Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)

[crazy8s]

The baby who will be six years old April 11th.

Serious question - has Jill ever posted about Janessa being "saved" or getting baptized? I don't recall seeing that from Jill. I have had no luck finding it on either the blog or jill's fb.  Sofia was 5 1/2 when she was baptised. Olivia was not quite 5.

It seems most of the others professed their sinfullness and fear of going to hell at age 4-5. They then repeated the words dad and mommy told them to repeat and all was good for the rod kid to have a place in heaven.

[oliviabenson]

She is grifting 2 weeks out of each month at least. She is not staying home or taking care of the kids. Anyways Jill lies and is dumb for selling plexus.

[oliviabenson]

2 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Jill, you joined a pyramid scheme. And your trip was NOT fully paid. You paid airfare, and got what you paid for. 😂

And she signed Rene up and probably paid for that plexus package. So I wonder how much that free trip to DR actually cost her? Lol what a dummy and her followers are just as dumb for selling plexus. 

[BradandJanet]

I'm sure Dave was not going to say no to Jill's plan to earn money. The less time he has to spend working in the print shop, the happier he is. 

[Meow Mix]

Boy, her latest screed is really something.  I work outside the home because there aren't pennies from heaven raining down.  I need to work if I want to eat and have a roof over my head.  Of course, I'm an evil single woman (no kids and no blue hair) so I'm sure I don't count in Jill's eyes.  And her little dig at pharmaceuticals is rich when she is drinking an entire chemistry set with that pink stuff.  

[ChiCricket]

6 hours ago, ginger90 said:

This is a long one so I’m using the spoiler….

  Reveal spoiler

Many times people ask me how I do it all?  How do I have the energy?  How do I keep my figure after 19 pregnancies?  How do I earn an exotic trip to Punta Cana?  How, how, how?

To be honest, my first response would be....GOD'S GRACE!  😊  

My second answer would be.....doing things God's ways, is easier on the body.  No smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no working outside the home, but staying home with my babies to raise them, being faithful to my relationship with God and His Word, etc. has ALL played into me being healthier.  God's Ways work!  🥰  

Lastly (but certainly not least), I would answer - PLEXUS!  😁 Over 7 years ago, I wanted to contribute to the finances of our home.  I wanted to stay trim.  I wanted more energy.  I wanted natural answers in a pharmaceutical/drug happy culture.  😬  I was SO skeptical of SO many companies.  I did not want to partner with a scam, pyramid scheme, or anything short of a company run with excellence.  

My sister in law ( Joel-Betsy Foster Catlin  ) came to me and told me about Plexus!  I deeply trusted her and she told me of many others (that I fiercely trusted) that took Plexus, and had seen amazing results.  There were a TON of Christians in the company as well.  I asked my husband if I could give it a try and he said YES!  🤗  He has always passionately stood behind my efforts to grow an amazing team of brand ambassadors and VIP Customers, in whom I have come to deeply appreciate and love.  🥰  In fact, one of my teammates' daughters is marrying our son!  ( Ellen Vincent Coverett   & Heidi Coverett  ).  I mean, this is the closeness I am talking about!  😅❤️

Anyways, these products have continued to keep me SO energized.  I sometimes feel that my energy is through the roof and, I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. 💯 It has helped me naturally overcome health issues I struggled with for YEARS!  My husband and I took a FULLY PAID trip by Plexus to Punta Cana in February.  

If has taken a consistent work ethic and prayer and passion to get where I am today, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. 🥰   It has turned into an incredible opportunity of ministry as well.  I pour into my team on a daily basis and pray for them.  I strive to encourage and love on them.  We laugh, cry and work passionately TOGETHER!  We are best friends!  👌 I LOVE the culture we have created within our team!  It is precious!  ❤️🩷

Does any of this "ring a bell" with you?  Let me say, there is ALWAYS room at our table for one more!  😊  Let us help YOU get the help, encouragement, guidance and inspiration you need to reach your health and financial goals!  😉

Remember,  with God, ALL things are possible!  We can do this TOGETHER!  💪 

Rejoicing at God's Goodness, Jill

 

What immediately sprang to my (admittedly warped) mind...

[CalicoKitty]

She needs to decide how she wants to look in her filtered pictures, and then do the same each time.  She looks totally different in these pictures than she does in others.  Pick a lane and stay in it.  How about being honest and NOT using filters???

[Salacious Kitty]

26 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

She needs to decide how she wants to look in her filtered pictures, and then do the same each time.  She looks totally different in these pictures than she does in others.  Pick a lane and stay in it.  How about being honest and NOT using filters???

