Posts by Lutece

11

What Birds Taught Me About Watchtower Dishonesty

by metatron in

i have a bird feeder outside my window.

it attracts warblers, sparrows, blue jays and multicolored finches , amoung others,.

the generation of 1914 is gone.

Ex-JW Singles - Post Your Info Here!

by pettygrudger in

lots of love connections have been made on this board, and its about time we made a few more!

its been almost a year since there was a thread on this, and i figure its about time for an update.. so, are you single?

if so, post a little about yourself here - perhaps there's a love connection right here on this board!.

Lutece

Ht: 5' 6"

Wt.: 135 (or a little more, hehe)

Education: A little college (travel agent class) frequent library visits, the Internet

Salary: less than I deserve

Career: Columnist, Freelance Writer, Web Designer

Experience in WTS: from 5ish to 30ish with a 6-7 year break in between

Time out: 3 years?

How left: disassociated myself

Strengths: Independent, Creative, Generous, Calm

Weakness: Good Food, Wine

Turn-ons: Driven, successful dreamers, entrepreneurs

Turn-offs: rude, arrogant types

What I want in a partner: Actually, I"m not looking, but if I was he'd have to be positive, strong in body, mind and spirit and have a few goals for his life......

42

Well here goes nothing........

by What The....... in

jw
friends

i am a jehovah?s witness that has had a lot of doubts the past 5 or 6 months.

i don?t know where to turn or what to do.

i have given my all to jehovah and am scared that if this is not the truth then where will i go.

As you have courage to really learn and study this religion you may go through some serious shocks, hang in there, it is better than being in the dark. I remember finding out certain things that brought me to my knees (even vomiting a few times) it was so sad to burst the bubble I'd lived in for years. Once you realize it's not any different than any other religion you feel so cheated, so betrayed and so stupid, at least I did. Eventually, the things I was learning, it was like a fire burning in my belly, I had to do something about it, I had to tell people. I disassociated myself and moved on and am a much happier, positive person and not judgemental and self righteous like I was as a Witness. I'm free and I am very thankful for that and so are my children, BIG TIME. Good luck on your journey, this board is useful, so use it as you can!

Anne

2

Look at what we could've done with college...

by Phantom Stranger in

jw
friends

http://www.msu.edu/~ostran14/apathy/index.html

Lutece

lol, thanks for sharing that Phantom, money well spent eh?

35

most gorgeous man

by petespal2002 in

we've had so much of the gorgeous women, so who would be the world's most gorgeous man in your view?

Lutece

Antonio Banderas (when he doesn't have that Dumb and Dumber haircut) is my "fantasy" guy, but here are some other yummy pics

21

Apostates Crash Gilead Graduation

by Xena in

.

news at 10........

Lutece

Have you seen the stuff they do with Photoshop on www.worth1000.com ? I love Photoshop and there's a lot to inspire you at that site. Great pic Xena

32

Higher Educaton

by franklin J in

jw
friends

what is the current thinking of the watchtower society concernng higher education these days?

in 1977 i entered college from a full pioneer status and was duly criticized from the local elders.

back at that time, higher education was actively discouraged.

Lutece

Never has this been such a sore subject for me than it is now. I work so hard trying to support myself and I've come a long way learning on my own, but much of the struggle is caused by lack of a college degree. I have all kinds of strengths and experience, but some employers won't even give you an interview if you don't have a degree. This is for work where it's not necessary to do the job, but they prefer to see you wanted to "better yourself" I guess. I was completely discouraged from even thinking about college and even though I was considered "gifted" by several teachers when I was younger, I was never told to dream of a career, that the system wouldn't last long enough to worry about such a thing.

