On the road again..... (Maxwells)

[terranova]

I wonder which Maxwell child has the lowest rated heart.

Let's see -

Nathan 8 - married early, lots of kids, wife seems to have spirit. No sons.

Christopher 8 - married late after one (?) failed courtship. Young, submissive wife. Son, probably lots more kids to come.

Sarah 8 - uber daughter. Makes money for the family. Old. Seems to have no will to escape. Could still bear Grandsons

Joseph - 7 very public failed courtship. Owns own home. High possibility of future wife and children. Brings in money with 1TonRamp

John - 6 problem child. Loved sports and music. Improvement noticed since sports and music were taken away.

Jesse - 10 - Fertile, young. Good mechanic for Uriah

Anna - 10 - Fertile, young.

Mary - 10 Fertile, young.

[Marian the Librarian]

Rate your children. Hmm.

I imagine Steve's brain as a giant scoreboard. It's all about the numbers: rate your children's hearts, count up the Bible times, monitor the minutes, set the stopwatch for the next Uriah-loading, tally up the $$ take $$ from the latest dog-and-pony show.

[thoughtful]

Poor Sarah :( Her heart is probably anything but happy because she is over 30 and still treated like an untrustworthy 12 year old.

Steve doesn't care if her heart is happy, just godly and prepared for . . .

. . . say it with me, everybody . . .

DEATH.

:borg:

[WonderingInWA]

Let's see -

Nathan 8 - married early, lots of kids, wife seems to have spirit. No sons.

Christopher 8 - married late after one (?) failed courtship. Young, submissive wife. Son, probably lots more kids to come.

Sarah 8 - uber daughter. Makes money for the family. Old. Seems to have no will to escape. Could still bear Grandsons

Joseph - 7 very public failed courtship. Owns own home. High possibility of future wife and children. Brings in money with 1TonRamp

John - 6 problem child. Loved sports and music. Improvement noticed since sports and music were taken away.

Jesse - 10 - Fertile, young. Good mechanic for Uriah

Anna - 10 - Fertile, young.

Mary - 10 Fertile, young.

Excellent assessment!

[mystikchick17]

Still looking, but coming up with other gems in the meantime.

Apparently Sarah voluntarily chose to go sleep in her sisters' bedroom after Nathan decided (at 20) that he desired to be close to his younger brothers, and this fills Terri's heart with joy (part of a gripping 6 part series on sibling relationships). Yeah, because EVERY 20 year old guy decides he just can't wait to share a bunk bed with his teenage/tween siblings. Of course.

Interestingly, when Christopher was in his mid-twenties, he decided he wanted to be part of the boys’ room, developing stronger relationships with his three younger brothers. He gave up a room of his own in order to take the top bunk of one of the two sets of bunk beds in the boys’ bedroom.

After Christopher made the decision to move in with his younger brothers, Sarah also voluntarily chose to give up her own bedroom to share with her younger sisters. She desired the relationship with them that they had with each other. They still share a bedroom.

In addition to the relationship-building, character-building aspect of sharing a bedroom, we found out that brothers sharing a bedrooms and sisters sharing a bedroom also gives great accountability. When families write us about problems their children have gotten into concerning the Internet, their phones, outside relationships, music, and more, those children often had their own bedrooms. They had the privacy to give in to temptation when they were faced with it.

With our older three children, we discovered the damage that friends did to sibling relationships. When the children played with their friends, they were unkind to their siblings, and they came to prefer their friends to their siblings. There were hurtful words and actions from one sibling to another because of the desire to spend exclusive time with the friend. Steve and I knew that the lifelong relationships were the sibling relationships, and those were the ones we chose to protect. We did that by limiting individual friends and moving to family friends where the children could all play together in the setting of two families spending time together.

The final suggestion that I can pass on to you are Steve’s weekly meetings with the children. For about twenty years now, Steve has had a one-on-one, planned, weekly meeting with each child from the time that child is four or so until he is married. During the meeting, the child is free to bring up anything that is on his heart—issues with Steve or me, with their siblings, with their walk with the Lord, or with what they are doing.

And here Teri admits that they punish with food. I think the animal crackers joke was closer than any of us probably imagine to the truth of how the Maxwells discipline:

One of the first things they recalled is that we took away desserts from the offending children. If some of the children weren’t going to be sweet to each other, then they wouldn’t be allowed to enjoy the sweet dessert that the rest of the family, including the children not involved in the problem, were eating.

Part of our nutritional program for our family involved purchasing and then grinding wheat berries into fresh whole-wheat flour that we then made into whole-wheat bread. When I served the bread, the family didn’t prefer the outside crusts but rather the soft, middle slices. I dried the crusts in order to make bread crumbs or croutons with them.

