Michelle Ule's Blog, page 7

To Live in a Menagerie

“You know, I live in a menagerie,” our friend said.

I looked around the living room and laughed.

“I can see that.”

The veterinarian in the family snickered, too. “How many animals do you think we have?”

I could see a snake, two chicks, two dogs, and I knew two mules lived outside.

Oh, wait, was that maa-ing I heard from outside? I thought I saw some goats.

“15,” the vet said. “Let’s see if you can find them all.”

“See?” the spouse said. “I live in a menagerie.”

To live in a menagerie = fun.

Children also lived in the house, and they helped with the animals.

Indeed, the three goats loved the beautiful tween girl and followed her wherever she went.

(Her name was not Mary).

The goat leader is down. Hey! There’s a cat in this photo!The goats were mesmerized by the fireJust trimming the trees, au naturale.

The boy played with the dogs, called out to the mules, and ran harrum scarrum himself.

He was particularly good at collecting greens to feed to the kangaroo hamster and the snake–who, it turned out, just liked to watch the chicks, not eat them himself.

Those chicks! They did live in a menagerie–or at least in a glass aquarium beside the snake’s aquarium.

“He didn’t want to eat the chicks,” explained one family member. “He just likes to watch them. So, they’re entertainment.”

It would never occur to me to 1 buy a snake or 2 own chicks.

“We’ll probably give the chicks to a friend who owns a flock,” the tween explained.

“Chickens are complicated to own up here in the winter,” her mother said. “You have to keep the hen house warm. It’s easier to buy eggs from her and not have to worry about having chickens.”

Adorable chicks Is this a kangaroo hamster? Mellow mulesDid I find all 15 pets?

No.

I figured cats must be around, but I never saw any. (Until I looked at the photo above!)

The total number of kangaroo hamsters–I think they were hamsters–equaled two. They preferred to stay hidden.

The skink lived in a cage next to them. He didn’t come out often, either.

But the three goats! Oh my, charming!

The tween may live in a menagerie, but she negotiated the pets, like her veterinarian parent, with skill and grace.

I wish I’d snapped a photo of her wandering the meadow with the three goats in tow, calling and trotting everywhere she went.

The charming goats, only a few months old, loved to graze outside of their pen.

They even joined us for a marshmallow roast–calling, butting in, and trying to get at the marshmallows.

I tried to save the day.

They trimmed back the trees–even climbing on the picnic table to reach some lower leaves!

The mules–who are pack animals when the family hits the trail–kept the grass cropped close. They also ate leftovers from the garden.

Goats do that, too.

Kids and pets

The veterinarian grew up with a much smaller menagerie.

But always had a way with animals.

Can you spy the watching snake?

The children in this household care for their animals and play with them. They spend a lot of time outside in the summer.

And when the night grows long and dark, there’s always someone to cuddle up with and simply be loved.

Maybe even with a lick on your cheek?

(I’d avoid this with chicks, goats, and snakes. But a dog? Always!)

(Or, maybe even a comfort cat?)

Is there an advantage for a kid to live in a menagerie?

While it can take a special person to live in a menagerie, there’s something comforting about watching animals grow up.

It seemed like those chicks doubled in size during the three days we visited!

The children, though, learned to be gentle and patient. They did chores without complaint.

I was impressed.

And the veterinarian’s spouse?

A headshake, a laugh, and a proud look at the helpful kids.

I never touched the snake, chicks, hamsters, or skink, but I’m glad I got to observe.

Even if the goats did get a little too close to the marshmallows!

(Total number of animals spotted: 14. I wonder who was hiding?)

Tweetables

What does it take to live in a menagerie? Click to Tweet

The value of raising kids with many pets. Click to Tweet

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The Great Barrier Reef with Teens

We spent time at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef with teens this summer.

One was cautious, the other bold.

The grandmother was timid–with a stomach proving her point.

My husband kept laughing.

Other than that–it was a magical time.

Why visit the Great Barrier Reef with teens?

Everyone in our party of five (including their aunt) wanted to go.

It is one of the wonders of the natural world and we don’t expect to return.

Rather than describe, let’s just look at the photos.

Nervous GrandmotherIn they go!The boat is never far away!

Fortunately, the aunt borrowed an underwater camera, so you can see what we saw!

Floating above the water (and hanging on to a life ring), I marveled.

Shapes, colors, lots of life.

