Seriously Steve 3: Relaxing His Grip as He Prepares to Turn 70?

[kpmom]

That never occurred to me about the J5 making a Christmas album and their mom being a Jehovah's Witness.  That was one of my favorite Christmas albums as a teenager (yeah, I'm old).

Regarding Steve, it's ironic that the man who whited out lyrics to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" talks about someone seeing merely black notes on white paper.  Although, as someone mentioned above, a musician would never see a beautiful piece of music as "merely" black notes on white paper.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

Today's Seriously, Steve? is called Straddling the Fence and it's from December 22, 2021. 

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Being double-minded is a curse. 

Most people aren't double-minded, they're multi-minded, poly-minded and pan-minded. That's a joke, but there's often more than 2 sides to everything. Also people tend to focus on one thing when they need to.

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Besides being uncomfortable, it sets a horrible example for the children and makes it impossible for a wife to follow. 

There's something about the way Steve says "a wife to follow" that sets off my misogyny bells. I think you mean dog not wife.

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And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word” (1 Kings 18:21). (A modern-day example would be to substitute “the world” for “Baal.”)

Ah yes, the old choice between God and the world. Jeremy Vuolo has often talked about chosing between God and the world, and he seems to favor the world, no matter what he says.

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Often a man thinks he can cherry-pick what he likes from both the world and the Lord, when in fact it doesn’t work that way. Neither a man’s wife nor his children and most importantly, His Lord are pleased. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

Again he implies the man is making decisions for the whole including the wife. Also i think the kids would be pleased if they could pursue careers or play sports, etc. The Man's wife would probably be more pleased if she got to make decisions.

Spue? I have no words, except maybe to point out Thomas Jefferson said about the book of Revelation  "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams".

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It begins with a choice. Choose to follow one, and put away the other. “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD” (Joshua 24:14).

 

And just how far are supposed to take this?! Most people Steve would say you checked too far out of the world. You pulled your kids out of school and out of sports and limited what careers and lives were like.  You kept them from pursuing career. @MamaJunebug has often pointed out that Christopher had a calling to be an EMT and that calling was from God. Helping others serves God. Treating them when they need help. 

There is more than one way to serve the Lord, Steve. Becoming a hermit is dangerous. I think you know that and that's why your family has been making changes lately.

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“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15

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Put away double-mindedness. Be strong in the Lord, my Brothers. 

Being strong in the Lord can look different for different people. 

This is the last Dad post before Christmas. There is nothing Christmassy here. Couldn't you have written something a little more Christmas? He seems grumpy about something. Maybe something set him off? 

[fundiefan]

On 12/21/2021 at 8:33 AM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I wonder if Steve would allow me to look at Michelangelo’s Sculpture entitled “Pieta” since I’m not Christian.  It’s a beautiful sculpture and I would enjoy seeing it in person one day. But I’m not Christian so Steve would probably say no. 

It is powerful. In fact, St. Peter's as a whole is among the most powerful experiences I've ever had. I am an atheist, but being in St. Peters & the Vatican was like walking through history. Beautiful, sad, anger inducing - got an emotion? Going there will bring them all out and all at once. 

I am not Catholic or any kind of Christian - I suppose Steve thinks I shouldn't have been there and should have been incapable of feeling anything about any of it. That's his black & white thinking; his god complex. He can't see outside himself. 

[MamaJunebug]

51 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

am not Catholic or any kind of Christian - I suppose Steve thinks I shouldn't have been there and should have been incapable of feeling anything about any of it. That's his black & white thinking; his god complex. He can't see outside himself. 

It never occurs to Steve that the composer’s and the sculptor’s aims may have been, in part, to express their faith through music, through sculpture .

Also apparently never occurs to him that the music & sculpture can be witnesses to faith in G_d!!!  That G_d might work faith in the viewer or listener.  
 

In his pitifully small view, only his chosen physical expressions of goodness are worth anything.  His daughters swathed in skirts to hide their bodies. His sons & daughters playing (not all that well) as a warm-up to his sermons on what he sees as The Only True Way To Faith In Christ.  
 

Actually, I could leave off “In Christ” from the above. Steve is so arrogantly  focused on his right way of doing things that no, it never occurs to him to praise the Savior on the feast of the Nativity of Jesus.  
 

Steve wants the attention on himself, not on Christ.  I’m so very grateful to know his daughters have left his suffocating presence, 24/7.  His sons, too, but especially the gals. 