One day, Steve and I realized our “dry morsels†on the counter that were waiting to be processed had the potential of being an effective discipline for children who weren’t being nice to each other. I would call the offenders to the dining room table and serve them a dry crust. The dry crusts didn’t make the children gag. They simply didn’t prefer them.

I could share with them that we would rather eat dry crusts all the time and have kindness and sweetness between them than to get to eat the way we eat in the midst of strife. This was a consequence that removed the children from the problem, was easy to administer, and in addition, it was healthy for them!

The more I read about them, the fucking scarier they are.

[nelliebelle1197]

I wonder which Maxwell child has the lowest rated heart.

That's EASY: John

He had to have the will beat out of him and he defrauds the womens and teh gays.

[HoneyBunny]

Ah, so then both Steve AND Teri are into that sort of emotional manipulation. It can be very powerful and terrifying, especially seeing your parents cry (see: Steve and the "God Laid it on My Heart that Little League is Sinful" scenario). Couple that with keening and wailing how the little sinners will be going straight to hell and you've got a toxic mix. I was an adult the first time I saw my dad cry (after my grandfather and grandmother died within a week of one another) and the raw emotion of it shook me to my core. I can only imagine what a constant diet of intentional, manipulative emotional abuse did to the Maxwell children.

My very first memory is of my mother crying. I remember it vividly, although I was just shy of 4. I didn't know why she was crying, just that she was very upset. Years later, when I told her about it and what she had been doing just prior (vacuuming, with the TV on) she knew exactly when it was. It was when a special report came on TV that JFK had been assassinated.

It still gives me chills to remember. And I wasn't in a dark closet with guilty feelings that I'd done something to cause it. Those Maxhell parents are sick fucks, aren't they?

[Jana814]

To the person who went to see them. Did Steve ever explain why they felt sports & outside friends were bad.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

To the person who went to see them. Did Steve ever explain why they felt sports & outside friends were bad.

I've never been to their conferences but I do have their "Hearts" book, which I suspect they get much of the conference material from.

The fundamental (heh) bottom line with all things Maxwell is that it's not about avoiding sin.

It's not "as long as you don't violate the rules, you can do unspecified things if you want" similar to the US constitution. No. Rather, at some point between the original kids and the reversal kids, around the time they were breaking the news to the older kids that Little League was no longer okay, they had a grand epiphany that what they needed to do was not "blacklist individual activities" but instead "forbid everything, and then WHITELIST only those activities which will specifically further the childrens' goals."

The childrens' goals are of course the parents' goals, and basically it's all about serving Jesus 24/7. You can't just not offend Jesus, rather every waking moment should be, as the Bible says, in service to him.

So sports are right out. They don't help you serve Jesus, you can't even pretend that they do (as you can, perhaps, with a nature walk - looking at nature is praising God's creation, which means prayer, which means glorifying God, bam, there you have it). No. Sports are pointless, they waste time you could be serving Jesus. But worse yet, participating in sports feeds an appetite for sports.

"Appetite" is another big word in Maxwellia. If you develop a taste for something it will crowd out better pursuits (such as serving Jesus 24/7) and also you won't be able to resist it and it will grow.

So with sports, if you participate in sports and get a taste for them, eventually you're going to be watching sports on the Beast TV all the time and neglecting your family and not serving Jesus. So far better to nip that possibility in the bud and just never let your kid participate in sports at all from their earliest days so they never get an "appetite" for it.

Of course underlying all of that is the big question they love to ask all people, "Where will you go when you die?" They are worried that unless you serve Jesus 24/7 as commanded in the Bible, with a true servant's heart all the time, the answer is going to be "hell." If those are the stakes, yeah, you don't let your kids do Little League.

It's a horrifying little book, really, but a fascinating read.

[Peppercorn]

Not just one character, but several: I'm in the chorus of a community theater production of "The Producers." Maybe I should have put a flyer for the show under Uriah's windshield wiper. There isn't a single character in the play that Stevehovah would approve of! He'd blow a lobe, and then Terified and the clan would be set free! :cracking-up:

:lol: I mis-wrote that (should have said "characters") but wouldn't it be swell if Steve did encounter an old lesbian nympho nun? The top of his head would come off!

I agree with the posters who are speculating about his background. There must be some reason he suddenly became so affronted by the existence of women who think they're more than a helpmeet.

Maybe he was once terrorized by a lesbian nympho nun dominatrix.

Or devoted to her...

[Peppercorn]

while headship gives glory to God by asserting his manhood (one of Dougie's favorite words), with manhood being inherently closer to God-given perfectionism than womanhood.

