Maxwell 13: And Another One Bites the Dust - John is Engaged

[ophelia]

15 hours ago, Howl said:

I'll tell you what, those two have locked lips, I just know it.  There's just something in their body language (outwardly chaste, but knowing) that says, We've held hands AND kissed.  

Although I don't think they have kissed, I do think that they shared some kind of intimacy that probably stretches their cultures beliefs in purity. The physical attraction between both of them seems to be huge, at least in the picture of their wedding website. 

[terranova]

If John has bucked his brainwashing enough to touch Chelsy, maybe his family really don't know!

[Granwych]

17 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

Welcome back @lilith!!!  You have been missed.

Tell us more.  I only vaguely remember Sarah Smith -  I think even that was from before I started follow the Maxwells seriously.

I suspect that after the Munck drama (and all the stuff that had to be wiped from the blog about that wedding) Steve held a family meeting.  He declared that that no courtships, engagements, or wedding plans would ever be discussed publicly in the future until the knot was actually tied.

If I were Chelsy I'd feel dissed.

Steve has a damn nerve.  He and Teri both have college degrees, although he may have got his through military benefits.  How dare he pontificate about education and debt!

I just think that Steve has never had any intention of paying any college fees for any of his kids.  This trickled down to nobody ever needing to go for higher education.  Way to go, Mr. Sunshine and (never) Rainbows.

[nausicaa]

9 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

 Isn’t there a great writers workshop in Iowa?

The Iowa Writer's Workshop is the best MFA program in the country. Its graduates have won 17 Pulitzers. 2.7% of applicants get accepted (for comparison, Harvard has a 5% acceptance rate).

I think Sarah has as much of a chance of being accepted into the program as Jana has of playing Carnegie Hall. 

But of course, according to their fathers, they're too good for either anyway.

[MamaJunebug]

37 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

of course, according to their fathers, they're too good for either anyway.

No encouragement to get better at anything — other than obediently serving?  Put these guys into low-income housing somewhere and people would be tsk-tsking at the lack of motivation or desire to better themselves. Instead, because they wrap themselves in the name christian, they expect to be - and are - treated carefully, if not with outright admiration. 

Reminds me of the creatures on Orange County Real Housewives who blather on about being Christian while leading lives of greed, slander and general malice.  Makes me mad. 

Also: TIME ELAPSED SINCE MAXBLOG HAS FAILED TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT JOHN’S UPCOMING CHRISTIAN WEDDING:

 4 Days + 4 hours

 

[mango_fandango]

Everyone's wearing pretty much the same colour scheme in the post about OCC. NR Anna, Ruthie and Lydia have gone all matchy matchy with pink tops and blue frumpers. Anna, Mary, Abby and Bethany have gone for berry-coloured tops/jackets and (mostly) denim skirts apart from Mary who's skirt is patterned. Tina is wearing a pink top and denim skirt. 

I like how Tina's still grinning in the photos. They haven't beaten her down yet. Lydia is adorable as ever. 

[goldbu]

47 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Everyone's wearing pretty much the same colour scheme in the post about OCC. NR Anna, Ruthie and Lydia have gone all matchy matchy with pink tops and blue frumpers. Anna, Mary, Abby and Bethany have gone for berry-coloured tops/jackets and (mostly) denim skirts apart from Mary who's skirt is patterned. Tina is wearing a pink top and denim skirt. 

I like how Tina's still grinning in the photos. They haven't beaten her down yet. Lydia is adorable as ever. 

I have the exact shirt that Mary is wearing in this post.  I was even wearing it yesterday when I read the post, without a "modest" undershirt, of course. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I hope Chelsy never matches the sisters in law. You are adults! You don't need to all match for your trip to Walmart!

[catlady]

aside from the infamous plaid shirt, Sarah, Anna, and Mary have some really cute tops that they consistently ruin by pairing them with white undershirts.  i'd wear them too, of course without the Modesty Panels.

in other news, i'm (im)patiently waiting for the Bontrager-Maxwell Wedding Registry.  i love looking at registries; even my friends/family have at least one item that makes me think "why the hell do you want people to buy you that!"

[Black Aliss]

18 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

Yeah, I think the core issue is that being at a college where you live on campus and not at home puts you outside of Steve's control. Even if the courses were taken straight out of Managers of their Schools, still no dice, because it would still involve regularly associating with people who are not your family, and cannot control you.

There is also the issue, and I'm sure this hasn't escaped Stevehova, that even attending one of the Christian colleges would probably require quite a bit of remedial coursework, especially writing and math, and that would reflect badly on Maxwell Academy.

[Ozlsn]

17 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

And that ambiguity is exactly why that phrasing is bad grammar.  If she had said “a snack of goldfish in the parking lot”, it would still be banal and awkward, but at least clear as to meaning.

Only if you live somewhere where "goldfish" means something other than small yellow fish! The first time I came across it (here I think) I had to go google, because that was just too "Fish Called Wanda" otherwise.

