I do believe in God. I like to think he is a loving spirit though, and so I don't truly believe most of the Old Testament represents the God I believe in.
For a long time after leaving the JW's, I didn't pray or speak about God at all. Lately, I have found myself praying for people who I think I need help and asking Him to keep my kids safe, etc.
I've been toying with the idea of attending a local Christian chapel here. I've spoken to the pastor, and the church seems liberal and more in line with what I believe than any organized religion. I'd like my sons to learn about God and Jesus, and I'd like to feel that I can be forgiven for my sins in the present time. We'll see where it goes though.
Mamacat
JoinedPosts by Mamacat
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51
Is Organized Religion Something You'd Be Involved In Again?
by minimus indo you believe in christianity, the bible, god-----or are you in the "i'm not sure what to think" class?
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Mamacat
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45
Question for those raised a JW
by New Worldly Translation ini was wondering if anybody feels like i do that if i hadn't been raised a jw i would never have embraced the religion.
i know it's easier to say in hindsight after i know the truth about the org but honestly i don't think i would have given them the time of day.
i'm not a religious person or even a spiritual person and being a jw always caused a conflict in my mind.
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Mamacat
I don't think I would have ever bought into their "truth."
I take the logical approach to things, not emotional. I've always believed if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't.
No one in my family other than the JW's are religious. I can't see myself thinking of God first in every situation.
I probably would have been polite to any who came to my door, though, at least at first. I like to read, so I can see me taking magazines if they seemed interesting. -
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What was the most INTENSE thing a householder did to you while in Service
by GetBusyLiving inwhen i was about 10 years old me and my service partner called on a guy that came to the door with a shotgun.
he just said in the most deadpan voice you can ever imagine: ""if you don't get off my doorstep within the next 30 seconds im going to have to use this.
" that was some scary shit.. we bolted.
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Mamacat
This man came to the door, and he was having a good conversation with my mom. Then, he said he had just gotten out of prison for attempted murder, and he was looking for God. When I heard 'prison' and 'murder', I got scared, and I took a step backwards from his door, which caused me to fall backwards down the stairs, and my skirt was around my waist. I was so embarrassed, so I excused myself to sit in the car.
Maybe my reaction was a bit rude, but I'd never met anyone who had been in prison before. I got spanked for it and told not to judge people. My mom had a return visit with him for some time, and I dreaded going with her to that man's house. -
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Did You Feel Stupid Going From House To House??
by minimus indid you just hate going door to door or were you one of the few that loved the work?
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Mamacat
I felt like an idiot. I used to just wish if someone opened the door, they just wouldn't try to argue any doctrine with me, because I didn't know the answers. If I had to waiver from my rehearsed presentation, I was screwed.
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Memorial experiences 2005 thread
by Jez inlets put all of our memorial stories/thoughts on one thread.
mine: 45 mins.
quick and boring.
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Mamacat
I didn't go. I took my youngest son to a friend's house to paint Easter eggs. I forgot it was the day of the memorial until I read an email from my mom last night. She sounded stressed. She is doing the 50 hour pioneer thing this month, and my grandma (her mother-in-law) was in the hospital, now in a nursing home. She's been swamped. I wonder if she'll try to pioneer next month too.
Quote: I have some things to do before the Memorial tonight. It has been a busy
week and it isn't over with yet. I will do all day tomorrow in the
ministry.
She was also out all day Wednesday door-to-door in the pouring rain. -
124
social retard
by MerryMagdalene ini finally figured out why i'm so socially retarded...it just hit me.. here i was sitting and wondering why i have such a hard time meeting new people, making friends, thinking of relevent things to say, and so on.
it really is painful and scary for me.
i was told who i could talk to, who i couldn't talk to, what i could say, what i couldn't say.
