Posts by Sara Annie

18

It's Lent

by Yerusalyim in

happy ash wednesday all.

now begins the season of penance anticipating the resurrection.. our knights of columbus council sponsored a "fat tuesday" pancake dinner last night.

great success, over 220 people came and stuffed themselves on pancakes, bacon, and sausage.

Every year for lent my family gives up eating out. With two kids and two careers and a busy schedule this is a huge sacrifice for us. Sometimes its so much easier to stop and pick something up or order pizza or just go where someone waits on me for a change...

There are positive side effects, of course. We spend a lot more 'dinner table' time together, I get to actually use all those skills I picked up in culinary school, and every year my husband loses about 10 pounds and I shed 4-5 as a result of the healthier fare we're eating.

Edited to add: We also each pick something positive to commit to doing during Lent. This year, I'm writing a letter each day to someone in my life whether they are far away or live in the same city (or house for that matter).

17

...has Already Committed Adultery

by YoursChelbie in

jw
friends

here's my thoughts on why jesus said: .

"..it was said, 'you must not commit adultery.

' but i say to you that everyone who keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Sara Annie

I do not commit adultery out of my deep love, and respect for, my husband. I believe in passionate monogamy and my marriage has an abundance of it. :) My body and all the pleasures it can experience (and bring!) are mine to share with the man I have committed to spending my life with, and only with him. I can't imagine having sex with anyone else. He told me when we were engaged that the only thing that would entice him to leave our marriage would be if I were unfaithful to him--I admit that if he were ever unfaithful to me that I honestly don't know if I could ever forgive him either.

That is not to say that neither of us appreciate the attributes of other people...I don't think it's hateful or unnatural for people to notice attractive people and respond sexually to them, that's human nature. Men are, by nature, visual creatures and I know that there are other women in the world that my husband will find attractive--I also know that every night (and day for that matter) it is my attributes that turn him on like no one else.

Sex is a natural, pleasurable, and even spiritual experience. It is something that isn't to be regulated by a bunch of old men making rules based on 2000 year old stories. Religion is to blame for making sex evil, ugly and dirty.

68

What is a Super Jehovah's Witness?

by Valis in

*lol*

Sara Annie

LOL. In other words, what is a Super Jehovah's Witness? An idiot of biblical proportions.

Actually made me laugh out loud. Very cute, six.

32

What Is THE Most Important Thing In Your Life?

by minimus in

jw
friends

is it love, good health, money, etc.?????????????

?

Sara Annie

My husband, my children, and the rest of my family. Without them, nothing much else matters.

44

Well I Just Got Let Go! :(

by Yizuman in

jw
friends

as of this morning at 6 am est, my boss came in to the store where i worked and told me that since "business was slow", he had no choice but to let me go.. .

i asked him why did he hire that new employee last week if business was slow??

he just looked at the counter and would not answer me.

Sara Annie

Yizuman-

I PM'd you the specifics of some organizations that can help you. I called them for specific information and how to begin the process and have included that information.

Some advice: You're spending $60 monthly for storage that you could better direct to more immediate needs. Let's face it, if you haven't 'needed' those items in all these months, you likely don't need them now. While you have free time, get in your car and start cleaning that place out--take what you can to your apartment, and get rid of the rest of it--donate it to an organization that will come and pick it up or take it in loads to the local goodwill or dump. It's a poor use of limited funds to store items that will likely not be of use to you for a very long time, if ever again. I know you're tired and upset, but take advantage of all of this 'free' time you have to be really proactive in getting your life on track.

44

Well I Just Got Let Go! :(

by Yizuman in

jw
friends

as of this morning at 6 am est, my boss came in to the store where i worked and told me that since "business was slow", he had no choice but to let me go.. .

i asked him why did he hire that new employee last week if business was slow??

he just looked at the counter and would not answer me.

Sara Annie

I am sorry that you lost your job, that's tough for anyone in this economy. I encourage you to pound the pavement looking for a new job, and while you are seeking employment please consider the following action as well:

Since you have a documented disability, contact your local department of social services. You may be eligible for SSI benefits due to your disabled status. You may also qualify for food stamps. Those programs are in place to help those who qualify for them.

While you are unemployed and have no income, contact your local food bank. You will, no doubt, qualify for their services and that will eliminate grocery expense from your obligations and also provide you with nutritious food.