Ugh. That made me shudder.

Then I thought of the other definition of "manhood" (a la historical romance novels) and the picture of Doug asserting his lil package of perfection made me laugh.

I probably shouldn't post at 4 a.m. when my censor switch is off.

[Justme]

And Uriah is off!! Last night they were in Buffalo NY. In 3 weeks they leave once again. This time for Idaho. Time for some John Marie visitation. Whoot!! :auto-layrubber:

[WonderingInWA]

I don't understand why the Maxwells would have been needed to help paint at their (what some may call) friends' house. The house is huge, the interior is beautiful, I am guessing the people who live there would be able to afford to hire painters if they needed a little touch up. I guess maybe Stevie insists on finding a project to exchange for people who offer them shelter? I don't get it -- it's not like the people are destitute.

Also, I will be in Boise (shhhh!) July 12/15, but I am terribly busy. I wish I could convince someone to take my place for what I have to do there in order to attend a session. Without checking their schedule, I believe they are planning to harrass a bunch of people in Eagle, which isn't technically Boise.

[HoneyBunny]

I don't understand why the Maxwells would have been needed to help paint at their (what some may call) friends' house. The house is huge, the interior is beautiful, I am guessing the people who live there would be able to afford to hire painters if they needed a little touch up. I guess maybe Stevie insists on finding a project to exchange for people who offer them shelter? I don't get it -- it's not like the people are destitute.

This. Do we ever see them applying their admittedly good skills for Habitat for Humanity? Of course not. They would have to work alongside non-believers. It boggles the mind to think of all the good they could do if they just weren't so damn sheltered.

[Palimpsest]

@Jezebel

Thanks for the expert eyes on the survey! You are right. The survey is as much of a muddle as I suspected.

Essentially, to be any good it should be separated into 3 different shorter evaluation tools (not tool as in Doug!)

1. Self Assessment.

I've used these in assessing training needs. There is nothing wrong with that, although I wouldn't ask for identifying information. I've also used them as a tool to help people reflect on their skills, but it that case I don't collect them. The problem here is that Steve already *knows* what people need, so he is collecting this info for blackmail, sorry, he'd say "pastoring" purposes.

2. Market Research.

Info to help him sell more product and give him ideas for more crap to develop. Not my area. :)

3. Conference Evaluation.

He knows that his conference is perfect so he doesn't really care about this. Stupid of him. What struck me immediately was the absence of questions that would help him to assess his effectiveness.

Here's an example, I'd use in a pre and post test (I like five point scales):

How likely are you to get rid of your TV and never watch it again? (circle one)

Extremely likely Quite likely Likely Unlikely Very unlikely

After exposure to Steve's concept of the "beast" he should expect to see a big difference in the answer post-test.

And just to clarify, I was zipping through that survey very fast yesterday. He wanted email addresses so that he could ask even more questions. :pink-shock: Or more probably do a hard sell of his products with the self assessment bit in hand.

I hope we haven't given him ideas for improvement. Oh, I forgot. He is perfect and male so he won't take any notice of our silly female ideas anyway. 8-)

[thoughtful]

The problem here is that Steve already *knows* what people need, so he is collecting this info for blackmail, sorry, he'd say "pastoring" purposes.

And things about which he can give guilt -- don't forget the guilt.

Because, if we doing anything of which Steve would not approve, even for 30 seconds, we are going to HELL when we DIE.

Don't forget that -- it's very, very important.

[Palimpsest]

To the person who went to see them. Did Steve ever explain why they felt sports & outside friends were bad.

I think there are around four or five of us here now who have had direct exposure to Maxhell, but different parts of the conference. Treemom, Amyand4, me, and at least one other person. There is another person on this thread but I can't remember her name.

No, as gardenvarietycitizen said, that would have been covered in the session after we left: "Guarding Your Children's Hearts." The sessions closely reflect the books. The one I went to was part MOTH and part the home schooling book. Mr P went to the Family Bible Study session.

[Palimpsest]

And things about which he can give guilt -- don't forget the guilt.

Because, if we doing anything of which Steve would not approve, even for 30 seconds, we are going to HELL when we DIE.

Don't forget that -- it's very, very important.

To burn forever in the Eternal Fires!!!!!!111111!!!!!!

I'm doomed.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[thoughtful]

To burn forever in the Eternal Fires!!!!!!111111!!!!!!

I'm doomed.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I'll see you there. If I get there first, I'll save you a seat.

[Phyllis Styne]

I think there are around four or five of us here now who have had direct exposure to Maxhell, but different parts of the conference. Treemom, Amyand4, me, and at least one other person. There is another person on this thread but I can't remember her name.

