The last day you spend in a place is surreal - deja vu surprises you walking down the familiar path that you are leaving indefinitely, scenes replay through your mind and bring a smile (along with the hope that you will never forget).

IBEX : a group of knitted souls sewn together with the cords of Israel. & I know so many semesters have gone before me and many more will follow...but somehow this experience is still mine. My eyes have seen, my ears have heard, my heart has changed.

There's so many pictures that I haven't shared, so many stories left untold, memories that are so vivid.  A new Facebook album or hours alone with you won't change that.  I'll do everything I can to share my experience, but I am content knowing that God isn't finished with me (or you). We have so much more to learn.

Now that all of the books, papers, and tests are over, I am starting to think about going home. It's been long coming!  One of my regrets about 2010 is that I've only spent 2 weeks in Kansas.  Reading by the fire, coffee with old friends, Christmas baking with mom, dinners as a family, & spending New Years Eve with Jon...so much to look forward to.

I'm leaving a lot behind in Israel.  Not just my pile of dusty clothes or destroyed tennies but the weekly walks in the Old City, precious friendships with my teachers, & our tiny, homely dorm room [The list goes on.]

I'll fondly remember ....being an "outsider" in their land for 4 months

...this view at 4:37 pm. (exclusive to Moshav YadHashmonah)

...my beloved roommates, partners in the great adventure, sisters in Christ



& before this gets too sentimental....I just remembered I have to finish packing!  It's been the easiest "pack" of college, I don't have to tape up boxes, move them to storage, blah, blah.  Just stuff it in the suitcase! Now for one last night in this bed... [ mom, turn on the electric blanket, I'm coming home! ]

I had this goal :: to blog every day of my last week in Israel.  Unfortunately, 25 pages of study notes for my final tomorrow has thwarted my good intentions.  This is my last post about Greece, but I thought I'd include some of my current thoughts too.

Watching the sun break the horizon every morning & seeing it leave the sky after a long day of work is a privilege.  For some, it's even a hobby. I was convicted during our last chapel message when we were told that we don't need hobbies in life.  What is a hobby?

Properly defined :: an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation ; a past time.

For most people in my generation : checking Facebook, email, & text messages could probably be considered a hobby.  Watching movies, reading blogs, photography, etc.  Most people are encouraged to find hobbies to fill their free time, but not Christians.  You'll be hard-pressed to find God telling us to fill our spare moments with pleasure and relaxation.  Rather, I only need hobbies if they help me further the kingdom of God.  This is what it means to be truly obsessed with Christ [His Gospel colors everything I do].  Tennis, photography, snowboarding, crafts, have no place in my life....unless I am using them as an outpouring of what God has done in my life.

It might sound strange, but that's what I've been working on lately : obsession with the Living God.

With that said, I hope that my hobby of snapping pictures of sunsets will deliver a reminder that we should fear & respect the only One who has power to create such masterpieces every day.

Friday night, I met Brian Moore.  His impressive resume includes titles like US Air Force quarterback, US military officer in the Middle East (started 1996), US diplomat for 10 years (learned Arabic).  He has lived in Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Baghdad, and now resides in Israel with his wife & 5 children

The theme of his message was choices.  The defining moment of Brian's life came as he sat on Mount Nebo and thought back over his life....just like Moses did after 40 years of wandering around the wilderness.  Moses must have thought : did I make the right choice? He could have been an wealthy official in the Egyptian beurocrat, but instead he choose to forgo convenience to spend his life leading the Israelites.

Hebrews 11:6 ++ how can you not ask these questions?

When you say, "Lord, I am willing"...is it just talk?

When you say, "I haven't received guidance from the Lord to move there or do such a ministry"...have you received guidance to stay where you are?

 

i miss this guy.

hard to believe in one short month I will have the privilege of being his girlfriend for 2 years

:]

[ finally "home" after our last field trip -4 days- in the Negev. details to follow in later posts ]

numbers.