But then she might look like a woman who had 13 children. 

[Lindsay Loo Hoo]

Jill posted a video of the family out for pizza…

in this video, Olivia is holding onto the Mountain Dew for dear life. Then the camera pans to Renee who clearly just takes a bite for the camera. Meanwhile, beside her, Samuel is eating his piece of pizza like it’s the first thing he’s had for weeks and he won’t have another anytime soon. These people disgust me. 

[laurakaye]

I saw that video too, along with a comment from Jill that she was trying to get her entire brood to take their first bite all at the same time for her filming purposes.  Sure, set some pizza in front of your brood of hungry waifs and delay them eating it until they understand your stage direction and choreography.  Just let them EAT.

I also saw a picture of the back of Jill's head with the explanation that Sadie did Jill's hair while Jill was busy entering in all the information from the dozen(s) of women attending her retreat and I have to say, Jill's hair has literally never looked so good.

[mythoughtis]

==Jill was busy entering in all the information from the dozen(s) of women attending her retreat ==

I wonder what she was entering this time?  She posted previously that she was up all night before the flight to Punta Cana entering all the registration information for her retreat.  

[laurakaye]

She was probably calculating how many women she could feed from two heads of lettuce, a tomato, and a bottle of off-brand ranch dressing.

[oliviabenson]

33 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

She was probably calculating how many women she could feed from two heads of lettuce, a tomato, and a bottle of off-brand ranch dressing.

15 just like at home lol

[oliviabenson]

And 1 pizza (8 slices?) for how many people? Family that size can eat 2-3 pies easily. 
 

It would have been cheaper to buy frozen pizza or make their own. 
 

It was certainly paid by a gift card. Jill and Dave only pay for their date nights. 

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

And 1 pizza (8 slices?) for how many people? Family that size can eat 2-3 pies easily. 
 

It would have been cheaper to buy frozen pizza or make their own. 
 

It was certainly paid by a gift card. Jill and Dave only pay for their date nights. 

I think there was more pizza but  not enough regardless. I don't begrudge the kids a meal out (save them from Jill's horrific meals) but they always seem to be out having pizza. It is such empty calories, maybe the sauce counts towards something. 

And of course, this was from a gift card. 

[ginger90]

55 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

And 1 pizza (8 slices?) for how many people? Family that size can eat 2-3 pies easily. 

I saw at least 3 pizzas.

[libgirl2]

33 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

I saw at least 3 pizzas.

Three teen guys could demolish those easily. 

[oliviabenson]

Around here 1 pie is $20-25. Wonder how much pizza is in OH.

[oliviabenson]

6 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Three teen guys could demolish those easily. 

Not Jill’s kids. I bet their stomachs are shrunken and they can’t eat much.

[PradaKitty]

I think Sadie should be in charge of doing Jill’s hair forever. She does a much better job than Jill.….as a matter of fact, she should do her sisters hair too. 

I wonder how good she is with tweezers…

[Lady Edith]

1 hour ago, oliviabenson said:

Around here 1 pie is $20-25. Wonder how much pizza is in OH.

Depends on the pizzeria and what you get. Our fave local place in a small town not far from the Rods runs $25 for a large with two toppings.  Little Caesar’s is still under $10 a pie if I remember correctly. 

[crazy8s]

Since Jill always delays posting, maybe they went on 3/14 and got one of the pizza deals for Pi day.

Surely they know about that from their excellant home school right?? 🤣🤣🤣

[libgirl2]

37 minutes ago, crazy8s said:

Since Jill always delays posting, maybe they went on 3/14 and got one of the pizza deals for Pi day.

Surely they know about that from their excellant home school right?? 🤣🤣🤣

I bet they did and  homeschooling had nothing to do with it. I know around here everyone and their mother was advertising deals. 

[Turquoise]

I know what she was trying to accomplish with her "no working outside the home" dig, but her poor little brain can't comprehend that some of us do work at home. A real job with a steady paycheck and benefits. That doesn't involve a pyramid scheme. I may not have gotten a crappy tote bag or bucket hat, but I do have a 401K.

Also, my grandchildren don't look terrified every time I am in the vicinity.

I'll keep my pants-wearing life, thanks.

[ginger90]

Screenshot from a video, because I felt like it. 💅 

[Heathen]

Stormy Daniels, fundie edition. Except Real Stormy has brains, guts, and a work ethic, which Jill has never had and will never have. Also, did Jill run out of nail polish and decide to use Wite-Out? 