Fish swam by periodically, often wearing “startling” colors.

But I also was struck by how oblivious the fish were to all of us floating above them.

It reminded me of all the people who live their lives without considering that God is watching them from above.

I’m often just as oblivious.

Do any of us live our lives without remembering others notice us?

Was it safe?

Perfectly.

We caught our ship from Passion of Paradise Tours in Cairns, Australia.

The ship operates with a slew of professionals.

They explained how the snorkels worked, checked we wore them correctly, provided lenses that matched eye prescriptions as needed, and also checked our flippers fit.

We all wore lifebelts, and the ship posted spotters watching for anyone having trouble.

They had us practice an “all fine” sign in case the Great Barrier Reef and teens, children, grandparents, and other adults needed help.

Several employees swam with us, toting life rings in case people got tired.

Snorkeling makes me feel claustrophobic, and I quickly tired from trying to work the mask, the flippers, the snorkel.

I gladly hung on and hung above the Great Barrier Reef and teens.

They laughed, played, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

We visited two sites that day, seeing pretty much the same sea flora and fauna.

The girls loved it.

I loved watching the girls.

And my husband just laughed–when he wasn’t snorkeling himself.

Alas! It was time to go home!

Tweetables

Snorkeling and laughter: visiting the Great Barrier Reef with teens. Click to Tweet

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Wild Life Encounters in Yellowstone

Everyone knows about the wild life in Yellowstone.

“Don’t feed the bison!”

“Watch out for moose!”

And we saw that type of wildlife.

But we also saw how wild life could be–just by walking around.

Wildlife in Yellowstone: animal style.

We were warned and hoped to see some creatures we don’t see at home.

The first sightings were small: chipmunks, ground squirrels, birds.

The Yellowstone newspaper warns you: don’t get close. And the Yellowstone Visitor Guide even includes a handy “ruler.”

Yellowstone Visitor Guide; Summer 2024. (National Park Service. US Department of the Interior)

We didn’t see any elk or wolves, bobcats or bears.

But we did see bison several times and three young moose. (Mom was beside the river beyond the trees while her children crossed the road in front of us!)

We couldn’t do anything about how close any of those moose or bison were–they walked in front of our car!

(This led us to wonder if “wild” animals actually were stationed near the road so tourists could be thrilled? Nah.)

But animals were not the only wild life in Yellowstone.

We were dealing with thermal events like this one:

Norris Geyser Basin Yellowstone NP September 2024

Wherever you walk in this park–always on the marked trails–you encounter sights and scenes that look–and sometimes smell–hellish.

Castle GeyserMammoth Hot Springs

Look at the sky in the photo on the right.

We hustled out of the geyser area near Old Faithful to take refuge in the Old Faithful Inn.

A sweeping thunder, lightning, and even a hail storm blew through!

And then there’s the water!

We spent a morning hiking around the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Valley.

We saw picturesque views from Inspiration Point and then traveled along the northern rim.

Hiking down to the Brink of Lower Falls included a dozen switchbacks on a nearly 1/2 mile trail.

Returning uphill and pausing as necessary, I reached the parking lot in 13 minutes.

I love the energy of a wild river while standing at the brink of a waterfall and feeling the rush of water over the top.

Here’s another video:

We also took a conventional photo!

There’s a lot to see in Yellowstone National Park and two days was barely enough. We particularly enjoyed visiting the Visitor Centers at Old Faithful, Canyon Village, and West Thumb.

Canyon Village Visitors Center featured information about geysers, the caldera that makes up Yellowstone National Park, and the enormous energy waiting under the (thin?) earth’s crust.

West Thumb featured a fascinating exhibit about the 1988 fires that roared through the park two years after our family visited.

The exhibit examined a fire’s wild life through the forest and the tree regrowth efforts required by fire.

We learned a lot. (And wondered why we hadn’t brought any children with us!)

As a personal added treat–I saw my friend Karen Barnett’s novel about Yellowstone, Ever Faithful, in the bookstore.

Tweetables

Appreciating the wild life–in many senses–at Yellowstone NP. Click to Tweet

Waterfalls, animals, geysers, oh my! Two days in Yellowstone. Click to Tweet

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What Do You Want To Do?

“What do you want to do when you grow up?” is a question kids hear often.

It makes me laugh sometimes.

Are they really supposed to have an answer when they’re five years old?

Have they lived long enough?

Ah, that’s where parents come in.

