AwSnap

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Posts by AwSnap

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  39

  I'm excited about life! ;-D

  by AwSnap in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to let you know of something that has liberated me recently.

  i decorated my office with hearts for valentine's day this year.

  my family has known for over ten years that i do not want to practice the jw faith, although i am not df'd or da'd.

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  AwSnap

  Sentimental ornaments are the most precious to me....I cant wait for Christmas either! PS...I told Michelle to get a hold of you either here or on FB. I think you're the right person to offer some much needed advice
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  39

  I'm excited about life! ;-D

  by AwSnap in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to let you know of something that has liberated me recently.

  i decorated my office with hearts for valentine's day this year.

  my family has known for over ten years that i do not want to practice the jw faith, although i am not df'd or da'd.

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  AwSnap

  ....Michelle.....did you just say its fricken freezing in Florida??? Gimme a break. it hasnt stopped snowing here in two months!

  Troubled Mind....I think when you showed me that picture of the Tom Sawyer thing, I realized we have *lots* in common. lol...
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  39

  I'm excited about life! ;-D

  by AwSnap in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to let you know of something that has liberated me recently.

  i decorated my office with hearts for valentine's day this year.

  my family has known for over ten years that i do not want to practice the jw faith, although i am not df'd or da'd.

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  AwSnap

  Alright, well, I was about 14. All of my friends were getting baptized at this one particular convention. Plus, there was nothing I could ever do to make my father proud of me. These 2 factors were the most crucial to my wanting to be baptized. Oh yeah, and I loved Jehovah. ;-) I really did. I thought He was real because that's all I'd ever known. I just wanted *somebody!* to be proud of me.

  I was used to my father saying "no" to ever single request (Michelle, you can attest to that, lol)....so when I asked him if I could get baptized & he said NO, I figured it was just yet another challenge . My mother was always sleeping and depressed or manically high, and I was at the stage in life when I would yell and curse at my parents daily. It was weird..... if I said "crap" or "butthead", I would get the 3rd degree from my father. But then I would call him a fu(king a$$hole, and he wouldnt do anything. I called my mother names that embarrass me to this day.

  There was a lot of verbal abuse in my house on a daily basis. My father smacked the crap out of me one day when he was driving me to school, which was just 5 minutes away. He told me to put my seatbelt on & I said "but its not the law if you're in the back seat." Next thing I knew, I had the $hit beat out of me, I was crying, and then he pulled up to my school and told me to get out. This is just a tiny example of my lovely teenage years.

  The elders were quite aware of all of this. They would constantly quote the scripture about "obeying your mother and your father" blah, blah, blah. The point is: THEY KNEW exactly what was going on.

  I was allowed to go through my baptismal questions, and I was so excited. The mixture of having my father's approval, sitting with all my buddies, and having Jehovah's blessing was overwhelming. One slight glitch: I was pretty disappointed when I asked my father if I could have a new dress for the occasion and he told me NO.

  The morning of my baptism, we were in the hotel and my mother started in on me that i needed to clean my Caboodle (girls, you know what I'm talkin' bout, right? Boys, I swear its non-perverted ). Being the person I was at the time, I refused, saying it wasnt that dirty. It progressively turned from incredibly verbal to physical, and then I unleashed a whole slew of name calling on her. She started bawling and got under the covers...she didnt attend my baptismal day at the assembly. -----> I'm not even lying...this was "normal" in my family and the elders were aware of this.

  So I'm sitting there with my friends who were also getting baptized. My nerves were all crazy & I couldnt stop smiling. I was so excited. The next thing I know, somebody tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to go with him to a private room, where my father and two elders were waiting. I'll be honest, I have blocked a lot of what happened in that hour. All I know is: it was the first time that I saw my father cry like a baby. I was bawling as well. Somehow, I was manipulated into "making my own choice" to not get baptized that day....meanwhile, all the baptismal candidates were changing into their bathing suits. I actually forgot about that part until my mother re-hashed the story a couple weeks ago (we get along much better now).

  After that episode, I convinced myself that my father's tears were a symbol that actually *did* want me to get baptized, even though he wouln't acknowledge it. So I studied & went through the questions again, and passed. I was baptized the following year. Three years later, I thought to myself "WTF was I thinking" ....