Another option for you is to contact the local catholic church and inquire after their St. Vincent DePaul society's services. This service group will evaluate your specific need and contribute to it regardless of your religious affiliation if you are sincere in your need.

If you need any help locating the phone numbers or office addresses for these organizations, PM me with your location and I'll search for the information for you.

17

Did being a JW kill this young girl's baby?

by Smyler in

jw
friends

i. what a sad sad story!

i really believe that her being a jw did in part, kill her baby.

the fact that she was scared to tell her parents about her being pregnant just goes to show it.

Sara Annie

When I was an elder, a young sister got herself pregnant.

No, she didn't get herself pregnant. She got pregnant, yes, but she hardly did that all by herself--I am sure your wording wasn't intentional, but it's indicative of the current climate in our culture that tends to absolve young men of their equal responsiblity in the creation of a teenage pregnancy (and their responsibilities thereafter, for that matter).

But as to the topic at hand, I agree that her JW upbringing was likely a causal factor in the actions surrounding her pregnancy, but this young woman was obviously not well (though I suppose one could argue that her experience in a JW home was a causal factor in the development of her mental illnesses as well, but that's another thread).

Many states now have safe harbor laws that allow for young people in just this situation to drop their children off safely without fear of criminal prosecution. I think these laws are a good stop-gap measure, and will save the lives of newborns that would likely otherwise die, but I do think that women in this situation need a great deal of medical and psychiatric help. Young girls who make the choice to hide their pregnancies, deliver babies on their own, and abandon or murder the children afterward are not 'otherwise' well adjusted, intelligent, sweet girls. They are sick, and need immediate, intensive mental health care to diagnose and treat the personality disorder that allowed such a thing to happen.

46

I know it's out of character, but I have a sex question for the ladies...

by logansrun in

hehe..... do you like really "buffed" mean?

what is important to you in terms of your man's musculature?

big, bulging biceps?

Sara Annie

I find overly 'buff' men a real turn off. I guess you could say I prefer the boy next door type...men who are just regular guys--not too skinny, not all grotesquely muscled up, but who can flex a bicep in the mirror aftter a morning shower and look cute as hell doing it.

If I were looking around the room and picking out the men I am most attracted to, they'd generally be the 'average' ones--men who are clean cut, have nice smiles and a twinkle in their eye when they look back at me. My husband describes himself as 'painfully average'. I, of course, think he's nothing of the sort--he's the most extraordinary man I've ever known, and the handsomest man on earth.

17

lessons in love from the faithful and discreet

by galaxy7 in

jw
friends

god certainly realizes that carrying out his righteous laws about cutting off wrongdoers often involves and affects relatives.

as mentioned above, when an israelite wrongdoer was executed, no more family association was possible.

in fact, if a son was a drunkard and a glutton, his parents were to bring him before the judges, and if he was unrepentant, the parents were to share in the just executing of him, 'to clear away what is bad from the midst of israel.

Sara Annie

My favorite part of the same article quoted at the end of the original post in this topic is the following:

Nevertheless, how can comfort be given to those who experience a "stricken spirit" because of such "memories"? Remember Jesus' parable of the neighborly Samaritan. A man was set upon by robbers, beaten, and stripped of his possessions. When the Samaritan came along, his heart went out to the wounded man. What did he do? Did he insist on hearing every last detail about the beating? Or did the Samaritan get a description of the robbers and immediately chase after them? No. The man was hurt! So the Samaritan gently dressed his wounds and lovingly carried him to the safety of a nearby inn where he could recover.?Luke 10:30-37.

After reading about countless interrogations by elders about the who, what, why, when, where and every little particular of any given situation that almost certainly led to the victim experiencing a 'stricken spirit'. I know I shouldn't continue to be amazed at the hipocrisy inherent in the organization, but that really burns my grits.

12

'God Bless You' When You Sneeze?

by willyloman in

jw
friends

we're all familiar with the wt's "history" of the origin of the phrase "god bless you" ("geshundeit" in german) in response to someone's sneezing.

the wts says it originated with the pagan belief that the soul leaves the body when you sneeze and the "bless you" is part of a superstition to protect you from demon invasion.

given that background, jw's don't say anything when someone sneezes.

Sara Annie

Makes you wonder why "the rest of the story" does not appear in any WT publications. Ever wonder about this?

Never, actually. It doesn't appear for the same reason that no information that could possibly even seem like it's a contradiction to WT dogma ever appears. If you give people more than one piece of information, they are likely to actually think about it. Can't have that, now can we?