i miss listening and dancing to live music on a weekend night.. i miss going into a crowded mall store to window shop.. i miss going out into public and not having to wear a mask.. i miss seeing people freely mingle on a busy street or sidewalk.. what a difference a year makes!.
RubaDub: I must be boring. I do golf and tennis.
Both activities—I must point out—that involve moving around outdoors with oddly shaped sticks! 🤣
You train to hit balls for fun. I train to hit people for self-defense, and the mental and physical discipline which that requires.
i miss listening and dancing to live music on a weekend night.. i miss going into a crowded mall store to window shop.. i miss going out into public and not having to wear a mask.. i miss seeing people freely mingle on a busy street or sidewalk.. what a difference a year makes!.
Rub, I wasn’t posing. It’s a still from a video of a kata I was practicing. I sometimes film my kata so I can watching for self-evaluation, or I might send it to my sensei for feedback.
At first I did get some stares and looks of curiosity from others. But the regulars all now wave as do the police who are frequently in the neighborhood on patrol.
Several regulars having stopped by and asked about what I’m doing. It’s a better conversation starter than walking around with a briefcase full of Watchtowers and Awakes!
You might be surprised to learn that my neighbors do quite a few things in this park that you would also probably find odd. In addition to the more common things like playing soccer or softball, there is a yoga class here every Saturday morning. I’ve also seen people boxing, and there is a couple that often practices knife throwing.
When you can’t go to a gym or a dojo, you have to work with what you’ve got.
By the way, I also train with swords and sais in the park as well. Occasionally the assistant sensei from my dojo comes and trains with me. To practice social distancing we usually use or bos or swords. So then you’ll see two men sword fighting outdoors. It’s great physical and mental conditioning and also quite fun!
You might find it odd. That’s fine. I quit living my life according to what others think I should or should not do when I left the JW cult.
I gave up martial arts and a whole lot of other things when I became a JW. Now that I’m free of that cult, I’m not gonna let a little thing like a global pandemic stop me from doing what I want.
jp
i miss listening and dancing to live music on a weekend night.. i miss going into a crowded mall store to window shop.. i miss going out into public and not having to wear a mask.. i miss seeing people freely mingle on a busy street or sidewalk.. what a difference a year makes!.
🤣
the july 2020 announcements mentions that baptism can be held in an “inflatable pool” as long as it touches the ground.
the pool must not be “on a terrace, flat roof, balcony, etc.”.
has anyone ever noticed that as a requirement?.
RE BAPTISMS:
I thought it was odd that, although they can "use an inflatable pool [for baptisms] . . . it should be installed on a surface that is in direct contact with the ground. It should not be installed on a terrace, flat roof, balcony, etc."
For
several years in the late '90s, I was in charge of the baptism pools at
circuit assemblies. We used a portable spa which was on the ground, but
I never heard that IT HAD TO BE on the ground. Anyone else heard of
this unusual rule before?
The pharisees would be so proud of the WTBTS for making up so many bullshit little rules and regulations - (Matthew 23:23-24).
On
a funny note, one time we tried to baptize a man that was about 6'5"
tall (1.96m). To say he was a "big boy" was an understatement. The spa
we used was only about 4' in diameter (1.25m), which was not a problem
for most people. However, it was really difficult to get this huge man
fully submerged. Every time the "brothers" tried, he'd have a knee or a
shoulder pop up. And, as you may or may not know, according to "revealed
JW wisdom" per the WTBTS, it doesn't count unless the individual is
fully submerged.
So, after about four or five unsuccessful attempts, the individuals doing the baptism had to get out of the spa, and with the assistance of a couple of others on every corner of the little pool they were finally able to get him fully dunked with no bits or pieces popping out!
Let's review: It's a cult!
i miss listening and dancing to live music on a weekend night.. i miss going into a crowded mall store to window shop.. i miss going out into public and not having to wear a mask.. i miss seeing people freely mingle on a busy street or sidewalk.. what a difference a year makes!.
RubaDub: Is that thing you have in your hands made out of plastic or styrofoam?
Wood. I have several bo (martial arts staffs). They are typically made of hardwoods like hickory or oak. I have a couple of training staffs made of pine.
The bo is a basic weapon in many martial arts systems.
i miss listening and dancing to live music on a weekend night.. i miss going into a crowded mall store to window shop.. i miss going out into public and not having to wear a mask.. i miss seeing people freely mingle on a busy street or sidewalk.. what a difference a year makes!.
I miss practicing martial arts in my dojo. So in the meantime I’d do my bojutsu alone in the park!
i used to have some close friends simply pay me a friendly visit or call to see how i was doing.. i am curious as to whether or not the society instructed witnesses to no longer check on inactive ones and treat them as marked or disfellowshipped..
Interestingly, there have been a few similar threads in the last week or so asking more-or-less this same question.
I quit attending
meetings seven and a half years ago. Since then I have only been
contacted once by an elder; he wanted to have a “shepherding” call. I
politely declined, but said I would appreciate if he would set up a
meeting to help me reconcile with some JW family with whom I had been
alienated by the religion when I was DF’d six years prior to that—I had
been reinstated for two years at this point.
He said he couldn’t do that because they weren’t in his congregation. (Both congregations are less than a 10 minute drive from my house.) I replied, “That’s funny, because that’s exactly what the elders in their congregation said to me—they couldn’t help because I’m not in their congregation!”
So much for an “International Brotherhood”!
That was more than five years ago.
Let’s review: It’s a cult!
i was wondering about this question and wanted to ask: was sin inevitable?
also, i had thought about past watchtower articles or publications related to this topic and did some research and found this from our readers ask if adam was perfect, how was it possible for him to sin?.
well, then, did god create adam with a moral weakness, so that he lacked the ability to make sound decisions or to withstand temptation?
"Sometimes life gives us these little gifts."- Theodore "Ted" Crawford (Fracture, 2007)
a few weeks ago; a witness couple from the midwest reached out to me after 25+ years.
they said they were doing a letter writing campaign and decided to reach out to me… they called on my personal cell phone, which was a little surprising.
a few days ago, a couple that i knew from over 40 years ago, sent me a text, again to my personal cell phone.. i assume that they just googled my name to get the personal info.
He said he couldn’t do that because they weren’t in his congregation. (Both congregations are less than a 10 minute drive from my house.) I replied, “That’s funny, because that’s exactly what the elders in their congregation said to me—they couldn’t help because I’m not in their congregation!”
So much for an “International Brotherhood”!
That was more than five years ago.
Let’s review: It’s a cult!
i was wondering about this question and wanted to ask: was sin inevitable?
also, i had thought about past watchtower articles or publications related to this topic and did some research and found this from our readers ask if adam was perfect, how was it possible for him to sin?.
well, then, did god create adam with a moral weakness, so that he lacked the ability to make sound decisions or to withstand temptation?
Whatever dude! Go talk to someone that cares.