  I am in the process of having the elders officially consider my baptism null and void. It appears that it will actually happen. I'll keep you up to date.
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  39

  I'm excited about life! ;-D

  by AwSnap in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to let you know of something that has liberated me recently.

  i decorated my office with hearts for valentine's day this year.

  my family has known for over ten years that i do not want to practice the jw faith, although i am not df'd or da'd.

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  AwSnap

  WOW, Really? You never told me that!!! Maybe one day I'll share with these viewers about the day I was sitting there during the baptismal talk when I was snatched out of my seat and told I couldnt get baptized.....
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  39

  I'm excited about life! ;-D

  by AwSnap in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to let you know of something that has liberated me recently.

  i decorated my office with hearts for valentine's day this year.

  my family has known for over ten years that i do not want to practice the jw faith, although i am not df'd or da'd.

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  AwSnap

  Thanks everybody. Michelle365, I am so thankful to have you in my life. Who would've thought 15 years ago we'd be HERE? lol

  Kingdavidwasframed....how did you know...I dance EXACTLY LIKE THAT.

  Thank you everybody else. It was one of my New Years Resolutions, and I'm glad I've followed through. And I think because I've opened up and let the real me out, I've also followed through on exercising 5 days a week (I'm not going to sabotage myself anymore!)
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  39

  I'm excited about life! ;-D

  by AwSnap in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to let you know of something that has liberated me recently.

  i decorated my office with hearts for valentine's day this year.

  my family has known for over ten years that i do not want to practice the jw faith, although i am not df'd or da'd.

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  AwSnap

  I just wanted to let you know of something that has liberated me recently. I decorated my office with hearts for Valentine's Day this year. Its embarrassing to think of telling someone who doesnt understand, but I think many of you will. It was such a tiny expression, but it has opened a new world for me. I cant tell you how fast my heart was pounding the day I chose to hang that first heart, knowing that the Kingdom Hall is so close to my office, knowing that every single jw has to pass my office to get to their meeting, knowing that it could mean becoming disfellowshipped or announced as "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses". I was so scared, but I still did it.

  My family has known for over ten years that I do not want to practice the jw faith, although I am not df'd or da'd. The last time we really spoke religion, I had so much anger for the wrong that I experienced growing up. Now, I am doing this with love. I explained that I will be celebrating holidays in the open from here on out.... not because I want to be rebellious, and not because I don't love God. I will be living the way I feel is right according to God. My view is different from theirs though, because I feel that God's range of judgement is so much broader and more generous. I dont believe everything is black and white anymore.

  I've joked to some friends that I decided to start with a simple holiday to decorate for such as Valentine's Day, so that when I work my way up to the 'evil' Thanksgiving and Christmas, the jw's wont be as shocked. I was only 1/2 joking. I dont actually feel that Thanksgiving or Christmas is wrong anymore. I really am done trying to shock people. That is what my teenage years were for. I was such a tyrant in my teens. I cursed at my parents daily. I felt so misunderstood and depressed. For ten years after deciding not to be a jw, I struggled with my self. Everytime I had the opportunity to do something great with my life, I sabotaged myself in order to fail. Only recently have I understood WTF I was doing.

  2 days before Valentines Day, my younger sibling informed me that I will be shunned starting that moment on. My precious little sibling, whom I've always protected and cared for, will no longer associate with me because my views are different. The day I was told this, I said "but I have so many friends who's views are SO different from my own! I dont share their views, but I love them and associate with them!" Of course, it fell on deaf ears.

  I cried for about 3 days after that. I was heartbroken. "Is all this worth putting up silly Valentine's Day hearts? ...or clapping in a resturant when someone is surrounded by waiters who sing birthday lyrics?... or making people angry at me?"

  YOU ARE DAMN RIGHT ITS WORTH IT. Because whatever negatives pop up into my mind as to why I should just keep my mouth shut and quit creating conflict, one hundred positives now pop up as to why I should continue with my journey (I would share with you what those are, but my hope is that you find your own positives). I am no longer ashamed or worried about offending people. Am I going to try and offend people? Absolutely not. However, the day I hung those hearts on my office windows was the day I realized that I am whatever I believe I am. Life is going to go on whether I take action or not. The day I hung up some rinky dinky silly hearts on my windows, my soul opened up & the old, spunky me started to emerge. I missed that girl, and I'm not going to lose her ever again.

