Good morning... In every life there are mountaintop moments. The birth of a baby and grand graduations. Joyful engagements and fabulous weddings. Quiet "Ah-ha" moments experienced in private and loud celebrations swarming with loved ones. Once in a lifetime trips and breathtaking vistas. (See the photos and reflections taken from the mountaintop of my first trip to Israel, [...]
Good morning... Yesterday we walked through Jerusalem, the city of King David, which he established as the central gathering place for the Jewish people. We explored parts visible, like the Temple of the Western Wall and the wall which encloses the Holy of Holies, an inner sanctuary where only women are invited to pray. [...]
Good morning... Yesterday we went to the little town of Bethlehem, a town that is not so little anymore. We visited the multifaceted Church of the Nativity, which was built on top of the cave where Jesus was said to have been born, swaddled in cloth, and placed in a stone manger, a feeding trough for the animals. [...]
Good morning... We spent our final night on the calming shores of the Sea of Galilee before beginning our journey up to Jerusalem. On the way, we stopped in Nazareth and gathered together on the top of Mt. Precipice, a place we could totally envision Jesus standing himself right above his hometown. We read a moving [...]
Good morning... Yesterday we walked where Jesus walked. We were taught atop a mountain where Jesus taught. We boated on the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus boated with his disciples "to the other side," into the unknown. We were given the opportunity to rededicated ourselves to God through a baptism in the Jordan River, [...]
Good morning... I apologize about the challenges we are experiencing with our blog posts this week. The time change is something I am still trying to negotiate. I think I have figured out a solution, so hopefully we will move more smoothly into our morning messages from here on out. If you missed some of our earlier posts [...]
Good morning... We left the Dead Sea, where the shoreline is shrinking and the water is murky and undrinkable. After a fascinating teaching at the top of Masada, we went to an oasis in the middle of the desert. In contrast to the Dead Sea, we enjoyed living water. From out of the jagged rock faces of the [...]
Good morning... Yesterday's adventure was meaningful and fun. The twenty-four of us enjoyed the beauty of a Negev Desert hike from the base, past an unexpected waterfall and up to the upper rim of a the stunning canyon. We rode camels (hilarious) and ate an amazing abundant lunch prepared by the kindhearted bedouins (a word which means "desert [...]
Good morning... After being dropped off at the airport around 4:00 pm in Atlanta, we arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel just as the sun was setting. With the seven hour time change, our travel evaporated an entire day. My husband Steve shared with me the sketchy notes from which he will teach each day, and I will put [...]
Good morning... Does this ever happen to you? At the 11th hour, I always want to stay home. As my fears swirl wildly in the final hours, I crave my familiar comfort zone. I just want to hunker down in my own happy place. I have been waiting to go to on an adult trip to Israel with [...]
