Mary and Joseph and the (Operation) Christmas Child

[accountingstar]

5 hours ago, blessalessi said:

There is a comment which says they are staying with family/friends.

Mary does look really happy to be there.

I agree that Mary looks extremely happy. So much joy on her face. She is also wearing plaid which is in this season. She is the fashionista of the family. In the comments they also mention that Mary loves to do this sort of thing. It is a nice change to see one of the girls genuinely smiling. Steve - Maybe this is Mary's calling from the lord.

[Jana814]

I also think Mary looks happy in the picture. This might have been something she wanted to do for her graduation. Joseph & Elissa might have been the ones to volunteer to take her. 

[rosastrohhut]

Is it just me or does Elissa have sone kind of positive (in the sense of worldly people) impact on the girls' lives? Maybe this or her husband really looks out for his sister. I cannot recall any event like this before - at least it is some kind of work experience far from home for Mary. 

This in combination with the recent opera thing - more open minded than ever (for Maxwell standards...). 

Is Steve softening? Some kind of Christmas spirit at last? And I am sure he reads here by now (could not believe it before). 

I do see some kind of change - even the blogposts seem more "normal" (if you just skip the bible verses), selfies and a blog post by Anna Maria, recipes to follow along, pictures of young people in a car. I guess you could say more relaxed than before in general. I actually enjoy these kind of posts more than the clinically ones (despite the fact that Sarah needs to get some free kindle ebooks and read, read, read - you can only improve your style by reading quality literature).

[blessalessi]

It is strange because as Steve becomes more strict and isolating, many of the other family members are lightening up.  Who can speak as to the cause and effect?

Are the weaker vessel MaxSpouses opening up new horizons to the immediate family, despite their headships' strict upbringing? Is Steve becoming more strict with fasting in fear at the changes?

And/Or is Steve "graciously" allowing and encouraging limited choices for the youngest children, as a means to keep them engaged in the cult at a time that they are  all finally no longer legally under his sway. 

• Melanie was never a paid-up member of Maxhell, and Nathan left home before the worst of the isolation was introduced.
• NRAnna is probably the fundiest fundie they could hope to meet, but she has an appetite for parties and baking and crafting that is bound to seem excessive to 2 Animal Crackers Steve.
• Elissa is a fun-loving, leather-clad defrauding hussy who likely would never have received approval if a jilted favourite son had not needed to save face and find a helpmeet, stat.
• John... well, John clearly never quite had his rebellion properly dealt with as a child. And is now heading straight to hell in a Maxwell & Sons handcart!
• Mary has (apart from at the orthodontist) always been indulged.  But artwork and fashion are not really conventional signs of Stevely Godliness.

I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall at the individual weekly meetings with Steve. He must be in crisis management mode the whole time. 

[salex]

10 hours ago, Trynn said:

I don't get it...: this sounds like things you'd want to discuss with your child in person.... What is the point of these tapes I don't understand.

Reinforcing the message, Brainwashing, maybe sleep learning, Big Brother  Daddy is always there?  They were supposed to be personalized, but someone said he gave one of the younger kids a hand me down tape.....

[mango_fandango]

8 minutes ago, salex said:

Reinforcing the message, Brainwashing, maybe sleep learning, Big Brother  Daddy is always there?  They were supposed to be personalized, but someone said he gave one of the younger kids a hand me down tape.....

Yeah, Anna had a tape that had one of the non-reversal boys' names on it, don't know who.

 

ETA: Bollocks to the above, Anna had John's tape.

[blessalessi]

16 hours ago, usmcmom said:

 

In a different line of thought, I've often wondered if Teri is the one who doesn't want the daughters to marry. I think she's overwhelmed at the prospect of managing a home without them. Also, I think the work and stress involved in planning a daughter's wedding would definitely overwhelm her.  Perhaps she feels incapable of dealing with all that and Steve doesn't want to deal with anything that would further depress Teri. Then again, Steve's never seemed concerned about what is best for Teri so what do I know?  

This is a really interesting idea. Thinking about it, yes, Teri would be lost keeping that huge house, in the unlikely event that the daughters should move out.  The schedule really mostly worked as a delegation  exercise.

I imagine some of the grandchildren might be sent to clean for her, but I can't see the second generation meeting her standards.  She couldn't punish them in the same way without being found out.

