chickpea

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Posts by chickpea

• 
  10

  Saturday Morning Coffee while Waiting for the Freezing Rain to Move In

  by AdaMakawee in

  1. social
  2. current

  my part of oregon is getting a dose of winter this weekend.

  in fact the cold weather started over the course of last week.

  the pond in front of my apartment is iced over and even the hardiest of canadian geese have stopped flying over looking for a spot to land in.

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  chickpea

  thus far it is a pedestrian morning,
  now within striking distance of noon...

  warmed up to nearly 20° F after
  several days of sub zero or single
  digits following a major winter storm
  that dumped an official 17.5 inches...

  mostly "dug out" and just getting on
  with what winter brings... basically
  exponentially more difficult living,
  but after 20 years, one would think
  i had the hang of it.....

  finishing a discussion paper for one course
  and trying to get started on another.....

  gonna have that second cuppa
  just to finish the pot ....

  hope you get to hunker down for the icy conditions!

  ignore the taunts about field service! someone has to
  be home to answer their doors for the poor blighters
  out in the mess....

  oh wait! phone witnessing!!
• 
  8

  Kingdom Song: "Stay Awake, Stand Firm, Grow Slightly"

  by sd-7 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  1. stay awake, stand firm, grow slightly.

  in the warfare that is lies.

  carry on with public doctrine.

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  chickpea

  Now I have the melody stuck in my head

  ditto!

  funny stuff mate, but if that tune
  keeps popping up in my head today,
  i may have to develop an active dislike
  of you.....
• 
  221

  Why do Ex-JWs start celebrating pagan Christmas?

  by DubR in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hiya guys and gals.

  im not trying to be self-righteous but i want to understand the thought process of someone who knows the origins of christmas, but starts celebrating it (putting up christmas tree, exchanging wrapped gifts; repeating merry christmas to everyone they see in the month of december)??

  it seems very silly to me (imo) after knowing how and why christmas was created (to cater to pagans sun worship and convert to christianity)!!

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  chickpea

  i don't celebrate xmas...

  i am a solstice kinda pagan
• 
  49

  What Ever Attracted You To The Witnesses In The First Place?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have an excuse, i was born in it.

  the thought of living forever and never dying was certainly a draw but when i realized it wasn't true, there wasn't much of an attraction anymore.. what attracted you as a witness?.

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  chickpea

  Too bad you went to the wrong one

  too bad it came to me!!!
• 
  48

  How Did You Discover JWD/JWN ?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i always read h2o, randy's site and anything that might stay current.

  i think it was h2o that said they were closing there but another site was opening and it was this one.. i'm curious how you got to find this place..

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  chickpea

  i was a moderator on a completely unrelated site
  (adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse) and
  part of my responsibilities was to check links
  posted in the reference section of the board to
  make sure they didnt lead to triggering material
  or werent commercial sites (esp the self-help type)

  someone had posted a link to an article about
  manipulative people and i followed a hyperlink
  to a link to a link to a link to rickross.com to JWD....
  
  i was, unbeknownst to me, in an advanced fade
  due to significantly serious family issues, and had
  spent MONTHS in agonized prayer and earnest
  entreaty for a revelation from god as to what to do....
  i was consumed with guilt for being a slacker....
  
  lo and behold, i started reading and the next thing i knew,
  the scales fell away from my eyes and i saw clearly that that
  which had been so ardently declared THE TRUTH TM was the
  furthest thing from it!!!

  i joined JWD that very day and posted the next....
• 
  49

  What Ever Attracted You To The Witnesses In The First Place?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have an excuse, i was born in it.

  the thought of living forever and never dying was certainly a draw but when i realized it wasn't true, there wasn't much of an attraction anymore.. what attracted you as a witness?.

