Michelle Ule's Blog, page 12

Intercessory Prayer in Troubled Times

What’s the role of intercessory prayer in troubled times?

If you believe in intercessory prayer, it’s very important.

How else can you “do something” when events seem to be spiraling out of control?

I often turn to Oswald Chambers, who insisted in My Utmost for His Highest on October 17: “prayer is the greater work.“

How does that work?

What is Intercessory Prayer?

To intercede is to “stand in the gap,” or “to to act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition.”

Intercessory prayer, therefore, is a petition to God on behalf of someone else. That person often needs assistance.

To pray for them is to beseech God on their behalf–sometimes because they, for whatever reason, cannot pray for themselves.

Or, they need “extra prayer power,” in their circumstance.

Poul Steffensen (Wikimedia Commons)

One friend went through a divorce and even though he knew he should pray for his estranged wife, the hurt was too profound.

Since I was not involved, I volunteered to pray for his estranged wife on his behalf.

He couldn’t get his emotions under control to do the right thing. I “stood in the gap” in prayer for them.

As far as I know, she never knew.

But he did, and it helped him.

What are “troubled times?”

Please check today’s newspaper.

When you are caught in a traumatic situation–however you define it–you can become so intent on surviving or dealing with the issues, you may not stop to pray.

(Or, you may be praying the entire time!)

It helps, though, knowing others are praying for you–talking to God, asking for mercy, wisdom, insight, ideas!

When we went through the 2017 and 2020 fires in our community, all sorts of people prayed for us–they interceded with God on our behalf.

We knew friends were praying for us and that helped us deal with the nightmares coming from all different directions.

Did their intercessory prayer bring us peace?

Yes.

We were praying, too, of course, but when you in the midst of disaster, it’s hard to take a step back and really think about what you need.

Other than, “get me out of here, Lord!”

What’s the role of an intercessor in intercessory prayer?

I’ve written about this subject here and here.

Rees Howells, 1936; (Wikimedia Commons)

It involves determination and a heart for other people.

For Rees Howells and the Bible College of Wales, it meant praying from seven to midnight, all 2000+ days of World War II. They never missed a day.

What were those intercessory prayers for so many years?

Their prayers were specific, followed the war, focused on the Word of God, and were confident.

“We are going up to the battle and I am as sure of victory as of dawn. If you know you have faith for something, would you not go on until you got it? I would like this to ring out to the world: ‘The Lord, He is the God!'”

Rees Howells, Intercessor; page 296

Like his friend Lettie Cowman, Howells spent much time in intercessory prayer and in searching the Scriptures for answers.

He likened the intercessory prayer he spoke on behalf of England to a spiritual war:

There is intercession and faith, so the Lord can do a mighty deed. our people will see God answering their prayers and they will have all the joy of it.

Rees Howells, Intercessor; page 301

Howells’ confidence lay in the God he know. “If you have faith,” he said, “You can leave it in His hand, and He will intervene in the right time.”

More from Chambers

OC’s December 13 reading from My Utmost for His Highest, has more advice:

Oswald Chambers (Wheaton)

You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others. . . .

As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much informatoin from God regarding the situation . . . because you might be overwhelmed. If you know too much . . . the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are not longer able to get to the underly truth. . . .

Intercession . . . keeps our relationship completely open with God.

My Utmost for His Highest, December 13 (excerpts)

What does the Bible say about intercessory prayer?

Plenty. Take your lead from what the Bible says about intercessory prayer–and what to pray about–from these verses:

Nehemiah 1Ezekiel 22:30Isaiah 59:16Matthew 5:44; 28:19Romans 8:26; 15:30.1 Timothy 2:1-4

Intercessory prayer is an important gift. As Oswald Chambers also noted :

“Jesus Christ carries on intercession for us in heaven; the Holy Ghost carries on intercession in us on earth; and we the saints have to carry on intercession for all men and women.”

Christian Disciplines

It’s important work. Let’s all pray for peace in our world this day.

Tweetables

Why engage in intercessory prayer during troubled times? Click to Tweet

Oswald Chambers and Rees Howells on intercessory prayer in troubled times. Click to Tweet

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Missionary Girls with Lettie Cowman in China

Lettie Cowman loved her missionary girls.

She actively recruited many herself.

My assistant and I laughed and felt charmed when we came across Lettie’s scrapbook from a trip to China. Her missionary girls looked like they were having a lot of fun in their off-hours.

Who were the Missionary Girls?

The list of names over her 55 years working with the Oriental Missionary Society, (OMS) is endless.

Many went on to marry missionary men and shared the gospel all over the world.

But we’ll focus on five: Annie Kartozian, Edna Kunkle, Rosalind Rinker, Esther Helsby Erny, and Katherine McCoy.

But Why Were they in China?

OMS opened a missionary station in Shanghai, China in 1924 and promptly built a Bible school and reestablished their headquarters from Seoul.

Frances Black, Rosalind, Annie, Esther. Edna in Beijing (OMS)

The continent is enormous and they had their work cut out for them in a time of great upheaval in China.

Most other missionary organizations were fleeing the continent, particularly after the brutal beheading of John and Betty Stam.

But OMS felt called to go in. Secretarial workers, regular missionaries, and families all moved to Shanghai. In 1925, they opened the Charles Cowman Memoiral Bible School.

Several years later, they opened a new mission field in Beijing and established the Ernest Kilbourne Memorial Bible Training Institute.

The vast country needed missionaries. Lettie Cowman went right to work.