[FloraDoraDolly]

21 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

This is the last Dad post before Christmas. There is nothing Christmassy here. Couldn't you have written something a little more Christmas? He seems grumpy about something. Maybe something set him off? 

I wonder what the Maxwell family Christmas will be like this year. Will all of their adult children be there this year? Or are some of them going to their in-laws' (I'm sure the food is better at the Bontragers') or staying at school? Even if all the girls come home, it won't be the same. Anna and Mary will have changed. A lot. And Steve won't like it.

[fundiefan]

9 hours ago, FloraDoraDolly said:

I wonder what the Maxwell family Christmas will be like this year. Will all of their adult children be there this year? Or are some of them going to their in-laws' (I'm sure the food is better at the Bontragers') or staying at school? Even if all the girls come home, it won't be the same. Anna and Mary will have changed. A lot. And Steve won't like it.

I thought this too. Wondering what it will be like for them to go home after months outside the Maxhell bubble. No matter how they conform, they are different women than the ones who left at the beginning of the semester. You can't prevent experience & its affects. Will they bury everything about themselves from the last several months & revert back to Steve's isolated SAHD's? Will they not give a shit & just be themselves, changes & all? Something in between? Will they talk with Sarah about all the different experiences they've all had the last several months? That would actually be a real conversation. Talking with someone you live with and share every aspect of life with is not much of a conversation. The three "girls" have lived apart for months and might actually have real, sharing conversations like normal adult siblings. I can totally see Steve's head exploding listening to them talk about real life without his obsessive control. 

[lunaselene503]

Eeh, its only been one semester. And its not like they were living wild lives at ABC. My guess is they'll have their usual Maxwell Christmas and catch up with everyone. Then return for the spring semester.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I’m wondering how much they will share openly with Steve. If they have been watching Christmas movies in the dorm, will they hide that from Steve? Or will they be open about doing things he doesn’t approve of?

[Cults-r-us]

14 hours ago, FloraDoraDolly said:

I wonder what the Maxwell family Christmas will be like this year. Will all of their adult children be there this year? Or are some of them going to their in-laws' (I'm sure the food is better at the Bontragers') or staying at school? Even if all the girls come home, it won't be the same. Anna and Mary will have changed. A lot. And Steve won't like it.

Maybe Steve sees the family going other places or the girls not coming home as seeking worldliness. Perhaps that is the source of his grumpiness. Is he scolding the fam or is he at a crossroads seeking worldliness for himself, say too many iced animal crackers, Stevo?

[Howl]

It would be fabulous if the girls women came home from college and decided to stay with Sarah and her dog in her very own house.  They could play board games, laugh, eat chips, drink Pepsi and stay up late! 

[browngrl]

There is a meme of the Simpsons that reminds me of Steve: there is a newspaper with a picture of Grandpa Simpson and the headline reads "Old man yells at cloud". 

I think Steve is grumpy because he's losing power. I'll bet his children smile politely at Steve and then go about their business as they will. I feel a little bit sorry for him. I know he made his own bed (so to speak) but I doubt it is comfortable to lie on now.

Edited December 27, 2021 by browngrl
changed the word "it" to "I"

[Cults-r-us]

50 minutes ago, browngrl said:

There is a meme of the Simpsons that reminds me of Steve: there is a newspaper with a picture of Grandpa Simpson and the headline reads "Old man yells at cloud". 

I think Steve is grumpy because he's losing power. I'll bet his children smile politely at Steve and then go about their business as they will. I feel a little bit sorry for him. I know he made his own bed (so to speak) but it doubt it is comfortable to lie on now.

Change is uncomfortable, even for non-hermit, secular types.

[petrushka]

13 hours ago, browngrl said:

There is a meme of the Simpsons that reminds me of Steve: there is a newspaper with a picture of Grandpa Simpson and the headline reads "Old man yells at cloud". 

I think Steve is grumpy because he's losing power. I'll bet his children smile politely at Steve and then go about their business as they will. I feel a little bit sorry for him. I know he made his own bed (so to speak) but I doubt it is comfortable to lie on now.

I understand a parent wanting their children to benefit from their upbringing and being disappointed when said children make mistakes in their lives.  With Steve and other patriarchal types it's got to be a blow when the kids grow up and don't adhere to Daddy's pearls of wisdom.  Steve's rigid mindset (my way is the only Godly way) is a recipe for misery. He's in his twilight years and witness to so many changes in his family that most of us would take in stride.  We'll never know but I'd bet the farm he is most disappointed with his reversal sons.

