Maxwell 50: Maxhell Has Frozen Over. Anna and Mary Are Off to College and Sarah Moves Out!

[Teaistheway]

6 hours ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

Snarking aside, I hope we will still get some updates from time to time on the Maxwell's. This is one family I have always liked, even if I didn't always agree with them.  

Agreed. I absolutely don't agree with their views but the children are brought up in a safe environment, are well cared for and given time and attention, which is more than a lot if fundies manage.

And I love Arnold!

 

 

[Petronella]

Could someone clarify or point to past discussion about when they started attending the new church? It sounds like this was linked to the pandemic, but most people *stopped* going to church in the pandemic. Did they join online? Or was this one if those “lockdown can’t stop us!” churches?

Also, several people have mentioned Sarah having a head injury. Any info on that?

Thanks for any replies!

[ClareDeLune]

45 minutes ago, Petronella said:

Could someone clarify or point to past discussion about when they started attending the new church? It sounds like this was linked to the pandemic, but most people *stopped* going to church in the pandemic. Did they join online? Or was this one if those “lockdown can’t stop us!” churches?

Also, several people have mentioned Sarah having a head injury. Any info on that?

Thanks for any replies!

They had already been involved with the church for a while. They didn't say how long but that they had already been attending on Sunday evenings before the pandemic put a halt to the retirement home church.   

Sarah had a concussion, maybe more than once. I can't remember but if you search for concussion she did some posts about her recovery.

[Botkinetti]

I keep thinking that the girls have wanted changes for a long time and have made their feelings known. They banded together, found a pastor and some brothers that fully backed them and refused to keep living the tiny lives that their father demanded. 
Ultimately Steve had no choice but to appear to be gracious about the monumental changes in his family regardless of how he actually felt.

[theologygeek]

7 hours ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

Hey, in searching for Sarah's possible home I am unable to find John and Chelsea's house listed on the county site. I can find Steve and Teri's, Nathan's and Christopher's but not John's. Did they move out of Maxhell, too?

There are two searches.  One is a property search and one is a tax search.  John is no longer on the property page but he is on the tax search.  Put the last name Maxwell (no first name) and look for the ones that have 2020 taxes paid.  Did John move?  There are two for him-different addresses.  http://leavenworth.kansasgov.com/tax/  

[ClareDeLune]

John's name is down for his own home and for 1504 Santa Fe st which is also registered to Steve and Teri.  But John is down for 'personal property' and a trailer at his parent's house.  I don't know how taxes work but maybe he uses part of their property for storage/work?

[theologygeek]

6 hours ago, GreenBeans said:

There are many ways to explain this.

1) She never really thought so, but was “led by the Lord” (Steve) to post this.

2) It’s still somewhat true, which is why she got an apartment ready to move in, not a fixer upper house.

3) She changed her mind, plain and simple. It happens.  

My theory...  They put themselves in a bubble, hanging around with their family members and going to a church in a nursing home where Steve was the pastor.  They didn't really have friends.  They called people friends, but probably not friends in the sense like we have friends.  Or they had some people they got close to from the conferences and the blog.  But Steve ran the show on both so those people were sort of pre approved by him.  Then they went to a new church and all of a sudden someone else was in control.  They had someone in a respectable position tell them that they were wrong.  Wrong about college, girls living outside the home, etc  We've been saying it for years, and some of them probably read here, but we are evil influences according to them.  So it's easy to just brush us aside and chalk it up the "haters."  But now you have the man molding their spiritual mind telling them that they need to do things differently.  And the lightbulb moment went off and the girls were like "I want to have a life too."  So they recruited the pastor to talk to their father.  He had no choice.  Leave the church and tell the girls that the pastor was wrong?  Wouldn't work because the girls already had a bug planted in their heads.  He was going to lose them if he didn't let up.  Wait until they are alone with their thoughts and evaluate their lives.  It happens to all of us at one time or another in life.  Wait until they figure out that their father fucked up their lives.  

[HermioneSparrow]

WTF? I'm in shock with them. Yassss Sarah! I'm glad you got your own place. I'm really happy for Sarah, Anna and Mary but kinda bummed that the blog will die. Where do I get my Maxwell fix? Lol

[nelliebelle1197]

8 hours ago, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

We shall see I guess. Chelsy will probably help Sarah set up and Instagram and Anna and Mary's new college friends can introduce them to Facebook. All of these changes are new for the family. As for Sarah blogging, part of me is thinking she will continue is due to her writing children's books. Part of her advertising for getting the books off the ground was on the family blog. So, in a way, I can see Sarah choosing to continue with promoting any new book she has coming out on the blog. Then again, she create her own blog and/or a public social media profile for that. I guess we will see, none of us really saw this change coming for the Maxwell's. I just hope that Sarah is able do continue on with her life out from under her parent's thumb all the time. 

