Poor Sarah Maxwell lacks gratefulness -MERGED

[Dev83]

I keep thinking about this thread. This situation makes me overwhelmingly sad when I think about it - all the years of her life that she has missed out on. Can you imagine having lived 30 years with only the extremely limited experiences she has had? Never living on her own, never traveling with girlfriends, never having wine and great conversation with a guy she thought was cute, never getting an education, no slumber parties, no ability to experience any of the world without it completely whitewashed and sterilized. It's f-ING tragic.

[DrPusey]

Yesterday's blog post was "Bus Work and Aunties' Park." So a big yawn from me about John's exciting adventures in changing Uriah's oil, but I couldn't help but think that one day the headline might be "Auntie's Park," in the singular possessive. I can totally see that one day Sarah will be the only Auntie left at Steve's house, and teenage Abby and Bethany will be dragging little cousins over there and telling them not to mind Aunt Sarah - she's just struggling to find her servant's heart again.

On an unrelated note, Mary is frikkin gorgeous in the picture of her with baby Christina.

[lost_not_found]

Christina (is that the name of the littlest baby girl) looks so damned shocked in every picture. It's actually quite cute, but she looks like that in EVERY picture they post!

Am I the only idiot who has no idea what is so funny about the little story that Sarah posted today, about the biblical meaning of Gibson? I didn't get it. :? And I'm not SOTDRT, and have a couple of degrees from (evil) universities.

[FloraDoraDolly]

I keep thinking about this thread. This situation makes me overwhelmingly sad when I think about it - all the years of her life that she has missed out on. Can you imagine having lived 30 years with only the extremely limited experiences she has had? Never living on her own, never traveling with girlfriends, never having wine and great conversation with a guy she thought was cute, never getting an education, no slumber parties, no ability to experience any of the world without it completely whitewashed and sterilized. It's f-ING tragic.

Even a recluse or agoraphobic who seldom leaves home can read whatever they want, listen to all kinds of music, surf the Internet, watch movies, have friends over, and eat more than two animal crackers (provided that someone goes to the store for them).

[johnhugh]

Yesterday's blog post was "Bus Work and Aunties' Park." So a big yawn from me about John's exciting adventures in changing Uriah's oil, but I couldn't help but think that one day the headline might be "Auntie's Park," in the singular possessive. I can totally see that one day Sarah will be the only Auntie left at Steve's house, and teenage Abby and Bethany will be dragging little cousins over there and telling them not to mind Aunt Sarah - she's just struggling to find her servant's heart again.

On an unrelated note, Mary is frikkin gorgeous in the picture of her with baby Christina.

I might ask Stevie if 'Auntie's Park' is open to all children, but Stevie has not been accepting posts from non leg humpers for a while. :naughty: not very Christian Stevie :naughty:

So the horse and dog show sets of again in a few weeks. Are any FJers in the area going to go and say hello to Stevie and co this time? :clap:

[sparkles]

I keep thinking about this thread. This situation makes me overwhelmingly sad when I think about it - all the years of her life that she has missed out on. Can you imagine having lived 30 years with only the extremely limited experiences she has had? Never living on her own, never traveling with girlfriends, never having wine and great conversation with a guy she thought was cute, never getting an education, no slumber parties, no ability to experience any of the world without it completely whitewashed and sterilized. It's f-ING tragic.

Ah, but Sarah DID go to a slumber party and apparently it was so traumatic that she never ventured outside of the family again. Of course, in typical Maxwell fashion she never gives any specifics so it could have been something as simple as feeling a little homesick (something we dealt with by distracting our sleepoveree with something shiny—or chocolately and gooey) but that was IT as far as Sarah was concerned. Steve and Teri were right dammit. It's a horrible world out there.

