it is a warm sunny day, blue skies and i am excited by the prospect this sunday holds.
will i dismantle a motorbike?
paint a picture?
A windy stormy day yesterday blew a lot of leaves around. So after enjoying coffee outside, I skimmed the leaves from my pool. Then I decided to jump in and hang out a while on this beautiful sunny morning.
Now I am home making a late brunch of toasted ciabatta, fresh cut fruit and more coffee.
This is ever so much better use of a morning than putting on a dress and going to listen to a mind numbing talk/Watchtower!
last week i was invited by a sister to go in the field ministry with her.
i did, because she is one of the 2 people who contacted me since i am not attending the meetings.
and i thought it would be a good opportunity to tell her about some of the things i researched.
I had a similar experience a year ago paradise,
A sister I deeply respect asked me to go on a study. The woman being called on was pretty sharp. She has just broken up with her 7thDay Adventist husband and was/is looking for a religion of her own,
She kept asking questions and the sister kept telling her that her question would be covered in upcoming chapters and to wait.
I sat there remembering back when those were the instructions given during the Service Meeting. Not to answer questions because the book (Bible Teach) is designed in such a way that knowledge builds upon itself and questions get answered in order.
I sat there musing on how I didnt even question that line of reasoning at the time! Now it seems fairly obvious that the Org wants NO thinking on anyones part. Just mindless obedient drones conducting studies.
Smart, thinking people wont tolerate that nonsense and will quit studying. Only future mindless drones in the making will keep going.
Its like an initiation process of sorts isnt it?
When the Bible said God could make the stones cry out, did it mean to turn people in to mindless lumps like stones? Hmm.....a bit of a misapplication of scripture if so!
there's a interesting situation emerging where i live and i want to share it all with you because its proof i think jehovah has pulled his holy spirit away.
when elders think they can steal from the government and pretend to be holy, than jehovah god has left us!.
Welcome to you ReligionOfHatred.
Hope to hear more of your thoughts when you have time!
relationship issues: boundaries, freedom of choice and codependency .
i just read a very interesting thought in the book, "boundaries" by cloud & townsend.
the basic problem in human relationship is that of freedom.
yesterday some jw's came over to my house and were even being nice to me, most of the time if they do come by an elder or ms may say something but the others will not, its even hard for them to say just hello (how pathetic).
( they also do this behind my back as if i don't know).
i now realize by not being their i've handed my kids right over to them!.
I have never heard that St Augustine quote and I absolutely love it.
Once again, a big thank you Outlaw!!!
yesterday some jw's came over to my house and were even being nice to me, most of the time if they do come by an elder or ms may say something but the others will not, its even hard for them to say just hello (how pathetic).
( they also do this behind my back as if i don't know).
i now realize by not being their i've handed my kids right over to them!.
Crazyguy,
I feel so bad for you! The pressure you are feeling is obvious in every word you wrote.
In addition to understanding where you are coming from entirely, I think you need to be talked down a bit - just for today.
Someone - ANYONE encouraging your child to call them Dad is crossing the line. Aunt or Uncle? Maybe/maybe not - other factors could be involved...we have an old lady never married no children who teaches piano and has for 40 years. All the kids call her Aunt Sue" and now the grown folks take their kids to "Aunt Sue" for lessons. That is a situation where it seems appropriate for all involved.
I guess you have to look at the intent behind it huh?
In your case, I cant think of one single good intention in telling children who have a father in their lives to call someone else Dad.
That needs to stop IMO. Having said that, I think there is a way to go about it that leaves you in charge and with your dignity intact.
1) Act dont re-act
2) Begin with the end in mind.
Just because you are right doesnt negate the need to be calm and courteous. Wait till you feel in control of your emotions and calm. Use short simple sentences and dont go off in other directions about other issues. Something simple such as " I am their Dad, but they can call you "Br Bob" instead of Br. Jones if you prefer" (assuming the mans name is Bob Jones)
As far as the other issues you raised about this being war and such, those are long term discussion issues that many people will have thoughts on so I will stay away from that except to say that war means different things to different people. I feel I am fighting a war for my family who is "in" but I am on the surface, calm and agreeable. I will stick with this tactic as long as it works. When it doesnt work anymore I will re- look at what to do next.
In my personal life experience, head on aggression rarely works so I dont use it. I usually view life as a series of compromises and try to get some of what I want while allowing others the same courtesy.
When you mention your oldest son is smart and might ask a question such as if you believed you would see the dead person again or weather he was going to be resurrected...
that looks like a GREAT teaching moment between father and son!
Why cant you address the second part first and say "son the truth is no one knows if people will be resurrected or not. It is something that many cultures have stories about and many holy books talk about. In our culture the Bible speaks of this and many people feel better and more comforted by the hope of that. That hope - when no one really knows for sure - is called faith."
As for the first part where he asked what YOU believe, just tell him but keep it as simple and brief as you can and let HIM ask for more detail later.
I know you dont know me and I am not trying to tell you how to handle your situation but I just feel your pain shows in your words and I can see why you are so frustrated.
Sometimes just knowing we are NOT crazy for seeing what we are seeing and feeling what it makes us feel, is a comfort in itself.
Hang in there!
portrait of a girl and her dog.
(a true story by terry edwin walstrom).
her name was cheryl ann draper and she was about 11 years old the day she begged her daddy, who worked at a gas station, to let her go with him to work.
Terry this was riveting! Truly!
I hope you print out your most amazing words and then frame them alongside the picture. That way she will always be remembered.
If I saw that framed picture with the attached story in an antique store (like you mentioned above) I would buy it.
Actually, you should submit this story and the picture to a photography competition.
Extremely well written. Bravo!
i was about 12. i took a friend along to a meeting and he said he didn't mind learning stuff but it was a shame it was so boring.. i was about 14. i had my very own bible study and took him along.
he just kept whispering about the girls there that he fancied.. i was in my early 20's.
i took along a lady that i knew.
I took a friend to an assembly for her first exposure to anything "witnessy"...
During the experiences, she leaned over and asked me why did the people get up and brag?
How was that Christian?
Now, I could set her mind at ease by telling her the experiences are made up conglomerations of events but I didnt know that at the time.
why did the sacrifice have to be so brutal... i mean what value does that add to the equation of justice.couldn't he jesus have came down and just been slaughtered like a regular sacrifice without the brutal torture.why is justice served by brutalityanyone anyone bueller... lolnow you know i don't like to type for hours but this is always bothered me
I have always been bothered by the sacrifice of Jesus but mine took a different form...
I could never understand how it was that big of a deal if he know ahead of time all he had to do was XYZ and he would get resurrected in less than 72 hours,
There are many people who die for causes they believe in with NO promise of reliving in 72 hours or even with any certainty of a future life at all.
The Bible even refers to that kind of sacrifice as saying "greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for another."
So Jesus didnt lay down his life, he surrendered it briefly, Maybe the beatings and the court trail and the horrific things he endured were to distract from that fact?
the song is 'days of elijah,' and the bit i'm referring to is about half way through, as they sing, "there is no god like jehovah":.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjz_ilp9c5a.
Its really too bad isnt it?
Jehovah is just a name. It can and should be used by anyone who wants to in any song or book.
BUT...the JWs have given it such a bad connotation that the name is controversial and conjures up bad feelings in people.