Why would Sarah need help setting up Instagram? She has been marketing herself and her family her whole life. I am pretty sure she could manage all that on her own.

@Petronella Chelsy and John started attending a real church and the girls followed, then Steve and Teri.

[petrushka]

The Maxwells were my second foray into fundie land after the Duggars and I hold them accountable for my discovery of FJ. Over the years, they fed my appetite for snark on so many levels.  It seems unfair that the blog could end just when things are getting interesting again. If I could live my life over again, I would love to be a sociologist who studies fundies. 

As to what led up to these astonishing developments, I think they were quietly evolving. First, we have the aging Steve and Teri who probably have less energy to keep the isolation in force.  Second, the marriages of the reversal brothers brought the influence of their brides, who while being fundie, were likely not raised in as isolated homes as the Maxwell "girls".  They undoubtedly listened to stories from Elissa about being in 4-H, probably read Chelsy's and the Bontrager blogs, and witnessed Anna3's and Jesse's excitement with living in their first apartment away from the compound.  No way could they forever suppress negative feelings about the stagnation of their own lives even if S and T allowed the occasional mission trip.  The reversal brothers all joined other churches, widening their own circles of friends. I imagine they may have all tactfully suggested allowing the girls more freedom, and once the pastor got to know the Maxwells up close, it was game over.

[Destiny]

No one has mentioned the biggest news -- the FJ server seems to be holding up okay during this news reveal!

Thank goodness we got a new one last month!

[Queen Of Hearts]

1 hour ago, ClareDeLune said:

John's name is down for his own home and for 1504 Santa Fe st which is also registered to Steve and Teri.  But John is down for 'personal property' and a trailer at his parent's house.  I don't know how taxes work but maybe he uses part of their property for storage/work?

Strangely enough, when I search for John's address on the property page the house isn't even listed. It is like it never existed! Weird.  It will be interesting to see if it is listed on the tax page once they update with 2021.

[sparkles]

I wonder if Sarah will continue writing, given all these changes. She was the designated author but never really seemed to have a passion for it (or any natural talent or learned skill over the years) and since the two main avenues of promotion—first the conferences and now the blog—will likely no longer exist, it seems like she’d have an easy out if she wanted one, especially if she’s really that busy working for her brothers.

I also wonder how some the Maxes’ hard core followers feel about this latest bombshell. Basically, so much of what Steve chastised others for, he’s now guilty of. No more being the head of your own church, no more sheltering your kids from the influence of education outside the home, no more living under daddy’s protection until marriage. He’s sold everyone a bill of goods and if people unended their family’s lives to follow his advice, they have every right to feel betrayed and taken in. Hopefully, if they feel that way, they’ll also see there’s a way out, so Steve may actually have done them a big favor. 

[Giraffe]

I feel a twinge of hope for Abby now.

[Captain Obvious]

5 minutes ago, sparkles said:

I wonder if Sarah will continue writing, given all these changes. She was the designated author but never really seemed to have a passion for it (or any natural talent or learned skill over the years) and since the two main avenues of promotion—first the conferences and now the blog—will likely no longer exist, it seems like she’d have an easy out if she wanted one, especially if she’s really that busy working for her brothers.

I thought that if she was going to continue to write them, Steve would have said so.

Also, if she's working full time and doing extra stuff for her church, I'm not sure how she'd find the time. Especially if she's also go to fit in exercise/walking Ellie and whatever family responsibilities she still has. Especially if she doesn't love doing it in the first place. 

Edited September 11, 2021 by Captain Obvious

[nelliebelle1197]

Steve, we now have proof you read here. It may not matter to you but you have a whole bunch of strangers with an odd affection for your family. Please don’t forsake us! And throw us a bone with a lettuce cutting lesson.

[Cults-r-us]

Excited a thread burning through with excellent news! Even the cafeteria food will be a wakeup call to how food can taste. Hope they eat delicious stir fry and spicy burritos, make friends and discover every day life the rest of us take for granted. Godspeed, Maxwell women!

[LilMissMetaphor]

Quote

with our lack of family-type, blog-worthy substance

Cheese paper anecdotes? Wiping down blinds? Unloading Uriah's poop? Rearranging mulch?  Earbud recommendations? Come on, that is all solid stuff.  Especially the poop.  Although, considering the burritos, maybe not so much.  

 

Quote

Those random life posts often took her hours as she combed through her photos for just the right ones for the post

Key word "random", Sarah.  You were doing it wrong.

[fundiefan]

35 minutes ago, sparkles said:

I wonder if Sarah will continue writing, given all these changes. She was the designated author but never really seemed to have a passion for it (or any natural talent or learned skill over the years) and since the two main avenues of promotion—first the conferences and now the blog—will likely no longer exist, it seems like she’d have an easy out if she wanted one, especially if she’s really that busy working for her brothers.

