ConnieD29

Joined

• started 2 topics
• posted 14 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by ConnieD29

• 
  22

  So where do you do the research?

  by ConnieD29 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok so i'm really trying to figure out what i believe about the bible, god, religion, etc... where do you research or find something to study that isn't tainted with someone else's beliefs or opinions?

  this might be a dumb question, but i seriously don't even know where to start.. .

  thanks,.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Dang you guys are smart....I'm going to have to look up some of those words.
• 
  22

  So where do you do the research?

  by ConnieD29 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok so i'm really trying to figure out what i believe about the bible, god, religion, etc... where do you research or find something to study that isn't tainted with someone else's beliefs or opinions?

  this might be a dumb question, but i seriously don't even know where to start.. .

  thanks,.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Thanks for all the input:) I will probably order the Karen Armstrong book. I do feel like I need to just step back and not rush anything. But at the same time I feel like I'm taking away part of my identity by taking away religion.

  When I was with the JWs, I felt like their beliefs and doctrines were very cold compared to Christianity. Even though they had an answer to everything which was very convincing.

  If I were honest I would have to say I like the feely part of Christianity and the idea of a relationship with Jesus, but can't understand why that part of it seems so hard for me to attain or to feel real to me. Is it lack of Faith? Where is the line between Faith and just blind stupidity? Wow, that seems alittle harsh...did I say that?

  Thanks again for giving me the time of day;)

  Connie
• 
  22

  So where do you do the research?

  by ConnieD29 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok so i'm really trying to figure out what i believe about the bible, god, religion, etc... where do you research or find something to study that isn't tainted with someone else's beliefs or opinions?

  this might be a dumb question, but i seriously don't even know where to start.. .

  thanks,.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Ok so I'm really trying to figure out what I believe about the bible, God, religion, etc... Where do you research or find something to study that isn't tainted with someone else's beliefs or opinions? This might be a dumb question, but I seriously don't even know where to start.

  Thanks,

  ConnieD29
• 
  112

  what is your job ?i was wondering how varied our different jobs are !

  by looloo in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am a support worker for adults with profound disabilities and some with autism and i love caring for people ..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Computer Aided Design for an Engineer's Firm
• 
  19

  My experience with the JW's and more...I'll try to make it short.

  by ConnieD29 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well i guess the thing to do here is to kinda tell your story so that is what i'm going to attempt to here.

  even though it makes me a bit nervous.. my experience with the jehovah's witnesses was short compared to lots of people here.

  i was only involved for about 3 yrs.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Cute snowbird:)

  There was no bribing going on.

  She's shameless remember?!
• 
  19

  My experience with the JW's and more...I'll try to make it short.

  by ConnieD29 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well i guess the thing to do here is to kinda tell your story so that is what i'm going to attempt to here.

  even though it makes me a bit nervous.. my experience with the jehovah's witnesses was short compared to lots of people here.

  i was only involved for about 3 yrs.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Hey Paul,

  I appreciate your insight. It sounds like you are in a place where you feel very comfortable and happy. That is wonderful!

  The church we were last involved with was started by 4 couples, us included, that broke away from another church. The husbands felt like the church was being ran more like a corporation than a church so we left and it wasn't really on the best of terms. I lost some friends and wasn't really happy about that.

  So in the new church, the focus was more like being family, helping each other, being there for one another. We were there for 5 yrs. It is very hard for me to open up to people and I was finally getting to the point I was getting close to the people in the church. Well my husband thought he heard the voice of God and told the pastor some things that made it impossible for us to stay. So we left and again lost some friends.

  So I guess it seems like I've had alot of rejection....parents kicked me out of the house for studying with JWs, disfellowshipped from the JW's, divorce from a man that said he never loved me, then the 2 instances above.

