Erika Shupe *fake smile* Large Families on Purpose Part 2

[princessmahina]

That letter Melanie wrote was odd. the weird circling and underlining was...odd. I don't know how else to describe it other than really, incredibly odd. And did they really just put Skittles in each one? I thought there were supposed to be actual material items?

[Antimony]

I got my Penzey's Natural High Fat Cocoa off the shelf. It has a recipe on the back for classic hot chocolate.
 

4 C Milk
3 TB Sugar
2 TB Natural Cocao
A dash of cinnamon and vanilla (Penzey's also sells a vanilla infused sugar, which is amazing)

Heat in a heavy saucepan, top with mini marshmallows.
 

It's not cold enough for this yet but Erika can enjoy her...whatever that hell that is...while I enjoy this!

[Hane]

I got my Penzey's Natural High Fat Cocoa off the shelf. It has a recipe on the back for classic hot chocolate.
 

4 C Milk
3 TB Sugar
2 TB Natural Cocao
A dash of cinnamon and vanilla (Penzey's also sells a vanilla infused sugar, which is amazing)

Heat in a heavy saucepan, top with mini marshmallows.
 

It's not cold enough for this yet but Erika can enjoy her...whatever that hell that is...while I enjoy this!

Penzey's is a major shrine in the House of Hane religion, and the Fabulous Kitchen-Aid is its primary sacred artifact. [/OT]

[mango_fandango]

That letter Melanie wrote was odd. the weird circling and underlining was...odd. I don't know how else to describe it other than really, incredibly odd. And did they really just put Skittles in each one? I thought there were supposed to be actual material items?

They do put other things in, just that the Skittles were the most noticeable thing to me.

[19 cats and counting]

In her post from today that discusses meal planning, we can see she's a fan of the Maxwell's bland burrito recipe.

 

 

I'm shocked at the color of the post-it notes.  I thought Erika only did things in shades of brown/beige (I guess for post-its, make it the generic yellow).  Isn't a fun color a little worldly for her?

[LovelyLuna]

I can’t stand artificial sweeteners. They are horrible for you. fundie logic wins again.

[iheartchacos]

Can someone tell me where I can get one of those parkas?

I want to be as modest as possible.

[lilith]

I keep forgetting to put my breasts away after feeding the baby. I guess my sons are in a constant state of ungodly lust. Except they're not. Cause I'm their mother. And they're kids (the eldest may be old enough to start lusting, but certainly not after me!). And they understand that nursing isn't sexual. And they're not so repressed and fucked up that they view their mother or sisters as sex objects - they have as much access as they like to girls their own ages and pictures of pretty girls in the media they consume.

Fundies create these weird problems for themselves then act like they are amazingly resourceful for coming up with weird solutions to them.

[apandaaries]

A dash of cinnamon and vanilla (Penzey's also sells a vanilla infused sugar, which is amazing)
 

OT, but you can also buy some vanilla bean pods and infuse the sugar yourself.  I've done it with the vanilla pod, sugar, a Mason jar, and some time.  Or make your own vanilla extract with the pod and vodka or rum.  Not a bad homemade gift to give, either, with a bit of pre-planning. 

Can someone tell me where I can get one of those parkas?

I want to be as modest as possible.

Bless your heart, my dear.  FJ should have a merchandise shop with modest parkas.  

[defraudingjezebel]

 

 

Can someone tell me where I can get one of those parkas?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I want to be as modest as possible.

To be fair, parkas are usually pretty modest. Just think of them as water-resistant burqas! 

For real, though- I was borderline impressed with the response many of these women had to the article. They were calling it out as sexist and completely un-Christian. Thennnn they start talking about the abomination that is transgender people and they lose me.  I will try to focus on the small victories. 

[Jasmar]

If I cared enough to mess with it, I'd love to ask her a good, pointed question disagreeing with her on some topic, and end the post with, "And I've got to say, it's not just my opinion...its God's." Just to see how she'd respond.

