Seewalds 45: Ben’s a REAL Pastor at a PRECIOUS Church!

[Bluebirdbluebell]

1 hour ago, Divemaster01 said:

Jessa's due date is close to my birthday, July 28.? 

How do you know the due date?

[WiseGirl]

No baby yet, and yes media is still interested in them. People https://people.com/tv/jessa-duggar-posts-with-mom-sister-jana-after-counting-on-cancellation/

[Mama Mia]

2 hours ago, WiseGirl said:

No baby yet, and yes media is still interested in them. People https://people.com/tv/jessa-duggar-posts-with-mom-sister-jana-after-counting-on-cancellation/

Man, she really carries ALL in front. You can barely tell she’s pregnant in that straight on shot. But she looks ready to pop two weeks ago when doing a side photo. 

[AussieKrissy]

16 hours ago, Tatar-tot said:

Divorce papers are public documents.  Sorry but anything in the public arena is fair game.

Did I miss something?

[SorenaJ]

Could the photo not have been taken a while ago? 

[Karma]

13 hours ago, AussieKrissy said:

Did I miss something?

I think the divorce paper comment relates to Ben’s sister Jessica, who is divorcing her husband after a short marriage.  There was bit of discussion about how much people should be looking into the lives of those adjacent to “famous” people.  

[AussieKrissy]

9 hours ago, Karma said:

I think the divorce paper comment relates to Ben’s sister Jessica, who is divorcing her husband after a short marriage.  There was bit of discussion about how much people should be looking into the lives of those adjacent to “famous” people.  

oh yes i remember now thank you. 

[Sullie06]

On 7/3/2021 at 3:38 AM, Divemaster01 said:

Jessa's due date is close to my birthday, July 28.? 

My husband's birthday is 7/28 as well 

[viii]

On 7/6/2021 at 9:15 AM, Sullie06 said:

My husband's birthday is 7/28 as well 

It’s the best birthday ??‍♀️

[Mama Mia]

Jessa currently has two long videos up about how to incorporate religious teaching time into daily life with young children. She covers prayer, catechism. Bible stories, hymns and so on. I just skimmed through, but thought it was interesting that she’s trying to maybe doubling down on the religious mommy influencer market. I didn’t see anything horrendous, but it was definitely more heavy handed than her usual videos. 

[Idlewild]

1 hour ago, Mama Mia said:

Jessa currently has two long videos up about how to incorporate religious teaching time into daily life with young children. She covers prayer, catechism. Bible stories, hymns and so on. I just skimmed through, but thought it was interesting that she’s trying to maybe doubling down on the religious mommy influencer market. I didn’t see anything horrendous, but it was definitely more heavy handed than her usual videos. 

I guess that’s the main money making route for them now. Ben is a junior pastor, they aren’t seeking the celebrity route like Jinger and the thousands she earned for her parents is going on her abuser’s lawyers. Lots of children was the USP and Jessa hasn’t really honed any other marketable skills.

She should sue JB & M but I don’t see that happening.

[Mama Mia]

16 hours ago, Idlewild said:

I guess that’s the main money making route for them now. Ben is a junior pastor, they aren’t seeking the celebrity route like Jinger and the thousands she earned for her parents is going on her abuser’s lawyers. Lots of children was the USP and Jessa hasn’t really honed any other marketable skills.

She should sue JB & M but I don’t see that happening.

She definitely comes across as more relatable and realistic than JB and M. No frumpers. No creepily silent and obedient rows of toddlers. Everyone and everything is low-key budget fashionable and modern. If it wasn’t for the soon to be 4 kids and the topic being souls and Adam and Eve, it could be any attractive millennial couple and their adorable toddlers having family bonding time . Fun fact- the captions I had running changed soul to social media lol.

 The family devotion time is kept to 5 to 15 minutes tops. The kids respond well and are very articulate. Ivy is jumping all over the place and Jessa talks how kids learn through moving and singing.  She relates it to being time to be close to your family and God.. Praying for patience or whatever topics they are struggling with.  Bible stories.  Learning interesting things about the kids perspectives - give an example. Keeps it practical and seemingly doable. 

Ad at the front. Affiliate links for the kids Bible, hymn book and catechism. I could see this being a good money making stream for her. Especially if she mixes it up with her general DIY, parenting, kids, food mommy stuff instead of all conservative Christian pastor wife.

[Knight of Ni]

I'm the complete opposite of Jessa. My husband and I are both atheists and my daughter doesn't even know what religion is. Both sides of our family gave us grief for keeping her out of Pre-K because the public school charges an exorbitant amount for it and the only affordable options are church related. She will be starting Kindergarten and I wonder what type of exposure she'll get from other kids. I'm really not looking forward to any potential bullying because she's not religious. 

