5 April 2010
My dear daddy, Breezy, and I at the Father & Daughter Retreat
(Photo by my dear mother.)
Last weekend we attended Vision Forum‘s Father & Daughter Retreat, which was held at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.
The event lasted from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon, and it was a wonderful experience! During the weekend there was:
Father & Daughter Unity Games – Unity games were held on the Grand Lawn. Each game had a purpose: in croquet the daughter played and the father corrected when needed, the three-legged race helped fathers and daughters practice working together, and for the obstacle course the daughters were blindfolded and had to follow their fathers voice, testing how well they listened to their father.
Picnic on the Grand Lawn – The sun was shining on the grand lawn, with a cool breeze flowing by while fathers and daughters ate a picnic dinner (of hamburgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, etc.) atop blankets spread out on the ground.
Speeches of Great Encouragement – The speakers included Mr. Botkin and his two daughters, Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, Doug Phillips, and Scott Brown. Topics ranged from What it Means for a Daughter to Have a Father to Proverbs 31 and the Daughter of the King. Each and every session was edifying and we left with a bountiful amount of biblical instruction and encouragement!
High Tea – At noon on Saturday was High Tea. This was a time for daughters and their fathers to enjoy having an elegant tea together while getting to know other fathers and daughters. Included during the tea were many delicious and sweet treats to enjoy! (And my dear mother was one of the wonderful, sweet ladies who helped to set up the lovely tea!)
Fellowship with Like-Minded Believers – How sweet the fellowship is between those in the body of Christ! We all gathered each of us sharing something very special in common: daughters having fathers and fathers having daughters. It was precious to see fathers turning their hearts to their daughters, and daughters hearts to their fathers!
The entire weekend was such a blessing and I can wholeheartedly say that the nearly dozen hour trip was worth it! If any of you have the opportunity to go, I encourage you to eagerly take up the opportunity – I guarantee that it will be a great blessing and a life-changing event . . . and it is worth every sacrifice that you would make to attend!
Over the next few days I will be posting notes from the talks and a few pictures of the delightful trip! Stay tuned!
16 December 2009
Myself, Kyleigh (who lives in the Middle East), and Breezy.
Last weekend we attended, along with over 2600 others, the National Center for Family Integrated Churches’ Sufficiency of Scripture Conference in Covington, KY. The conference began on Thursday night and ended Saturday night (we stayed through Sunday so that we could be there for the church service and travel home awake).
Two of the Long ladies posing for a picture with Lauren.
There was a plethora of wonderful, godly speakers including Paul Washer, Geoff Botkin, Doug Phillips, and Voddie Baucham. Their messages were both edifying and convicting. I was unable to take notes at very many of the sessions because taking photographs kept me pretty busy.
Myself and Emily.
Above are a few shots from after the Sunday morning service. I hope to post more photographs after I receive them from the NCFIC. In the meantime, for more pictures, you can visit the NCFIC blog.
Speaking of the Sufficiency of Scripture Conference, Life in a Shoe is giving away three audio collections of the messages that were given at the conference – to three entrants. Head on over there to enter the giveaway (it ends tonight)!
Also, today is the last day for the big sale over at Vision Forum. As a special treat for the last day, our bundle of Daughters of His Story Paper Dolls is the Deal-of-the-Day at 55% off—the lowest price yet! The sale ends at Midnight, so you will want to head on over to Vision Forum to order some paper dolls (and look at what other encouraging things they have on sale!).
23 July 2009
Aside from being encouraged by the sessions, the wonderful part about conferences is getting to visit with other like-minded families!
Emily and I. We were able to have Emily and her mother over for lunch the first day of the conference, and found out that we live not too far from one another.
Katherine, Breezy, Laura, Madeline, Me, and Caroline. We met two of these sisters at the Father & Daughter Retreat in March, and this time we got to meet the whole family.
Me, Nawelle, Kate, and Breezy. We were able to get to know Nawelle and her family better (we met her at the first Crossroads), and Kate is a close friend (who happens to be very much like my sister).
