Joseph Maxwell made a music video for Elissa!

[FloraDoraDolly]

This is a really good point. And we know from some FJers' conference reports that all this time later, with Joe happily married to someone else, Steve is still railing about Elizabeth and calling her mean names, saying her father was a liar when he said she was ready for marriage and Liz was willful and a bad Christian. Her defection caused him a narcissistic injury that he's still raging about.

Come to think of it, their father's over the top, long-lasting fury at the Munck situation pretty much guarantees that if Anna or Mary ever want out of a courtship, there's no way on earth they'd feel safe saying so. Once those kids get betrothed, they're trapped.

Elizabeth got the hell out of there before she became a member. The actual members never leave.

[Arete]

I wonder if the little bit of chub? flesh? extra weight Joe is carrying is because he is now getting fed by Elissa? Maybe now he is having actual adult sized portions. Maybe they have dessert every night. ssssh. :o

No, that video was shot before the marriage. The man boobs came despite the food rationing at chez Steve Maxwell.

[FloraDoraDolly]

Yes if you leave an abbreviated name, or a unisex name, they'll fix that for you lol

Yeah, I remember someone here posted as Sam and Steve changed it to Samantha.

[Arete]

He could have been referring to Christopher's failed courtship as well as Joseph and Elizabeth Munck. They tried to sweep that one under the rug too.

So he is complaining about defrauding with intent about courting and marriage and a father supposedly misrepresenting his daughter as a model Maxwell bride. If he is complaining about Sarah Smith/Christopher -- we don't know who called that one off. Suffice it to say she had a very lucky escape if Steve deemed her unworthy and I'm sure she knows that. I wish Sarah well in her new marriage.

If he is talking about Elizabeth Munck, then he is rewriting history in a very dishonest way. The Maxwells were all gung-ho about that marriage until Elizabeth called it off decisively just before the wedding. Not Joseph Steve. Both Munck and Maxwell families agreed on that at the time. How dare he question her decision. It was a massive and unprecedented blow to Steve's ego and it took a young woman to deliver it. He should be glad that Elizabeth backed out of the marriage if she was at all unsure - not criticizing her for doing so.

I'm sure the failed courtships were presented to Anna and Elissa as Satan at work against Maxwell virtue. God intervened in the nick of time and Chris and Joe had lucky escapes from devil brides. God saved them for the virtuous wives instead so Elissa could well be feeling smug not humiliated.

I think any woman is going to be humiliated by her father-in-law still stewing publically over her husband's previous relationship, regardless of whether you "won the prize" or not. I get a feeling that for Anna and Elissa's consumption, they presented some sort of "The Lord was not leading" scenario. Behind the scenes, Steve is filled with rage that Elizabeth called off the wedding to his golden boy. And Joseph is absolutely the golden boy as compared to Nathan or even Christopher, because he has been sheltered since birth. He is the first reversal and really the Exhibit A for Steve's brand. Liz didn't just reject Joseph. To Steve, Liz rejected the sum total of Steve's worldview and life's work. Ugh, what a narcissist.

[Myfanwy]

No, that video was shot before the marriage. The man boobs came despite the food rationing at chez Steve Maxwell.

Oooh. You're right. I got nothin' then.

[Dru]

That's why I think Steve's ranting about Sarah and not Elizabeth. Even though they've scrubbed the blog, some of the faithful probably remembers that it was Elizabeth that bailed just before the wedding, which has to be humiliating for the the Maxwell brand. Even though Steve likes to revise history, I don't think he'd want to bring it up again. Instead, he gets to paint Sarah's father as the devil for trying to deceive them but through the grace of god, they found out the truth. Their way is the path of righteousness. Win for the Maxwells.

Steve didn't scrub the blog all that well as it turns out. If you search the blog for "Elizabeth" the blog post titles come up, though the posts themselves are gone, as well as lots of comments about Joe and Elizabeth's pending wedding. I'm surprised that those comments haven't been deleted given Steve's penchant for editing them in the first place.

