Maxwell neighborhood brunch

[YPestis]

Was anyone surprised with the latest Maxwell entry about hosting of a neighborhood brunch? I was.

 

The family always struck me as extremely isolated from nonfundie people. They said the hosted a neighborhood get together and they asked each lady to talk about how they came to their neighborhood. There was no mention of bible reading, evangelizing or memorizing scripture. It was just a pleasant get together.

 

Maybe this is a new direction the Maxwells are going....who knows, if they keep having these get-togethers, there may be hope for some of the girls to find potential suitors. Of course, this looked to be a female only brunch but just interacting with nonfundie people may be healthy for the Maxwell girls, especially Sarah who seems unable to cleave and leave the family.

[kpmom]

I wonder, though, if they really did not do any proselytizing during this brunch? I recall a post about how Christopher even does it when he talks to customer service people on the phone! Talk about captive audiences.

Either that, or are they buttering these women up for future proselytizing?

I just don't trust the Maxwells and their motives.

[skankbiscuit]

I think this in direct response to the numerous concerns we have posted here about the fact that they claim to be oh so Christlike, yet never interact socially with anyone but their family.

[ceg045]

It did seem like an oddly large gathering, considering how isolated their blog portrays them to be. I was expecting to see 4 or 5 women, but all the people gathered around the table really threw me.

I hope they didn't lay the JesusSpeak on too thick (better yet, I hope they didn't lay it on at all), but it is the Maxwells we're talking about. :?

[kpmom]

It did seem like an oddly large gathering, considering how isolated their blog portrays them to be. I was expecting to see 4 or 5 women, but all the people gathered around the table really threw me.

Obviously they live in a much more godly neighborhood than I. I could never find more than 2 or 3 women home on a weekday morning where I live.

[emesbe]

Did anyone catch the "what a cute big sister" under the photo of Bethany???????????????????????

[clibbyjo]

If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you will see there is only 1 girl maybe in her 20's and the rest are middle aged or older. That is not very fun for "the girls" unless Teri is just interviewing these moms for possible son's fundie enough to be accepted. Also, there are 2 empty chairs, one is Sarah's of course, but is the empty head of the table seat for Steve?(the only chair with arms)

[Meeka]

I noticed that they had it on a Friday morning. They probably didn't want to associate with working women

[SamuraiKatz]

All snarking aside, I would LOVE to have the Maxwell's kitchen.

I guess I am now on the highway to hell for covetousness.

[skankbiscuit]

Wow, they made empanadas and other yummy looking things! I wonder if Steve's head completely exploded from deviating from whatever is on the menu for Friday! :shock:

[FloraDoraDolly]

I don't think this is anything new for the Maxwells. Sarah's Moody books include quite a few stories about neighborhood gatherings, or where the Moody family includes neighbors (mostly elderly) in their family celebrations.

[skankbiscuit]

I don't think this is anything new for the Maxwells. Sarah's Moody books include quite a few stories about neighborhood gatherings, or where the Moody family includes neighbors (mostly elderly) in their family celebrations.

I dunno...i have been reading the blog for years, and this is the first time they posted about anyone other than family or the "C family" being at their house socially.

[Bookworm89]

It actually looked like they were having....fun.

Wonder where Steve was because he couldn't be anywhere near this or he would have stopped it.

[skankbiscuit]

It actually looked like they were having....fun.

Wonder where Steve was because he couldn't be anywhere near this or he would have stopped it.

He made the girls as busy as possible so he could go in his prayer closet and masterbate and look at porn. :lol:

[FloraDoraDolly]

I dunno...i have been reading the blog for years, and this is the first time they posted about anyone other than family or the "C family" being at their house socially.

Since Sarah bases the Moody books on her childhood, maybe this was something that happened more often when she was young, before the family began to isolate themselves to such an extreme degree? Whatever the case, it's nice to see the Maxwells getting together with neighbors.

[skankbiscuit]

Since Sarah bases the Moody books on her childhood, maybe this was something that happened more often when she was young, before the family began to isolate themselves to such an extreme degree? Whatever the case, it's nice to see the Maxwells getting together with neighbors.

I think you are onto something....and yeah it's good that they are having people over. I just hope they didn't give each guest one of the Ray Comfort million dollar bills...they used to be big on those....

