Posts by Blithe Freshman

44

Ray Franz on Fear Among JWs

by compound complex in

to this day, in all countries, any persons among jehovah's witnesses who find they cannot conscientiously support fully the organization's teachings or practices live in a climate of fear, feeling they must constantly be on guard as to what they say, what they do, what they read, with whom they associate, from whom they receive letters, not feeling any sense of freedom even when among personal friends or close relatives if these are also witnesses.

as stated, in my personal experience i have had people phone who were afraid to give their name or who felt it necessary to use a fictitious name, some who even felt it necessary to take out a special post office box to be able to correspond without danger of their correspondence with me or other former witnesses being discovered.

they face a form of "hostage" situation, produced by the organization's authority.

Blithe Freshman

CoCo-

The harsh reality of the situation strikingly reveals the hollowness of public relations statements of the organization, whose representatives, when interviewed by the news media, express difficulty in understanding 'why anyone would be concerned about reprisals,' 'why it is that persons who cannot agree do not simply leave quietly,' who insist that there is no "badgering," no "emotional harassment," in this "very open organization," which is free from "spiritual policemen."

My son was in a JC, admitted to his problems and regretted he had not been able to overcome them.After the part were they tell you , you have returned to your vomit and are Df'd , he made the fatal statement, "he would continue to read his Bible & pray to Jehovah for help on his own". Apparently that thought needed silencing. The phone calls started immediately warning us and others in the congregation he was possessed , speaking as from the demons & apostate. At the time he was a troubled teen, but not apostate.

This so increased my fear to have my thoughts known, since I had serious doubts. Being DF'd and walking out of the JC without being asked "the question", was my goal and such a relief .

Blithe

67

How do you feel when you see groups of Jehovah's Witnesses in the ministry?

by nicolaou in

regret, anger, frustration?

how about sadness, sorrow, sympathy, understanding, even compassion!.

it can be quite confusing at times, especially if some of those witnesses were your friends.

Blithe Freshman

What gets me is they look so much alike. I've spotted them all over the country and each time my first thought is,"what is **** doing here". I was watching a you tube video and could swear the pioneer sister in the background was someone I knew. Not just the halls look the same. Creepy!

14

John Doe KFC recipe

by Blithe Freshman in

family wanted kfc, i couldn't eat the fat & salt so tried low fat /salt version at home!.

i cheated!

found recipe, tried it , very good.. 2c flour2t salt2t pepper4t paprika1 t garlic powder1t ground mustard1t ground thyme1t sweet basil1t oregano1t ground ginger3tsps cayenne pepper if you want it hot, optional don't own a deep fryer, did it in the frying pan.

Blithe Freshman

See page 14 http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/pdf/kfc_ingredients_april09.pdf

16

Beautiful Day~How will you spend it?

by StAnn in

jw
friends

today the weather in sw ohio is gorgeous.

breezy, low 80's, lots of sunshine.

the kids and i ate breakfast on the patio.

Blithe Freshman

I removed the snow shovels from the decks,

replaced the flannel sheets with the summer ones,

had to take my sweatshirt & turtleneck off by 10am,

replaced with long sleeve T & bare feet for the first time this year!

Spotted a robin out kitchen window, were one had built a nest last year.

Made a to-do list for tomorrow of more winter to put away.

Blithe

33

From 'Everlasting Life' to just a few more years. How did you handle the realisation that you WOULD die?

by nicolaou in

the thing is, a lot of us thought we'd never die.

do you comprehend what a truly massive mind-fuck that is?

when i was embroiled in doubts and knew i was heading 'out of the truth' i remember waves of nausea hitting me.

Blithe Freshman

The realization that so many of my decisions in life were based on "there would always be time in the new system". It was my cop out to be a coward when life was difficult.I made the easy choice to wait until later, instead of taking responsibility for my life.I was a doormat for my family.I chose a path in my early 20's of putting off me and what I wanted /needed my whole adult life.I didn't take care of my self and so have probably spent 2/3's of my life firmly entrenched in a pattern of living I am working to break. It's very scary and hard.

But I have a long list I'm working on and an appointment with my husband this weekend to go over it. This may be as wild a weekend as when I told him I was going to the Witnesses for Jesus convention.

Blithe

14

John Doe KFC recipe

by Blithe Freshman in

family wanted kfc, i couldn't eat the fat & salt so tried low fat /salt version at home!.

i cheated!

found recipe, tried it , very good.. 2c flour2t salt2t pepper4t paprika1 t garlic powder1t ground mustard1t ground thyme1t sweet basil1t oregano1t ground ginger3tsps cayenne pepper if you want it hot, optional don't own a deep fryer, did it in the frying pan.