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

[sableduck]

And one of the daughter in laws in a sleeveless dress.

Steve is done, he’s lost the adult kids, and he knows it.

[Queen Of Hearts]

13 minutes ago, sableduck said:

 

Steve is done, he’s lost the adult kids, and he knows it.

All but Christopher who seems to be pretty well trapped at this point.  His family looked so out of place compared to the rest of the Max-clan in the family picture.  

[JermajestyDuggar]

58 minutes ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

All but Christopher who seems to be pretty well trapped at this point.  His family looked so out of place compared to the rest of the Max-clan in the family picture.  

What’s odd is that I always got the impression that Anna Marie is a warm and friendly person to anyone. I guess I never got an overly judgy vibe from her (unlike Steve!). I guess I always figured that even though that family still clings to the frumpers, Anna is still a warm person to all the family and friends. 

[Bethy]

The more I think about it, the more I think something must have "gone down." It's not like the Maxwells are totally radio silent - sure, the blog is done, but Steve is still writing weekly on Seriously, and Teri is still pushing out a Corner now and then even if it is a thinly-veiled commercial for MOTH. It wouldn't be an invasion of Sarah's privacy to mention that he'd had the honor of giving his oldest daughter in marriage last weekend, and launch into some spiritual lesson from that. Comments are disabled on Seriously so it's not like the commenters would show up in droves wanting more details. And come on, Steve. You know as well as everyone who's read between the lines in all of your publications all these years that Sarah was the one that got things done. Without her, Teri couldn't have raised the reversals. What would your book sales have looked like on Keeping Hearts and MOTH and Preparing Sons if parents weren't being led over to the book table by their children who were eager to spend their birthday money on the latest Moody book? How could your faithful followers have seen and emulated your day-to-day life if Sarah hadn't taken the pictures, written up the descriptions, and published the posts? So she gets married - at FORTY - and there's not even a hint of a mention of it?

Also - and I can't remember if this was posted here or on the main Max thread - the RSVP contact info given in the church bulletin for church folks wishing to attend the reception directed them to contact Sarah. Not Steve and Teri. The bride. She apparently had to sort all the RSVPs for her own wedding. In a fundie household/church, where things are usually done pretty traditionally, that doesn't sound to me like parents who are thrilled about this. It sounds to me like, "Fine, do what you want, but we're not supporting it."

[Coconut Flan]

Plus Sarah and Kory issued the invitation at least to the church and I'm guessing to the wedding guest list.  That would be expected of a 40 year old bride in normal circumstances, but not usually how it work with someone as fundie oriented as Steve. 

[SPHASH]

13 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

Plus Sarah and Kory issued the invitation at least to the church and I'm guessing to the wedding guest list.  That would be expected of a 40 year old bride in normal circumstances, but not usually how it work with someone as fundie oriented as Steve. 

Yes.

In the boys weddings Steve was heavily involved more than usual for a father of the groom compared to mainstream weddings...preaching about death at Chris's wedding, giving a blessing at Nate's rehearsal dinner.  I think he also preached at Joe and John's weddings too and not sure about Jesse.

[JermajestyDuggar]

32 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

Yes.

In the boys weddings Steve was heavily involved more than usual for a father of the groom compared to mainstream weddings...preaching about death at Chris's wedding, giving a blessing at Nate's rehearsal dinner.  I think he also preached at Joe and John's weddings too and not sure about Jesse.

I don’t remember him preaching at John’s wedding. But maybe that’s because I only remember Marlin blabbering on and on about Steve’s vasectomy reversal. 

Edited August 27, 2022 by JermajestyDuggar

[SPHASH]

45 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I don’t remember him preaching at John’s wedding. But maybe that’s because I only remember Marlin blabbering on and on about Steve’s vasectomy reversal. 

TBH I didn't get to see John's wedding but I did figured since he preached at Chris's he would preach at the others.  

[Hellothere]

I think Sarah and Kory took total control of their own wedding.

 It was like “we’re getting married, we want to do it soon to start married life asap, have set a date that fits with when sisters aren’t at college, don’t want a big reception, are moving ahead with selecting clothes etc., we’re paying for it and don’t need parents to help out, need minimal involvement from family to help with details, we’ll script how the church wedding will go, just want a lovely small ceremony that Sarah has envisioned”.
 

