Posts by graceabounds

24

Kids and Baths:)

by mommy in

of course back then i couldn't keep him out of them.

now i can't get him in them.

wendy

It's the bath my kids seem to like, but the shower is intimidating.
I don't know how someone could get in and out of the shower without
getting wet. Except, if its like the old Bill Cosby story, where he
and his wife had to TELL the kids to turn the water on, or else they would just wander around the shower.
My daughter is pretty good about getting herself cleaned up, but
my son....I never know if he is getting his 2000 parts clean.
I figure, I'll just let him soak a little longer than his sister,
maybe it will help!

22

My story: pieces of me

by Mimilly in

i've lurked here for some time now, and posted a few times but wasn't going to do this until a couple other sweet members here suggested i do - so here it goes.

to tell my story, i have to go back to the beginning.. when i was 3yrs old, i had a very loving older brother, craig, who was 5yrs old.

while we were out playing on a montreal street one day, a streetcleaner with a hungover driver hooked my brother, dragged him several feet, and ran over him, in front of me.

graceabounds

((Mim))

I admire you for all that you have been through....you
are a very emotionally resilliant person. I'm also
saddened by everything you went through.
I have learned the same thing that you had said,
"Everything happens for a reason". Even the horrible
stuff. It's obvious that your life experiences have
made you a very strong person.

graceabounds

6

Watchtower's New Loving Arrangement

by cyrano in

jw
friends

recently jehovah has provided new light to the organization regarding personal conduct during the meetings.. an increasing number of our brothers and sisters have not focused their attention completely on the material being presented at the meetings.

these distractions have caused a few to lose out on the life-saving food given at the 'proper time'.. in view of such matters, a new position in the congregation has been established.

following the loving directions of proverbs 12:1, a congregation disciplinary servant will now monitor all brothers and sisters to ensure they are paying full attention.. no doubt, many wonder what christian duties the new disciplinary servants will be blessed with.

graceabounds

Is this true? Not that I find it hard to believe.
Especially with the way that parents are told to treat
their children...
But, yes it is old light...they did that kind of stuff in
Puritan day....when people would nod off in church, they would
bonk the men on the head with a ball at the end of a stick...
the other end of the stick had a feather on it, and they would
tickle the women.
I wonder if the JW's discriminate in that way...or if every-
body gets bonked on the head......???

Usually a "loving arrangement" does not require that you wear
headgear.

"It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings--
I know why the caged bird sings!"-Paul Laurence Dunbar

42

Do you squeeze your bag?

by Beans in

jw
friends

i heard that when you make tea that you are not to squeeze the bag, is this true?

what if it is herbal tea?

why not squeeze your bag?

graceabounds

I like to steep the bag longer, and to squeeze my bag,
to make the tea a little stronger.
I'm not much into weak tea.

Plus, squeezing the bag gives me a feeling that I am
in total contol, and can dominate the bag.....
Oops.....

We were talking about tea....weren't we...

14

Have your moral values changed drastically?

by voltaire in

jw
friends

i'm currently separated from my wife.

i told the elders that it ain't the truth and they told me to shape up or ship out (that's the very short version) my wife's loyal to the org.

and i don't want to be an apostate in my own home.

graceabounds

My morals and values changed more after I started studying with the witnesses. If there is one positive thing that I can say, it is that when I began to read the bible, I realized how important a relationship is. What I mean is....my morals changed for the better. I was involved with a boyfriend that I was not happy with...well, except maybe one area. However, that is a very empty existence.

Another example would a friend of mine.
Anyway...he has been candid with me about experiences that he has had with women since his divorce. He also told me about his feelings of loneliness(the biggest and worst feeling, if you have been married any length of time); I've had those feelings of loneliness, also. He had shared with me about women that he had been with(not in detail)but had told me how degraded it had made him feel afterward. That a couple of the women would leave in the middle of the night. You know...he said he would feel great...it boosted his confidence to take these women home. Then, later in the day he would be depressed, because he didn't want just the physical part of the relationship....he wanted the companionship.