What attracts a kid to a specific job?

Why does your child want to be a firefighter or a superhero?

As adults, we can guess.

They’re attracted to the lights, sirens, big trucks, and the excitement of having all the cars stop when a firetruck roars down the road.

Maybe they like the uniform?

Many children can’t answer “why?” beyond “because.”

Perhaps they’re imagining a future when they’re not small or easily overlooked.

Photo by Look Studio on Unsplash

They may want to feel important or to stop traffic.

(My child got that dream come true as a young adult EMT. Their ambulance was behind a car that drove off the San Diego Freeway, so they stopped traffic until the highway patrol arrived!)

Thinking about the question may help adults who love children understand what motivates their answer.

A question more important than “What do you want to do?”

Maybe a better question to ask is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

As in, “What are your dreams for what you want your life to be like?”

And, of course, if you’re the parent, how do you react to their answer?

A few simple questions could trigger a different answer.

Where do you want to live?What type of job sounds interesting?Do you like to help people?How long do you want to go to school?Would you prefer to sit at a desk or work outside?Do you care if you get dirty?Perhaps you’d like to save the world from spies?

One of my children shriveled up at the table after asking how long you have to go to school to become a doctor.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

After I spelled out all the college, medical school, and residency requirements, the ten-year-old crumpled at the table and wailed.

“Why do I have to go to school so long just so I can work at Boy Scout Camp?”

Ah, there was the real desire.

“You could become a nurse. That’s only two years of nursing school after college.”

The child thought about it.

“I’d rather be a doctor.”

(The child did not grow up to be a doctor).

A parent’s answer to the question.

As a high school senior applying to college, I asked my father, “What do you think I should major in?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Why not?”

“You need to figure that out on your own.”

I understood his answer, but because he didn’t ask me any questions, he didn’t understand what I actually sought.

I needed to know what he thought I was good at. What talents did he see in me?

When I flipped a coin, English or History, it came up heads. I majored in English Literature.

(Which made me read all sorts of poetry. I’ve read almost no poetry since I graduated from college. But I have read hundreds of history books.

Expanding the “what do you want to do” conversation

(Since the English degree taught me how to do “textual analysis,” or for me, how to study the Bible, it probably was a good call!)

Remembering my own experience, I wouldn’t tell my kids what to major in or what to do when they grew up.

When asked, I always had the same answer: “Whatever God created you to do.”

I didn’t leave it at that. I’d tell them what I’d observed about their interests and aptitudes. I applauded their work ethics and their empathetic hearts.

It’s important that someone notices what young people do well, or where their interests lie.

During a recent museum visit, I paid attention to what interested the kids.

Both girls spent a lot of time in front of rocks and minerals. (They liked the gemstones, but one is taking a geology class this school year).

One girl lingered over a microscope in two different museums. I took a picture and sent it to her parents.

Maybe she was curious. Maybe she’ll be a scientist.

If she asks me, I’ll ask her what made the microscope so intriguing to her.

It may mean nothing.

Or, it could be the start of a lifelong interest.

Whether that’s what she does when she grows up or not.

What did you want to do when you were growing up?

What do you do now–or–what still interests you now?

(Final point: don’t assume you know what your child should become. Our children are all employed and happy. I’d never heard of any of their jobs before they accepted them. Several positions hadn’t been invented when they were growing up.)

Tweetables

Helping kids figure out–or not–their future professions. Click to Tweet

How to help kids figure out “What do you want to do?” Click to Tweet

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A Good Neighbor Gone: Hank

What makes a good neighbor?

Perhaps you’ve pondered that question over the years–possibly while wishing your neighbor would turn down the music at midnight!

We’ve had a wonderful example for the last eleven years.

We’ll call him Hank (for his family’s privacy).

He died last week. We’re grieving.

Characteristics of our good neighbor Hank

We’ve moved fourteen times during our marriage and have lived in military housing five times.

We’ve had many neighbors–most of whom were terrific.

Many are still friends.

But Hank and his family were our neighbors longer than anyone else.

They were, and are, wonderful.

We always started our family Christmas caroling at their house first.

