Raising Servants for Christ Blog

[0 kids n not countin]

Don't know if this blog has been discussed here. She's apparently a big Duggar, Bates, and Maxwell fan, and mentioned the Duggars as part of the reason she decided to home-school. What a scarey thought, if I wanted to home-school, I would use the Duggars as an example of why I wouldn't do it, and the Maxwells inspiring? I just don't see how... :doh: I found her "analysis" of the Duggars verses the Bates amusing, but interesting that even she, as a fundie, liked the first episodes when they weren't so worldly and that she feels being on tv really has changed them.

raisingservantsofchrist.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/the-inspring-steve-and-teri-maxwell-and-why-we-love-their-books/

raisingservantsofchrist.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/home-school-christian-school-or-public-school-that-is-not-the-question/

raisingservantsofchrist.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/19-kids-and-counting-vs-united-bates-of-america/

[Destiny]

OMG. I couldn't finish the Maxwell post. Those poor, poor kids. Can you imagine going from being normal (or so the pics indicate) to living like a Maxwell?

[PennySycamore]

There are many things I could call Steve and Teri and inspiring ain't one of them.

[SisiL78]

Manager's of their homes? She doesn't know how to use an apostrophe. She also lacks the ability to properly use the word "however", and commas. Yet, she's educating teenagers at home? Teenagers who were not liking the new routine. I wonder if they realized Mommy's new education regime would leave them unable to earn a living.

[sparkles]

While most of it is cringeworthy, she did have some rational things to say about modesty after trying the whole long-skirts thing. The Maxwells would most definitely NOT approve.

raisingservantsofchrist.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/our-year-in-skirts-we-are-modest-without-them/

[0 kids n not countin]

Sparkles,

Thanks for mentioning her modesty link. I agree, but think perhaps she shouldn't have posted this photo of her daughter. Not very modest imo...

[SisiL78]

While most of it is cringeworthy, she did have some rational things to say about modesty after trying the whole long-skirts thing. The Maxwells would most definitely NOT approve.

raisingservantsofchrist.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/our-year-in-skirts-we-are-modest-without-them/

That post does strike me as being awfully paranoid and self centered though. EVERYONE was gawking at them? They were unapproachable? I wear long skirts a lot and not once have I been told that it made me unapproachable. A few times I've been mistaken for an Orthodox Jew (my hair, apparently also has the look of a wig aka sheytl) while wearing my skirts. But, it seems awfully self centered to think that people are just staring at you because you're wearing a jean skirt. I mean, come on!!!

[sparkles]

A lot of posts I've read about uber-modest, long-skirt wearing fundies mention being stared. I think it's mainly to show how strong and brave they are, not to cave into to godless pressure to be "un-modest." Yeah. I do appreciate though, that for whatever reason, whats-er-face and her daughter realized with wasn't for them.

For the record, on the rare occasions that I wear skirts or dresses they're always either ankle or mid-calf length because that's what I'm most comfortable in. I wore that length when it was fashionable and I wore it when it wasn't. And the only time I can recalled being stared or hooted at was way back in 1970, when micro minis (and hot pants -- yuck) were still the rage and I was the first girl in school to go maxi. Other than that, no one ever gave a shit.

[constantgardener]

She is apparently teaching art classes, and has this to say about her teaching skills in other areas:

If I had chosen math, then not only would I have been a basket case, but the parents would probably have me arrested for ruining their children’s minds with my horrible math skills.

So...how exactly is she managing to educate her own kids? My guess is that they are probably teaching themselves.

She seems to me like someone who has seen a lifestyle that superficially appeals to her and has thrown not only herself but her family headlong into it. She wants to be 'different' and to have people look at her and think 'Michelle Duggar' - hence starting to collect foster kids. I'm thinking the shine will wear off at some point.

Edited for riffle.

[congusto]

She is apparently teaching art classes, and has this to say about her teaching skills in other areas:

So...how exactly is she managing to educate her own kids? My guess is that they are probably teaching themselves.

