Day 3 of Israel Trip

Pictures of Day 3 in the Holy Land.

Day 1 -2 of Holy Land Trip

Day 1 & 2 pics

Geography and Connections

When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, he came to Greece, where he stayed for three months. Acts 20: 2-3 NRSV



After four movies, two 30 minute sitcoms and approximately 1 hour sleep. We are getting close to Tel Aviv. The airline has a satellite map that tracks the process of the trip. Iceland is fine, no ash from the volcano and during this last leg of the trip, I have visions of Mr. Ruff’s 7th grade social studies class and the many assignments of tracing and labeling maps around the world. Looking at the screen I remember labeling Italy, Greece, Crete, the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.


It is quite a sight to see from the air under the broken clouds the definition of the Mediterranean shore line at the heel of Italy’s boot. Flying over Greece and thinking about Paul’s missionary journeys, but that is another trip for another time.


So far, I have met some ELCA Lutherans from Sheboygan Michigan, and United Methodist from Germantown, Tennessee. Germantown is just outside of Memphis and two summers ago our youth group stopped at this church on our way back from our mission trip to ASP. They graciously hosted us for the evening as we wrapped up our week of mission in Kentucky.


As I’m writing this, we are about 1 hour away from landing in Tel Aviv where we will gather our luggage and then make our way to Tiberius next to the Sea of Galilee.

Travel

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went.  Acts 8:26-27a NRSV

I am not equating my trip to the Holy Land to that of Phillip and his encounter with the Ethiopian, however when I think about this “pilgrimage” I am on, I think of how Phillip’s life was interrupted after  his ministry in Samaria.

It doesn’t sound like Phillip was looking to go somewhere else, the Lord just told him to go.  As I ride the DART train to DFW listening to The Robbie Seay Band on my IPOD. I am thankful that God has told me to go.  I wasn’t planning on taking this trip, really never crossed my mind… Sure, as a pastor I’ve thought that it would be nice to visit the Holy Land, but never thought I would be able to follow through and take this trip. But God always has a way of interrupting lives and if we listen and follow, takes us on extravagant journeys our own minds can’t comprehend.

I am going to miss my wife and family, however I know that God is with them and also with me while I’m on this trip and I’m looking forward to the many surprises God has for me as I walk in the places Jesus walked, see the holy sites and take pictures and collect stories from this trip.

My plane takes off here in about one hour and twenty minutes to Atlanta, where I will pick up my flight to Tel Aviv. Arriving there around 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon (10:00 a.m. Central Time).

I pray that this trip, this blog leads to powerful ministry and a strong testament of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

T-minus 1 week

A week from today, at this time, I will be sitting at DFW airport waiting to board a flight to Atlanta then off to Israel.  I'm very excited about this trip and am looking forward to walk through the Holy Land and visit the historical sights of the Bible.

Growing up, this was my view of "The Holy Land." Over my childhood and youth, and yes even twice as a youth director, I visited the Great Passion Play and what they called the Holy Land Tour.  It was entertaining and educational. Walking around a replica of the Exodus temple and see a layout of the upper room brought my heart and mind close to the stories of the Bible and even though I was in Arkansas, I developed ideas of what it might have been like to walk in the same places Jesus walked.


I know this is an understatement, but this trip is going to blow Eureka Springs, Arkansas out of the water.  I won't be imagining Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, I will be sailing, wading, walking and experiencing the Holy Land for myself.


Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my thoughts, adventures, stories, pictures and hopefully some video of my trip.  I'm doing this mostly for my own record of the trip, but if you would like to come along and comment and share your thoughts, please feel free to comment below.

Roller Coasters

This morning, I woke up thinking about roller coasters. I really don't know why. I just had the image of roller coasters in my mind.

Several years ago in Kansas City, there was a roller coaster called the Orient Express. This roller coaster was a beast! It had four majestic loops that turned your stomach inside out and upside down.1 When it opened in 1980, (I was in 3rd grade) It took me two years to actually build up enough nerve to climb aboard and take the wild ride. Unfortunately, the ride is no longer in existence and I haven't been back to Worlds of Fun to see what they have replaced it with.

I think the thing I love about roller coasters is the entire ride. The peaks and valleys the twist and turns and of course the loops. You can't appreciate a roller coaster until you get on and ride. Just like the Grandmother in the old Parenthood movie when she said this to Steve Martin.

Life is like that and the one thing that I have come to understand is that we have to go through all of the peaks and valleys, the twist and the turns to get the most out of life.  There will be many things we don't like, however, there will be many exciting blessings along the way.  

Testing things out

So I'm headed to Israel here in about two weeks. I'm really excited about the trip and want to share my experiences there. I have heard that the hotels I will be staying at have wifi. So from May 11 - 20, I will be writing and sharing pictures from the Holy Land. I took a picture of Tracy and I and I'm adding it to #1 show off my lovely wife, #2 to see how posting pictures look like on this blog.

I took this picture in our living room. Just thought I would share.