posts by shopaholic

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  12

  Visiting New York Tomorrow

  by JWFreak in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey i will be in the city for 4 days from this monday.. apart from the usual tourist sites which i have seen before, what unusual places to any of you recommend?.

  thanks.

  jwf.

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  shopaholic

  I was just there...walked the Brooklyn Bridge and didn't even wish I had a grenade...definite progress. Enjoy NY, its a great city!
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  18

  "Welcome To The Best Way of Life" - WT Lesson for May 2nd

  by mentallyfree31 in

  1. social
  2. family

  it's hard to even read this without bursting into laughter.

  and just think, we all used to agree with this.. damn, it feels good to be on the outside looking in.. .

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  shopaholic
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  120

  Have They Found Noah's Ark ? - Again.....

  by BluesBrother in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "there is a story circulating around the net, started by a group called noahs ark ministries, which claims they have found noahs ark on mount ararat in turkey.. a group of chinese and turkish evangelical explorers say they have brought back wood specimens from atop mount ararat in turkey that they believe to be from noahs ark.

  claiming they found a wood structure with compartments and samples that date carbon date to 4,800 years ago, they say it is 99% certain it is the ark of biblical fame.

  http://thepostanything.gather.com/viewarticle.action?articleid=281474978201133&grpid=3659174697244816.

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  shopaholic
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  83

  If you felt/feel that you had/have good, close "friends" in the org, how did/does it feel to just give them up?

  by Crisis of Conscience in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is my biggest dilema.

  although mentally i really feel i could walk away from the org right now, i still have genuine love for the people i have come to know over the years.

  i love people!.

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  shopaholic

  Simply -mentioning- that we may not believe anymore caused virtually all friends to drop us an run immediately. I mean just a sentence! Not one even tried to comfort us, work with us, find out what's wrong. Just scared to death of 'Satan', 'doubt', etc, and they left us.

  The same happened to me. I honestly thought I could confide in them and they would be a source of encouragement. Instead they were gone faster than you could say 'doubt'. And Terry makes a great point about being loved by a person who has been commanded to love you.
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  22

  Cheating in the Congregation

  by EXMS in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  how often does anyone see cheating happening throughout the congregation?.

  reason that i ask this is because it happened to me.

  in this three years things seemed to go great.

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  shopaholic

  Sure she didn't think you were just friends? Usually folks are engaged after 6-8 months and then married within 12-24 months depending on finances. But your case is not uncommon. I've had friends go through the same.

  Well at least you didn't marry her. At one of my old congregations, it was super confusing because so many had been divorced and remarried to someone in the same congregation. Evidently several years before I came, there were a lot of DF'ing as everyone was cheating all over the place. Folks got divorced and married the other person. So basically everyone in the congregation was somehow related. They were not very welcoming to new comers.
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  74

  Most people who are not JW's live with out moral restrain! All who have left the "Truth" regret it. June 15th WT

  by life is to short in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  in the june 15th wt it says on page 9 i will just write it out as it is to hard and unbelievable to preface this.

  so here it is.. "many who today are members of the christian congregation can tell you that before learning of and adopting jehovah's righteous standards, they lived without moral restrain.

  yet, they were unsatisfied and unhappy.

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  shopaholic

  Life really is to short for all of this.

  After being told that I'm not really happy and that I'm only pretending to be happy and that its not possible to happy outside of the organization, I'm no longer surprised by anything these people print. After leaving, I was surprised at the moral restraint of non-JWs. I thought they were accountable to know one so they did whatever. Well, they do have a sense of accountability either to their God or mankind. Overall, they are a good bunch.

  And yes, most JWs are ill-equipped to live in the real world.
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  33

  You ever drive to the meeting, or field service meeting point, and do a U-Turn and go back home?

  by miseryloveselders in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i did this today.

  last night, the pretty little weather girl stated there would "be heavy rain marked by occasional thunderstorms.

  " i thought to myself, great, hopefully its so bad when i awaken, anybody originally planning on going out, will just stay home.

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  shopaholic

  Once I learned out what was really going on, I did that for almost every meeting for a couple of months. Always ended up at the mall or a store...sometimes even Michaels.

  There were even several times when I parked down the street from the KH trying to convince myself why I should go. Only to turn into the parking lot and simply circle right back out...LOL.

  Shop.
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  122

  Stayed up all night, see it is a cult now.

  by gutted in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i really needed to find a place to write this as i don't believe i can talk with anyone else about my account, perhaps it is similar to a lot of yours.. last night for whatever reason i said i would go online and look up information on jws.

  i have been raised as a jw all my life and baptized the last few years.

  i looked at www.freeminds.org and www.sixscreensofthewatchtower.com and couldn't believe how easily the whole of my lifes teachings were refuted.. i can't stop my brain from running, bs just in regards to theology alone (1914, paradise earth, celebrations etc.

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  shopaholic

  If you have at least one month of not reporting time in a service year you are considered irregular. If you miss consecutive six months of reporting time, you are considered inactive.
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  122

  Stayed up all night, see it is a cult now.

  by gutted in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i really needed to find a place to write this as i don't believe i can talk with anyone else about my account, perhaps it is similar to a lot of yours.. last night for whatever reason i said i would go online and look up information on jws.

  i have been raised as a jw all my life and baptized the last few years.

  i looked at www.freeminds.org and www.sixscreensofthewatchtower.com and couldn't believe how easily the whole of my lifes teachings were refuted.. i can't stop my brain from running, bs just in regards to theology alone (1914, paradise earth, celebrations etc.

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  shopaholic

  Gutted,

  Different things work for different people. If you don't feel comfortable or are not in a situation to stop all together, then maybe going out one or two saturdays a month for an hour will do. No need to place literature, simply share a scripture and encourage people to read the bible as it has very practical advice. If anyone questions your approach, tell them you heard it was an activity in pioneer school...because it is. Then from there, move to one saturday and then nothing.

  Do what works best for your situation and remember, you're stronger and have more courage than you think.

  Shop.
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  122

  Stayed up all night, see it is a cult now.

  by gutted in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i really needed to find a place to write this as i don't believe i can talk with anyone else about my account, perhaps it is similar to a lot of yours.. last night for whatever reason i said i would go online and look up information on jws.

  i have been raised as a jw all my life and baptized the last few years.

  i looked at www.freeminds.org and www.sixscreensofthewatchtower.com and couldn't believe how easily the whole of my lifes teachings were refuted.. i can't stop my brain from running, bs just in regards to theology alone (1914, paradise earth, celebrations etc.

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  shopaholic

  Gutted,

  Welcome to the board! I also had many sleepless nights and missed several days of work because when I "woke up", it almost stopped me in my tracks. The thing is, something ALWAYS felt wrong. Then one day I stumbled upon a youtube video. The next day I went and watched more. Once the googling started...it was over...and I eventually landed on this board.

  Also, as others have recommended, be very careful with whom you share your doubts. I had a couple of "friends" that were coasters and we joked about the "truth". They saw me transition from a zealous pioneer to someone that couldn't tell you the name of the CO. Yet, things continued as if nothing had happened. I attended several festivies celebrating our new President...nothing. I bought my dad birthday and father's day presents...nothing. However, once I vocalized my doubts they dropped me like a hot potato out of fear that I would pull them out of the organization.

  Hopefully, your mom will think you are just going through a phase and will not ask the elders to "shepherd" you. In regards to your sister and her relationship with your mom...no guarantees that yours will be the same as your sister was not baptized. In the eyes of JWs, that makes a big difference.

  Even though its been said, take a breath...slowly exhale...repeat. The journey is different for everyone and I wish you a peaceful one. Welcome to freedom.

  Shop.