She seems to me like someone who has seen a lifestyle that superficially appeals to her and has thrown not only herself but her family headlong into it. She wants to be 'different' and to have people look at her and think 'Michelle Duggar' - hence starting to collect foster kids. I'm thinking the shine will wear off at some point.

Edited for riffle.

She neglects to mention her atrocious spelling, too. I guess all children really need in order to go out and "serve Him" are Bible Studies and Art, with a smidgen of bartered Mathematics. :roll:

[sassycupcake]

Whenever I hear of newbie fundies suddenly deciding to homeschool their teenagers, this is what I think (hope!) goes down:

K3IkMFeE0nE

[slickcat79]

:doh: I can't believe this woman was sooo overwhelmed with 2 teenagers that she went out and spent hundreds of $$ on Maxwell products, all aimed at families with 4+ much younger children. No wonder her kids were frustrated with all the changes. She also seems to have chosen homeschooling because it will fix a bunch of imagined problems for her.

-She wants to live on a single income, so they'll just move to a larger house in a crappy school district because they don't need those pesky schools anyway!

-She doesn't want her daughter to take medication for ADHD, but now that they homeschool it doesn't matter if she pays attention or not. Being off the meds will create difficulty with friends and the kid will suck at math, but all she really needs is a good calculator!

-She admits to being bad at academics, her kids don't like homeschooling and were doing fine in public schools anyway, but she doesn't care because homeschooling is more GODLY!

[Guest Anonymous]

"I love the Duggars. God whispered in my ear to home school, but it was through the Duggar’s example that we live our lives the way we do now."

She's really trying to be a Duggar. She's probably sent in applications for her kids to date Duggars.

She's ruined her kids' lives. Hopefully they got enough out of public schooling to know they can leave when they're 18.

[valsa]

Whenever I hear of newbie fundies suddenly deciding to homeschool their teenagers, this is what I think (hope!) goes down:

K3IkMFeE0nE

I cackled so loud I disturbed my cat. Awesome.

[themadapple]

I sort of want to go through her posts with a red pen and cross out the unnecessary apostrophes.

In any event, it's all frightening and sad. It seems as if she wants to "keep up with the Joneses" by emulating all of her favorite fundies, competence be damned!

[ricky_ticky]

I noticed that despite all the genuflecting to the Maxwells there was no mention of getting rid of the ~beast~

[Kitty]

Those kids must be pissed beyond belief. Even a shitty public school would be better than Duggar-style homeschooling. They might have dreams of going to college, or the military, or finding a good job after high school that they could support a family on. Those dreams have been dashed, unless the kids know they can leave and get remedial/basic courses at a community college.

They will probably never forgive their parents for this. BTW, where is their dad? Is he so checked out of his kids lives that when his wife pitched the idea he actually went along with it without question? My dad would never have allowed that. He was the one terrorizing asshole principals trying to figure out what was going on with me and my sisters at school when we said one thing and the school would try to BS their way out of trouble.

Are they at least using virtual public schools, or what? At least decent Christian curricula? Or is she using.that same College Minus crap?

As for the idiot wanting her daughter of ADHD meds... I have no words. They messed me all up, but they work great for other people and if they work for her, great. Keep her on them. I hate seeing kids go through life with zero help for ADHD. It's rough, and when the people who should be helping you are.telling you that its a problem with your character, it sets you up for a lot of other problems.

[Want More Babies]

Someone needs to contact CPS because they want to foster. Dear God, help us all!

I have a post all about why my family came to the decision to foster. It was not an easy decision, but one that we prayed about for over a year before we came to that ultimate determination. This post is all about facts. Some of them cold and hard, yet others might be just what you needed to learn to push you over the edge of setting your decision in stone. Any which way you look at them, they are what they are…..so here they are:

1. Do you have the space to foster a child or children? It doesn’t take a mansion, but each child does need his or her own bed and space. How much space depends on the agency, but your heart and mind will usually guide you on what is a good space. Something that we did not know when we applied to be foster parents was the ages of children that can room together….our social worker told us that she would not put a 3 or 4 year old in the same room as a 14 to 16 year old teenager. Seeing as how we were going to let my son (age 16) share with another boy (age 3 to 6), and my daughter (age 14) share with another girl (age 3 to 6), this presented a problem. Yes, we had another room set up for two infants or toddlers, but we were in the process of adding twin beds into our biological children’s rooms as well. Good thing that she stopped us when she did, because she would not place children into their rooms (they were clean and roomy, it was just the age difference). Now, if we adopted children, then they can share a room with my biological children, we are just talking foster kids here.