[scoutsadie]

On 10/12/2017 at 10:04 AM, church_of_dog said:

Re the OCC post and Sarah’s super-awkward phrasing — it has been laid upon my heart to propose the possibly-too-long post count title:  

Enjoying a Snack in the Parking Lot of Goldfish.

Dang it - had stomach flu this week, so only just now saw the blog post and immediately came to the thread to share this gem myself... good job, you. 

(And John's engaged?! Lots to ctach up on!) (Though we knew something was afoot...)

[church_of_dog]

3 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

Only if you live somewhere where "goldfish" means something other than small yellow fish! The first time I came across it (here I think) I had to go google, because that was just too "Fish Called Wanda" otherwise.

True enough!  Many of us (myself probably included) use slang without making sure it will be understood by our audience.  Maxwells seem particularly prone to this.  They could easily enough have said ‘goldfish crackers’.

PS — I too have had to google many things mentioned on fj, including all sorts of food treats from other places!

PPS — love A Fish Called Wanda!  

[Fund-o-m]

Hello everyone, this is my first post in FJ, but I 've been visiting (stealth mode) for ages, so I 'm very happily joining you all from Athens, Greece. I am intrigued by the fundie families, mainly because their mindsets and convictions are 180 degrees different than mine. 

Now my two cents on the topic:

I think that Steve had control over many aspects of John and Chelsy's relationship and engagement, as expected of course, but for whatever reason the actual announcement caught him off guard, hence the pregnant silence in the Maxwell blog. Could it be that there was a feud as to who will post it first, and the Bontragers beat him to the punch?

The language of the post is telltale, they are provoking Steve directly: "boyfriend", "he fits very well with us". And no mention whatsoever of the godly inlaws who raised this catch, or the countless siblings, as is customary. 

At some point Steve has to acknowledge the engagement, but in the meantime I expect to see some passive-aggressive posts on "honor  your father", "disobedience" and the like.

[kpmom]

It used to be tradition for the bride's parents to announce the engagement in the newspapers.  Maybe the two sets of parents are following that tradition?

But, yeah, the Maxwells are going to have to acknowledge it sooner or later, aren't they?

[Coconutwater]

Maybe John proposed without the fasting and prayer through Stehovah and didn't ask for permission from his parents. Might be the reason for the silence because he knew she's too worldly for their standards. I've always gotten the vibe he wants different for himself. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

31 minutes ago, Coconutwater said:

Maybe John proposed without the fasting and prayer through Stehovah and didn't ask for permission from his parents. Might be the reason for the silence because he knew she's too worldly for their standards. I've always gotten the vibe he wants different for himself. 

I think the whole family attending the recent triple Bontrager wedding weekend and allowing the Max Girls to go to the Bontrager conference tells us that they do support the union. However Steve is a control freak and is probably waiting to announce because, you know... control. 

[nomoxian]

I wonder how much extra traffic their site has got over the past while, with all of us (and perhaps actual fans) looking to see a post about the engagement.

Donno if they gain ads per site visit and click, but I have Adblock on so SCREW YOU STEVE

[terranova]

I've been cruising the photos from #cssdevcon on twitter and OMG! Women! Women in trousers! Women without chaperones! Booze! Mennin drag! New Orleans! Parties! Glow sticks! Costumes!

 

How the hell did Jesse cope?! Did he stay in his room for the whole conference??

[HermioneSparrow]

You guys are reaching. John is marrying a super fundie girl, despite the cute outfits and all. Steve probably thinks he'll control them once they're married, the silence is normal on the Maxwell front, these are the people who never mentioned Teri's father passing and a bunch of other stuff. Steve might be a little annoyed if the Bontragers are controlling aspects of the wedding but he knows she'll be a Maxwell after the wedding and they'll be under his thumb. Sadly, I doubt John will ever truly rebel.

[Sister Mozz]

Jesse writes as well as his sister. Take this tweet, for example:

"Case in point" is not the right idiom. It doesn't make sense in this context.

 

[usmcmom]

I was just looking at the OCC post again. I can't help wondering if the parents of Pristopher's wife, Anna, check the blog every day, hoping for glimpses of their daughter and grandkids. I really hope Anna gets to see her parents more than I've always thought. I wonder if those grandparents have even met all their grandchildren. I can't imagine Pristopher being very hospitable if they ever wanted to come to Kansas - like right before the next baby is due, for example. I hope he at least gives Anna permission to FaceTime or Skype with them once a week. 

I have nothing to base it on, but I have always felt really sad for Anna and how far she is from her family. 

[SPHASH]

Looks like Amish Anna got to see her family in June.

[mango_fandango]

The girls were in matching outfits? What a surprise.

[johnhugh]

37 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

Looks like Amish Anna got to see her family in June.

Isn’t the blonde girl the one Stevie renamed Grace as she had the same name as Anna or Mary?  Life is so complicated that people cannot have the fsame first name.