They paid for it in full and ran it the way they wanted.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Hellothere

[hoipolloi]

58 minutes ago, Hellothere said:

They paid for it in full and ran it the way they wanted.

Which to Steve would be the equivalent of apostasy. 

Given the comparative hoopla over the sons' weddings, this just makes Steve look like a bitter old man. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

6 minutes ago, hoipolloi said:

Which to Steve would be the equivalent of apostasy. 

Given the comparative hoopla over the sons' weddings, this just makes Steve look like a bitter old man. 

He very much is a bitter old man. Has been for some time now. 

[SPHASH]

In honor of Sarah and Kory's wedding I am having an anti fast.  Prime Rib and garlic mashed potatoes. Ha ha Steve.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

7 hours ago, SPHASH said:

TBH I didn't get to see John's wedding but I did figured since he preached at Chris's he would preach at the others.  

Steve didn't preach at John's wedding, Marlin did all the talking. Marlin also talked about your kids' best friends should be older than them. They shouldn't have best friends who are peers. They need people older wiser. He made his kids's best friends stand up. He also talked about his youngest (minor) son was praying for a wife and how they were hoping for more Bowers-Bontrager weddings. 

Fundie fathers preaching is very common at fundie weddings. Steve preached at his oldest two sons weddings. Marlin preached at Chelsy's wedding, Allison's wedding and Denver's wedding, Mr. Helferich preached at Allison's wedding, and Denver's wedding. Sarah Mally's father preached at her wedding. Kory Nakatsu preached at Katey's wedding to Jed! The Staddon father preached at James' wedding. It just keeps happening.

[Black Aliss]

On 8/25/2022 at 4:44 PM, Queen Of Hearts said:

All but Christopher who seems to be pretty well trapped at this point.  His family looked so out of place compared to the rest of the Max-clan in the family picture.  

Is Christopher still mowing lawns for a "living", when the photography gigs aren't fully booked? Not only has he not ventured so much as an inch from the Teachings of Steve, he appears to be the least successful of the brothers. Maybe Chris and Anna should take over the dog and pony show and sell the back stock of books at conferences.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

18 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

Is Christopher still mowing lawns for a "living", when the photography gigs aren't fully booked? Not only has he not ventured so much as an inch from the Teachings of Steve, he appears to be the least successful of the brothers. Maybe Chris and Anna should take over the dog and pony show and sell the back stock of books at conferences.

He works for Joseph at Swift Otter, which is where both Jesse and Joseph work. I'm not sure when he started working for Swift Otter, but he's been there for years.

[Bethy]

20 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

He works for Joseph at Swift Otter, which is where both Jesse and Joseph work. I'm not sure when he started working for Swift Otter, but he's been there for years.

There aren't a lot of hits for swiftotter on Wayback machine, but between the first capture (2013) and the second (early 2014) it went from just being about Joe to mentioning his team members, Christopher and Jesse.

Also, in 2013, he mentions his previous clients on the website - Gracious May (the overpriced headband people) Titus2.com, and the good ol' One Ton Ramp. And also talks about his graphic design for book covers for Titus 2, specifically Sweet Relationships. Almost 10 years later, he's got an impressive list of past clients that includes none of those. He's also hidden his team pretty well on the website - if anybody can find it, let me know. I know for a time they were listed, but without last names - pretty sure most of the brothers as well as "Annie" were employed there then.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

2 minutes ago, Bethy said:

There aren't a lot of hits for swiftotter on Wayback machine, but between the first capture (2013) and the second (early 2014) it went from just being about Joe to mentioning his team members, Christopher and Jesse.

Also, in 2013, he mentions his previous clients on the website - Gracious May (the overpriced headband people) Titus2.com, and the good ol' One Ton Ramp. And also talks about his graphic design for book covers for Titus 2, specifically Sweet Relationships. Almost 10 years later, he's got an impressive list of past clients that includes none of those. He's also hidden his team pretty well on the website - if anybody can find it, let me know. I know for a time they were listed, but without last names - pretty sure most of the brothers as well as "Annie" were employed there then.