Esther, Annie, Rosalind, Katherine. (OMS)

She always saw it as a matchmaking operation. While riding in the car one day in Southern California, she felt a chill and told Annie Kartozian in the backseat, that if she didn’t mind cold weather, she’d make a great missionary to northern China.

Annie headed to China six months later.

Others followed doing secretarial work, teaching at the Bible training institute, and helping to run the mission in general.

They occasionally had time off to see the countryside, and they shared the photos with Lettie.

In Edna Kunkle’s case, Lettie merely sent her an application and told her she needed to raise $500 to go.

This was during the Great Depression. Edna, to her surprise, raised $700!

Lettie Cowman Comes to Visit

Lettie visited China several times during the 1930s and relished her time in country.

Afternoon tea, 1930s

She traveled to Beijing, met with the families and women stationed there, and tried to encourage everyone.

China in the 1930s was a difficult spot, particularly for western missionaries.

Lettie always took a special interest in the women–both married and single–giving up years of their lives to share the gospel.

She brought them gifts, listened to them, prayed and played hymns on the piano for them.

Lettie particularly enjoyed afternoon tea!

Her visits coincided with Board of Trustees meetings.

The trips also gave her a better sense of the ministry needs and how to pray for the missionary girls and others who depended on her leadership.

With the Board of Trustees (OMS)

Lettie stayed with the missionary girls in the family homes while traveling in the east. She’d play the piano and sing hymns to wake them in the morning.

Cultivating relationships like that brought a closeness, and served to give the women a sympathetic ear and praying leader.

Lettie always loved and encouraged the women.

While she may not have been a true “servant leader,” she was a praying one.

And, of course, as her old friend Oswald Chambers wrote: “prayer is the greater work.”

What happened during the Chinese revolution?Lettie and Annie Kartozian (OMS)

Rinker described China as her adopted country and during her early years in Beijing recounted a foiled plot to blow up the compound. But she was commited to sharing the Gospel, no matter what.

The physical and spiritual plight of the Chinese people gripped their hearts. Kartozian described the women’s, “tiny, bound feet indicative of fetters. The men stagged under heavy loads.”

She was in Shanghai, trying to get their Chinese workers to safety when the Chinese army began shelling the compound.

Kartozian and Katherine McCoy eventually ended up in the Weisen internment camp for several years during WWII. (This is the same camp where Olympian Eric Liddell died during the war).

They were repatriated in December 1943 on the SS Gripsholm.

What happened to the missionary girls after China?

Most continued to serve OMS–whether in the home office or marrying another missionary and staying on the field.

Esther married fellow missionary Eugene Erny, and spent WWII in India setting up a new mission station there. Her husband eventually succeeded Lettie Cowman as president of OMS, and Esther wrote for the ministry magazine for many years.

Annie Kartozian remained with OMS for the rest of her life, as did Edna Kunkle Chandler.

Lettie and two missionary girls; Shanghai (OMS archives)

Kartozian wrote a book about her experiences called God Has a Green Thumb: A Veteran Missionary Recounts her Adventures in China and Taiwan.

Rosalind Rinker eventually ended up at Asbury College and wrote Prayer: How to Have a Conversation with God.

In 2006, Christianity Today Magazine described Rinker’s book as the number 1 more important book on their list of The Top 50 Books that Have Shaped Evangelicals.

As I’ve mentioned before, writing Lettie’s biography impressed me by the committment of so many missionaries to share the gospel, no matter the hardship.

They all came out of their difficulties still firm in their faith and determined to share the gospel.

I’m humbled to having learned and written about them.

Tweetables

What took young women to the Far East as missionaries in the 1930s? Click to Tweet

Lettie Cowman and her love for OMS missionary girls in the 1930s. Click to Tweet

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The Crossword Puzzle and Sunday Adventures

“You do the New York Times crossword puzzle, don’t you?” my friend asked.

“Pretty much every week since I graduated from college,” I said.

That long?

Well . . . yes.

Don’t you?

Why the NYTimes crossword puzzle?

We lived on the East Coast for nine years.

It also was notoriously the hardest crossword puzzle during those years.

I’d trained to be a newspaper reporter, so reading the Sunday NYTimes appealed to my pride.

I’m different now.

We splurged on the Sunday paper during those years, and I finished the experience with the crossword puzzle.

Sometimes I got them all!

Most times I did not.

But my brain usually got a workout.

And I’ve always used a blue ink pen on newsprint. It just feels right, somehow.

Crossword and word puzzle fans–the NYTimes knows about you!

You don’t have to buy the paper anymore to work the daily crossword puzzle.

Puzzlers can subscribe to all the puzzles here.

I’d never played the Mini before–and did okay–but the hardest part was wrapping my brain about using a keyboard rather than a blue ink pen!

Other than the working the crossword puzzle, it appears you can play most of the puzzles on that page.

I learned all this from my friend, who actually wanted to direct me to a fascinating podcast.

Martha Stewart is a major NYTimes puzzle fan, and she interviewed the paper’s game editors Everdeen Maston and WIll Shortz.

You can hear the fun interview here.

Among the trivia discussed was the history of the NYTimes crossword puzzle–launched in 1942.

Shortz (whose puzzles I enjoy) described how he discovered Sudoku, and both editors revealed their favorite Wordle starter words.

Mason is the first editorial director of games at the paper.

Just last year, the youngest person to construct a crossword puzzle for the paper, was a 14 year-old boy from Boston.

How to make your own crossword puzzle

While some people still make their own crosswod puzzles with graph paper and pencil, like everything else, puzzle making has gone digital.