The overall vagueness is something that bothers me about the Maxwells in general. They use a lot of examples to explain WHY their methods are godly and true but the specifics of those example just aren't very...specific. Just a lot of vague verbiage. What exactly was the language your kid used that he learned from his little not-so-Christian friend? Did he say the word "darn" or did he explode in some 4 letter rant? What exactly DID happen at Sarah's sleepover? And so on and so on. That lack of specificity says to me that the things that made them circle the wagons closer and closer probably were so mild (and easily dealt with in a less extreme fashion) that to talk about them in detail would make it obvious that their beliefs and methods are whacked.

We've read about people who admired and wanted to adopt the Maxwell way of life, but not much about any who stick with it in its entirety. Probably because not many do.

[Justme]

Sarah should be grateful now, some family is using a Moody name for their new baby. :violin:

[MamaJunebug]

Disagree about Mary looking gorgeous - looks like a younger Teri, meh.

That's my pure snark for the day. :lol:

Notice that the upcoming trip takes them to northern/central California. Will the Loomii attend? Enquiring minds gotta know!!!!

[Seven Severn]

Am I the only idiot who has no idea what is so funny about the little story that Sarah posted today, about the biblical meaning of Gibson? I didn't get it. :? And I'm not SOTDRT, and have a couple of degrees from (evil) universities.

I didn't get the whole Gibson thing, either. Also, how does "When Cute Takes On A New Meaning" relate to the post? And Mrs. Parker thought that Parker would be a good boy's name. So, he could have been Parker Parker? Huh?

[Hane]

They're coming to Connecticut--to the town right next to mine--in the near future. I may show up to lurk and take notes.

Agreeing about the vague "but a BAD thing happened!" stuff the Maxwells post. I think that Steve is afraid that, given the specifics, people would say, "What? You got all excited about THAT?" and that his arguments would no longer withstand scrutiny.

Let's say my pre-teen/teen daughter went on a sleepover and something happened that troubled her: nasty gossip, bullying, creepy conversation about sex--whatever. I'd discuss it with her, and then decide whether it merited confronting the parent(s) hosting the sleepover and possibly the attendees. I'd listen to what my daughter had to say, and then help her reach a conclusion on how to proceed: on how to deal with the offender(s) in the future, or deciding not to socialize with them anymore. When my daughter was young, it tended to be, "You have other friends who don't act like this--spend your time with them instead." Not, "Oh, no! Stay home with Mommy forever and ever and you'll never get hurt EVER AGAIN!"

[MamaJunebug]

I didn't get the whole Gibson thing, either. Also, how does "When Cute Takes On A New Meaning" relate to the post? And Mrs. Parker thought that Parker would be a good boy's name. So, he could have been Parker Parker? Huh?

Gibson is of English origin, has to do with a word for "laughing." There's a Biblical (Hebrew?) name that means laughter, CRS or it right now.

I wonder if Sarah is maybe having a little breakdown. Or maybe she happened to overhear a radio playing as she and her accountability walked across the Kroger parking lot and the advert was blaring, ".[indistinct word] takes on a new meaning [more indistinct words as she and her accountability partner hurry to save their ears from hearing non-Steve-approved noise] ...." and it stuck in her head.

ON a related but not really subject, you know how the Dean in "Community" uses the word "dean" every chance he gets? "Let's meet in the garDEAN" or "It's a munDEAN thought", etc.? Bet Steve does something like that in his head.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I wonder if this is a Moody in-joke that's only halfway told.

Is there a Gibson in the Moody books who catches an animal somehow or is the dog-catcher or anything like that? If so, then the "joke" such as it is might be that the kid thinks Gibson must "mean" that because that's how names sort of work in the Bible?

...got nuthin'.

About the sleepover: It's talked about in "Hearts" but yeah she never gives full details. They make clear that (1) it's not anything morally compromising, and (2) Steve-O decides he needs to shelter the kids more because the problem is that they're too wimpy to stand up for themselves and say "no" to things that they're not allowed to do at home (and so presumably they're emotionally hurt, etc). I have the quote on another thread somewhere (I'm working on gathering some quotes, by the way, offline to post soon).