I have come to the realization that, although it may chase away the lonely feelings for a little while, sex outside of a marriage is just sex. Ofcourse, I can only offer my opinion. And my opinion would be....to do something constructive with your time, or develop a hobby, hang out with your friends.....and heal for awhile.

I'm also "thirty-something", been divorced now for almost 3 years, and I am finally comfortable with myself. I also agree about waiting until I am married again to have another intimate relationship. Ofcourse there are the diseases that can be passed when having different partners, but my reason is that....I think that a person can only give themself so many times before they lose a part of their soul.

Don't let lonliness drive you to do something that you might regret afterward.

graceabounds

13

Militant feminism in the Organization!!

by FreeFallin in

jw
friends

puffsrule post on women's place in the society prompted me to share this website with you.

this group's name is fathers for life...and what a strange little club it is.. i hope i get this right...forever.freeshell.org/actions/jw200111.htm .

maybe someone can make it clickable.. in this article they slam the october and november 2001 for being "too pro-woman," and go on to give many examples, including the one about battered wives.. .

graceabounds

Did they actually say that they thought the WT was TOO PRO-FEMINIST?
They really are insecure, aren't they? I mean, they wouldn't want us
"dum wimin'folk" getting any crazy ideas like....we should be treated
with respect. Heaven forbid that an abused woman should get some
half assed idea to call the police!!!
I knew that I was not right for the "borg" when I was discussing the
battered women's issue with my ex-husband. I also knew that he was
too far in, and something had to be done. He had started to believe that you should go to your "elder" for anything(like the battering).
I asked him, what if you do and it doesn't work? What if they give
the woman bad advice(like....go back and be a good little wife...because ofcourse the abuse would have to be her fault, right?), and say...the loving hubby kills her.
My ex said...."Well, she will be back in the Resurrection".
I told him that I was sure that would be comforting to the children
who probably just watched her be murdered.
But...
The truth of real life is stranger than WT propaganda....
During the course of my "studies" at the home of the woman I studied
with....I noticed the behavior between her and her hubby.
He would sometimes join the study....she would have to throw a scarf
on her head. He would put her down when she asked, what I felt were, honest questions about the bible. Talking down to her as if he were disgusted that she was that ignorant. He would, in front of me, order her to do something. Not ask...not even politely.
My five year old knows how to say PLEASE...
Then....
He had the nerve to warn me about how a worldly man would treat me
as compared to a JW...once I had said that I would not be continuing
to study.
I think I will take my chances in "the world"lol.
Let the JW guys sit in the KH's and admire what smart men they think they are...the whole deluded bunch.

graceabounds

14

Being Single...

by wonderwoman77 in

i was just thinking about being single today.

i feel like it is the yin-yang experience.

there is good and bad with the whole experience.

graceabounds

Thanks bitter mango....maybe someday,eh?lol
I don't know for me.
Maybe...
((bitter mango))

14

Being Single...

by wonderwoman77 in

i was just thinking about being single today.

i feel like it is the yin-yang experience.

there is good and bad with the whole experience.

graceabounds

Well, I can relate Bea and peace....
Tomorrow I am graduating, getting my Bachelor's from Wayne State
University here in Detroit. If it were the end of the road, I
would be thrilled...but!!! I'm going on from there, to get my teacher's certificate. About 2 more years.(Sigh).
I also feel lonesome...sometimes. You know, wanting the companionship, and someone to talk to. When I started studying in the JW's...I broke up with this guy. It was coming, anyway. But at that point I felt he was a "worldly" person.
But, now that I have stopped studying, and also realize that men "in the world" are really not bad(just the last guy I was with)lol. Now
I would like to date...but, I also question if NOW is the time.
I mean, I am not horribly lonely, or depressed, I have more than enough to keep me busy...with being a single mom of two kids, working full time, and going to school.
But...as you said Bea...there are some days when it would be nice to
talk to someone...just about how you feel....not class work, or cartoons, or office work.
It's a tough call...but, I don't think that it is being money-oriented to want to finish your education. That is a JW opinion.
I like to learn...and, I hope to never stop. I hope the same for
my children, also. If I get a little better job after I get out of
school(teacher's are not being interviewed on "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous")...but, I should be able to afford a home and food when I retire(unlike the place where I work now...I would have to choose home OR food).
I think that the answer is....go out now....meet a couple(maybe even 3 or 4)people, build friendships, realize what you do/don't want in a person(my prob is settling for what I am not happy with, thinking it will change later...HAHA). But, in the process, keep my focus on school, and if the man cares enough about me, and my children, the education will be important to him, too. Because it will make me happy to finish it. If a man doesn't seem that interested...well, then, he's probably only really interested in one thing.
And it ain't talking.
Good luck in your quests to find good men. I know they are out there...I've seen other women with them.lol
So....there have to be a few left.
The answer is patience....wait for the good one.
Ya know???