[pnwgypsy]

Lets say there's some chance the oldest goes to cosmetology school....do the Shupes realize there might be people with green hair there (like the Bateses w/ Erin)? Will the Shupe girl refuse certain services on religious grounds?

[lilith]

It sounds strange, but I don't think Erika is that deeply religious. She posts "inspiring" christian and biblical quotes and links to articles about faith, but she never writes anything that makes me think her faith is deep or important to her on an emotional level. In fundie speak - she doesn't seem to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

She was raised in a conservative Christian home. And she's certainly a conformist. I think she's slipped further and further into fundiedom because the secular aspects of it meet her needs. The homeschooling and scheduling and isolation meet her need for complete control, and she can say she's doing it because God commands her to. She likes a clean and organised home, and she can take it to extremes (and force her daughters to do the bulk of the actual work) because she says that it's what God wants women to do. The modesty and submission stuff allow her to feel sanctimonious and superior, while at the same time doing exactly as she likes. I could be wrong, but her religion seems very self serving and not particularly deep or devout.

[defraudingjezebel]

It sounds strange, but I don't think Erika is that deeply religious. She posts "inspiring" christian and biblical quotes and links to articles about faith, but she never writes anything that makes me think her faith is deep or important to her on an emotional level. In fundie speak - she doesn't seem to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

She was raised in a conservative Christian home. And she's certainly a conformist. I think she's slipped further and further into fundiedom because the secular aspects of it meet her needs. The homeschooling and scheduling and isolation meet her need for complete control, and she can say she's doing it because God commands her to. She likes a clean and organised home, and she can take it to extremes (and force her daughters to do the bulk of the actual work) because she says that it's what God wants women to do. The modesty and submission stuff allow her to feel sanctimonious and superior, while at the same time doing exactly as she likes. I could be wrong, but her religion seems very self serving and not particularly deep or devout.

I 100% agree. We never read blog posts from Erika about spiritual or theological issues other than those where she flaunts her legalism and ability to control every aspect of her family's life. That isn't to say that all Christians need to go on some deep philosophical or emotional diatribe about their relationship with Jesus Christ, but Erika is all tangled up in the rules and regulations. She can justify herself using any Bible verse she wants, and her interpretation/opinion (a.k.a. God's actual opinion) always happens to conform exactly with what Erika wants. Case in point: her short, "wispy" hair. 

She clearly gets a kick out of talking down to people. Every single one of her comments comes off as patronizing at best, though they're often downright contemptuous. I don't think she's interested in spreading God's word as much as she's interested in spreading the gospel according Erika Shupe. 

 

[mango_fandango]

It sounds strange, but I don't think Erika is that deeply religious. She posts "inspiring" christian and biblical quotes and links to articles about faith, but she never writes anything that makes me think her faith is deep or important to her on an emotional level. In fundie speak - she doesn't seem to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

She was raised in a conservative Christian home. And she's certainly a conformist. I think she's slipped further and further into fundiedom because the secular aspects of it meet her needs. The homeschooling and scheduling and isolation meet her need for complete control, and she can say she's doing it because God commands her to. She likes a clean and organised home, and she can take it to extremes (and force her daughters to do the bulk of the actual work) because she says that it's what God wants women to do. The modesty and submission stuff allow her to feel sanctimonious and superior, while at the same time doing exactly as she likes. I could be wrong, but her religion seems very self serving and not particularly deep or devout.

I think you're bang on with this. It's especially obvious when you read their "Our Story" posts. Erika writes about how she found it really hard to stay off the pill and give family planning to God. I actually reckon it could be relatively easy to "pretend" to be fundie. Buy a couple of long skirts and sleeved tops- fundies mostly have limited wardrobes- and buy some Bibles and so on. When I've looked up homeschool curriculum for fun, it mostly seems to be Christian-oriented like Switched On Schoolhouse etc. Religion is a perfect cover for someone with narcissistic personality disorder, for example- you can use the Bible and your interpretations thereof as a mask. I hate to be an armchair diagnostician, but I think Erika may have some NPD traits, like requiring admiration (hello, why else would she write a gazillion posts about organisation) and lacking empathy etc. The Wikipedia page also mentions how NPD sufferers are often envious of others who they perceive as better. Despite what she says, I actually reckon Erika is secretly a little envious of people who have a bigger house, or who have more money than she does. She says "oh God can show you how to better use your current home" but in her last Christmas letter she mentioned how they've been praying for a bigger house, mainly because as the kids get bigger the house feels smaller. I think they've been praying for a bigger house for a while. Erika also has a post about how she struggled to listen to God without hearing songs from musicals in her head.