[terranova]

Did anyone catch the "what a cute big sister" under the photo of Bethany???????????????????????

I saw that too! Wonder if it was a slip or a wee announcement.

[Guest Anonymous]

I wonder if the event was a means to promote Teri's book and their other products to a more local audience, since the conference scene is drying up?

Although it looks like a nice thing to do, Teri seems to exercise the same control around her kitchen table as she does at conferences and as she did in the days of the momsboard:

Instead of just breaking up into individual conversations, Mom asked if each lady could share how they came to the neighborhood.

Ice-breaker topics are nice to have in hand, if the conversation gets stilted, but really, WTF is wrong with individual conversations - why are they so scared of ordinary life?

[MamaJunebug]

I'm a member of a couple of clubs, and all of them try to have a "meet and greet" component every so often so that we can get to know our co-members better. Otherwise, it's very easy for people to pair or triple up into comfortable, familiar groups and chat away, leaving newcomers or bashful individuals sitting quietly alone.

I've been on both sides of the sitch -- oblivious to a lone person, and the lone person.

So it actually sounds good to me that Teri had a structured component to the brunch. What i wonder: Was that the only component to the brunch!

Now, my personal opinion: Going to a brunch where the hosts have prepared exactly the right number of items for the number of guests, or set out a precise number of strawberries (looking at you, Teri!) is not my idea of hospitality. I know. I know! Number 1, I love to eat; number 2, I don't get the nuances of nouvelle cuisine or voluntary simplicity when it comes to having people over. ;) My idea of a meal is two pans of lasagna, or a big kettle of soup with a bigger bowl of tossed salad, or soup bowls filled with salad makings.

I would never turn down an invitation based on the fact that the host/ess was serving "just enough," or sparingly. And I really don't fault Teri and the girls for doing so -- however. (And there's always a however in life...) However, it seems very much in keeping with Steve's ideas of forced asceticism and self-control, self-discipline, avoidance of any kind of sin.

Thus I imagine that the brunch was as fun as the guests made it, but I get the impression that Teri and the daughters were, at core, uptight through the whole thing. The usual toothy smiles in the usual "Mary prepares" and "Anna works" photos, notwithstanding.

[Cerysbell]

I saw that too! Wonder if it was a slip or a wee announcement.

Someone mentioned it in the comments and Steve has added to her comment 'Tammy, you're the first to 'get' it. There will be another post coming. Steve'. So yes, it looks like there's another baby on the way.

[clibbyjo]

I thought the same as MJB and the portions of food. 8 strawberries for 8 guests? What if one of the Maxwell's wanted one? TOO BAD.

So Melanie is pregnant again. 2 pregnant sisters in law can not be easy for Sarah.

[library_youth]

Wow, the Maxwells have a nice kitchen. I'm a little bit envious of all that space! My own kitchen is tiny.

As for Melanie...I can't say I'm excited that another child will have to grow up in that cult. :|

[SouthCarolinaGirl79]

I really don't get why people buy the junk they sell. I'm a SAHM and I homeschool my son. There are so many mothers in our co-op who buy their books. At my son's homeschool karate class, I see them updating their binders and trying to use the Maxwell's scheduling book. I'm too lazy to google the title, but it's something like how to manage your home effectively. I'm a CF, and I they think the Maxwells are nuts! I've flipped through some of their books and it is either fluff, stupid, or things I could have thought up myself without needing to shell out $20 bucks.

[Jessica]

I really don't get why people buy the junk they sell. I'm a SAHM and I homeschool my son. There are so many mothers in our co-op who buy their books. At my son's homeschool karate class, I see them updating their binders and trying to use the Maxwell's scheduling book. I'm too lazy to google the title, but it's something like how to manage your home effectively. I'm a CF, and I they think the Maxwells are nuts! I've flipped through some of their books and it is either fluff, stupid, or things I could have thought up myself without needing to shell out $20 bucks.

I don't get it either. You schedule the day into 30 minute blocks and write down each block of time on a post-it note. And I need to spend $25 to learn how to do this, why?

[ophelia]

I am really surprised that they invited all that women who were more or less strange to them. How could Stevie make sure that none of the ladies would have bad influence on his girls??