These specific numbers mean a lot to me. 6 days until I'm sitting at a cafe in Greece, 36 days until I land in LAX and see Jon, 41 days until I touch Kansas soil & will truly be HOME.

3 random numbers : they mean a lot to me but might be completely pointless to you. That's the way it is with all countdowns.  I realized over this past year that countdowns can be the best or the worst of things.  Either they occupy your mind so completely that you need a reality check, or you use those numbers as little incentives for making it through the tough days.  Wouldnt you agree that all countdowns are merely shadows of the most anticipated day of all time? & I'm not talking about the day that each one of us will die, rather, the day when Christ will return to earth.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.  For you are all children of the light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.  / 1 Thessalonians

This morning (at 5:30am) as we sat and waited for the sun to rise, my friend Eric said "Waiting for the Lord to return is like waiting on the sun to rise : you think it's going to pop up over the horizon at any second, but it always keeps you waiting longer than you expect."  One thing is for sure, the sun will rise.  Patience.

[caption id="attachment_420" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="my thoughts exactly"][/caption]

THINGS THAT COMFORT ME

[ while I am sitting in the middle of 8 hours of class on a MONDAY ]

++  scheming about names for this little guy (above), who will be waiting at home in Kansas

++  thinking about our trip to Santorini  [ picture ] [ sunset ]

++  singing "o come, o come emmanuel" in class today

++  knowing that in 42 days i can hold my loved ones tightly

 

 

until we meet again, O Galilee. & I pray it's before eternity.

I must mention that some of my favorite pictures from this week that I shared were taken by my friend Keely, a clever writer with an insatiable love for pictures (& a great camera to shoot them with).  Her blog: www.myskyblue.wordpress.com.

closing rabbit-trails

I still can't wrap my mind around the thought that from this place the simple message of the Gospel has spread to every nation of the world.  Before newspapers, before TV, & before the world-wide web.  That can't be accredited to man, we can't even seem to get the current news stories straight!






physically,

i felt the nearness of Christ : His footsteps, His voice, His smile.  But so did the crowds that followed Him around the sea.  And for most of them, their "feelings" of closeness faded as He was killed on the cross.

thankfully,

i have a different kind of closeness.  i have a relationship with the One who died but conquered death by rising again ( a good friend to have, yes? ).  Not only do I get to rely on Him for everything, but He has given me promises...lots & lots of them!  so how well do I know them? Are they hidden in my heart any deeper than the last news story or magazine that I read?  Lately I have been convicted about how little I know about what God has promised me as His daughter...they are worth so much more than the vanishing promises of our culture.

Today we are free.

We run through the options in our minds :
+ we could blow up rafts and paddle across the entire sea of Galilee (5 hours)
+ we could rent bikes and pedal the roller-coaster hills around the sea (6 hours)
+ we could go to Tiberius & shop, spend the day swimming, or do absolutely nothing.

We chose to take the bus to Tiberius & ride bikes halfway around the sea back to the En-Gev Resort.  The heat of the afternoon urged us on, knowing that the cool sea was waiting at the finish line.  To our misfortune, we had found this candy store in Tiberius that sold chocolate-covered nuts and every type of sour gummy you could imagine.  It wasn't the best choice of "fuel" for the road and I think I need a couple trips to my favorite dentist.  By the way, can I just take this time to thank my thoughtful mother for supplying my friends & I with a healthy supply of candy corn!  Those of you who know me understand how much sugar I consume around the time of Halloween.

Archeology....sigh. If you haven't ever had a profound desire to examine dusty, almost-unidentifiable objects...you are not alone.  We saw a lot of historical sites today: lots of ancient tels, stellas, gates, altars, etc.  BUT, to support the argument for the importance of archeology, I will say that spending hours studying "History of Ancient Israel" makes the Old Testament and those "dusty, almost-unidentifiable objects" spring back to life.  After half a semester [wow, already?] in Israel, I am becoming one who appreciates the study of those who have "gone before"...oh how much we have to learn from them.