  So that's what's been going on with me. I am waiting to hear word from the elders. I know there has been talk about whether or not they will consider my baptism null and void (I know because I brought it up 3 months ago), and I do not plan on DA'ing unless given no other alternative. I have decided not to wait for their answer in order to live my life.

  THE END...

  until next time
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  49

  Ridiculous Talk Given By CO

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my mother told me of the co giving a talk and telling everyone to get their hankies out because they would be sure to cry, which evidently some did.. a 5 year old boy was dying in the hospital and his parents were by his bedside.

  he was drifting in and out of consciousness and then he opened up his eyes and asked his mother if he was a catholic.

  the mom told her son he was not.

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  AwSnap

  I wonder if this instance is being included in all CO talks right now. I was told that the CO in our area gave a talk that made everybody cry as well, but the person I spoke with wouldnt give details
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  117

  Imperfection is irrelevant. Who has the right to rule?

  by bluecanary in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we started this discussion on another thread, but i didn't want to derail the topic at hand.

  here's where we stand so far:.

  reniaa:.

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  AwSnap

  I'm doing a little research on this & had to bump this thread...'specially since my buddies Palm & Blue rock! ATJ, you're alright too
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  31

  The Trinity, the biblical case, clear and simple.

  by Chalam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi jwners,.

  i watched dave brown and peter price on this youtube channel recently.

  it was excellent so i made a note to check out some of the other programs.. anyhow, i have been watching this one which is also great.. trinity01.wmv.

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  AwSnap
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  79

  Finished Ex-Jehovah's Witness Survey (Please fill out for help with project)...

  by Tuesday in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey everyone!.

  ) did you feel the religion was a cult before leaving?:.

  ) do you feel the religion is a cult now after leaving?:.

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  AwSnap

  Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Survey

  A.) Name: (First name only please) you know my real name on FB

  B.) Gender

  Female

  C.) Age:

  31-35

  1.) How were you introduced to Jehovah's Witnesses:

  Parents were in before you were born and taught you

  2) How did you leave the religion:

  Stopped attending all at once

  3.) What Age did you leave?

  19-24

  4.) Were you Baptized

  Yes

  5.) What General reason did you leave the religion:

  Depressed, Didn’t feel like doing all the things required of you, felt oppressed by the rules.

  6.) How did you feel about the doctrine before leaving:

  Believed there were more things right than wrong

  7.) Did your feelings about the doctrine effect the way you left?

  Yes

  8.) If you were disfellowshipped for sin, did your feelings on the doctrine effect you sinning in the first place?

  N/A

  9.) Did you feel the religion was a cult before leaving?:

  I did not think they were a cult at all

  10.) Did you research the religion's teachings after leaving?

  No.... started researching ten years after I'd left

  11.) What are your feelings on the doctrine of the religion since leaving?

  They might have one or two teachings that are still right if I strain hard enough to think about it

  12.) How do you feel about the organization since leaving?:

  They are evil ----->The people in charge, that is

  13.) How do you feel about the people since leaving?:

  They are misguided people and I feel sorry for them

  14.) Do you feel the religion is a cult now after leaving?:

  They have most of the qualities of a cult

  What is your opinion on the intelligence of those still in the Organization? :

  They're intelligent but purposely deny facts for their religion

  16.) Are you happier now that you’re gone?

  I think every day about how happy I am to have left

  left the Jehovah’s Witnesses that they would agree with how you live your life?

  I do a few things they would not agree with

  18.) If a Jehovah’s Witness approaches you to discuss their religion you’re more than likely do the following:

  Discuss their religion with them and take whatever they want to place, I remember being like that (and when they come back for a return visit, I'll whip out some of Steven Hassan's suggestions to get them thinking)

  19.) Would you consider returning?

  When hell freezes over

  20.) How do you feel about discussing your time as a Jehovah's Witness?:

  I dislike talking about my upbringing but will if prompted enough

  Dammit Tim...I already filled this out once, but jwn didnt post it. Good luck.