Oh, the joys of Christian fellowship! (There were other dear ones we enjoyed visiting with during the conference, but we didn’t get a picture of them all.)
19 July 2009
Last weekend I left you with a post about cinnamon rolls, and said that I was somewhere enjoying them. It ends up (I wrote that post the day before) that I actually never got around to eating any (though I had several opportunities).
We were at the Christian Families at the Crossroads conference in Columbus, Ohio.
In February, we were able to attend the Botkin’s first conference in Columbus, Georgia, and were greatly blessed by it. With them being so close, we could not pass up the offer to attend their second conference.
The Botkin family’s second conference was a great blessing, just as the first was! The Lord has given them boldness to speak the truths of His Word, and they are faithfully sharing with others the teachings of Scripture. Another special part about the conference was getting to visit with other like-minded families and encouraging one another!
Over the next few days, Breezy and I will be posting photos and notes from the conference. Stay tuned for more about the wonderful and refreshing weekend!
(If you are wondering what happened to the cinnamon rolls, we shared them with several friends we had over for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I believe that everyone enjoyed them immensely, as we came home with empty containers.)
10 April 2009
We had a wonderful time at the beautiful Callaway Gardens two weekends ago! I was blessed to get to spend the weekend with my father and sister at 2009 Vision Forum Father & Daughter Retreat, an event I will never forget! Below is a “brief” review of the weekend accompanied by photos (the notes are on their way!).
The trip down to Georgia from Indiana on Thursday went smoothly with the exception of getting stuck in Nashville during the morning rush hour. We arrived at the hotel in the mid-afternoon and settled into our temporary “home”.
After we were settled in we went exploring and then spent a couple hours in the small garden outside the lobby. Breezy painted a little pond and I took photographs of the flowers while the three of us visited and delighted in each other’s company.
Friday morning was relaxing as we had some much needed rest (the day before we had risen at 3:15am). We refreshed ourselves we went down to the ballrooms where the messages would take place. There were several young ladies putting tussie-mussies together (for the next day’s High Tea) and when we were asked if we could help we gladly accepted and got to work.
That afternoon we enjoyed visiting with other fathers and daughters. We were able to meet Madeline and Caroline whose father met ours at the Men’s Leadership Summit earlier in the month. We also had the privilege to meet Rebekah, Jasmine, Cassie, Hannah, and Elizabeth, (and see McKenzie and Julia again, who we originally met at the Crossroads).
On Friday evening was the “picnic”, but instead of being on the Grand Lawn (as it was raining) it was indoors at tables. Our fathers had matters to discuss, so several of us ladies sat on the floor in a small hallway enjoying fellowship with one another.
Friday evening, Saturday morning and evening, as well as Sunday morning we heard messages that were encouraging, inspiring, and challenging about our relationships with our father. They were presented by Doug Phillips, Voddie Baucham, Scott Brown, as well as Geoffrey Botkin and his two daughters, Anna Sofia and Elizabeth.
Saturday we awoke bright and early, ate a delicious breakfast at the buffet, and listened to the speakers. We were dressed in our High Tea attire because there would not be enough time later on to change into them. There were so many lovely outfits, all were quite charming!
High Tea was at 12:30 and we all went to our tables, each was set for ten. There were scrumptious delicacies, including delicious scones. Following tea we spent the free time with our daddy (though we did visit with other fathers and daughters beforehand).
That evening we listened to more encouraging messages. Afterwards there was a special time for the fathers and daughters. Randomly selected from the crowd (out of those who volunteered by waving their hands, and some by standing on chairs in addition to waving their hands), eight fathers with their daughters went to the stage and each had to serenade their daughter by singing either “You Are My Sunshine” or “Edelweiss”.
The winner was chosen by how load the audience was when it was time to vote for each one. (There is a picture below of the father and daughter who won, theirs was so sweet I almost started to cry.) Then with eight other father-daughter couples they had to pretend that they were getting their fathers ready in the morning for work.
Sunday morning we had breakfast at the buffet and following that we listened to a sermon by Voddie Baucham which was followed by fellowship with other fathers and daughters (a lot of this went on all throughout the weekend – I just love being around so many like-minded young ladies!). The Retreat ended at noon, but we stayed an extra night so that we would have a whole day to travel home.
