Supporting Our Boys Out There
Posted July 3, 2008, by Elizabeth

How to Help Our Men Fight the Real Battle (On the Home Front)

Watching our five brothers grow up has been fascinating and sobering, especially when we consider the amount of influence we have had, for good or for ill, to affect the men they have become. Scripture and history are replete with examples of women either building men up or tearing them down by how they relate to them. We personally have seen in numerous cases how much damage a sister can do to her brother’s manly confidence, his willingness to take on responsibility, and the way he views and treats women, if she is not careful. We have also heard some of the manliest young men we know speak glowingly of the positive influence from their sisters. In fact, many of these young men attest that it was their sisters’ love and support that inspired them to become responsible, bold, protective, and confident. [1]

As we look at the battle that surrounds us, we have come to believe that one of the most important things we will ever do, as daughters and sisters and wives and mothers, is to build strength into men and help make them great.

America’s war against manhood

There is a crisis facing our nation’s boys. Their masculinity is under attack. This is no longer a debate; it is a copiously documented fact, actually old news. Bold, commanding masculinity has become pathologized and penalized. We’re not just talking about the rise of metrosexuality, either; over the last century, men have been taught that their leadership is oppressive, their protection is insulting, their authority is tyranny, and their position as the head of the household is utterly illegitimate.

Feminist leader Andrea Dworkin said in her “Root Cause” speech: “Only when manhood is dead - and it will perish when ravaged femininity no longer sustains it - only then will we know what it is to be free.” [2]

Emasculating men was not a new idea, even in the ‘70’s. The cultural revolutionaries who got the foothold in American education and media in the 1930’s were primarily working toward a goal Karl Marx articulated: “to dethrone the patriarchal power in man.” [3]

Men are under constant assault from the media, re-written history books, [4] psychological studies, political correctness and many other weapons of the neo-marxists. Even entire girls’ clothing lines have sprung up to tout misandrous slogans to teach girls to ridicule boys for being boys. [5]

Can’t the nation see that this hurts boys? – it makes them ashamed of being boys, and afraid to become men. They learn that being masculine, responsible and authoritative is a social offense. And the pundits wonder why boys’ performance is plummeting; why their suicide rates are skyrocketing; why their criminal activity has been rising; why so many grow up directionless and afraid of commitment, and why so many refuse to grow up at all. [6]

We’re hearing a cry resounding from women the world over – “Where have all the real men gone?”

Note that even Andrea Dworkin (in the quote above) acknowledged the influence of women on men, and credited femininity with “sustaining” manhood. In a way, her statement was almost prophetic, for the slow, painful death of manhood (largely at the hands of women) is precisely what we are facing thirty years later.

When tempted to bemoan the fact that the men are not rising up to where we think they should be, we should seriously ask ourselves if we have been a part of the problem. Too many sisters spend their youth teaching their brothers to sit down, be quiet, stop asserting themselves, stay in their place, and take orders, only to grow up and wonder where to find a husband with guts and a backbone. The ones who pushed down their own brothers now pray fervently that somewhere out there, there were some sisters who did not do the same to theirs.

Our brothers are already up against a great deal. This man-depleted world needs them to rise above their challenges and become real men, men who can lead families, start churches, reform cultures, make disciples, lead in the gates, and act the man. Our boys need their sisters to stand beside them and help them become these men!

Our Brothers’ Keepers?

Does this place an unnecessary burden on girls, to feel responsible for how their brothers turn out?

Men will answer to God for their own actions – on Judgment Day, they will no more be able to escape responsibility for their sins than was Adam, pointing his finger at Eve and claiming it was all her fault.