2. Can you support these children financially with some reimbursement from the Foster Care Agency in your state? Yes, let me say flat out, you will receive a reimbursement check from the agency every month. The check will not come to you until one to two months after the child has arrived. That means that you have to have funds available to feed them, clothe them, and house them all with your own money. Here is what usually happens in the financial department of fostering children:

a. You agree to a foster placement, the child is dropped off to you, and you might receive a voucher for clothing and a voucher for baby equipment (if you accept infants and toddlers). The social worker will ask you if you have a car seat, crib, etc. If for some reason that you do not, a voucher MAY (or may not) be given. You should already have all of this type of equipment, in my opinion, if you already know that you will accept infants and toddlers (read my post on getting ready for a Home Study which gives you all of the information on how to get ready for infants and toddlers). Even if you do have all of your big equipment, the equipment voucher could still be issued and you can use it for toys, diapers, baby monitors, baby gates, etc. Normally, a voucher for car seats, cribs and what-not is given if you are asked to foster a child that is an infant or toddler, and you had originally stated that you were not interested in accepting this age bracket. Say there is a 10 year old girl (which is in the age bracket that you agreed to), but she has a two year old sister (which is not in your age bracket). They knew before they called you that you probably would not be set up for the two-year old, but they figure it would not hurt to ask. Because of that, they will help you to get your home set up to accept that child. If this type of situation happens, and you accept the child, then rock on! However, if you already know you want infants and toddlers, please be prepared for them, as the financial support that you receive from the agency WILL NOT be enough to buy everything that you need for this age bracket, including the vouchers that you receive.

b. The right to apply for WIC if the child is between the age of birth and 5 years of age. WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children, and is a nation-wide program for food supplement. It is NOT food stamps, so it is not enough to feed a child on a regular basis. It is just to supplement their diet with healthy foods such as milk, eggs, cheese, fruit juice, beans and peanut butter. Infants will receive checks for formula….which helps out A LOT in the financial department. Only your foster child will receive assistance from WIC, in the form of checks that you will then redeem at your local grocery store. You can call the WIC office in YOUR CITY (not the city of the Foster Care Agency), as soon as the child in this age bracket is placed in your home and make an appointment to see a benefits coordinator. Once at the appointment, they will ask for the child’s MEDICADE number, which you may or may not have at this point (getting a MEDICADE number may take one to two weeks). They will then automatically determine the child eligible based on the fact that they are a foster child. You will then go directly to a nutritionist, who will determine what type of food the child will receive based on age, and after they take the child’s height and weight (to determine if they are overweight or malnourished). You will usually receive enough checks to last for two to three months, then you must go back to meet with the nutritionist before receiving more checks.

c. A room and board check (your monthly reimbursement check). This is a supplement check that may have different names based on the agency in your area. For all intents and purposes here, we will call them a room and board check. Each age bracket has a different monetary amount that will be reimbursed to you (remember it could take two months after the child has been placed with you to receive a check). This money is to reimburse you for the child’s room, clothing, food, and other necessities. The amount could also differ based on the needs of the child. If the child has medical issues, etc. you could receive more money for their care. Again, if you are fostering infants or toddlers, this money will not go very far. Everyone knows that a 1 to 2 year old can grow out of four or five different sizes of clothing in one year! They also need much more age specific toys and equipment that they could grow out of in a few months time. Just outweigh the cost of fostering an infant or toddler to your own funds and provisions (and remember that almost everything for children this age can be purchased second-hand, which will cut costs significantly).