In the afternoon, Daddy drove Breezy and I through the lovely gardens. I am always in complete awe of God’s amazing creation! The two days before were rainy, and then Sunday was chilly, so we did not walk in the gardens much at all.
Monday we drove home, only stopping once, and arrived back at our cozy home an hour earlier than we had expected. We gave Momma a nice, long report about the weekend, and we were all glad to be home – safe and sound. Words that were spoken during the weekend by the speakers still ring through our heads, such a blessed weekend it was!
I took over a thousand pictures during the weekend, and after going through them I picked the ones below for you to enjoy!
The pond in the garden where there lived several large coy fish and a couple small turtles.
Breezy painting the pond.
Making the tussie-mussies for Saturday’s High Tea.
A small look at God’s wondrously intricate creation! For more butterfly photographs, click here.
Picnic on the carpet with kindred spirits.
After High Tea on Saturday.
The father-daughter serenade that made me tear up — it was so very sweet!
Daughters getting their fathers ready for work.
We got to meet Elizabeth, a very sweet young lady who we originally met through blogging.
Friends both old and new.
Just a snippet of the beautiful Callaway Gardens.
My wonderful father and I. He is the best father ever, my hero!
17 February 2009
What a pleasure it was last weekend to have the opportunity to hear the Botkin family speak. And in addition to that getting to meet many, many like-minded families. It was truly a joy!
These are some of my notes, most likely reworded as I was jotting them down as quickly as I could while still trying to hear what they were saying next.
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The home is a place of stimulation and delight . . . and a greenhouse for budding Christian leaders.
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The family is a crucial part of God’s creation. How can we expect to succeed and get along well with others if we cannot get along with our siblings.
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If we get annoyed or upset with someone, we are in the wrong. We must get the log out of our own eye before we remove the speck from our brother’s (Matthew 7:4-5).
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Work builds the workers together. In the same way working together as a family builds the family together.
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As adult children, we need to:
• Grow up
• Be responsible
• Take initiative
• Seek God individually
• Put ourselves behind the family vision and contribute as thinking adults
• Communicate openly and honestly (it is very important)
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Earth is our battlefield. A soldier is eager to serve in the greatest capacity he can. We must be eager to serve the Lord in the greatest capacity.
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There are only two services in life: serving self and serving God. Who are you serving?
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Make the most of every minute, take every thought captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
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The most loving thing we can do to an unbeliever is share the Gospel with him.
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The Bible does not say you “should,” but you “must.” A command demands precisely what is to be done. God has given us commands and we must do them.
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Be willing to lower your name and bring up your parents’ honor (i.e. don’t say “Well, my parents won’t let me . . .”). Don’t blame, slander, share, or reveal your parents’ sin. Instead of thinking, “What can my parents do for me?” think, “What can I do to serve them?”
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Learn the interests of your parents, understand why they are interested, and develop those same interests. This applies to sibling’s interests as well – become interested in what they are interested in, show them you care.
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An attitude of disrespect can easily rub off — do not spend time with friends who are disrespectful and dishonoring to their parents and authority. Choose your friends wisely.
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Our honoring of our parents and elders is linked to honoring God. If we cannot honor our parents, how can we honor God?
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Our parents were selected by God before the beginning of time. To dishonor them is to suggest that God made a mistake.
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Anna Sofia and Elizabeth talking with other young ladies after their session on Dominion Oriented Femininity.
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The Pilgrim women cared more for those who they would never meet (the future generations) then they cared for their own comfort. May we do the same.
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We are living in a generation where women have lost and forgotten what femininity means. The next generation will be looking to us to see what femininity is. What will they see?
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We need to invest in the family that God has blessed us with. When we are investing in the family that we have now, we are practicing what we will one day be doing with our own family.
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A dominion woman embraces a hard life and loves it.
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Be selfless, not selfish. We need to think of how we can help and serve our father or husband. Look for ways to help and encourage.
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The state of the nation is determined by the state of the home.