And yet Jesus also said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!” (Luke 17:1, emphasis added) People are culpable if they sin, but people are also culpable if they cause someone to sin. In addition, we are guilty if we withhold good when it is in our power to give it. (Pro. 3:27)

The fact stands – people do affect and influence each other, and we should feel the weight that responsibility carries. We can make each other stumble (Rom.14,15), we can wound each others’ consciences (1 Cor. 8 ), we can edify each other (Eph. 4:29), we can win each other (Mat. 18:15), we can disciple each other (Mat. 28:19), and we can bear each others’ burdens (Gal. 6:2). [7] This gives all people responsibility in all their relationships. We should love others enough (and be mature enough) to accept this responsibility and use it to help them, rather than protest, as Cain, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

How to Support our Boys

In addition to talking extensively with our brothers about this, we’ve had long conversations with several young men about the things they appreciate in how their sisters treated them. What we’d like to do now is offer some practical advice on how sisters can encourage their brothers to be men. Here are four of the more important ways we can do this:

Demonstrate Respect. This must be begun by thinking of our brothers as men, and not despising them in our hearts.

There was a time when we withheld demonstrative respect out of a concern that it might swell our brothers’ egos. We also held back giving them our approval or letting them be right, so they would know they had not “arrived” yet. We were sure if we gave them an inch, they would walk all over us, eventually becoming swaggering chauvinists who expected admiration and deference from women as their due.

What we found was the opposite. When brothers are brushed off, they often resort to bravado and bluster to try to impress their sisters into noticing them, but the sense of responsibility that comes with actually being taken seriously tends to sober them up.

As we began trying to demonstrate respect to our brothers, they actually became more humble, more protective, affectionate and generally thoughtful of us, and, interestingly, more respectful. (We found that fighting to maintain a position of superiority did not inspire their respect, and that even little brothers have a justified disdain for high horses.)

Let them assert themselves, lead, and teach you things. As sisters it’s our natural, sinful inclination to suppress our brothers when they try to assert their leadership or authority. We want to rule over them. We want to be better. This is as bad for us as it is for them. It’s time for us to realize that we were created to help, and they were created to lead. Applying this will look different with younger brothers than older, but there will always be areas in which little boys can be trusted to “be in charge,” and you will see them flourish under the responsibility. There will also be subjects they know more about than you (e.g. dinosaurs, weaponry, computers…). Not only is it good for them to be the teacher for a change – you might actually learn something!

Talk with them. Boys are full of ideas that want to be expressed. The ideas may seem silly to you now, and not worth your time to listen to, but it’s good for them to practice thinking through and communicating their thoughts, beliefs, and plans. Our own brothers often tell us how much they appreciate having a sounding board and hearing a woman’s feedback on their developing ideas.

Repent of past wrongs. If you are guilty of pulling your brother down, or have not been as supportive as you should, you should repent, ask your brother’s forgiveness, and resolve to do better. Yes, it is hard – but it is necessary. So that one day when you look at your grown up brother, you will feel thankfulness for the way you invested in him, and not regret.

Today every corner of the globe is crying out for great men. Many women recognize this need, and foolishly try to fill it by dressing up and acting the men themselves. But America doesn’t need pseudo-men. America needs real men that are supported by real women. Those of us who have brothers need to recognize the incredible opportunity and responsibility we have been given – to invest in the lives of tomorrow’s greatest men.

Footnotes:

1. There is a fine line to walk between holding ourselves up as teachers and authorities over men (which Scripture forbids, 1 Tim. 2:12), and using our natural, God-given feminine influence on our brothers carefully and humbly. (You will also notice that in this article we are only speaking to young women, though there is certainly plenty to be said to fellows about how to be better brothers to their sisters. We’re just not the ones to say it.)

2. Andrea Dworkin. “The Root Cause,” speech, 26 Sept. 1975 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (published in Our Blood, ch. 9, 1976).

3. For more information on the war against men, hear our father’s lecture
“Hollywood’s Most Despised Villain.”

4. “All of history must be re-written in terms of oppression of women.” – “The Declaration of Feminism,” November 1971

5. Florida company David and Goliath began in 1999 with a line of “Boys are Smelly” T-shirts. The line became successful and new slogans were added, such as “Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them,” “Boys lie, poke them in the eye,” and “The Stupid Factory, where boys are made.” More information is available here.

