Maxwell 41: Taking a Short Vest Rest

[lilith]

12 minutes ago, smittykins said:

I’m surprised that Northwest Baptist only has one bus.  The IFB church down the road from my previous apartment complex used to have two.(I noticed they were gone a few years ago.  They were 1980s-vintage school buses, so maybe it got too expensive to keep them on the road.)

Bringing in bus kids is one of the grosser IFB practices in my opinion. They deliberately target low income communities where single mothers are likely to be grateful for free childcare from “nice Christian people”, try to indoctrinate children whilst making minimal efforts to integrate them or their families with the rest of the church community, and provide no practical help to families who need it. I’ve been a poor single mother and I find the whole concept highly offensive.

[byzant]

On 8/29/2020 at 1:40 PM, freejugar said:

 

Sorry woo already well covered 

Edited September 1, 2020 by byzant

[fundiefan]

47 minutes ago, lilith said:

Bringing in bus kids is one of the grosser IFB practices in my opinion. They deliberately target low income communities where single mothers are likely to be grateful for free childcare from “nice Christian people”, try to indoctrinate children whilst making minimal efforts to integrate them or their families with the rest of the church community, and provide no practical help to families who need it. I’ve been a poor single mother and I find the whole concept highly offensive.

This was me. Thankfully, it only lasted a few months before my mom caught onto the negative effects - terror, mostly, after watching a video about burning in hell. I was 8.

Funnily enough the church was named Northwest Baptist Church - and it looked eerily similar to the one linked in this thread. 

[Markie]

The Church of the Open Door’s Awana pictures look like good fun. I wonder if Anna and Mary are Awana leaders? I really hope Nathan and Melanie’s kids can join. I knew some girls who wore skirts only and were really sanctimonious about it (probably because they were teased). I hope that the girls just shrug and say, “we like skirts.”

[HerNameIsBuffy]

12 hours ago, CyborgKin said:

You're supposed to say, "For legal reasons, that's a joke."

 

Or we could just buy gifts for ourselves!  Sort of like an un-fast.

Oh I like that idea!  Or we could all chip in to keep @Destiny in the wine of her choice after the server recovers  

2 hours ago, fundiefan said:

Not that I am a fan of Awana, but it's child focused and does fun stuff with kids - the opposite of sheltering them to death. 

As a kid from a Catholic family who had to go to AWANA when my mom became fundy lite I found it really traumatic.  The bigotry against Catholics was rampant and I lived in a lot of fear of my family going to hell.

I also never saw the point in memorizing bible verses but when I asked questions about them discussion being absolutely discouraged.  I don't mean this to sound pretentious or anything, but even as a young kid I had a very hard time with cognitive dissonance and if things didn't make sense to me I needed to figure out why and let's just say AWANA didn't help my self-esteem by reinforcing the message that I was a difficult and argumentative child.  

[Alisamer]

1 hour ago, lilith said:

Bringing in bus kids is one of the grosser IFB practices in my opinion. They deliberately target low income communities where single mothers are likely to be grateful for free childcare from “nice Christian people”, try to indoctrinate children whilst making minimal efforts to integrate them or their families with the rest of the church community, and provide no practical help to families who need it. I’ve been a poor single mother and I find the whole concept highly offensive.

I'm also not a fan of the bringing in kids by bus. 

And while it probably doesn't apply to this church (it's Maxwell approved, after all) I did think I'd mention that not all churches that have buses use them for that. My church has a small bus and a van, but those are used exclusively for church activities. Before Covid the retired adults were constantly going places, the pastor took the youth out to dinner most Sunday evenings, we'd take the handbell choirs on tour to assisted living homes, the youth would go on a retreat once a year, the mission team would go do maintenance work on a poor or elderly person's house (with no expectation that they'd come to our church as a result, and no consideration whether they were a church member or not), etc. The vans and bus were in pretty frequent use, but never to run around and pick up random kids to bring to church. 

I kind of think Steve is beyond help, but maybe Teri (if she outlives him) will benefit from going to this church. The people their age and older in my church are very active - they have special dinners, go apple picking, go on weekend trips places, have a choir that meets weekly, before the pandemic they were basically always going somewhere or doing something. And a good number of them are also members of a community group that takes big week-long bus trips twice a year all over the country. 

