On the second night of our Israel tour, the group stayed on Kibbutz Maagan Eden. Since I lived on a kibbutz for over two and one half years in my early twenties, I am very partial to kibbutz life. This particular kibbutz in the north is so beautiful and peaceful, nestled on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. I just love staying here because the view of the sea is spectacular, and the surrounding areas are lush, bursting with native trees, bushes, and flowers.
After a wonderful sleep, we enjoyed a great Israeli breakfast of salads, scrambled eggs, fish, and cottage cheese. Oh how that meal brings back memories. For more kibbutz stories from my life read here and here.
Next we visited the Mount of Beatitudes. This is where Jesus feed thousands with the little boy’s offering of two loaves and fishes. The above photo is a view from the mountain where the miracle was performed.
What a great touring group! We are having so much fun.
Next stop: Caparnaum. We enjoyed the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught. In this spot of excavations, menorahs and stars of David were found carved into the ancient stones.
Next we went on to Bethsaida, and later we ate lunch on the shores of the Galilee. Yes, we had the typical St. Peter’s fish. It is tilapia and wonderful. This particular fish is called St. Peter’s because it carries its babies in its mouth until they hatch. When it is not carrying babies, it holds a stone or something in its mouth. During the time of Jesus, it was not unusual to find coins in these fishes’ mouths. The fish would pick them up from the lake bottom. Jesus told Peter to take the coin out of the fish’s mouth and pay both their taxes in Matthew 17:24-27.
After lunch, we had a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. We sang and danced on the boat. Then on to a baptism service in the Jordan River. Eight were baptized. Two for the first time. It was so precious.
This was the perfect ending for a perfect day.
The next day we drove to Jerusalem and visited the ancient Roman city found in Beit She’an, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Mt. of Olives.
Some of the MJBI staff in the old Roman city.
We had a really sweet time of worship at the Garden.
The church at the garden was gorgeous. Everyone enjoyed grabbing a few moments to be alone with God and contemplate, meditate on the sacrifices of Jesus.
We arrived as the sun was setting over Jerusalem. A grand ending.
We enjoyed a great Shabbat meal at the Olive Tree Hotel after getting settled in rooms. We are staying in our apartment now while the group is in the hotel. We will be joining the tour each day from home.
Today was a free day of shopping and seeing some of the Old City.
Tomorrow and the next day, I will go to the Dead Sea with a dear Israeli friend for a special birthday celebration, so I will miss the tour for two days.
Thanks to my dear friend, David, and Sar El Tours we have been enjoying an amazing tour of the Holy Land. They have worked hard to make the trip wonderful in every way.
I just could not post photos of our day yesterday. I was totally exhausted and jet lagged after the flight and exciting day or sightseeing. But we spent our first night in Netanya at the Seasons Hotel. The photo above is from our bedroom window. I awoke suddenly at 12:30 AM and looked out the window. I just couldn’t believe how beautiful the early December moon shone on the water. The light and water mesmerized me for a few moments as I stood at the opened window soaking the fresh salt air and chilly breezes.
Our first stop was Caesarea, ancient sea port. It is so gorgeous.
Pontius Pilot visited us at the ancient Roman amphitheater. The mini-production about the life and times of Jesus was outstanding.
Our next stop was Mount Carmel, Meggido, and the Jezreel Valley.
Arrived in Tel Aviv early evening… too dark to take photos, but we are in Natanya on the beach. The view of the night sea is breathtaking–inky blue melding into the starry night sky. The salt air is filling our lungs and refreshing our weary bodies. We are lifting tired and swollen dogs into clean, white and fluffy sheets with the chilly night air blowing through the bedroom…
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The Management
We leave tomorrow for Israel. My husband and I will lead a ten-day tour of the land, and then we will settle in for the winter, spring and part of the summer in our home in Jerusalem.
I will try to post photos and commentary of our tour of Israel as we go. Of course, it depends on the Internet accessibility as we travel. But I don’t think we should have any problems. We are really looking forward to the tour. The history and biblical places will be inspiring.
So here we go…
Mannheim Steamroller remains my favorite sounds for Christmas; they are progressive yet not so on the edge that the sense of an “old-fashioned Christmas” rings through their holiday music. I think you will enjoy them. Take a peak at their website.
Today freedom will taste like turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie as we lift our forks in thanksgiving. We salute love of country, family, and friends. But at some point in history the liberty that America enjoys tasted like sacrifice, heartwrenching sacrifice…
I am thinking about a couple of things this morning. One is the Mayflower and the ships that brought the Pilgrims and Puritans to the New World. I’m pondering life and conditions on those ships in the 1600s. The courage that rose in their souls to venture out is admirable. Honestly, it is a wonder that most survived that journey.