Strangely, these T-shirts also come in mens’ sizes.

6. “Statistics collected over two decades show an alarming decline in the performance of America’s boys–in some respects, a virtual free fall. Boys were doing poorly in school, abusing drugs, committing violent crimes and engaging in promiscuous sex. Young males lost ground by many behavioral indicators at some point in the 1980s and ’90s: sharp plunges on some scales, long erosions on others. I was forced to confront a fact that I had secretly known all along: that teens of 30 years ago–my generation–were the leading edge of an epidemic of thugs, dolts and cads.” (“The Myth About Boys,” by David Burnett, TIME Magazine, 2007)

7. More Scriptures on our responsibilities to others:

Rom 14:21 [It is] good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [any thing] whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

1Cr 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 1Cr 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

Rom 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in [his] brother’s way.

Rom 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Rom 15:2 Let every one of us please [his] neighbour for [his] good to edification.

Title image by Norman Rockwell, Advertisement for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield

When Brothers Become Men
Posted June 21, 2008, by

Our youngest brother, Noah, has just celebrated his 13th birthday, and according to Botkin family tradition, is considered to have now joined the ranks of the Botkin Men. The age of 13 has been traditionally considered the threshold of manhood, something that we as older sisters take very seriously when prayerfully considering how to relate to our brothers.

Here is an excerpt from the speech Noah gave shortly before his birthday:

“This year I turn 13. This year I will become a man, and this is one of the great turning points of my life.

“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Now that I am a man, I have to do away with childish things. I have responsibilities. I have work to do for Christ’s kingdom. My conversation must glorify God. And I must study God’s word with a new passion, and unfailingly.

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are {just} a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)

Now that I am a man, I need to be ready to die like a man. In a Titanic-style situation, I wouldn’t get on the boats safely with the women and children. I would stay and sacrifice my life with the other men. But not only would I have to stay on board, but I would be honored to stay on board and die. And not just for the women and children, but also for my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is a fine young man who has just been added to the numbers of the men of the world.

A birthday outing at one of Noah’s favorite places, where he has come to enlarge his personal library

It is sobering to watch a roly-poly little boy grow into a man of strength and stature, a man with big ideas and a mission, a man who will someday have great influence. We both remember helping baby Noah learn to lisp out our names; recently we heard him speak out about his willingness to die for his faith in front of a crowd of hundreds.

It’s interesting to now be grown women in a houseful of grown men, for all of our brothers have now (mostly) grown up. Instead of running to us to show us their latest Lego creations, they now come to us with their latest theological hypotheses. Yesterday they were picking out tunes on the piano and learning how to type — today they are writing books, making films, starting businesses and composing music professionally. Our childhood scheming together on how to build tree forts has matured into planning for projects that will impact the nations.

The five elder Botkin brothers and sisters, sixteen years ago

In the last sixteen years, family dynamics have only gotten better. As children, we were apprehensive about becoming grown-ups, afraid that the close bonds we reveled in would dissolve as new friends and interests would draw us apart, and become replaced by cool indifference. But instead, the years and shared experiences (and shared friends and interests) have only brought us closer.

Planning a sequence for Return of the Daughters

In those years, both we and our brothers have learned a great deal about the inherent differences between men and women, and why the two need each other.

We shall presently be posting more about our thoughts on the brother-sister relationship.

How to be a better daughter to your father
Posted June 17, 2008, by

This Father’s Day, we and our father would like to suggest 10 Ways a Daughter Can Bless and Honor her Father.

Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. — Eph 6:2,3

1. Be grateful for your father

Gratitude is the beginning of honor. Fill your mind with gratitude for all that your father has done for you, beginning with giving you life. Consider
all that your father sacrificed to be a father to you, and the responsibilities that weigh on his shoulders. Think of him as the man chosen by God out of all the souls on earth to be a father to you, because in His infinite wisdom, He knew that you and he would be the perfect father and daughter for each other. Study to understand how this is a peculiar blessing to you both.

2. Appreciate his strengths

All fathers, whatever their level of maturity, have strengths. Be quick to notice them, appreciate them and praise them. You may have to discipline your mind to correct old thought patterns — train yourself to think of your father’s qualities before his frailties.

3. Pray for him

All fathers also have weaknesses. When you notice your father’s frailties, think of them as things to pray about, not things that annoy you. In addition to this, you should ask your father what he would like you to pray for him. This shows your father that you are serious about helping him and that you are dedicated to seeing him become the kind of man he should be. It can also help him think about his faults and how to overcome them.

4. Be content in his protection and provision and leadership

Don’t panic if your father makes a decision you don’t agree with. Have faith in God’s ability to lead through your father, imperfect though he is,
knowing that God will bless your obedience.

You can help your father by being different from the average girl who is never content and pressures her father to give her a more “normal” life. Some fathers are afraid to lead their families into more biblical paths because of what they know would be their daughters’ response — “No, Dad, that would make us look too different, and all my friends think I’m really weird already.”

You can also help your father by letting him know that he has a daughter who wants to give and not take, and isn’t thing-hungry. Some fathers can’t focus on leading their families spiritually or on fighting the Lord’s battles because they have to work themselves to death as wage slaves to satisfy their wives and children, who are clamoring for more things.

When husbands and fathers know they can depend on their wives and daughters to be content and confident in their leadership, it gives them the confidence to be more peaceful, more visionary, more entrepreneurial, more full of faith, and more bold in their leadership.

5. Ask him to help you pray for your weaknesses

Your father isn’t the only one who’s not perfect… Let your father know that you desire his help and prayers for your character, and be humble enough to tell him what faults in particular you need help with. …and ask him what he thinks you need help with.

6. Repent and confess any sins against your father, if necessary

Think back on past interaction with your father, for either unconfessed grievances of yours, or unforgiven grievances of his. Examine yourself for any bitterness you may be harboring against him.

Many girls have lamented to us that their fathers are not involved in their lives and refuse to offer guidance. In some cases, the reason fathers become afraid to “interfere” or “intrude” in their daughters’ lives is because their leadership and guidance have been pushed away in the past. If this is your story, repentance is called for. But it’s not enough to merely repent in your heart and then expect your father to automatically reciprocate; you need to confess your error and ask him to forgive you, and then you will need to demonstrate in word and deed that you have repented, that you have given him your heart, and now seek his guidance.

7. Communicate with your father

Build the kind of relationship with your father that involves a lot of comfortable communication between the two of you. Develop habits of talking together about everything. So many problems daughters have with their fathers could have been solved by talking freely, deeply and frequently all along — by talking about issues before they become “issues.”

Go ahead and initiate the communication yourself. Our father says it is often difficult for men to know how to reach their daughters, and it’s helpful when their girls come to them with a seeking heart. As Deuteronomy 32:7 says, “Ask thy father, and he will show thee.” It’s a father’s duty to tell, but it’s our duty to ask.

8. Give your father your heart, learn his ways and delight in them

Proverbs 23:26 says, “Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways.”

The heart, called “the seat of the affections,” is the source of all passions, desires, loves, interests, likes and dislikes, convictions and opinions. Our hearts and all that they contain need to be surrendered to our fathers, someday to our husbands – and ultimately to God – to be molded and directed. You don’t need to give your father a perfect heart. Give him an imperfect heart, and talk to him openly about your struggles and your weaknesses.

How do we let our eyes delight in our fathers’ ways? We should begin by wanting to really understand who our fathers are and why they do the things they do and think the things they think. Develop an interest in the things that are important to them, and the battles they are fighting.

