Maxhell- Part 5

[usmcmom]

I was actually glad to see the parfait recipe. Can you believe I've been doing it wrong all this time??!!??  I have failed to place the strawberries around the edge of the glass and always just...you know...plop some strawberries in and let them fall will nilly. Also, I usually use a much bigger glass and put in three - THREE! - kinds of berries. I look forward to my next parfait so that I can reform myself and do it the right and godly way. 

As for the photos; clearly, someone sent an email saying the color scheme is denim, orange and brown. And red. Several shades of red. And pink. And blue. And Mom and Dad are wearing plum so be sure to dress the favorite grandson in plum. Also, solids are best so be sure to dress the girls in as many flowers and patch work prints as you can. Layer with bright scarves with busy prints.  We all want to co-ordinate so nobody tell anybody else what you're wearing.  Surprise coordination is always so much more fun  

See you guys. They had a plan. 

[catlady]

And did you make sure the strawberries were "sliced into sections"?

sections of what?  Godly sections?

i guess you just do the perimeter because a full layer of fruit would be fun, and we can't have that. 

[VooDooChild]

28 minutes ago, catlady said:

And did you make sure the strawberries were "sliced into sections"?

sections of what?  Godly sections?

i guess you just do the perimeter because a full layer of fruit would be fun, and we can't have that. 

I have a feeling that family is always a bit hungry.  The portions are so small.  How do they have energy for anything?  Maybe that's why it took three of them FOUR days (in one hour increments) to polish the kitchen cabinets.  And 45 minutes for the womEN to clean the fridge.  

[titerlitury]

Oh. Reading their blog is like reading news on kindergaten website.

Today group of 4 YO took part in cooking lesson. Children learned how a yogurt is made and they tried to make their own yoghurt desserts with musli and fresh fruits. Check photos of their artwork below: (...)

Today our "Little Monkeys" group had photo session! Making all kids looking straight to camera and not moving for a while was hard, but look for those lovely photos! (...)

[fundiefan]

16 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Comments are always disabled on Seriously Dad posts. Steve just wants to get his point across, no discussion allowed. 

He fails miserably at getting to any point. Whatever he is attempting to say is always so convoluted and wrapped up in Jesus talk that one can not actually reach the point.

Case in point - his Debt Free series on the blog. As of now, all he's done is ramble on about how awful life is without Jesus; how great he is for giving up flying for his family & Jesus, and how you can't be content without...wait for it...Jesus. Or, I think he uses "Christ". But, I think my point in this rambling paragraph is far clearer than anything he has ever said.

For a snack today I had...wait for it...a parfait! Well, I opened a container of Greek yogurt, threw in some blueberries and vanilla granola and called it done. Couldn't see through the container, and I mix it all up so it's a giant blue blob, but it's the same damn thing. I should have taken pictures so everyone could fully understand that greatness that my yogurt & berries creations are.

[VooDooChild]

I fail to see how any of his ramblings have anything to do with living debt-free.  Weeds?  Don't have weeds.  I'm trying imagine a financial planner offering this advice.  It's just so ludicrous!  Steve, you are dumb.  

 

Is he this nonsensical in person?  This in not the first time I've wondered about the possibility of dementia.  But that makes me sad, so I try to remind myself just how damaging religious cults can be to the mental process.   

[anjulibai]

FJ forgive me, but I think I actually understand what Steve is trying to say....

If you are content in Christ, you won't need to fill your life with hobbies that are expensive. Hobbies that are expensive are "weeds". They take money that can be used for saving for a home or other living expenses. So you need to meet with your children to make sure aren't discontent with having no hobbies or outside interests so that they won't spend money on "weeds". If you do that, you're kids will be content in Christ and thus ultimately debt-free.

Yeesh. Steve, you can say that in less words and being more convincing. 

[VooDooChild]

7 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

FJ forgive me, but I think I actually understand what Steve is trying to say....

If you are content in Christ, you won't need to fill your life with hobbies that are expensive. Hobbies that are expensive are "weeds". They take money that can be used for saving for a home or other living expenses. So you need to meet with your children to make sure aren't discontent with having no hobbies or outside interests so that they won't spend money on "weeds". If you do that, you're kids will be content in Christ and thus ultimately debt-free.