JHC, she looks like hammered shit. Look at how she Photoshopped the left side of her face. OMG. 

[BradandJanet]

4 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Screenshot from a video, because I felt like it. 💅 

The only thing missing is a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. 

[ginger90]

Talk of Plexus reset leads to  showing her new purchase for what else, the bathroom.

[graybrown bird]

Sign says " Be humble."  Oh the irony!

[oliviabenson]

No one wants to see her toilet or the clutter. And her hands are so swollen! Girl see a MD!

[GeeGolly]

Ugh, the flush germs. They must have Woodstock size parties on all her tchotchkes. 

 

[laurakaye]

Can anyone explain to me how one should "Bee Humble" when sitting on the potty?  I am not sure how those two things intersect.....

[Iguessnot]

8 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

Can anyone explain to me how one should "Bee Humble" when sitting on the potty?  I am not sure how those two things intersect.....

Courtesy flush?

[BradandJanet]

I'm amazed how clean Jill's stuff looks. It must be nice to have a small army of live-in help. I believe the daughters could better use their time by going to school, but that's just me. 

My house is dustier than I'd like, but I like to think that it's happy, educated dust. 

[AstridM]

6 hours ago, Iguessnot said:

Courtesy flush?

I wonder if Jill’s mother taught her to put the toilet seat down before you flush. 

[Girl in a Cardigan]

12 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Talk of Plexus reset leads to  showing her new purchase for what else, the bathroom.

Is the shelf crooked or the wall (or both)? The gap between the right side and the edge of the wall is not the same at the top and bottom of the shelf. 

[Whatsinaname]

14 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Talk of Plexus reset leads to  showing her new purchase for what else, the bathroom.

Surprised her toothbrush isn't next to the mouthwash on top shelf.

[awaken]

Why is all that stuff in the bathroom, and why is she posting it for us?!?!

[Salacious Kitty]

14 minutes ago, awaken said:

Why is all that stuff in the bathroom, and why is she posting it for us?!?!

This is Jill we're talking about (TIJWTA). 🤪

[ginger90]

New shed purchase to get lawnmowers and such out of the printing ministry space. She said the electric bill last month for the printing space was $1,000. DONATE!!

 

screenshot from a video:

[mythoughtis]

19 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

New shed purchase to get lawnmowers and such out of the printing ministry space. She said the electric bill last month for the printing space was $1,000. DONATE!!

 

screenshot from a video:

She also commented that they sell their tracts at cost only. Except for foreign missions, which could be shipping only.  If they haven’t added things like the electricity and subsidizing the foreign missions into their cost figures, then  they should revise those figures. 
 

Or here’s a novel concept: open the printing business to at profit jobs.  Stop the constant travel so that the printing business could operate year round.  

How did they get a $1000 electricity bill when they weren’t even home for an entire month? Don’t they turn anything off?  They had a huge amount of firewood there- are they using electricity to heat the place? 

Edited March 21 by mythoughtis

[Minivanessa]

I thought that under their contract with the missions clearinghouse (from which they receive financial support), they agreed to provide tracts at cost + shipping, no profit, to the churches in that affiliation. 

I don't know if they also committed to not pursuing any for-profit printing jobs for customers other than those churches. I suppose if the clearinghouse is providing them with financial support, they would be expected to devote their time and energy to their mission: David as a traveling preacher, plus his talented spouse and kids coming along to provide the music and some uplifting talks for the ladies (wimmin can't preach but they can talk to ladies' groups). OTOH I don't think it's unusual for preachers and pastors in the IFB world to have jobs or businesses to help support their families, to supplement the funds they receive from their churches, missionary organizations, etc. 

I thought it was interesting that on their way to their big Plexus vacay, they delivered a bunch of boxes of tracts to a church in FL. Jill posted a photo of the boxes loaded into what I think was their van. I assume they calculated their "shipping" costs for those boxes as the gas for the van plus their expenses for the trip (food, etc.). Pretty clever. If they had just shipped the stuff via the USPS, UPS, or another shipping company, they wouldn't have gotten to FL on someone else's dime (in whole or in part).

I don't know if their contract with the clearinghouse defines what the "cost" of production means. Is it only paper + ink, or is there an allowance for overhead? 

So many questions. One being: if it's okay for Jill to pursue her (allegedly) fabulous and worthwhile Plexus "business," then why wouldn't it be okay for David to pursue some for-profit printing jobs? Hmm . .  

