Yumbby, I did do that. Packed my clothes, my books, and my rocking chair, got in my car, pointed it south and just drove. I stayed gone for six years. And yes, I even changed my name. But my JW demons haunted me. It was a great experience in that I had to learn to stand on my own two feet because I knew no one and had no one to lean on. However, what finally made a real difference in my life was getting into psychotherapy. Five years of it. I couldn't make the necessary changes in my life until I understood why I did what I did. Then I became a christian. A geographical cure isn't really a cure at all because you take your thoughts and memories with you. Now, several years post-therapy, I feel I could move anywhere and be perfectly content because I've faced and wrestled down my demons. Now moving away and starting over would be an adventure, not an escape. I highly recommend both psychotherapy and real christianity.
Posts by StAnn
-
26Cut and Run
by yumbby inthis is just a post to see if anyone else feels how i do.
have any of you ever in response to a situation you didnt' feel you could control just feel like packing a bag and taking off without telling anyone where you are going and starting over completely fresh and away from your past?
it is so tempting.
-
-
-
6
Old Memories
by Undecided ini've been having a lot of old memories from my past.
i can't seem to see ahead at all.
it makes me sad to think about my mom and dad and all the old jws that i knew from way back.
-
-
StAnn
Ken, it's rainy and dreary here today, so in my mild depression, I called my JW mother. The only thing she has to talk about is the KH, so I got to hear all the news about all of the old crowd I grew up with. So many have died. I'm always saddened that she never calls me to tell me about any of the funerals. Just because I left the WTBTS doesn't mean I don't love the people I grew up with. Many of the people in my congregation were like surrogate parents to me. For some reason, the JWs seem to think that rejecting their religion is rejecting them, and that's not the case for me at all.
We used to have the bookstudy at a farmer's home. He had an old movie projector and after the bookstudy was over, we'd watch old silent movies, mostly the Keystone Cops. He also had a pond and we'd change into our bathing suits after the meeting and hop in the water. Sometimes his sons would take us riding across the corn fields on their dirt bikes. This farmer died recently and my mother didn't tell me for weeks. I was broken hearted to miss his funeral. I really loved him and would have liked to have had the chance to express my sympathies and my love for him to his widow and children.
Despite being raised a JW and the craziness that implies, I have some wonderful memories of my childhood that are directly linked to various members of our congregation.
-
14
JW Ex-Wife taking daughter out of school for holidays
by LowTech inwhen growing up, i don't remember being taken out of school for much, but my ex-wife takes my daughter out for so many holidays.
i just found out that she took her out thursday and friday for valentines day.
is this even legal?
-
-
StAnn
I remember sitting out in the hallway in a little chair while my classmates were inside eating birthday or holiday cake. It was very lonely and humiliating. I'd much rather have stayed home.
In the US, public schools have deteriorated greatly since I was a child and many people, myself included, homeschool their children. However, I do it for academic reasons, not religious ones. Much of what is taught in schools today is "just so much fluff." My children need one-on-one attention. Also, I homeschool year-round so that there is no problem with retention. Of course, my husband and I are both college educated and believe strongly in the merits of a solid, well-rounded education.
-
9
Do JWs tithe?
by lavendar in.
just thought of this.....and was curious.
do they give part of their income to the wts?.
-
-
StAnn
As a JW, I did not tithe. Our elders totalled the congregation's annual expenses and divided that by the number of publishers and made a recommendation as to how much each publisher should contribute monthly. It was a very small amount.
Now that I'm a christian, I do tithe to my church. I'm happy to do so, as my money goes not just for the maintenance and upkeep of the building but also to ensure we have a well-trained, highly educated clergy who actually have studied all of the biblical languages and are proficient in theology. You get what you pay for.
-
28
Do You Believe The Majority of JWs Believe Everything They Are Taught?
by minimus inyears ago, nearly every jw were true believers.
even if they were considered weak in the faith, they accepted all the beliefs and views from "mother".
do you think today's witnesses accept everything as being the truth?.
-
-
StAnn
My JW mother and JW sister believe everything they say, hook, line, and sinker. I think my two brothers who are still in have doubts but are afraid of acting on them because of backlash from family. My ex-husband and his pioneer wife definitely believe it all. Interestingly, the people in my family who went to college left the JWs, the ones who didn't are still in it. I remember when I took a Western Civilization history class and saw 587, not 607, as the year and thought, where'd they come up with that date? That was one of my first inklings that something was wrong....
-
21
JW Necklaces
by fjtoth inlondon, england.
jehovah's necklaces17/02/2008nurses are calling for jehovah's witnesses to wear special bracelets and necklaces so they won't be given "sinful" blood transfusions by mistake.. most of britain's 125,000 witnesses carry pocketsized cards declaring their religious beliefs.
but nurses say that in an emergency there may be no time to check a patient's pockets.. the royal college of nursing have urged the watchtower society, which represents the witnesses, to ask members to wear the bracelets or necklaces.. .
-
-
StAnn
A lot of people wear the medical alert necklaces or bracelets. I don't think they would draw any kind of special attention. I don't understand why the GB would be opposed to them being used in conjunction with the blood cards. Someone enlighten me as to why the GB is opposed.
-
6
Hilarious Anti-Google Lawsuit
by Leolaia inhttp://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-pamdce/case_no-3:2007cv01677/case_id-69169/.
then open up the complaint.
he wants the trial in scranton.
-
-
StAnn
Surely this isn't real?
-
-
-
StAnn
That is funny! And I'm Catholic!
-
29
Pledge of Allegiance
by Princess Daisy Boo insouth africa is considering bringing in a "pledge" that kids in school will repeat each day.
we never had such a thing as kids growing up, but when the national anthem was sung, we always had to stay seated and not participate.
i remember always hearing about flag saluting in other countries.
-
-
StAnn
I homeschool my children and have taught them the pledge and national anthem. I am not a fan of George Bush by any means but I'm one of those politically active people who feels we have more opportunities to live the kind of life we choose in this country than in any other, so my goal is to try to work within the system to improve our government. If I look at other nations, I'd rather live under the US government than any other system. I want to preserve the uniqueness of our governmental system (I'm worried about all of this international law creeping in) and want my children to learn the value of being politically active to try to shape the events in their lives rather than sitting back and letting others do all the work. I don't approve of all of the things my government does; heck, I don't approve of most of the things my government does; but I feel that here I have the opportunity to have a real effect on how my government operates and have my voice (even a dissenting voice) heard, rather than in a totalitarian regime. Thankfully, my father was never a JW and was always politically active, so I got the bug from him.
StAnn
-
35
If you had a Time Machine would you stop yourself being a Witness???
by Witness 007 inwhat if you wen't back in time and stopped your mother from opening the door to the witnesses...and your family never came into the truth!!
what if you risked changing everything else in your life...not having kid's or the same marriage partner...would it be worth it.
-
-
StAnn
My mother is the one who converted in my family. If I had a time machine, I'd go back to the day my parents met and make sure my mom was in a different state altogether. I think my mom was meant to be a JW, she loves it so much. I just wish she hadn't had children to inflict her beliefs upon. So I'd like to have kept her from marrying my dad and today she'd be an old, retired, lifelong JW pioneer with no children or grandchildren to control and warp.