Again — initiate. Don’t wait for your father to come down to your level — step up to his.

9. Treat your father with respect and humility even when it’s hard

No father will be consistently honorable and respectable in his daughter’s eyes. What do we do when our fathers aren’t behaving like Christians (or aren’t Christians)?

In times when you may have to make an appeal to your father, make sure your words and manner solidly reaffirm your respect and loyalty. Your father will be more likely to hear you if he knows he can trust you to honor and not defy him.

Of course all earthly authority is limited, and there are biblical grounds for disobedience to an authority who’s trying to play God. A father’s unbiblical demands may be impossible for a daughter to obey, but they do not negate her duty to be respectful and honoring. Remember the attitude of young David as he continually appealed to his insanely jealous and murderous father-in-law as “My lord the King.”

10. Remember that your relationship with your Heavenly Father is the most important thing

The ultimate goal in all our earthly relationships is to please our Eternal Father, the Father to the fatherless. Whatever kind of father the Lord has given you, remember that it is to honor the Lord that you honor him. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments — all of them — including the commands to honor our father and mother.

This is important to Him. Remember why God sent John the Baptist: “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.“

A Unique Opportunity
Posted June 3, 2008, by

There is a unique opportunity standing before our family right now. Doug Phillips was very kind to mention this on his blog.

As our family has been studying the history of Christendom, we see Britain featuring prominently, sometimes as the leading Christian nation in the world. The Lord has given them unique success, influence and power for the past 1000 years, using them to civilize and Christianize nations all over the world. But in more recent times many there have turned their backs on Him, and Britain is now a post-Christian society. The surviving churches there are smoldering wicks, surrounded by a secularism that belittles the Faith and Christian families in ways Americans can hardly imagine. Christianity has been marginalized to near extinction. But there is a remnant there: families who desire to turn back to the biblical model for family life, to raise up their many children to turn Great Britain back to Biblical foundations.

Homeschooling Families in Britain
With little to no biblical teaching, like-minded fellowship, encouragement, or practical advice in their own country, these families are starving for truth and good teaching, and they are asking for some outside help.

“Come Over and Help Us.”
In the last two years, we’ve received many letters asking that the Botkin family come over to speak to their nations about family life and family culture. These English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish families want to hear our family’s message of multigenerational success, and be able to ask practical questions about parenting, about sibling relationships, and how fathers turn their hearts to their children, and to hear from mature children how they work together as a family.

Our experience of living in the British culture of New Zealand for seven years gave us a real heart for the people of the U.K. We recognize our time in New Zealand as Providential, believing it makes our family uniquely suited to ministering to our British brethren.

If you would like to help make this opportunity possible, you can donate here.

Here is just a sample of the correspondence we have received in the last few days:

“Thank you so much for your book, it has been a blessing to me and I am so thankful that I read it! It has been such an encouragement for me to realise (through your book and your web-site) that although I do not necessarily know many people who share this vision, yet there are others out there who are living it out daily and God honours those who honour Him.” — Rachel

“Scotland is definitely in need to hear the message about the restoration of the Biblical family…May the Lord open a way to make that happen.” — James

“The Botkin family would bring a message to the UK that would speak to the very foundations of the nation’s heritage and shake the pillars upon which she stands. To truly call men to the age old foundations of biblical justice, morality and religion would be a call for men to remember the honor, dignity and godly character of their forefathers. It will shame the lethargy of the men of modernity and enrage the feminist agenda. It will also answer the prayers of those crying for revival. Please, Mr. Botkin, would you teach and train our family how to be key leaders in the Cultural Reformation of the UK and to the uttermost parts of the earth?” — DR

“Birmingham is quite a good spot really - just a little plug for you to consider us!” LA