What made Hank a good neighbor?Friendliness. Hank waved at us when we arrived and introduced himself. Since we could see his house from ours and he spent a lot of time in his “man cave” garage, we chatted all the time.Helpfulness. Hank happily offered any help we needed when we moved in.Generosity. Retired, Hank always had time to chat. He was the heartbeat of the neighborhood. He greeted small children, dog walkers, lonely folks, and even readers visiting my little library.Creativity. He built birdhouses in his garage and always invited people to see them and comment. I think we all received one as a gift. I can see mine out the window right now.Kindness. When we traveled, he kept an eye on our houses and, unfortunately, had to pick up the newspaper whenever some neighbors forgot to stop it!Christmas lover. His lights were always splendid. I’m sad realizing we won’t see them anymore.Uniting in Neighborhood Crises

You want to be able to trust and depend upon your neighbors–particularly when you’re swept up in a local crisis.

In 2017, our community went up in smoke. 5200 homes burned to the ground.

I’ve written about it often, but on that horrible night, when I went outside at midnight to look for smoke, Hank and two other neighbors stood in the street.

It was a very bad night.

They were watching for flames and comparing notes.

Hank had gone to the corner to look up the highway. Charlie had walked up the road a few blocks to see which direction sent the traffic jam of cars creeping away.

Both dependable men discussed what to do and invited me and my next-door neighbor into the conversation.

“We need to go,” Charlie finally said after another glance at the sky. “I’m packing up now.”

We exchanged cell phone numbers. My husband and I loaded up our cars and took off.

Firefighters stopped the flames four blocks up the highway. We did not return home for three weeks.

Oh, but Hank did.

Always an affable man, he chatted up the National Guard who stood watch at the end of our street, pointed out his house, and returned to find his cat.

Or so he told them.

He claimed their cat, grabbed other personal items, noted our houses still stood, and texted us the good news.

Such a good neighbor.

A loss for the whole neighborhood

Even now a week later, we look at his house when we walk by and wonder why his garage door isn’t open.

Good neighbors (this is not Hank), help in disasters.

His hearty waves and invitations to stop and tell stories are gone now, forever.

I like to tell stories, too. My husband laughed. “Who told the best story today?” when I’d come in after talking to Hank.

Hank always made me smile.

Even now, I can hear his voice calling after me when I’d walk by going home. “You have a good day now.”

I’ve spent a lot of time standing outside the man cave and listening to his stories. He knew all about the neighborhood’s history and often remembered his childhood in our town.

“You, too, Hank.”

Forever.

We already miss you.

Tweetables

The value and happiness of having a good neighbor. Click to Tweet

Mr. Rogers aside, what makes a good neighbor? Click to Tweet

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Australian Books and Movies That Piqued Our Interest

Australian books and movies piqued our interest before we traveled “Down Under” in 2024.

Far-reaching stories (and watching The Crocodile Hunter) captured our imagination and left us curious about a place so far from home.

Here’s a list of Australian books we’ve loved:

Any novel by Neville Shute, but particularly A Town Like Alice.

(We love Trustee from the Toolroom, too, but it’s set in the South Pacific).

Shute wrote most of his Australian books in the 1950s when he visited the country following World War II. Requiem for a Wren is another poignant post-WWII tale of a flyer.

The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes. I read this history of Australia’s colonial past in 1987 and I never forgot it. Hughes, an Australian native, examined the British penal system that sent convicts so far from England and dumped them on the shore of what is now Sydney.

Good luck, mates. It was a difficult beginning, and, particularly for Aborigines, life only got worse.

(Friends in the state of South Australia told me their families were part of a “dissenters” group that came to Australia later in the 19th century. Those settlers sought to worship God outside of the Church of England. South Australia is described as the “only freely settled British province” in the country.)

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Published in 2000, this is a funny take on Bryson’s trip “down under.” Written in his inimitable style, it left me terrified of giant spiders and uneasy about the other fauna in the country.

(Aussie friends telling stories didn’t help either.)

How about Australian movies?

We first discovered Neville Shute when we watched the A Town Like Alice miniseries on PBS’ Masterpiece Theater in the 1980s.

The Dish: A quirky and funny film based on the true story of an Australian radiotelescope “dish” that transmitted the 1969 moon landing to the world.

The “dish” is set in a sheep paddock in a small Australian town–which provides gentle humor on Australian humor.

The Man from Snowy River: An Australian poem turned into a “Western” movie, this one appeals to my husband. The guys go out to drive their cattle to market and find a gold mine along the way. A spirited young woman breaks horses, and all sorts of excitement occurs!

Babe! Who knew it was set in Australia? An endearing story set on a sheep farm, all ages in our family love it!

