i stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago due to the jw.org ridiculousness, since then i haven't been able to pull myself away.
the thoughts, feelings, and concerns i have had the past few years aren't just mine.
it's global.
Welcome here AFS. It can be quite daunting realising its all nonsense. Don't worry though, and put your children first. You can instill good morals into them without anyone else's help. I walked out if an assembly as soon as they spoke of living in a spiritual paradise, it made me feel physically sick knowing first hand how most are treated if you don't fit into the clique.
Take your time, enjoy the journey.
... but most of my new (post jw) friends either don't know my birth date (if people don't specifically ask i won't tell them), or they are 2500 kilometers away in the netherlands... so all that's left to celebrate with me are my hubby, the two doggies, cat and my two rabbits... mixed feelings, i miss my friends and family around and haven't found friends in spain yet.
luckily our daughter will visit us the end of the month... and yesterday we've found a new rental house and we're moving into it next month already!
i'm thrilled and really looking forward to it, then we will finally be able to let all the rest of our belongings come to spain (2/3 of our stuff is stored in the netherlands).. so with this in mind, i'll just say 'happy birthday to me' and will enjoy my third birthday in espana .
"Happy Birthday to you"
i was baptized at the age of 11. like most of us, my commitment wasnt to honor god but rather i was gang pressed into the service of the wtbts.
and, at such a young age, it was impossible for me to appreciate the enormity of my actions.
honestly, how could i possibly have known any better?
15 at Crystal Palace. I thought it would make me happy, turns out it didn't
i stayed home sick from work the other day and noticed a car group pull up to my neighbor's house.
she's a stay-at-home mom.
i decided it was time to retrieve something from my truck to see if i could recognize the visiting sisters.
I'd talk to your neighbour but in the third person, like "I know a few of those JWs, they have some strange ideas. Did you know they shun family members if they leave? Weird huh!" Then I would leave it at that, any more and you may seem to be the weird one.
tattoos may look great for a while on a young person, but as you get older they'll just look plain stupid.
your credibility will fade as you and your tattoo age together.
your skin will be permanently stuck in a timewarp, like some old newspaper headline that once meant something but later becomes meaningless.
I agree that some will be faded looking and will distort over time, that that doesn't mean all tattoos will. Single colour and well placed ones will last and are a reminder to the wearer of such art of something very important to them.
hi everyone.. i just realized that it has been over a year since i discovered this site and started to recognize i was shackled by invisible chains.
i am still in the process of chipping away on those chains.. i posted on another thread how these threads here are like little time capsules.
the moment, the emotions, the attitudes are all there frozen.. .
It does get easier with time.
On the point of keeping a diary, I wrote a long 'essay' when I first stopped going as there was so much going on in my head and wanted it down on paper, I do that to de-clutter my thoughts. I then thought it would be good to write another one a year later, and I did another one for year 3, however I won't do it again as I have nothing more to say, I am a free person (all relative I know) but my last 'essay' amounted to very few words.
i went to the rc last weekend (for my hubby).
it was at a new venue.
a large arena usually putting on music concerts.
Ah, glad you enjoyed the spiritual paradise, I bet you cant wait for the real one where you'll be told you can't live where you want in the house you would like.
How pleasant to see such harmony!
Actually it is pathetic, you are right to be offended and annoyed. If there is a next time tell them you'd like to meet them and will move if they request it directly.
my elder friend told me that his kh is in need of upgrading their electronic system so that they can be ready for the big zone meeting in november and they need the flat screen televisions mounted to also enjoy all future special meetings put on by the branch.
the branch has given them the exact specifications and he mentioned the branch wants to use apple products.
they passed a resolution for a one time donation by the publishers to pay for the $6,000.00 system.
I wonder if getting used to all the technology in order to fritter away time on JWorg is because they have smaller magazines and less literature and so the GB have realised they need to find more ways to waste a JWs time.
it seems to me like certain people actually benefit from joining the religion.
primarily i'm thinking of ones with drug problems who are only able to quit because they are working towards baptism.
another example would be those who are always getting in fights or who have a big ego, and who learn to be pacifistic and humble as a witness.
It sounds like you do not have any experience with any other groups, in particular ones that are able to help with drug or alcohol abuse. I would not recommend anyone join JWs to help with a structured life, it only creates a different set of problems for them contend with.
I have a feidn who was a JW for 2 years, he came off drugs to become one but was only able to live the JW for a short time as it was too much to take. He realises it was a useful tool at the time but thankfully got out in order to live his life. He could have got the same results going to any structured group.
on tuesday i was dragged out on service with my mom since shes a permanent pioneer, and once we arrived at the hall i realized there were no brothers, but an abundance of sisters.
i conducted the service meeting with ease, since my dad gave me a formation on how to do it.. then on thursday at my meeting nearly half of the congregation surrounded me and gave me hugs and kisses.
i know about love bombing, its happened to me before, but this was the most insane amount of it ever since i had a demonstration at the district convention.
All of the above. When I first stopped going I had loads of invitations to dinner, then after a few weeks nothing. If I met them in the street they didn't know where to look, they looked at the ground or across the street. If they did engage in conversation it was brief. When I DA'd they now look right through me as if I am invisible without any expression, it would be quite funny actually if it wasn't so inhumane.
