Piping audio Bible into every room in the house -- why hasn't Steve thought of this?

[WonderingInWA]

So I fell down a rabbit hole yesterday and discovered a family on You Tube who have 8 kids (all still at home), dress in matching colors, homeschool, and...wait for it...pipe audio Bible into every room of their home 24/7.  They say it takes about 3 days to run through the entire Bible and then it just starts back up again in a continuous loop.  Dad runs a computer shop out of the basement of the home and has it running there, too.  I don't think the kids ever escape it.

My question is...how wasn't this a Steve Maxwell idea???  

If you're curious, do a search on You Tube for Andrea Mills.  You can hear the audio Bible in the background, at least the ones I managed to get through.  Oy.

[Gossamer1]

That sounds like pure torture! 

Wait, even the Song of Solomon?  How old are the kids? Mom and Dad might have some 'splainin to do!

[WonderingInWA]

3 minutes ago, Gossamer1 said:

That sounds like pure torture! 

Wait, even the Song of Solomon?  How old are the kids? Mom and Dad might have some 'splainin to do!

I believe the oldest child, a boy, is 15.  In the (lengthy) video where the dad explains how he hooked all the speakers up to an iPod, he addresses some of the sensitive scripture.  From what I understood, they skirt around it for the most part for now.

If you have the patience to watch it, it's here:  

 

 

[doggie]

well thats a great way to tune out the bible and never really understand it. The bible as muzak who would have thunk it?  

fundies are crazy for sure. 

[Granwych]

Now, there's a fresh money-making opportunity for the Maxwells.  For the sake of truth in advertising, they'd need to label it as "Cure Your Insomnia..."

[brotherhusbandsgalore]

Ahaha! Google's algorithm is on point. I JUST watched a few of these vids after seeing them on my youtube landing page. The boys' room is probably the saddest  part- 5 kids in what looks to be an 8x12 room when there's an entire room of a similar size dedicated to their pantry I will give them credit, the bunks at least have curtains for a tiny bit of privacy.

I'm convinced the husband's "computer store" at the back of the house is a veritable porn palace when the door is locked, and the bible sounds cover up any audio leaking from headphones.

[WonderingInWA]

The boys' bunks reminded me of the bunks the Maxwells had on their bus.  I think the house is 1600 sq. ft., and of course a chunk of that is the business.  Just watching her get her kids dressed makes me cringe.  So many wiggly bodies in such a small space.

[Dark Matters]

Well, after viewing a few of the house/room tour videos, my initial impression is to give her credit for allowing the boys to decorate their own spaces within the bedroom and giving them privacy curtains for their bed cubicles.  She is also very organized as far as the kids' things and the pantry.  Husband's workspace looks professional.  Nice yard, garden with food growing in it (take that, Nauglers!), take out loans to do improvements on the house and pay them off diligently as well as the husband doing a lot of the renovations himself.

On the other hand: audio bible running 24/7 in the background; cramming five kids into one small room, even though they each have their own bed, the cubicles seem kind of small and I don't see how they will be comfortable in that room as they grow into teenagers.  Girls' room has even less space than the boys and no door to close off the room from the kitchen, only a curtain. 

Although the house is clean and well organized, I would find living there very depressing. 

[TeddyBonkers]

On 8/6/2016 at 1:46 PM, Granwych said:

Now, there's a fresh money-making opportunity for the Maxwells.  For the sake of truth in advertising, they'd need to label it as "Cure Your Insomnia..."

I'll have to answer to the Almighty for this, but if I find myself unable to sleep, I put on sermons from a church that I used to attend. ( On a scale of 1 to Jill Rodrigues, I give it 6.5 fundies.) Out in less than 20 minutes. 

[brotherhusbandsgalore]

Bingo! While she has a good sense for organization, whenever you look closely at the videos everything looks dirty and crowded. All of the storage "solutions" kind of loom over every inch of the house. There's no visual space or breathing room. Everything has an air of neglect. In one video you see a 3 year old walking around on the furniture in his shoes with a pacifier in his mouth and she doesn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

I watched the video of the girls' room. At first glance it had really lovely wallpaper, but as the video stretched on, you could see that every seam and edge was really haphazard. An unused closet has no casing around the door, the carpets are heavily stained, the paint is wearing away on every piece of furniture and every wall.

Don't get me wrong- I get most of my furniture secondhand. I'm the third owner (i know of) of my living room rug, my dining room table has been passed around from family member to family member for years, I'm 38 and got my first ever new mattress just 4 years ago. I "get" economy and thriftiness. I *like* the distressed look- old furniture has character! But i feel like you can always tell the difference between a home that's maintained and one that's never really taken care of.  Hell, even her store bought furniture looks threadbare. For all the talk of economy and money saving, she didn't think to throw a sturdy slipcover over her brand new sofa?

It could be something that just bothers me personally because of how  I grew up. My mom was a crafter with hoarder tendencies. She did lots of cute projects, but after they were done they sat and collected dust forever. No piece of furniture was ever polished. Excess craft supplies sat unused. It wasn't until I went to live with my grandmother that  learned how to scrub a carpet, clean out a light fixture, wash windows, etc.

