Happy 18th bday, Jesse Maxwell.

[sparkles]

Steve's standards are so far removed from even the fundie norm it boggles my mind that he has ANY followers. One of the very first Corners I read soon after discovering the family was the one dealing with Halloween. They went from full participation to limited participation to not allowing THEIR children to participate but permitting others to come to their door to stopping even that and opting to go out for dinner on Halloween night to calling ahead to the restaurant to demand their server not be dressed as anything "evil" to deciding that even looking at other evilly dressed servers and customers could turn them to stone to turning out their lights and sitting in their darkened house praying for all the lost souls. It makes the Taliban look like the Rainbow People.

As I read Keeping Our Children's Hearts I couldn't help but wonder exactly what Steve and Teri meant when they spoke about how their kids "acted out" as a result of coming into contact with what they considered questionable influences. Did they steal, kick puppies, set fire to things? I can't imagine it amounted to anything more than a minor bad word or boundary pushing that you'd expect from a kid. Except instead of using these instances as opportunities to explain why to the kid why that behavior wasn't acceptable -- like any normal parent would -- Steve's approach is to ban, browbeat and sequester. He may have an obedient "perfect" family but IMO he's a complete failure as a parent himself and as a role model for other parents. And I blame HIM, not Terri. He got her at her most vulnerable and as far as I'm concerned, he broke her down. As I like to put it, when it came to getting what he wanted, he prayed and preyed.

[moreorlessnu]

It looks like they took a paper plate and inverted the left side, popped it up, so that the brownie sat higher than the ice cream and the melting ice cream could pool in the lip of the right side of the paper plate. No soggy brownies for the Maxwells!

eta: Or cake, or whatever it is.

Yes, that makes sense. Thank you! :P

[ohmeohmy]

Yes, that makes sense. Thank you! :P

You're welcome! That's what it looks like to me. You could always leave a comment and ask, but it might be a super-secret technique, with an explanation reserved for a future Moody book. :D

[Witsec7]

You're welcome! That's what it looks like to me. You could always leave a comment and ask, but it might be a super-secret technique, with an explanation reserved for a future Moody book. :D

I'm sure the plate configuration was something that Steve became convicted of after much prayer and gnashing of teeth.

[twin2]

WTF type of happy-birthday wish is this???????????????????????????

What a joy you are to us, Jesse. We thank the Lord for giving you life and breath. May you always live to praise Jesus and declare Him to a lost and dying world. Have a very happy birthday!

When my parents call to wish me a happy birthday they say something like, "Hi sweetie, happy birthday!! How was your day? Did you do something fun? Make sure you do something fun this week. Love you!"

[Guest Anonymous]

WTF type of happy-birthday wish is this???????????????????????????

When my parents call to wish me a happy birthday they say something like, "Hi sweetie, happy birthday!! How was your day? Did you do something fun? Make sure you do something fun this week. Love you!"

And the poor lad isn't even free to actually declare Jesus to anyone who doesn't already proclaim to know him!

He wants to be a missionary, but Steve is keeping him in the family book haulage business and "waiting to hear from the Lord" before letting him leave the compound. :roll:

[thoughtful]

WTF type of happy-birthday wish is this???????????????????????????

[marmalade]

WTF type of happy-birthday wish is this???????????????????????????

When my parents call to wish me a happy birthday they say something like, "Hi sweetie, happy birthday!! How was your day? Did you do something fun? Make sure you do something fun this week. Love you!"

"Lost and dying world" = directly frrom Steve. 1. Death 2. Reference to the ebil, "lost" sinners they encountered in Memphis, although it appears Jesse was the only Maxwell who didn't have some kind of contact with the Trio.

[Witsec7]

Must they have death in every fucking birthday wish? :angry-banghead: :angry-cussingblack:

[Jinderella]

So how exactly do they handle the evil / bad stories in the bible itself? Do they black out portions of the Bible?

I wonder about that too. The Bible is full of horrible stories. How will their children be handling them when they can not handle a story about a naughty child? You can't have your children putting a little salt in your thea, but murdering all firstborns of a population is a nice thing to do!

[contrary]

wow. that mom's corner about birthdays actually made me really sad, which is saying something, since i've been following maxHell for some time now.

My five yr old went to a birthday party last weekend. She helped me select a present, while struggling with the concept of being in the toy aisle without getting something for herself. I talked to her about giving, birthdays, reciprocity, money...all sorts of things that presented themselves during this outing!

At the party itself, she (as most kids her age) struggled a bit with envy while her friend opened gifts. She did a great job, though, and I made sure to tell her how proud i was.

I just...of course these are the Maxwells, and I KNOW how they operate, but i just cannot fathom the complete and total squelching of proper child development, real teaching moments, and personal responsibility!

[LucySnowe]

Gaah, Maxwell birthdays.

Compare to the Munck's party for their three-year-old, just up on their blog - pink piggy sugar cookies!!!