As a missionary, I have tasted a little of the excitement, forlorn, and fear that accompany life-changing adventures. The thing that is different is that I always knew that we could return home at any moment. That was a huge safety net for our family, for me.
Those separatists from England didn’t think of safety nets or returning to the motherland. The journey homeward would be just as treacherous. Setting their faces like flint, they embraced the hardship and the unknown for the joy of something better just over the horizon. They entrusted the well-being of their lives, families, and future to the frailty of a wooden vessel and the navigational skills of the 1600s upon an uncertain ocean.
Can you imagine the smells of salt air, stench of dirty clothing and bodies, and sewage? Imagine toggling between hope and regret as the waves pounded them relentlessly for days on end? Imagine being pregnant upon those rolling waves? Imagine the food rations and the dwindling water supply? Imagine the unknown factors of a new and hostile land? Imagine primitively patching leak after leak, praying they would hold? Imagine surrendering their fears of sickness and death to an unseen God instead of driving it deep into their bellies.
When they sailed in 1620, fierce Atlantic storms battered the ship. They floated aimlessly for days like a piece of driftwood. The passengers lived in extremely overcrowded conditions, as the seawater soaked their bedding and clothes for weeks on end.
Here is an excerpt from William Bradford’s diary about the Mayflower voyage:
….and met with many fierce storms, with which the ship was shroudly shaken, and her upper works made very leaky; one of the main beams in the mid ships was bowed and cracked, which put them in some fear that the ship could not be able to perform the voage. In sundry of these storms, the winds were so fierce, and the seas so high, as they could not bear a knot of sail, but were forced to hull, for divers days together.
A tumultuous ocean wave swept one young man, John Howland, overboard. Amazingly he was rescued. Here is Bradford’s account:
”in a mighty storme, a lustie yonge man (called John Howland)coming upon some occasion above the grattings, was, with a seele of the shipe throwne in the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hould of the top-saile halliards, which hunge over board, and rane out at length; yet he held his hould (though he was sundrie fathomes under water) till he was hald up by the same rope to the brime of the water, and then with a boat hooke and other means got into the shipe againe, and his life saved; and though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after, and became a profitable member both in church and commone wealthe”
Interesting to note, both President Bushes are descendants of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley.
On November 9, 1620, the Mayflower almost shipwrecked on the sandy beaches of Cape Cod. They sailed around to what is Provincetown, Massachessetts, and anchored two days later. They sent our expeditions to survey the land over the next month. They were 102 passengers and about 25 crew members and sailed almost 3,000 miles total in 66 days. One seaman died on the journey. In six months after landing 52 passengers died in an epidemic.
I am so thankful to those who made sacrifices for me, and right now I think freedom tastes like courage.
As a teenager, I sat up late a few times with my parents to watch “Twilight Zone.” Creative and offbeat, the television series hit a chord with many viewers. Twilight Zone was that weird place where life wasn’t quite right. Up seemed like down, and right and wrong got twisted. People did weird things, and life careened recklessly down the mountain called “Out of Control and Strange.”
Sometimes it was eerie, spooky, and downright scary. Some episodes made you think that the insane may be more normal than the sane. Reruns are still popular, but I haven’t returned for Act II yet. “Twilight Zone” will always have a following.
Twilight is that time of day between sunset and dusk or dawn and sunrise. The earth is not light or dark. Everything blends and becomes gray. The sun is below the earth’s horizon and not visible, although its rays still illuminate the lower atmosphere.
The popular book series and even more popular movie series, “Twilight” is unique. I believe it will change American–maybe even world–culture as definitively as the Beatles did in the sixties.
Until now, almost every plot in the world has used the standard “light vs dark” theme. Mostly the light has a higher standard and calling and is easily distinguished from the dark. And in the end, the light wins. The players are different, and the backdrops unique and creative; but the plot remains the same: “light vs dark.”
The “Twilight” series veers from this standard form and employs “dark vs deep dark.” Just like the time of day, “twilight” the sun or the light source is invisible, below the horizon. Everything is gray and shadowy. No longer can the light be chosen because it is ABSENT. The message of the movie is “choose the highest dark, because the light is no longer a choice.”
This is scary to me, and it ceases to be entertainment because of its popularity and power to change a generation.
I believe Hollywood will use this theme of “dark vs deep dark” again and again. It becomes irresistible when it is coupled with the hook of youthful, passionate, undying romance–love that is so deep, so strong and so unquenchable that the darkness becomes the only choice.
It used to be that people died for the causes of the light, not the darkness.
bleak autumn evening
Edgar Allan Poe rap, rap,
rapping at my door
