Posts by Jankyn

24

Already it starts.

by Fleur in

jw
friends

my grandmother hasn't even been put to rest yet and already, my mother starts with "you know that grandma's greatest wish was for you to get reinstated.".

then, one of my siblings tells me that another of my siblings not only said she wouldn't come to grandma's memorial if i went but also that sibling who called me should not still be talking to me; even though i called her to tell her that grandma died.. i am facing the fact that my family may not even give me details of the memorial directly because they won't want me to go.

i don't know if i want to go to another funeral that is really just a commercial for the wts instead of talking about the person who is gone at all.

Jankyn

Dear Essie,

We've talked before about how it is that we know exactly what to expect from our demented JW families, and yet we're still surprised when that's what they do. I feel for you. And I expect that I have some of the same coming at me soon, as my dad is quite ill.

I try to hold on to my resolve to treat them as I would sick people. If they had cancer, I'd really try to be compassionate. They do--they have a cancer of the spirit that makes grace and compassion impossible. I want to be healed, so I keep trying to act better than I feel.

And then I cry.

You are in my heart.

Love,

Jankyn

24

Already it starts.

by Fleur in

jw
friends

my grandmother hasn't even been put to rest yet and already, my mother starts with "you know that grandma's greatest wish was for you to get reinstated.".

then, one of my siblings tells me that another of my siblings not only said she wouldn't come to grandma's memorial if i went but also that sibling who called me should not still be talking to me; even though i called her to tell her that grandma died.. i am facing the fact that my family may not even give me details of the memorial directly because they won't want me to go.

i don't know if i want to go to another funeral that is really just a commercial for the wts instead of talking about the person who is gone at all.

Jankyn

oops...double post...see below

31

THIS IS ALL COMPLETELY NORMAL???

by Corvin in

remember the kingdom hall bathroom spankings for us kids that did not sit quietly for the meeting?

the threats, the manipulation, the head games, the forced meeting attendance, forced field service activity, forced family wt publication study, the forbidden association with non-jw?s, the berating and chastising for having a thought or idea of your own, the dresser drawer searches looking for music or magazines you were not suppose to have .

you know, the typical jw upbringing .

Jankyn

I realized it was abuse in therapy in 1998 (38 years old!), when the therapist was shocked by what I was telling her. I honestly believed it was normal until then. I still have difficulty with denial.

Jankyn

39

I lost her.

by Fleur in

jw
friends

my beautiful, sweet, loving, kind grandmother passed away today.one of the only three people in my life who ever loved me unconditionally.

at the end they tell me she was not struggling, but for weeks before that, she did.

she suffered, horribly.

Jankyn

(((((Essie)))))

I know this will be a tough go...my grandma died 25 years ago, and some Sunday afternoons I still reach for the phone to give her a call. It's both sad and comforting, I think.

Love,

Jankyn

45

IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE . . .

by Corvin in

jw
friends

.

say something kind about someone else on this board.

try to pick someone you don?t know as well as the others and focus on what it is about them that appeals to you.

Jankyn

Mulan--The mom I wish I had

Blondie--the source of much insight

Princess--great sense of humor

Englishman--dude, you're cool.

Alan F--what don't you know about JWs?

Minimus--love those questions

Amazing 1914 & Metatron--too many thought-provoking posts to list

Corvin and Poztate--the dads I wish I had

Fleur/Esmeralda--welcoming and compassionate

Gretchen--best Storm fan

Simon & Angaharad--providers of this wonderful spot

Mouthy--what a lady!

Jankyn, grateful class

Edited to add: Hey, it's my 100th post! Only took me three+ years to make junior member! At this rate, I might be a senior member before I qualify for social security.

23

Do you remember when meetings had intermission??

by Jez in

jw
friends

about 20 to 25 years ago, there was a brief time where there was an intermission in between the public talk and the wt study.

it was about 10 mins long.

gave ppl time to walk around, go to the bathroom etc.

Jankyn

I have a very long memory (the product of a traumatic JW childhood). We had that break--about 15 minutes--until the mid-70s.

I just barely remember when some would use it for a smoke break, but only the "marginal" JWs: the husband of Sister Longsuffering, for example. Somewhere in the mid- to late-sixties, smoking became something that would result in loss of privileges; in the early 70s it became a disfellowshipping offense.

We held on to the break until the mid-70s; don't really know why, but it was kinda nice to be able to stretch your legs on Sundays. Of course, the elders "suggested" that it be used as a bathroom break so that the meeting wouldn't be interrupted by kids heading for the back.

Jankyn.

16

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 10-17-04 WT Study

by blondie in

comments you will not hear at the 10-17-04 wt study (september 1, 2004 issue)

read this and tell me.. http://www.geocities.com/athens/academy/6040/sect.htm.

jesus said at john 10:27, 28: "my sheep listen to my voice, and i know them, and they follow me.

Jankyn

Thanks, Blondie.

I'll make sure I give it a couple of weeks before I call my mom, as this will certainly get her stirred up. Fortunately, she seems to have "goldfish memory" (urban legend that goldfish only remember the last three seconds, so every time they swim around the bowl, it's new terrain).

Jankyn

18

Anyone in Northern California?

by TweetieBird in

jw
friends

just wondering if there is anyone from northern california.

Jankyn

Sacramento--we're close to all the pretty stuff ;)

6

Sometimes the Best Man for the Job is a WOMAN!!!!! (go STORM!)

by Gretchen956 in

just a bit of a shout about those seattle storm!!!

for those not in the know, thats our wnba team, and they are playing in the finals!

we just won the western division title, and now are two games away from being the first professional champion team in seattle in 25 years!!

Jankyn

I'll say it loud: Lauren Jackson is the best woman's basketball player in the world. And if Lisa "But I'm So Pretty, You Can't Call Fouls on Me" Leslie is named MVP this year, I'll be sending a sternly-worded letter to the WNBA.

I'm disappointed with the way the Western Conference championship series went, obviously; as a Monarchs season ticket-holder, well, you're better than us, but you're not twenty points better. We fell apart.

Still, I'll be rooting for the Storm this week. It's a great team. And Sue Bird may not be the best point guard in the game (I have a couple of other candidates in mind)--but she's sure as hell got the most guts.

Jankyn, respectful Monarchs fan

4

online sociological research papers on JWs

by spider in

jw
friends

happened upon a number of research articles written by andrew holden - a sociologist - about jws.

these can be found at

http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/sociology/research/restopic.htm

Jankyn

Thanks for the heads-up, Spider.

Since these are all dated the same year, they're probably papers that came from the guy's thesis/dissertation research. Generally, a thesis or dissertation is broken into chapters which can then be published independently as journal articles before being brought together as a book. Great way to build up a cv for employment/promotion.

Jankyn

Edited to add: I've read through the first couple; pretty interesting. I did notice that he mistook Raymond Franz for his uncle Fred; he's got Ray Franz becoming president of the WTBS in 1977. Oh, what an interesting alternative universe that must be!