Posts by palmtree67

59

My wounds opened up badly today

by Maddie in

jw
friends

the past three weeks having been so stressful and very sad.

my ex husband died after being in hospital for just over a week in intensive care.. i was just 18 and he was 21 when we first met and after a whirlwind romance we married 6 months later and have two sons together who are now adults.

although our marriage ended after 25 years and i remarried 7 years ago, he was my first love and i knew him for most of my life.

palmtree67

So sad.

They didn't have to give the toys back. That was just done to be mean.

12

Your relationship with your children is different than with your mate

by palmtree67 in

i was reading easyrider's thread about the co's council on children and the comment about the discrepancy between kicking out your kids vs. keeping a mate who doesn't serve jehovah.. i think your relationship with your kids is very different than your relationship with your mate.. your kids will always be your kids, no matter what.

nothing will ever change that.. not so with your mate.

they could die or you could divorce.

palmtree67

I was reading easyrider's thread about the CO's council on children and the comment about the discrepancy between kicking out your kids vs. keeping a mate who doesn't serve Jehovah.

I think your relationship with your kids is very different than your relationship with your mate.

Your kids will always be your kids, no matter what. Nothing will ever change that.

Not so with your mate. They could die or you could divorce. You never divorce your children.

12

What I want from this board ...

by The Berean in

greetings to all:.

after thinking about it, what i am hopeful of attaining, as a result of interaction with everyone, may be summed up in one word: "disclosure.".

feel free to tell me what makes you happy or sad; where it hurts; how you are intelligent and where you are stupid; if you are angry or appreciative; if you conclude that my questions are brilliant or asinine; evil or well-meaning .... i promise to consider your words without prejudice ... for perhaps you possess a critical missing piece of the puzzling search for contentment.. i, for one, am listening.

palmtree67

This works for me: It's from "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz

Under any circumstances, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. When you wake up feeling refreshed and energized, your best will be different than when you are tired at night.

If you try to do more than your best, you will spend more energy than is needed and in the end your best will not be enough and it will take longer to accomplish your goals. If you do less than your best, you subject yourself to frustrations, self-judgement, guilt and regret.

Just do your best in any circumstance. Say no when you want to say no, and yes when you want to say yes. You have the right to be you. And you can only be yourself when you do your best.

Dont expect that you will always be able to be impeccable with your word. Don't expect that you will never take anything personally again. Don't expect that you will never make another assumption. Don't expect that you will never make another mistake.

But you can certainly always do your best.

40

What finally pushed you over the edge?

by keyser soze in

was there one issue or incident, final straw, so-to-speak, that made you leave once and for all?

i know there was for me.. i had been having doubts for years, and had stopped believing it was the truth.

but i labored on as a jw, in part because of my family, and in part because i had invested so much of myself in it.

palmtree67

The start for me was having the S*&%T beat out of me and my siblings by my JW parents for 20 years. At one point or another, we all went to the elders about how we were being treated, but all we got was that we had to obey and that Dad had the right to do whatever he felt was necessary to keep control of his household.

Then in my 30's, being in service and having some snot-nosed 13 year old brothers telling me they didnt have to listen to me because they were baptised. The elders told me that while they shouldn't say it to me, it was technically true.

Then being married for 20+ years to a controlling, unloving, demanding man who never appreciated anything I ever did.

I've mentioned here before the 10 years of nasty letters I got from sisters telling me how unwelcome I was in the congregation.

And a myriad other little irritations that just beat me down til I couldn't take it anymore.

Enjoying my break from the craziness. Enjoying meeting people who are normal.

34

$6,600 Expenses For a One-Day Assembly At a Fully-Paid-Up Hall? WTF!

by Room 215 in

the wife just got back from a one-day special circuit meeting (or whatever they call it) at the regional assembly hall.

it's got a capacity of about 1,200, fully paid for, staffed by volunteers and in use for less than eight hours.

then the guy making the announcement tells the crowd that the one-day expenses for the gig was about $6,600 (?!!!)...

palmtree67

Maybe this is off the topic, but in my city there was a K-Hall renovation planned. They said we had to raise $50,000. We did.

After the reno, they announced that they needed another $25,000. No explanation for why the extra amount.

The strange part was no one even questioned this. I have worked in construction and if you bid on a job and get it for $50,000, you can't go 50% over budget and not have to answer some real hard questions.

When they asked for a show of hands to agree to pay the extra, I didn't put up my hand.

22

Did you go on a spiritual quest?

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

childhood: roman catholic -> fundie bible thumper born again "alcohol is evil, non-whites are bad" type -> jw (abhorred the latter 2).

adulthood:.

checked out but didn't join--buddhism, hinduism, voodoo, wicca, paganism, greek mythology, italian folk magic, quakers, several native american traditions.. joined--roman catholicism (again) -> secular humanism [i still am an official member of both and that's where i'll forever stay.

palmtree67

Hi rebel

I'd like to ask you something and my intention is honest wondering, not to belittle your faith:

How do you reconcile backing the Catholic Church with their support of Hitler during WW11?

My ex in-laws were Catholic but I was always afraid to ask them.

I hope my question doesn't offend you.

31

If the Society says "JUMP!"

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

the dubs say;.

rank and file "oh okay".

pioneer "how high?".

palmtree67

Women:

"Only if my husband says it's OK."

43

so why do we do this???

by oompa in

jw
friends

why?........is it therapy or revenge?....or wanting to save others from the real truth?..what else is there?...........i feel all three...and why do i so want to help others...does not evryone have a right to their own belief?.......oompa.