Michelle Ule

As the 100th year of Oswald Chamber’s death is recognized this year (2017) Michelle Ule has presented us with an inspiring testimony of the life of Mr. and Mrs. Oswald Chambers, their daughter Kathleen and how the popular devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest came to be.

This is a wonderful biography about the woman behind the written works of Oswald Chambers. Gertrude Annie Hobbs Chambers became affectionately known by all as “Biddy” Chambers. It was a nickname that Oswald gave to her as a shortened version of the original name he gave her… Beloved Disciple. Beloved Disciple became BD and then “Biddy.”

This book tells of Biddy’s childhood, her change of purpose (she originally wanted to be a secretary to the Prime Minister), how she met Oswald, how they came to be married, their time on the mission field and in ministry together, his death and how she took the words she had transcribed from all of his speaking events and turned them into My Utmost for His Highest along with many other books.

Many of his books are still in publication. My Utmost for His Highest has never been out of publication since it’s original printing. It is fascinating to see how God worked through her to bless the entire world in book form. Her obedience to her call is quite humbling. She lived her entire life for her Savior.

The story of her life is one of loving servitude to a heavenly Father and her beloved husband and daughter. Her story shows how God orchestrated her purpose and provided for her throughout her life. This is certainly a faith building book. We certainly need to read more of these kinds of testimonies as Christians. It is truly inspiring!

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars rating.

This book was provided free of charge by the Baker Publishing Group… Baker Books Division. All they ask if for me to give an honest review of the book. I highly recommend this one to all who strive to follow Christ. It is such a beautiful story!

I have officially asked for a paper copy of My Utmost for His Highest for Christmas this year. I cannot wait to read through it again after reading how it came to be. You can now get the text in classic or updated for modern language version and it is available in many different languages. I hope you seek it out for your 2018 reading devotional!… (lisätietoja)

Thursday, December 7, 2017
Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman behind the World's Bestselling Devotional by Michelle Ule, © 2017

My Review:

~* Finding God's Fingerprints in Everyday Life *~

God's grace in understanding His truth in our lives that our devotion to Him be enriched! This story of pursuing His highest purpose for each life is our relationship with Him. Pointed not to man, but to God be the glory!

Responsibilities assigned as new YMCA secretary near Cairo, Egypt ~ an expedition to the Zuitoun camp brought soldiers under Oswald's spiritual care. Joined by his wife and daughter, and others, they were missionaries amid those far from home delivering what was needed truth and a respite to receive a touch of home ~ and gathered hope.

The YMCA camp became a haven from war as a welcome was given whether or not they listened to Oswald's lectures. An oasis of God's love in the desert.

This biography tells of their beginnings and continuance upon Oswald's death and burial in Eygpt.

As I read this account I think of Elisabeth Elliot and her daughter, Valerie, as they continued in the work the Lord presented before them. Both widows, with a daughter; Biddy's account:

Biddy believed God had reasons for giving her Kathleen to raise without a father. God also had provided a task: to put Oswald's teachings into writing for the spiritual benefit of others. She believed God would care for her and her child as she performed her ministry.
--Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman behind the World's Bestselling Devotional, 154.

Seaming together Oswald Chambers' lectures along with adjoining memories, his wife, Biddy, compiled her handwritten and shorthand notes combining his varied talks to compose the widely-read devotional, My Utmost for His Highest. God's journey individually for readers has been experienced through reflection of these readings. This devotional has not gone out of printing since its inception.

She pieced together a crazy quilt of concepts into a beautiful work of practical spiritual warmth.
--Ibid., 230.

Oswald Chambers 1874-1917
Biddy Chambers 1884-1966

***Thank you to author Michelle Ule for this biographical account forming this book, and to Baker Books Bloggers for supplying a copy. This review was written in my own words. No other compensation was received.***… (lisätietoja)

The only thing I knew about Oswald Chambers was that he wrote the devotional, My Utmost For His Highest, which I looked through some years ago (I don't remember if I read it all the way through) and liked some of the concepts that I found in it. When I saw this biography of his wife I thought that it would be a good way to know more about the couple. It really informed me quite a bit and gave me a better picture of these two people, or a rather it gave me the only picture I've had so far as I didn't know really anything at all about them.