I can't help but wonder if this "we were too weak to say no" thing is real though. There's always a CHANCE that way back in the beginning of all this, Sarah (and siblings, depending on event) were actually more than happy to go along with whatever activities were suggested at the friends' houses, but when confronted by their parents had to spin this "oh, we just couldn't say no due to horrible, horrible pressure but we really wanted to say no, dad!!!" story. By this time though surely they'd retcon their memories...

[Guest Anonymous]

Gibson is of English origin, has to do with a word for "laughing." There's a Biblical (Hebrew?) name that means laughter, CRS or it right now.

I wonder if Sarah is maybe having a little breakdown. Or maybe she happened to overhear a radio playing as she and her accountability walked across the Kroger parking lot and the advert was blaring, ".[indistinct word] takes on a new meaning [more indistinct words as she and her accountability partner hurry to save their ears from hearing non-Steve-approved noise] ...." and it stuck in her head.

ON a related but not really subject, you know how the Dean in "Community" uses the word "dean" every chance he gets? "Let's meet in the garDEAN" or "It's a munDEAN thought", etc.? Bet Steve does something like that in his head.

It is another case of Sarah having a terrible writing style, coupled with the assumption that every blog reader is also a reader of the Moody books.

As I understand it, the mom in an (unnamed) family that follows both the blog and the Moody books, read aloud the chapter in the book which involved the fictional Parker family, and it inspired her to consider (in prayer) using the name "Parker" as her new baby's Christian name.

On another occasion, she read aloud the part of the book in which another fictional character, Mr Gibson, the government animal catcher, comes to collect the racoons found in the neighbour's garden in Summer with the Moodys. And that inspired her son to want to call the baby by the Christian name "Gibson". Except, ho ho, it isn't a Christian name at all, but the little boy thought it was, and assumed that Gibson must mean "animal catcher" because that's what the fictional character does for a living....

[OkToBeTakei]

It is another case of Sarah having a terrible writing style, coupled with the assumption that every blog reader is also a reader of the Moody books.

As I understand it, the mom in an (unnamed) family that follows both the blog and the Moody books, read aloud the chapter in the book which involved the fictional Parker family, and it inspired her to consider (in prayer) using the name "Parker" as her new baby's Christian name.

On another occasion, she read aloud the part of the book in which another fictional character, Mr Gibson, the government animal catcher, comes to collect the racoons found in the neighbour's garden in Summer with the Moodys. And that inspired her son to want to call the baby by the Christian name "Gibson". Except, ho ho, it isn't a Christian name at all, but the little boy thought it was, and assumed that Gibson must mean "animal catcher" because that's what the fictional character does for a living....

I am disturbed that you know so much about this book :lol:

[Guest Anonymous]

I am disturbed that you know so much about this book :lol:

I had to read one. Just had to.... :mrgreen:

[kpmom]

Yeah, Sarah really needed to explain Mr. Gibson was an animal catcher before she got to the punch line, such as it was.

And I see these boys have Soul Winners New Testaments. Those are meant to be given to people you hope to convert. How wonderful (not) to see a generation being brought up to harass the lost.

[Burpies]

I wonder if this is a Moody in-joke that's only halfway told.

About the sleepover: It's talked about in "Hearts" but yeah she never gives full details. They make clear that (1) it's not anything morally compromising, and (2) Steve-O decides he needs to shelter the kids more because the problem is that they're too wimpy to stand up for themselves and say "no" to things that they're not allowed to do at home (and so presumably they're emotionally hurt, etc). I have the quote on another thread somewhere (I'm working on gathering some quotes, by the way, offline to post soon).

I can't help but wonder if this "we were too weak to say no" thing is real though. There's always a CHANCE that way back in the beginning of all this, Sarah (and siblings, depending on event) were actually more than happy to go along with whatever activities were suggested at the friends' houses, but when confronted by their parents had to spin this "oh, we just couldn't say no due to horrible, horrible pressure but we really wanted to say no, dad!!!" story. By this time though surely they'd retcon their memories...

