Posts by Dawn

41

Short truth about 9/11, Truth hurts you know!

by Legendary U.2.K. in

jw
friends

" we are the cause of our destruction *(it's quoted different in the bible) / i believe that 9/11 was a bad day, we cry & mourn & move on, we get over it, i got over 9/11 in under 24 hours & to be honest i'm sick of hearing about it.... now i also understand that millions was not paying attention before 9/11 & they still aint paying attention.. if people would wake the hell up and read the bible they would already know that god already warn us to listen to him, and be on guard 24/7 cause that devil which we call satan exist and on the move to overthrow billions........ where is your faith?

jesus clearly said that not to sorrow for the dead, cause they will get resurrected when the messiah comes back- john 5 verse 28,29.. so get over it and heed jesus words....

Dawn

More people are killed *EACH MONTH* in the USA in motor vehicle collisions.

As am American, my grief is for more than the lives and families that were torn apart. I also grieve for the security we once took for granted, for the personal freedoms we will all have to sacrifice in the name of defense, and for the lives we once lived. America will never be the same.

I believe that in some ways we are better now - more people are paying attention to international affairs - to the plight of other nations and people - and are coming together in support of one another. But we will never again live with the peace and freedoms we once thought we had.

One thing that has changed for me is my patriotism. Being raised as a JW I was, of course, NEVER patriotic. I only heard about the "rotten governments", how they're all "liars, cheaters" etc - how we couldn't wait until this rotten system was destroyed at Armageddon. Having been raised that way I didn't pay much attention to world affairs, politics, or anything like that.

After 9/11 I started to really listen up - I started learning what my life would have been like had I been born under the Taliban, or in China, or any number of non-democratic societies. I have taken for granted the freedoms here and never appreciated before the sacrifices made to protect those freedoms. Today I am very proud of our country, and I am thankful for our allies rushed to our side to help protect us.

On a side note - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" - why is it that JW's NEVER pray for their political leaders? Seems to me that it's encouraged quite strongly here in the bible....hmm........

30

I cant move on!!!!!

by In_between_days in

jw
friends

well guys, i just cant do it.

for a long time now i have been trying to get on with my life and try to forget the rage and hurt i feel at the wtbs.

my resignation from the board a few weeks back was part of this.

Dawn

Sometimes I get that great feeling that I am over it, and the org means nothing to me, but in the next hour something will happen and it will come back to haunt my mind yet again.

The truth is.......the Org and what happened is actually a PART of you know. You can not ignore that - no matter how hard you try. I know - I tried it for 10+ years. I now accept that what happened in the past is a part of what makes me who I am now. By my experiences in the Org I have grown to be more accepting of people, understanding, appreciative of simple freedoms, and am in a unique position to help other individuals that are in high control situations (other JW's, cult members, even those in abusive situations).

My advice would be.......rather than trying to forget it all, take some time to take stock in what you have learned from the experience. How did this evolve you into who you are now - what strengths do you now have that you would not have without the experience - and how could you use these to better your life and those of others.

It would be great to walk away from it all and forget - but that just isn't possible. As we grow, EVERYTHING that happened to us in the past is a building block of our current existence and can not be wiped out. But the difference in making it or not is how you use that building block.

14

remembering 9/11

by teejay in

jw
friends

sometime today--i don't remember exactly when--it dawned on me that tomorrow is 9/11.

when the revelation hit me, i damned near cried on the spot.

a fuckin 44 yearold, cynical, hardass black bastard like me!

Dawn

I live on the westcoast also - but was up early as I was to leave for a business trip that day. My husband was in the mountains hunting.

My friend from work called me and told me to turn on the TV. I watched as the second tower collapsed and sobbed for all the lives lost.....and the fear of what would come.

I live next to a nuclear plant and the next thing was a pre-warning that evacuations may occur for our city. Sending my son to school later that day was the hardest thing I ever did - but I thought that it was best for him to be with his friends and to believe that life would go on and everything would be ok. I gave him instructions on where to meet me if an evacuation occurred (his school is only 2 blocks away - he was 15 years old) I cancelled my flight and sat by the TV for the rest of the day waiting for more news - waiting for my husband to call - waiting for an evacuation notice - but mostly just waiting......and praying that they would find survivors. I prayed for 3 more weeks hoping to find more survivors.

13

JW's who were in the towers

by DanTheMan in

jw
friends

i don't know if anyone has posted similar thoughts to this, but i've been thinking about this off and on over the past year.. i understand that a dozen or so jw's lost their lives in the 9/11 massacre.

since then, i've often wondered to myself what may have been going through their minds during these frightful moments (if they weren't among the lucky ones who died instantly).

did they think armageddon had come, and, as they lay dying in the smoke and ashes and chaos, did they think that they were dying at jah's hand, because they hadn't done enough?

Dawn

Whatever they were thinking at that moment.................they have passed through the door and have finished their journey.

I truly believe that God reads the HEART not the RELIGION.

We miss them all.......we miss the space that was once the twin towers - a source of pride......we miss the familiarity with our New York skyline......we miss the feeling of security we once had........but we are so fortunate to still be here - to still have freedom and still have one another.

My heart goes out to those who lost ones close to them last year on Sept 11th. I lost my father in October of last year and as that day draws close I think "what were we doing together last year"....over and over again I think of him and how much I miss him. How anguished those families must be tonight to be thinking......"last year at this moment we were..."

Whatever religion, belief, race, nationality - it is a loss to us all.

10

Did You Get A Grandparents Gift?

by Undecided in

jw
friends

i didn't know it but yesterday was grandparents day.

today my grandaughter brought us a gift from her and her sister and two brothers.

that was so thoughtful.