Australian books we read before we traveled

Since two granddaughters traveled with us to Australia, I gave them tour books for their birthdays.

They looked through them and marked what they wanted to see.

We went to most of those places.

Wildly Weird But Totally True: AUSTRALIA: Fun Facts, True Stories and Trivia Designed for kids, this book warned them to watch out for vegemite. It also whetted their appetite for the unusual birds and animals we saw on the trip.

Australia: Benita South Travel Guide 2023. Our girls fell in love with beaches from this travel guide. Unfortunately, we visited Australia during their winter!

Aussie Slang – Australian Words & Phrases Some days our teenagers understood Australian English better than we did. (And we visited twice as long!)

Fodor’s Essential Australia All the books convinced them they wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef, the Australia Zoo, and the Sydney Opera House.

Plus all the strange animals, of course.

The country did not disappoint even if it wsn’t quite as dramatic as the films and the books.

Of course, there was that one river cruise during which we saw nearly invisible crocodiles sunning on the bank . . .

Tweetables

Australian books and movies that piqued a family trip Down Under. Click to Tweet

What Australian books and movies made us want to visit? Click to Tweet

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A Job Jar for Family Weekend Chores

I can’t remember where I first heard of a job jar for kids, but it was successful in my family.

One day, I realized I could spend eight hours every Saturday getting organized and doing chores.

I listened to my lounging children discussing their weekend plans: “We’ll play computer games and read our fantasy books!”

I narrowed my eyes and contemplated my plans: laundry (two loads daily), raking up monkey pods, vacuuming, picking up the (small) house, returning library books, mowing the lawn, planning menus, and cooking meals.

With the boys at home, I wouldn’t get time on our one computer (Family history, letters, stories to write). I couldn’t lie around reading my novels.

Was that fair?

As I glared at them, I realized if everyone in the family devoted 60-90 minutes each Saturday to chores, everyone would have free time!

We might even be able to go to the beach or do something fun as a family.

With those figures in mind, I scribbled a chore list and announced a new addition to our weekends: the family job jar.

What is a job jar?

That’s what they asked.

I wrote out all the needed chores for that weekend: one task on each line.

I then cut along the lines to make paper strips, each listing a chore.

Folding each strip in half, I put them into a jar, shook it, labeled it “Job Jar,” and held it out.

We have smart kids.

They looked suspicious.

“We’ll go in a circle,” I explained. “Each of you will pick a slip of paper from the job jar until all the paper slips are gone.”

Their father watched, amused.

They reluctantly stuck their hands in the jar, one by one, reading “their” chore until the papers were gone.

“But I don’t want to do this.”

They complained. But I wanted to put fun into the task and introduce a little competition.

“You’re welcome to trade your jobs,” I said. “I don’t care who does the tasks on each slip as long as they get done.”

My husband, who was playing a computer game, upped the ante. “If you finish by 11, we’ll go to the beach.” (We lived in Hawai’i at the time).

The three oldest children began swapping their slips of paper in no time.

Our toddler, who loved doing anything the older ones did, also loved the job jar. She kept putting slips of paper in the jar and taking them out again.

While the brothers negotiated, “I’ll sweep the monkey pods off the roof if you’ll vaccuum,” the toddler and I read what she and I would do together.

(I swapped, “mow the lawn,” for “mop the floor.”)

What sorts of jobs went into the job jar?

Each family will have different needs.

Here are the types of things I wrote down:

Make two beds. (Two slips said that. We had four beds).Fill and start the dishwasher.Collect all the recyclables.Sweep the lana’i.Vacuum the living room.Vacuum all the bedrooms.Clean the hall bathroom.Water the house plants.Clean out the cat litter box.Sort and fold the clothes out of the dryer. (Two slips said that. I moved laundry in between.)Collect all the finished library books into the library book bag.

Having introduced a ticking clock, my husband sat back and watched.

They finished all the chores in an hour.

I shook my head, amazed. We made it to the beach–including the time to make and pack a lunch–by 11 o’clock.

What a surprise! With the job jar emptied, we all had a lovely, mom-not-complaining weekend!

The most recent job jar.

Another generation, another job jar.

But, this time I needed to make it fun. Three Adorables were visiting and not expecting to work.

These are the types of things on last Saturday’s slips.

