Ever been counciled for doing a craft??

by lydia 20 Replies latest jw friends

  • Stephanus
    Stephanus

    Good grief, Charlie Brown! Of course, this counselling over crafts would be consistent with the overall Watchtower ideal of keeping women totally in their place; crafts (such as quilting, sewing, knitting, folk art, etc.) after all are generally seen as women's hobbies, and hobbies are frowned upon within the org as a waste of time, or so I understand. Do men ever get counselled over their leisure time pursuits? There are "blokey" hobbies like wood and metal work and restoring old cars - would such a hobby draw the attention of the "glorious ones" or are they only interested in women who spend their valuable field service time doing something NOT specifically for the Borg?

  • voltaire
    voltaire

    The elders on our body once counseled a brother who made musical instruments. Each one took many hours, maybe a hundred or more. He could sell them, but only for about three or four hundred dollars each. So he wasn't making much per hour, especially when you factor in the materials and tools. He was definitely suffering from depression. He had been a smoker. His doctor told him to get a hobby that would give him something to do with his hands. This was a perfect outlet for him. Of course, the time he invested in the hobby took away time he could have spent on theocratic activities. I had suffered from depression myself, so I was shocked at the elder's inability to understand the problem. "Theocratic" activities were in my case, and I suspect in the case of this brother, a considerable part of the problem. Life is stressful. Add to the everyday challenges of making a living the pressures of being an elder or a ministerial servant and some people just can't take it. It's simply amazing that they can heap such burdens on a person and then try to take away one of the few ways he or she has of coping.

  • DB
    DB

    I think volatire hits the nail on the head. Quilting, or making musical instruments, or almost any other hobby or craft are often done to relieve stress; and much of that stress comes from regular participation in "theocratic activity".

  • David Gladden
    David Gladden

    I once got a "talking to" when several people in my old cong were "stumbled" over how I was taking an Astronomy class in high school.

    The elders said: "Ohhhh! Your taking Astronomy, not Astrology!".

  • ballistic
    ballistic

    Are you being stitched up or what?

  • Scully
    Scully

    Lydia writes:

    I stil don't get what was wrong with the snowmen!!

    Lydia, Lydia, Lydia. tsk tsk. for shame!

    Snowmen are quite immoral!

    snow-MEN are usually NAKED, especially "DOWN THERE"!!

    you bad, bad woman!

    LOL just kidding sweetie!!

    Love, Scully

    It is not persecution for an informed person
    to expose a certain religion as being false.
    - WT 11/15/63

    A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. -WT 12/1/91

  • Francois
    Francois

    I really think the problem is that the brothers who can't stand it when the sister's have something like a sewing room with lots of material and machines, etc. is that they don't want to have to shell out the bucks to do something for their own wives. So they're trying to head it all off at the pass.

    It's a form of selfishness. They want the money for themselves. How many of the brothers do you know who have a garage or workshop full of every tool and convenience known to man so they can "save money" working on their own cars? What's the diff? None! Assholes.

    Just when I think I've heard the most ridiculous shit possible from the Borg, someone comes along and blows my mind once again.

    Francois

  • myself
    myself

    ROFLOL
    I used to work in a car group with three "pioneer sisters" who liked to work the rural areas. In between doors and their turns at the doors they spent much of their time cross-stitching.

    myself

  • lydia
    lydia

    Scully ...

    Hey - I never thought about that - I always thought the snow was their clothes...

    I think that Voltaire really hit the nail on the head - they want the flock to be stressed...

    I can't tell you how many times I heard the comment " if your not having persecution you must be doing something wrong! "

    Francois - you have a viable point too - they never thought much of spending the money on the tools did they???

    I enjoy the fun and relaxation as well as the pride ( another fault in their eyes..) of finishing soething and giving it to someone.

    what are your favorite patterns or types of quilts or designs??

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    I never was counciled for the hobbies I did -- and I tried most of them - but I was counciled for organizing picnics after the Sunday meeting - with anyone in the cong that wanted to join us. Seems taking your family for an outing to the park was an unacceptable activity - should be going out in service or reviewing the ?"wonderful spiritual meam"?? we just had. BTW our meetings were in the afternoon and we had already done the door-to-door thing in the morning - whoops sorry I thought I could have a life - guess the parks were only for AFTER Armagedon

    Rejoice in the healing and not in the pain.
    Rejoice in the challenge overcome and not in the past hurts.
    Rejoice in the present - full of love and joy.
    Rejoice in the future for it is filled with new horizons yet to be explored. - Lee Marsh 2002

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