Yeesh. Steve, you can say that in less words and being more convincing. 

So don't spend money on fun and you'll be debt-free?  How practical.  How healthy.  How controlling.  How sad.

[anjulibai]

4 minutes ago, VooDooChild said:

So don't spend money on fun and you'll be debt-free?  How practical.  How healthy.  How controlling.  How sad.

It's truely nothing he hasn't said before. The advice is the same as always, just repackaged to make to apply to something else. He has nothing new to say, but knows that people are bored of his old message. 

[Palimpsest]

1 hour ago, VooDooChild said:

Is he this nonsensical in person?  This in not the first time I've wondered about the possibility of dementia.  But that makes me sad, so I try to remind myself just how damaging religious cults can be to the mental process.   

I don't think Steve has dementia.  He started this stuff over 20 years ago and would be dead by now if he had (most forms of) dementia.  He's also his own religious cult so we can't really blame it on the usual cult leader suspects.  He does seem to get more controlling as time goes by.

He is even worse in person.  Actually even more hating and dissing of women in his "men only" talks, per Mr. P who braved it once.  As I've said before, I have seldom seen Mr.P as angry as he was after listening to Stevehovah for an hour.

[SassyPants]

On 11/10/2016 at 7:37 AM, Coconutwater said:

John is wearing the exact same thing as last year...statement maybe? "Shit never changes here..."

Wait, Anna isn't in a plaid shirt- there's a change for you!

[bertnee]

They have to be trolling us with the parfaits, right?

[Captain Obvious]

1 hour ago, Palimpsest said:

He is even worse in person.  Actually even more hating and dissing of women in his "men only" talks, per Mr. P who braved it once.  As I've said before, I have seldom seen Mr.P as angry as he was after listening to Stevehovah for an hour.

Really? What sort of stuff was he saying? (Do I really want to know?)

[SPHASH]

Speaking of veterans day, didn't an FJer who went to one of their conferences report that Steve talked about going to a veterans day parade and got kicked out for handing out tracts?

[mango_fandango]

Have we seen the latest Debt Free series post? 

The first step to getting rid of weeds is realising you have them. 

Most dads don't spend much time with their kids. So schedule a weekly meeting with them. Next to Bible time, it's the best investment you can make in their lives. You'll experience a real heart-connection.

Good grief!!! (This part mine, ofc).

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

I don't think Nathan was showing total favoritism, it's nice that he and Tina click. 

Anna's new baby is sure looking like his big brother. Calia looks like him too. 

I feel confident that SO much is left off the blog. It's their right to post as little as they wish, of course, but the blog has just gotten so dull. There are more interesting things they could post about if they were so inclined. But we get the parfait nonsense. That, combined with mutual friends I have with the Maxwells who find them to be sweet, engaging, and interesting, makes me wonder if they are intentionally trying to seem "simple". I don't know, they want to seem smart on their books, it seems, and yet they don't make themselves appear very bright online. The Maxwells puzzle me to no end. 

[kunoichi66]

Is the fast today?  I'm looking forward to some decadent risotto, with possibly some ice cream afterwards...

[alba]

I came across this recipe for parfaits on one of my favourite food blogs yesterday and I couldn't help comparing it to the Maxwells' post: http://www.acouplecooks.com/pumpkin-pecan-parfaits/

It even tells you how to make the granola!

[Foudeb]

A lot of it is bad storytelling, imho. You could make even their boring, mundane lives sound interesting. Show the process rather than tell us the result. Insert a bit of self-deprecating humour. Add a few pictures of the dog. Pioneer woman seems to have made an entire career out of easy-to-make foods! It's the maxhell patented bland re-telling with bad grammar that makes it so bad.

[FloraKitty35]

What is up with Steve's fixation on "weeds" or "weed"? Weed might improve the quality of life in Maxhell.

[Palimpsest]

11 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Really? What sort of stuff was he saying? (Do I really want to know?)

Mr P. felt exhorted, chastised and berated.  He was disgusted because Steve declared that "spiritual truths" could only be discussed when all the women were occupied elsewhere - because mere females can't understand them.  He was repulsed by Steve's salacious winks and nudges when discussing being tempted sexually by women.  He was almost amused by Steve's squawking about The Beast (TV) and chest pounding.  He found the product placement blatant and tacky.

