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Nathan and Melanie's 11th anniversary


kpmom

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What does it mean to witness to someone?

It means to share the gospel or the meaning of Christianity with them, so they will know of Jesus. You're a witness to the truth, you speak the truth, just like a witness in a court case speaks the truth about their knowledge of that situation, you speak about your knowledge of how Jesus saved the world and is the only way to Heaven or else you will burn for eternity.

...meaning, you preach at people.

Steve-O likes to talk about how the Maxwell children are well-socialized by giving examples of how they are confident to witness even to strangers.

What he doesn't get (or won't admit, or has forgotten, or whatever) is that NORMALLY socialized Americans usually realize that witnessing to people is frequently viewed as a rude intrusion, so even people who feel that they absolutely must do it (because it's a matter of saving souls, to their view, they're doing you a favor) will be shy about doing it or post about how they really don't like witnessing.

What boggles my mind is that in 2013 USA, where the majority of the population is either actively Christian of some sort or "culturally" Christian in the sense that the religion they were born in and then rejected was some form of Christianity, even heathens and foreigners living here KNOW about the basics of Christianity. It's one of the major world religions, practiced by the majority of their neighbors, AND pervasive throughout the culture in literary references and everything else.

There's no way people just honestly don't KNOW.

So yeah, it ends up being a "look how pious we are" in practice, and most of the listeners don't wanna hear the message (because if they wanted to be Christian, they know where they can go seek out a church on their own in the phone book already).

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I'm indifferent to the biblical preaching and praying in public thing. My parents knew a lot of fundie-lite people when I was growing up and so I kind of tune out all that. The Maxwells do it because they have this visceral reaction against those "heathen" outsiders (i.e people who aren't Christian enough) so they probably pray and "witness" to counteract that feeling----kind of like how my mom scrubs the bathroom after a party.

I was also surprised at how little cooking from scratch they actually did (or showed). Then again, the girls may just prefer baking over cooking. They bake everything from scratch. It's funny that my parents, both fulltime workers, have always made their meals from scratch. They take their home-cooked meals to work at lunch. They even make their own ingredients. My dad used to have an organic vegetable garden until he decided it was getting too costly and time consuming. These Maxwells have three SAHD and a SAHM.....and they don't socialize with friends, go out, have hobbies. Why don't they spend more time cooking nutritious meals? Maybe they think spending too much time cooking can become an idol? Or maybe the Maxwells are ignorant of cooking from scratch using fresh ingredients thing since it's kind of trendy and the Maxwells cover their ears to all that is trendy? I bet the family used to use prepacked stuff because Teri had multiple children and depression. Teri then taught her daughters to cook and since the Maxwells don't follow "trends" or "news", they probably haven't had a new thought in the kitchen since 1987.

Anyway, I'm glad the Maxwells girls got to do something "fun", even if it was just cooking at home. Maybe they should pick a feminine hobby to pass the time until a husband comes a knocking.

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I think the Maxwell don't do any outside things because Steve expects them to pray all the time. & if they r not praying they should be serving. I really wish they had some outside interests.

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I can't get over how sad this whole series of posts makes me. Sarah is so stunted, Steve has truly killed and stifled her spirit. Then Nathan (or course not Melanie) posts to thank them and refers to them collectively as "girls." Sarah is truly a child and one wonders if she could ever really rebound from the abuse she has suffered. She will not only likely watch her sisters get married off, she will see her nieces have lives too and she will be wiping Steve's drool.

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I can't get over how sad this whole series of posts makes me. Sarah is so stunted, Steve has truly killed and stifled her spirit. Then Nathan (or course not Melanie) posts to thank them and refers to them collectively as "girls." Sarah is truly a child and one wonders if she could ever really rebound from the abuse she has suffered. She will not only likely watch her sisters get married off, she will see her nieces have lives too and she will be wiping Steve's drool.

ncb, I completely agree. The whole thing just makes me so sad. Steve-o has a lot to answer for :(

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Would it be evil to respond to the prayer-request-seeking-Maxwells with something along the lines of

"Of COURSE I have a prayer request! My best friend and his husband just got married and they're now in the process of adopting a child! Please pray for a long and happy marriage and a successful adoption process! You're so kind!" ?

Yeah, if I were to be the waitress I'd start crying too.