Here's the jam-packed itinerary for our day: [Hazor] [Dado overlook] [Tel Dan] [Caeserea Philippi] [Nimrod Castle] [Golan Heights]

Even if you are usually a fellow UNenthusiast of history, I hope my pictures give you hope of finding the ancient world to be relevant to your life today.

[[ I skipped day 3 because you probably don't want to hear about hours & hours of hiking...it was fantastic though ]]

It struck me today. IBEX is luxury.  I will never again have several months where everything is done for me.  I wake up to breakfast already made, I climb onto a tour bus, I see the best sites without planning a thing, receive the best teaching, and there's always a bed for me to crash in. And then I repeat.  My lodging, transportation, food, lessons, and days are all planned for me. I am so thankful for the staff here who have sacrificed much to give us a superior semester.

This is going to make next semester seem like an onslaught of responsibility.

For your personal enrichment :: More info facts about the sites we visited today

1. cave of the sower // one word: acoustics.  Benj went and stood by the water while we climbed a hill 300-400 yards away.  He read Mark 4 and I was shocked at how clearly we could hear his voice from so far away.  This is how the crowd of thousands could hear Jesus when he preached from a boat.

2. capernaum // Christ moved his hometown from Nazareth to Capernaum and then started His public ministry around the sea.  He performed many miracles here and they have located Peter's house near the synagogue...yep I saw it!

3. seven springs // traditional site where Jesus called His disciples. the Church of Peter's Primacy was built nearby because of John 21, where Christ restores Peter to Himself.  "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

4. mount of beatitudes //  gorgeous garden & church. it was a blessing to hear Matthew 5-7 recited from memory by all of the IBEX guys.

5. korazim, chorazin // not mentioned in the New Testament, but Christ performed many miracles here.  He condemns this city for its unbelief in Matthew 11:20-21...they saw so much of our Savior and yet in the hardness of their hearts they would not repent

6. boat ride over to ginnosaur // saw the coolest artifact ever, a 1st century boat from the time of Christ that was preserved underwater. it took 10 years to make it ready it to be displayed.

I didn't mention this, but we spent our first night in Nazareth at a mighty fancy hotel, The Golden Crown.  We set off early for another full day of visiting sites.  Even though the sites we saw today weren't mentioned in the Bible, I learned to appreciate their importance in the context of the land & history of the Jews.

For example, the Greeks built theaters in Sepphoris [the capitol of Galilee during Herod Antipas' reign].  Interestingly, the Rabbis forbid the Jewish community to attend the theaters and they were seen as a symbol of the main difference between Greek [Hellenistic] and Jewish cultures.  The Jews have been fighting outside influences since before Christ's time and the battle continues today.  Their resistance to change sheds more light as to why they rejected Christ and His teaching so strongly.

Check out some photos from the day below, I can't wait to actually see the Sea of Galilee tomorrow!

I’ve been gone over a week, traversing the plains and towns of Galilee and soaking in the land.  It is by far my favorite area of Israel, and I am overwhelmed with trying to think of a way to share my impressions with you.

Mom always said “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
So maybe I’ll take it one day at a time (if you don't mind).
Here are some sights+thoughts  :  DAY 1.

Yep, the visual above is looking down into the valley from where we started.  It was a starting line that pointed directly to the sky.

[caption id="attachment_339" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="halfway up the Nahal Arugot"][/caption]

It was the competitor in me that refused to let myself rest for longer than 3 minutes.  Up. Up. [away]. Climbing the route that King David traveled. Except that he had a full suit of armor.  (Does my backpack count?)

Psalm 63 has taken on a different meaning.  We made it to the top in less than 2 hours: battling the mid-day sun and hoping to find a source of shade (not one tree!).

The night before we camped at the Dead Sea.