It's very sad to compare my parents (who are older) to Steve and Teri. Even now my parents go RV camping once a month, and before the pandemic I had to check mom's Facebook to see where they were because they were always out and about or traveling. Steve has limited himself and Teri as well as their kids. It's crazy that one guy can project his own issues so completely onto so many people. They could be going anywhere and doing anything, instead they're doing the same things and going the same places they've always been.

I'm glad it seems some of the sons at least seem to be finding more of their own path.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

1 minute ago, Alisamer said:

handbell choirs

I had to read this 3x to see it was BELL not BALL.  I was trying to figure out what the hell a handball choir was and isn't that dangerous for spectators!

 

2 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

Steve has limited himself and Teri as well as their kids. It's crazy that one guy can project his own issues so completely onto so many people. They could be going anywhere and doing anything, instead they're doing the same things and going the same places they've always been.

I agree Steve has limited both himself and his entire family due to his control issues, but I don't think he and Teri going the same places necessarily speaks to that.

Maybe it's just because I don't have the urge for new and different experiences as much as other people, but a monthly RV camping trip with anyone would be my idea of hell.  If I were to be in a position to vacation once a year I'd likely be like Steve and Teri and return to a place I liked rather than explore something new very often.  

[fundiefan]

29 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Oh I like that idea!  Or we could all chip in to keep @Destiny in the wine of her choice after the server recovers  

As a kid from a Catholic family who had to go to AWANA when my mom became fundy lite I found it really traumatic.  The bigotry against Catholics was rampant and I lived in a lot of fear of my family going to hell.

I also never saw the point in memorizing bible verses but when I asked questions about them discussion being absolutely discouraged.  I don't mean this to sound pretentious or anything, but even as a young kid I had a very hard time with cognitive dissonance and if things didn't make sense to me I needed to figure out why and let's just say AWANA didn't help my self-esteem by reinforcing the message that I was a difficult and argumentative child.  

My cousin's kids went for a few years - that's how I first heard of it. And, it was pretty much as you describe. Those kids thought they were the freaking bees knees because at every family event they needed to put on a "show" and recite their latest bible verses. Never what they meant, never how they applied to anything, just that they could stand there and recite them. And everyone was supposed to marvel at them and applaud. We are not a religious family (except for one branch that thankfully lives out of state), and their attempts at this religion thing was driven by my cousin's sort of unbalanced husband (now ex, thankfully) - he was in a phase and was going down a doomsday path and it was just insanity. But, anyway. 

[Alisamer]

1 minute ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I had to read this 3x to see it was BELL not BALL.  I was trying to figure out what the hell a handball choir was and isn't that dangerous for spectators!

 

I agree Steve has limited both himself and his entire family due to his control issues, but I don't think he and Teri going the same places necessarily speaks to that.

Maybe it's just because I don't have the urge for new and different experiences as much as other people, but a monthly RV camping trip with anyone would be my idea of hell.  If I were to be in a position to vacation once a year I'd likely be like Steve and Teri and return to a place I liked rather than explore something new very often.  

LOL! Yeah that would be dangerous, I think!

And yeah, I get that not everyone enjoys traveling. I personally like to go new places, but I enjoy going the same places sometimes too. Like I have a long, long list of places I want to go (everywhere. Pretty much everywhere! This world is so big!) but all the same I also love going to Walt Disney World repeatedly (though to be fair there is always something new there) and also to the same beach area I've been going to almost yearly for literally my whole life (I was apparently conceived there, even).

And maybe Steve and Teri are traveled out from back when they had their own bus. Maybe they don't like to travel. But do the girls and/or Teri really know what they like? Or do they just do what Steve likes?

As for the monthly RV camping trip, it's mom and dad together, and they meet with some of their long-time friends who also RV camp, people they've been camping with for decades. For them, it's just like being at home, just at a different location with neighbors they like better - it's almost not even traveling to them. They barely have to even pack for the trip, they keep the RV packed and ready to go all the time. (In fact, several years ago when there was an ice storm and power was out for a week, they simply moved into the camper and plugged it into a generator and went on about life as normal.) 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

1 minute ago, Alisamer said:

But do the girls and/or Teri really know what they like? Or do they just do what Steve likes?