Thank you for sharing this information. It's good for Christopher that he's been with Swift Otter a long time. He should quit photographing weddings and concentrate on tech.

He didn't have "Annie" working for him these last couple years.  He did a bunch of non-Maxwell employees. At least three of them seemed to be brothers who I would have guessed to be fundie. 

[Tatar-tot]

The thing that is so ridiculous is Steve and Teri could have posted a simple post of “We have exciting news!  Sarah, our oldest daughter got married to a lovely young man named Kory…..  We are so thrilled to welcome Kory to our family.  We  pray  that Sarah & Kory are blessed with many years together as husband and wife. “. Then posted a sweet picture of the two of them together.  Instead, the couple who made their family an open book look like two old sour pusses when they don’t mention to their legions of fans who have followed the family for decades. 

[Bethy]

9 minutes ago, Tatar-tot said:

The thing that is so ridiculous is Steve and Teri could have posted a simple post of “We have exciting news!  Sarah, our oldest daughter got married to a lovely young man named Kory…..  We are so thrilled to welcome Kory to our family.  We  pray  that Sarah & Kory are blessed with many years together as husband and wife. “. Then posted a sweet picture of the two of them together.  Instead, the couple who made their family an open book look like two old sour pusses when they don’t mention to their legions of fans who have followed the family for decades. 

Not to mention how it leaves them open to conjecture about whether something "went down." I can't imagine it's ONLY the snarkers who have heard that Sarah got married. Some of their longtime followers must have heard by now and are probably wondering why the radio silence when marriages in the past were celebrated, at least after the fact, with multiple posts dedicated to photos, the courtship story, etc.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

On 8/28/2022 at 5:17 PM, Bethy said:

Not to mention how it leaves them open to conjecture about whether something "went down." I can't imagine it's ONLY the snarkers who have heard that Sarah got married. Some of their longtime followers must have heard by now and are probably wondering why the radio silence when marriages in the past were celebrated, at least after the fact, with multiple posts dedicated to photos, the courtship story, etc.

There was no courtship story for Jesse even though pictures of his wedding were posted.

I hope that Sarah doesn't want a blog post and that's why they haven't made one. Or they've stopped blogging and that's why. 

I don't feel sorry for the Maxwell fandom that they don't know about the wedding. I doubt they have that many fans, but Sarah doesn't owe those people a thing. 

[Bluebirdbluebell]

This week's Seriously, Dad? and it's from August 31, 2022. It's called Follow the Trail.

I'm still pissed from last week (at Steve) and this one is just annoying.

First paragraph:

Quote

If you want to know what is important to someone, simply “watch them.” 

Or don't. Most people don't want to be "watched".

Quote

A person will spend his time on what he considers most important. 

True.

Quote

Excuses aside, if you want to know what priority the God of the universe is to him, watch how much time is spent with Him. 

Somewhat true, but not everyone can control their schedule (which is my main complaint with this post). Also I don't think everyone has to believe in God and share religious beliefs. 

New Paragraph:

Quote

How much time is “given Him?” Does God get the left-over scraps of time after priorities are dealt with?

Some people barely have time to eat and sleep, because they have to work full time to keep housing, food, etc. 

Quote

Do the vain things valued by the world; TV, movies, news and social media get priority over family and personal Bible time? 

People should be able to use their time as they wish. Yes, everyone should prioritize their relationships over social media, tv, etc. However not everyone wants a relationship with God-- or family members. 

New Paragraph:

Quote

We easily consider that we are giving Him our time, but aren’t we “bought with a price?” He owns us totally, which includes all our time.

So according to Steve, God owns us. It reminds of the time his friend Mark Corral referred to himself as  "a slave of my master and Lord Jesus Christ" (link). God gave us free will, Steve. Arguably your favorite book is about how much control God should have. Like after Noah, God decided it was too much power to flood the Earth. 

Quote

If we love Him, wouldn’t we spend undistracted time with our Lord Jesus?

Yes, I think if you love someone you should want to spend undistracted quality time. Not everyone loves God and Jesus, and that's okay. 

New Paragraph:

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The more serious question is whether we are stealing any of His time. 