graceabounds

3

The exciting life of a witness.

by sleepy in

jw
friends

i would like to appeal to all , to see the good side to being a witness.. look what kind of life style you'ed enjoy.. monday .get up 7:30am do days text , wash, breakfast out 8;30 drive to work.finish 5:00pm get home in rush hour trafic 6:00 .. make dinner 6:30 do washing up 7:00 , do study for tomorrows meeting + prepere talk 9:00 watch tv ,so nackered at 10:00 go to bed.. tuesday the same except get home at 6:00 make dinner do washing up and leave for meeting by 6:00 .home from meeting at 9:30 go straight to bed.. wednesday same as monday .

do book study for group and prepear well ,as taking the group.. thursday like tuseday except home at 8:30 this gives me one and a half hours to relax, watch telly , think about the bill for car repair that cam e this morning.. friday get home from work at 6:00 , skip dinner as meeting the group for magazine work.someone wants to take me on a call .get invited in don't leave untill 9:00.get a takeaway relax in front of telly , fall asleep in chair.. saturday oh good!

stay in bed till 8:30 then get ready to join the morning ministry.. home at 11:30 , make dinner .now have to sort all the bills and do all the house work, you know the house needs a paint as well, and also need to go shopping for food.

graceabounds

This reminded me of what I had started to get into.
Although I was only a study....but told I was a very
"dedicated" one....made Saturday study, or holiday's,
and had not missed more than 2 meetings in seven months,
(before I came back to reality)...and did this with 2
children in tow(it really WAS SO MUCH MORE FUN!).
With my 4 yr. old sleeping for almost 2 hours at the
Sunday talk. Can I ask....is a separate "Sunday School"
geared towards children...considered a sin???
Probably......
Anyway....by the end of my "weekend", I needed two more
days to rest....from my "rest".

Looking for Donald Galbraith

by graceabounds in

i am looking for a childhood friend of mine.

he was, at the time, a jehovah's witness.

i am in hopes that someone might know of him (or, even know him personally)through the congregations.

graceabounds

I am looking for a childhood friend of mine. He was, at the time, a Jehovah's Witness. I am in hopes that someone might know of him (or, even know him personally)through the congregations. He moved with his parents whe he was approximately 11 years old.
My name is Cathy (Jankowski)Battaglia. We were neighbors...he lived down the street. As younger children, we played together.
When I became old enough to realize how Jehovah's Witnesses believed, I fell away from the friendship. Unfortunately, later in life, at a vulnerable point in my life, I began to wonder if the JW's were not right. This was my first of many errors. I was seven months into study/worship with JW's. When I finally began to have serious doubts. Luckily, I had not made the commitment of being baptized by them. But, the exit has still been difficult. And, the added grief is that I exposed my children to that nonsense.

But, I had always been in hopes that my friend had had doubts, he came to mind many times as I went through the guilt/pain of walking away from the witnesses. I hoped that he might possibly have been strong enough to get free. I realize that he was raised with the religion, but many things happen in life that cannot stand up to the watchtower reasoning and philosophy.....maybe a glimmer of light....that made him, or his parents, wake up.
I hope.