Posts by Darkknight757

42

Happy Birthday to Me!

by Iown Mylife in

jw
friends

there's a beautiful sky this morning.

it's my birthday, today i'm 64 and look every inch of it, but i appreciate my life and feel fortunate to be cult-free.

also very fortunate to have a purposeful and entertaining existence here in gorgeous north georgia (in the usa).

Darkknight757

Sorry I missed this. Happy belated birthday to you!

16

How to respond when JW's invite you to the memorial

by krismalone in

the yearly rejection of the blood of christ aka jw memorial is coming soon.. jw's will be engaging in an invitation campaign.

elders are instructed to personally visit inactive ones or faders.

some sarcastic ideas of how to respond to the memorial invitation that will scare or piss off the cult members:.

Darkknight757

I tell them, "No thanks. If I wanted to celebrate the Black Mass I'd convert to satanism but then again I don't believe in Satan. Just another good night wasted!"

I told the elders that the last time they gave us a "love call" and they have left us alone.

19

Back again to say hi! Life update after walking away from the cult.

by Darkknight757 in

i hope all is well.

my last post over a month ago was going to be the last considering i wanted to get away from all things jw but this place is much harder to ignore than previously thought.

life has taken some very interesting turns since late last year.

Darkknight757

I don't normally quote televangelists but he did make a good point. Positive thinking and positive karma will make for a positive life. Or at least can contribute to a happier existence.

Thanks everyone for reading and sharing your blessings!

19

Back again to say hi! Life update after walking away from the cult.

by Darkknight757 in

i hope all is well.

my last post over a month ago was going to be the last considering i wanted to get away from all things jw but this place is much harder to ignore than previously thought.

life has taken some very interesting turns since late last year.

Darkknight757

Hi everyone! I hope all is well.

My last post over a month ago was going to be the last considering I wanted to get away from all things JW but this place is much harder to ignore than previously thought.

Life has taken some very interesting turns since late last year. Leaving the JW's has been the single best decision the wife and I have made in a long time. We now live a life free of guilt and judgement, accepting people of all faiths and interests into our lives. "Worldly" people are nothing the organization maintains. There are some amazing people out there that are selfless and looking for good people to befriend.

Recently the MIL has been reaching out more to her daughter which is interesting considering they are such hard core JW's. They are finally accepting that their daughter is no longer interested in the Jehovah's Witness bowel movement and have stopped pushing the "come back" agenda. My wife has made it perfectly clear to them that she is happier now than ever and living a life free from stress. (Besides the daily rigors of life of course😉)

Speaking of which, the wife and I have been more involved in the community. We met with a group of church-goers and a church Father to build "blessing bags" for homeless people. This couple wanted to do something positive on the one year anniversary of their daughters loss and decided to make helpful bags for homeless people. They raised over $1,300 dollars to buy the supplies and had so much help putting the bags together that we were done in 15 minutes, making well over 100 bags!!

We also recently helped with a fundraiser for Angel Kisses, a charity that gives money earned to local hospitals and other charities to help with pregnancy and infant loss. Hospitals benefit by having a special room for women who are to deliver a stillborn child, away from the regular birthing area. Nurses are also trained to help such ones, a program we really could have used when delivering our little Rose.

Metro Detroit Share was also one of the grant recipients who benefitted from the fundraiser whom we also actively support. MDS offers grief counseling, support meetings and memory boxes to those who lose babies. Great people all around!!

We had a blast connecting with people there and making new friends and seeing old friends whom we have met at the meetings.

My wife also has used some of her graphics skills to help Compassionate Friends, a worldwide organization that helps families who lose children of all ages. She did a PowerPoint presentation with all the loved ones lost in our local chapter. It was beautiful and well received.

Personally, grief and no longer being on a tight schedule of "learning" as the JW's like to think, I discovered that my job of 22 years was quite boring. If anything good can come out of a former Jehovah's Witness it's that they do instill a desire to learn, even if it's all nonsense. So with that I desired to change my career up a bit. For over 20 years I have been working in the machinist industry as a finish grinder and EDM (Electronic Discharge Machine) operator doing finish work, turning turds into treasures. It was about time to take up making the turds so-to-speak.

