Posts by Spiral

36

I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

by Muddy Waters in

some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

Spiral

I have the same book Orphan Crow suggested (it's on Kindle), great read. Clutter just drags you down.

9

" Truth is the Most Beautiful Thing " ..... debate.

by Phizzy in

"truth is the most beautiful thing" is a quote from andrea camilleri, author of the montalbano novels among many other writings.. what do you think about that statement ?.

is there anything more beautiful ?

or do other things top it, or come further down the list of beautiful things ?.

Spiral

I don't know exactly, Phizzy, except to say ..... the opportunity to search and decide for yourself what is truth ..... priceless.

30

Quality of JW teaching from elders

by sir82 in

jw
friends

there was a recent thread on the "quality" of converts to jws in recent years.

it wasn't a pretty picture, based on the thread contents.. well, the lack of depth isn't restricted to new converts.. in our clam this week, one of the principal points for review was this:.

ne 1:1; 2:1—why can we conclude that “the 20thyear” mentioned at nehemiah 1:1 and 2:1 is countedfrom the same starting point?

There was a brother in our old congregation years ago who would give the most atrocious talks, frequently criticizing the "world" because he could never keep a job. On and on he'd ruminate on one particular failed interview (with a woman no less!) until you wanted to just get up and walk out. But by just listening to him misuse words and garbling his ideas, we all could tell why he couldn't get along in the "real world". He could be really hostile too, you just steered clear of him whenever possible. But the congregation was short of brothers so they kept him.

His wife finally quit going, saying she had an anxiety disorder. You can imagine the real reason. I'd see her around town though, she wasn't truly home bound.

Fast forward to a different congregation, but I'm seeing a lot of the same thing. Some of the brothers can barely read, much less really give a real talk (hence all the scripting).

45

What Are Your "Senior Moments" Like?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

dear friends:.

i imagine by now we old timers have adjusted to the fact that we are getting older and, one day, will make our exit.

are your "senior moments" ever a cause for worry to you?

Spiral

Always, ALWAYS it will happen when I'm speaking to a client on the phone. I'm explaining something and can't remember the correct contract term. Aargh! The vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3 has really helped. I had almost no vitamin D on a blood test ( and I do go outside a lot) so taking that has been huge.

18

What was your local needs this week?

by dbq407 in

ours was on making use of phone witnessing and letter writing.

both ineffective and wastes of time.

another local cong.

Spiral

Ours was give more money.

24

OMG....the watchtardedness of the CLAM. ( Cult Lies and Manipulation )

by DATA-DOG in

as we all know, the clam reeks of propaganda and lunacy (sniff...sniff...mmmmm...smells like the gb's meeting room.

what did dubs glean from the clam that washed ashore this week?

according to the book of ezra, jeehoober is so fearful of competition, that he banishes wives and even small children.

Spiral

This is just so ..... ridiculous! Listening to it now. So illogical!

Beth Sarim, haha it's not just me!

Freddo, thank you, yes! Cofty, no mention of Ruth.

First time I've listened to the CLAM, ugh.

24

OMG....the watchtardedness of the CLAM. ( Cult Lies and Manipulation )

by DATA-DOG in

as we all know, the clam reeks of propaganda and lunacy (sniff...sniff...mmmmm...smells like the gb's meeting room.

what did dubs glean from the clam that washed ashore this week?

according to the book of ezra, jeehoober is so fearful of competition, that he banishes wives and even small children.

Spiral

DD, you bring up something that used to really bug me as a child. Why is God so fragile (great word to describe it) that he has to defend his "truth" in this matter. Why does he have to be so vulnerable to disapproval? If it is the "Truth" and he is the God that "deserves to rule" he shouldn't have to do this in front of an ex-angel that doesn't like him any more.

But in our time we are to believe he's done a 180 degree turn and sits back and does nothing.

And they sit and drink it up as evidence of his "love". Ugh!

23

inquiring mind has 3 questions

by OutsiderLookingIn in

just a few questions from a newbie.

answer one or as many as you want.

1. why cleaners?

Spiral

I have many friends who are in the various cleaning professions. They are frustrated because it's hard physical work and by the time you are in your 50s it is so hard. Plus no insurance or retirement. I know several who now regret not going to college or some training where they wouldn't have to work so hard physically at this stage of life. They thought Armageddon would have happened by now.

17

Wear were you in the "Pecking order" in the congro??

by karter in

we were right down with the very lowest.. father never a jw we had a po with little mans syndrome and love to pick on sisters that had no husband to stand up for them,he picked on my mother only to find out he picked on the wrong person,she came from a hard up bringing and didn't take any s###t from anyone particularly this little bully and we were very poor...how low can you get!.

karter..

Spiral

My dad never got baptized so we were always at the bottom of the ladder. But this ultimately proved to be an advantage because I had "worldly" friends growing up without any resistance. Looking back, that helped me out and made me use my brain.

My mom did experience bullying from elders and was mocked by certain elderettes. Ugh. But, my dad was a big burly guy and no one tried to bully him.

49

"If I wasn't born a JW, I would never have become one."

by OneEyedJoe in

i've seen it mentioned by a few on the forum that at some point there was a realization that had they not been born a jw, they never would've converted no matter how many times the jws tried to study with them.

this was my experience too, and i'm wondering how universal it is for those that were born-in but eventually left.

i think i started having this thought (more specifically that if i were not born a jw, i would surely have become an atheist by now) in my late teens.

Spiral

"Magnum: Back when I was in my late teens and early 20's and I was questioning/seeking (late 70's & early 80's), JWs seemed more normal and they seemed to make sense. They could answer most of my questions (but not the really big ones). I had friends who went to church and literally didn't even know what the books of the Bible were. I also observed church on TV, and what I saw was a shallow, phony, money-grabbing joke. This put me in the frame of mind to accept JWs. They seemed to really study the Bible; they weren't "churchy".

Also, I loved the idea of a paradise earth wherein there would be no more suffering and injustice. The JWs back then seemed more intelligent and knowledgeable, the literature seemed deeper and more scholarly, and the org seemed more serious and dignified. Information about the real history of JWs was not readily available."

This is what kept me in "the Truth"(TM) for awhile.... back then everyone did seem more normal and less "churchy". Now I just can't stand it - I never wanted to be in a fundamentalist church! The only way I stayed in was because it wasn't a fundy church..... now of course that's exactly what it is.