ETA: not that I look up homeschool curricula for fun. I just wanted to investigate what there is/see if there's ANYTHING secular... 

[lilith]

I think you're bang on with this. It's especially obvious when you read their "Our Story" posts. Erika writes about how she found it really hard to stay off the pill and give family planning to God. I actually reckon it could be relatively easy to "pretend" to be fundie. Buy a couple of long skirts and sleeved tops- fundies mostly have limited wardrobes- and buy some Bibles and so on. When I've looked up homeschool curriculum for fun, it mostly seems to be Christian-oriented like Switched On Schoolhouse etc. Religion is a perfect cover for someone with narcissistic personality disorder, for example- you can use the Bible and your interpretations thereof as a mask. I hate to be an armchair diagnostician, but I think Erika may have some NPD traits, like requiring admiration (hello, why else would she write a gazillion posts about organisation) and lacking empathy etc. The Wikipedia page also mentions how NPD sufferers are often envious of others who they perceive as better. Despite what she says, I actually reckon Erika is secretly a little envious of people who have a bigger house, or who have more money than she does. She says "oh God can show you how to better use your current home" but in her last Christmas letter she mentioned how they've been praying for a bigger house, mainly because as the kids get bigger the house feels smaller. I think they've been praying for a bigger house for a while. Erika also has a post about how she struggled to listen to God without hearing songs from musicals in her head.

That (the musicals thing) is incredibly wtf.

I also think that, even though she claims to be submitted to her headship, their religion allows her to control her husband. She can claim that anything she wants is God's will for their family and Bob, who also seems to lack spiritual depth, has to argue, not against his wife, but against God.

[mango_fandango]

 

That (the musicals thing) is incredibly wtf.

I also think that, even though she claims to be submitted to her headship, their religion allows her to control her husband. She can claim that anything she wants is God's will for their family and Bob, who also seems to lack spiritual depth, has to argue, not against his wife, but against God.

Not WKing for Erika, but earworms can be incredibly annoying at times. But that she wrote a whole post about it is weird. 

[iweartanktops]

I couldn't agree more! When I first started down her rabbit hole, I was struck by the lack of any spiritual depth in her posts. I think she really thrives on the rigidity of extreme religion. 

And she absolutely comes first, in her mind! It's all about Erika. 

[elliha]

Yes, Erika is probably the type who feels comfort from following the rules more than being in the presence of god as a Christian and I agree that her faith does not seem very deep. It seems more like praying through her teeth in crisis and the rest of the time, mindlessly regurgitating bible verses that support her views.

[alexandracabot]

I also think that — aside from, I guess, the Operation Christmas Child boxes — the lack of ANY mention of service, or even evangelism or "spreading Christ's love," is indicative of how she uses/thinks of her faith.

I follow another woman on Facebook ("5 Kids 6 Months") who's a fundamentalist adoptive mother of 7. She very frequently talks about doing good deeds and evangelism. She does a lot of little "Christian" things like bringing her kids' Pirate Day donuts to firefighters and policemen rather than hoarding them, cleaning up the neighborhood with her kids after Halloween, fostering animals, and bringing a birthday cake and presents to a young man she met at a restaurant who had aged out of foster care without finding a family. (And also ickier stuff like handing out tracts instead of candy at Halloween and having her kids stand outside Planned Parenthood with "I love you" and "Think about adoption" signs.) 