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It means to share the gospel or the meaning of Christianity with them, so they will know of Jesus. You're a witness to the truth, you speak the truth, just like a witness in a court case speaks the truth about their knowledge of that situation, you speak about your knowledge of how Jesus saved the world and is the only way to Heaven or else you will burn for eternity.

...meaning, you preach at people.

Steve-O likes to talk about how the Maxwell children are well-socialized by giving examples of how they are confident to witness even to strangers.

What he doesn't get (or won't admit, or has forgotten, or whatever) is that NORMALLY socialized Americans usually realize that witnessing to people is frequently viewed as a rude intrusion, so even people who feel that they absolutely must do it (because it's a matter of saving souls, to their view, they're doing you a favor) will be shy about doing it or post about how they really don't like witnessing.

What boggles my mind is that in 2013 USA, where the majority of the population is either actively Christian of some sort or "culturally" Christian in the sense that the religion they were born in and then rejected was some form of Christianity, even heathens and foreigners living here KNOW about the basics of Christianity. It's one of the major world religions, practiced by the majority of their neighbors, AND pervasive throughout the culture in literary references and everything else.

There's no way people just honestly don't KNOW.

So yeah, it ends up being a "look how pious we are" in practice, and most of the listeners don't wanna hear the message (because if they wanted to be Christian, they know where they can go seek out a church on their own in the phone book already).

Thanks! :) I've never met someone who did that or had that done to them. I would be very bitchy to someone if they tried to witness to me. I don't mind learning about new things, but someone coming up to me on the street is a totally different story.

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The asking the waitress if she wants them to pray for her makes me uncomfortable partly cause there is an implication there that she needs their prayers - like her own arent adequate so she's being offered some super special Maxwell prayers that go directly to God .

The Maxwells often astound me with their arrogance and pride, especially considering they claim to be humbled sinners saved by the grace of Christ.

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Would it be evil to respond to the prayer-request-seeking-Maxwells with something along the lines of

"Of COURSE I have a prayer request! My best friend and his husband just got married and they're now in the process of adopting a child! Please pray for a long and happy marriage and a successful adoption process! You're so kind!" ?

Yeah, if I were to be the waitress I'd start crying too.

Ooooh, I double dog dare you!

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I sure hope allowing the nieces to pretend to be waitresses at a fancy restaurant doesn't whet their appetites for working outside the home when they grow up. :o

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Thanks! :) I've never met someone who did that or had that done to them. I would be very bitchy to someone if they tried to witness to me. I don't mind learning about new things, but someone coming up to me on the street is a totally different story.

Well, and this woman was someone I worked with, had had lunch with, etc., so I already knew her. So I couldn't just walk away (well, except I was on the way to the restroom, so I guess I could have). So she already was an acquaintence and I guess I felt taken advantage of that she would think to evangelize to me. If she were a stranger, I would have just blown it off, but since I knew her, I really found it offensive.

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Well, and this woman was someone I worked with, had had lunch with, etc., so I already knew her. So I couldn't just walk away (well, except I was on the way to the restroom, so I guess I could have). So she already was an acquaintence and I guess I felt taken advantage of that she would think to evangelize to me. If she were a stranger, I would have just blown it off, but since I knew her, I really found it offensive.

I have no idea what I would do if it happened at work, probably just look at him/her with the wtf face and then walk away. Where I used to work, we talked about different religions and cultures all the time so that we wouldn't offend people with careless/ignorant comments about each other. It was great working with people from all over the world and seeing how things look through their eyes and of course learning new things.

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I have no idea what I would do if it happened at work, probably just look at him/her with the wtf face and then walk away. Where I used to work, we talked about different religions and cultures all the time so that we wouldn't offend people with careless/ignorant comments about each other. It was great working with people from all over the world and seeing how things look through their eyes and of course learning new things.

Well, this was when I was working for a major Fortune 500 company and we had lots of required diversity training. And it's not that I don't accept diversity (I do!), but I just think religion shouldn't be something you place on people at work if they don't ask you for it. Leave church at home, please. I'm being paid to work, not listen to you talk about God, you know?

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The asking the waitress if she wants them to pray for her makes me uncomfortable partly cause there is an implication there that she needs their prayers - like her own arent adequate so she's being offered some super special Maxwell prayers that go directly to God .

The Maxwells often astound me with their arrogance and pride, especially considering they claim to be humbled sinners saved by the grace of Christ.