A NYTimes article explains how in a “Crossword Constructor Guide.“

Here’s one to try–anyway you like!

I made it using Amuselabs.com:

Mother’s Day with the puzzle

Those of us who like to do, at least the Sunday NYTimes Crossword puzzle, are a determined bunch.

When we lived in New England, we always stopped at the convenience store on the way home from church so I could purchase the Sunday paper.

I read through the newspaper–and enjoyed the book reviews and the New York Times Magazine–with my expectations up for the prize: working the crossword puzzle.

It was my Sunday pleasure.

I continued the tradition through several different moves, until the year my brother gave me a subscription to paper as a gift.

When we had kids in the house, even the puzzlers knew to let me work the puzzle first.

Some Sundays, I magnanimously copied it early–so they could have their own puzzle and leave mine alone.

But one Sunday long ago, my husband handed me the NYTimes, picked up the kids, and headed out the door with his puzzled visiting father in tow.

Photo by C C Jacklee (Wikimedia Commons)

“Where are we going?” my father-in-law asked.

“It’s Mother’s Day,” my husband laughed. “We’re taking the kids to the park so she can read the paper and work the puzzle in peace.”

“She doesn’t want to spend Mother’s Day with her kids?”

My husband grinned at me. “Doing the puzzle alone is what she wants most of all.”

Well, yeah. He was right. What a lovely afternoon!

(More than once, our second child has rung the doorbell on Mother’s Day, handed me flowers, and the Sunday Times!)

He’s my puzzle-maker, and he understands.

How about you?

Crossword puzzle or another word game?

Pencil or ink?

Share or not?

Tweetables

Adventures with the Sunday crossword puzzle. Click to Tweet

The joy of the Sunday crossword puzzle. Click to Tweet

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Capernaum Surprises Present and Past

Capernaum, Israel, surprised me in fall, 2022.

As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to where we traveled each day.

Trying to “live and experience in the moment,” I greeted each new spot with curiosity but not my usual “knowledge overkill.”

I didn’t realize where we were headed until I walked up to a sign that said, in mosaic, “Capernaum.”

What?

I took a photo of my friend.

Why is this Sea of Galilee village important?

That’s where Simon Peter and his fishing friends lived circa 30 AD.

It’s also where Jesus settled after leaving Nazareth and where He first announced His presence and ministry.  

And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”

Synagogue photo by Berthold Werner (Wikimedia Commons)Matthew 4:13-16 ESV

The fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee boasted about 1500 people when Jesus moved there.

Capernaum means “Nahum’s village.”

Some believe it was named for the minor prophet Nahum who may have lived in the town about 612 BC.

Since Nahum means “comfort,” the name could mean “village of comfort.”

Author Charles H. Dyer, who has led many trips to Israel, provided an interesting insight on the city:

The town had achieved a level of importance in Jesus’ day because of its strategic location near the border of the land of Galilee ruled by Herod Antipas.

Less than three miles away the Jordan River separated Herod Antipas’s kingdom from that ruled by Herod Philip. The Romans saw the strategic importance of the town. That why they posed a garrison of soldiers and establed a tax collection office there.

Thirty Days in the Land with Jesus: A Holy Land Devotional; page 158.

Jesus called a local tax collector in the town, Matthew to follow him.

Ministry in Campernaum

Jesus stood up in the Synagogue one day and announced who he was:

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 

And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

Mark 1:21-26 ESV

Two thousand years ago, Jesus performed at least a dozen miracles in Capernaum.

The Messiah spoke here. (Author photo)

I admired the Roman-era synagogue built in the third century AD.

Our guide then explained archaeologists and Biblical scholars knew Jesus lived several hundred years earlier, so they dug down to find the foundation of the first century synagogue.

Or, the stones near which Jesus preached.

Jesus actually walked around here. He lived in this town. He could walk blindfolded from the synagogue to Peter’s house just south of the structure.

Helena, mother of Constantine, built a basilica over Peter’s stone house–which now has a modern Catholic church on top.

Modern Catholic Church. X marks the spot for the alleged location of Peter’s home. (Author photo)

The day of our visit, lovely singing came through the windows as pilgrims worshipped Jesus.

I sang along.

Reflections on visiting the town

When you read the Gospels, the town names can wash past you.

But when you walk the land, locations and events suddenly take on a solidity.

We weren’t very far from where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.

That’s the Jordan River over there.

Jesus healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law among those stones.

People come from everywhere to honor Jesus, His ministry, and the New Testament.

I’m glad we went.

This, by the way, is a millstone as discussed in Mark 9 during a visit to this very town.

Millstone phone by Berthold Warner (Wikimedia Commons)

Tweetables

Reflecting on Capernaum–today and 2000 years ago. Click to Tweet

A surprising visit to Jesus’ hometown. Click to Tweet

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E. B. White–Who Really Wrote Charlotte Web?

Who was E. B. White?

Were you a child in the last 60 years?

Ever heard of Charlotte’s Web?

Yeah. He wrote that.

With polish, panache, and great skill–as befitted the White in Strunk and White’s Elements of Style.

Some Writer! by Melissa Sweet, is the title of some biography that I thoroughly enjoyed.

And it was written with a tween audience in mind!

(Tweens are kids between the ages of 9 and 13).

What makes this biography different?

An accomplished children’s author, Sweet is an artist as well, and she used interested techniques in this wonderfully illustrated biography.

Melissa Sweet’s biography provides historic E. B. White photographs, clever illustrations of his life, and a panoply of collages, drawings, and photographs mixed in.

(Chapter numbers look like the numbers typed on a manual typewriter, for example.)