And that's such a good point.  There is no way 5 adults share all the same likes or are on the same page about everything.  It's just not possible.  

[jeansonly]

On 8/31/2020 at 9:18 AM, fundiefan said:

Joseph's house was sold August 18.

Joseph's?  Not Jesse's? 

Because in the comments, Terri replies to a comment about Jesse moving with this.  

"We have a blog post from June 23rd where we shared that Jesse and Anna chose to live in an apartment in Kansas City as newly weds. Kansas City is where Joseph and Elissa’s church has been for several years, and that’s the church Jesse and Anna have settled into as well."

Huh...the Maxwell way of lying?

[fundiefan]

29 minutes ago, jeansonly said:

Joseph's?  Not Jesse's? 

Because in the comments, Terri replies to a comment about Jesse moving with this.  

"We have a blog post from June 23rd where we shared that Jesse and Anna chose to live in an apartment in Kansas City as newly weds. Kansas City is where Joseph and Elissa’s church has been for several years, and that’s the church Jesse and Anna have settled into as well."

Huh...the Maxwell way of lying?

Yes, Joseph's. It's on Redfin & Realtor.com with a Sold date of 8/20/20.

The history is interesting. Looks like Joseph bought it for $79,900 and it sold for $179,800. Clearly he took a dump and turned it around. I will give him (and all his siblings who helped) credit for that. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by fundiefan

[jeansonly]

I googled it.  I have to say, that house is pretty nice.  I don't care for the kitchen cabinet fronts or flooring but other than that, I'd take it.  Well I'd probably add a kitchen island or work table also, but I love an island with nothing in it or on it for work space.

[calliopecassandra]

3 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I had to read this 3x to see it was BELL not BALL.  I was trying to figure out what the hell a handball choir was and isn't that dangerous for spectators!

 

I agree Steve has limited both himself and his entire family due to his control issues, but I don't think he and Teri going the same places necessarily speaks to that.

Maybe it's just because I don't have the urge for new and different experiences as much as other people, but a monthly RV camping trip with anyone would be my idea of hell.  If I were to be in a position to vacation once a year I'd likely be like Steve and Teri and return to a place I liked rather than explore something new very often.  

Lol it would be dangerous but I'd like to watch it. 

It would be my idea of hell too!! I only like new things I'm interested in and camping and the outdoors are NOT on that list!

[IReallyAmHopewell]

20 hours ago, nausicaa said:

Or...Sarah Maxwell announces her engagement to an Arndt! ?

You beat me to it. Hope her proposal features cake and penguins and happens in his parents room!

[Alisamer]

1 minute ago, calliopecassandra said:

Lol it would be dangerous but I'd like to watch it. 

It would be my idea of hell too!! I only like new things I'm interested in and camping and the outdoors are NOT on that list!

LOL do keep in mind that usually RV camping is basically going to a resort but bringing your own small home with you. It's not really outdoorsy unless you want it to be. You have a full bathroom with shower, full kitchen, your own bed and pillows, some of the bigger campers have ceiling fans, recliners, built in entertainment centers and fireplaces. When my sisters and I used to camp, my bed in the trailer was bigger than my bed at home. I'm not the outdoorsy type either, really, but there was something nice about knowing where you were staying was cleaned to your own standards and not having to pack and unpack suitcases. And we had our camper decorated in all Powerpuff Girls stuff. It was really fun! 

It's not got quite the amenities of a nice hotel, and you do have to make your own bed if you want that done, but it's not like a sleeping bag in a tent either. 

[HereticHick]

1 hour ago, fundiefan said:

Yes, Joseph's. It's on Redfin & Realtor.com with a Sold date of 8/20/20.

The history is interesting. Looks like Joseph bought it for $79,900 and it sold for $179,800. Clearly he took a dump and turned it around. I will give him (and all his siblings who helped) credit for that. 

sooo...where are Joseph and his brood moving to?

[HerNameIsBuffy]

17 minutes ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

You beat me to it. Hope her proposal features cake and penguins and happens in his parents room!

