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

[Miggy]

Dressing like mum when little = cute.

Dressing like sisters occasionally = fun.

Dressing in similar style to mum/sisters = unsurprising (Not unusual for daughters to have similar tastes to their mother)

Dressing identically to mum AND sisters all the time = ? there are no words ...

[kpmom]

Mary looks so much like Chelsea Clinton to me. If only Mary had the same opportunities that Chelsea had who knows what she could become...

6.

I'm imagining Steve's head exploding having a Maxwell compared in any way to a Clinton!

[TMS]

My daughters are 3 years apart, and I loved dressing them alike when they were little. I would buy two of the same outfits anytime they were available. But when my oldest was about 6, she started objecting - she did NOT want her little sister dressed the same as her anymore! I respected her feelings and stopped buying them matching outfits. It was fun while it lasted!

My girls are teens now. They saw a picture of the Maxwell women in matching jumpers and were like, "WTF??"

[MamaJunebug]

I'm a crabby old lady who doesn't think Mary looks adorable.

My perception is probably clouded by how thoroughly submerged in Kool-Aid the poor kid appears to be.

Does anybody else think Anna's smile in the box-cutting photo looks significantly less genuine than usual?

(I'm a crabby old lady who does like to hold out hope.)

[bluelady]

OMG, Mary is just adorable. It looks like her hair has highlights, but I'm guessing they're natural because I doubt Steve would allow that. titus2.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DSC_8229.jpg

Ugh. If they have to wear ankle-length skirts, could they not find ones that were more flattering? They exists. I own two. Although, I do agree that Mary (if we ignore the skirts) is quite pretty.

[anjulibai]

It's interesting that they only have two conferences on this next leg of their spring trip. Usually they have a lot more in the summer. It's a good thing, but interesting none the less.

[YPestis]

Yeah, they were pretty popular two years back, but there's been a pretty precipitous drop in their conferences since then. I thought maybe they were taking fewer offers, but the reports I've heard from FJers who've attended their conferences seem to indicate their sessions are pretty much a sales pitch. I think churches are starting to realize they are basically inviting a salesman to come to their doors and have stopped calling them. Perhaps that's why the Maxwells are in the process of of "rebranding", what with the girls' stylish hairs, new products and lectures. Maybe Steve is realizing no one wants to invite them just to spend three hours on a live infomercial so he's starting pack the sessions with "real" lectures (i.e ones where he provides advice and ideas, rather than "buy my stuff!").

I won't count the Maxwells out just yet. I think the next year or so will determine where their ministry will go. The Maxwells may very well end up just selling their stuff on their website and subsisting on the fringes. But if they can hit the right note, we could see years and years of the Maxwells on the road.

[sparkles]

I seem to remember a post a couple of years ago or so about how they were considering cutting back on their conference schedule now that the children were getting older. Of course they probably planned that in anticipation of marrying them off but since that doesn't seem to be happening who knows what they're doing? They do seem to be cutting back though.

[kpmom]

I remember one FJer, treemom I believe, who said her sister sells things at homeschool conferences, and can easily make thousands of dollars from one large conference.

So, while they seem to have less smaller conferences, they do hit at least one big conference a year. That might make up for tons of small church conferences.

[Miggy]

I'm a crabby old lady who doesn't think Mary looks adorable.

My perception is probably clouded by how thoroughly submerged in Kool-Aid the poor kid appears to be.

Does anybody else think Anna's smile in the box-cutting photo looks significantly less genuine than usual?

(I'm a crabby old lady who does like to hold out hope.)

This made me laugh! No, you are not a crabby old lady - we just all have our own personal tastes.

I think Sarah has a very natural prettiness and I am quite jealous of her hair. (My hair looks kind of like a jinger Duggar perm except it is natural. Not easy to control really.) Anna & Mary ... normal? nice? and I don't mean that unkindly, I just don't see the adorable. To my tastes Tori and Carlin Bates are stunning. (More hair jealousy there.)

[knitwit]

I remember one FJer, treemom I believe, who said her sister sells things at homeschool conferences, and can easily make thousands of dollars from one large conference.

So, while they seem to have less smaller conferences, they do hit at least one big conference a year. That might make up for tons of small church conferences.

And considering gas prices in the last few years, small conferences have to be getting less and less profitable, especially if the number of people attending/buying their stuff has declined.

When I read on here a while back that they were going to Canada I knew it would likely be somewhere rural, likely in the Prairies, but I was kind of hoping they'd come to Toronto. Preferably to the Yonge-Wellesley area. Sarah could have added a few more things to her list, like riding the subway and seeing ads for same-sex dating services. :D

[anjulibai]

Yeah, they were pretty popular two years back, but there's been a pretty precipitous drop in their conferences since then. I thought maybe they were taking fewer offers, but the reports I've heard from FJers who've attended their conferences seem to indicate their sessions are pretty much a sales pitch. I think churches are starting to realize they are basically inviting a salesman to come to their doors and have stopped calling them. Perhaps that's why the Maxwells are in the process of of "rebranding", what with the girls' stylish hairs, new products and lectures. Maybe Steve is realizing no one wants to invite them just to spend three hours on a live infomercial so he's starting pack the sessions with "real" lectures (i.e ones where he provides advice and ideas, rather than "buy my stuff!").

