Posts by panhandlegirl

43

I grew up not fearing old age

by Sour Grapes in

as a teenage jw, i grew up believing that i was not going to finish high school nor would i get old and have to die like my grandparents did.

well, i did finish high school, as did my children and my grandchildren and old age has not been kind to me.

i don't like to look at pictures from 40 years ago, from a time when i was healthy and i had the goal of "stay alive till 75.

Sour Grapes, I know where you're coming from. I never expected to grow old and die either.I used to count the years and think: I will be 29 when the new order comes. Whoa!! What happened? OH!, nothing happened. The world continued on and we were left behind. There's lots of catching up to do. Get with it. Get busy living or get busy dying. It's a letdown when you realize what you believed all your life is a lie. I realized ttatt in my fourties so I have adapted. I now live every day for what it's worth. I am now near my seventies. I can't believe so much time has elasped but it has. I still have a full time job and work forty hours a week. I am hoping I can work until I'm seventy-five. Time will tell. Because we got lemons, it is best that we make lemonade. Go with what you now have left. We got screwed! Now it's time to come to terms with what we have and make the most of it. I feel your pain but we have to change direction. The truth is we will die just like our grandparents, but WE ARE ALIVE NOW! Like the Eagles song, "Take it Easy" says: "We may lose or we may win, but we will never be here again." We have to go with what we have now. When some younger people make fun of me for being old, I just reply: "you should be so lucky!" Most give me respect because as I tell them, "I've been there, done that."

PHG

14

"Truth Be Told" - the movie...

by ziddina in

jw
friends

well, i had the rare opportunity to see this movie tonight, and i would highly recommed it for all ex-jehovah's witnesses!!!.

the documentary film basically consisted of a series of interviews with ex-jehovah's witnesses.. instead of having one interview with the first person, then proceedeing on to the next one, however, mr. smith put together footage from each interview specific to a topic - what it was like being a small child when the parents converted, what it was like being dragged to the meetings and out in "service" as a small child, what it was like missing out on christmas, birthdays and other fun holidays, what it was like going to school and feeling different or isolated, what it was like being denied - "discouraged" - from getting a college education, what it was like dating - or "non-dating" in the religion, what it was like having one's sexual behaviors controlled and censured, what it was like being disfellowshipped, and so on.... as the film's director, gregorio smith said, his "target audience" was three-fold.... ex-jehovah's witnesses, who would be most likely to identify with the people in the film.... non-jehovah's witnesses - "worldly" people - who are interested in or might be considering joining the religion.... and the group least likely to actually see the movie - active jehovah's witnesses - however, disenchanted jws and those considering an exit might be more likely to view it.. it was well done.

the movie used a somewhat non-threatening approach, as opposed to a confrontational or sensationalistic technique.. there wasn't anything actually new in the movie's information, though one comment made by a young man - gregorio's brother, i think - really hit home... regarding the practice of making small children go door-to-door proselytising, he said:.

panhandlegirl

MARKING

34

Can you list watchtower articles that claim anything from the 'faithful slave' should be taken as from jehovah himself?

by EndofMysteries in

just a few wts that put to the effect anything from them should be taken as from jehovah himself and also with elders or being disfellowshipped, that it means jehovah himself is angry with them, that's it's punishment from him.

.

panhandlegirl

marked

34

Your reaction if they drop the shunning policy?

by jam in

jw
friends

how would you react toward those family members that.

have treated you like you had leprosy.

for years didn,t.

panhandlegirl

I have been shunned for over 30 years. After that long a time, I no longer know my sisters. There would be no change on my part, as another poster said: too much water under the bridge.

PHG

11

Help me find a post please, re: listening to GB/FDS=listening to God

by Muddy Waters in

agh, i can't find a post... somebody asked a question looking for various quotes where the wts equated following their words to following god's words.. there was an excellent discussion with lots of wt articles quoted... including a scan of a 1942 or 1943 wt article.