[Mama Mia]

19 minutes ago, Knight of Ni said:

I'm the complete opposite of Jessa. My husband and I are both atheists and my daughter doesn't even know what religion is. Both sides of our family gave us grief for keeping her out of Pre-K because the public school charges an exorbitant amount for it and the only affordable options are church related. She will be starting Kindergarten and I wonder what type of exposure she'll get from other kids. I'm really not looking forward to any potential bullying because she's not religious. 

Do you think it maybe depends on area? I don’t think I’ve experienced much in the way of kids even knowing what religion other kids are, or if they are religious at all. It doesn’t seem to be much of a topic unless a kid is talking about a religious holiday or custom, and then the response is usually “oh, ok” with about as much interest as hearing about someone else’s favorite video game. 

[HermioneSparrow]

1 hour ago, Knight of Ni said:

I'm the complete opposite of Jessa. My husband and I are both atheists and my daughter doesn't even know what religion is. Both sides of our family gave us grief for keeping her out of Pre-K because the public school charges an exorbitant amount for it and the only affordable options are church related. She will be starting Kindergarten and I wonder what type of exposure she'll get from other kids. I'm really not looking forward to any potential bullying because she's not religious. 

I haven't really seen any bullying due to religion in public schools but my (non-asked) advise as a former teacher would be to teach her a bit about religions in general and what you guys believe, just so she knows a full picture and can be informed about religions and what you guys believe as a family. Unless you are in a very religious area, I don't think it's gonna be a problem at all.

[fluffernutter]

2 hours ago, Knight of Ni said:

I'm the complete opposite of Jessa. My husband and I are both atheists and my daughter doesn't even know what religion is. Both sides of our family gave us grief for keeping her out of Pre-K because the public school charges an exorbitant amount for it and the only affordable options are church related. She will be starting Kindergarten and I wonder what type of exposure she'll get from other kids. I'm really not looking forward to any potential bullying because she's not religious. 

We moved to a conservative area when our kids were young. There was a quiver-full family living in our neighborhood and my kids were asked a lot of questions at the playground by these kids one day. We had always gone to a UU church, my husband an atheist and me a UU. So my middle daughter said she believed in Mother Nature. That was the fuel they were looking for and the bullying began. Luckily they were homeschooled, so my girls only saw them outside at the common area where the park was. I just made sure one of us was with them after that. They were lots of fun.? We were so happy when they moved away. Edited to add: nothing like that happened at public school, but there was a "Good News Club" that met after school. I thought it was kind of weird that a Christian club was allowed to meet at a public school. My kids never expressed interest. As they got older, all of them... experimented? with Christianity at some point- going to youth groups with their friends, trying out the local mega-church that is crazy popular around here. None of it held their interest long and they followed the same road we did. 

Edited July 12, 2021 by fluffernutter
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[HereticHick]

20 hours ago, HermioneSparrow said:

I haven't really seen any bullying due to religion in public schools but my (non-asked) advise as a former teacher would be to teach her a bit about religions in general and what you guys believe, just so she knows a full picture and can be informed about religions and what you guys believe as a family. Unless you are in a very religious area, I don't think it's gonna be a problem at all.

Seconding this. Everyone needs to be aware of other folks religious customs -- its part of being a well rounded, compassionate human. For me, its important that I know what to do if I'm invited to sit Shiva, or to attend a Hindu wedding, or a Presbyterian funeral. And to know that I shouldn't expect an observant Muslim to eat pork ribs at my cookout, or an observant Mormon to do shots with me! : )

 

[SassyPants]

19 hours ago, fluffernutter said:

We moved to a conservative area when our kids were young. There was a quiver-full family living in our neighborhood and my kids were asked a lot of questions at the playground by these kids one day. We had always gone to a UU church, my husband an atheist and me a UU. So my middle daughter said she believed in Mother Nature. That was the fuel they were looking for and the bullying began. Luckily they were homeschooled, so my girls only saw them outside at the common area where the park was. I just made sure one of us was with them after that. They were lots of fun.? We were so happy when they moved away. Edited to add: nothing like that happened at public school, but there was a "Good News Club" that met after school. I thought it was kind of weird that a Christian club was allowed to meet at a public school. My kids never expressed interest. As they got older, all of them... experimented? with Christianity at some point- going to youth groups with their friends, trying out the local mega-church that is crazy popular around here. None of it held their interest long and they followed the same road we did. 

We are now UU (former RCs) and one day,  in a small group meeting, a member said they introduced UU to their kids to give them some tools in their religious toolboxes and to immunize them from the more radical religious groups.

[Kailash]

21 hours ago, HermioneSparrow said:

I haven't really seen any bullying due to religion in public schools but my (non-asked) advise as a former teacher would be to teach her a bit about religions in general and what you guys believe, just so she knows a full picture and can be informed about religions and what you guys believe as a family. Unless you are in a very religious area, I don't think it's gonna be a problem at all.

