Mattieu

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Posts by Mattieu

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  19

  Good name for a goldfish!

  by Open mind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  darwin!.

  my wife got a darwin fish, complete with little footsies, not too long ago.

  it graces our refrigerator 24/7 unless jws are coming over.

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  Mattieu

  Baxter.....
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  17

  Popping in to say hello - today marks 2 years since I joined JWN

  by Awakened at Gilead in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm making my annual visit on all you dfd and dad peoples, lol.... life is going pretty good.

  i'm hardly on this or other exjw sites, since i'm much more of an atheist than an exjw now.

  i still keep in touch with the exjw friends i made when i first left.

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  Mattieu

  Why hello hello, congrats on the Masters & thanks for the shepherding visit!
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  77

  My Dad Died Today

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  he has been ill for some time, but it was still unexpected.

  he was never a jw and i didn't really have a close relationship with him, since he remarried after my parents divorced.

  i reunited with him in the mid 90's after over 10 years of not seeing him.. .

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  Mattieu

  Thinking of you cantleave......
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  3

  my own story

  by James_Slash in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've posted here on and off for the past couple of years, but i've never revealed my reasons behind leaving the watchtower.. when i was younger, i was brought up in the faith (i don't call it the 'truth' anymore for reasons i will explain later).

  my father had not long died (he was not a jw) my mother had been converted in 1984.. like many, as a young child i often found the meetings boring.

  i used to dread them and in particular the conventions.

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  Mattieu

  Hi James (can I call you slasher?),

  Thanks for posting your story, looking forward to hearing more from you. I can certainly relate to the part of being "overlooked". Sadly its not the holy spirit that appoints, but rather its who brown noses the most or is "in" with the big boys.

  I hope all works out with your daughter.

  Cheers, Mattieu.
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  5

  Sydney catch up this Wed/Thur night?

  by Mattieu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi, i am flying into sydney on business this wednesday & thursday, anyone want to catch up for drinks on either of those nights?

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  mattieu..........

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  Mattieu

  Hi BP - North or south? I will be doing the Newcastle to Port Maqaurie run next month if that is in your vicinity.

  FSM - Brisvegas & Gold Coast coming up shortly!

  Mattieu...
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  37

  Another newbie... so to speak

  by joeblow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey... how's everyone?.

  i'm a new guy here... so a bit about me.. i was raised as a jw.

  my parents started studying when i was a baby, so it's all i knew growing up.

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  Mattieu

  Hi Joeblow,

  Welcome & I am glad you joined the board. All the best for the journey ahead!

  Mattieu..........
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  11

  Are you like Ivan Ilych?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  his reaction at the knowledge that he was mortal - was yours similar when you recognized that you would die?.

  on some level it seems very difficult as a human being to accept one's mortality.

  though we may acknowledge it verbally, we submerge our heads in the figurative sand when it comes to realistic acceptance.

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  Mattieu

  Hi AK Jeff,

  I enjoyed your comments on the subject, though I am a bit like Dissed, though reaching 40 and leaving the Borg was a real slap in the face in accepting the fact that I will grow old & die. It is a difficult subject, particularly as a “born in” who was never going to make it to school.

  Mattieu....
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  5

  Sydney catch up this Wed/Thur night?

  by Mattieu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi, i am flying into sydney on business this wednesday & thursday, anyone want to catch up for drinks on either of those nights?

  .

  mattieu..........

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  Mattieu

  Hi, I am flying into Sydney on business this Wednesday & Thursday, anyone want to catch up for drinks on either of those nights?

  Mattieu.........
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  44

  New Here!! And finally I can post.

  by Crisis of Conscience in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been lurking for quite a while but i finally gave in to my "apostate" heart and joined!

  i'm so excited!.

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  Mattieu

  Hi CoC,

  Welcome, I can relate to so many aspects of your post, you will be suprised as to how many of us are/have struggled with the same feelings.

  Mattieu....
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  4

  Who gave the longest talk ever in your lifetime?

  by asilentone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  karl adams from brooklyn bethel did it for 3 hours in the 80's.

  i never went to the restroom, i never got up from my seat during his very long talk.

  i did enjoy his talk back then.

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  Mattieu

  Longest Talk - Viv Mouritz from the Australian Bethel, he has the concluding talk at every District Convention. He is a good speaker, though getting on in years now. He always departs from the talk outline and spends 15 minutes talking about how deep we are in the end of time, relates over exaggerated experiences that generate lots of oooh's and aah's from the audience. He spends the last 5 minutes of every talk using his Darth Vader voice to whip up urgency & guilt feelings that we are not doing enough for Jehovah.

  We used to have a running bet on how many times he could illicit audience clapping, he used to average about 20-25 rounds of clapping every talk!

  Longest Prayer - Br Franz at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds back in 1988 or 89 where he gave a “special” talk, I sat down halfway through his final prayer.