Absolutely charming and so interesting to examine and pair episodes or interests from White’s life with the physical objects either drawn or photographed.

Oh, just look at an example!

Click here to listen to Sweet discuss writing and illustrating the E. B. White biographyThe story of Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

E. B. White already had a successful writing career in New York City, when he moved to a farm in Maine.

White loved to spend time in the outdoors, sailing on the lake, and watching the animals in his barn. His New England life provided many ideas for his children’s books.

Charlotte’s Web grew out of his fascination one year with a barn spider–and also the concern of a pig who needed to be saved.

It took him three years to write it–Some Writer tells the tale.

In commenting on how long it took him to write his three books for children, White said,

“I would rather wait a year than publish a bad children’s book, as I have too much respect for children.”

What about Strunk and White’s Elements of Style?

White took a writing class from Professor William Strunk while studying at Cornell University in the first decade of the twentieth century.

From Strunk, a writer White admired, he learned how to write good copy.

Years later after Strunk’s death, he was asked to revise his famous writing guide.

It’s now in the fourth printing.

Who would have imagined Wilbur’s creator taught everyone else how to write?

How have both books by E. B. White affected my life?

As a writer, I took away insights from Elements of Style and applied them to my own work. These include:

Form the possessive singular of nouns with ‘s.Use the active voice.Omit needless words.In summaries, keep to one tense.Make definite assertions.Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-commital language!And particularly: Revising is part of editing!

As to Charlotte’s Web–well, who can kill a spider after knowing Charlotte?

White also liked dogs!
(Wikimedia Commons)

I’m not so much a fan of Stuart Little or The Trumpet of the Swan.

I laughed at the the New York Public Library chief children’s librarian reaction to Stuart Little:

“I was never so disappointed in a book in my life.” She [Anne Carroll Moore] wrote an urgent fourteen-page letter to the Whites explaining why Stuary Little, with its “monstrous birth,” should not be published.

Not only was the story “out of hand,” . . . How could a mouse be born to humans? “The two worlds are all mixed up.”

Some Writer!

Even as a ten-year-old, I felt the same way.

But, reflecting, yet again on Charlotte, well:

“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.”

Thank you, Charlotte. Thank you, E. B. White.

Tweetables

Some Writer! and the true story of Charlotte’s Web. Click to Tweet

What type of man wrote Charlotte’s Web? Click to Tweet

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A Visit to God’s Bible School

I took a visit to God’s Bible School (GBS) in June 2023.

In a sense, I followed the footsteps of people I admire: Oswald Chambers, Lettie and Charles Cowman, and Juji Nakada.

Chambers taught one year, the Cowmans took classes, and Juji?

Well, he learned about the school from the Cowmans, and invited Chambers there to visit.

Martin Wells Knapp founded the school in 1900.

Lettie and Charles were among the first students in attendance.

While there, Knapp challenged them on their plans to establish a mission in Tokyo. “Why wait for a mission board to send you?”

Why indeed?

What were Chambers and Nakada doing at God’s Bible School?

Chambers and Nakada met in England and “bonded” over a shared pulpit for the Protestant League of Prayer as they traveled through the nation in 1906.

“This small Japanese is very good at stealing hearts and minds,” Chambers said. “He stole mine, and then visited my home and stole the hearts of my father and brother, and he made them willing to send me to Japan.”

Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God. By David McCasland; p. 97

Nakada introduced Chambers to Holiness folks in New England and then they traveled to God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, Ohio for a speaking gig at their 10-day Christmas Convention.

GBS camp meeting circa 1906 (GBS photo)

The school needed a teacher, and Chambers agreed to stay for a semester to teach a class in Biblical Theology (which he also taught for the League of Prayer meetings in England). Nakada embarked on a deputation tour for the Oriental Missionary Society.

GBS paid him a $500 honorarium for his service when the semester ended in June.

After that summer’s camp meetings, he continued with Nakada on to Japan. He wanted to see the Oriental Mission Society‘s work in Japan.

(During World War I, Biddy Chambers regularly sent magazine articles based on Chambers’ teachings to the GBS magazine God’s Revivalist.)

The Cowmans?

During their short time at GBS, Charles led evening services and Lettie conducted popular children’s meetings.

The Cowmans’ matriculations signature (GBS photo)

They did not stay long after Knapp challenged them, but they regularly visited the school for years afterward during their own deputations tours from Japan.

Knapp joined three others in November 1900 to lay hands on both Charles and Lettie and ordain them ministers. They traveled to Japan and founded the Oriental Missionary Society two months later.

After their move to Tokyo, Lettie wrote monthly articles for God’s Revivalist.

They may have met Biddy Chambers for the first time at GBS’s 1910 camp meeting.

So, why did I visit God’s Bible School?

Like my biography subjects, I, too, have written articles for God’s Revivalist. (Including Summer 2023)

Michelle at Oswald Chambers’ desk

(Here’s a link to a 2017 edition devoted to Oswald Chambers).

Since my husband and I were in the area, we invited ourselves for a visit.

I particularly wanted to see the Oswald Chambers Room at the school.

The room boasts photos of OC (the final one before his death), the remembrance of him from his memorial service (just above my head), and a painting overlooking copies of all his books.

Since I’d forgotten GBS has OC’s desk, that was quite a surprise to see, sit at, and touch!

I also met the president of the college, as well as my editor friends, and caught a glimpse of the centerfold for this month’s God’s Revivalist Magazine.

Michelle’s article for God’s RevivalistThoughts on driving up to “The Hilltop”

God’s Bible School sits on top of a hill overlooking downtown Cincinnati.