Steve, I'm sure God can has a better uses of his time to listening to you whine.

God has infinite time, and I wouldn't presume any of us mere mortals could seriously steal it. If God has had time stolen, better suspects include Zeus, Loki, Coyote, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

New Paragraph:

Quote

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20). “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).

So this isn't the worst article he's ever done, but it wasn't the best. I agree with Steve that you should prioritize your relationships and the things you care about over more trivial interests. I disagree with Steve that you have to care about religion. Since this column is for Dads, I agree parents should prioritize their kids and married people should prioritize their spouses. 

I also think life is more complex than "nothing but God", and even the bible acknowledges that.  Also people have to work, and do chores to keep themselves functional. Not everyone has time to read books every day. The lifestyle of having a large family, providing, keeping up with the household tasks, etc. 

This series of articles is about fatherhood! Talk more about the reality of having a large family of little kids since that it is the point! It's clear you had more time to read the bible since Teri and Sarah probably changed most of the diapers! Be more on theme.

[Coconut Flan]

I think Steve cribbed this column.  I could find five articles in two minutes saying the same trite Christian expressions.  It's straight evangelical talking points. 

[Black Aliss]

On 8/29/2022 at 7:22 PM, Bluebirdbluebell said:

There was no courtship story for Jesse even though pictures of his wedding were posted.

I always had a hunch that Steve was Not Happy about Jesse's decision to sell the house and rent an apartment away from the fathership, and perhaps blamed Anna3 for that. I still suspect that one or both of them is attending college.

Quote

I hope that Sarah doesn't want a blog post and that's why they haven't made one. Or they've stopped blogging and that's why. 

I want to believe Sarah's last Titus2 act was to change the passwords and not tell anyone what they were. Steve and Teri still could mention the marriage in their newsletter, maybe just expressing their joy in how God's hand was evident in all this.

Quote

I don't feel sorry for the Maxwell fandom that they don't know about the wedding. I doubt they have that many fans, but Sarah doesn't owe those people a thing.

Nope. She doesn't even owe us anything but I still hope Chelsy spills the tea.

On 8/31/2022 at 3:31 AM, Bluebirdbluebell said:

A person will spend his time on what he considers most important. 

Or what the person who signs his paychecks considers most important.

[Bethy]

On 8/25/2022 at 7:44 PM, Queen Of Hearts said:

All but Christopher who seems to be pretty well trapped at this point.  His family looked so out of place compared to the rest of the Max-clan in the family picture.  

Back in early January 2020 (right before the news of NR-Anna's cancer broke) we were discussing Christopher - because even then, his family looked like outliers - and my theory was that he has devoted his life to trying to outrun the "bad kid" label that was put on him as a very young child. My theory is, he's overcompensated by trying to be the Maxwellest Maxwell Who Ever Maxwelled, perhaps hoping that his parents will see his children in their ankle-length frumpers and buttoned-up shirts and give him the approving words and glances he missed out on as a kid.

The interesting thing is, it appears (with the timing) that perhaps Anna's cancer was a catalyst for some other family members' changes. If I were one of the Maxladies, seeing godly Anna in her calico frumpers with her waist-length hair diagnosed with cancer during her childbearing years would have made me think twice about all of those restrictions, to realize that maybe God doesn't heap favor points on those who live out the strictest asceticism, that maybe they should go out and live a little. Appearances may be deceiving, and I know we only saw a snapshot from the wedding, but it doesn't look just from what we saw there like much of anything has changed in Casa Christopher.

[fundiewatch]

Anna Marie volunteers in the church nursery, so they aren’t nursing home churching, or home churching. I think that’s something. I really don’t fault Anna Marie for liking frumpers and homemade dresses. 🤷‍♀️ People are allowed to have their version of what looks good. We’ve seen her mom and sister both dressed more contemporary, so I think that just may be her preference— that’s okay with me. She has never shunned people who dress differently and clearly didn’t cut off contact with the cousins when they showed up in jeans. Through her diagnosis and treatment she was incredibly transparent about her thankfulness for the pants wearing nurses. I still think Ruthanne, Lydia, and Elizabeth will all be hugely benefitted by the changes their aunts made.