No, as gardenvarietycitizen said, that would have been covered in the session after we left: "Guarding Your Children's Hearts." The sessions closely reflect the books. The one I went to was part MOTH and part the home schooling book. Mr P went to the Family Bible Study session.

I attended the first-night festivities (not really!) a year or two ago in Missouri. Endured the concert and testimonials, including having then 3-year-old Abby recite most of the 23rd Psalm (I think it was) and the Steve/Teri intro presentation.

It seems that they disliked the exposure to other people that sports were providing for Nate & Chris. The boys were bringing home words and ideas and attitudes that didn't fit with being a good cult drone. I remember distinctly that Teri said that while Steve told the boys that they had a choice whether to continue in sports or not, "They really didn't," she said, and she smiled oh-so-properly.

One of them went out of their way to make it clear that Steve took the boys separately to get ice cream and the bad news. And that Steve cried on each separate excursion. Some other time during the infomercial (which is exactly what it was like, Palimpsest, thanks for saying so!), Steve began to weep aloud, I think when he was reading a power-pointed e-mail from a mother who felt she was losing her kids' hearts. It was amazing to see a grown man turn on the waterworks like that. It cemented my belief that he and Teri are evil, evil people. Perhaps they began with a heart for god but now it's all about the bottom line for Titus2 Products, LLC.

(I'm the one who signed the autograph mat around the framed, matted Bible verses that the organizers had for the family, as "Jinger Freeh." I think I'll have that story told at my funeral! I mean, seriously, has anybody else noticed those beautifully framed pieces on any MaxhellHouse walls? Nope! For one thing, they don't spell J E S U S.

For another, they are evidence of what might have been the first of the invasions ... or whatever they're calling us. :dance:

[Triplet3]

I think there are around four or five of us here now who have had direct exposure to Maxhell, but different parts of the conference. Treemom, Amyand4, me, and at least one other person. There is another person on this thread but I can't remember her name.

Sprocket went to a Maxwell conference session last September and reported back to FJ in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12884 If a Maxwell conference report thread is created as someone suggested above, Sprocket's must go in there as well.

[Palimpsest]

I attended the first-night festivities (not really!) a year or two ago in Missouri. Endured the concert and testimonials, including having then 3-year-old Abby recite most of the 23rd Psalm (I think it was) and the Steve/Teri intro presentation.

It seems that they disliked the exposure to other people that sports were providing for Nate & Chris. The boys were bringing home words and ideas and attitudes that didn't fit with being a good cult drone. I remember distinctly that Teri said that while Steve told the boys that they had a choice whether to continue in sports or not, "They really didn't," she said, and she smiled oh-so-properly.

One of them went out of their way to make it clear that Steve took the boys separately to get ice cream and the bad news. And that Steve cried on each separate excursion. Some other time during the infomercial (which is exactly what it was like, Palimpsest, thanks for saying so!), Steve began to weep aloud, I think when he was reading a power-pointed e-mail from a mother who felt she was losing her kids' hearts. It was amazing to see a grown man turn on the waterworks like that. It cemented my belief that he and Teri are evil, evil people. Perhaps they began with a heart for god but now it's all about the bottom line for Titus2 Products, LLC.

(I'm the one who signed the autograph mat around the framed, matted Bible verses that the organizers had for the family, as "Jinger Freeh." I think I'll have that story told at my funeral! I mean, seriously, has anybody else noticed those beautifully framed pieces on any MaxhellHouse walls? Nope! For one thing, they don't spell J E S U S.

For another, they are evidence of what might have been the first of the invasions ... or whatever they're calling us. :dance:

You were Jinger Freeh! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

I remember that. It's hilarious!

Yes, all the reports need to go together. I think we all pick up on different things. Steve weeps? Yuck.

[formergothardite]

I'll see you there. If I get there first, I'll save you a seat.

You better just save a whole row because you know most of Free Jinger is going to be there. :lol:

[VodouDoll]

Steve weeps? Yuck.

Oh yeah. Steve is a Boehner-level crier. Do you guys remember when he and Teri had another family over to the house years ago, and while they were singing hymns after dinner Steve accidentally glanced at the mother of the other family right when she happened to glance at him, and he almost cried because he was so upset that she might have thought he was sneaking a peek at her boobs? He told his readers that that her husband would answer for this sinful affront on judgement day. It was all that guy's fault that Steve got upset because he let his wife go out in a shirt that showed her shape and God was going to punish him for it. It definitely wasn't Steve's fault for making a big deal out of nothing or for not keeping his eyes to himself.

[treemom]

Don't forget the taco bell vs cracker punishment the boys got at one point.