Gertrude Annie Hobbes, known as "Biddy" (Oswald's nickname for her), was not expecting the life that God had planned for her. She had trained for and had become excellent at taking shorthand notes and was a good typist as well. Her goal was to be the first female secretary to the prime minister of England. God had other plans. She and Oswald Chambers initially 'fell' in love on a ten day voyage to America. Oswald was a volunteer circuit lecturer for the League of Prayer and had been asked by her mother to look after her daughter on the trip. He was already acquainted with Biddy, but this trip solidified a friendship between the two and initiated a correspondence between them and visits, which led to their becoming engaged and then married.

They served the Lord together, starting a Bible training college for the League of Prayer and after some years, during World War I they left England to work with the YMCA in Egypt ministering to soldiers stationed there. They brought their only child, Kathleen, with them. I really appreciated that instead of seeing Kathleen as secondary to the primary work of ministering to other people, and sending her off to boarding school or having her live with relatives or another family (as other couples involved in mission work sometimes did), they saw her as their own God given responsibility and another person whom God gave them to minister to and so they took her with them. While there, Biddy transcribed Oswald's messages in shorthand, as she had done in England.

After some time of ministering in Egypt Oswald died and Biddy was left a widow and with a young child to look after. Biddy didn't despair and kept on with the work that she believed God still wanted her to do. She took over some of the teaching sessions Oswald had held and often used his works, reading out loud from them. Some time after World War I ended Biddy and Kathleen returned home and Biddy continued the work she had started while in Egypt, of typing up and translating her shorthand notes of Oswald's lectures (she had trunks/boxes full of them) and sorting through and compiling them into pamphlets and books. She saw it as a God-ordained ministry granted to her, to organize and publish her husband's preaching. Late in life Biddy ended up having some mental problems (not fully explained) and she died in 1966 at the age of eighty two.

I want to mention that I had some concerns about Biddy and Oswald's beliefs. But let me say first that this biography seems more like an overview of the couple and their faith, so I am not sure the extent of their beliefs in most of these things. I'll mention a few of my concerns. First, they were associated with the Holiness movement, and from what I understand that is associated with believing that Christians can attain perfect sinless lives on this earth despite having yet unglorified bodies. But Biddy and Oswald never seemed to think that they ever attained that perfection, at least from what I learned of them in this book.

Second, they had some weird views of how God directs His people. They used isolated verses from the Bible to confirm some of their decisions. For instance, while in Egypt, having gone there before sending for Biddy and Kathleen, Oswald was trying to figure out where they would live. I quote from the book, "Oswald possessed no funds to build but expected God to supply what he required. God confirmed the decision when Oswald dread the Daily Light verse that night, taken from 2 Chronicles 6:18: 'Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!'" That was just plain weird. I think that Chambers was highly in error in treating the Scriptures that way and that he was treading on dangerous ground. That type of hermeneutics seems to make people lean toward becoming modern false 'prophets'. Saying, "thus sayeth the Lord!" when the Lord has not said it (see Ezek 22:28). If the context of the Scriptures do not matter, and if we do not use a literal, grammatical, historical hermeneutic then the Scriptures can be made to say anything we want them to say!

And lastly, Biddy 'preached' at times, and that to men. She led some of the study sessions through the Bible (including leading some of the Sunday sessions), and had other studies while in Egypt. I am not sure if she used Oswald's lectures (reading them out loud as she often did for the classes she took over) or if she came up with her own. I felt rather uncomfortable with that as it goes against what the Bible says about women not speaking in a teaching position in an assembly of the church that includes men (and she mainly would have had men as her audience out there in Egypt).

Despite concerns like the above I still liked this biography, it was well written and quite interesting. And I still liked Biddy and Oswald overall and thought that they were good examples, especially in realizing the sovereignty of God in life, and their submission to whatever He ordained to happen in their lives (even recognizing His hand in the interruptions of daily life). I'll end with a quote (from Oswald I think) that I particularly liked, "We have to trust in God whether He sends us money or not, whether He gives us health or not. We must have faith in God, not in His gifts."

Many thanks to the folks at Baker Books for sending me a free review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable)!… (lisätietoja)

Review for THE EVERYGREEN BRIDE:

I couldn’t help but fall in love with this story.

The heroine, like myself, is a Mississippi girl who loves snow. Only Mississippi doesn’t see snow that often, especially enough to cover the ground in white.

Samuel had my heart from the beginning. His quiet, gentle interest in Annabelle is portrayed so well, though he hides it from the heroine until he thinks he’s going to lose her to a fellow up north!

Their tender exchanges and the push-pull is so sweet and sigh-worthy. Especially the gift at the end. Makes my heart smile. Definitely a worthy read, like all Ms. Hillman’s works.
… (lisätietoja)