Posts by Amy in PA

19

"The Passion of The Christ" -- a review

by MegaDude in

jw
friends

the passion of the christ

sun feb 22, 7:00 pm et

todd mccarthy

Amy in PA

I don't think my heart can handle this one.. Just reading the reviews makes me feel sick and sad.

I did travel to Oberammergau, Germany in the year 2000 to see The Passion Play, which is devoted to the Passion of Christ. This amazing play is performed only every 10 years and has been performed for about 370 years now. The cast of over 1,650 adults and 550 children was amazing. This play lasts all day long with only a 2 hour break for lunch. It was heart-wrenching to watch. The crucifiction scene was graphic, realistic, and memorable. I don't think I want to see this again.

31

BOLD move

by Puternut in

jw
friends

i have been a dub for too long, and most of my ambitions were hindered because of the 'kingdom first' issue.

i never persued the things i wanted to do in life.

and everywhere i go i run into people that i know, and they give me the 'dirty look'.

Amy in PA

(Hey, puter: as you read the following, you will probably note I've come a long way since last week. I guess sometimes we forget our own strength and we forget how courageous we can be. Thanks to a lot of good advice on this board, I'm coming around again. have not bought the running shoes yet, but I'm standing strong, tall, and I'm in charge of ME )

As for the sailing: Absolutely, you should do this! Be courageous! Be safe! Go in peace and love! (purchase long distance calling cards before you leave)

Live through your circumstance and grow from it. Find the peace you need to learn how to love yourself. If you do this, you will truly appreciate God's love. A long time ago, I learned to break things down to the center, the core, the truest denominator. If you have the courage to go there, you find God and God's love.
What I believe is that we are all put on this earth for the purpose of achieving a certain oneness with God. He gave us the ability to use free will in making our choices. Use this powerful gift to the best of your ability. Touch the center as often as possible. God's love lives within each of us, 24-7.

Best wishes as you experience your journey through life.

26

So....what will you do with the 30 years left?

by Dawn in

jw
friends

Amy in PA

Here's what I'm thinking:

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
"WOW--What a Ride!"

45

Alone and Lost. Please help me understand.

by Amy in PA in

jw
friends

background information:first of all, i am not a jw.

i divorced my husband due to his alcohol addiction and because he repeatedly refused to seek help.

i could no longer carry the burden, and so after 30 years, i left.

Amy in PA

There are many circumstances here that I did not post in the background info. One of them is that his wife is not "just" a drunk. There are multiple problems going on with other addictions and health issues. She lives in a drugged state (her choice), not capable of making decisions and not capable of taking care of her own needs. She can barely get from her bed to the bathroom. She needs to be placed in an institution. He respects her as the mother of his children and he has taken care of her for more than a decade in this condition. Their marriage has been long dead. I also feel he has been recently targeted to be pulled back to the KH and this has triggered even more guilt in him. My thinking now is that I need to decide if I should buy those running shoes or not. I?m scared, that?s a fact.

Robdar: The only thing I took exception to was your asking me if I was a teenager. That was demeaning and flippant. I understand that I did not give you complete information on which to base your response. Please realize, I was totally lost when I made my first post. I do not regret coming here because many of the posts have given me a stronger base to pull from. I know absolutely zero about JWs. I am just now pulling it all together. So give me a break, girl.

wednesday: I didn't realize until yesterday what the problem might be here...it's the DF'd issue and that he would lose contact with his children. I have not had an opportunity to bring up any of these things with him, but I plan to the next time I see him.

Puternut: You?re correct in saying he is haunted and guilty ridden. All of this makes me feel sick to my stomach. Thanks for your input.

45

Alone and Lost. Please help me understand.

by Amy in PA in

jw
friends

background information:first of all, i am not a jw.

i divorced my husband due to his alcohol addiction and because he repeatedly refused to seek help.

i could no longer carry the burden, and so after 30 years, i left.

Amy in PA

I am still overwhelmed by the support, advice, and assistance from you all. Thank you. I am sorry but I do not know how to use the "quote" method yet. I will try to figure this out tomorrow.

funchback: Your writing about JW's being masters of conditional love scares me. Heck, it's all starting to scare me. Truth be known, I am such a sane and level woman, but for the past week, I've been having tremors. The more I read, the more frightened I become. I just want to tell you that I have not felt anything but unconditional love from my JW man. But things have changed lately. It seems if he is going to follow his course back to the KH, then he will surely have to love me "conditionally"...that I remain "a friend" only and the entire relationship stay limited to that and the beautiful love gone by the wayside. What a waste of such a special blessing.

jgnat: Your advice to go to al-anon is wonderful. They give good advice on how to overcome enabling issues, among other things.

Lady Lee: I've written you personally but want to acknowledge to the board that I apppreciate so very much your specific writings on the subject at hand. What you told me is of great value.

cruzanheart: Thanks for your prayers and concern. I cried (yet again...make note to buy stock in Kleenex) because you were so sweet and supportive and encouragin. Thank you so much. I also appreciate hearing your thoughts about JW being a very damaging isolationist high-control group that is NOT the only way to salvation.

