Posts by CFree

15

When did you realised that everything had changed?

by In_between_days in

jw
friends

in life, there are certain pivotal moments when you realise that every thing has changed dramatically.

it's a breathtaking and overwhleming feeling.

you may think back to who you were on this day a year ago, compared to who you are now - the contrast is incredible.. i find change in viewpoints and thinking evolves slowly, over a long period of time, you dont know the change is taking place until one day, you realise for one stunning minute that you are everything that you never were.

CFree

I would say that probably up until about a year after I was d'fd I still had the gut feeling that they were right and I had just chosen to leave the religion and my family had a right to ignore me etc. It wasn't until I went onto the internet one day and did a search for Jehovah's Witness and found so many more sites against them than for them that I begun to realise. Reading all those accounts about other people like me and people reasoning on whether their beliefs are right etc. Maybe I wasn't so bad after all!!

It was quite a shock, like everything I had been taught my whole life was not necessarily right. A weird realization. Anger kicked in and I felt very bitter against my parents for bringing me up like it. I still feel angry but try to get on with life. It is so much better not being a JW.

14

The Meeting Clothes I Left Behind

by dobby in

jw
friends

this past weekend my husband and son and i went to stay with my jw in-laws.. it was a pleasant weekend.

they were a little subdued this weekend, i think the assembly got to them and they seemed less open to discussing our feelings about the wt.. a very interesting thing happened as we packed to go on sunday morning.

i was in the guest room folding clothes into our suitcase when my father-in-law tapped on the door.

CFree

My wardrobe was very heavily influenced by my mother (she was always buying me items and I would feel I had to wear them to please her). They were very long skirts, nothing that showed too much flesh and florals. When I left I got rid of SOOO many clothes, like someone else said I think back and can't believe I wore those things. I think it also association, any clothes I did keep I soon got rid of because I associated them with the past and I wanted to move on and start afresh.

My wardrobe now is very different and I can wear trousers to work any day of the week!!! I used to hate wanting to wear trousers to work on a Tuesday or Thursday but not being able to as I always went to dinner with my parents straight from work and then off to the meeting. Can you imagine the reaction walking into the KH with trousers on as a female. Shock, horror!!!

36

Name Your Funniest Experience Out In Service

by Dismembered in

this should be a fun thread.. one of the funniest things i can remember out in "service" .

was 2 other guys and myself in a car.

so we take turns going to the door alone.

CFree

It's not really funny but I remember not just dogs being a problem - goats too!!

I was on the service with my dad when I was about 5 and there was goat tied up near the door. I was pretty scared but my dad insisted we go to the door. Anyway we're standing there, next thing I know this goats butting me up the ass with it's horns. I cried and cried and I still hate goats!!!

6

Secondary Infertility

by CFree in

we have a four year old daughter and have been trying for another baby for 3 years.

for the last 8 month it's been trips to the hospital and it turned out i'm not ovulating.

i was on clomid for 3 months and will going back on it for a further 3 months.

CFree

Thanks - especially to Mulan and Scully. I'll read the testimonials, see how things go on Clomid this time and just RELAX!

I'll keep you posted. Sometimes I wonder if all the JW stress and having my family ignore me etc doesn't help things.

6

Secondary Infertility

by CFree in

we have a four year old daughter and have been trying for another baby for 3 years.

for the last 8 month it's been trips to the hospital and it turned out i'm not ovulating.

i was on clomid for 3 months and will going back on it for a further 3 months.

CFree

We have a four year old daughter and have been trying for another baby for 3 years. For the last 8 month it's been trips to the hospital and it turned out I'm not ovulating. I was on Clomid for 3 months and will going back on it for a further 3 months. Anyone else in a similar situation and/or can give me some positive vibes please?!

17

How do you feel about your JW friends?

by sleepy in

how do you feel about your friends you left behind and in the organisation and who now shun you?

do you feel they are still your friends, and are just doing what they think is right?

would you ,if shunning was dropped and they now wanted to have contact again accept them back as friends?edited by - sleepy on 18 august 2002 10:14:43.

CFree

For the most part I think I would have to tell them to get lost as I have seen many ex-friends since I was d'fd 5 years ago and most of them have such a superior look on their face. I couldn't forgive them. Also I feel that most of them weren't true friends anyway, they were false friendships forced by the whole culture of the JWs.

My own brother (yes my flesh and blood) shunned me last month - that was extremely upsetting.

Having said all this one of the friends that I grew up with as a JW got in touch about a year and a half ago to apologise for the way she'd behaved and to let me know that her parents, brothers and herself had all decided to leave. I have to admit I was VERY cautious at first but we've managed to establish a friendship again, a better one with the JW influence! In fact they introduced me to this forum!

32

Youths - How Will You Waste Your Life?

by Simon in

jw
friends

this was a bi-fold leaflet given out at the uk district conventions (and only available at the dc).

i guess the throw-away size stuff is handier to ... well, throw away).

edited by - simon on 11 july 2002 16:41:33.

CFree

Reading this "pamphlet" brought back all the memories of being brough up as a dub and all the messages about not pursuing a career etc. I thought they were improving on this one but obvioulsy not. All those teenagers that are wasting their potential and intelligence for what - NOTHING!

The bit about missionary service makes me angry - it makes it sound so attractive. My sister and her husband went into this after years of full time pioneering (and part time cleaning jobs). They gave up their home and all their belongings, went to Gilead for 5 months and then got assigned to Uganda. They were more or less abandoned there, my brother in law became VERY ill and the society didn't want to know. After them giving up everything they had to scrape money together to travel back to the UK.

After all that tho they are still pioneering and can see no wrong!

22

Anyone know the Weight Watchers point system?

by LyinEyes in

i seem to recall someone talking about having the list of points for the weight watchers point system diet.

my sister and some of her co workers are planning on going to a weight watchers free meeting.

i told her of course the will have you pay up , and it is not that expensive, but i told her i might can get the information from someone on the internet.

CFree

Just to say my husband has been going to WW in the UK for 6 months and it has really worked for him. However if he just did the points system I don't think it would have, he has combined it with regular exercise (going to the gym 3-4 time per week) and he has quite a bit of weight.

It can work!

9

August KM Insert RE: Disfellowshipping???

by back2dafront in

can anyone verify that the insert in the august km states/reiterates one can be disfellowshipped for speaking to a family member?

i read this through a jahchristian newsletter i received and want to verify that it is actually true.

jason.

CFree

I was extremely interested to read this KM article to see if my parents would start treating me differently again. When I was d'fd 5 years ago they had nothing to do with me. Once my daughter was born they gradually started having some contact which is still the case BUT it is very much kept quiet and organised in such a way that others won't know too much about it. Now tho this article makes it very clear that they should be having no contact with me unless it is absoloutely necessary. I wonder if things will change from now on (especially with my father being an elder).

27

DID AN ELDER EVER HELP YOU?

by minimus in

jw
friends

there are so many horror stories about elders.

many people dislike or can't stand elders, in general.

a number here have been truly hurt by some.

CFree

Well my dad was (and still is) an elder and he didn't help that much. He always seemed torn between what he should do as a father and what he should do as an elder. The elder standpoint always won. When I was d'fd I think he was more hurt by how I'd made the family look and his position as an elder than about how I felt and why I'd done the things I'd done.