What really made him angry though was that there were tiny little boys in the room too who were genuinely upset by the hell fire talk about The Beast,  and even more upset when Steve yelled at their fathers for being a few minutes late.

Yes, Steve spent about 5 minutes publicly berating the fathers who had come in late in front of their sons - he even cut recess short as punishment.  Apparently tardiness is as almost as sinful as adultery in Steve's eyes and they were total failures as men, fathers, and human beings.

We only lasted an hour at the conference.  Mr. P was so furious I had to get him out of there.  Teri's talk to the women was pleasant in comparison.

[Captain Obvious]

9 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Mr P. felt exhorted, chastised and berated.  He was disgusted because Steve declared that "spiritual truths" could only be discussed when all the women were occupied elsewhere - because mere females can't understand them.  He was repulsed by Steve's salacious winks and nudges when discussing being tempted sexually by women.  He was almost amused by Steve's squawking about The Beast (TV) and chest pounding.  He found the product placement blatant and tacky.

What really made him angry though was that there were tiny little boys in the room too who were genuinely upset by the hell fire talk about The Beast,  and even more upset when Steve yelled at their fathers for being a few minutes late.

Yes, Steve spent about 5 minutes publicly berating the fathers who had come in late in front of their sons - he even cut recess short as punishment.  Apparently tardiness is as almost as sinful as adultery in Steve's eyes and they were total failures as men, fathers, and human beings.

We only lasted an hour at the conference.  Mr. P was so furious I had to get him out of there.  Teri's talk to the women was pleasant in comparison.

Jesus. What an arsehole. 

[Justmurrayed]

7 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Mr P. felt exhorted, chastised and berated.  He was disgusted because Steve declared that "spiritual truths" could only be discussed when all the women were occupied elsewhere - because mere females can't understand them.  He was repulsed by Steve's salacious winks and nudges when discussing being tempted sexually by women.  He was almost amused by Steve's squawking about The Beast (TV) and chest pounding.  He found the product placement blatant and tacky.

What really made him angry though was that there were tiny little boys in the room too who were genuinely upset by the hell fire talk about The Beast,  and even more upset when Steve yelled at their fathers for being a few minutes late.

Yes, Steve spent about 5 minutes publicly berating the fathers who had come in late in front of their sons - he even cut recess short as punishment.  Apparently tardiness is as almost as sinful as adultery in Steve's eyes and they were total failures as men, fathers, and human beings.

We only lasted an hour at the conference.  Mr. P was so furious I had to get him out of there.  Teri's talk to the women was pleasant in comparison.

It doesn't surprise me, at all that Steve acted like that. The entire IFB "religion" trumps up men especially alpha males such as Steve and chastises the beta males, in their minds I believe they think they are "helping" this type of male in being the best man he can be. It's gross. To me it shows how destructive this cult can be. No one but a few alpha males are safe from correction. Hopefully all that makes sense, I haven't had my coffee yet this morning. 

[Palimpsest]

@Justmurrayed, I'd agree completely but Steve Maxwell isn't IFB.  

It sounds like hairsplitting, but Steve is his very own sort of Fundie and I think came from Calvinist/Reform roots, not Baptist.  He'd probably call himself non-denominational - and the church of Steve is all about control and extreme sheltering.  Even some of our dyed in the wool Fundies find a lot of his teachings about sheltering children overly restrictive. 

[molecule]

31 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

He was disgusted because Steve declared that "spiritual truths" could only be discussed when all the women were occupied elsewhere - because mere females can't understand them.  

 . . . 

He was repulsed by Steve's salacious winks and nudges when discussing being tempted sexually by women. 

 . . . 

Yes, Steve spent about 5 minutes publicly berating the fathers who had come in late in front of their sons - he even cut recess short as punishment.  

This is really creepy. This is more than just the content of his presentation. It shows a need for control even beyond what I've seen hinted at in the blog (and that's been quite a lot). 

Giving winks and nudges when talking about sexual temptation is the very thing that perpetuates so much of the sexist modest stuff: "We aren't supposed to like this because it's wrong, but it sure is fun to be tempted, isn't it, boys?" Just gross.