“Come to [Lancashire!] The shape of Britain’s future can be seen here (unless the Christians get their act together): there’s a group here that has seized the dominion mandate with both hands, that have opened their own schools and do homeschooling, that have taken the principles of cultural distinction, modesty in dress and duty to the family seriously, that live close to one another in the terraced houses and care for their elderly in multigenerational housing units. It’s not the Christians, but the Muslim community, whose parents and grandparents were brought over from Pakistan to shore up the postwar cotton industry.” — CG

“The decline in the West is more advanced in Europe so we believe that your ministry is key to a revival of true Biblical concerns.” — Steve

“The main problem we seem to face here in the UK is the number of men who are prepared to take a stance on this from the pulpit is virtually zero. We, as a family, are thankful to ministries like yours who have helped us and others here in the UK.” — JN

“The Biblical message on family life which the Botkins live and share are what we in the United Kingdom need to hear.” — JH

“The message the Botkin family would bring to the UK would be very important. The UK has slipped even further into a post-Christian era than the US. The media will outright mock Christian initiative. The state schools have rewritten our history books. There is a deep-seated socialist agenda. It is an egalitarian society. I remember as a child my mother working as a bookeeper would calculate income tax for upper level income earners at 75% income tax. Nowhere have I seen the application of Scripture to every sphere of life other than personal piety. Feminism is of course rife. To ask a Christian man what is the condition of religion in his home is to ask a question that he no longer understands.

“There is tremendous need to shepherd and train these families in the right way. The process of discipleship of church leaders and heads of households will take generations to see men stand in the gates and lead in parliament for England’s revival.” — Father of six

“The Christian household here does not seem to know this biblically founded message of the daughters at home. It is on our heart to see this encouraging and eye-opening message to be brought to many here.” — Andreas

“We are excited about the opportunity to meet with the Botkin family and hear some of their teaching. The UK is in dire need of a spiritual reawakening and a turning back toward the biblical model of family life. The messages and testimony that the Botkins will bring will stir us as Christians, and encourage us as we seek to be salt and light in our communities.” — Liz

“It would be wonderful to have the opportunity to hear insights and wisdom from a home-educating family who have successfully raised their older children to adulthood.” — Nigel

“I have found all your materials an answer to prayer. When can you come to our city?” — David

“I would sadly have to say that the truth you espouse would be like a foreign language to most, so far have we fallen from such scriptural fundamentals. However there is a remnant and God is able to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children”. — DW

“We need this inspiring family message!” - Beatrix

Please consider helping us spread a gospel message of family discipleship to Europe. If you want to help, or for more information about this trip, please visit this link: www.westernconservatory.org/donate.html

Hannah More on the Education of Women
Posted May 29, 2008, by Elizabeth

Hannah More (1745 – 1833) was regarded by England’s intelligentsia as one of the most learned women of her time. She was a member of the original Bluestocking Society, an informal gathering of educated women, which attracted some of Great Britain’s most influential men to its discussions.

Hannah More and her sister were notable, among other things, for assisting William Wilberforce in his crusade to abolish slavery in England. An expert on the social conditions of England, Hannah devoted much of her energy to improving the conditions of the lower classes. She also wrote a great deal of instructional literature for young women.

We would like to share with you one comment she made on the education of women during her time:

…in this land of civil and religious liberty, where there is as little despotism exercised over the minds, as over the persons of women, they have every liberty of choice, and every opportunity of improvement; and how greatly does this increase their obligation to be exemplary in their general conduct, attentive to the government of their families, and instrumental to the good order of society!

She who is at a loss to find amusements at home, can no longer apologize for her dissipation abroad, by saying she is deprived of the benefit and the pleasure of books; and she who regrets being doomed to a state of dark and gloomy ignorance, by the injustice, or tyranny of the men, complains of an evil which does not exist.

Hannah More, Essays on Various Subjects Principally Designed for Young Ladies

Mother’s Day Tribute
Posted May 12, 2008, by Anna Sofia

This Mother’s Day we would like to re-post the tribute that I read aloud to our dear mother Victoria Botkin, a true dominion woman, on my 21st birthday:

I would like to take this opportunity to call to your attention the ones that really deserve the credit for my 21 years of life. I had very little hand in it, I can assure you.

