The Garden Tomb

I am trying to finish the Israel pictures because in three weeks we leave on our summer vacation to Willliamsburg, Jamestown, Philly, and then cruise up the coast into Canada. So, back to ancient Israel and to the Garden Tomb. Gosh, try to compare our US history back 200+ years and then think of Israel back 2000+ years. Boggles the mind for sure.

I thought being baptized (or re-dedicated) in the Jordan River would be the BIG thing for me. While it was truly moving, the Garden Tomb and having communion in this spot was really quite amazing and memorable. I think I liked it best. You can see the tomb entrance where folks are wandering in to see the site where many believe Christ was laid to rest. Note the brick work above~ see, the new city was just built over the old!

Anyway, whether you believe this was his actual tomb or not, we were able to see what a tomb was like, understand why according to scriptural clues this may indeed have

been the site, and at no other site was I hit so hard as to everything that was happening to Jesus. Even the walk along the Via Dolorosa was not as powerful.

Along the pathways throughout the garden are little alcoves where people can set up for communion. Because we traveled with 3 pastors, we did not need anyone to officiate. Pastor Erin prepared the table and Pastor Mike bought each person an olive wood communion cup that we could partake of and then take home as a souvenir. We sang a bit, read scripture, had silent prayer, and then communion. It was a very personal and moving experience.

What a blessing it was to be in the great land of Israel! With all that is going on in that part of the world we consider ourselves most fortunate to be there.

Mother of the Groom - Dress Shopping

Shopping for a dress for Jay and Heidi's wedding has been weighing on my mind. It is sort of like bathing suit shopping...nothing looks right, the color is wrong, and they are sleeveless. It is almost as bad as jean's shopping. Too baggy, too tight, muffin top shows...you know the list. UGH!

The colors they have chosen are navy blue and magenta accents. It is a stunning look. So, I went up to see my sisters and we had some girl shopping time. You know, different clothing/vendor buyers and the moral support made it seem like I might just get lucky and find something. And I did!

Beth and I were on our way to a bridal type shop and we had to stop in at Macy's for something else, when Beth said, "You never know, your dress might just be here." So up to social dresses we went and I did indeed find a great blue dress. I just loved it...but on the way to the register I spied a gray beaded dress that I really liked. Back to the dressing room we went and tried them on. I chose the gray and I really like it. I can use it on our cruise vacations as well as the wedding. Also, the gray will not conflict with anything Heidi's mom will choose because I think she is trying to get something in navy.

On the way out the door I found some "perfect" gray shoes, so I am done! As Jay says, "Everything is done for the wedding." Actually we still need to plan a rehearsal dinner, but I think we are going to shoot for something easy at a restaurant like Pat and Oscars rather than a big sit-down dinner affair. The wedding party will be about 30 people by the time we include spouses. Less than 3 months to go...

Being Prepared with Food Storage

We are taking a break from Israel right now. Trust me, I have many more pictures to share, but I thought I would share with you my new project...well, one of them anyway.

Dan and I have decided to invest in some long-term food planning storage. Basically we are making plans for a 3 month emergency supply of food as well as a 72 hour kit. The purpose is two fold. One, to be prepared in case of an emergency (i.e. earthquake) if we had limited access to food. Think about Japan. It took almost a month for food to become available in stores again. The 72 hour backpacks are just that-quick necessities that may be needed. We will keep these in the car.

The other value is if money becomes tight, we can use the food as supplement to what we would normally shop for. We have purchased things like powdered milk, powdered eggs, freeze dried fruits and vegetables, meats etc. My sister Beth has access to a canner machine. We put powdered eggs into cans and then seal them air tight. They are then good for years and years. You see my brother-in-law is working the canning machine. There are several great cookbooks out there that show how to use the food. I have tried some of it and it is really good! I was shocked! The shelf-life on most products is between 10-30 years. Hey, another 20 years and I'll be living in a home

anyway!

So, think about disruption to electricity/gas. How will you prepare your food? Do you have a battery/solar operated radio? Do you have candles, flashlights etc? Do you have enough water stored to keep hydrated, cook, bath etc.? Remember, one flush and the toilet is done!

It is a small investment that may never be needed, but it seems rather irresponsible not to be prepared if you live in an area prone to natural disasters. And let's face it, we will all be on some sort of limited income at some time. I can always use the food!

My biggest problem is where to put the stuff. It is all over the house now, so I will have to resolve that soon. The kids think we are nuts and so maybe do you. But, either they will come to us in an emergency and have food to eat or if they lose their jobs and have no food, they will come begging for food! Either way, we get to help out.

Mys sisters are doing this along with several of my friends here in SD. Think about it; you just never know. I know some people who have almost a year's supply! Hey, my 1200 sq. foot home won't accommodate that...We all think about putting an earthquake kit together after a big quake. How about preparing BEFORE a disaster. Even a 72 hour kit would be great-and it's portable. Just fill up a backpack. May emergency sites give you lists of what to put in a pack. Don't be stranded.

A good website to check out is www.honeyville.com.

The Temple Mount

This is the outside wall of the Temple Mount...many say the holiest of biblical locations. The rounded dome inside the wall is a Muslim mosque (unfortunately). The temple mount is approximately 35 acres and is surrounded by this wall. The wall itself is slightly over 1,000 feet high and is about 900 x 1,500 x 1,600.