Put five pieces into the jigsaw puzzle on the kitchen counter.Pick ten strawberries and put them into a bowl.Clip back the pumpkin plant.Sweep off the front porch.Collect all the picture books and put them on the shelf.Pick twenty pea pods into a bowl.Find the Roomba and turn it on.

They ran about the house, finding things, putting things away, picking fruit, and harvesting vegetables.

The older girls laughed the whole time, racing to see who would finish first.

The five-year-old loved it. They completed all the tasks in less than an hour.

Then it was time to play.

Why not try it at your house–if the need applies?

Tweetables

A job jar to get the Saturday chores done–in a fair way. Click to Tweet

A job jar for inspiration, completed chores, and happier families. Click to Tweet

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Intercessory Prayer: What it Looks Like.

I’ve written about intercessory prayer a number of times on this website.

My most read blog post, by a wide margin, is “What is an Intercessor?“

I have friends who are great intercessors.

I’m hit or miss.

But, this is post is about what they have in common, and what it looks like to pray for others.

What’s the difference between intercessory prayer and “normal” prayer?

Not much.

Whenever we pray for another person, we’re “interceeding,” like Jesus does at the right hand of the Father.

We’re asking God to reveal Himself, heal, lead, guide, protect, feed, show, govern, bless, or any other verb–another person.

It’s always about “standing in the gap.” (Unsplash)

We, in essence, “stand in the gap,” between that person and God–often praying when they’re not able to do so for a variety of reasons.

A friend was caught in the midst of a messy divorce and so angry he couldn’t pray as he knew he should.

So, I volunteered to stand in that gap between them. Praying for him, for their kids, and for her. I wasn’t emotionally involved beyond feeling so sad about the situation.

But I knew the kids, in particular, needed “protection” from their mother’s anger. And my friend’s heart was broken.

Even now, years later, when God brings them to mind, I pray. (Hmm. Must go pray . . . )

What do “great” intercessors have in common?

The two most profound intercessors I’ve studied are Lettie Cowman and Rees Howells.

God used both of them–in a sense “working together”– to bring the Gospel into Eastern Europe.

Howells routinely spent hours in prayer, and led his students at the Bible College of Wales nightly throughout World War II. They prayed for the soldiers at Dunkirk, against the Blitz launched on Britain, and as God led throughout the war.

Three to four hours every night for nearly five years.

Cowman routinely spent two to three hours of prayer every day. If she faced a difficult decision in her role as the president of the Oriental Missionary Society, she closed herself into her office.

There, she played her piano and sang hymns with gusto. When she reached the “end” of singing, she picked up her Bible to read and pray through.

Several hours later, she’d exit her office, present to the answer to her often astonished staff, and move forward. Lettie waited on God to point her in the right direction, then proceeded.

Lettie Cowman 1936 (OMS archives)

Intercessory prayer with her Creator gave her the answer. Why wait for something else?

How do they know what to pray?

The heart of intercessory prayer is a closeness to God, a willingness to let the “prophetic” voice of the Holy Spirit lead, and the confidence Jesus hears all prayers and wants to answer them.

To that end, “deep” praying folks generally start by praising God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They are, in a sense, preparing a place full of worship before they ask on behalf of others.

They acknowledge who God is, what He has done, where and how He is working, and when He acted in their lives and the lives of the Church in the past.

Sometimes we can catch a glimpse of why as well.

(Are you recognizing the five Ws and an H, yet?)

Whereas I’m not claiming to be a great intercessor (by any stretch), I often pray using those starter “question” words.

When you start with the basic question–who are we talking to, anyway?–He will gently lead you into what He wants you to pray.

Who is God to you, and what do you know to be true about Him?

Praise and worship can begin intercessory prayer–and often lead us into a lengthy conversation.

(Because prayer is a conversation, you know that, right?)

Do intercessors always pray exactly as requested?

I don’t. Do you?

Too many people see God as a celestial vending machine.

They think if you put in your prayer request, Ca-ching!, He’ll give you what you seek.

Prayer is not like an ATM (Photo by Giovanni Gagliardi; Unsplash)

But what if what you’re asking for will harm you and lead you away from your Creator?

Why would God “give” you an expensive car if it just became a means for you to run farther away from Him?

Too often, people ask me to tell God to do “this or that.” I smile politely and pray as God leads me to pray.

Often, I feel like I’m rummaging around in a cupboard off to the right, looking for what God wants me to pray.

