Summary of Spring Days with the Moodys

[VodouDoll]

That's so sad. In Genesis, God gives us responsibility for all animals. He never said we couldn't love them.

But if the Bible never says we should love them, then that's the root of the Maxwells' twisted practice of Christianity. It's not enough to avoid things that are forbidden; they only do things that are explicitly permitted in the Bible and judge anyone who doesn't.

From the April 2009 Dad's Corner, available on the Wayback machine:

Your mind drifts to your brother. You both were raised in a "Christian" home where Dad and Mom were token Christians. Sadly, your brother has followed after Dad's example and has little time for the Lord. It's not that he is evil or anything like that. He goes to church and prays before meals, but he feels God put us on this earth to enjoy it, and he is going to have fun with everything that is not bad. His idea is that if God hasn't said "Thou shalt not…" then it is okay, because he is "free in Christ." As such, his life is dominated by play and entertainment, but sadly there is a noticeable absence of spiritual fruit.

You remember back years ago to when the Lord convicted you that you were Jesus' servant and as such, you were to spend your time in accordance with His direction. That helped you understand that "free in Christ" meant you were free from the bondage of sin, but you were a servant of the living God. "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another" (Galatians 5:13). Therefore, your time was no longer yours to do with what you wanted to do.

...You understand that a servant of the Lord Jesus only does what he is commanded or given permission to do and finds great joy in that. The world's fun is just an expensive counterfeit to joy in the Lord. Your heart turns once again to praying for your brother and other extended family members, desiring for them to have a sweetness and fervency in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

I bet you ten dollars those kids were upset when their dog died and had a hell of a time pretending not to care so they wouldn't set their parents off.

[happy atheist]

Add this to the list of things that are starting to annoy me because it makes no sense. Ok, some people are bad with names. It's particularly hard to remember the names of the children of random acquaintances, but why would she call them by words that aren't even names? I mean, if I were confused about the names of children I hadn't seen in awhile, I'd probably be inclined to use Emma instead of Ella or Brian instead of Brendan, something like that.

For me this was the one spark of amusement. Mix and Match instead of Max and Mitch shows a glimmer of humor, since 'mix n match' is a thing. It also hints that all of the Moody children are interchangeable and indistinguishable to outsiders.

[nomoxian]

For me this was the one spark of amusement. Mix and Match instead of Max and Mitch shows a glimmer of humor, since 'mix n match' is a thing. It also hints that all of the Moody children are interchangeable and indistinguishable to outsiders.

I can only hope she has that level of analysis in spite of her "schooling"

[Miggy]

But if the Bible never says we should love them, then that's the root of the Maxwells' twisted practice of Christianity. It's not enough to avoid things that are forbidden; they only do things that are explicitly permitted in the Bible and judge anyone who doesn't.

From the April 2009 Dad's Corner, available on the Wayback machine:

I bet you ten dollars those kids were upset when their dog died and had a hell of a time pretending not to care so they wouldn't set their parents off.

I've read those ideas here, attributed to Steve but I've never read them in his own words. That is ... I can't find the words ... Horrific? I feel so sorry for the Maxwell 8.

[happy atheist]

I can only hope she has that level of analysis in spite of her "schooling"

I doubt she does.

[samurai_sarah]

Thank you, Miggy, for taking one for the team. I have to confess, I'm surprised to you managed to stay awake while reading that. It sounds like chloroform in print.

[Black Aliss]

Didn't Steve make a comment a while back about their old dog? Something to the effect that they didn't grieve for her when she died because she was just a dog and didn't have a soul?

I can remember the specifics, just that Steve doesn't think highly of animals.

It was drilled into me from the time our first pet died when I was about 5 that animals do not have souls and therefore we will not be reunited with them in heaven. It didn't take long for me to decide that heaven was not a place I wanted to go. Bad enough that it was full of angry, judgemental people, but without even my dog to keep me company?

