What's Going On in Maxhell? A Whole Lotta Nothing, Pt. 2

[Eternalbluepearl]

2 hours ago, bertnee said:

@Foudeb, wouldn't that be something? If he was a Steve-approved type of Christian who also happened to own his own home across the street from the Maxwells and couldn't tell the difference between meat or bean burritos, then this dog attack would truly be God's divine plan!!

It could be a Hallmark channel movie! "The impawsible" starring Candace Cameron Bure as Sarah Maxwell...

[socalrules]

It's possible Sarah got into the car with people she knew lived in the neighborhood but hadn't actually met. I doubt she walks Ellie too far from home. She may have seen them in their yards a few blocks from hom. That being said, she was likely so frightened that all she wanted was the safety of a car. Or the men may have been in their 80s and so she didn't see them as a threat. I do wonder why the female driver didn't take her home but oh well. At least the female driver would have seen the men in the car should something had happened. My guess is that Sarah wasn't thinking about anything other than getting home as fast as possible so that Ellie could be checked out. 

[SolomonFundy]

2 hours ago, socalrules said:

It's possible Sarah got into the car with people she knew lived in the neighborhood but hadn't actually met. I doubt she walks Ellie too far from home. She may have seen them in their yards a few blocks from hom. That being said, she was likely so frightened that all she wanted was the safety of a car. Or the men may have been in their 80s and so she didn't see them as a threat. I do wonder why the female driver didn't take her home but oh well. At least the female driver would have seen the men in the car should something had happened. My guess is that Sarah wasn't thinking about anything other than getting home as fast as possible so that Ellie could be checked out. 

Sure, it's definitely possible that these guys were well known to her. I just think it's really unlikely. If she knew them, she probably would have credited them as "our neighbors" to preserve the illusion that the Maxwells actually do something in their community besides hand out lemon poppyseed evangelism loaves every Christmas. Her exact quote was:

Quote

As I was trying to get in, another vehicle stopped, and two men jumped out. They scared the dogs off and asked me if I was okay. I’m so grateful the dogs had not attacked me physically. The men were very kind and carried Ellie to their van and brought us back home.

Everything about this suggests that these were people she didn't know, didn't expect to see, and had no prior interaction with.

 

[VodouDoll]

The blog entry reads to me like she got into a van with two men who were total strangers to her. Maybe they actually were her neighbors whom she knew, or 90 years old, or John's coworkers at the realty office, or who knows what, but she wrote it like she'd never seen them before in her life and she got into their van. I understand she was scared and upset and probably not thinking clearly, but if that's what happened it was a dangerously naive thing to do. She was walking distance from home, there was a woman with a car there too, and she opted to get into the van? I'm glad she's okay.

[mango_fandango]

Yeah, I'm wondering if Steve saw what happened, and if he did how Sarah managed to explain it. 

 

[PennySycamore]

12 hours ago, VodouDoll said:

The blog entry reads to me like she got into a van with two men who were total strangers to her. Maybe they actually were her neighbors whom she knew, or 90 years old, or John's coworkers at the realty office, or who knows what, but she wrote it like she'd never seen them before in her life and she got into their van. I understand she was scared and upset and probably not thinking clearly, but if that's what happened it was a dangerously naive thing to do. She was walking distance from home, there was a woman with a car there too, and she opted to get into the van? I'm glad she's okay.

Yeah, getting into a van with a couple of strange guys could have made the attack on Ellie the least of Sarah's problems.  I'm glad it all worked out OK.

[anjulibai]

According to a random follower, scheduling leads to weight loss. Yeah, I'm sure. 

[kpmom]

Has anyone seen the newest Mom's Corner?  According to Teri, depression is just a matter of (lack of) self-control.

If you go to bed early and get up to read your bible before the kids get up apparently you will cure your depression.

She also gives a different version of her Pepsi addiction.  In this version she felt guilty about the wasted money and calories, rather than feeling Pepsi came between her and Jesus.

[crawfishgirl]

Ways to address her Pepsi concerns:  drink Diet Pepsi to lessen the calories, and buy the 2-liters, which are less expensive than individual cans or bottles.  Or, drink generic colas.  Or, try to drink less during the day.  However, with them it seems to be all or nothing (usually nothing).

[FundieFarmer]

According to a random follower, scheduling leads to weight loss. Yeah, I'm sure. 

Scheduling...meals & workouts, and meal planning can.

But I don't think that's what they're talking about, given the context is the Maxwell family.

[FloraDoraDolly]

9 hours ago, kpmom said:

Has anyone seen the newest Mom's Corner?  According to Teri, depression is just a matter of (lack of) self-control.

If you go to bed early and get up to read your bible before the kids get up apparently you will cure your depression.

She also gives a different version of her Pepsi addiction.  In this version she felt guilty about the wasted money and calories, rather than feeling Pepsi came between her and Jesus.

It does sound like she was drinking A LOT of Pepsi. I can't remember the amount, but it struck me as excessive. And I say this as someone who drinks pop every day (but I don't drink coffee, so I gotta get my caffeine fix someplace).