First, my Heavenly Father, Who is the author of my existence and my future – my Sustainer and the Giver of Eternal Life.

And my earthly father, my God-ordained authority and protector.

And the woman that I call “blessed.” A woman who lost her life for His sake and found it, who made her husband great, and was subordinate to him in everything, though inferior to him in nothing.

My mother was God’s instrument to teach me what it meant to be a virtuous woman. Partly through her verbal instruction, but mostly through the silent example of her actions and deeds. Most of all, through the way she executed her duty to complement and complete my father. She is his perfect match and the sine qua non of his greatness. She delights him with her company and conversation, sustains him with her strength, stimulates and sharpens him with her wisdom and intelligence, emboldens him with her praise, bolsters him with her cheerfulness, comforts him with her love, and heartens him with her courage.

Maybe the most significant way that she contributed to his success was by instilling his vision into his children. The things she chose for us to study, the things she taught us were important, the projects she encouraged us to pursue, were all in perfect harmony with his objective for our family.

She is uniquely suited to be the teacher of his children because the qualities that our father wants his family to be known for – dominion focus, ingenuity, creativity, entrepreneurialism, love of learning, a pioneer spirit – are all qualities that our mother models in every thing that she does.

The most important things I learned come from observing her two greatest strengths. First of all, her Humility.

I see her humility in her willingness to be overshadowed by Dad. She prefers to bask in his shadow than to chase after the fame and adulation that could so easily and rightly be hers. I’ve never known a woman who cared about personal glory less, or who deserved it more. She will be remembered with more respect than her contemporaries, who fought with religious zeal for recognition and prestige, and now have no one to rise up and call them “blessed.”

The other strength I would mention is her Courage.

Like a true pioneer, Mother was never affected by the fact that she was often standing alone, being “the only one” faithful in an entire country, and doing things no one else was doing. She never even considered the wave of disapproval that came from all sides for her decision to follow Scripture instead of modern culture.

At the altar, Mother promised to go wherever our father went, and to gratefully share in whatever Providence had in store for him, sometimes respect and appreciation, sometimes persecution and rejection, sometimes a high station, sometimes a low one. It’s her calm and unquenchable energy, her willingness to forego comfort and stability, her ability to adapt gracefully to any situation, that allows my father’s heart to safely trust in her. When a man’s heart can safely trust in his wife, it allows him to be a visionary, an entrepreneur, who can live boldly and dare to do great things.

He knew, as I did, that whenever times were the toughest, that’s when Mother is the strongest. That’s why, seven years ago, Dad was not nervous about asking her to leave her country that she loved, to follow him to the ends of the earth.

Last but not least, I appreciate her courage to go through painful labor to bring me into the world. The fact that I’m here to stand before you now is a testimony to that courage. It’s that courage that I especially would like to honor today.

Testimony from Ireland
Posted May 8, 2008, by Elizabeth

Dear Anna-Sofia and Elizabeth,

I recently read your book ‘So Much More’ and it was instrumental in changing my views on my role as a woman of God, and I am so thankful for it.

I live in the U.K. and in September 2005 I began attending a teaching college, and I actually completed my first year there. I was a Christian, however my contact with Christian education had been very limited and it never even occurred to me as an option - in my opinion I was going to teach in the State schools and act as witness there, I could see no contradiction between being a Christian and teaching what the State required. However my brother-in-law and sister had very different convictions on education (they have 5 children and are home-schooling the oldest three) and they bought me ‘The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum’ by Rushdoony. Reading that book was the beginning of a massive change in my views of education, and I began to realise how essential it is to proclaim Christ’s authority in all things, of course once I realised that, I realised that I could not (without compromise) teach in the State schools. I began to discuss my new found convictions with my parents and although they understood and agreed with many of the things that I said, it was very much their desire that I should finish college and get a degree.