Now, I realize I could go to school now, but it's just not practical. I'm raising two children and just starting to see an increase in my freelance work, so it's going to get better, but this year has been hard emotionally. I work three times as hard and see less results, it's enough to make you doubt yourself, especially when you don't have the college degree that seems to be included in every job posting (even for the simplest of positions). I write for my local newspaper and have a column with them, create and maintain websites for large businesses and other writing assignments as I can get them. I've done that on my own, out of a desire to succeed. I'm just sick thinking of how it might have been had I been encouraged and supported by family, friends and dubs to "be all I could be". I was sitting at a black tie affair last evening where the guest speakers were James Carville and Mary Matalin. I was a reporter and I was able to interview them. I had to ask questions about their books and other non-political topics because I didn't want to show my ignorance of politics (another thing I never developed a taste for due to my jw upbringing). Not that I blame this totally on being a dub, but it certainly put a mental block in place for me where politics are concerned. Later in the evening, I was sitting with the other reporters from the tv news and a radio station and everyone was talking about their college and joking about something (I missed the first part of the conversation) and I laughed at someone's comment and he asked me what school I went to. I suddenly felt small (and usually I don't let things bother me like that) but I just said "school of life baby". Turns out our honoree for the event never even graduated high school and he turned out to be a very successful area businessman. Hearing about his determination, hard work and believing in himself, it was a great reminder to me that it's what you do with what you have that's important. Thanks for letting me spill all of this out, feels good to share.........

Anne

27

Jehovah will destroy you!!

by little witch in

i have wanted to share this event with you all for the longest time, and i am finally ready.

oddly enough, i still feel ashamed that this happened to me, although i understand it wasn't my fault.

the story begins in the late seventies, and i was about twelve years old...... i lived in a very small town in the midwest.

Lutece

Thank you for sharing that. I showed it to my 13 year old and we both cried because of pure happiness at being out of that horrible religion, but also of her school friend who she's known since she was little and a witness. She sees her already having many of her dreams squelched and having to give up the after school activities to go out in service. Her parents wouldn't physically hurt her, but the things they say make her feel the guilt that gives her stomach aches. There are so many on this board who are survivors and that pain can't always be easily shared with friends that haven't been JW's. Thank you

2

Sleep Paralisys

by heianderen in

jw
friends

have you ever suffered sleep paralisys?.

if you don't know what sp is, take a look here http://www.skepdic.com/sleepparalysis.html and here http://www.skepdic.com/sleepparalysis.html.. i used to have this kind of "nightmares", now sometimes i experience it, but something has changed, since i did some meditacion practices when i did taiji and since i don't belive in demons, i can control what happens when this "nighmare" comes.

therefore i conclude that this phenomenon is purely psycological and it's has nothing to do with the paranormal.. for me this have been the most frightening experience of my life, until i've gained control over it.. depending on the nature of the question and the populations surveyed between 20 - 40 % of people report having had such an experience.. have you ever suffered sleep paralisys?

Lutece

I've had some terrifying dreams in teh past like that, so bad that I was convinced as a witness that it was demons. After reading what someone on this board said about it and explain what it was and send me more information, I realized it was normal and nothing to be feared. I've never had one since. When I was a witness, I had the worst fears and nightmares in my life. The connection is very clear to me.

20

Mom's Being Guilted to Shun Me

by Lutece in

i thought my mom would never change, that she'd never really go along with the shunning, but last night she wouldn't let me stay to eat at their house when my dad made dinner.

my parents and i have been close all our lives, we've been through a lot together and for her to say that she has to be getting a lot more counsel from the elders.

she is being guilted into shunning me, hoping it will help me eventually come back to the truth.

Lutece

Thanks guys, yeah, writing an article about it is something I've been thinking about doing .I was holding off because I didn't want to add to the pressure my mom was getting, but if they make it so she stops talking to me altogether I will write something that will really hit the fan.

BeckyBoop, been doing better, went through some rough transitions, but we survived. My ex is taking more time with the kids, learning to enjoy his time with them and the kids are less stressed. It's been hard because of work, etc, but things are slowly picking up. Thankfully, I have this board to remind me there are others and many who have it a lot harder than I've ever had it. It helps keep things in perspective. Even Jourles, you poor thing. How much longer can you stand it? Hang in there!

Anne