Since she never addressed the underlying reasons for her depression, she would probably very likely relapse. And what would Steve do then?  The making babies ship has long since sailed.

[Foudeb]

I think Elissa may know some fundie young man in the area (cousin? Former neighbour?) and that they're match-making. Otherwise why not volunteer closer to home? I think this is disguised as a trip to introduce Callia to her extended family. 

 

If that's the case she's doing a huge favour to Mary - one that Nathan or Christopher really ought to have done to Sarah 10 years ago really. If you count being pushed into a strangers arms a favour - it speaks for the horrors of maxhell that it could well be. 

[Handmaiden of Dog]

It's funny how Christians can put up some obstacles to the Lord and expect results and in other cases they won't take the chance of thwarting the Lord's will.  Take birth control.  If God really wanted a woman to get pregnant, I'm sure the Almighty could make sure she got pregnant even if she was using birth control but as we know, fundies don't allow BC because they must remain receptive to God's plans.  However in the case of Steve and his daughters, he puts up barriers preventing them from meeting young men and just expects that God will manage it anyway.  They don't worship in a church full of young adults, the girls don't volunteer or work outside the home, and they don't socialize with other families that have unmarried young men.  Even their vacations are family-only exercises in isolation. Steve met Teri in college but  that isn't a possibility for their daughters.  Steve really is willfully blind to his own responsibility for creating these three spinsters.  I hope that at the very least his girls recognize the role he has played in keeping them from having their own homes and families.

[LurkerOverThePond]

27 minutes ago, Handmaiden of Dog said:

If God really wanted a woman to get pregnant, I'm sure the Almighty could make sure she got pregnant even if she was using birth control...

Meet Michelle Duggar, a breeder by God's will.

[iweartanktops]

On 12/11/2015 at 6:12 PM, Trynn said:

I don't get it...: this sounds like things you'd want to discuss with your child in person.... What is the point of these tapes I don't understand.

It's creepy, right? I mean, you live in the same home and you're creating these brainwashing tapes rather than just talking with your child? Or, have you considered modeling the behavior you'd like to teach your children? 

It really bothers me that he claims he and Teri actually discussed certain qualities they felt each child needs to improve upon, in order to create the tapes. Like, "Sarah has been a little bossy lately, let's talk about being meek in her tapes! *" I find this disturbing. Hearing about the daddy tapes is actually what pulled me towards Maxhell. 

*Just my example of how I picture it going down

[FloraDoraDolly]

On 12/10/2015 at 8:07 PM, fundiefan said:

 

If only they were donating their time and energy to a legitimate charity that actually did some good. But, I suppose, since "Christian" is tagged on, it's all good to them. Gotta' have a healthy dose of hell & the bible with all charitable contributions. 

 

I don't approve of everything Samaritan's Purse does, but they sent a busload of volunteers to my community after a devastating flood. I personally know people who received help from them. And yes, they helped people who aren't fundies. One of them is a disabled woman whose basement was flooded with filthy water. A friend and I went down there and did what we could, but she needed help from people who were younger and stronger and literally able to do more heavy lifting. The volunteers from Samaritan's Purse were there for her and for other people with similar needs.

[Dru]

Ok, F everything else, are we to believe this is a "normal" fundie situation or a flowers in the attic situation??? Seriously????

 

Look at the pristine blonde pic!!!

[Toothfairy]

11 hours ago, Handmaiden of Dog said:

It's funny how Christians can put up some obstacles to the Lord and expect results and in other cases they won't take the chance of thwarting the Lord's will.  Take birth control.  If God really wanted a woman to get pregnant, I'm sure the Almighty could make sure she got pregnant even if she was using birth control but as we know, fundies don't allow BC because they must remain receptive to God's plans.  However in the case of Steve and his daughters, he puts up barriers preventing them from meeting young men and just expects that God will manage it anyway.  They don't worship in a church full of young adults, the girls don't volunteer or work outside the home, and they don't socialize with other families that have unmarried young men.  Even their vacations are family-only exercises in isolation. Steve met Teri in college but  that isn't a possibility for their daughters.  Steve really is willfully blind to his own responsibility for creating these three spinsters.  I hope that at the very least his girls recognize the role he has played in keeping them from having their own homes and families.

