Posts by exwhyzee

29

"You are so Focussed on The Past that you can't see the Blessings in front of your Eyes!"

by BluesBrother in

jw
friends

that statement has been made to me recently - i think it is a sound-bite from the new dvd about jerusalem's fall.. hmm.. i need to reflect on a reply .

several thoughts come to mind but it has to be constructive and form a reasoned argument rather than a smart answer.. what blessings?

are we unreasonably obsessed with the past?

exwhyzee

If we are guilty of being too focused the past it is mostly because we were thoroughly taught by the "organization" to use the past to critically evaluate the origin of every custom, belief, doctrine and prophecy. They hauled out every misdeed and mistaken doctirne of the Catholic church for instance, to prove how wicked and wrong they are and even go so far to say they are backed by Satan . We were taught that those who teach God's word incorrectly or make prophecies that don't come true are called "false prophets" and are most assuredly guilty of the grievous sin of twisting God's word. Yet if one turns the tables on them and looks at the origin of their own religion and uses the same criteria to evaluate it's past doctrines and failed prophecies, they say that one is too focused on the past. They'll tell you that they are imperfect men....the light is getting brighter...adjustments needed to be made, yet they don't allow other religions that same luxury. Instead they continue to claim that all belonging to them are most assuredly doomed.

It's difficult to continue seeing the supposed "blessings in front of your eyes" when those perceived "blessings" are based upon information coming from a source that time has borne out to be unreliable and man made.

162

No more 3-day DCs starting in 2013?

by respectful_observer in

apologies if there is another recent thread on this, but i have heard from 4 different people in 3 different geographic areas (including someone who does advance work for the dcs), that beginning in 2013 the three day dc program will be replaced by a second two-day circuit assembly.

some people were passing the info along like a secret, others seemed to think that everyone already knew.. if everyone in j-dub land is already talking about this, how is it not all over this forum??.

anyway, can anyone confirm or deny?.

exwhyzee

They could still have a 3 day assembly but shorten each days program and have the assembly in shifts. 7am to noon for one group and a second shift could hear the program from Noon to 4. Or they could have week day programs that require retired persons, weekend workers, unemployed persons or stay at home Mom's/Dads attend them rather than clog up the weekends when people with jobs can only attend.

32

My baby has a friend!

by mrsjones5 in

jw
friends

it's hard for my youngest son joshua to make and keep friends because his autism gets in the way.

there's this neighbor boy who lives across the way who's asked to be josh's friend.

it's been so cool.

exwhyzee

Isn't it great for us parents to see things going well for our kids....it's all we really want isn't it ? I work with a Woman who has an Autistic Son who just graduated High School. She said she feels like someone should give her an award because it was a long haul getting him there. He had a graduation party at a restaurant because if it were held at home, she feared he'd just go down into the basement and sort of hide out. Instead, at the restaurant he greeted his guests and was outgoing and friendly and the party was a success . His Mom was on cloud Nine too.

4

A warm and fuzzy call from my brother..

by freeflyingfaerie in

...as a newly appointed elder.

it was our first real conversation in 3 1/2 years.. coincidence?

i don't think so.. it was a 'sheparding call' on his very own sister.

exwhyzee

I know it's difficult not to "spill your guts" about everthing you now know but it sounds like you did pretty well. I've found that being a little "Coy" about my new found discoveries goes a long way in piquing the families puzzlement over our simply having walked away. The more you explain, the more they think they have you on the run. When questioned I've said " I know that if I tell you what I've learned about the religion, I could come of as someone trying to lead you astray and that isn't true. I simply wish that I had been allowed to know the whole picture before having spent so many years building my life around an organization. Like what??? It's up to you to find these things out on your own like I did.

