Maxwell influence - "Modesty - the basics"

[love2scrap]

I realize this post was made in 2008, but from the looks of these two sister's blog, they are still dressing the way the Maxwell's influenced them to

 

younghomemakers.blogspot.sg/2008/10/modesty-basics.html

 

 

Quote

When I first heard about dressing modestly I thought "I already dress modestly, don't I?" I wore shirts that completely covered my top and I didn't wear any low rise jeans or skirts that went above my knees (and even the ones that came only to below my knees made me uncomfortable).

 

So who changed my entire viewpoint on modesty?

The Maxwell family. In case you don't know who they are, the Maxwell family is a family with eight children who go on a trip each year to hold homeschool conferences and sell their products (the link to their blog is over on the left in our favorite blogs category). However, their conferences have a range of subjects. They are not specifically about homeschooling, but also include talks on being a submissive wife, and evangelism, just to name a few. In one of these conferences that I and my family attended, my sister and I learned about Godly modesty. The thing that put it in perspective, was that Sarah (the eldest girl) let us see modesty from a guys point of view and God's point of view. Hearing about how guys saw my clothes and the messages my clothes could send a guy, made me completely rethink my wardrobe choices.

 

I now wear dresses all the time. I wear skirts, jumpers, and modest tops. (modest in terms of it covers your entire top and doesn't have any pictures on it or seams/gathers in the material to draw attention to a specific area. My family also decided to ban sleeveless shirts.)

 

So what is considered modest?

 

Well, in my family, my sister and I decided not to wear pants because of the way they show off your legs. Skirts above the knee had never been an option or in our desire to wear anyways so why would we change that now? We got rid of all the shirts we owned that had pictures and/or words on them. When we are talking to a person, we want them to look at our face, not our chest which has a picture of an embroidered butterfly on it. No matter how cute it is! Also, we got rid of any sleeveless shirts we owned, which weren't many. We also made sure our skirts did not have even the slightest slit in them. This is a big distraction for guys.

 

A tough choice

 

This was a tough decision for my sister and I. We are the only girls in our church that dress this way. Many of our friendships have fallen through the cracks due to this decision. And to be honest, we have made few new friends since we made this decision. However, don't let the fear of losing friends or the fear of what others will think stop you! You need to follow God's plan, not the plans of others!

As a result of our decision to dress modestly and follow God, we grew closer to many of the elderly people attending our church. One of the upsides to growing closer to the elderly in our church was that we gained a grandfather figure in our lives. My two younger brothers, older sister, and I have never gotten to meet either of our grandfathers or one of our grandmothers (They died before we knew them. We currently have one living grandparent). So, we have sort of adopted one of the elderly men in our church as a grandfather. At least, we see him as that in our own hearts. He has been a blessing and encourager to us all. We Love getting our Sunday hugs from him!

 

 

The last paragraph about losing friends and growing closer to the "elderly" made me

[ILoveJellybeans]

That is sad :(

Wow, absolutely nothing I own is Maxwell approved. All of my tshirts have pictures on them. The only thing that would fit in with their rules is the longest skirt I own, but its black and white with skulls on and that would either be seen as satanic...or amazing because it reminds them of death.

[Meeka]

Why would wearing only skirts and dressing modestly make you lose friends? Unless they were always talking about it to them and trying to force their opinions on their friends

[Jana814]

Why would wearing only skirts and dressing modestly make you lose friends? Unless they were always talking about it to them and trying to force their opinions on their friends

That could be what happened! If someone did that to be I'd be pissed also.

[Jana814]

It always bothers me when I read about how other people change the way they live because of the Duggars, Maxwells, Bates, & in some cases are perfectly happy the way it use to be.

[lilith]

How on earth would Sarah know about modesty from a guy's point of view?

All she knows is what her brothers, brainwashed by her father, have told her.

Maybe if Sarah had worn some contrasting buttons or slightly split skirts she wouldn't be a thirty something year old virgin enthusing about the magnificence of bean burritos and writing formulaic Moody books.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

That is sad :(

Wow, absolutely nothing I own is Maxwell approved. All of my tshirts have pictures on them. The only thing that would fit in with their rules is the longest skirt I own, but its black and white with skulls on and that would either be seen as satanic...or amazing because it reminds them of death.

Too bad they forbid shirts with writing on them - that skirt would be just the thing to match up with a shirt saying "Where Will You Go When You Die?" across it! :lol:

[johnhugh]

He has been a blessing and encourager to us all. We Love getting our Sunday hugs from him!

-And I bet he does too! :wink-penguin: :wink-penguin:

So these sheep rant about their new Sunday Grandfather rather than their

currently have one living grandparent

Just like how Stevie makes an idol of the elderly at the elderly church rather than his own mother.

But the Maxwell's don't always practice what they preach. Remember last Christmas when Teri sneaked this top past Stevie's inspection...

titus2.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/DSC_0139.jpg

[BornFree]

Yes, Steve doesn't practice what he preaches. When it suits him, he breaks the rules. For example on the Maxwell website, the cover illustration on Sweet Relationships displays the face of a woman enhanced with mascara , eye shadow, curled hair etc. In this instance Steve, has taken a "non believer approach" by displaying a picture of a beautiful women on the cover to help his book sell. First things first and making money is first!

[slickcat79]

How on earth would Sarah know about modesty from a guy's point of view?

All she knows is what her brothers, brainwashed by her father, have told her.

That was my first thought. And it's not like Sarah actually knows god's POV either. It's not like I've read the whole bible, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any verses forbidding shirts with butterflies on them or skirts with slits :roll:

Oh, and that sentence about how you need to follow "God's plan" and not the plans of others would make a lot more sense if she hadn't just written an entire entry about how they developed their modesty plan on the advice of the Maxwells. Steve must be so pleased that someone outside the family also thinks he is God.

[Miggy]

But the Maxwell's don't always practice what they preach. Remember last Christmas when Teri sneaked this top past Stevie's inspection...

titus2.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/DSC_0139.jpg

Teri looks so pretty here. It makes it so hard to believe all the stories when you see her relaxed and happy. Then I go back and reread some of her posts ...