Day 4, the last day of a series of my Notes from Christians at the Crossroads conference, based on the talk given by the five eldest Botkin children, Isaac, David, Anna, Elizabeth and Ben.

Our parents were pioneers. We need to take the advantage of “standing on their shoulders” and go even further: there’s always more to do! More obedience, more dominion, more advance for God’s kingdom. The reformers sacrificed everything! How can we do any less?

Friday night, my drawings of the re-enactors from the Reformation 500 for my friend Katherine. We learned, through the historical characters’ testimonies, of the great sacrifices they made for God’s kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ - including their lives.

“And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.” - 1 Kings 9:4-7

I have a whole host of notes from the other sessions, so I’ll probably post more of them later. Thanks for joining me!

{Photos by Emily Rose}

Day 3 of a series on my Notes from Christians at the Crossroads conference, based on the talk given by the five eldest Botkin children, Isaac, David, Anna, Elizabeth and Ben.

The last two reasons why the second generation drops the ball:

#4 We don’t take our sin seriously. We may not have had as many opportunities to ruin our lives, but we’re just as evil and in need of redemption as the next person. He requires more of us! Luke 7:42-43

#5 We have a lack of training, vision, drive, purpose, and character, which we can get only through a real relationship with Jesus. Just because we’re 2nd or 3rd gen, we don’t get a free ride. We’re failing because we’re turning away form God.

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13

Join me tomorrow as I give my last post of notes on “Why the second generation drops the ball.”

{Photos by Emily Rose}

The large audience that came to hear the Botkins. With the generous schedule, we had lots of opportunities to fellowship with friends - if only it had lasted a week!

Day 2 of a series of my Notes from Christians at the Crossroads conference, based on the talk given by the five eldest Botkin children, Isaac, David, Anna, Elizabeth and Ben.

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When we read Ezekiel 16:49, we are told “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” And we know what happened to Sodom as a result. As the second generation, we enjoy many of the luxuries that our parents received. We also have the temptation to horde the wealth and not use it to help others in need or further the kingdom of God.

The following is a list of reasons why the second generation drops the ball:

#1 We have no fear of God, and we let something other than Him be God’s voice in our life. Instead, we should have a fiery zeal for God’s word, the Gospel, service, our sanctification, the biblical family, and reformation.

#2 We don’t study the Scriptures for ourselves. We don’t have that fiery zeal as we ought, and we let our parents’ relationship with the Lord be our “free ride” rather than taking it upon ourselves to pursue godliness. We can’t let others study our beliefs for us - we have to work out our own salvation (Phil. 2:12).

#3 We think we are “good kids” rather than being truly righteous. We are simply “reflecting light” rather than being the light. We can puff ourselves up with prideful thoughts of the way we were raised, or we can abandon self-centered thoughts and pursue true holiness. Which will it be?

My friend Katerine and I. In between taking notes I would doodle for her. We quickly became inseparable friends over the weekend!

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” - Mark 12:30

Join me tomorrow as I give the last two reasons why the second generation drops the ball, with more posts and pictures to follow!

{Photos by Emily Rose}

Entering the Easton Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Columbus, Ohio, where the conference was held. At least 600 were in attendance.

This past weekend (July 10-12) we were in Columbus, OH, gleaning from the wisdom of the Botkin family. Their second “Christian Families at the Crossroads” conference was a great blessing to our family and just as wonderful as the first. (For my posts on their conference in GA, click here, here and here.) Emily and I will be posting more pictures and notes from this conference.

One of the most powerful talks God used to convict me was titled, “Why the second Generation Drops the Ball,” by the five eldest Botkin children (who really aren’t children ;)

I decided to use my notes from this session as a series this week.

The whole Botkin family during a panel discussion.

Notes from “Why the Second Generation Drops the Ball” by Isaac, David, Anna, Elizabeth and Ben Botkin

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What cycle in the history of God’s people do we see more than any other? We find it in today’s culture and in the Bible. It’s the recurring story of how God will bless His people who then sin by failing to teach their children to love the Lord. When the children grow up they forget the Lord, and He must chasten them.

But does this really happen in America?

Most of the young people I know (including myself) are home-educated “second generation Christians.” Our parents are Christians who raised us to be Christians, and we have the advantage of spiritually standing on our parents’ shoulders and benefiting from the blessings they received for being faithful to God’s word.

These blessings may include things like a growing spiritual legacy, strong families and relationships, good reputations in the community, etc.

But do we take advantage of these blessings? Are we prideful of our “better education” and upbringing? What happens when we disregard the Giver of these blessings?

Have you ever struggled with these feelings?

Tomorrow we’ll continue this topic in my series of notes from “Why the Second Generation Drops the Ball,” based on the talk given by the five eldest Botkin children.

{Photos by Emily Rose}

Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom! I’m so thankful for the work God has done in your lives, and I love you both tremendously! May God give you many more years together.

(Read Mom’s post here, Emily’s post here.)

Hooray! The 100th post!

Here’s a good quote I have found to be extremely helpful. For someone who doesn’t care for strict schedules, I appreciate the reinforced necessity and simplicity of just writing down that to-do list:

“Spending fifteen minutes thinking about what you are going to do before you start will save four hours of wasted time later on. Any individual who has thought through her workday, set priorities, and organized the days’ tasks is likely to accomplish far more than someone who randomly moves through the day” - James W. Botkin, The 15:4 Rule

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One of my favorite verses (Mal. 4:6) shows God’s abundant grace, and we have reason to hope and rejoice in His promise (notice the last line):

“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” - Malachi 4:6

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Oh Lord, continue to have mercy on Your people as You turn our hearts toward You and your plan for the biblical family. Let us find our strength in You, let us inherit the land, and exalt in You for generations. (Psalm 37)

Real life. Real moments.

That’s some stuff I really love.

Take yesterday afternoon. . . I was reminded of life and all its beautiful idiosyncrasies while cleaning up after lunch. The dishes were all in the kitchen, bags of lettuce back in the fridge, and a large dessert dish from the 4th still needed tending to (I’m sure you’ve never had to deal with things like that). I was wearing a shirt with large “Medieval” sleeves which I rolled up, and proceeded to scrape off the chocolate-fudgy sides and fill it with water.

The pan didn’t quite fit in the sink, so I let it rest atop the sink full of soapy water, slowly swilling the dish rag around, trying not to get wet. And can you believe it? My sleeves kept unrolling right into the swirly chocolate-water froth!

Mom, who was getting supplies out to make soap, said, “You know, this is why ladies always had servants. Their big sleeves were always getting in the way.”

By then I was laughing at Mom’s remark and my former hope that they would stay up on their own. I chuckled replying, “It wasn’t the feudal system at all! It was the fashion industry!” After a good laugh we asked Emily to take a picture of this oh-so-human moment.

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Earlier that morning I had been occupied with painting and listening to Vision Forum’s Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, and I had been convicted about my lack of diligence (again). After lunch, while snapping green beans with Mom, we talked about our most common distraction from productivity: our time online.

Isn’t it strange, that while I’m online being inspired about life, I’m spending that precious life staring at scrolling words and flying images, entranced by what I think life is supposed to look like. (Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy the blessing of keeping up with friends!)

Emily came out to join the conversation in the sun-filled and shaded backyard. First step into the grass, and a bee sting. We’re called back to real life, where emergencies happen, and I can come to the rescue with the baking soda and Medieval nurse-like attention. Another real life moment; yes, with pain. But also a beautiful, close sisterly moment.

So, as much as I love spending time online, I can’t keep letting it take control of my schedule. There’s a whole life full of tangible goodness, diligence and fruitfulness, and I don’t want to miss it.