3. Do you have the time to help these children deal with the pain and heartache of becoming a foster child? Not all of the children come with outward bruises. Many of the wounds are on the inside. Because of that fact, these children can be like nothing you have ever seen, but who could blame them? A lot of the situations that these children are coming out of could be taken straight from the screen of a horror movie. Yet, beware, there is a strange period of time that a foster child goes through that could fool even the best of foster parents……’The Honeymoon Phase’. There is a honeymoon period between a foster child and their foster family. The first month or two that the child is with you, you could think that you hit the jackpot of good and obedient behavior. Ummmm…..no. They are just being on their best behavior because they are not sure how you will react if they act up. After all, they are scared, and lonely, and nervous, etc. You and your family are also on your best behavior, because you want to soothe and love away all of the hurt this poor sweetheart has endured, so you might overlook tiny infractions for a little while that might later become a behavior problem. These are not like your own children whom you have raised since birth, these kids have been through traumatic events, sometimes major ones. Even infants can differ from your own biological or adopted baby, because some of these little ones are born addicted to drugs. Just make sure you are ready to deal with a lot of things that you are not used to…..with the reassurance that your social worker is just a phone call away if you need help with a particular behavior (and these social workers have seen it all, bless their sweet souls).

4. Can you interact with the relatives of a child placed in your care without judgement and ridicule? Almost all children in foster care get to visit with their families on a weekly basis. A visitation worker will come and get your foster child and take them to see mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandma or grandpa, etc. You will send a copy of the child’s Life Book (there is a post about how to write a Life Book on my blog), and as you write the daily or weekly entries in this book, you must remember that this is the only way that the relatives know what is going on in their child’s life. Key words here are THEIR CHILD. It is not up to the foster parent’s to pass judgement on these relatives. Sure, it will be hard, but all we need to do is focus on providing the best and most loving care that this child could possibly receive. Let the judge and jury decide the rest. Remember, we are all God’s children, no matter what it is we have done (you will have to remind yourself of this often, when something happens that you do not agree with).

5. Can you willingly give back a child to their parents, relatives, or new adoptive family, when the time comes? It is that cut and dry. Can you do it? Can you take care of a child for months or years, and then in a blink of an eye, pack up their clothes and toys, walk them to the door, say goodbye, and let them go forever? Yes? Good. Now, can you let them go even if you think that the courts got it all wrong, and there is no way that the child should go back to his/her mother, father, grandmother, cousin, etc.? Yes? Then you are ready. I am not saying that you will be able to do all of these things without secretly wishing that you will get to adopt, or that Uncle Fester will suddenly decide that he doesn’t want to seek custody, or even that you will be able to say goodbye without completely falling apart and go on to cry for days. All I am asking you, is can you always keep your eye on the fact that foster care, by it’s very design, is temporary. If you can temporarily offer care, support, and love to a child, while their parents and relatives go through the necessary steps of getting their children back, the becoming a foster parent might be right for you.

6. Would you be willing to adopt a child that cannot go home or to relatives? Some people, especially people who want children through adoption, might think that this would be the ideal situation. However, I caution you that ‘ideal’ is not a word that should be applied in this case. Say the parents were extremely abusive, neglectful, etc., and it was determined that they cannot go back to their family. There are also no relatives in the area, or there are no relatives who are willing to take on a child (or legally, they would not be approved to adopt the child), or it may be that there are no living relatives. So, you are asked to adopt the child. Sure, if you have bonded with the child and you are open to adoption, this can be a very good thing. If the child is happy in your home, and would like nothing better than to become a permanent part of your family, that is extremely awesome. I am not trying to be a downer in the adoptive department. After all, some of these kids really need a good and stable family to call their own. My point is, by gaining a new family, they ultimately must lose their old one. No matter how bad that old family might have been, it is still their family, and always will be. In my perfect little world, there are never any children who must emotionally endure losing their family, even if they are gaining an awesome replacement family. Yet, that is not the world we live in, and if you are willing and able to provide a permanent home to some precious child of God, then that is such a sweet and wonderful thing.

Just as with everything in life, the hardest things, the things that require the most discipline and the most time, are usually the most rewarding. Look what our sweet Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, did for us. I do not know of a single person that would knowingly and willingly make the sacrifices that He did. Yet, He received His rewards in the end, just as His Father promised Him. Being a foster parent will have great rewards, but will also require great sacrifices. Therefore, it is not for everyone. Having all of the facts laid out bare for you to see, will hopefully help you with your own personal decision in becoming a foster family. As with anything and everything you do in life, pray….pray….and pray some more. He will lead you to the right decision….God Bless!