.

would appreciate the link, would like to bookmark.. thank you so much.

panhandlegirl

marking

13

I'm beginning to lose it!!! Update on my situation

by marriedtoajw in

jw
friends

i've posted on here at times in moments of dispair and anguish over what is happening in my life being married to a jw.

i've everperienced countless moments of depression, anxiety and even entertained suicidal thoughts.

suicidal thoughts at one time to me was unthinkable and a sure sign of desperation.

panhandlegirl

transhuman68, I loved this writing you posted. It describes exactly what I tried to tell my husband about our children. We don't own them, they belong to themselves.

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

I cannot give you any better advice than you have already received but because I have rasied two children I would like to comment on that.I don't know if you have ever heard the song "Leader of the Band." It's a song written by Dan Fogelberg as a tribute to his musician father. In the song Fogelberg wrote: "I thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go." It's hard to let our children go, but they need to discover life for themselves. They will come back to you, especially if you give them good reasons to come home. You have had influence on your son, he won't forget the things you taught him and the times you shared. Keep the communication with him open. He will likely be more like you than you know. Take care. As I said you have received good advice from these posters We are here for you.

39

ARE YOU SCARED THAT GOD WILL KILL YOU "SOON"?

by clarity in

just started to research the who's who of gods!.

really helps to not take any of this 'god' power seriously!.

http://home.swbell.net/dndylion/paganreligions.html, roots of christianity:.

panhandlegirl

I used to be, not anymore.

PHG.

41

good old apocalyptic science fiction

by Hortensia in

have you ever read "no blade of grass," "on the beach" or "the satan-bug?

" i have a feeling it wouldn't hurt to reread those old novels.. folks around here argue about gmo foods, for instance, without realizing that one of the main problems with gmo is lack of diversity, dangerous if a disease comes along that kills the main crops of the world.. and people seem to have forgotten that humans could indeed destroy themselves completely, if someone starts a nuclear war.

they always seem to think there could be survivors of an all-out nuclear war.

panhandlegirl

Horensia, thanks for reminding us of those old and excellent books. Excellent thread.

eva luna, I also keep a small moleskine in my bag and a larger one on my desk for thoughts. I usually give one or two as gifts to friends at Christmas time.

Blondie, I read Alas, Babylon years ago and just recently bought a new copy of the book. I wanted to read it again.

Everyone, thanks for all the book titles. Oh! so many good books and so little time.

PHG.

94

Its sad how Americans think they are the center of the world regarding Sandy...

by mP in

jw
friends

the storm was much more intense and killed many more in the caribbean and yet i see practically nothing mentioned about them here or in the media.. .

pathetic..

panhandlegirl

I haven't read everything posted about this but I have to say that America is the center of my world regarding what devastation Sandy has brought on my fellow Americans. This is my home and these are my people. It saddens me to see how these people have lost everything;they no longer have a home, clothes, no water, electricity, and are hungry and cold. That does not mean that I do not sympathize with all those others who have also died or been devastated by Sandy. America and Americans have always been there for others who suffer from these storms. America provides foreign aid to many nations all the time, not only during times of disasters.From my recollecion, many Americians went to Haite to help out when they had the last hurricane and many may still be there helping. Anyway, why pit one nation against another during times like these. People can have sympathy for more than on nation at the same time. It's just that this time it happened in a big way to American and we all feel it deeply. I live 10 miles from the Atlantic and I know that could have been me if not for the direction the storm chose to take.

PHG

295

Survey: Who here is an atheist? Who here still believes in God?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i just wanted to take a survey.

let's not let this get into the same old same old debate of atheism vs belief.

just respond with "atheist" or "believer" or "maybe god exists".

panhandlegirl

I am not sure. I have to think and study on it some more. I believed in GOD and the Bible before I got on this site and started reading certain books and listening to Dawkins. Now I don't know.

PHG