it's been about a month since i posted... sorry to stay away so long.. many of you are aware that my parents stopped speaking to me last year, and the only time i've seen them in a year is when my dad had a heart attack.
i got an e-mail from my mom that asked how i "felt about their religion" since i'm celebrating holidays.. i sat down with mom on saturday and told her that regardless of our differences in beliefs, that we're still family, and that will never change.
i told her that i understand that she's conflicted because of her beliefs, and that it's been difficult for her.
Hi Reagan
So glad to see you back! I too was wondering where you had been. Glad you have a sort of truce going with your mom. I wonder if I will ever have one with mine. Everyone has to work out their stuff...huh?
Anyway, you and hubby sound like you're doing well. Hang in there!
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
i have a really difficult problem on my hands and i would very much appreciate some input.. some years ago, my wife and i offered accomodation to a female relative - lets call her auntie molly - who was experiencing some marriage problems.
it was a disaster.
she was irrascible, moody and incredibly badly behaved.
Hi Eman,
What a situation you describe!
Sorry to disagree with you Naeblis, but JUST with the little bit of info available to me, it sounds more to me like the woman is an alcoholic. Alcoholics are emotional terrorists, live from crisis to crisis, crave attention(EVEN negative attention) and are very erratic in their behavior. The drinking of the gin in the afternoon was another clue...then the tranquilizers at night. She fits the description almost too perfectly!
While I also agree that alcoholism is a disease, and I feel sorry for the people under its control...I definitely DO NOT think you Eman, or anyone else in your family, should allow her to control YOU. You have made a valid point...she never offered you a sincere apology or retraction. And those were DAMN serious charges she made against you. Yet she was incapable of thinking about, or caring, what the consequences to you would have been. Therefore, it sounds as though her behavior hasn't changed...therefore she is probably still abusing alcohol. To re-establish a relationship with her would be very unhealthy for you and your family. If any of this makes sense to you, or you think you still want to contact her...at least read up on how to cope with her shenanigans better. I could suggest some excellent reading material to you.
Anyway, take care Eman, and let us know how it goes!
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
it has been awhile since i posted this article here.
but with all the newer ones here, not to mention the new ones lurking, i would like to post it again.. it is an article i wrote last year, which i have received great response to.
i hope it might help you too.. you can find it at http://beam.to/truthquest .. there is a link right on the main page.. all my best to you!.
FreePeace,
For those of you who don't know, FP is my hubby.
I just want to add that what brought him to write this wonderful, encouraging article is the agony and two years of recovery he went through on leaving the borg and losing his entire family. Unlike me, he was still fairly close to his family...and had nightmares about them, dreams about meeting up with them and having them strangely accepting him back into their lives(wonder where those came from?) So, he is sharing his personal experience with you. Some of you may find it enlightening, upbuilding...and might empower you to move forward with your life. It did for me.
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
i found this place, purely by accident, and have been very amazed, at all of these touching, personal revelations, that many are sharing, here.
i actually was doing a search, jus tryin to learn how michael jackson's appearance came to be so radically changed..(that's a whole nother topic, and i came away, feelin sorry for him, after all i read, but, another time ) and ran across this forum.
im 41, was "raised" in the truth, my mother and her whole side of our family are long time witnesses, my father converted when i was around 4 years old.
Hi Gimme
Welcome to the board! And thanks for sharing your story too. I am SO glad your dad had the foresight to "suggest" that maybe you weren't ready to make the decision of baptism. Too many times we have seen young ones get baptized, due to family and congregation pressure to "conform". Also, their parents mistakenly labor under the assumption that baptism will somehow protect their children from all the "worldly temptations" out there. Then to their heartbreak, they discover the reality is that they are now forced to abandon their own children when they need them most because they behaved in a way that was normal for someone their age!
Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on such a tangent! I am very glad that I left the organization when I did, and before my kids reached the age where I might have pressured them to get baptized. Your dad did you(and himself) a great favor. Stick around and let us know how you are doing.
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
this is a purely hypothetical question, but i feel it is illuminating to address it.
if you find me arcane, i don't blame you, so skip the italics, and go to the quick question in bold, further down.
i only wrote this piece as a 'cold shower' after coming waaay too close to think41self in the chatroom!.