 

Of course I don't know, but I doubt it. She is working full time now. And even if it's for her brothers, she has to be doing actual work & making an income if she is now paying for a place of her own. I suspect she has a place purchased under the Maxwell Trust, but what that actually means, who knows (Steve never said the girls had to buy homes debt free - the whole trust situation makes me think their funds from book writing & whatever else they did for their family were put into trust & now they're being allowed to use it - which in a way makes sense given they were actually "supposed" to get married & make babies; not move out & support themselves)- but she still has daily & regular expenses like food & car maintenance & insurance & furnishing her place.

Anyway, she is working full time. She is involved with her church. She is making a life of Sarah's choosing; no longer writing books mom & dad dad & mom want for their "ministry". Basically, she has left the family business & is doing life with Sarah as the beneficiary, not the family/family business. I suspect the books are done along with the blog. She won't be doing the business end of Titus 2 so I don't see her continuing to add materials under its umbrella. 

She is not a writer; it's not a passion. It was an assigned job to fulfill the needs of her parents. She is now apparently living by her own choice & I just don't see the book writing being part of that. 

I see the entire TItus 2 shit show folding within a couple of years. All the offspring have their own lives & jobs - there is no one to take it over. 

[HoneyBunny]

Regarding the discussion about whether there will be periodic updates onto the Maxwell family blog…I don’t believe there will be, but have been proven wrong more times than not. Sarah’s situation reminds me so much of friends of ours who always had multiple dogs. Well, they had a very bad year one year and lost two of them, and finally a third.  A few weeks later the husband died of a massive stroke.  I was helping my friend (his widow) go through things in the house and she was getting rid of everything dog related. I couldn’t imagine that house without at least one dog and commented on it. No, as much as she loved on and cared for the dogs, she told me they were his thing, not hers. She’s never had a dog in the 16 years since. 
 

The blog, the books were Steve’s thing. Sarah is finally going to do things her way. 
 

Plus, the update on Maddy and Anna Maria, the final family pic…this was definitely a series finale. Its been fun (and I really mean that, it’s been enormous fun for me), and, Steve, dare I add, occasionally you did give me something to think about. 

Edited September 11, 2021 by HoneyBunny

[SPHASH]

Well holy shitballs I didn't see this post coming even though I begged Rufus for it to happen.

So happy for Sarah, I don't care if she bought her own house, renting, got married, or even living with Gigi.  She. Is. Out. Of. The. Fathership!

Hell will have frozen over three times if Teri decides to leave Steve.

Will miss the blog.  Like someone said up thread this is like the last episode of Cheers.  More like MASH.

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by SPHASH
Eta

[browngrl]

1 hour ago, fundiefan said:

Of course I don't know, but I doubt it.

I agree with you. This being said (and even if I've never read a Moody book yet)  I would quite enjoy reading a Moody story about how one of the daughters gets a job, a house and a life separate from her family. 

[socalrules]

So the most restrictive fundies we follow have actually progressed more than the Duggars, the Rodrigues and the Bates families. Best of all, it’s their young women who are leading that progression. We were talking about wearing pants as being change. Now we are talking about real college, away from home, and a woman living by herself.  We now know if the Maxwells can do it, anyone can do it. Of course, I am sure the way the Maxwells operate, they made sure Sarah, Mary and Anna were prepared for this new future of theirs. It gives me hope for the grandchildren. I doubt they are going to suddenly be raised to believe Anna and Mary are bad for going away to college or Sarah is because she is living on her own without a husband or an accountability buddy as they might have 10 years ago. I think they will see aunts they love and want to emulate. Real role models. The family has changed for the better and they should be proud of themselves for admitting change is necessary. 
 

I do enjoy how the blog post just sort of ignores that what Sarah, Anna and Mary are doing is the exact opposite of what the Maxwells have preached and believed in for years. 

[fundiewatch]

I don’t think Sarah will continue to write children’s books. She ended the Moody series and the Hilltop books seemed to be an unenthusiastic attempt to continue doing what her “role” was in the family. I assume she has to be doing quite a bit of work for Joe and SwiftOtter in addition to whatever Nathan/CCI and Christopher have for her. I’ll bet all of her sisters-in-love have been supportive of her.

[Caroline]

I wonder if fundies like the Maxwells and Erika Shupe can change more drastically because (IMO) they seem more intelligent and analytical than the others (Duggars, Bates, and especially the Rods).  The Maxwells also acquired higher education and didn't Erika also have a degree?  I'm not saying that college grads are smarter than non-college grads, but with higher education you learn to see the world differently and aren't as likely to emerge from your education with black/white thinking.  I know there are exceptions, but the Maxwells and Erika seem to value learning at least and to some extent creativity (Erika's daughter, the artist/ Sarah and her books and Mary who illustrates the books).  I don't get that vibe from many of the other families, ESPECIALLY the poor Rods.