For that reason, people often referred to GBS as “the Hilltop.”

I’d forgotten that as we drove up steep streets, but when we reached the top, my mouth dropped open.

There it was, just as I’d seen it in countless photos from Lettie Cowman writings.

But, after marveling for a moment, I wondered, “When did they paint the buildings?”

Then I realized the sky behind the (red brick) building was blue, and I laughed.

I’d seen lots of photos–but they all were taken 100+ years ago!

Ah, the foibles of an historical writer!

We brought a local writer friend along with her daughter on this visit. The pretty 18-year-old will be a freshman this fall at the school.

It was so fun to be at the site where the Cowmans and the Chambers came together–both in my mind and in history. All three, and possibly Biddy, met there at the 1910 camp meeting.

This is the only place still standing where I know they all were–and at the same time.

A minor thrill for most people–but a major one for me that day in June 2023.

Tweetables

A Chambers and Cowman biographer visits where they met in 1910. Click to Tweet

God’s Bible School: a loved place for Oswald Chambers & the Cowmans. Click to Tweet

Link here

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Family Life Hacks from an Experienced Woman

I love to read “life hacks” as ways to simplify my ordinary experiences.

Of course, getting into the simple part sometimes takes more than I’m willing to do!

But here are some life hacks I’ve used effectively in my life.

Since I don’t like to spend extra money unless I have to, well, here are my simple suggestions.

Kitchen Life Hacks

Since I have many children, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Even since they grew up and left home.

But, the best life hack for the kitchen is teaching/sharing the job with other family members!

I’ve never had a cat that volunteered to this, but I’m willing to try. (Wikimedia Commons)

Otherwise, here are several ideas that worked for me:

Clean the kitchen as you cook–don’t pile up everything in the sink.Keep a tub of soapy water in the sink for dishes, etc. as you cook and during the day.Load and run the dishwasher every night. (I always waited until full, but Kathi Lipp changed my life with this suggestion. Turns out, it didn’t waste much water.)Put plastics in low cupboards–and let toddlers play if needed.Put plastic plates, cups, bowls in cupboard where children can reach them.Alphabetize your spices.Put everything to do with coffee/tea/whatever together in one cupboard.What about food?

Once upon a time, my family went through 8 gallons of milk a week.

Three teenagers required a lot of food. I needed life hacks for meals!

Figure out what your family’s staples are–and keep track you have enough.Make a list when grocery shopping.Simplify meals whenever possible.Repurpose leftovers into new meals.Grow vegetables if you have room. Consider recycling some of them, too!Laundry Life Hacks

I realized one day that I would be spending the rest of my life doing laundry.

I don’t know what I thought would happen–would Mom come back to life to do it?

Alas, that did not happen, so I was stuck trying to find a way to make it simpler.

If you have a bunch of kids–or athletes–just expect to do at least one or two loads a day.Someone should collect all the laundry at night and leave the basket by the washer.Start a load of laundry the first thing in the morning. (It should be ready for the dryer by the time you’ve finished your coffee).If you have a total mountain, consider taking everything to the laundromat. (Expensive, yes, but done in 90 minutes).Decide who (or if anyone) should fold and sort.Consider dumping clean laundry on the sofa or your bed so you finish folding and putting away.One friend used sock matching as punishment . . . Family Organizational Ideas

Having a family is pure joy–but also requires a lot of work, togetherness, and life hacks, or organization at the least!

Whose towel? Photo by Kristian Pinne (Unsplash)If you have a large family, assign family members their own colors. (That would be plate, cup, glass, toothbrush, towel). This means the guilt offender (not putting it away, etc.) can’t escape notice.Rotate “prize locations” by date. (If you have two children, even days are for one kid, odd for the other).Everyone has their own library card.Everyone makes their own bed first thing in the morning. Period.Teach them to do their laundry early and give them their own laundry basket.Consider a “job jar,” for Saturday morning chores. Let them trade assignments.Don’t let the sun go down on unresolved anger.Everyone should learn to daily apologize and own up to their own . . . whatever.Forgiveness is the second half of an apology.Ask yourself, “did he really mean to offend you?”

Seems to work for me!

Tweetables

Life hacks–family life, kitchen, and laundry! Click to Tweet

Simple hacks to make family life, well, simpler. Click to Tweet

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Holy Land Tour: What to Read Beforehand

“I’m taking a Holy Land tour,” a friend explained. “What should I read before I go?”

I had to think because I was so busy prior to our trip, I didn’t do much reading preparation.

Oh, we had books–gifts from friends and family members.

But, I wasn’t planning this trip. I just took it.

So what did I read?

Well, a review of blog posts over the last few years showed–quite a bit!

Read the Holy Land tour schedule first!

When we received the tour schedule, I first examed the list of locations we’d visit on our Holy Land tour.

I turned the schedule into a word document, looked up all the places on the list, and added the appropriate links.

The oldest thing I’ve ever seen–the gate!