[browngrl]

Didn't Steve make a comment a while back about their old dog? Something to the effect that they didn't grieve for her when she died because she was just a dog and didn't have a soul?

I can remember the specifics, just that Steve doesn't think highly of animals.

I love my pets dearly. I do not care to believe in any heaven where my pets are not allowed. So I'll add this to the list of reasons I do not and will not ever believe in Steve Maxwell's God.

"It's Mr Gibson. He's getting saved at a wedding - yay" (quoted from Miggy's post)

Who does this? I've always thought that the wedding day should be about the bride + groom. In the weddings I've been part of - I go out of my way to keep my ego/opinions out of it because it is not all about me.

How could a baptism possibly not derail someone's wedding plans? WTF fundies.

[PennySycamore]

He did write something like that.

It's sad, you can actually see in his writings about Honey (their dog) that he really did love her and indulge her as much as he could justify to himself, but had to keep trying to deny it because he felt that he shouldn't love a creature that Jesus didn't specifically command him to love and who he didn't believe had a soul.

But he still sounds more human when writing about Honey than in any other writings if his I've read.

CS Lewis believed that dogs went to Heaven. IIRC, he said something to the effect that God's mercy or love was so great that of course there's be dogs in Heaven!

The episode of I Love Lucy where she writes a novel was on this morning. At the very end of the episode, a publisher tell Lucy that excerpts from her novel were to head the chapter "Don't Let This Happen to You". It's too bad nobody ever said that to Sarah.

[sparkles]

From October 2000' "A Man and His Dawg" in which Stevus talks about how he can't love a dog.

titus2.com/corners/dads-corner/a-man-and-his-dawg.html

For the life of me, I can't ever recall seeing any mention of the dog's passing. Unless I missed it, and I've looked for it a couple of times, it didn't even warrant a mention.

Edited because DYAC

[uber frau]

I think their dog just sort of disappeared off the blog a few years ago and I'm unsure whether the bit about the dog dying was in the comments of a totally unrelated post or an exchange of emails. I do know discussed it here though.

[twin2]

Did Steve just use the word 'dawg' in a sentence?!?!

[Just_Jane]

I am way, way back on page 9 with the bean burrito recipe. how many bean burritos are they making? they have no friends so that can't be it. 10 cups of dried pinto beans is a lot of beans. how would you even cook 10 cups of dried pinto beans. only 6 jalapenos for that much beans is very, very bland. I see they use chili powder. maybe that save it but I'm not a big fan of chili powder being the bulk of flavor. it needs cumin and some other stuff.

I googled it 2 cups of dried beans is equal to 1 pounds dried beans. 1 pound of dried beans cooks up to 6 cups cooked beans so they cook up 60 cups of cooked beans at a time.

okay back to the the general topic of books

As I have been reading the summary of this book, it reminded me of my grade school days, when I swore I would grow up to be a writer. I wrote a lot of short stories and was even selected, a couple of times, to go the aspiring authors day for my school district. it was one day a year where students with the best short stories could go and meet a real life author and learn how to tell a compelling story. When I was in the 7th grade my ghost story was selected for some sort of school thing. I was really into ghost stories and YA horror books at that age.

[nomoxian]

Did Steve just use the word 'dawg' in a sentence?!?!

Yeah... seems a tad "worldly" doesn't it? :naughty:

[thoughtful]

I am way, way back on page 9 with the bean burrito recipe. how many bean burritos are they making? they have no friends so that can't be it. 10 cups of dried pinto beans is a lot of beans. how would you even cook 10 cups of dried pinto beans. only 6 jalapenos for that much beans is very, very bland. I see they use chili powder. maybe that save it but I'm not a big fan of chili powder being the bulk of flavor. it needs cumin and some other stuff.

I googled it 2 cups of dried beans is equal to 1 pounds dried beans. 1 pound of dried beans cooks up to 6 cups cooked beans so they cook up 60 cups of cooked beans at a time.

