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posted by Donald on 09/30/10

Despite what you might hear, Jehovah God and what is called “Allah” cannot be the same. After having a good talk with someone who had lived in Turkey and Kyrgyzstan for a while I thought a post of the highlights would do us all good. I am no theologian and I would sure like some comments on this, at least in the long run, especially from those who adhere or used to adhere to the Muslim persuasion. For now, here are the major differences:

1. In Hebrew, God (Elohim, from “eloah” or “el”) reveals Himself as Yahweh and is commonly translated as Jehovah.
In Arabic, “allah” (derived from the same Hebrew word) has always been a general word for any god and may or may not include the one true God. Muslims do not use the names Yahweh or Jehovah.

Note: According to my friend, in Turkey “Allah” was used to refer to Yahweh in the first translations of the Bible into Turkish. However, as the differences were realized and became irreconcilable, Tang-ruh was substituted instead, to identify Yahweh. (The same situation arises in other languages such as Mongolian.) From now on in the post I will refer to Yahweh or Jehovah as God with a capital ‘G’.

2. God has a Son Whose name is Jesus.
“Allah” had no son (Sura 23:91).

3. God the Father is referred to in masculine.
“Allah” claims no gender.

And, most importantly:

God’s desire is to work in us, change us through grace, and make us partakers of His holiness through the work of His Son;
“Allah” would desire to put a wide separation between God and man through the spread of the Islamic world view. That is, because the word “Islam” means submission, it would refer to “Allah” as someone who cannot be known personally, only submitted to unconditionally.

14 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Michael on 09/27/10

This bread has always been a defining characteristic of our family. We use this recipe for all the bread we make, whether pizza crusts, cinnamon rolls, buns, or raisin bread. Below are some important factors that may significantly change the process for others who use the recipe. Of course experience is important so that you get the feel for what texture the dough should be, because many other variables can change the exact amount of flour used on any given day.

1. We grind our wheat and have no experience using any other kind of flour, so if you buy whole wheat flour, it may make some differences. Our stone grinder is able to grind finer than some hand-grinders.

2. We use a Bosch mixing bowl with kneading hooks that knead the dough so that we do not have to knead it by hand. This bowl has two lids; the first is like a ring. It is about 2 inches wide and keeps the dough in the bowl while kneading. The 2nd lid is for covering completely, helpful for keeping warmth and humidity in the bowl while it is rising.

3. We use hard white spring wheat. Different kinds of wheat do make a big difference in the resulting bread’s color and density.

4. Since we have a “large family”, we always make a large batch; about 6 lb. of dough each time. Actually we have to bake bread one to three times each week depending on how much of the family is in. Any bread that will not be eaten in 24 hours can be frozen in plastic bags. We slice it before freezing it. That way we can bag it into portions that we will need at one time, such as two slices per family member, and remove one portion from the freezer at a time. By the way, it greatly improves the quality of the bread to double bag it when freezing. We like to put a number of portions, each in its own bag, into a large bag which can be marked with the date that batch was made.

Anyway, here’s the recipe:

(more…)

8 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by James on 09/26/10

Over the last month, I’ve had the privilege of working on a cover design for the Bates family’s newest project: a soon-to-be-released music CD featuring 13 rousing hymns for piano arranged exclusively by Erin Bates! And like pretty much everything else the Bates family does, it is not your normal sized project. Being in the position that I am, I was able to listen to the CD for the first time this morning, and wow! what do I say! It is definitely one of those masterpieces in which I’ll always be honored to say Lenspiration had a role, however infinitesimal.

It’s going to print next week. Look for the official release on the Bateses family website early in October!

1 Comment » | posted in Art Work, Ministry Reports

posted by Esther on 09/25/10

What a refreshing, encouraging, rejuvenating week it was way out in the wilderness seeking the Lord and training the team to teach at school and Bible Club.

I had a lot of new classes to teach which was a good stretch for me. The Lord is so faithful to give creative ideas! It was a great week to get to know those God has brought together to make up this fabulous team and I look forward to all He has in store the weeks ahead!

3 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Donald on 09/23/10

For us it just happens that Grandma’s birthday is actually very close to Grandma’s birthday . . . and vice versa . . . so to say the least it has been a wonderful time celebrating recently, and honoring them both on their special days.

For Grandma Brown’s birthday we spent a day at her house to help with the house and property. Much time was spent clearing the clearing (yes, clearing the clearing–that is what you have to do when what was once a clearing in a forest again needs clearly cleared of tall grass, fallen branches and the like so as to be restored to its original “clearness” clear through—if that’s clear), then burning the kindling . . . or vice versa . . . and also helping to organize the house (not to mention that Grandma housed us organizers). We certainly worked for our food and ate for our work on that trip! It was a singular team effort!—and, when it was all over, we had actually just begun.

But now I must begin to finish. Grandma Brannon’s birthday was a kind of tranquil chaos wherein we escaped from our lightsome duties to enjoy the weighty acknowledgements of age and virtue, ice cream and cake—that is, no puffy, poofy “shortcake” but West Virginia Apple Black Walnut Cake. (After all, even in the celebration of longevity and wisdom, it would be much better to try and invent a real cake called a long name than a fanciful name called a “longcake”).

To bring a humorous post to bear on a better-than-humorous truth: a reliable seeming-self-contradiction that grandmothers know well, and for which we thank them for their example: truly it is more blessed to give than receive! Thank you Grandma Brown!!! Thank you Grandma Brannon!!! It was our joy to repay your kindnesses in a few small ways!

9 Comments » | posted in Family News