Adventurous Life

*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 ...