[Triple P]

13 hours ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

Is the shelf crooked or the wall (or both)? The gap between the right side and the edge of the wall is not the same at the top and bottom of the shelf. 

The wall was put up by master carpenter David Rodrigues, and he probably put up the shelf too, so I'm gonna say both are crooked.

11 hours ago, Whatsinaname said:

Surprised her toothbrush isn't next to the mouthwash on top shelf.

Such an odd place for the mouthwash and deodorant. Must be extras/backups and not the items currently in use?

 

As for the printing ministry, David has printed things besides tracts. He did the godawful mailers for Joy Baptist Church after the Rods moved to Ohio, and he printed someone's book. I don't think he printed Jill's book about Amy Foster, but maybe.

I haven't listened to any of his sermons, but others have reported that he has said printing things besides the smiley tracts is too hard. 

[GeeGolly]

I didn't do a deep dive, but maybe the Rod's electric bill was high "last month" is because its actually 2 or 3 months.

[AstridM]

1 hour ago, Jeeves said:

 

I thought that under their contract with the missions clearinghouse (from which they receive financial support), they agreed to provide tracts at cost + shipping, no profit, to the churches in that affiliation. 

 

If the churches do pay for shopping costs, why the need to DRIVE the tracts to Florida every year? Do they get paid for shipping and then also try to write off the gas and travel costs on their taxes? 

[Minivanessa]

1 minute ago, AstridM said:

If the churches do pay for shopping costs, why the need to DRIVE the tracts to Florida every year? Do they get paid for shipping and then also try to write off the gas and travel costs on their taxes? 

I doubt anyone other than the Rods knows what their tax returns look like. 

Of course they'll drive the tracts to FL and collect the "shipping" to defray part or all of their trip expenses. That's better for them than just shipping via UPS or some other company with the church paying that cost. I'm assuming that the churches will be eyeballing the "shipping" costs and not paying the Rods more than they'd have paid for UPS or other shipping. But again, who knows?

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, Jeeves said:

I doubt anyone other than the Rods knows what their tax returns look like. 

Of course they'll drive the tracts to FL and collect the "shipping" to defray part or all of their trip expenses. That's better for them than just shipping via UPS or some other company with the church paying that cost. I'm assuming that the churches will be eyeballing the "shipping" costs and not paying the Rods more than they'd have paid for UPS or other shipping. But again, who knows?

And that "shipping" might include meals, maybe a sweatblouse for Jill.... 

[crazy8s]

2 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I didn't do a deep dive, but maybe the Rod's electric bill was high "last month" is because its actually 2 or 3 months.

Also thier bill would be high because they are up late at night and have pretty much every single light in the barndo and the map turned on. This is shown is most every video at the barndo.

As far as the new shed, Jill's videos have never shown lawn mowers, lawn tools or bikes in the print shop. They have always been shown outside around the back of the house.

Videos of the print shop before the upstairs storage was added have shown laundry area, jill's "beauty shop" chair and grooming station, Sam's table saw and boxes upon boxes of jill's seasonal decorations.

I do hope they store all those gas cans in the shed. The pile of them in the printshop seemed unwise.

[AstridM]

3 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

I doubt anyone other than the Rods knows what their tax returns look like. 

Of course they'll drive the tracts to FL and collect the "shipping" to defray part or all of their trip expenses. That's better for them than just shipping via UPS or some other company with the church paying that cost. I'm assuming that the churches will be eyeballing the "shipping" costs and not paying the Rods more than they'd have paid for UPS or other shipping. But again, who knows?

So they’re taking their van, full of tracts, AND also taking their RV to Florida? Then they have to drive both vehicles back to ohio? I just don’t see the cost savings unless they’re using creative accounting.

[Minivanessa]

12 minutes ago, AstridM said:

So they’re taking their van, full of tracts, AND also taking their RV to Florida? Then they have to drive both vehicles back to ohio? I just don’t see the cost savings unless they’re using creative accounting.

If they can recoup the cost of getting the van to FL (and perhaps also the trip back to OH), that would probably be worth it for them. That way they have the use of the van to run around in while they're in FL and the RV is parked. I'm just speculating of course. I think they used to have a car they towed behind the RV; not sure if they still do that. The van holds two or three times as many passengers as a car would.

Edited to add: The RV has famously broken down once or twice in the last year or so. They may want to have the van along as backup. And who knows if David has decided that towing a car would put too much strain on the old RV? As I said, just speculating.

Edited March 21 by Jeeves