It definitely happens here in Kansas. My daughter was told that she “needed Jesus” by some of her classmates in Kindergarten. ? They told her she was going to hell and explained their version of it. She was already struggling with anxiety. She began having nightmares about hell etc. That was the beginning of bullying, by students and even teachers, later. The bullying only increased as she got older until eventually we decided to homeschool her in the middle of 5th grade. 

I agree that teaching about religions in general is a very good idea. 
I wish I had some great advice on dealing with stuff like this but I don’t. I sincerely hope that it is not an issue for your child, @Knight of Ni. 

[Bobology]

8 hours ago, Kailash said:

It definitely happens here in Kansas. My daughter was told that she “needed Jesus” by some of her classmates in Kindergarten.

It happened to my grandson in Kindergarten, too. Oklahoma. Maybe it's a bible belt thing. "Where do you go to church?" Is asked frequently, too, of adults and children by adults and children who are barely distant acquaintances.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Bobology

[Kailash]

2 hours ago, Bobology said:

It happened to my grandson in Kindergarten, too. Oklahoma. Maybe it's a bible belt thing. "Where do you go to church?" Is asked frequently, too, of adults and children by adults and children who are barely distant acquaintances.

I’m sorry that happened to your grandson. I had wondered if I should mention “The Bible Belt” but I’m not sure where it actually is. The fact that this happens to any child grieves me greatly. Separation of church and state, please!

[Expectopatronus]

On 7/12/2021 at 10:35 AM, Knight of Ni said:

I'm the complete opposite of Jessa. My husband and I are both atheists and my daughter doesn't even know what religion is. Both sides of our family gave us grief for keeping her out of Pre-K because the public school charges an exorbitant amount for it and the only affordable options are church related. She will be starting Kindergarten and I wonder what type of exposure she'll get from other kids. I'm really not looking forward to any potential bullying because she's not religious. 

I’ve been a teacher for 13 years and have never seen the atheist kids bullied. A few kids have bullied the Muslim kids but that gets shut down pretty fast by staff and other students. One atheist kid might have thought he was bullied because when he made fun of religious kids and told them only stupid people believe in God another kid told him he was being a jerk. I didn’t intervene in that one other than reminding the kid that everyone has the right to their own beliefs that calling people stupid was not acceptable. 

[Natalie22]

Bullying because of a lack of belief in god does happen.  Sometimes it isn't even bullying, but just a general pressure to conform to the majority religion.  Even though I'm Canadian, I grew up it a rural town where almost everyone was Christian.  You could not date certain girls unless you went to certain churches and you had better be in church every Sunday.  This also led to other things like it being uncomfortable for Queer students or students with sexual assault allegations being disbelieved (he's a good christian boy and she was only looking for an excuse to not have to admit she cheated on her boyfriend, etc.).  Sometimes it can even just be in certain activities.  This hasn't happen in my personal experience, but I know it can be quite common in the states where there will be team prayers and everyone is expected to pray before and/or after certain games or competitions.  This prayer is usually done under one particular denomination (it some areas it might be evangelical, in some areas like Utah it might be a very specific Mormon prayer, etc.).  

[therulesofjinx]

12 hours ago, Bobology said:

It happened to my grandson in Kindergarten, too. Oklahoma. Maybe it's a bible belt thing. "Where do you go to church?" Is asked frequently, too, of adults and children by adults and children who are barely distant acquaintances.

This is something I cannot fathom at all. I live in New England in one of least (maybe actually the very least; not sure when statistics were last updated) religious states in the US. No one talks about religion. I had friends who went to church when we were growing up (mostly Catholic church) but they never talked about it; it was mostly something their parents made them do. None of my friends had religious wedding ceremonies. I cannot imagine meeting someone and asking about church. It's just so, so odd to me. Edited to add: some people here are religious! For sure! It's just not a topic of conversation. Us New Englanders prefer to keep to ourselves and mostly exchange pleasantries (or complaints) about the weather ?

Edited July 14, 2021 by therulesofjinx
additional info

[Knight of Ni]

Maybe "bullying" was too strong of a word to use. The school had their before school Kindergarten social yesterday and i was feeling a little protective. However, I definitely remember the phrase what church do you attend? I grew up Christian so I can't speak about what would happen if you answered "no" as a child. It was definitely just assumed that everyone had a faith tradition. This was mostly assumed to be Christian. Some kids definitely thought they needed to tell the few non-religious children "the good news". 

Basically I'm hoping to make sure she is respected and at the same time making sure she is respectful. 

I can definitely remember being confronted and grilled about my lack of religious beliefs by a co-worker. I thought it was highly disrespectful and inappropriate for a work environment.  But at the time wasn't assertive enough to say so.

Edited to add

@therulesofjinx That must be nice. Years ago when my husband and I moved to a new town I can't tell you how many times we were asked "have you found a church home?" when they found out we were new to the area.

Edited July 14, 2021 by Knight of Ni