I won't count the Maxwells out just yet. I think the next year or so will determine where their ministry will go. The Maxwells may very well end up just selling their stuff on their website and subsisting on the fringes. But if they can hit the right note, we could see years and years of the Maxwells on the road.

I have been wondering about the change in clothing. I don't think we've seen an actual frumper on any of the women in a while. Melanie always dressed similar to how they all are dressing now, but I figured that was just her. Anna Marie still dresses he same. Her clothes remind me of a Mennonite woman's. Perhaps she'll change, though maybe Christopher likes her dressing that way.

I'm sure a lot of churches hear the anti-church, anti-youth group, pro-isolationism, and realize it's not something that jives with, well, being a church. I also bet, given that a lot of pastors attend regional ministerial training conferences, that they probably pass that info along to other pastors. I can't imagine many pastors would be really encouraging of the Maxwell lifestyle.

[Justme]

A sales pitch blog is up for their CT show. The detail says to bring a light dinner for Friday night. Wonder what Stevie would do if someone came with a full dinner spread! Maybe even a bottle of wine!

[Hane]

From the CT blog: "Love offering boxes will be on the book tables to help with the Maxwells’ traveling expenses." Of course there will.

I'd like to drop a thesaurus into one of those boxes. Better yet, I'd love to show up with some FJers and play a Peewee Herman game in which we all yell "AAAAAAHHH!" every time a Maxwell utters one of their overused tag phrases, such as "sweet relationship."

[auntsally28]

If a thesaurus won't fit in we could just pop in a piece of paper with some alternative adjectives to sweet......all suggestions here..

[Joan of Snarc]

I'd like to leave a bunch of these in their "love offering boxes:"

:whistle:

[MamaJunebug]

From the CT blog: "Love offering boxes will be on the book tables to help with the Maxwells’ traveling expenses." Of course there will.

I'd like to drop a thesaurus into one of those boxes. Better yet, I'd love to show up with some FJers and play a Peewee Herman game in which we all yell "AAAAAAHHH!" every time a Maxwell utters one of their overused tag phrases, such as "sweet relationship."

I. Am. So. In. !!! I have a friend in central CT who would give me free lodging, if I could afford the airfare.

Hope someone goes to the dinner hour with an aromatic picnic of good Italian pizza, freshly fried bacon for BLTs on herbed (also aromatic) bread and a full plate of assorted chocolates- the bottle of wine would be the crowning touch. Sit and nosh and smile and burp and pat the tummy and even say a thank-you prayer aloud. To God, to really make Steve The Aesthete's holier-than-thou head asplode.

It would be awesome.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

So, I'm in MA....If someone could pick me up from the nearest train station (or if it is cababble), I am totally in for crashing the CT conference!

[terranova]

Why "love offering" instead of donation?

[already hungover]

Why "love offering" instead of donation?

Because teh ebil heathen gay-loving groups get "donations"? The Followers of Steve are too good to be affiliated with that kind of horror.

[Lillybee]

If I were near I would bring a case of Pepsi.

[BullyJBG]

The detail says to bring a light dinner for Friday night. Wonder what Stevie would do if someone came with a full dinner spread! Maybe even a bottle of wine!

I know! I saw that when I was checking it out when they were in Manitoba. Who's to say what we can and can't eat when you're not providing that yourselves! I figured they were anticipating having deep discussions throughout, so that anything you can eat should be something low-maintenance enough to be able to keep in the discussions. Or maybe the church doesn't have, say, a microwave where people could warm up their food.

I wondered if people would bring their own homemade sandwiches, or if they'd stop at a fast-food joint......And for the Saturday, saying eat here or go to a nearby restaurant. I wonder if they've ever realized that, if everyone lived the way they do, restaurants wouldn't exist! And if that Mennonite Evangelical church that hosted them believe like they do, they would've pulled together to have a pot-luck meal both for Friday supper and Saturday lunch. JMO.

[Chibi Author]

Someone should bring a huge container of animal crackers, and start eating them by the handful.

[danvillebelle]

Someone should bring a huge container of animal crackers, and start eating them by the handful.

Even better, do that with the animal crackers and then also crack open an entire six-pack of Pepsi and start chugging it Conehead-style.

[Hane]

I. Am. So. In. !!! I have a friend in central CT who would give me free lodging, if I could afford the airfare.

Hope someone goes to the dinner hour with an aromatic picnic of good Italian pizza, freshly fried bacon for BLTs on herbed (also aromatic) bread and a full plate of assorted chocolates- the bottle of wine would be the crowning touch. Sit and nosh and smile and burp and pat the tummy and even say a thank-you prayer aloud. To God, to really make Steve The Aesthete's holier-than-thou head asplode.

It would be awesome.

Oh, MamaJ, although I can't make this Very Special Event (rehearsals and prep for a community theater play in the next town over take precendence), I would love to meet up with you if you ever come to central Connecticut. I'd take you to Wooster St. (New Haven's Little Italy) for the world's best pizza!