After 40 years of leading Bible studies, I recognized many, but here’s a list of places I needed to check out–and my reaction when I realized what they were:

Caesarea Maritima–The Romans jailed Paul there. “Right near the Mediterranean Sea? He could hear the waves from this hole in the ground!”Mt. Tabor–Elijah and the prophet confrontation. “What an awful place. And then he killed them all in that little river down there.”Beit Igal Alon–a 1st century Galilean ship. “I read about the discovery of this boat in the National Geographic.”Tabgha–Loaves and fishes shore, anyone? “Right here. Jesus built a fire right here!”Gamla–My husband knew of this fortress because he’s read Josephus (and Eusebius, too.) “Maybe the hill does look like a camel’s hump.”Tel Dan–Abraham went through the gate while retrieving Lot. “This is the oldest thing I’ve ever seen.”Tel Hazor–“Ahab lived there?”Beit She’an–“Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung on the wall?”Maayan Harod–To the nine year old boy with us: “Do you drink water with your hands or lap like a dog?”Nimrod’s Castle–Crusader fort. My husband pointed out the killing field.Banias–the Gates of Hell. (Jesus in Matthew 16:18)Western Wall and Tunnel–the underground extension of the Wailing Wall, as well as the closest place to the former Holy of Holies–or the temple home of the Ark of the Covenant. “Just past that wall?????”Gates of Hell A Holy Land tour book and a devotional

Thirty Days in the Land with Jesus: A Holy Land Devotional by Charles H. Dyer. I bought this after I visited the country, and I love it. It’s full of insights I never knew. (Nazareth comes from the Hebrew word “netzer,” which means shoot or branch! See Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; and Zechariah 3:8.)

(This Dyer book also looks promising: Experiencing the Land of the Book.)

The Holy Land for Christian Travelers by John A. Beck. An illustrated guide which includes maps! Just about all the places we visited were in this book.

Novels about Old Testament Events

The Cities of Refuge by Connilyn Cossette. This series of novels covers the book of Judges and how the cities of refuge worked.

My friend Atessa Afshar also writes about Old Testament events. I wrote here about how she applies her imagination (combined with her years as a pastor) with Biblical stories.

First temple period lamp.

The first temple period stories by Lynn Austin. Her Chronicles of the King series provided insight into the years leading up to the destruction of the Temple.

I appreciated the background she provided in her Keepers of the Covenant series when I taught on Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zechariah.

Austin’s books, in particular, came to mind as we wandered around old Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and when we visited an antiquities dealer.

Memoirs, Non-fiction, and History

I didn’t realize how many books I’ve read for a Holy Land tour, and the one I missed–Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad.

But each gave me background and, in the case of Jerusalem, echoed when I walked through gates I knew others had passed before.

We didn’t go into Jordan to visit the site of Sodom–though I thought about the land when I stood in Jericho.

I learned a lot about Biblical archaelogy from  Discovering the City of Sodom by Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne Scott.

I knew all about Hezekiah’s Tunnel from reading both Eric Metaxas’ Is Atheism Dead? and Bertha Spafford Vester’s Our Jerusalem. (Lynn Austin’s The Strength of His Hand is about digging the tunnel.)

Doug Hershey’s two books, Israel Rising, and Jerusalem Rising, also came to mind many times.

Even Derek Prince’s biography describes life in Jerusalem–from WWII and beyond-Appointment in Jerusalem.

I could not walk on the Temple Mount without remembering Dr, Jeanne Constantinou’s The Crucifixion in all Jesus’ Glory.

My own writing

I’ve written more than 70 blog posts about Israel, the Bible, and other related subjects. The list starts here.

My head swiveled when we passed Huldah’s tomb.

The General and I both walked through Jaffa Gate.

I had tears in my eyes when I walked through the Jaffa gate–just like General Allenby did in December, 1917.

As I looked over the landscape, I recalled both Biddy (with Kathleen; 1919) and Lettie (with her husband Charles, Oswald Chambers, Elizabeth Howells, and others–over many years).

Israel really is the crossroads of the world–spiritually, emotionally, and literatur-ally.

Of course I don’t expect my friend to read all of these books–it took me years to get this far–but any one is a good introduction to the wonderful place she’ll soon visit.

Shalom!

Tweetables

A suggestion of books for a holy land tour. Click to Tweet

Read ahead for a holy land tour: Twain, Metaxas, Josephus, Austin, Hershey, and others! Click to Tweet

The post Holy Land Tour: What to Read Beforehand appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.

Translations in India of My Utmost for His Highest

How were nine translations of My Utmost for His Highest accomplished in only nine years?

Earlier this year, a publishing consultant and I discussed his work with My Utmost for His Highest.

Yohan John Kunnenkeril oversaw Oswald Chamber’s famous devotional into the nine different languages for the Indian subcontinent.

(You can see the list of all the My Utmost for His Highest translations here.)

We’ve corresponded for years, and when I realized he oversaw the translations, I decided to interview him.

Here are my questions and his interesting answers. (Lightly edited).

Who is publishing consultant Yohan John?

Tell me about yourself. How long have you been a Christian?

“Born into a fine Christian family, I have generations of Christianity behind me!

“My great grandfather was a priest in the Anglican order, a fine servant of God. My parents were regular church goers, had daily prayers at home.

“I was a nominal Christian till age 32 when through a meeting with a person who hailed from an orthodox Brahmin background, I yielded my life to the Triune God. This was in 1988. I am 66 now.” 

His wife, Nina John, also is actively involved with Bible studies for women, Explorer’s Bible study, and Bible Study Fellowship.

How has My Utmost for His Highest influenced him? August 14, Hindi

“The two major influences or sources of nurture for my faith in Him, have been

*the person who, though from orthodox Brahmin background, became a follower of Jesus Christ.

*My Utmost For His Highest which I have been reading in English every day for about  25 years!”

Three years after “yielding his life to the Triune God,” Yohan John took a position with the Bible Society of India. The job gave him some exposure to publishing and translation work.

What was his first encounter with My Utmost for His Highest?

“In 1996 I was traveling in the northeastern parts of India with a small team and a lorry [truck] load of Scriptures (Bibles, New Testaments, devotional aids, all in English) for display and sale.