21

I messed myself up...

by MC RubberMallet in

the past few weeks have been hectic.. but i went through an experience that has messed me up since.. i met up with an old friend one day who i know went apostate.

it was a really bad day for me, which was really bad for me since i've been taking ttatt as a speed bump but still moving along in life with an ok adjustment.

he since brought a really nice house, cars, new job, everything he always wanted without feeling guilt.

exwhyzee

I've never tried Pot,Cigarettes or any other recreational drug either. The fact that you have to smoke it puts me off. I value my health too much. I might be tempeted to eat a "brownie" or something but only if I made it and I knew everything about the Pot and where it came from and even then I'd be pretty wary. The one area I have to credit living as a lifetime as a JW that has been a good thing and that is respecting our health and bodies enough to avoid the temptations to "escape" for the fun of it or out of necessity. I'm glad you came away unscathed for the most part. Wouldn't it be typical for someone who always lived a "good" or "clean" life to have a life shattering or altering first time experience such as an accident, jail, fatal reaction? Like the 30 year old virgin who gets pregnant or Herpes on her fist time out of the gate.

I think the high one might experience using recreational drugs might make being "normal" seem sort of flat or dull afterward. Not worth the few moments/hours of delusion or whatever.

25

Ernest Borgnine, .dead at 95

by caliber in

jw
friends

ernest borgnine, the beefy screen star known for blustery, often villainous roles, but who won the best-actor oscar for playing against type as a lovesick butcher in marty in 1955, died sunday.

he was 95.. .

exwhyzee

First it's Andy Griffith now Ernest Borgnine..... they say the famous die in threes.....who'll be the third ???

Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Mickey Rooney, any guesses ???

27

Strollers at DC

by InquiryMan in

if i understand it correctly, strollers are not allowed at us conventions.. in sweden, a letter was written to the congregation, introducing this new rule.

however, quite a few families wrote letters to the society,.

asking if they wanted families with children to attend the assemblies or not... it was stated that they would not go unless strollers were allowed.. the society pulled back, allowing strollers in designated areas.. in norway, they didn t even bother to introduce the rule in the first place... .

exwhyzee

Jehovah's Celestial Chariot will not be permitted into the District Conventions this year. During a fire or some such emergency, the inability to "run ahead " of said Chariot , may impede the "friends" from exiting the building in a timley fashion.

19

Will we have to endure Serena thanking Jehovah for another Wimbledon title?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

.

exwhyzee

I think Serena's words were "I thank Jehovah for letting me win."

"Bodily training is beneficial for a little but the woman who thanks Jehovah on international television is one heaping praise upon herself his holy name "

19

Will we have to endure Serena thanking Jehovah for another Wimbledon title?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

.

exwhyzee

Thinking persons will agee that rather than spening countless hours practicing and playing tennis and drawing attention to herself it would have been better if she'd have spent the time bringing honor to the Creator and built up treasures for herself in heaven rather than striving for acclaim in this dying system of things.

31

So when will I stop hating the organization?

by loosie in

i have tried to stop hating the organization and all it stands for, but in 7 years i've had to luck in doing so.

i am going to therapy to work this out, but i still hate the wt borg.

i have heard it is bad for you to hate something for so long.

exwhyzee

If JW's dissapeared off the face of the earth you will contntinue to hate them as long as you choose to or continue to get some sort of pay off from it.

Sometimes hating the "wrongs" that are done to us can become a running theme in our life and a distraction or excuse for whatever we feel may be lacking in our lives at present. For instance if somehow equality and fairness was granted to gay's, women, minorities, etc some people wouldn't know what to do with themselves. What would there be to rally around...who can we blame things on...what will I do with the time I used to spend on this ?

A cut can heal but it often leaves a scar. The more you pick at it the worse the scar will be. No matter how well it heals the skin will never be the same in that spot and you will think of what happened each time you notice it for some reason. How you react to the scar is up to you. It is a process but you have to be able to accept if for what it is and be willing to let it go. Visiting this site has been very helpful to me but I realize that it may be becoming a hinderance to my moving on and putting the hurt behind me once and for all. Each time we dewll on our experience with the WT it reinforces the story in our minds and deepens and prolongs the damage.

Hatred and anger are acids that eat through their own container.