Erika has never done ANY of these things. I don't see any indication of trying to live like Jesus in any form.

[jerkit]

I think it's hilarious when fundies put the word "organic" in front of something and act like it's healthy. Erika does it, Zsu does it, Lori gave out organic lollipops on Halloween.

 

[Eternalbluepearl]

 

Erika has never done ANY of these things. I don't see any indication of trying to live like Jesus in any form.

I feel the same way about Zsu. Zsu doesn't mention Jesus. Like ever. Just that her husband is a pastor. Back to Erika though, I remember someone asking her about evangelizing and her saying that right now with so many little ones isn't the time. 

[iweartanktops]

I feel the same way about Zsu. Zsu doesn't mention Jesus. Like ever. Just that her husband is a pastor. Back to Erika though, I remember someone asking her about evangelizing and her saying that right now with so many little ones isn't the time. 

She doesn't have the time? I wonder what Bible verses she would throw at someone who said that very thing! 

Off topic, but I also noticed that for a family who claims to be so into ministry, I noticed that the Rodrigues kids never mention God in videos. I doubt they really teach the kids much about their faith (or anything other than makeup). 

[Eternalbluepearl]

She doesn't have the time? I wonder what Bible verses she would throw at someone who said that very thing! 

Right? Probably some articles from Kelly Crawford as well. "You have the time, sweet mama..." Or some other precious bullshit. *barf*

[Jingerbread]

 

I am a bit torn about the extreme focus on free play in our preschools. I don't want more school, but I would like the teachers to do even more with active learning like working more with letters, words, numbers and so on but use play as a method as they regularily do. I mean, I have started my daughter on working with reading by using little cards with words and she is doing very well with it and why could they not do this for everyone? Why can't they let children play with things that teaches them more about science such as magnets? What about learning flags, maps, symbols and so on when they already learn names of animals and plants? There are preschools that do more of this but I would have liked it to be something everyone did. Don't get me wrong, the teachers usually do a very good job and are very good at teaching children "on the go" but with just a tiny bit of structure that would not feel restrictive to the children they could maximize this. Those that are not interested could just build legos as I see it. 

How much have you watched children play with things that aren't academics-based?  Kids use toys, from Barbies to Tonka trucks, to act out various situations, and to problem-solve.  A few days ago, I was watching a couple kids who were using My Little Ponies in their play, and they had a few ponies start to bully a couple others.  They had the pony-victims stand up for themselves and say that bullying isn't nice and hurt their feelings, and some more of the toys were brought in to stand up for the victims, and it ended with the bullies realizing they were hurting feelings.  Then they all had a party.

That free-play let them act out situations they've encountered themselves or seen, and figure out ways to solve problems.  Kids shouldn't be denied the chance to do that with toys just so they always play with magnets and shapes of states instead.

Kids don't have entirely no structure.  This time is free-play time, and now we clean up for snack time, and now we clean up for story-time or songs.  There's loose structure.  Were we harmed in any way at all by having more free-play instead of academics in our early school years?  Were we harmed by not having our play directed?  Let kids use their imaginations.  That's vital, and if it's killed in the early years because they've learned to wait for someone to guide them, then something in them has been destroyed that they might not get back.

While I suspect that Erika's control issues are the reason they are not in contact with Bob's parents I am not judging her for this unless I really have the full story. I do not have an easy relationship with my own mother in law and it is not necessarily just one person's fault. I am going to assume it is down to a clash between both parties and not just her fault actually. 

I usually say the same, but she's the one with the platform, and she fails to give any good reasons.  What I got from it was stuff like Bob's parents are too liberal and probably offered advice she didn't like.  It would be bad enough if she cut the kids off from Bob's parents, but he's cut off too, and we all know Erika don't have compassion and thinks her way is the only way and thinks kids having relationships with other adults will harm them.  I'm going to lay this problem on her.  I think Bob's parents being more liberal than her and the kids loving them might have set her on the path to thinking kids can't be close to anyone but parents so she could make sure her kids aren't exposed to ideas about how people should love people.