Dawn

Not a grandparent yet - but my kids gave their grandparents on my husband's side (JW) a gift and we took them to lunch.

So nice to read your post!

5

Sept 11th Tribute - slideshow

by Dawn in

jw
friends

our church put together an awesome video as a tribute/memorial for sept. 11th.

it's put to the music from james taylor's "fire & rain".

we recreated it here as an educational project for my son - thought i'd share it with you also.

Dawn

Sorry - no music. I couldn't get a copy of his song in digital format - I suppose it has to do with copyright and all.

13

Shepherding calls in a non-JW church

by Dawn in

jw
friends

i have been reading through a number of posts here regarding shepherding calls in the past few days.

having always been the "troubled child" i sure received my fair share.

i got pregnant when i was 19 (unmarried) and know firsthand what a woman goes through during these so-called "shepherding calls" - having to tell every detail of your sex life to 3 old geezers, feeling dirty and worthless, and terrified of loosing everything if you're df'd.. i've been attending a non-denominational church now for a couple years and discovered that they also do shepherding calls (yikes!!

Dawn

Hi Elsewhere:

just being silly with my post above. But I did find a place where I'm really happy - and it was totally by accident. After I was DF'd for the second time (yea - I was bad) about 12 years ago I decided that was IT! I was done with the whole church christian thing - it had NOTHING to offer me and was just a bunch of hypocrites. I still prayed to God once in a while - but that was it.

Two years ago a highschool friend of mine passed away and I went to her memorial service. Right away I knew something was really different about this place - it was a feeling I had NEVER felt at the kingdom hall. The only way I know to describe it is that I felt like God was there - I know it sounds strange but it REALLY felt that way. My husband said it was just me being emotional and all about my friend and I agreed. But a few months later I decided to go back just for giggles to see what it was really like there.

The one thing that really struck me the most was the way they sang. We all know the monotonous - hum-drum whisper/singing that we suffered through with those outdated Kingdom Melodies over the piped-in muzak system right. Well - at this church I looked around and seen hundreds of people (it's a big church - about 1800 members) and they were all singing from the heart - so much joy and happiness - they were REALLY WORSHIPING with song. I had NEVER seen that before - I couldn't figure it out. What the heck made them want to sing that way to God?! So I kept going and started to learn about God in a whole new light - a God I was never taught about as a JW.

I find that now I am making the same efforts in my life as I did when I was a JW (you know - trying to live as a Christian) - only this time it doesn't seem like work. I'm not afraid of anyone catching me at anything, I don't feel guilty - I just WANT to do it. It's so different.

So I guess I did really find a place that makes me happy - but I don't believe it is found in any one church - it's in your heart and your relationship with God.

13

Shepherding calls in a non-JW church

by Dawn in

jw
friends

i have been reading through a number of posts here regarding shepherding calls in the past few days.

having always been the "troubled child" i sure received my fair share.

i got pregnant when i was 19 (unmarried) and know firsthand what a woman goes through during these so-called "shepherding calls" - having to tell every detail of your sex life to 3 old geezers, feeling dirty and worthless, and terrified of loosing everything if you're df'd.. i've been attending a non-denominational church now for a couple years and discovered that they also do shepherding calls (yikes!!

Dawn

Yea - they won't kick me out (ha ha ha)

19

DID you pass "up' er by the contribution box

by imanaliento in

jw
friends

this may have been posted b/4, but you are all forgiving, right?.

while we were studying, we were told there was not a collection plate passed around, just a contribution box.

as the years went by it seemed like every other thur.

Dawn

You guys are so funny!!

I never contributed either - couldn't afford it. I was a single parent working a very low income job with no child support. Since they NEVER helped me out financially I couldn't help them out.

Do contribute to my new church now because they do a lot of great things for kids - I like to keep those projects going. I also give to charities monthly now - something I NEVER did as a JW - in fact, it never even crossed my mind. Isn't that sad.

13

Shepherding calls in a non-JW church

by Dawn in

jw
friends

i have been reading through a number of posts here regarding shepherding calls in the past few days.

having always been the "troubled child" i sure received my fair share.

i got pregnant when i was 19 (unmarried) and know firsthand what a woman goes through during these so-called "shepherding calls" - having to tell every detail of your sex life to 3 old geezers, feeling dirty and worthless, and terrified of loosing everything if you're df'd.. i've been attending a non-denominational church now for a couple years and discovered that they also do shepherding calls (yikes!!

Dawn

I have been reading through a number of posts here regarding shepherding calls in the past few days. Having always been the "troubled child" I sure received my fair share. I got pregnant when I was 19 (unmarried) and know firsthand what a woman goes through during these so-called "shepherding calls" - having to tell every detail of your sex life to 3 old geezers, feeling dirty and worthless, and terrified of loosing everything if you're DF'd.

I've been attending a non-denominational church now for a couple years and discovered that they also do shepherding calls (YIKES!!) - but it never ceases to amaze me how "Christendom's Churches" show so much more Christian kindness than the JW's. A girl in our church recently became pregnant and was also unmarried. One of the other members who is close to her approached the church elders to see what they could do to help her out. Guess what - she got a shepherding call of a whole different nature. They encouraged her, paid some of her bills to help her out until she could get back on her feet financially, got her in touch with other members who were also single parents to encourage her, and so on. I see her almost every Sunday now - she's always wearing a smile and is making great steps forward.

So instead of being shunned, getting discouraged, and leaving - she was encouraged, helped, and has now dedicated her life to Jesus.

The JW's will never get it will they.