Adventurous Life

It's a family joke because she is our only Aunt Joan. In fact, she is my great-aunt, married to my grandpa's uncle. I have known her all my life and have felt a special connection to her. She is 60 years and 1 day older than me. She was the the first devoted follower of Christ in our family that I knew of. In that sense, she served as a role model for me in the faith. She exudes joy, and I always knew that joy she had came from her faith in Christ. She was the only person I knew like that, and to be honest, I thought she was kind of weird for it. After I became a Christian in college, I would turn to her family for support and advice. I knew if they supported my decisions to spend a summer in ministry training, to go on a mission trip to Japan, or to leave home and family to go to seminary, then I would be able to withstand any criticism I might receive from other family members. She came to my baptism. She prayed for me and for my future husband whoever he may be. Faithful, lo...

The following is my final journal entry regarding my trip in Israel. While the journal concludes, the trip has marked me and changed me forever. Dated 27 May 2010 I have 3 days of reflection papers to write. Oh brother. -- We did a lot on Tuesday. Part of the reason was that we had a flat tire, or two, on Monday and it took time to repair them. Therefore, we had to cram Arbel into Tuesday's schedule. I enjoyed visiting Kursi and Bethsaida. Basalt rock is common in this area of the Galilee region, and it is a different change to see buildings made out of black basalt as opposed to lighter limestones. You use what you have. I enjoyed Capernaum as well. The synagogue there was beautiful. Even though basalt was used in many places, they imported marble or limestone (I forget which) to build the synagogue. When I read Jesus' accounts in the Gospels, I think of space and time differently than what it must have been. I have realized how much of my culture I have read into the Bib...

*Sigh* It seems that I have spent most of my life waiting. Waiting for my first tooth to fall out. Waiting for the bus. Waiting to have my first, real, true friend. Waiting to grow up. Waiting to be happy. Waiting to finally get to travel overseas. Waiting to arrive. Waiting to be noticed. Waiting to be invited. Waiting to love. Waiting to be loved. Waiting. I am tired of waiting. When it comes to being patient, I do well within the moment. I am patient in grocery checkout lines when I am waiting behind all those insane coupon people (you know who you are Mighty B). I am patient when postponing something I want to do for the sake of a child. I am patient waiting for my pizza to cool off after it comes out of the oven (okay, that one needs work). I am patient when I know the end of a situation will be soon. In short, I am patient when I am in control. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, "Love is patient." Patience is a modern translation of the idea "long-suffering"--to be of l...

Journal entry from 25 May 2010 Yesterday. All my thoughts seem so far away. But I believe in yesterday. Enough with the song lyrics. I need to write my reflection entry for yesterday. To be honest, yesterday did not start off very well. I didn't sleep well and I knew Monday would be busy. We went to Megiddo and somewhat quickly blazed through the tell. Maybe it was the funk I was in or the fact that we have already seen many, tells, regardless, I was not that impressed. The F-16 jets flying overhead caught my attention more. I think it was the funk. A lot of archaeology has been done at the site so we were able to see at least 3 layers of settlements, Solomon's three-gate system, a Canaanite altar, and Solomon's stables. We also walked through the water system. After lunch at Ein Harod where the the Lord chose Gideon's 300 men, we went to Nazareth Village in Nazareth. Here a group of Christians recreated life in first century Nazareth. They use the same methods and mate...

My journal entry for 23 May 2010. Today, we have traveled north. Either it is much cooler up here, I have acclimated to the southern climates, or both. Regardless, I am pretty cold. Right now I am wearing my jeans and a long-sleeve tshirt. I can see the Med from the balcony above our room, and there is a pretty good wind coming from the sea. The land up here is very different. For one, it is very green with a lot of trees and fields. There are some flat places, but wherever you go you can see hills in the distance. Overall, I would not classify Israel as a flat land. Even if it looks flat, you can be sure there is a wadi or nahal of some sort that will provide a variation in elevation. Plains and valleys are small. Hills roll throughout the land. This area doesn't strike me as beautiful. Maybe because I have seen areas that are similar. Perhaps I am reaccustomed to green once again. The wilderness area was new and different. New experiences appeal to me and refresh me. The same old...

Yes, I know my trip to Israel was over a year ago, but 1.) I have not posted all my journal entries yet and 2.) the trip was that amazing. Now commencing my journal entry from 22 May 2010: Today was a free day but I have to write about the last 2 days. If I have energy I will write about personal thoughts and experiences. Thursday was not really a biblical experience day. At least it felt that way. We spent the morning snorkeling and swimming in the Red Sea. I'm pretty sure Moses and the gang didn't do that when they left Egypt. It was a LOT of fun though. It was my first time snorkeling, and I would love to do it again. The water was so clear, blue and beautiful! Afterwards, we went to see a life-size model of the tabernacle. The holy of holies was not as big as I expected. It was a good experience, though, to see how large the tabernacle area was. Just think, each time God wanted to move, the Levites would have to take down the tabernacle in a specific way, put up everything ...

Today, I learned a lifetime lesson. Back story: I am in love. And not just with one guy, but with three guys. No, I am not a hussie. I am in love with three little men, ages 4, 3, and 8 months, who happen to be the lights of my life and the apples of my eye. (Love will cause you to make weird analogies sometimes.) I'm not their mom, and they're not my kids, but I love love them just as deeply. I am their Beth, and they are my boys. I didn't know that I could love someone so deeply until I fell head over heels in love with my boys. Rest of the Story: C turned 4 on Monday. For the past few weeks the plan was to celebrate his birthday by riding the train to Ft. Worth, do something fun there, and ride the train back. The celebration would take most of the day. Whenever the party was mentioned in my presence, C would ask, "Will you come Beth?" I have said each time with the thought that I will make it work. Yes, it's at a difficult time in the semester, but I will ...