No, that video was shot before the marriage. The man boobs came despite the food rationing at chez Steve Maxwell.

Joe and John both have their own vehicles. I have no doubt they hit fast food places while they are out "working" or whatever it is they do outside the watchful eye of daddy.

[FloraKitty35]

That video was awful, the singing was terrible.

[whoviana]

Yeah, I remember someone here posted as Sam and Steve changed it to Samantha.

I did quite a bit of thinking before I shared that they tailored my name to taste because I didn't want anyone to call me a liar or something. Sam to Samantha? Nice, Steve!

As to John's upper body, didn't he lose a lot of weight before this video was shot? Maybe he wanted to "get in shape" for the wedding but you don't lose weight by shedding eleventy pounds in 2 weeks, the skin has to gradually shrink alongside with the rest of your body as you lose weight. This is why I never try anything drastic. There is a bit of excess skin going on above his belt, too.

[SPHASH]

I really hate the smug smile on Joe's face at the end of the video.

[whoviana]

You could look above his breasts? A lady with iron will.

[SPHASH]

You could look above his breasts? A lady with iron will.

He was sitting on the ground with his arms in front of him. That helped immensley.

[MamaJunebug]

To the bolded: have any of our wonderful wayback ferrets been saving these by screw caps, etc.? It would be a downright dirty shame if Steve read the above and went further on cabinet -- er, blog cleaning.

[Palimpsest]

To the second bolded: have any of our wonderful wayback ferrets been saving these by screw caps, etc.? It would be a downright dirty shame if Steve read the above and went further on cabinet -- er, blog cleaning.

To the bolded, I'm really not good at screw caps or screen caps. :wink-kitty: but documentation would be very useful if Steve starts to scrub some more.

I did find the Maxwell blog 2006 and 2007 on the Wayback Machine. There may be more there. http://web.archive.org/web/200712220049 ... p/2007/07/

"… but the LORD directeth his steps …

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Many of you know of Sara Smith’s and my courtship and engagement, and our approaching wedding date. We have been very grateful for your prayer support.

Over these months, as we sought to grow closer through our engagement, we have come to see that our relationship was missing something vital: God’s blessing and His enabling grace. We now humbly acknowledge that it appears it was not God’s will for Sara and I to be married. The decision was a heavy one.

Both Sara and I are grateful to the Lord for what He has done in our lives and have discussed the good that the Lord has and can accomplish in our lives through this time. We have desired to bring the Lord glory in everything that we do in our lives, and that desire has not diminished over these past months, but has instead grown stronger.

I am more convinced than ever that the Lord can and does direct the affairs of man, especially in relation to marriage. We have not in any way lost faith in the God-honoring process of courtship and engagement as a time of seeking the Lord’s direction and spiritual/emotional unity in preparing a man and a woman for marriage.

Thank you for praying, and please continue to pray for us as we follow the Lord and seek His will in each of our lives.

In Christ Jesus,

Christopher "

[VodouDoll]

You guys, though. This is Steve Maxwell. Why would he be railing against some lady everyone has forgotten instead of the one who jilted his precious First Reversal Son, raised with the utmost sheltering care and betrothed with the Christ-Centered notion that you don't actually have to be friends first or even know each other; as long as you're both isolated from the outside world and believe in Maxhell that's all you need for a blissful 90 years together.

It's worth noting that after Liz ran (and GOOD FOR HER) with Joseph's next courtship he was very different. Talked about them becoming friends first and stuff. But seriously, at that conference, Chris's ex was not a blip on Steve's radar. Liz used her voice, said no, and the fact that he couldn't make her shook him to the core. He's still enraged. In his mind, Liz'a rejection of Joseph was a rejection of Steve, and his whole life's work, which is, basically, creating Joeseph and the rest of his children. In rejecting Maxhell she rejected heaven, but she also rejected Steve's theology, which has apparently caused him significant psychological damage. And unsurprisingly so, since he was already nuts. It's not normal to be this FURIOUS at a girl (and her dad!) who jilted your kid ages ago when you barely knew her and he's married so someone else now. Who even cares?