I wanted to learn milling and Mastercam and found a job that pays slightly more as was willing to offer such an opportunity. Now I am learning to program and operate two Trak LPM CNC milling machines and also doing some grinding for a screw machine company about a half hours drive north of where I live. It's been nothing short of fantastic. They make screw machine attachment. (Look it up if you're curious. One attachment drills 4 holes at once all while spinning!!! It's mind boggling)

The couple who own the shop have also experienced pregnancy loss and understand our situation and work with us when there are doctor appointments and such. And that's the other thing......

Today we find out if my wife is pregnant with twins!!!!!!!!!!!! An ultrasound a few weeks back saw two eggs with two yokes!!!!!! Excitement isn't word enough to express how we feel.

The televangelist Joel Osteen said in his February 5th, 2017 show that "Yes is coming!" As current and former members of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement, we have experienced a lot of "No's" in our life. Loss of a marriage mate or family member to the cult. Perhaps a financial reversal or an illness. Maybe even the loss of a child or the inability to start a family. Perhaps like in Hannah's case, God (or whatever we happen to believe in) said "No" in the past. This is the year of "Yes!!" But the question is: Will we make our "Yes" work with God's "Yes"? Will we work in harmony with our desires and dreams no matter the odds? Will we win over our mate or loved one, pulling them from the clutches of an evil cult? Will we be ourselves despite what others think?

We CAN because this is the year of "Yes!!" Let us live our life to the fullest as possible! Living a happy and peaceful life is by far the greatest revenge. When we see JW friends from the past, bubble over with happiness. Make them wonder why we can be so happy and free in "Satan's World." Perhaps they will question the organization someday and also experience the peace that comes from living life as it should be lived. May 2017 be the year of "YES" for all of you!

PS. Twin A has a heartbeat of 136 and twin B has a heartbeat of 139!

28

I would like to rant about how I get really upset when I get some weak invitation back to the cult.

by schnell in

jw
friends

my mother wanted me to know that the co gave a talk that kinda-sorta reprimanded an elder in her hall.

he is not the reason i left at all, and this does not address anything to do with me or our family.. my mother-in-law sent me texts which i ignored and now she has sent a picture to my wife on facebook just for me, and it's a prodigal son meme that says, "you see the signs, come back it's not too late".. yeah, it's not too late to accept a global flood in 2370 bce, or that man was created in 4026 bce from a golem spell, or that an us-and-them cult mentality is at all healthy or loving, or that religion is going to be banned by the un, or that i should expect anyone else at the door to accept these stupid ideas in the information age.. what am i supposed to say?

i usually just ignore them, but before i do that, i see that shit and i storm into this weird internalized rage where i start writing a response and deleting it.

Darkknight757

You hit the nail on the head Schnell. There is no substance there so why bother? You know as well as anyone here that it's a waste of time to have those people in your life if all they are going to do is try to coax you back with irrational and weak invitations to a meeting that serves no intellectual purpose.

Set a clear boundary if you are able. Say thank you but you're ok. Tell them that you are living the best life now by not inviting negativity into your mind. Worked for us.

Now we see old JW friends and we just talk to them, not about the cult but about life. We laugh and joke. They see my beard and the glow on our faces and wonder.

Let them wonder.

31

Endure or Enjoy??

by stuckinarut2 in

have we ever noticed how witnesses are constantly being told that life is something that needs to be "endured", rather that "enjoyed"?.

life is always so tough, so hard, so difficult in "these last days".

"persecution and trials abound".

Darkknight757

The JW's hate this world so much that they miss the entire point of life: to enjoy it. That is how they can rationalize it in their minds that they aren't missing out on anything in "Satans world." The GB has done a splendid job reprogramming these people. Classic cult workmanship there.

My MIL and my own mother hate life so much right now cause they really think there is something better to come. Of course they have to die in order to see it.

My wife recently told her mom that she is not only pregnant, but pregnant with twins and her look was of sheer horror. "How can you possibly raise two children in this world when the new one is so close?" she perhaps thought. Who knows what was running through her mind? It seems as if lately my MIL has gotten to be even more negative.

