Yeah I used to dread going out on holidays also. As others mentioned, most people were quite relaxed on the holidays. For example during Christmas, many people would say Merry Christmas and other holiday greetings. But I still felt embarrassed to be bothering people on the holidays and was afraid we'd interrupt someone's meal or holiday tradition or family get together. Fortunately, we were always told to have brief presentations for those days. I'm very glad I'm not doing that any more.
maxwell
JoinedPosts by maxwell
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25
Going in service on holidays
by dsgal in.
remember how embarrassing it was to show up at someone's door on a holiday?when i was a teenager i went out with a very zealous pioneer sister on christmas day.we worked an upscale neighborhood of town and of course all the servants were off so they would answer the door themselves.i rang one doorbell and a lady came to the door and i could see her family inside sitting in chairs in a circle opening gifts.they all looked at me to see who in the world was calling on christmas,i suppose.i gave my presentation with a red face and she just looked at me and said"don't you know today is christmas?
"how embarrassing is that?so glad i don't have to do that anymore.
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Information Suckers
by Satanus inwhile it has been fairly well established that the wt monitors this site, i believe that it is not the only body doing so.
this site, and others like it, are open to anyone, anywhere in the world w an internet connection.
all this is available, not just to individuals, but also to advertising adgencies, intelligence agencies, corporations, etc.
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maxwell
I may be wrong, but presently my opinion is that we on this site are of little importance to the WT Society and much less to any government or its intelligence agencies. The Internet has allowed information to flow freely, but it's still only accessed by less than 50% of the population even in the US. The Internet gives you a small window on the world but not a complete picture. Still its a good idea to be careful with your personal information for the possibilities mentioned and for the possibility of criminal activity.
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As a JW Did you want Christmas?
by LovesDubs indid you guys suffer the way i did every xmas?
did you want it as much as i did??
what things went through your mind and soul?
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maxwell
I was born and raised a JW. So having never established the tradition or culture, I really don't know what I'm missing. Mostly I didn't care for Christmas. I see all the people going into debt that time of year and stressing out over being required to buy a present or over whether other people will get them what they want and I never did have a desire to be involved in that. And I always try to stay out of stores during Christmas shopping time. If what goes on there is representative of Christmas spirit, count me out. It's a madhouse. Of course now if I have to shop, there's always the internet. However, I did like a lot of the music and thought maybe the parties might have been alright. My family generally has family reunions every 2 years or so, so I didn't need the holidays for that. Being stuck with them for a couple of days at family reunion time is plenty enough for me.
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Why I don't Have Children
by teenyuck ini just read luckylucy's thread and wanted to tell my story.
i also want to ask a question: why are women who have children viewed more favorably than women who don't?
especially if the choice is to not have children.
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How many times in front of a committee??
by refiners fire ingeesh.
lets see.
when i got baptized the first time.
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maxwell
I guess you don't mean just a formal judicial committee. I was in front of the JD once when I was DF. When I was younger I was in the room with the elders about my being a drum major in the band. But that was all the elders. My dad was an elder to, but he didn't seem to happy with the rest of the elders at that meeting. Then I was in the room with a couple of them later about my field service time being down and they were going to stop using me for mikes and stuff. So I met with them 3 times for 'negative' things. I met with one or two elders numerous other times for other stuff. Like being a unbaptized publisher, getting baptized, when they would start back using me on mikes and stuff, when they started having me say prayers, etc.
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None of your business
by JH inbeing a jehovah witness, did you feel obliged to have a 4 door car?
once i bought a 2 door car, and everyone was looking at me as if i commited a crime.
i then reasoned with them saying, "didn't jesus send his deciples by groups of 2?".
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maxwell
Yes I did. I remember that for both of the cars I bought, I always looked for 4 door cars. The second car I bought was a 88 Honda Civic. There was another one in better condition for the same price but with two doors. It had a great sound system, but I turned it down and went looked til I found a 4-door. I was glad to sell my car once I left. The only thing I used it for was field service and meetings.
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Could You Live Without Your CellPhone?
by SpannerintheWorks ini rely on it for business.
some reports say that they cause brain tumours...?
they also save a lot of lives (indirectly, of course) by allowing the user to dial for emergency services when there isn't a payphone nearby.
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maxwell
I suppose I could, but it would be difficult to go back to living without it. I don't use it for business at all. Just to stay in touch when I'm not at home. Also when I recently moved, the phone company took 2 weeks to get my land line turned on. So for two weeks all I had was my cell phone, which I hear is what many people purposely do now. But I wanted a land line so I could connect to the internet. Interestingly enough, even these days, there appears to be many people who have neither. I moved into an old building, but I would think anyone living here could get some type of phone. But I regularly see people coming down and using the pay phone in the lobby.
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Talking in public
by JH inwas it natural for you to speak in public, either from door to door, or making talks at the hall.
for some, it was a real scarry thing to speak in front of a group.
was that a big load off your back when you quit going to the meetings?
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maxwell
I'm not gonna brag and say I was the greatest speaker, but I usually did pretty well with my little talks though most of it was a load of crock. I joined the School at 7 and started giving talks. Of course, I was more nervous then. And I still got a little nervous at the end. But, I have to say that giving talks was one of the few good things about being a Jehovah's Witness. It taught me how do public speaking. That's a skill that helped me in school and on job interviews and will probably help me in the future. I'm sure there will be other times when I'll have to speak in public. Of course, public speaking can be learned elsewhere like public speaking classes, English class, or Toastmaster's. But the credit for my original public speaking training goes to giving talks there. Stuff like modulation, volume control, keeping yourself within time constraints, staying with your theme and logical coherence are universal and applicable in many areas.
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Why I don't Have Children
by teenyuck ini just read luckylucy's thread and wanted to tell my story.
i also want to ask a question: why are women who have children viewed more favorably than women who don't?
especially if the choice is to not have children.
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maxwell
Looks like mostly women replying on this thread, but I just wanted to express my general agreement. Having children is a personal choice. I don't have nor do I have any plans to have children. In fact, I'm probably going to get a vasectomy at some point. I totally respect the people who decide to take the responsibility and do it right. I feel empathy for those who want to have them but can't. Of course there's the option of adoption, but again of course, that's a personal choice and a person may not like that option for various reasons.
And I really wanted to express similar feeling on the "who's gonna take care of you when you get old" reason. That to me is one of the most terrible and selfish reasons to have a child. I'm generally a very calm and quiet person, but I can feel my temperature rise when I hear that. It's like saying I'm going to make a personal servant for myself when I get old. OH Yeah we need a maid, also. Pop out another one.
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maxwell
Born in to it.
Baptized at 12.
Df'd at 25. That was this past April.
Life is much more simple now.