  So I guess I put walls up so that I don't have to go thru the pain of rejection. I think that is part of the reason I'm not ready to get involved with another church.
• 
  19

  My experience with the JW's and more...I'll try to make it short.

  by ConnieD29 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well i guess the thing to do here is to kinda tell your story so that is what i'm going to attempt to here.

  even though it makes me a bit nervous.. my experience with the jehovah's witnesses was short compared to lots of people here.

  i was only involved for about 3 yrs.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Yeah coming clean is what I plan on doing....I just gotta figure out what that looks like. I really just don't want to hurt him. But at the same time I want to be myself too.
• 
  19

  My experience with the JW's and more...I'll try to make it short.

  by ConnieD29 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well i guess the thing to do here is to kinda tell your story so that is what i'm going to attempt to here.

  even though it makes me a bit nervous.. my experience with the jehovah's witnesses was short compared to lots of people here.

  i was only involved for about 3 yrs.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  Well I guess the thing to do here is to kinda tell your story so that is what I'm going to attempt to here. Even though it makes me a bit nervous.

  My experience with the Jehovah's Witnesses was short compared to lots of people here. I was only involved for about 3 yrs. I was young and impressionable.

  I was working at McDonalds and one of the managers (Awake & Watching) there was a Jehovah's Witness. I knew nothing about the JW's, I was brought up in a small community church and the thought of another religion kind of intrigued me I guess. I started studying with Awake & Watching when I was around 16 yrs old or so.

  She would give me the Watchtower and Awake to read and I would take them home and put them under my pillows to hide them from my parents. My parents found the publications and told me if I wanted to continue to study I had to move out of the house. So I left my house and moved in with A&W and her family. I practically had nothing to do with my family for the whole time I was studying. This was very difficult. I remember wanting to die several times during that time. I wanted to please everyone but there was no possible way.

  When I turned 19 I was baptized at a convention and made a few friends in the "truth".

  Well the fact that I couldn't celebrate holidays or do what "normal" 19 yr old did was wearing on me. At this time I worked with alot of partiers and they convinced me that I should have fun while I'm young. They took me to parties and bars and got me drunk, I think just to see the "good girl" do something wrong.

  Of course A & W heard about me doing all these things and had me go talk to the elders. I was disfellowshipped a few weeks later. It really killed me that I couldn't talk to A & W. I tried to commit suicide a few times after that with overdoses and spent a couple of weeks in the mental ward of the hospital. At this time my family was back in my life and my dad refused to see me in the hospital for the counselling sessions.

  I found another church to start going to and met a guy there and we started dating. I figured he was a good guy since we met at church right? Well he date raped me so being the "good christian girl" I had to marry him because we had sex.....stupid. We didn't have a good marriage, I bent over backwards to try to make him happy and he finally told me that he never really loved me. He said he married me just so I wouldn't try to kill myself again. So we ended up getting a divorce.

  Well I joined a dating service right after the divorce was final. I dated several guys but knew I had to find a guy that is a Christian. That is what Christian girls do right? Well I found someone and he was head over heels for me from the beginning which really attracted me to him since I was rejected by my ex-husband. He was very religious, he is a Pentecostal's Preacher's Kid. I married him about a year and a half after my divorce.

  We have been involved with about 4 churches and I feel like I still just try to make everyone happy by putting on the "christian, good girl" act or "playing church". Try to force the whole "speaking in tongues" and all.

  In Sept of last year we had a "falling out" with the congregation of the church we helped to start 5 yrs ago. We are currently not going to a church and I am sort of enjoying it because it is giving me a break from acting if that makes any sense.

  Like I said this isn't the typical story you see on a JW site and I'm not really sure how much being a Witness for a short time influenced my decisions later on in life.

  Thanks for letting me share here.

  ConnieD29
• 
  40

  WELCOME CONNIED29, my former Bible study...(she's a little shy)

  by AWAKE&WATCHING in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well sometimes life is just really good.

  my former study got out of the cult before me and we have been getting to know each other again.

  she visited last week, barely missed the snow storm, and now she has joined our forum.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  changeling she has apologized several times, believe me!

  I don't blame her for anything though. She really thought she was doing the right thing at the time.
• 
  40

  WELCOME CONNIED29, my former Bible study...(she's a little shy)

  by AWAKE&WATCHING in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well sometimes life is just really good.

  my former study got out of the cult before me and we have been getting to know each other again.

  she visited last week, barely missed the snow storm, and now she has joined our forum.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  ConnieD29

  I'm suppose to post my story? Where? Here or under another topic heading?