Oops, I answered them wrong too. Let's pretend you asked us to answer what we like in order of importance, and to name our specific favs where applicable...
works for me
Kristen
JoinedPosts by Kristen
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Kristen
Ewww, ginger snaps. *shudder*
I always wondered who ate those things, Larc.
My gibsert of deserts:
1. Ice Cream: Cookies 'n Cream, Moosetracks, Napolean (I know, it's neapolitan!)
2. Cake: Almost any kind *without* that icky sugar frosting
3. Cookies: Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter
4. Pie
5. Other: Candy
My 0.02 fluffs
Kristen
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DF form instructions
by Dogpatch insorry, a better page with the df form and the instructions from the back side!.
enjoy,.
randy.
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Kristen
Is this form still in current use in the congregations?
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Here's my sad but true story
by TweetieBird injust discovered this thread by going to who's who.. i guess i'll add my life story.. born and raised a dub, i didn't really mind being a witness but always had a secret desire to celebrate christmas, birthdays and halloween.
they always looked fun.. had a really fun time during the teen years, had some great friends and we did our share of partying, but never really got out of hand.
i was, for the most part, pretty good.
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Kristen
If you are someone that has just started having doubts and are trying to make sense of things, please allow yourself a couple of years to figure it out. For some it may take even longer. I am still trying to sort things out sometimes, but for the most part, I've adjusted.
TweetieBird,
Mee too. Being raised in the organization myself, I can appreciate what you are saying. Thanks for sharing your story.Kristen
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how do you stop crying......
by flower inwhen you start reading rays book and find out that everything you know to be factual, the only constant, solid, truth in the universe is just nothing?
i've known this in my head since i started reading posts here on xmas day but i have never really believed it.
i thought i just wanted to believe it so that i could rid myself of some of this guilt i've always carried around.
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Kristen
how do you stop crying....
Flower,
It has been two weeks since you started reading this board. It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Overwhelming sometimes, but hard to break away once you start feeling validation to your own REAL thoughts through the hearts and minds of other people.It was difficult for me to post on any XJW board for a long time because of my uncertainty whether what I learned from the organization was true or not. How to acknowlege the "stuff" that was hard to accept regarding the history, predictions, and changed policies that affected so many lives ... I didn't simply read and believe everything. It took time to sort through facts and emotional overtones that often accompanied posts, Web sites, and e-mail messages. It took time to look at things objectively from others. It was something that I had to do in my own time table, not because the other posters on the boards already believed things to be a certain way. Educating yourself, like so many urge, is a big key to all of this. And so is time.
Being a JW was all I knew from the time I was conscious of life until I hit my mid-20s. Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Sunday mornings were always filled with meetings. Holidays and B-days were non-existent. Non-JWs were "worldly" and would die at Armageddon. And I hoped that I "probably" would be saved if I did everything the organization told me to. I married young and didn't know how to live as an adult in this "system." The end was supposed to happen a long time ago. But it didn't. Something inside me changed when I started venturing outside the "box" that the organization puts us all into. I think you have found your way out of the box too, and now you need to learn how adjust to life outside of it. You will, we all have.
Don't expect so much from yourself so soon. Many people around here have been engaged in their own process of *not* being a JW for many years and are far removed from the initial feelings you are experiencing. You will reach a similiar place in your own time, and it will not always be easy. Many here have very different belief systems than they used to. You are not obligated to adopt any of them or quickly change your own beliefs if you are comfortable with them.
Just be you.
We *learned* so much being JWs by just reading paragraphs, parroting the answer to the footnote questions from the paragraphs and reading a few 'supporting' scriptures. It has all been nicely packaged and marketed to us. Promises of wonderful things, answers to age-old questions and dilemmas. And a hope that would appeal to most everyone.
It's not easy questioning all of that, or turning your back on it. It's scary. It's going against everything you've ever known. And the qualities that have been instilled in your heart, mind, and behavior can't just be turned off like that. It will take time, and we all get impatient at times. This is one of those times where you need to go with the flow, and listen to your heart too. If it gets to be too much, take a break. Limit your time on this board or time you spend reading and researching if you need to. It will all be here waiting for you when you are ready for it again. You have so much time ahead of you to absorb all of this.
I really wish you well, Flower. Six years ago I didn't quite understand that in *time* things would be okay for me. Now I do. You will too. It's a process that you take one day at a time.