[Caroline]

On 12/23/2021 at 11:19 AM, fundiefan said:

I can totally see Steve's head exploding listening to them talk about real life without his obsessive control. 

And how sad for Steve if that is his response to hearing about his daughters' new adventures.  I remember my daughter being home for about a month after her first semester of college.  We had seen her at Thanksgiving too because her school was only a few hours away.  She had changed in a multitude of good and exciting ways. It was so much fun hearing about how different her college experience was from ours and I loved learning about (and eventually getting to know) the new friends she was making.  She tried so many things and started building a foundation of real confidence in the world beyond the small and very safe community she had grown up in.  I hope the Maxwell women have the freedom to talk with their parents about all of the exciting and different things in their lives, and I hope the Maxwell parents have the good grace to just listen and encourage.

[Botkinetti]

Having been told since birth that Steve is the arbiter of what is correct I hope the sisters are starting to grasp the concept of being in charge of their own lives. Not everything must be shared with Steve for him to pass judgment on and condemn. Simply being around other people and hearing  a variety of opinions I hope has opened their eyes a tiny bit about what to share.

[SPHASH]

OMG in today's Seriously email Steve bitches about kids not paying attention during the sermon.  Nate and Melanie bribe their kids to pay attention, they take notes during the sermon and get a dollar if their sermon notes are accurate.

[johnhugh]

I always presumed that Nate and Mel were more ‘liberal’ especially compared to Chris. Maybe it’s Stevie's way on taking back control as the three sisters have jumped ship?

[JermajestyDuggar]

I hope they spend that dollar on Pepsi and junk food. 

[fundiefan]

37 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I hope they spend that dollar on Pepsi and junk food. 

They probably have to tithe at least half to the church if not all of it to teach them some extra godly lesson. 

[ClareDeLune]

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 “Children are the future” and not “children are the furniture.” You can see that spelling is important.

Some poor kid obviously didnt make great notes, didnt get the dollar and is shamed by grandad too. 😭

[not in the limelight]

On 12/30/2021 at 6:45 AM, ClareDeLune said:

Some poor kid obviously didnt make great notes, didnt get the dollar and is shamed by grandad too. 😭

Or said child has a learning disability and can't .....

[Black Aliss]

On 12/27/2021 at 6:00 AM, petrushka said:

We'll never know but I'd bet the farm he is most disappointed with his reversal sons.

I guess this is something he failed to  consider when he arbitrarily decided to have his reversal surgery.

[ClareDeLune]

Hahahaha! The neighbours are tired of Teri and Steve nosying through the windows of Leavenworth at dawn each day, I see! 😂  

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On our walks, Teri and I notice how the shades are closed on most houses. It used to be that as soon as it was light outside, the blinds would go up letting in the sunshine. Sadly, that seems typical of the state of the nation. Darkness is preferred over light.

Behave Steve, your daughters have to go back to college and face their friends who will have been snooping on your family website over the holidays 🤣🤣🤣

[JermajestyDuggar]

34 minutes ago, ClareDeLune said:

Hahahaha! The neighbours are tired of Teri and Steve nosying through the windows of Leavenworth at dawn each day, I see! 😂  

Behave Steve, your daughters have to go back to college and face their friends who will have been snooping on your family website over the holidays 🤣🤣🤣

I can’t help but look at people’s houses when I’m out walking. I am nosey and I know it. But I try to look away when I see people in their homes. I don’t want to be a creeper. And because if this, my shades are always drawn when it’s dark out. I’m very private. Steve is so weird. I swear he takes the most minute things and turns them into these big Christian problems. It’s just like the contrasting buttons. It’s not a big fucking deal Steve! Get over it. You overthink everything!

[fundiefan]

What the hell? Really? He is whining about people not opening their blinds? I think he has reached the end of the line. there is nothing for him to ever say ever again. 

I open my blinds when I want and keep them closed when I want. I don't have them on the schedule and there are no rules. Except when it's dark, they are closed. I don't want creepers like Steve looking into my house. Also, today there is no sunlight. It's cold and snowy & windy as hell & very low cloud cover. If I were doing anything of import, I'd have to have a light on. Thus, I would close my blinds. But, they are open because I'm not doing anything untoward or to offend the likes of Steve and no one can see in. Unless he put his face up against the window and saw me talking about him on FJ. 

What a joke he has become. A shadow of his former judgmental self. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by fundiefan