As you read on, you will find that the recipe in the book is only about one fourth of what they make in real life (well, as real as the Maxwell life can be). :shock:

They freeze it and use it for months.

[Justme]

I don't understand this freezing large quanties of food. They have 3 SAH daughters, plus Teri. They should be able to cook a fresh meal every day. I work full time and still cook a fresh meal each day.

[uber frau]

As you read on, you will find that the recipe in the book is only about one fourth of what they make in real life (well, as real as the Maxwell life can be). :shock:

They freeze it and use it for months.

In itty-bitty containers, the square sort that might be able to accommodate two rounds of Wonder White, if you squish it in. I'm presuming that they only use one container a meal but going by the serving sizes they've shown before (an 8" beef and zucchini* pie that filled up all 9, 3 tbsp of yogurt and fruit, and that single stromboli for the whole family), I wouldn't be surprised if they eat 1 measly tablespoon of bean slop on their burritos. Maybe two if they only have one burrito.

*I laughed at that post. The zucchini was given to them by a generous neighbour (anyone whose grown zucchini knows that there comes a point where you'll give them to anyone who will take them) and was something exotic.

[freejugar]

what's up with the dog? is it wishful thinking? are the maxwells allowed to have pets?

[anjulibai]

The think zucchini is exotic? :doh:

Zucchini is my favorite vegetable and ridiculously plentiful in the summer months. You'd think the Maxwells would take advantage of something like that.

Regarding the little amount of beans they use, I do know that they add on stuff like sour cream, salsa, etc. to make it more filling. Though, still, burritos are meant to be big and difficult to eat.

[nausicaa]

I don't understand this freezing large quanties of food. They have 3 SAH daughters, plus Teri. They should be able to cook a fresh meal every day. I work full time and still cook a fresh meal each day.

I was thinking the same thing. With three grown women whose main job is to feed the family (I always have assumed the second major responsibility of a homemaker is food prep, after taking care young children, of which there are none in their house), why aren't they eating like kings every night with the freshest, healthiest food possible? I don't even like cooking very much but would gladly make elaborate dinners if I were Sarah Maxwell just to have something to do and put some effort into.

[WonderingInWA]

I was thinking the same thing. With three grown women whose main job is to feed the family (I always have assumed the second major responsibility of a homemaker is food prep, after taking care young children, of which there are none in their house), why aren't they eating like kings every night with the freshest, healthiest food possible? I don't even like cooking very much but would gladly make elaborate dinners if I were Sarah Maxwell just to have something to do and put some effort into.

I think Sarah just isn't good at much. She doesn't sew, she's not musically inclined (she has admitted this, which is why she's always the one behind the camera at musical events instead), she's not the fashion consultant, and I don't think she really likes to cook. So, they forced her to write, because she obviously needed something they could say she does well. And of course "well" is debatable. It's like she's a lazy Maxwell, if there is such a thing.

[Trynn]

Because if Sarah put all her effort into making healthy, tasty nutritious meals, then it would become an idol!1!!!!1!!!1!1!

Steve would just tell her to go dust more ceiling fans.

[Justme]

I think Sarah just isn't good at much. She doesn't sew, she's not musically inclined (she has admitted this, which is why she's always the one behind the camera at musical events instead), she's not the fashion consultant, and I don't think she really likes to cook. So, they forced her to write, because she obviously needed something they could say she does well. And of course "well" is debatable. It's like she's a lazy Maxwell, if there is such a thing.

Then they haven't prepared her very well for marriage. How will she ever feed and take care of a family.

[WonderingInWA]

Then they haven't prepared her very well for marriage. How will she ever feed and take care of a family.

Bingo. One of the many reasons, I'm sure, why she's not married.

[Jinger_Cat]

Then they haven't prepared her very well for marriage. How will she ever feed and take care of a family.

She probably won't. She's over thirty with no prospects in sight. She'll probably be their eternal daughter-at-home.