Something is happening in the Org that are making these poor saps hate life. Sadly they are missing out. Regular normal people are much happier and better company than any "Best life ever!!" Jw.

17

What would you say to the HH if you could?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

ok so there's no other jws in earshot and your on the ministry, the hh comes to the door, what would you say to them about jws if you could?.

would you explain why your there when you don't want to be?.

would you warn them about it being a cult?.

Darkknight757

I would have to agree with previous posters in saying that lying to a householder and yourself pulls you out of the ministry all together. Being awake and going door to door is impossible considering you know the message is bs and trying to sell bs is mentally stressful. We even tried telling the householders the truth about the org but we discovered there are much better things one can do on a Saturday morning than banging on doors.

When the wife and I realized this we just stopped reporting time. From one month of 11 hours, then to 4 hours the next month, to nothing. Didn't even feel guilty about it. Why should we? They lied and we fell for it.

30

Is it morally wrong to put Watchtower behind?

by Darkknight757 in

with our latest and final run in with the elders, the wife and i had a very long talk about what's next in our life.

do we try to help others see the light as it were concerning watchtower or do we just let it go and move on with our life?

we have made it perfectly clear that we will never go back to watchtower and we are finally happy.

Darkknight757

Thank you for the reassurance. I don't know where we would be without this board and you members..?? Probably still stuck in that nefarious, soul sucking religion. Either way thank you all for the help over the past year. It's about time to take your advice and move on.

I didn't get a chance to know many of you but I wish you all the best in life. Hopefully soon we will see Watchtower's end. Until then, live the best you can cause life is too short to be miserable. Drive fast and take chances. Drink lots of stuff and eat well. 🤗🤗🤗

30

Is it morally wrong to put Watchtower behind?

by Darkknight757 in

with our latest and final run in with the elders, the wife and i had a very long talk about what's next in our life.

do we try to help others see the light as it were concerning watchtower or do we just let it go and move on with our life?

we have made it perfectly clear that we will never go back to watchtower and we are finally happy.

Darkknight757

With our latest and final run in with the elders, the wife and I had a very long talk about what's next in our life. Do we try to help others see the light as it were concerning Watchtower OR do we just let it go and move on with our life? We have made it perfectly clear that we will never go back to Watchtower and we are finally happy.

Recently we had the elders over and they wanted to return to discuss some of the many reasons we won't be going back. After a long talk the wife and I agreed that it serves no purpose to have those idiots over, especially since the one guy said that our baby loss was because "God knew we couldn't handle having a baby with Armageddon so close." Personally I'm just very tired. Tired of studying a religion that we are never going back to. Tired of defending why we made this choice to leave the Watchtower. We just want to move on. Is that wrong?

20

The Great Watchtower Guilt Trip

by pale.emperor in

as im sure almost all of us on here are ex-jw, we all know first hand how well the watchtower used the power of guilt to manipulate our thoughts and actions for the entire time we were active witnesses.

guilty for not going on the ministry enough.. guilty for not trying harder while on the ministry.. guilty for not turning up for hall cleaning that time.. guilty for saying a swearword.. guilty for looking at a porno mag.. guilty for masturbating through my teens (i thought i was the only one who did!).

guilty for thinking the gb is wrong on a certain thing.. guilty for touching my girlfriend there... even though we've been dating for 3 freakin years and not had sex (thats not natural imo).. guilty for not following along in the watchtower magazine on sunday.. guilty for not studying.. guilty for nodding off during the 8 hour convention.. guilty for my mind wandering during the talks.. guilty for thinking of sister so-and-so.. the list goes on.

Darkknight757

Awesome and honest post. Love it!!!!

The wife and I told those eltards who came over last week the same thing, that we can finally just be ourselves and don't have to lie any more. A long time elder text messaged and said that if we leave the Borg, we are going to be miserable. Boy if he only knew!!!👍

We have never been happier and we aren't smoking crack and robbing banks like the Watchtower promotes to its members as to those who leave.

So glad you found true happiness pale.emperor!