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Mamacat
I have the same problem Merry. It's hard for me to know what to say to people, and it is directly related to my upbringing in org. I was a talkative child, and I used to have no problem thinking of things to say. Unfortunately, some of the stuff I said wasn't the most proper or polite, so I got told to be quiet a lot, and finally I just stopped talking to most people.
Our congregation had get-togethers, but you know what...we weren't invited. My dad was a non-JW, and he had a reputation for being a hard ass because he would play games with my mom about going to the meetings. He eventually relented in his opposition, but I guess everyone didn't know that, and we still weren't invited.
As I got older, there were a few sisters who would invite me to come over and play with their kids. The kids were all younger than me though. After my one friend moved away, there were no other JW's within 2 or 3 years of my age in our congregation. Oh, and I don't have any brothers or sisters, and I didn't learn basic social skills.
I write down things I need to say when I make phone calls. I like being around other moms, because then at least we have being parents in common. It is getting better, but I feel like I have to come up with something to say when the conversation lags, and sometimes, I just can't.
I still have a hard time understanding sarcasm. Also, people that makes jokes with a serious face...I can't explain it exactly, but I have a hard time realizing when people are kidding around with me. -
22
Have you experienced a Tornado?
by jeanniebeanz intoday, a small tornado touched down in south san francisco and people went nutz.
it was very localized and basically blew out a few windows, but looking at the local news you'd think that the sky was falling.
since some of you live in 'tornado alley', can you please enlighten us californians as to what you consider to be a 'real' tornado?
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Mamacat
We lived in Kansas for a few years, and I saw funnel clouds which never touched down. The thought of a tornado really scared me.
When we first moved there, I didn't realize they did a test on the sirens every so often. I woke up, heard a siren and headed for the bathtub. I was shaking. Then, nothing happened. I finally worked up enough courage to leave the bathroom and turn on the TV. It was all just a test. -
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Shunning in the 60's
by Bryan inas you know i just returned from visiting my great-aunt whom i hadn't seen in 40 years (she's still a jw).
i asked her if she shunned my mother when she was disfellowshipped in 1964. she said they society did not promote shunning at this time.
is this true?
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Mamacat
I have a cousin who was DF'd because he thought he should be an elder (he was a MS). I guess 'causing divisions' would be the official reason. He was later reinstated at that congregation. Then, he moved to another KH, and he was promoted to MS and then Elder rather quickly. That was in the early 80's, and the other KH was in the same area, so I am sure they knew his past.
He has now DA'd himself, and he won't speak to any family members who are JW's. -
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Tracking U.S. Growth through KMs
by TheListener into get about 30,000 people baptized during the service year the dubs need to dunk about 2,500 people a month.
i've been following their dunking numbers with the kms and they are about on, maybe a little low.
i've also noticed that the overall number of u.s. dubs isn't really increasing too much even with the new dunkees.
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Mamacat
There are generally high numbers of baptisms in June and July because of the DC's. So, they could be lower in the winter months and then have a few good months to keep the average up.
The latest year I can do is 2000, from the KM's on the CD-Rom I have.
Jan 1823
Feb 1387
Mar 1952
Apr 2466
May 2671
Jun 4214
Jul 6093
Aug 1380
Sep 1560
Oct 2273
Nov 2520
Dec 1895
Total for 2000: 30,234
Average per month: 2519.2 -
26
Do you have "Nice Roads" where you live?
by JH in.
here, the roads are in terrible shape.
with 4 distinct seasons, we have many potholes this time of year, and they don't pave streets very often....like maybe once every 40 years for secondary roads, and maybe once every 10 years for major arteries.. all they seem to do around here is patch roads, not pave entire lengths like they used to not so many years ago.. i was just wondering if this was just here...
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Mamacat
It seems to vary from county to county here. When we lived in Baltimore, the county roads were okay, but in the city, there were huge potholes. I banged my car into quite a few.
Personally, I think Maryland has some of the best repaired Interstates of most places I've been. When you cross the line from MD to PA, you can definitely tell the difference in the roads.