It was around this time that a friend told me of an American college called the Whitefield who offered courses by correspondance, and one of those courses was in Christian education, moreover my friend’s niece was planning on doing this course and so I would have someone to talk to about it! I was delighted, and my parents were encouraged to find that I could be trained in Christian education - however they still wanted me to finish my original degree. I felt torn as I did not want to disobey my parents, but I did not desire to spend three more years being influenced in humanisim at college. Nevertheless, I finished my first year at college and applied for the Whitefield and trusted that if it were the Lord’s will, He would give my parents a change of heart.

… I ought to explain that from the time I was very young, I had always maintained that I was not going to get married, and I felt that a mother could send her children to school and go and get a job herself. My sister’s example challenged this view, and on a previous occasion when staying with them I had read ‘Praise Her in the Gates’ - this changed my view on motherhood, and I was very keen to encourage my married cousins to remain in the home, but I still refused to apply it to myself and remained stubbornly determined that I was not going to get married. In my mind, marriage was for some people, but not for me.

About a month into a recent stay at my sister’s I read ‘So Much More’. I remember the day that it arrived my sister was looking through it and her first comment was ‘I like this book’ and then she sat and giggled to herself! I asked why, and she referred to your comments regarding singleness, and how it is not a gift for us to choose (my sister and brother-in-law greatly desired to see my views on marriage and femininity change). I began reading it, and was greatly convicted by it. I had thought that I was opposed to feminism and that I did not desire independence, but I began to see that there was much I did not know of myself! By the time I was half-way through your book I realised that my thoughts on marriage and my role were unbiblical and I repented of them (much to the delight of my sister). It also caused me to view the time that I would spend helping my sister in a different light, previously I had simply thought of it as helping my sister, but then I realised what a wonderful opportunity it was for training me in the running of a home and embraced it as such.

I spent six months with my sister and brother-in-law and it was a wonderful opportunity for me and from my sister’s example, and from practice at running a home (and even a house move!) I learnt much about my role - yet if it had not been for the change in my views, I believe that I would have lost much of the blessing that that opportunity afforded me.

I am now home, and my father has read parts of ‘So Much More’ (specifically the parts regarding college) and I believe that his own attitude has been changed by reading it. I’m now seeking to use my time to help my family and develop skills that will be useful to me as a wife and mother, and will make me a blessing to others.

Thank you so much for your book, it has been a blessing to me and I am so thankful that I read it! It has been such an encouragement for me to realise (through your book and your web-site) that although I do not necessarily know many people who share this vision, yet there are others out there who are living it out daily and God honours those who honour Him.

Thank you,
your sister in Christ
Rachel (19)

The Marriage of Melissa Keen
Posted April 8, 2008, by

One of the featured daughters in our documentary, The Return of the Daughters, has made the transition from a daughter in her father’s house to a bride in her husband’s house.

Melissa Keen’s example of devotion to her family and service to the church inspired girls around the world.

Now we’re excited to see how she will transfer her passion for the biblical home and family life into her new role as a wife, and we’re excited about seeing generations of kingdom advancement arising from her union with Justin Turley.

Their wedding alone was a time of great celebration, vision-casting, and victory. God bless Justin and Melissa Turley!

Announcing our latest project!
Posted March 11, 2008, by Anna Sofia

We are pleased to make public the trailer for our family’s latest film project.

For more information go to BattleforCivilization.com

Research on Hidden Mountain
Posted March 4, 2008, by

Our family recently took a trip to the Hidden Mountain of New Mexico, doing research for an exciting new film project with our father. On mounting the summit, we discovered so many historically significant artifacts hidden in the craggy rocks and cliffs that Noah, the youngest of our five brothers, wanted to shoot an ENN report revealing our findings.

Stay tuned for more information on our upcoming project.

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