“While arranging a display, I chanced upon a beautiful leather bound copy of My Utmost For His Highest, and kept it aside. A colleague said it is known to be good, bought it, and started reading.” 

Yohan John picked it up himself and has been reading it ever since.

Telugu version

“Regular reading of My Utmost for His Highest helped me love Him and His Word increasingly. For about seven years in the Bible society, most of my preaching was based on content in My Utmost for His Highest.”

“I read it first thing in the morning, around 5:15. I spend some time mulling it, often pained while applying it internally.”

He thinks about that day’s reading sporadically during the day, connect the reading to stuff on TV, and chats with his wife and others. He even tries to recollect the reading before he falls asleep.

(We do that at our house, too. “OC” and Biddy frequently come up at dinner. They feel like family after all these years!)

Like me, Yohan John reads it online and switches between the classic and updated version.)

How does a publishing consultant handle translations?

Over the years, Yohan John coordinated translating My Utmost For His Highest into India’s major languages.

(Not dialects, but separate languages with their own individual script and alphabet.

Click on the language to reach the specific translations: English; Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali/Bangla; Marathi; Khasi; Mizo; Malayalam; Telgugu; Kannada; Oriya)

“The first language we did was Hindi, the official language of India. I was based for about 11 years in the Hindi speaking belt (Northern India). I had been preaching by using thoughts from My Utmost.

“My ‘mother tongue’ is not Hindi and so it took me about five sentences to convey the content of one English sentence from My Utmost. Yet, people appreciated the thoughts and that is how the idea came to me to [translate the devotional] into Hindi.” 

Marathi edition

The Oswald Chambers Publications Association Ltd (OCPAL) in the United Kingdom were interested in the project. My Utmost had not been translated into Hindi before. (It’s been translated over the years into about 50 different languages worldwide. Current versions are listed here.).

The official publisher for languages of India is the India Evangelical Mission.

How does a translator do their job?

After translating the Hindi devotional, they established a procedure:

Identify the need. Based on demographics, and the number of Christians in a given area, which language could benefit from a translation?Get copyright permission from Discovery House Publishing [now called Our Daily Bread Publishing] and OCPAL.Arrange funding for the publisher (India Evangelical Mission).Choose a translator by gathering a small panel to check their sample translations (using a few pages of the devotional, and other credentials). Provide the chosen translator with both Updated and Classic versions in book form, as well as online links, then interact closely over the initial months.

Translating the devotional is done line by line, with printing details (paper, cover design, etc.) organized later in the process.

The covers

In India they use the same cover design for all languages.

Khasi translation

“Based on my understanding of what Oswald Chambers is saying in the book, that My Utmost is through our submission (especially of the will) and His highest (there is none higher) demonstrated on the cross.

“Prostration is the physical expression of submission.

“Our cover design has this prostrating figure and the cross for that reason.

“The cross is in the background and sort of hazy,  to convey that the person is not prostrating before the cross (as an object or as an idol) but he/she is prostrating while thinking about the cross of Jesus Christ, with gratitude, repentance, love, hope, peace and even joy.

“The picture or cover design also has a drop of blood and an artistic depiction of a dove.

“This design is repeated on every page of the devotional to remind the reader of the attitude with which to read this fine book.”

Consulting an expert and favorite concepts The original author.

Between 2007 and 2013, Yohan John worked with noted writer Pastor James Reimann (author of both the updated My Utmost, as well as an updated version of Streams in the Desert).

“I asked him to be ‘on hand’ for advice as I began this [translating] work. He was very helpful.”

Among Yohan John’s favorite concepts from the devotional are:

“My utmost for God’s highest.” (I discussed this with him myself.)Sin is separation from God. Do not wrestle with God. Redemption is reality. Individuality and personality.

“These have given me a fresh and better understanding of matters that I understood wrongly earlier,” he said.

Who can benefit from the devotional?

“For Believers who serve, Bible college students, those in ministry,” he said. 

“It may not be appreciated by nominal Christians or even those who want a ” comfortable” read, and the book is not for those do not know much about the Christian faith.”

As for Yohan John, and for me as well, “My Utmost for His Highest has helped me love Him and His Word increasingly.”

Why not try it yourself?

It’s always available in English, at www.utmost.org.

For all editions translated for India, check out Johnten10.com.

For a free download of the entire My Utmost for His Highest devotional in any of the ten India languages, click on this link and scroll down untill you see the book covers in the different languages.

Tweetables

How to translate My Utmost for His Highest into an Indian subcontinent language. Click to Tweet

What goes into translating My Utmost for His Highest into another language? Click to Tweet

The post Translations in India of My Utmost for His Highest appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.

Translating My Utmost for His Highest

How do you go about translating My Utmost for His Highest into a non-English language?

Earlier this year, a publishing consultant and I discussed his work with My Utmost for His Highest.

Yohan John Kunnenkeril has been responsible for translating Oswald Chamber’s famous devotional into nine different languages for the Indian subcontinent.

(You can see the list of all the My Utmost for His Highest translations here.)

We’ve corresponded for years, and when I realized he was working on yet another translation, I decided it was time for me to interview him.

Here are my questions and his interesting answers. (Lightly edited).

Who is publishing consultant Yohan John?

Tell me about yourself. How long have you been a Christian?

“Born into a fine Christian family, I have generations of Christianity behind me!

“My great grandfather was a priest in the Anglican order, a fine servant of God. My parents were regular church goers, had daily prayers at home.