[molecule]

Self-control is the ability to avoid excess and to choose not to do things that you shouldn't. Teri's approach to dealing with her Pepsi problem shows as little self-control as Steve's decision not to have a business meeting with a woman. Instead of learning to bounce his eyes or redirect his thoughts, he just avoids the situations in which he would have to exert that self-control. I sometimes think that if I ever met Teri and the conversation came up about Steve not meeting with women, I would end up expressing my condolences that her husband has never learned to have any self-control.

[kpmom]

11 hours ago, FloraDoraDolly said:

It does sound like she was drinking A LOT of Pepsi. I can't remember the amount, but it struck me as excessive. And I say this as someone who drinks pop every day (but I don't drink coffee, so I gotta get my caffeine fix someplace).

ITA.  Health wise I'm glad she gave it up.  I also wonder if all that sugar was causing weight gain, which seems to be a no no in Maxhell.

But, I had noticed her reasoning for giving up Pepsi in this month's Mom's Corner is a bit different than her reason given way back when she said she gave it up because it was becoming an idol. 

[SolomonFundy]

I'm sure it's just a case of whatever they think will help the family brand at any given time. A few years back, it sounded more relatable for her to say that she overcame Satan by giving up Pepsi, and these days, the party line is that it was for health/money/self control reasons. 

 

Give them a few more years, and they may even resort to telling the truth: Steve forgot to pick it up from the store, and since she wasn't allowed to remind him or mention it, she just had to learn to do without. 

[Palimpsest]

12 hours ago, SolomonFundy said:

Steve forgot to pick it up from the store,

I read this as "Steve forgot to pick the truth up at the store."

That too.  

 

[PsyD2013]

New post from Teri - schedules help with weight loss, in addition to a well maintained home.  No mindless eating during down time in Maxhell!

 

[SolomonFundy]

3 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

I read this as "Steve forgot to pick the truth up at the store."

That too.  

 

It's been sitting on the shelf for years, rusting away, alongside Logic, Reason, and Burrito Meat.

[princessmahina]

When I read "almost daily walk" I read it as them taking a walk every Monday-Saturday and not walking on the LORDS day. 

Steve probably considers it too much fun to do on a Sunday.

[RoseWilder]

What's going on in Maxhell?

Well, let's check. Oh yeah, nothing. And . . . nothing.  And . . .  a little more of nothing. With a side of nothing. And a little bit of extra nothing thrown in for good measure.  Oh wait, I think something might be happening. . . oops, false alarm. Sorry. Nothing. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

Apparently, on July 4th, the nieces held an Operation Christmas Child fundraiser at the Maxwell home. They dressed up and pretended it was Christmas and invited over the relatives. You know, the people that see each other everyday. Then they read from scripture, explained what they were collecting money for, and asked the relatives to pay up. They hit their goal too! Oh man...does it get MORE exciting? Well it does! They then had their fourth of July BBQ later in the day. TWO Maxwell parties in one day. Whew...those kids and kidults must have been exhausted.

[SPHASH]

On Monday, July 04, 2016 at 11:06 AM, anjulibai said:

I noticet that, too. Poor Sarah.

 

On  another note, though, why is she taking pictures and not helping with the cleaning? It seems like it's always Anna and Mary doing stuff together, and Sarah just kind of around. I find it so odd. She seems to have really separated herself from her sisters. 

She might have been helping, just cant

Joe and Elissa weren't there.  Nate and Chris switched places. 

[mango_fandango]

17 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

She might have been helping, just cant

It was Anna and Mary who had the idea for the OCC thing. 

Do you (general you) think it'd because of the age gap? Sarah's about twelve(?) years older than Anna. No matter how much fundies say all their kids get along despite age gaps, there's got to be some kind of barrier, especially since Sarah practically raised the Reversals. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Sarah loves her siblings, but still.

[Georgiana]

1 minute ago, mango_fandango said:

It was Anna and Mary who had the idea for the OCC thing. 

Do you (general you) think it'd because of the age gap? Sarah's about twelve(?) years older than Anna. No matter how much fundies say all their kids get along despite age gaps, there's got to be some kind of barrier, especially since Sarah practically raised the Reversals. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Sarah loves her siblings, but still.

My sister is 10 years younger than me, and we get along well.  After a certain age, the gap really doesn't matter so much.

I think an issue is that Anna is still young, hopeful, and dreams of getting married...which may be hard for Sarah to be around since she is basically on the shelf, dealing with broken dreams, and resigned to her life as an old maid SAH caregiver for her aging parents.  

[crawfishgirl]

Interesting that Joseph and Elissa weren't there.  They don't seem to be featured in the blog as often as the other "extended" family members.  Wonder if they are slowly breaking away from Maxhell?  Seems like Elissa may be just what Joseph needed.

[fundiefan]

Dear Zeus, that was such a Maxwell post!

Sarah, standing on the sidelines, wasting away doing nothing but taking pictures, Check.

Then posting it on the blog like it's the story of the century, Check.

Sarah's poor writing, Check.

Inviting the 'relatives' (no family in Maxhell), Check.

Blaming their god for everything they think and do (because they wouldn't breathe if their god didn't lay it on their hearts), Check.

What passes for excitement in Maxhell (the girls reached their goal, imagine that! how exciting that must have been), Check.

Adult daughters being treated as children (a kitchen full of girls), Check

I am going to be a broken record - thank all the gods in all the lands I was not born in Maxhell.