Often, unexpected prayers come out of my mouth. That’s just where the Lord led me to pray, and generally quite different from the prayer request.

Until it’s done, the recipient takes a big breath, and expresses gratitude and surprise. “How did you know that?”

I didn’t. But the Holy Spirit did–and He put the words in my mouth.

Be careful what you ask an intercessory pray-er to pray.

Is intercessory prayer more likely to be answered by how long you pray?

No.

Who really leads intercessory prayer?The Trinity. By Karbohut (Wikimedia Commons)

The Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God.

We’re voice the prayer and follow where the Godhead leads.

It’s often a surprise.

But also so very reassuring, confidence building, and full of blessings.

Joy usually reigns, too.

At least in my experience.

What about yours?

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Robert McCheyne and Oswald Chambers

Have you ever heard of Robert Murray McCheyne?

If you’ve read the foreword to My Utmost for His Highest you’ve seen his name.

Biddy’s foreword to the devotional reads like this:

Men return again and again to the few who have mastered the spiritual secret, whose life has been hid with Christ in God. These are of the old time religion, hung to the nails of the Cross.”

My Utmost for His Highest Foreword

Who was Robert Murray McCheyne?

Born May 21, 1813, he was a minister in the Church of Scotland.

McCheyne learned the Greek alphabet from his father at the age of four.

According to biographer, Alexander Smellie, McCheyne,”could consult the Hebrew of the Old Testament as easily as many ministered the Greek in the New Testament.”

Like Oswald Chambers who was born sixty years later, McCheyne attended the University of Edinburgh. Both men began in the art department.

Also like Chambers, McCheyne shifted from the art department to theology.

Unlike Chambers, McCheyne graduated from divinity school!

(Chambers attended a Bible college near Glasgow.)

Called to “the kirk of Scotland’s St. Peter’s Church in Dundee,” McCheyne moved to the new church in a growing town thirty-six miles from Edinburgh.

McCheney was twenty-three years old.

As Smellie noted:

“Tall, slender, of fair complexion, regular and handsome in feature, he was pleasant to look upon as a young David coming from the sheepfold to be appointed king.

“And behind the face and the words, the soul was more constraining and compelling.”

Robert Murray McCheney p. 69 by Alexander Smellie, DD.

Oswald Chambers and Robert McCheyne

Both tall thin lovers of poetry, the men loved their God.

I can’t find where Chambers read the McCheyne sermon collections or even his biography, all published within a few years of McCheyne’s 1843 death.

We do know Chambers quoted McCheyne in his “Notes on Jeremiah,” part of a series of lectures Chambers gave at the Bible Training College in 1912 and 1913.

Out of his final lecture in the series on Jeremiah 29:24-32 and 2 Peter 3:11, Chambers commented,

“the background of personal and of national life determines its outlook. The false prophets had as the background of their life the idea that they were the people of God and He would never punish them.”

Notes on Jeremiah p 1436-67; The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers.

McCheyne’s desk in his vestry. (Smellie’s biography; out of print)

Chambers’ point was those in authority need to live up to the beliefs they espoused.

(An excellent point for today, as well).

Chambers quoted McCheyne at the end of Jeremiah teaching series:

“But how many there are among our ministers, and how many there will be, eager on all questions of the day, frank and friendly and fearless, active and kind, but with very little about them that suggests the power of the world to come.

“They die and are mourned, but their places are soon filled and they are forgotten. But men return again and again to the few who have mastered the spiritual secret, whose life has been hid with Christ in God.”

Notes on Jeremiah p. 1436-67; The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers.

Chambers, who didn’t believe in taking any more funds than he needed, lived out McCheyne’s words.

What happened to McCheyne?

McCheyne’s health was never robust and the years of selfless toil in this Scottis parish took their toll.

While recupperating from an illness, McCheyne became interested in the plight of the Jews–God’s chosen people.

In 1839, the Scottish kirk’s General Assembly sent McCheyne and a small group of others on a six-month tour of Asia Minor to examine the lives of the area Jews.

While they traveled, a revival broke out in his Dundee Parish. Thrilled, McCheyne hurried home to oversee the good news and continue the ministry.

He died on March 25, 1843, in Dundee during a typhus epidemic. Over 6000 people attended his funeral services.

You can read more about him, and learn about his Bible Reading Plan, here.