None of the Arndt guys deserve to have the Maxwells as inlaws.

Besides, I hope I'm wrong, but I've always had a feeling Sarah is quite emotionally fragile and I doubt a transition to marriage would go smoothly for her.  At least for a while.  I can see her making a newly married Jill Duggar look like an independent woman.  

[petrushka]

2 hours ago, jeansonly said:

Joseph's?  Not Jesse's? 

Because in the comments, Terri replies to a comment about Jesse moving with this.  

"We have a blog post from June 23rd where we shared that Jesse and Anna chose to live in an apartment in Kansas City as newly weds. Kansas City is where Joseph and Elissa’s church has been for several years, and that’s the church Jesse and Anna have settled into as well."

Huh...the Maxwell way of lying?

We know through Laura Craig's instagram posts after Jesse and 3Anna's wedding that they were attending "Countryside Church".  There is a church with that name in the Kansas City metro area.  I was puzzled as to how that became Jesse and 3Anna's church--and now I know.  I bet Joe and Elissa have been attending there for a while, and the newlyweds decided to join them.  I also bet that Joe has moved his family closer to Countryside Church and probably got a larger home to boot.  So maybe he's in Olathe or Overland Park?  The Leavenworth house was probably too far away when you consider getting 3 little ones ready for church and we know they will need more room for their expanding family.

[Black Aliss]

On 8/31/2020 at 10:27 AM, Captain Obvious said:

So the church is this one.

And Sarah attends a women’s group - but appears to be one of the youngest members of it:

 

But, hey, one of those ladies might have an eligible son or grandson! Just getting out at all greatly increases her chances of meeting a GYM

On 8/31/2020 at 11:32 AM, Tatar-tot said:

If Sarah gets engaged we are throwing a virtual shower with real gifts and having them all sent via Amazon.  

I wonder how long it will be for John and Chelsey either head south or move to Iowa. 

If we do that, could we have the gifts sent to a women's shelter instead of to Sarah? That way we could have the fun of a shower, but not touch the poop.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Black Aliss

[Hane]

@Black Aliss, I’m inclined to agree—Open Door is nondenominational, but Northwest Baptist is, well, Baptist (although I couldn’t see an atom’s worth of difference between their statements of faith and activities).

[Joe Pukepail]

17 hours ago, Bethy said:

Ron Hamilton ("Patch the Pirate" might be a name that rings a bell for some) was diagnosed three years ago with a form of early-onset dementia. He was 67 at the time. From what I understand he's continuing to write/record as he is able (his daughter and son-in-law have taken over the publishing company) but he is failing quickly.

So late 60s wouldn't be too early for a dementia diagnosis. For their family's sake I hope that's not what's going on. Losing a loved one to dementia isn't something I'd wish on my worst enemy.

With a lot of these neurodegenerative disorders, the earlier one is diagnosed, the faster symptoms progress.

[anjulibai]

Wait, there are pictures of Mary and Anna at the Open Door church, but Sarah at the Baptist one - so where are they going then?

 

[PennySycamore]

@Bethy, when we first moved to Greenville from the Clemson area (Six Mile, to be exact), we rented a bungalow near what was then Southside Baptist Church.  Ron Hamilton lived two streets over and my two oldest girls learned about Patch the Pirate from some of their friends.    I'm sorry to learn that he has Alzheimer's.  No one deserves that or any form of dementia.

[browngrl]

* Joe and Elissa have (likely) moved at least 20 minutes away 

* Jesse and Anna have moved to an apartment at least 20 minutes away

* the church in the seniors home is done and everyone is attending a church where Steve is not the leader 

* Anna chose to be with her family while undergoing chemo instead of staying with the Maxwell's

* Steve and Teri vacationed alone and the girls either did not want to join them or had something better to do

I think the era of Steve is coming to a close. I suspect what is left of the Maxwell empire will slowly decay until Steve dies and then it will be done. Teri will live with whatever single girls are left at home but will probably downsize. Jesse will not be moving back. At least one of the girls left at home will get married. Chelsy and John will move probably closer to her parents. I suspect they will shut down their blog in the next year or so. 

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by browngrl
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