[terranova]

If I were Joseph I'd be praying for a singing teacher.

And if I were Elissa I'd be filling his mouth with food 24/7 so he never, ever has the opportunity to sing.

[clese]

I can't help but think he tried the music video thing with his first love of his life, liz and she ran once she'd seen it!!

[Rosie]

His lips and nips feature prominently.

I felt embarrassed (for him), watching it.

[16strong]

...And if I were Elissa I'd be filling his mouth with food 24/7 so he never, ever has the opportunity to sing.

But that has the unintended consequence of bigger moobs. Terrible singing or big moobs crushing you in bed? To be or not to be? Hm.

[FloraKitty35]

Elizabeth got the hell out of there before she became a member. The actual members never leave.

Maxhell is the fundie version of Hotel California (Hotel Maxwellfornia), only without the controlled substances and hedonism.

[twin2]

Woo-hoo the play-by-play is up!!

It is so snarkworthy, that I just can't manage to find the words. It is *almost* better than the play-by-play when Uriah got stuck in a pot hole.

[lilith]

Who knew that shooting a quick iphone clip entailed such a production! I obviously need to take the Maxhell iphone Essentials course, cause when I film my kids on my phone (just the one phone - Jesse seems to have used MULTIPLE iPhones, like the professional he surely is) I just point it at them, press record and try to move it with them and zoom

in/out when appropriate. I've never considered the need for rigging phones on hiking poles, using clothing as reflectors and using flashlights for extra light while outside in the middle of the day. If only I had eleventy godly brothers to needlessly complicate matters!

[SPHASH]

So they could hear Joe caterwauling while making their descent? My eardrums almost shattered just listening to the video, imagine how it was in person. And why do they have to make such a big production out of an Iphone video?

[twin2]

Who knew that shooting a quick iphone clip entailed such a production! I obviously need to take the Maxhell iphone Essentials course, cause when I film my kids on my phone (just the one phone - Jesse seems to have used MULTIPLE iPhones, like the professional he surely is) I just point it at them, press record and try to move it with them and zoom

in/out when appropriate. I've never considered the need for rigging phones on hiking poles, using clothing as reflectors and using flashlights for extra light while outside in the middle of the day. If only I had eleventy godly brothers to needlessly complicate matters!

See, this is why god sent us the Maxwells. We are all doing it wrong.

[kpmom]

Sarah writes;

"At a certain point in our descent, we could hear Joseph singing."

That would have sent me scrambling back up the mountain.

Sarah writes;

"Joseph’s voice echoed off the mountain walls..."

Thank goodness it didn't cause an avalanche.

Sarah writes;

"Christopher’s forte is lighting..."

We've seen his photography. Uh, no.

Sarah writes;

"A very special thank you goes to Jesse. He invested a lot of time and effort into post-production."

It's a shame he couldn't photo shop those moobs out somehow.

[lilith]

Sarah writes;

"At a certain point in our descent, we could hear Joseph singing."

That would have sent me scrambling back up the mountain.

Sarah writes;

"Joseph’s voice echoed off the mountain walls..."

Thank goodness it didn't cause an avalanche.

Sarah writes;

"Christopher’s forte is lighting..."

We've seen his photography. Uh, no.

Sarah writes;

"A very special thank you goes to Jesse. He invested a lot of time and effort into post-production."

It's a shame he couldn't photo shop those moobs out somehow.

He's a godly young man - his eyes and mind wouldn't linger where they shouldn't. Steve is going to have to extend the tight chest flattening undershirts dress code to the boys as well as the girls. God knows what they do, but the extent to which Mary manages to flatten and conceal her breasts is scary. You'll see an occasional picture where they aren't flattened/hidden and she's quite well endowed - she has a lovely figure that's curvier than her sisters. But most of the time she manages to make her boobs disappear. She needs to give Joseph some tips.