Take care,
Kristen -
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I Attended a Christian Convention last weekend
by Prisca inwhen i was a jw (born and raised), i was lead to believe that the clergy class of christendom was some elite class who ruled over the meek and mild sheep of the congregation; that they wore fancy robes to do their services in, and generally were every bad thing the wts told me they would be.. they lied.. i attended a christian convention just this last weekend.
it was a non-denominational one, meaning you didn't have to be of a certain faith to attend, neither were some of the speakers who participated.
however, the organisers were from the anglican (church of england) religion so the communion on sunday was conducted according to anglican tradition, but i'll get to that later.. one of the things that hit me first was that you were allowed to wear what you liked.
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Kristen
Hi Prisca,
Enjoyed your experience. I run across a few people who attend a church that seems to be just as you described. And I can tell that they genuinely enjoy going!Interesting observations on the music part. I've heard some inspirational music on the radio before and find it very moving. Unlike the overplayed and monotonous kingdom melodies JWs have been singing forever without much heart or soul. Sigh.
Glad you enjoyed yourself.
Kristen
free to be me
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Why we don't give children markers...
by closer2fine ingot this off another chat board.
lol.
closer.
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Kristen
LOL!
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Your Most Embarrassing JW Moment
by Sky inim just curious about this:.
mine is stupid, but thoroughly humiliating at the same time.. my mother made me wear high heels for the first time to an assembly when i was 15 years old.
it was all snow and ice that day, but i made it inside fine without slipping.. during the first session, the naughty girl that i was, had gotten bored, so i decided to go to the restroom.. i guess the floors were wet or something, because i slipped and fell down about 17 or 18 steps.... head over heels, quite literally.. i landed at the bottome with my dress up over my head, showing off all my under "wares: lol!.
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Kristen
Ooops, forgot to add my embarrassing story. And it happened at 79th and Ashland too!
I must have been about 12 or 13... after the assembly session I was hemmed in on both sides of long row of seats by people blocking either end. Being that it was the last row in a grouping, I decided to climb over the seats to get free...
Well, you can guess what happened as my foot got hooked coming over and I lost my balance and fell on the floor. Don't know how far the skirt came up. I just remember my friends laughing.
Ah, what fond memories.
He he
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Your Most Embarrassing JW Moment
by Sky inim just curious about this:.
mine is stupid, but thoroughly humiliating at the same time.. my mother made me wear high heels for the first time to an assembly when i was 15 years old.
it was all snow and ice that day, but i made it inside fine without slipping.. during the first session, the naughty girl that i was, had gotten bored, so i decided to go to the restroom.. i guess the floors were wet or something, because i slipped and fell down about 17 or 18 steps.... head over heels, quite literally.. i landed at the bottome with my dress up over my head, showing off all my under "wares: lol!.
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Kristen
Hey Puffsrule, that's where I took the plunge. Remember how small that "pool" was? It was more like a tub! And there was no where for people to stand and watch. LOL. But that was kind of a cool assembly hall. As a kid I spent many a lunch break exploring it.
OMG! 79th and Ashland was the best assembly hall ever! So much to explore during lunchtime. And great *during the session* volunteering opportunities! Not to mention the hot meals. Remember the loooong lines that snaked up through the hallways and up the stairs that you had to stand in for lunch!
I also went to that drugstore down the street many times—we always used to get a bag of watermelon jolly ranchers to take back for the afternoon session. Nothing like stick-in-your-teeth candy to make the time fly!
Loved that *secret backdoor* by the stage that went right down into the kitchen. My older brother took me across a catwalk above the stage there too. And the upstairs levels...wow!
Yes, that baptism pool was small, but I always loved looking at the mural behind it. Both of my parents got dipped there... what only about 15 people could watch.
The cafeteria was the best though. My first job was collecting trays from people eating breakfast and lunch. Boy was I a pest... "Can I have your traaaaaaaaaaay?"
Mmmmm... great memories. Before they stopped us from going because it got too dangerous and then *simplified* everything.
Kristen
free to be me
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How Long A JW ( Baptised )?
by hillary_step ini frequently read on this board that somebody has 'been a jw for over 25 years' and then learn that they are in fact 25 years and three days old.. i am very easily confused, in fact i actually got inside a car of similar color to my own recently and spent at least five minutes with a furrowed brow trying to force my car key into its ignition, fortunately, i realised my error before i was arrested.
so, just to humor me, can you all post how long you were/are baptised jw's?.
thank you -- hs.
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Kristen
Parents started studying when I was 3. From that point on I was raised as a JW.
I was baptized at age 16 in 1989
Walked away in 1996 (not DA or DF)