[crassy]

Whenever I hear of newbie fundies suddenly deciding to homeschool their teenagers, this is what I think (hope!) goes down:

K3IkMFeE0nE

Haha! That is pretty much how I view these n00b homeschoolers. Mostly because this is probably what would happen if I ever went crazy and decided to homeschool my child. I'm all for people who do it properly, but homeschooling would be the death of me...and I know that my child would not thrive in such an environment.

[Coconut Flan]

I couldn't read much of her blog, but it was both interesting and very sad to see the descent to Maxwellism. I cringed with every "Christian" reference thinking this isn't Christianity. It's a lot of things, but Christian isn't on the list. Those poor teenagers. I feel a lot of hope for the teens to reject the Maxwellism as soon as they turn 18. They're old enough to recognize it and rebel.

[Guest Anonymous]

raisingservantsofchrist.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/coming-off-the-drugs-adhd-drugs-that-is/

Shit, so she made her 13-year old daughter come off ADHD meds cold-turkey, and warned her of Maxwellian 'consequences' if she could not behave as required.

And now she is planning to take on foster children?! :shock:

[mrs]

Those kids must be pissed beyond belief. Even a shitty public school would be better than Duggar-style homeschooling. They might have dreams of going to college, or the military, or finding a good job after high school that they could support a family on. Those dreams have been dashed, unless the kids know they can leave and get remedial/basic courses at a community college.

They will probably never forgive their parents for this. BTW, where is their dad? Is he so checked out of his kids lives that when his wife pitched the idea he actually went along with it without question? My dad would never have allowed that. He was the one terrorizing asshole principals trying to figure out what was going on with me and my sisters at school when we said one thing and the school would try to BS their way out of trouble.

Are they at least using virtual public schools, or what? At least decent Christian curricula? Or is she using.that same College Minus crap?

As for the idiot wanting her daughter of ADHD meds... I have no words. They messed me all up, but they work great for other people and if they work for her, great. Keep her on them. I hate seeing kids go through life with zero help for ADHD. It's rough, and when the people who should be helping you are.telling you that its a problem with your character, it sets you up for a lot of other problems.

THIS, amen. :clap:

[desertvixen]

If you have read any other posts on my blog, you know that we have a foster son that we call ‘Coconut’. He will eventually go to relatives, but it has been the most eye-opening and wonderful experience to be a Servant of Christ. Hopefully, many more will follow, but that is entirely up to God.

According to this post, they already have one as of July 2012.

[slickcat79]

If she's actually dealing with MEDICAID for her foster kids, she might want to learn to spell it :?

I do think she's got good information about fostering, but I have to wonder if she's actually taking the things she wrote to heart or simply regurgitating the information her caseworkers gave her. She wrote an earlier entry about how she originally came to the decision to foster because she wanted MOAR BAYBEEZ. But since she's already 38 and they couldn't afford to reverse her tubal ligation, she had to settle on fostering, then spend a significant length of time talking her husband into it and hoping that god would "change his heart" :roll:

If you notice, the ages they are accepting are all under 6. I feel like she's just hoping that she will find the right child (baby) through fostering and will be able to adopt it.

I think she mentioned they are using A Beka and Math U See. I know A Beka is not great, and I've never heard from people who used Math U See for high schoolers. She does seem to have a "real" curriculum, but now I will only be thinking about the video from this thread whenever she talks about how crap she is at academics :?

[Rowan]

While most of it is cringeworthy, she did have some rational things to say about modesty after trying the whole long-skirts thing. The Maxwells would most definitely NOT approve.

raisingservantsofchrist.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/our-year-in-skirts-we-are-modest-without-them/

She has the self-satisfied, smug, holier-than-you thing down, that's for sure.

The slap of the heavy denium fabric on my shins and ankles reminded me every time I took a step that I was being modest.

:roll: