Savories of Life

[JMarie]

I've been doing a little digging and I don't think she's that young. In her 'About Me', she describes herself as the 'oldest of 9 siblings'. In one blog entry, she mentions having two sisters, close to her in age, who are 19 and 23. We can safely assume that she was at least 24-years-old at the time of writing that. That entry is from April 2011. So she must be 25 or 26 now, at an absolute minimum.

This is the entry that mentions the sisters: savoriesoflife.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/what-to-do-after-graduation.html

ETA: My maths is really poor here.

Edited to jig things around.

I don't think she wrote this entry; the spelling and grammer are too good. Maybe another sister wrote it?

If they are not native to the U.S., why the fascination with the Civil War only, and not the American Revolution, the War of 1812, ect. ?

[Guest Anonymous]

You're right, it does look like one of her copy-and-paste jobs. I don't know why I didn't notice that the first time around.

[bionicmlle]

Again today a priceless one. Google is apparently not among her acquaintances.

ETA the poem she was trying to post:

I ask God for the strength that I might achieve.

I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things.

I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy.

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.

I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

--Prayer of an Unknown Confederate Soldier

[IamCanadian]

This is not a GIRL. This is a GROWN WOMAN. She turned 27 in March!!! Her younger sister's writing is far less painful than hers, which leads me to believe she either has learning disabilities, or her sister was able to self-teach far better than she was to overcome a piss-poor psuedo-education.

I really want to write her off as being an ESL student with a rough handle of the English language. Afterall, if she's 27 and her family moved to the US 19 years ago, she was eight when she came to America. However, English is one of the official languages of Canada. I don't see how she can claim to be an ESL student coming from Canada. Furthermore, she doesn't have the tell-tale errors of ESL individuals. She has the poor grammar and spelling of someone who didn't study well and has never learned to read and write well yet throws in random big words to try to look better educated than they are, as is evidenced by her frequent mis-use of vocabulary while mutiliating her grammar and spelling attempts.

I cannot give this woman ANY pass for her nonsense. She's old enough to hold a college degree, have established herself in a career and should darn well already be setting aside for her own retirement at 27. Instead, she's frittering away at home, teaching siblings subject matters she can hardly articulate for herself on, and writing literature that looks on par with what I was writing in FOURTH GRADE. My current sixth grader with severe dyslexia may display much of the same grammar and spelling problems she shows, but his creative writing skills and use of vocabulary far exceed hers, and he's far less than half her age. Seriously, she is NOT a girl. She is a WOMAN who has absolutely NO excuse for her poor behaviors there!

Well, not everyone in Canada speaks English :) There are loads of people in Quebec who are strictly francophone (can't function in English) particularly outside of the Montreal region. That being said, I doubt she falls into this category and would bet my next paycheque that she is an anglophone. I taught ESL to francophones for 8 years, and her mistakes are in no way Frenglish. Perhaps she has a learning disability of some kind. I teach grade 7 to students who have low literacy due to learning and/or behavioural and/or attention difficulties and her spelling reminds me of some of their mistakes.

[terranova]

I thought she was of Eastern Europe originally? Not sure when I got that idea from though.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Has she been sheltered and isolated her whole life? Taught at the SOTDRT by Mom, who maybe didn't have the best English either? Might explain why she never got a full grasp on the written part of it (we don't know what she sounds like, obvs). I moved to the states from Russia at almost 8, and my English was fluent within two years because I went to school, socialized, etc.

[chaotic life]

My newest son was an immigrant with ESL issues. He then spent four years completely isolated in a fundie family in the US. I was shocked to the core when he arrived at our house after four years in the US but without any verbal skills or vocabulary that I would expect someone with even the most marginal interaction with Americans to have achieved in those four years. He was very, very much as if he had just stepped onto US soil when he arrived at our home. However, as I said, ESL students have very clear and predictible patterns of language errors. They appear nonsensical to the untrained eye, but after ten years and three ESL sons (and a wonderful ESL consultant to help me navigate), I can now recognize and predict those patterns of errors and immediately peg them for ESL, regardless of what language the student is coming from.

Her sister does not display any of the grammar and language issues seen in her writing. I do suspect she has a learning disability, honestly. However, at 27, she does not get a pass for having one. If she is going to do the education of her younger siblings, then I hold her to a standard to have realized her learning disability and sought help to correct it BEFORE she taught other people. Furthermore, I have no respect for her own mother who cannot possibly NOT see she has a learning disability, yet is allowing her to guide the education of her young siblings. She should have sought help for this woman's struggles, and she most definitely should NOT be allowing this woman to teach those children. The fact that her sisters do not show the issues she shows indicates that mom IS capable of teaching better, but apparently cannot be bothered to get this daughter the help she needed, nor to care that someone teaching when not properly taught themselves will merely teach incorrect information to the next set of pupils, so just like the younger Duggars appear to have learning disabilities because of the inadequate teaching the older siblings gave them, these younger children will also appear to have learning disabilities because of the poor teaching this woman is providing.

The whole thing is just shameful. She has no business teaching anyone until she can fix her own issues. At her age, she has no business staying at home, sheltered by her parents and not recognizing and seeking help for her issues. Her other adult sisters can write like normal adults, so she certainly has the opportunity to SEE there is something different about her lack of abilities. She's not so sheltered that all she has ever been exposed to her is own piss poor abilities when her sisters can write coherently and grammatically correct and she cannot.

[Mama Mia]

My newest son was an immigrant with ESL issues. He then spent four years completely isolated in a fundie family in the US. I was shocked to the core when he arrived at our house after four years in the US but without any verbal skills or vocabulary that I would expect someone with even the most marginal interaction with Americans to have achieved in those four years. He was very, very much as if he had just stepped onto US soil when he arrived at our home. However, as I said, ESL students have very clear and predictible patterns of language errors. They appear nonsensical to the untrained eye, but after ten years and three ESL sons (and a wonderful ESL consultant to help me navigate), I can now recognize and predict those patterns of errors and immediately peg them for ESL, regardless of what language the student is coming from.

I think that can be pretty common. I've met many, many people who have lived in the U.S. for decades, sometimes from early childhood, who know only a handful of English words. If you live in an area where a language other than English is dominant, you don't really need it to get by. There is such huge variation in how readily people learn a second language I've known siblings where one didn't even have an accent when they spoke English, and another could barely communicate at all.

And the written language is generally far behind the verbal ability.

[lizziesmom]

Please vote for 'story' in this poll.

savoriesoflife.blogspot.co.uk/

I don't know what's wrong with me. I know it's wrong, but I can't stop. I need more of the story. I need to poke around in her belief system for just a little while longer. I need to know what she's going to write next. Please don't judge me. :oops:

I for one want to know what she has against Uncle Walt.

[chaotic life]

I've met many, many people who have lived in the U.S. for decades, sometimes from early childhood, who know only a handful of English words.

Common for traditional immigrants, but NOT common for a child fully immersed in an AMERICAN adoptive family where the only language anyone even knew was English for those four years. International adoptees typically have a significantly different path to literacy and fluency than traditional immigrants. Their total immersion into English provides rapid assimilation into the verbal language skills. However, the loss of their native language gives them no background interpretation of linguistics so their academic and written language can actually lag far behind traditional immigrants, who translate in their heads before they simply inherently comprehend the new language. After four years, he should have presented like his brothers. His verbal language skills should have sounded nearly native, with just a remnant of his first language and accent, but his academic language should have been deceptively deficient in comparision to his verbal skils. He lacked language skills in both areas, and having lost his native tongue, he also lacked language skills in his first and second languages as well.

[bionicmlle]

FYI there are some recent pics of the Botkin ladies and their fangirls on most recent post. I wonder how it must be for the Botkin girls to socialize with very young adults who are considered their contemporaries as AS and E are not yet married....

Here's the blog: savoriesoflife.blogspot.com

[browngrl]

I was trolling through this blog and I found a link to another blog that is written by what sounds like a young (?22) man who is just full of bon mots. Here's the blog: Love solves problems, and the link: withoutproblemslifewouldbeboring.blogspot.ca

Here's a comment I find sort of terrifying (from March 4) - is the only reason he's not raping and murdering because God said not to? "Really, the only reason to avoid sexual sin, stealing, murder, rape, etc, is because God said they were wrong. Would I be against them if I didn't have an ultimate standard? Ultimately, no. Especially if they helped me. "

Because the slope all fundies live on is soooo slippery (march 1): "Homosexuality is now PC, and next year what will it be? Rape and murder? Sacrificing old people and two year olds to Molek?"

Because I am the ebil feminist I have trouble with big words so I'll put this quote here (from Jan 27): "Number one, there are the general homosexual and feminist crowd. This is the far left five percent. Typically, their arguments involve screaming, anger, and other illogical ramblings. The majority have barely evolved past four letter words. There's the occasional smarty who really has no basis for speaking, but they try to sound smart. They occasionally misquote the Bible, and tell you about how they were a Christian at one time. This group has nothing to say, and are really just angry at you for rejecting their evil lifestyles. "

Also has comments about feminism (from May 2013) : "Feminists have this fallacious idea that when men get married, they are looking for a toy. A real life woman who acts like a porn doll" and from the same post: "She will tear you down so hard, and trust me, you will hate life." and "Feminism is destructive because it gives men and women license to their sinful natures. Our sinful natures should be smacked across the face, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again."

[formergothardite]

I don't have god, so far I have no desire to rape, murder or steal. You don't need god to be a decent human, in fact some versions of god(like this guys') seems to make people worse.

[JesusFightClub]

Um, no, what the hell?

I'm an adult, educated woman. I don't need a partner like this:

But I want someone I can spend time with. Someone who is my best friend. We can talk about our dreams and vision for our lives. I can, Lord willing, lead her and help her grow her gifts and talents God has given her. I can pray for her and wash her with the Word.

I'm a living human being. I'm not perfect or intelligent, I know. But I refuse to believe that a man has greater understanding of theology than me just because he has a penis. Or that someone whose standards of literacy and intelligence are not, so far, proven to be far beyond those of a 13 year old on a good day needs to "lead me and grow my gifts and talents" and "wash me with the Word".

I can read in three languages outside my own (French, German and Japanese). I have read the Bible through in multiple translations. I've worked in translation and proof-reading. I can read the Bible myself and don't need it to be explained by a man just because he's a man and has a cock.

She can follow my imperfect leading with imperfect humility, and we can be a team that takes on many battles together. But also, we can enjoy the good times, and watch our children grow up. We will disappoint each other. I will be tempted to be angry, unloving, or not lead. She will tempted to be unloving and unsubmissive as well.

If I have to submit to a boy-man who I know is not exactly clever just because he is A MAN and therefore worthy of my submission, what's the point in my existence? I'm supposed to be vacantly smiling and applauding whenever he manages to not fuck up too severely, I get that. So why did God make me able to understand foreign languages, read some political theory and have a bit of experience of hardship and know what to do if he really meant me to be daft, passively smiling because MY MAN DID IT and EVERYTHING MY MAN DID IS RIGHT?

:cray-cray:

[August]

What delightful juxtaposition. Has Valerie discovered that she, like Christ, is allergic to wheat? Or was is during the saving and serving that the wheat allergy came forth?

Yeah, for the blessing of the lord shall be upon thee, and your immune system shall abhor the seed of the wheat. This is the Word of the Lord.