thete are a lot of derocatory comments sbout witnesses and cleaning windows.
as a former window cleaner i can say:-.
a. i started my self employment at 17.. b. i built the round with my own initiative.. c. i was soon making 4 times the average hourly wage.. d. i was afraid of heights, but as the round grew i employed 2 people.. e. it exspanded to gardening painting and decorating ect, ect,.
You sound like a hard working entrepreneur. Good for you!
Window cleaning (and carpet cleaning, lawn care, fast food work, construction laborer, etc.) is an important job.
Some of us choose to earn a living in other ways. That's all. I don't knock what you do for a living. So try not to be defensive. I just decided early on that I'd rather make a living with my mind - not with my muscles.
Every person walks his own path in life.
they claim their schools, literature and teaching are far more superior than any "worldly" education.
how would you counter that belief?.
Reading is an essential skill to successfully navigate through life. JW's do promote that skill - but so do other religions, community groups, civic organizations and public schools.
The problem with Jehovah's Witnesses and reading is that a follower must ONLY read from sources that the leadership approves. A member is not allowed (and will be disfellowshipped) if they read anything that is critical of the leadership and the organization.
We are told repeatedly that the media is manipulated by big business and religion and any news stories that expose the Society and it's policies are LIES.
this is a story about a (former) elder in my kh.
this was the po for many, many years.
he used to always call me when i didn't turn in my fs report.
I've seen this happen a number of times over the last 40 years. "Elders" - by the way are human too - get disfellowshipped / reproved every month of the year. If the circumstances around the disfellowshipping were very public, those guys get the axe and the door slammed in their face.
A really good guy in a local congregation was married to a girl for twenty years when it came out that she was getting it on with an elder in the congregation. This elder and this guy were 'best friends' - the elder and his wife would vacation with this other couple. Everything hit the fan right before the elder was set to give the Memorial talk. He was DF'ed quick!
After the divorces, the two married and were reinstated within three years. They did this by playing by the rules - making all the meetings, underlining with highlighters and quarterly reinstatement requests.
If you play the game, you will get reinstated. If you don't, they'll give you the silent treatment and hope you go away.
I knew a dozen or more (of names I can recall) that were faithful, old-timer JW's who were buried in the 1960's, 70's and 80's without headstones or grave markers.
My folks always told me that it was because we had a hard time accepting "unnatural" death.
ginger
as a little background - i was born-in to being a witness, back in '79, in detroit, in mostly black and poor congregations.
baptized when 10-ish, stayed around, was on the fast track to ms, but faded when i moved out at 24ish.. there was a combination of a few things that got me on the road to "freedom" from the cognitive dissonance that kept me "in the truth" for so long.
the main thing was, being an artist and studying marketing, my thinking was patterned to constantly question if i was doing something "correctly," as constant improvement and questioning is what facilitates artistic and mental growth.
It's ALL about appearances.
"Dress and grooming"....and being at all the meetings, raising your hand, turning in service time, taking on 'special' privileges and responsibilities (titles and positions), driving a 'sensible' car, living in a 'modest' home and having a job (not a career).
You must limit your education, association, recreation....and give freely (to the organization) your wife, husband, children, money, real estate, jewelry, stocks and bonds, life insurance policies, retirement funds and (last but not least) your personal time.
ginger
"everything in life has a purpose" is something a lot of (religious) people tend to say.
i used to believe that too... but i have always been wandering about animals, bacteria and everthing around us.
what purpose is there?
Early cultures developed belief systems to explain the unexplainable. Natural phenomena was explained through the belief in supernatural power (diety). These beliefs would connect (for example) the changes in the seasons or the rising and setting of the sun as an "act of god".
The same traditions continue today - through religious systems. These explain the 'purpose in life' and will answer all questions about the unknown (life after death, the rise and fall of governmental powers, global warming, etc.) by using 'ancient' writings.
"Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning." -- Joseph Campbell
The parallels between growing up Amish and growing up as a JW are apparent when this show is watched.
The Amish children grow up secluded and controlled. If they leave they are told that they will spend the rest of eternity in Hell. If their parents are liberal and allow the kids to do things that aren't approved, the church leaders reprimand / council the parents.
As Jehovah's Witnesses, the Governing Body and their representatives (the Elders) behave the same.
The Org. wants to keep the kids on it's Watchtower 'farm'.
ginger
besides learning how to speak publicly, has the watchtower given you any benefits?
?.
I learned as a JW child how to be two different people in the same body (my public self and my honest self).
I later learned how difficult it can be to stop being judgemental, self-righteous and un-sympathetic.
ginger
"in minnesota, a man said to his visitors: "i saw you coming, so i went to get this book.
" he held up a bible teach book and said that when he was in prison, he stole the book.
when asked if he had read it, he replied that he was going to read it on the weekend while he was fishing.
In some parts of the world, the local WT branch receives payment from the government to participate in reform programs inside prison walls. So in those areas, the brothers are well organized and set up regular bible study sessions with the inmate population.
One more way to increase the income of the WTBTS.
ginger
my ex-wife got married in december last year.
so our visting arrangement with my children has changed.
there was a misunderstanding in our visiting arrangment, we agreed on that they would spend the weekends (once in two weeks) with me they would stay until sunday.
Been through this too!
During the process of your divorce you and your ex would have a written custodial agreement. This is a legal document - a court order - that MUST be followed. Missunderstandings don't exist (or hold water) in court.
Does the ex have 'full custody' and you have 'visitation' every other weekend? Holidays are also divided and agreed upon with the custodial agreement.
Perhaps your pickle is that you both SHARE custody? While not legally related, if you pay child support then she has full custody.
It's time for you to visit with your divorce attorney again.
The Watchtower encourages a divorced parent, (her) family, congregational friends and the elders to actively be involved in keeping the children as Jehovah's Witnesses - primarily by getting them to the Kingdom Hall as much as possible. If you take them, your kids will be exposed to the pressure to make friends with other JW kids...and that's going to cause you long term problems.
ginger