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  chickpea

  i was low hanging fruit...
  a much beloved brother
  died of AIDS (miss you
  everyday, michael) and
  a late 2nd trimester
  miscarriage of a boy,
  ((((paul benjamin))))
  within a calendar year
  had me reeling emotionally...
  
  when my pre-schooler asked
  me "where are uncle michael and
  baby paul now?" and all i could say
  was "i am not sure..." , well you can
  guess the rest.... the JWs had ALL
  the answers i needed.... resurrection,
  paradise earth, upright and holy organization

  heeeere fishy fishy fishy....
  swallowed it hook, line and sinker
• 
  29

  I Saw Goofy Looking JWs Going To The Donut Shop Today

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm sure they were witnesses although i only saw a bookbag.

  all 4 men were dressed in dress coats and suits and ties.

  as they emerged from the car they all had this goofy look on their faces like they were so happy to be going to the donut/ coffee shop.. so stupid looking..

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  chickpea

  i know that goofy look...
  i am sure i had it before!

  i used to work with a reg pioneer
  and an aux pioneer and the three
  of us had lots of laughs...

  if someone had a "good call" and got
  to pontificate about the party line, then
  goofy grins abounded.....

  mebbe these poor sucks had a good call
  and the "joy" was leaking out of their brains
• 
  13

  HUGE Milestone!

  by lepermessiah in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i wanted to share a milestone that i am extremely excited about - my field circus report for november!.

  hours - zero.

  for the first time in my life, after over 30+ years of going out in "service" - all goose eggs, baby!

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  chickpea

  i loves me some milestones!!!

  good to see you making such steady
  progress, brutha l/m....
• 
  28

  What is your favorite poem? Here is mine

  by HappyGuy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thou hast made me endless,.

  such is thy pleasure.. this frail vessel thou emptiest again and again,.

  and fillest it ever with fresh life.. this little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales,.

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  chickpea

  this poem literally takes my breath away

  Ithaca

  When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
  pray that the road is long,
  full of adventure, full of knowledge.
  The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
  the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
  You will never find such as these on your path,
  if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
  emotion touches your spirit and your body.
  The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
  the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
  if you do not carry them within your soul,
  if your soul does not set them up before you.
  
  Pray that the road is long.
  That the summer mornings are many, when,
  with such pleasure, with such joy
  you will enter ports seen for the first time;
  stop at Phoenician markets,
  and purchase fine merchandise,
  mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
  and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
  as many sensual perfumes as you can;
  visit many Egyptian cities,
  to learn and learn from scholars.
  
  Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
  To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
  But do not hurry the voyage at all.
  It is better to let it last for many years;
  and to anchor at the island when you are old,
  rich with all you have gained on the way,
  not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
  
  Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
  Without her you would have never set out on the road.
  She has nothing more to give you.
  
  And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
  Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
  you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.
  
  Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)
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  16

  What's with JW's and X-mas lights?..........

  by awildflower in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i mean i remember growing up as a jw and then 15 baptized adults years, and every year all the jw's would say something to the effect, "lets go look at all the pretty lights", or they would tell their neighbors that they really liked their lights.

  and i remember teaching my kids the same thing, that it's ok to look at the lights (but not ok to like anything else about x-mas, oh regrets!

  ) doesn't that seem weird or something?

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  chickpea

  i am chucklin' out loud here...

  hot chocolate and a drive thru the
  WHOLE town ( took about an hour)
  so my kids could see the lights...

  some we ooooh'd and ahhhhh'd over...
  some we scratched our heads and
  wondered out loud if someone might
  just have pitched a string of lights
  off the porch and called it "good"...

  this year, there is 300 (coloured) light string
  across the part of the house that faces the road...
  tastefully outlining the door and 2 windows
  (a neighbour up the hill told my son, who works
  in his store, that it is the first he has seen us decorate
  and he thought it was very nicely done)
  
  supposed to blink but i think they are too cold...

  we always thought the lights were pretty...
  now i tell the kids, grown or all but grown,
  to do what they WANT to do to make the
  season of holidays meaningful to them....