[PennySycamore]

@TeddyBonkers, I used to find saying the Rosary was a great way to induce sleep.  

[FundieFarmer]

I believe playing sermons by the Prophet over speakers during all waking hours was a method used in the FLDS to keep followers subdued and submissive. I think it was mentioned in one of the later escapees' books as something that occurred as Warren Jeffs' hold grew stronger and his psychosis became greater. I find this to be very creepy with similar overtones.

[FloraKitty35]

7 hours ago, FundieFarmer said:

I believe playing sermons by the Prophet over speakers during all waking hours was a method used in the FLDS to keep followers subdued and submissive. I think it was mentioned in one of the later escapees' books as something that occurred as Warren Jeffs' hold grew stronger and his psychosis became greater. I find this to be very creepy with similar overtones.

They did the same thing at Jonestown, as well.  

[nastyhobbitses]

On 8/7/2016 at 6:54 AM, brotherhusbandsgalore said:

Ahaha! Google's algorithm is on point. I JUST watched a few of these vids after seeing them on my youtube landing page. The boys' room is probably the saddest  part- 5 kids in what looks to be an 8x12 room when there's an entire room of a similar size dedicated to their pantry I will give them credit, the bunks at least have curtains for a tiny bit of privacy.

I'm convinced the husband's "computer store" at the back of the house is a veritable porn palace when the door is locked, and the bible sounds cover up any audio leaking from headphones.

I'm just imagining the headphones coming unplugged. "And the LORD spake OH YEAH DO ME HARD"

[Dark Matters]

Maybe this family should get it's own thread in Snark?

[kpmom]

15 hours ago, TeddyBonkers said:

I'll have to answer to the Almighty for this, but if I find myself unable to sleep, I put on sermons from a church that I used to attend. ( On a scale of 1 to Jill Rodrigues, I give it 6.5 fundies.) Out in less than 20 minutes. 

Oh my goodness this made me laugh.

Maybe FJ should start rating things on a Jill Rodrigues scale, similar to the Crying Jordans scale.

[AmazonGrace]

I hope it's not loud. Chronic noise stress can damage the hearing and induce changes in the brain and cortisol levels etc. 

If some researcher suggested an experiment that involved cramming a lot of kids in a small room that is never quiet everyone would say it's unethical.

[16strong]

This lady is another Lisa Pennington (or Erika Shupe, based on her argument for wearing the same clothes every day). It's all about her and the perfect household she's made, but she can't take an ounce of criticism, constructive or otherwise. Every time someone on her videos points out the flaws in her lifestyle, she, sweet as pie, provides an answer to the question by not answering the question at all, or, by turning the tables and highlighting what she views as a positive aspect of the subject being criticized while ignoring the criticism totally. I have noticed she manipulates her critics by complimenting them and acting so nice, they feel bad if they continue to criticize her. Here's an example from her boys' room video:

Spoiler

I'm glad that you are able to make the sacrifices you believe are necessary for your family. You sound like a really great, hard-working mom. Tom and I had to make some decisions as a young family that involved making the sacrifices that were necessary to give the kind of life we wanted for our children. What it comes down to is that we both believe in the same principal- parents make sacrifices to give their children a good life. We simply have a different definition of what a good life is and a different method for achieving it. One of the great things about life is that we all have the freedom- even the responsibility- to do what we think is best for our families regardless of whether other people agree with our values and decisions. I wish you and your family the best!

 

All of this to say... she's a piece of work.

[nastyhobbitses]

17 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

I hope it's not loud. Chronic noise stress can damage the hearing and induce changes in the brain and cortisol levels etc. 

If some researcher suggested an experiment that involved cramming a lot of kids in a small room that is never quiet everyone would say it's unethical.

Even if it was at a low volume, I'd still think that this was some Guantanamo Bay shit. In fact, I think that playing audio on an endless loop is one of the things they do there to break prisoners. So not that far off from fundie childrearing, I guess.

[Coconutwater]

From what I could tell, they are fundie, but seem to be into secular interests like the birthday video themes (walking dead, etc...) and it seems they go to homeschool conferences, but I don't know if they are ATI based or not. Those rooms are so small and cramped, even with the curtains it's still not "like having your own room" as she suggests. The constant bible audio would drive me insane, what if the kids are sick or someone gets a headache and wants quiet? I doubt they are allowed headphones...

[CyborgKin]

I once put myself to sleep by listening to Geoff Botkin's Quadrivocational Mission, does that count?

[HermioneSparrow]

Holy shiz, don't give Steve more torture ideas.

[BunnyBee]

 Sure Andrea, sure. 

[AmazonGrace]

If someone looks past the attire, they would have no need to dress their family matchy-matchy. It just wouldn't matter. 

[FundieFarmer]

This...is...such a truly odd situation. She has another video on how she did her own prenatal care on an unassisted birth so she could know if she needed more professional help. 

Okay I admit I've never had my own child but, um, I do work with the best NICU in my state, and I'd say that's more than a little bit risky, and definitely not advised. 

(Note, I work WITH, not IN, the best NICU. I'm not a medical professional. I just know our organization does not recommend...that, especially for somebody with the RhoGam issue that's been discussed at length in the Naug thread.)