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The first priority is to train and raise our children. The housework comes second.
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Those are just a few of my notes. While typing these out and re-reading them I noticed that they would all be great post topics! I just might end up writing about a few of them. I hope you enjoyed reading over the notes.
The Botkins are hoping to have a few conferences across the county, so you might get the opportunity to go to one. I was greatly encouraged and challenged by the conference, it has changed our lives!
15 February 2009
Last weekend nearly 700 people gathered for the Christians at the Crossroads conference in Columbus, Georgia. The speakers were the Botkin family, a family that has a vision for family and the future. Each session was convicting and encouraging. These are a “few” of the photos that we took throughout the weekend. (For quicker loading, click here.)
On Friday night, the Botkin daughters played a few southern pieces on their harps. Such beautiful music!
One of the exciting things about the trip was that there were live plants outside. As Hoosiers (natives of Indiana), we had not seen green in quite a long while. How refreshing the lovely clover was to look upon!
We had a little picnic on the lawn outside of the convention center with Mia‘s family. The weather was perfect (we even got a bit too warm), and the company delightful! I had originally met Mia through her blog and was excited to actually meet her in person.
There was a nice little river along the walk where we ate. It was a bit of a steep journey down to the water, but we made it safely down and back up again. Here is Mia’s sister, Macy, standing on some rocks in the water.
We wanted a group shot, so Breezy held onto one side of our camera and Mia held onto the other. We all fit in perfectly. Credit goes to Mia for this photo, as she was the one who clicked the button.
I was able to meet several bloggers during the weekend, it was wonderful! Here I am with Christie and one of her lovely daughters. She is an encouragement and a beautiful portrayal of Biblical womanhood and femininity.
Shannon and I. Shannon’s blog has been an inspiration to me for several months now. I also had the privileged to meet her sister, Tiffany — they are both such sweet young ladies.
Jessica and I. I found her blog a while back and have enjoyed her photography and sewing projects. She brought her coat (she made up the pattern from a photograph), which was very neat to get to see in person. We had a very encouraging visit along with her sister, Rebecca.
Breezy, Julia, Mia, McKenzie, and I. Julia’s family and our family were able to sit together for most of Saturday and Julia makes lovely jewelry (you can see some in her shop). I enjoy reading McKenzie’s blog and seeing her love for the Lord and her family through her writing.
Katherine, Allie, Kristin, Breezy, Me, and Lauren. The Allen ladies (the three at left) were a sweet surprise to get to meet. They went to Scotland for the Faith and Freedom Tour and we recognized them from pictures on Mr. Phillip’s blog. Lauren is a fellow Hoosier, we were able to spend a good deal of time talking with her and her siblings.
Breezy and I took turns taking our family pictures on top of the parking garage.
Olivia and I. It was really good to get to visit with her and her younger siblings. The Powers family were an important part of the conference, as they scheduled and set up the conference.
Rebecca and I. It was very exciting to finally get to meet Rebecca. We originally met at the online Christian Homemaking Conference (Anna and Elizabeth Botkin were two of the speakers) two years ago and have been writing to each other ever since. She is such a sweet friend and it was a great blessing to get to meet her and her family!
Me, Elizabeth, Rachel, Rebecca, Christiana, Lauren, Breezy, Anna Sofia, Prentiss, and Emily. This was taken Sunday morning at the church where Mr. Botkin preached.
Several pianists played after the service while families lingered talking. How sweet the fellowship was with other like-minded believers! (This is of Rachel playing the piano.)
On the way home, the clouds were reflecting off the windows of the car and were visible through the rear view mirror.
Before we left Georgia, we stopped that the beautiful Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain.
There were little pine cones on the ground at the gardens, so I bent down to get this photo of one (I wasn’t looking through the viewfinder, so it took a couple shots to get the right angle).
Breezy, Daddy, and I. I am so thankful for my father and his love and faithfulness in leading our family.
The gorgeous sunset on the way home. We arrived home Monday evening. What a wonderful and encouraging weekend it was! I plan on posting some of the notes I took at the conference soon.
