.
having milled around this board for a little while, and getting to know the odd poster a tad better, one (at least i do) gets to wondering what some of you do for work.... i work installing custom hardwood flooring and ceramic tiles, with the odd wc renovation, and was going to start a career last year in avionics, but our friend osama put my plans on the backburner, until (or if) the canadian industry returns to normal.
i am considering going to university to further my photography skills, and am currently (and very slowly) working on a pictorial book that i hope to be published by the time i am 95. oh, and i devote 87643 hours of service to yhwh each month.. your turn.... .
As of right now I am a director of a domestic violence shelter. I will be changing positions within the Salvation Army to Director of Emergency Services. Need a break from the crisis since I have been doing domestic violence/sexual assault for 10 years.
Leslie
july 2002 question box : " what should we bear in mind when using cellular telephones and electronic pagers?
this in my mind is the ultimate question in the sense that it really shows how rediculessly micro-managed we were in this religion.
disect this one for a moment.
This thread is a hoot!!! My cellphone is set to the entertainer. I think all of us should set it to the same tone and answer the phones at the sametime.
Leslie
no that is not a description of a piece of rear-anatomy (i don't want to get booted again <g>).
rather it is the rage now.... please check out http://www.leftbehind.com/ and take a look.
the reason i bring this up is because 3 different people i know (not xjws) are all into this "stuff" now.
Saw the movie thought it was dumb. It always gives me the creeps when I see Kirk Cameron today with his wife and they are on number 5 kid. Do ya think they are into the traditional family???? Must mean they don't believe in birth control. Also I have never seen her without a dress on yikes!!!! They kinda look like JW's or Mormons and that always makes me shudder.
Leslie
even posting not so often, but with pleasure and feed-back as well, i do wonder why former-jw and i as well with my own subjects - have this "need" to gather and to discuss subjects related to wt.
some seams to use close to hours each days in front of the computer.
i don't see many other web pages of former-catholics or former members of other religions (not of my knowledge - i can be wrong).
For some of us we were in this religion for many years. When you leave you feel like that fish out of water or that you feel out of sync with the rest of the world. People here talk the same language, know the lingo, know the emotional turmoil losing friends and family do to the the human psyche. Most religions do not go the the extent JW's do when someone decides they no longer want to play the game. Just my thoughts on it.
Leslie
it really doesnt.
it doesnt matter if i smile.
it doesnt matter if i laugh.
Dear Spice;
You crying matters, your posting matters, your screaming matters, but the most important thing is that YOU matter!!!!!!!
Leslie
if ray fanz had never left the watchtower and written his book would you be here now?.
if not, is that worrying for you?
how many here worked out it was not the truth alone without the aid of a specific book and how many needed franz's work or someone elses?.
I was in the borg when he was DF'd. I never even thought about him to be perfectly honest. The doctrines were not the reason that I left. It was the way they treat people. The lack of respect and dignity given to women in that religion. I hate the judgement and lack of compassion they give to all who choose not to believe what they do.
Leslie
i think when people leave the organization, they lump it all together- jehovah- religion, organization, etc.
i am not doubtful there is a god, but just doubtful that he used the wts to be his one & only means.
just wanted to say that.
It does seem that most humans have the need to worship. What you worship has to do with how your were raised, where you were born, emotional and spiritual need.
I even as a JW would always remark that people all over the world are sincere in their way of expressing worship to God..or God's. Of course I would always preface that statement that they were sincerely wrong. Makes me shudder now.
I know for myself I have not entirely given up the belief that there is a God, but how Jehovah was explained at the KH is not even someone I would want to be around, let alone worship. I feel kindness & compassion is preferable to judgement and condemnation.
Leslie
today is the day my mother was born.
she passed away 1 year and 6 days ago.
i guess i need some friends.
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother and sister. Grief has so many different ways that it is expressed. Sadness, anger, shock, guilt, fear, numbness. Sometimes the grief is so overwhelming that it can paralyze us.
Unfortunately in the JW religion one is not supported many times through the grief process. They use scriptures to tell ones that they should not mourn as the rest since they have a hope yadda yadda yadda. You feel sometimes like people have already forgotten that important person. It is like the rest of the world is still functioning and no one is noticing the pain that you are in.
If the pain gets to the point that you can not function in your daily activites it might be that you need outside intervention. It is ok to find someone to talk to about your grief. In no way does that make you crazy, or you can not cope. We all need support sometimes in our life. You could call The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and find out if there is a local support group that deals with grief. Just a few ideas..just know that you are in my thoughts.
Leslie
well, i just got back from yet another summer ass-marathon.
seventeen hours of sitting in hockey arena seats that were made for three hour games, trying to stay awake, while not losing contact with my extremities.. needless to say, the program was dull and boring.
in fact, i'm not completely sure that they didnt just re-run last year's.
Dear Runningman;
That was one of the funniest posts I have ever had the pleasure of reading. If you are not a writer I think you need to look into it. Man you would be great to have at a x-witness get together. You could be the stand up comedian just for us. No one but x witnesses would get it. Keep posting such funny memories.
Leslie
i was raised a jw since childhood.
besides the emotional trauma that comes with being an outsider from the rest of the real world, my father was phsically, mentally and verbally abusive to my 2 younger sisters and i. apparently my mother seemd to be so brainwashed with the ideas of respect for headship and all the other bs she didn't do anything about the abuse.needless to say my father was also an elder, sheperding the flock while at home beating his children senseless.
after 20 years of this and all 3 children leaving home by the age of 16,something finally clicked in her head.
Dear Little;
My heart is breaking reading your story. I am so sorry that your sisters and mother had to experience this kind of abuse. I am so sad to read that your sister took her own life due to this abuse and lack of love from her parent.
Welcome to this board there are many here that have experienced abuse from the borg. There is healing that can take place in sharing your pain, anger, sadness, and loss. You will have a listening ear here and people that care for you. Keep coming back.
Leslie