Nos and Rob: Thanks to both of you for your advice and thoughts. I can see why you would think this way. Unfortunately, my initial post was limited to just a broad background info. The details would show you that your intial thoughts are unfounded. It's a long, long story, believe me. We are very much in love. It's been this way for a long time. It's real and true love. As one of the posters said (flower)...in the REAL WORLD this could be worked out. It's the JW world that is all screwed up. The hold and the power amazes me. And it doesn't help any that the NEXT end of the world is 2035! I guess he thinks it's possible he might live this long.

Gumby: Many, many thanks for your explanations, the time you invested in posting, and the laugh you gave me about being an old bas***d.

Flower: You are a special, special person. You are right. In the real world this would play out beautifully. Unfortunately, the JW world is something that will always interfere with a life I would have with him. And, oh my... he might just think I am part of Satan...that scares me to death. I am going to ask him about this. Thanks for the book recommedation. I will go out tomorrow and buy it. I am pretty sure he won't read it--- that's another one of those forbidden things, isn't it?

Doubtfully Yours: Yes. I know adultery is wrong. God knows the condition of my soul. And HE still loves me! Your post did nothing but make you look small in the eyes of everyone else. I came here in the state of complete devastation and desparation. I have nowhere else to go. I do not personally know any JW's. I came here with the hope that I would find some answers. My wounds are extremely deep. I actually prayed for 15 minutes before I made that first post, not knowing if I was going to be ridiculed or not. I was afraid, alone, lost and on my last leg. Thank God, I was embraced. The responses I've received have made a wonderful, bright and brilliant difference.

Thanks again, to all of you.

45

Alone and Lost. Please help me understand.

by Amy in PA in

jw
friends

background information:first of all, i am not a jw.

i divorced my husband due to his alcohol addiction and because he repeatedly refused to seek help.

i could no longer carry the burden, and so after 30 years, i left.

Amy in PA

The continuing education of Amy....

Ok. I am confused now. Please bear with me. I sincerely need your help with this because I know so little about this issue and I need to know as much as possible. I seem to be missing something here. The two answers below seem to be in disagreement with each other. If you can clear this up for me, I will be so grateful.

Thank you. Amy ---still lost, but not alone due to the kindness of this board.

1. Lady Lee said: the guilty party can refuse forgiveness from the innocent party and the scriptural divorce will be granted. Is there a catch to this? Will the guilty party be disfellowshiped?

2. gumby said : If the guilty one obtains a divorce, they are obviously NOT SORRY for what they have done or else they would welcome back the innocent ones open arms, and not try and justify their wanting a divorce. They have NOT obtained a scriptural divorce, and this would weigh in a judicial matter as to repentence were the guilty one wanting to remain a dub and and trying to escape a DFing.

45

Alone and Lost. Please help me understand.

by Amy in PA in

jw
friends

background information:first of all, i am not a jw.

i divorced my husband due to his alcohol addiction and because he repeatedly refused to seek help.

i could no longer carry the burden, and so after 30 years, i left.

Amy in PA

Thank you all so much. Let me say that I am overwhelmed with the spirit of helpfulness, kindness and understanding represented in your responses. I have to take it all in and digest it for a few hours. For now, I am still wiping away the tears. I will respond and post later today. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I do have a question, and I hope someone will be able to explain this and respond soon: (more questions later)

?? If the JW who is guilty of adultery gets a legal divorce, is he free to remarry scripturally? I was under the impression that only the non-guilty party would be scripturally free to remarry.

45

Alone and Lost. Please help me understand.

by Amy in PA in

jw
friends

background information:first of all, i am not a jw.

i divorced my husband due to his alcohol addiction and because he repeatedly refused to seek help.

i could no longer carry the burden, and so after 30 years, i left.

Amy in PA

Background information:First of all, I am not a JW. I divorced my husband due to his alcohol addiction and because he repeatedly refused to seek help. I could no longer carry the burden, and so after 30 years, I left. Some time after this, I fell in love with a married man, a JW. We had been friends for years , having many things in common. His wife is also an alcoholic. She has never been able to kick the habit, either.

The love between us brought us both happiness and we talked many times about the day we would be married. I always believed we could manage this. I am now finding out more about the JW beliefs (scriptural divorce) and I am afraid. My JW man has not been involved with his Kingdom Hall for a long time but I feel he is leaning towards becoming active again. He says he cannot divorce his wife, though he'd like to. He says he could not ever get a scriptural divorce. It is weighing him down that he has had an affair, even though he believes we are right for each other. He worries about everything a lot. He has broken off contact with me, even though we have been in love with each other for many years now. This is killing him as much as it is killing me. He did not want to give me up. Saying goodbye to the person you love is devastating.

I do not want or deserve approval for having an affair with him. I am a Christian. I know it is wrong. But love happened and it is something that cannot be turned off once it is in your heart.

I suppose my real purpose to post here is to find out if there are any other reasons to get a scriptural divorce? Doesn't it matter that his wife and my husband both left the marriages unattended when they chose to love booze more than they loved us? Isn't this abuse when the sober party has to constantly take care of a drunk?

I don't know if I should have posted this or not. I only want some help. I don't know where to go. Thank you.