The family HAS in fact prayed for a waitress in a real restaurant, namely the Olive Garden:

Dad asked the waitress how we could pray for her, and she was surprised by such a request and paused. She asked us to pray for “strength,†and upon inquiring what that exactly meant, she said she was a single mom and needed “strength.†We definitely prayed for that and for her salvation! :)
You can read the entire story (an outing for Anna's birthday back in 2010) here: www.titus2.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/13/an-unusual-birthday-a-day-in-the-life-of-anna/

Amazingly enough, they got a comment complaining about this:

I have to admit I find it condescending of you to pray for the waitresses salvation. Did you ask her if she was a Christian? If she is a Christian, she already has salvation so for you to pray for it sounds like you believe you have a ‘better line’ to God than she does.

It was not posted under the original blog entry, no, Steve-O felt it worthy of its own post! He gives the usual "but it's for their own good! This is important!!" style justification, ending with the admonishment:

It is my experience that someone who is truly saved appreciates others who are concerned about their soul. Others who are lost and then become saved are grateful to those who cared and did something to help them avoid eternity in hell.

You can read the whole thing here: www.titus2.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/30/to-care-or-not-to-care/

So yeah, if this whole thing sounded a bit familiar? It was.

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The asking the waitress if she wants them to pray for her makes me uncomfortable partly cause there is an implication there that she needs their prayers - like her own arent adequate so she's being offered some super special Maxwell prayers that go directly to God .

The Maxwells often astound me with their arrogance and pride, especially considering they claim to be humbled sinners saved by the grace of Christ.

Have to agree. I would very uncomfortable if I was a waitress & some ask me that.

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Never ever underestimate or de-value the power of prayer. Even if your waiter or waitress says they don’t have anything for you to pray about, it will still mean so much to them.

Uh, former waitress of 6 years here, and uh no it wouldn't have meant much to me. I would have just found it condescending and inappropriate. Waitressing helped pay my way through college, the tips I took in for Sunday buffet determined how well I was going to eat that week, therefore a good tip and a nice verbal compliment for good service meant a lot.

Ever wonder what your chef and waitresses do when they aren’t serving you? Think again. When was the last time you toured a restaurant kitchen (smile)?

Well Sarah, I'll tell you what they do: 1)served other patrons, 2)bussed dishes and cleared tables, 3)made coffee, filled water pictures, brought milk up to the cooler, 4)run clean dishes out to the floor, 5)write-up some bills, 6)manage the reservations, 7)help out a fellow waitress who's section got hammered. Notice sit around is not on the list. Of course you would never know this as your jackass of a Dad won't let you live a real life. Keep living in pretend Moody land. I'll take my 6 years of waitressing over it any day, it may have been tough, but it made me part of who I am today.

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Waitresses are so dang busy just trying to, you know, wait tables?? How inconsiderate of them! They are free to pray for her or anyone else privately. They didn't have to interrupt her work. Steve, your piety is showing. And I don't mean that as a compliment.

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Uh, former waitress of 6 years here, and uh no it wouldn't have meant much to me. I would have just found it condescending and inappropriate. Waitressing helped pay my way through college, the tips I took in for Sunday buffet determined how well I was going to eat that week, therefore a good tip and a nice verbal compliment for good service meant a lot.

Well Sarah, I'll tell you what they do: 1)served other patrons, 2)bussed dishes and cleared tables, 3)made coffee, filled water pictures, brought milk up to the cooler, 4)run clean dishes out to the floor, 5)write-up some bills, 6)manage the reservations, 7)help out a fellow waitress who's section got hammered. Notice sit around is not on the list. Of course you would never know this as your jackass of a Dad won't let you live a real life. Keep living in pretend Moody land. I'll take my 6 years of waitressing over it any day, it may have been tough, but it made me part of who I am today.

I hope you will go to their blog and post this. It will never see the light of the internet-day, but at least someone in the Maxhell family will read it. It's truly what they need to know about their insensitivity to preaching to hard-working people.

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I hope you will go to their blog and post this. It will never see the light of the internet-day, but at least someone in the Maxhell family will read it. It's truly what they need to know about their insensitivity to preaching to hard-working people.

I just might. The whole post really pissed me off. It shows how selfish and clueless they really are. However, I'd have to redact it a bit. Where are those FJ Digest folks when you need them.

eta as quotes are hard :(

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I do like the picture of Anna, and the little girls praying together. Even if you didn't know they were praying together, it's sweet the way they are all snuggled together.

Baby Tina looks like John. Her face has a similar wide eyed, open smile look.

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