They were prob serving extra sweets or more than two animal crackers to the kids and she couldn't say 'No.'

[gardenvarietycitizen]

On another occasion, she read aloud the part of the book in which another fictional character, Mr Gibson, the government animal catcher, comes to collect the racoons found in the neighbour's garden in Summer with the Moodys. And that inspired her son to want to call the baby by the Christian name "Gibson". Except, ho ho, it isn't a Christian name at all, but the little boy thought it was, and assumed that Gibson must mean "animal catcher" because that's what the fictional character does for a living....

Wow. I'm kinda horrified how I was able to guess that was what went on!!! :shock: I suppose Sarah is nothing if not predictable.

[Rosie]

The question remains: What is the "new meaning" that *cute* took on as a result of that "story" (I use that term loosely)?

[Seven Severn]

It is another case of Sarah having a terrible writing style, coupled with the assumption that every blog reader is also a reader of the Moody books.

As I understand it, the mom in an (unnamed) family that follows both the blog and the Moody books, read aloud the chapter in the book which involved the fictional Parker family, and it inspired her to consider (in prayer) using the name "Parker" as her new baby's Christian name.

On another occasion, she read aloud the part of the book in which another fictional character, Mr Gibson, the government animal catcher, comes to collect the racoons found in the neighbour's garden in Summer with the Moodys. And that inspired her son to want to call the baby by the Christian name "Gibson". Except, ho ho, it isn't a Christian name at all, but the little boy thought it was, and assumed that Gibson must mean "animal catcher" because that's what the fictional character does for a living....

Thank you for the explanation. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. :think:

[lilwriter85]

I will always wonder really happened at the sleepover incident with Sarah. I think part of the reason I wonder about that quite a bit is because I'm three years younger than her. I was going to sleepovers during the 90s and I've tried to think of what could have made her not stand up for herself.

[Black Aliss]

I will always wonder really happened at the sleepover incident with Sarah. I think part of the reason I wonder about that quite a bit is because I'm three years younger than her. I was going to sleepovers during the 90s and I've tried to think of what could have made her not stand up for herself.

I've just always assumed they watched a movie. Most middle-class families had VCRs by that time. It might have even been a PG-13 movie. But even a basic Disney animated movie would have upset Sarah. If you're not accustomed to watching Disney cartoons, they are pretty violent and scary.

[BoomerLynn]

I will always wonder really happened at the sleepover incident with Sarah. I think part of the reason I wonder about that quite a bit is because I'm three years younger than her. I was going to sleepovers during the 90s and I've tried to think of what could have made her not stand up for herself.

I wonder if someone had a ouija board or something like that. I am a year older than her and that was a popular game for sleepovers when I was in junior high.

[sparkles]

I will always wonder really happened at the sleepover incident with Sarah. I think part of the reason I wonder about that quite a bit is because I'm three years younger than her. I was going to sleepovers during the 90s and I've tried to think of what could have made her not stand up for herself.

I don't think it was any particular incident actually, just a case of homesickness. She described it as a sleepover, not a slumber party, which leads me to believe it was your standard "spending the night at a friend's house" kind of thing. Not exactly the kind of set-up where you'd expect hazing or any other upsetting group behavior where you'd cave to peer pressure, especially since even back then the Maxwells only seemed to socialize with other (somewhat) like-minded Christians. I also get the feeling it was probably her first time away from home and family so considering the Maxwells overall mindset that, in and of itself, could have been upsetting to a child. With little opportunity to learn to think and act for herself, and probably NO ability whatsoever to work through her emotions, she most likely freaked out. So it's probably true that she was traumatized. Another child with a "normal" upbringing would most likely have been able adapt.

[Triplet3]

Gibson is of English origin, has to do with a word for "laughing." There's a Biblical (Hebrew?) name that means laughter, CRS or it right now.

Gibson is a patronymic surname meaning 'son of Gilbert'. 'Gib' was a common abbreviation of Gilbert in medieval England, where the surname first evolved.