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Day 8 – Dead Sea Sites Balance. Today, this trip, our lives are about balance. The Dead Sea is fed by the Jordan River, but it has no outlet. It receives but doesn’t give. It gets filled up but never pours out. The Dead Sea represents physically what can happen to us spiritually if weContinue reading “Dead Sea Sites”

Day 7 – Philistine Country David and Goliath. The shepherd and the giant. An Israelite and a Philistine. Today we loaded our big orange bus, which by the way, is a first class bus. It even has Wi-Fi! So far, the only free Wi-Fi of the trip. But I digress. We loaded up our busContinue reading “Philistine Country”

Day 6 – Jerusalem’s Christian Sites The night before I took a look at our list of places we were going to visit today, and my first thought was, “This will be a day about death.” Entering through St. Stephen’s Gate (he was the first Christian martyr), following the Way of the Cross, the GardenContinue reading “Final Day in Jerusalem”

Israel Day 5 – Continued – The Judean Desert We traveled east out of Jerusalem out into the Judean Desert, or Wilderness. At one point Ariel pointed out an Arab settlement (city) on our drive east. He said the name in Arabic a few times, and I started to hear the name Lazarus. Turns outContinue reading “Judean Wilderness”

Day 5 – City of David Saul was the first king of Israel. And after him came David. He defeated the Jebusites and took over their fortress in Jerusalem and called it the City of David. (2 Samuel 5:6-10)  That’s where we visited today! Ariel calls this day of our trip the “Beginnings of Jerusalem.”Continue reading “City of David”

Israel Day 4 – Old City Jerusalem Do you remember I told you how surprised I was at the size of Jerusalem? I think part of me expected that today’s Jerusalem would still be within the walls it’s always been in. Silly, I know. But that’s my brain sometimes. One of my ah-ha’s yesterday wasContinue reading “Old City Jerusalem”

Day 3 – Continued – Bethlehem The second half of our first day in Jerusalem had us cross a mere five miles to Jesus’ birthplace, Bethlehem. Though short on miles, this trek required us to pass through a heavily gated border into Palestinian territory. Because we were part of a tourist group, our tour guideContinue reading “Bethlehem”

Israel Trip Day 3 – First Day in Jerusalem – June 4, 2014 Let me pick up where we left off because I just loved our journey into this very holy city, Jerusalem. Ariel explained that Jerusalem is most unique because it is the center for three major religions: Muslim, Judaism, and Christianity. And sinceContinue reading “First Day in Jerusalem”

Israel Trip, Days 1-2 (June 2, 2014—June 3, 2014) For a girl who hasn’t spent much time in airports, it was a day full of them! Four, in fact. Each one different from the other in so many ways. Oklahoma was quiet. It was early morning. And, believe it or not, OKC is pretty smallContinue reading “Traveling to Israel”

Anticipation. We plan. We wait. We feel like we JUST CAN’T WAIT… And then it’s here. The day we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. Whether it’s Christmas or a big trip, the Eve before the Big Day is filled with anticipation, excitement, and usually a long list of “to do’s.” Tonight is no different forContinue reading “Twas the Night Before Israel”