Why did Biddy chose his quote to describe Chambers?Oswald Chambers (Wikimedia Commons)

By the time Biddy Chambers compiled My Utmost for His Highest, she’d received countless letters from friends, soldiers, YMCA personnel, and others who had benefited from hearing Chambers teach.

Many people wrote to her about his influence on their lives. Many people read the books she put together of his thoughts and sermons.

Ten years after Chambers’ death, people continued visiting her with their stories.

She knew her late husband’s words were important since, as Reader Harris wrote, “the most lasting of all preaching is with the pen.”

Biddy Chambers used McCheney’s words to help others assess and appreciate Oswald Chambers’ words, thoughts, and even his deeds.

I think they’re apt, don’t you?

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Looking up to Heaven. An idea.

I felt like I was looking up to heaven as I looked at the church screen.

Except, it wasn’t heaven–it was the surface of water.

The photographer took the photo underwater looking up at the surface.

It made me wonder.

If I was a fish, could I imagine what the sky or even land was like once I passed through the ocean’s surface?

Parallel–I only know this world, but I’m told heaven is good and I’m going there after I die. Can I trust, that heaven is good if I can’t see it?

Looking up to heaven with a group of wise women

I led a Bible study on the subject of heaven several years ago.

At the time, I felt uneasy about the afterlife–and what it meant within my consciousness, who I was.

My group of ladies were all older than me–indeed, several were in their nineties.

I figured they might be just as interested in the subject as I was. They already were looking up to heaven and wondering.

In theory, they’d get there before me.

(Which is what happened with some of them).

I also needed to make sure these wise women were secure in their faith and future.

As often happened, they consoled me.

Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven.

While I had an actual Bible study on the subject–and we used it–I read Randy’s Alcorn’s splendid book Heaven.

(I also read my friend Lynn Vincent’s book Heaven is Real–which was interesting but is another story).

I hadn’t realized how nervous looking up to heaven and into my future made me feel until I opened Alcorn’s book.

He’s done a lot of research and thinking. The book reassured me that heaven isn’t going to be all angels, white gowns, and harps.

By Hans Memling Wikimedia Commons

Alcorn never explicitly said, “this is how it will be.” He extrapolated from Scripture passages of what it might be like.

We’ll find out when we get there. We know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will be there–the sources of love, joy, peace, gentleness, and so forth.

That should be enough for me.

(Randy Alcorn still writes about heaven, particularly since his wife died. You can read his material on his website.)

What diference does it make?

I return to a fish looking up to heaven through the surface where water and air meet.

Can it imagine living a different way than breathing through gills and gliding through the water?

Can a fish grasp what it’s like to live in a different medium–air, the sun beating down, temperature differences, walking?

Does it care?

DO I care what heaven will be like?

I don’t think so.

Jesus explains in John 4:2 that he is preparing a place for us in heaven. He said if it wasn’t so he wouldn’t have told us it was.

Do I trust God or not?

Am I looking up to heaven?

I am now, but for a long time I wasn’t sure.

About a year into writing my biography of Biddy Chambers, I discovered she didn’t want a biography written about her.

I was horrified.

How could I do this to her? What would she say to me when she found out?

But, I had a book contract. I had to write the book. Which I did: Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman Behind the World’s Bestselling Devotional.

I felt uneasy about heaven. Joking I’d have to sneak in the back door and avoid Biddy for the first thousand years because I didn’t want her angry with me.

I don’t really expect her to hug me, but I can hope! (Wikimedia Commons–not me or Biddy!)

When telling this horrifying news, I’d joke that I knew OC (Oswald Chambers) would greet me, laughing that I’d told her story.

Jesus would be there, too, of course. I expected him.

I didn’t realize for a while, however, that it really bothered me.

One church service, the presiding pastor asked us to close our eyes and, looking up to heaven, imagine who would greet us when we got to the pearly gates.

Obedient as always, I closed my eyes and sighed.

In my mind, there they were.

Jesus smiling with arms open wide. I grinned back.

As expected, OC stood behind him laughing. He tossed his head to the left.

Over his shoulder, I saw Biddy.

Tears filled my eyes.

Now, her arms weren’t open wide . . . indeed, they were crossed.

But her eyes were kind, her eyebrows raised, and her lips twitched.

I knew, then, she’d forgiven me.

Am I looking up to heaven?

Yes– now that I know I only have to break the surface between earth and heaven.

I won’t have to sneak in the backdoor after all!

Who are you expecting to see when you get to heaven?

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