“I was a nominal Christian till age 32 when through a meeting with a person who hailed from an orthodox Brahmin background, I yielded my life to the Triune God. This was in 1988. I am 66 now.” 

His wife, Nina John, also is actively involved with Bible studies for women, Explorer’s Bible study, and Bible Study Fellowship.

How has My Utmost for His Highest influenced him? August 14, Hindi

“The two major influences or sources of nurture for my faith in Him, have been

*the person who, though from orthodox Brahmin background, became a follower of Jesus Christ.

*My Utmost For His Highest which I have been reading in English every day for about  25 years!”

Three years after “yielding his life to the Triune God,” Yohan John took a position with the Bible Society of India. The job gave him some exposure to publishing and translation work.

What was his first encounter with My Utmost for His Highest?

“In 1996 I was traveling in the northeastern parts of India with a small team and a lorry [truck] load of Scriptures (Bibles, New Testaments, devotional aids, all in English) for display and sale.

“While arranging a display, I chanced upon a beautiful leather bound copy of My Utmost For His Highest, and kept it aside. A colleague said it is known to be good, bought it, and started reading.” 

Yohan John picked it up himself and has been reading it ever since.

Telugu version

“Regular reading of My Utmost for His Highest helped me love Him and His Word increasingly. For about seven years in the Bible society, most of my preaching was based on content in My Utmost for His Highest.”

“I read it first thing in the morning, around 5:15. I spend some time mulling it, often pained while applying it internally.”

He thinks about that day’s reading sporadically during the day, connect the reading to stuff on TV, and chats with his wife and others. He even tries to recollect the reading before he falls asleep.

(We do that at our house, too. “OC” and Biddy frequently come up at dinner. They feel like family after all these years!)

Like me, Yohan John reads it online and switches between the classic and updated version.)

How does a publishing consultant handle translating the devotional?

Over the years, Yohan John coordinated translating My Utmost For His Highest into India’s major languages.

(Not dialects, but separate languages with their own individual script and alphabet.

Click on the language to reach the specific translation: English; Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali/Bangla; Marathi; Khasi; Mizo; Malayalam; Telgugu; Kannada; Oriya)

“The first language we did was Hindi, the official language of India. I was based for about 11 years in the Hindi speaking belt (Northern India). I had been preaching by using thoughts from My Utmost.

“My ‘mother tongue’ is not Hindi and so it took me about five sentences to convey the content of one English sentence from My Utmost. Yet, people appreciated the thoughts and that is how the idea came to me to [translate the devotional] into Hindi.” 

Marathi edition

The Oswald Chambers Publications Association Ltd (OCPAL) in the United Kingdom were interested in the project. My Utmost had not been translated into Hindi before. (It’s been translated over the years into about 50 different languages worldwide. Current versions are listed here.).

The official publisher for languages of India is the India Evangelical Mission.

How does a translator go about his/her job?

After translating the Hindi devotional, they established a procedure:

Identify the need. Based on demographics, and the number of Christians in a given area, which language could benefit from a translation?Get copyright permission from Discovery House Publishing [now called Our Daily Bread Publishing] and OCPAL.Arrange funding for the publisher (India Evangelical Mission).Choose a translator by gathering a small panel to check their sample translations (using a few pages of the devotional, and other credentials). Provide the chosen translator with both Updated and Classic versions in book form, as well as online links, then interact closely over the initial months.

Translating the devotional is done line by line, with printing details (paper, cover design, etc.) organized later in the process.

The covers

In India they use the same cover design for all languages.

Khasi translation

“Based on my understanding of what Oswald Chambers is saying in the book, that My Utmost is through our submission (especially of the will) and His highest (there is none higher) demonstrated on the cross.

“Prostration is the physical expression of submission.

“Our cover design has this prostrating figure and the cross for that reason.

“The cross is in the background and sort of hazy,  to convey that the person is not prostrating before the cross (as an object or as an idol) but he/she is prostrating while thinking about the cross of Jesus Christ, with gratitude, repentance, love, hope, peace and even joy.

“The picture or cover design also has a drop of blood and an artistic depiction of a dove.

“This design is repeated on every page of the devotional to remind the reader of the attitude with which to read this fine book.”

Consulting an expert and favorite concepts The original author.

Between 2007 and 2013, Yohan John worked with noted writer Pastor James Reimann (author of both the updated My Utmost, as well as an updated version of Streams in the Desert).

“I asked him to be ‘on hand’ for advice as I began this [translating] work. He was very helpful.”

Among Yohan John’s favorite concepts from the devotional are:

“My utmost for God’s highest.” (I discussed this with him myself.)Sin is separation from God. Do not wrestle with God. Redemption is reality. Individuality and personality.

“These have given me a fresh and better understanding of matters that I understood wrongly earlier,” he said.

Who can benefit from the devotional?

“For Believers who serve, Bible college students, those in ministry,” he said. 

“It may not be appreciated by nominal Christians or even those who want a ” comfortable” read, and the book is not for those do not know much about the Christian faith.”

As for Yohan John, and for me as well, “My Utmost for His Highest has helped me love Him and His Word increasingly.”

Why not try it yourself?

It’s always available in English, at www.utmost.org.

For all editions translated for India, check out Johnten10.com.

For a free download of the entire My Utmost for His Highest devotional in any of the ten India languages, click on this link and scroll down untill you see the book covers in the different languages.

Tweetables

How to translate My Utmost for His Highest into an Indian subcontinent language. Click to Tweet

What goes into translating My Utmost for His Highest into another language? Click to Tweet

The post Translating My Utmost for His Highest appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.