Sometimes the Temple Mount is referred to as the "Hill of Zion". I hear this term in songs and go, "Wow, I' know right where that is!" This is where many believe that Abraham intended to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1-2). How amazing it is to read the bible and have an understanding of where things took place and have a glimpse into what life could have been like.

This is also where David prepared to build and where Solomon did build the temple (I Chron. 22:14-15; 28:11-20). This is also the location where many important events took

place like where Jesus astonished the religious leaders with His understanding and insight as a 12 year old (Luke 2:41-50) and where Jess was betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14,16). The wall overlooks the Kidron Valley below. We got everyone from our church to sit on the steps for a "group" shot.

The story goes that the many stairs that lead up to the Temple Mount are unevenly space on purpose. Because this was the center of things, it would be heavily populated and folks may have tended to stop and congregate. The stairs- wide-narrow-wide etc. are not easily navigated and would keep traffic slowing as they had to pay attention to moving forward. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but this wall is immense!

You can only imagine what the temple was like inside. There was a museum located nearby called the Temple Mount Institute that is run by an organization called the "Faithful of the Temple Mount." This group is making objects that will the used when the Third Temple is built. The Jewish people believe this new temple will be built and they want replicas of things inside. They will not be able to build this temple of course as long as the Muslims occupy the holy grounds inside the wall. It was odd to listen to their docent talks because they are so completely dedicated to the truth as they know it from the Old Testament. They know nothing of the New Testament and the book of Revelations.

Palm Sunday Road & The Garden of Gethsemane

This winding road is actually called Palm Sunday road. It winds its way down the hill overlooking the Kidron Valley and the old city of Jerusalem. You can just picture Jesus going down this road and heading to the Eastern Gate to enter the city. At the bottom of the road is the Garden of Gethsemane.

See the tree behind the fence? This tree is over 2000 years old! The garden is located at the bottom of the Mount of Olives and Palm Sunday road. We know that Titus, according to Josephus, chopped down all the trees in Jerusalem. The olive trees in the garden today probably grew from the roots of those in Jesus day. It is possible that one or two of the trees are of Jesus' time. It is at this point that a church has been built called The Church of all Nations. It stands across the Kidron Valley from the Golden Gate (Luke 22:39), this is where Jesus was taken into custody after praying through the night (Matt. 26:36-56; John 18:1-13)

There are two sections of the garden-separated by a street. One is public where you can see the ancient tree and the other that is private where we went and had a time of prayer and worship. Tim and Erin played music and when that was over Erin preached.

Temple Mount Archaeological Dig

After emerging from inside the Western Wall, there was a real treat in store of us. We got on the big purple bus and got to go to a real archaeological dig site that was uncovering artifacts from the Temple Mount! The Muslims had bulldozed a section within the old city walls to build another mosque. It took 3 days before the Jews could get the demolition stopped. The Jewish people did discover where the remains were dumped and they immediately set up shop uncovering bits and pieces of 2000 + year old history. This project has been going on for several years now.

We were trained on how to sift, wash, and sort our findings. Then before we could dump the rubble, a real archaeologist came to re-examine our finds. Sometimes we did pretty well, and other times, it was pitiful! Once we thought a hunk of asphalt was a bone! LOL. We looked for mosaic tiles, metal, glass, pottery, bone, and "miscellaneous stone".

Our group of 19 fearless workers found several small "finds" which we put in a special tray for all to see. Tim's mom, better known as Mom-Mom by her grandkids on the trip, made what they called a "significant find." They had to take her information because the piece will be in a museum someday. It was some sort of a sling-shot stone that was not

common in the area. They even put it in its own plastic baggie. Very cool. One of my artifacts made it to the special tray too. It wasn't that big a deal, but I found a mosaic floor tile. See the square chunk sitting on the tray? Yep, that's mine!!

It was a rainy, drizzly day, but we had a blast playing in water and mud for almost 3 hours! Some children never grow up!

The Wailing Wall

We are now in Jerusalem for 4 days and began our tour with a trip to the old city by going through the Western Wall at the Dung Gate. This is the only gate that is in the Jewish Quarter. As we went through we saw the areas where there are huge water fountains that are used for ritual cleansing of hands before going to the wall for prayers. From there, folks walk with prayer books in hand to one of two sections of the wall. One side for men and the other for women. Men must have there heads covered, but not so for women.

Interestingly, when they pray, they do not go up to the wall and just pray. They say prayers that are from a prayer book only. There are indeed tiny scraps of paper scrunched up and put into the cracks of the wall.

After going to the Wailing Wall we entered into a tunnel that ran under the wall into the Muslim section. This particular area is as close to the Holy Mount as they can come. It is very sacred to them. There is constant praying and a mummer of voices can be heard echoing throughout the tunnels. In this excavated area you see many indicators that demonstrating that King Harrod had had this built (stone carvings etc).

Again, prayers in this

area are separate the men and the women. Dan was good about keeping his little hat on.

As we emerged from the tunnel, there was some sort of "bomb scare" in the courtyard. Everyone was calm and and the bomb squad came with speed and efficiency. Within about 30 minutes the "forgotten" laptop was exploded by the robot and a tech was sent out to retrieve it once everything had settled. Life resumed as normal after that. This is just life for them and they are always prepared...remember Masada? The Jews do not ask questions first. They take care of business and with good reason. Look at the countries that surround them.