Swimming floating in the Dead Sea is like being the living among the dead in a sea of warm oil.  Warning: the smallest drop of water in the eyes is slow-death for 15-30 seconds. While it was a must-try, it wasn't an experience I am dying to repeat.

But overall, a fantastic weekend!  Tomorrow we leave for a 7-day Galilee trip....& the bag is yet to be packed!  Shalom.

[gallery columns="2"]

The CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS takes the cake in my book. It was the most beautiful sanctuary I had ever seen. Located on the same site as the Garden of Gethsemane, the array of colors inside and outside spilled over my sense of sight and seemed to fill my being with awe. It was a glimpse of heaven, but yet so unworthy to be compared to the beauty of God. I sat inside and felt the light waves cast by massive stained-glass windows dancing across me. The tranquil silence and thoughts of Christ filled me with peace.

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.

PSALM 131 // I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

Less than 6 hours later, I experienced that peace in an incredible way. We were in the West Bank after having seen Bethlehem and the Herodium and had just finished hiking around rocky valleys in Tekoah. Suddenly, teenage boys hiding in ditches on the side of the road began pelting our bus with rocks. One came flying through the windshield and another broke out the door, hitting our professor in the head. Thankfully, our driver floored it and we made it out quickly. Other than broken glass, everyone in the bus was okay and no one was seriously scared. We stopped once we crossed back into Israeli control and filled out some police reports. Benj (our professor) got a medical check-up and his head is okay! Other than thinking that it was gunshots/grenades coming through our bus (I laugh now) I felt overwhelming peace that evening! I thank the Lord for a little taste of what life here is like, to sense His hand protecting all of us in such a tangible way. So please don't worry, it was a minor incident and a good reminder that we are in a land of turmoil with a sovereign Lord. We aren't going back into the West Bank anymore this semester and life is continuing as normal! [full of abundant peace]

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side --
let Israel now say--
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away
the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

PSALM 124 // Our Help is in the Name of the Lord //

i know i promised you a "visual feast" & it's coming.

but we've been celebrating so many festivals here I must first fill you in.

Take Leviticus 23, a chapter in the Bible that  I never cared much about.  BEFORE Israel.  Now, I'm in the land, celebrating every one of the feasts/festivals/fasts that are so clearly described in the Bible.  God defines them as "HIS APPOINTED TIME".

Rosh Hashanah [Jewish New Year] [September 8]

Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement] [September 17-18]

SUKKOT [The Feast of Booths] [September 22-29].  Basically, the feast involves building a Sukkot (booth) outside of your home that you eat/live in for the week.  For Jews, it is the equivalent of a Christmas celebration.  Children take two weeks off of school to decorate/celebrate in the booth!  There is a joyous buzz throughout the city as everyone prepares and buys the traditional lulav & etrog.  One of my favorite parts about this festival is there are no restrictions on what you eat because it is the Feast of Harvest! Woo woo!

Now, why do I enjoy celebrating these strange, non-american holidays so much? Because every festival in the Bible was given by God with a greater purpose in mind than just tradition.  The holiday isn't for Israel, it isn't for the land, it's to teach me something about the Messiah.  In Deuteronomy 16:14, God invites everyone, including me, the Gentile, to the feast.  So I will joyfully celebrate it, but with a different purpose than just traditionalism.

During this week, God is calling His people out of their permanent homes to live in the booth and telling us "this isn't it."  That the building we live in is not our home, we have not arrived. & we are called to be thankful.  Thankful for the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  I never realized the details/regulations of Old Testament festivals were all pointing to Christ and celebrating what He accomplished.  Pretty cool.

Some more shots of SUKKOT

[caption id="attachment_269" align="alignleft" width="161" caption="our "full-shield-armor" for entering the most Orthodox Jewish Community"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_266" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="jews examining etrog branches"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_268" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="booths built on porches"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_267" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="a decorated sukkot + child peering out"][/caption]