Philo!
I don't know what you're talking about!! I am very quiet and demure in the chat room. Why, I hardly say two words. (hehehe) 'Course, those two words are , so I can understand the confusion.
Now, to take a stab at your questions:
The first one, they could insert "God's spirit directed organization"
in place of Jehovah...as a matter of fact, they already do!
As for replacing Satan...I like to think they could insert the word "apostates" there and it would still cover just about every situation they could think of! To replace Satan's world...they could just say "the worldwide organization of apostates!! (woohoo)
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
i'd never fully realised it before, but jw's can't stand being laughed at.
they take themselves and their tinpot religion so seriously!.
oh, i know that they expect to be mocked and persecuted, they love all that because they think that prophesy is being fulfilled, but they do go bananas at the "what?
Eman,
You're cracking me up again! What did you expect from him calling his beer 1914 Guinness? No, they have NO sense of humor when it comes to their beliefs...especially the wrong ones.
ChuckD.
ROTFLOL...that was a witty response my man.
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
well, here is my real picture.. i have decided to stop hiding and show my real face.. i hid behind an artificial facade (data) for a long time, fearful of facing the consequences of deciding that my former beliefs were incorrect.. i made the concrete decision in march of this year that jehovahs witnesses do not have the truth and in fact that they were totally wrong.. however, since i have been inactive for 5 years and i do have some people that i care about still in the organization, i decided that i would not reveal who i was so that i did not lose my friends and family.. however, i have now decided to be who i am and my change in my picture icon represents that change.
the consequences are still the same, and i am likely to lose most if not all of my borg friends, but that is the consequence of my decision.. no more hiding for me .
bugeye
Hey Dave,
Nice to see you "coming out of hiding".
Isn't the freedom glorious? Glad you're enjoying it. Keep it up!
i have just finished making phone calls informing the family of the death of my stepfather.
i was an adult when he married my mother, but i loved him very much.
he was a wonderful man.. although he was a faithful jw, for his entire life (he was born to it) he was a really good man, and a true christian, i believe.
Mulan, Sorry for your loss Sweetie,
He sounds like a wonderful man, and thank you for sharing your thoughts on attending his memorial service. I have wondered how I would feel about it in a similar situation, and it always helps to hear others thoughts.
I hope you find comfort and strength from your friends.
Tracy
hi to all in the forum.
i am new here and would like to briefly share how i arrived here.
i was born and raised a witness.i'm in my 40's and married.i had some doubts as regards to some docrinal teachings and changes in the 80's.
Hi Allen,
Welcome to the board, and thank you for sharing a little bit of yourself with us. I of course was never a DO or CO(being a "lowly" woman you know) but I think I've had BO before . Sorry Larc, just couldn't resist, ya know
Allen, don't worry about your typing skills...trust me, we don't care. What we do care about is being supportive of you while you go through this difficult time! I left a couple of years ago, and left all of my family behind except my sister...but I have no regrets. It is nice to see you able to think for yourself. Don't ever give up that freedom. Keep us posted on how you're doing.
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
tri-city herald.
by shirley wentworth.
ritzville - erica rodriguez and her mother, alejandra garza, broke down and cried when the verdict came in.. it took slightly less than four hours for a seven-man, five-woman adams county superior court jury to declare manuel beliz, 48, of othello guilty of two counts of first-degree child rape and two counts of first-degree child molestation.
Thanks for sharing the article Bill,
I thought it covered all the bases pretty well. Even the changing testimony of the abuser. It is classic how when they are challenged by someone, THEY claim to have holes in THEIR memory...or will only admit to a small part of what they did...NEVER the whole sordid story. I believe this must be part of the reason it is so hard to rehabilitate them...accepting personal responsibility is one of the firts steps in self recovery.
Thank YOU again Erica for standing up to this guy, his attorney...even his children! (who used to be your friends). I didn't realize the scope of how difficult this must have been to you. Thank you both for paving the way for others. And thank you to Barbara Anderson, too.
think41self
"It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?"
Amelia Peabody Emerson