Steve probably mentions how college made him evil. Like the way he  is now

[Grimalkin]

On December 10, 2015 at 2:44 AM, mango_fandango said:

There's a reason my phone likes to change "fundies" to "fun dies". Well, actually, "fundies" is now in my phone's dictionary. What that says about me I don't know...

I have been having a heck of a time training my new phone to spell findies properly.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

24 minutes ago, Grimalkin said:

I have been having a heck of a time training my new phone to spell findies properly.

Case in point. ;-)

[Sobeknofret]

On 12/11/2015 at 5:47 PM, nastyhobbitses said:

Unless Mary sneaks out to enjoy a little Rocky Mountain High, if you know what I mean.

Also, hell yes to raucous rock music playlists for road trips, pools, not-bland food, and doing whatever the hell you want! I personally got a whole lot more stoked about my Christmas trip home after I found out that after opening presents, Christmas Day is going to be me, my mom, my sister, my grandma, and my aunts watching campy bad movies, doing at-home facials, and eating tons of leftovers. The boys might join, or go off to do something else (I'd join them just to defy gender roles, but I can't resist facials and bad movies).

Oh very nice! That sounds like an awesome Christmas day to me!

[smittykins]

20 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

Meet Michelle Duggar, a breeder by God's will.

Also see: three seasons of TLC's I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant(there were even cases of vasectomies/tubal ligations spontaneously reversing).

[halcionne]

On 12/10/2015 at 11:26 AM, Dru said:

They have middle names though I don't know what they are. If you search them on whitepages.com they have middle initials. John's middle initial is S so I would guess Steven. Steve's middle initial is K, which I'm just going to go ahead and assume is for krazy-pants.

Edit- Opps, Steve's middle initial is R, not K. Really-krazy-pants?

Genealogy stuff with everybody's middle names is here: http://juch.net/download/Gadbury.GED and I just added it to the wayback machine. 

[Sobeknofret]

14 minutes ago, smittykins said:

Also see: three seasons of TLC's I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant(there were even cases of vasectomies/tubal ligations spontaneously reversing).

My OBGYN had hers spontaneously reverse and now she has a 3 year-old. Strange, but truly happens apparently.

[anjulibai]

13 minutes ago, halcionne said:

Genealogy stuff with everybody's middle names is here: http://juch.net/download/Gadbury.GED and I just added it to the wayback machine. 

Ooh, I figured out where Christopher's middle name came from - Teri's father's middle name was Lloyd. 

Odd that Mary isn't in that list. Where did you find it? 

[halcionne]

20 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

Ooh, I figured out where Christopher's middle name came from - Teri's father's middle name was Lloyd. 

Odd that Mary isn't in that list. Where did you find it? 

In the "was Steve adopted" thread referenced on the previous page, here: http://www.freejinger.org/topic/19846-was-steve-maxwell-adopted/?do=findComment&comment=735693 Credit to @NotALoserLikeYou which I forgot to provide in my post. Her sleuthing is top notch. I'm better at remembering and tracking down things that others have already discussed on FJ than I am at doing original research.

[elliha]

3 hours ago, Sobeknofret said:

My OBGYN had hers spontaneously reverse and now she has a 3 year-old. Strange, but truly happens apparently.

Yes, it does happen on rare occasions. I once watched a Dr Phil episode where the family had 1 child and then the husband got a vasectomy as they felt they were fine with one child. It failed and they had another baby and he had his second vasectomy and then the woman was pregnant again. This time he thought she had cheated but DNA and an exam proved that it had grown back this time too. He was going in for his third vasectomy when he was on the show. I don't know, it was my husband and it had failed twice and I was happy with one and now had three I would have had my tubes tied too by this point. 

 

[anjulibai]

4 hours ago, halcionne said:

In the "was Steve adopted" thread referenced on the previous page, here: http://www.freejinger.org/topic/19846-was-steve-maxwell-adopted/?do=findComment&comment=735693 Credit to @NotALoserLikeYou which I forgot to provide in my post. Her sleuthing is top notch. I'm better at remembering and tracking down things that others have already discussed on FJ than I am at doing original research.

Cool beans, thanks!

[FloraKitty35]

On 12/10/2015 at 5:23 PM, Eternalbluepearl said:

Christopher Lloyd? 

Maybe Steve & Teri were Taxi fans and he's named after the actor who played their favorite character, The Reverend Jim Ignatowski?