Pictures from Israel

Tevet 4, 5770

After 36 hours of travel, here we are sitting in the tour bus outside of the Tel Aviv airport. Logic dictates we should have been exhausted. However, the power of adrenaline was in full effect as there was no way we were going to shut our eyes and miss any of this trip.

We drove a little under an hour to the Jerusalem Plaza Hotel, just a 5-minute walk from downtown Jerusalem.

After exploring the hotel and meeting our group, we did crash for the evening since our first full day of touring started the next morning with a 6:45 a.m. breakfast buffet. Meditteranean food...one word...YUM!



First stop on Day 1: Mount of Olives

Here are some views from the top of the Mountain. The gold dome is the Dome of the Rock at the top of the Temple Mount. (we went there too - I'll post pics another day)

We were told that tours do not typically start with a walking tour of Jerusalem because it physically wears the guests out. Therefore, it is usually saved for day 4 or 5. I, however, couldn't have asked for a better way to start the tour. The view from the top of this mountain is burned into my heart. For it was here that I fell in love with Israel.

More pics to come!!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Shalom.

A Hanukah Mishap

Kislev 28, 5770

Happy 4th day of Hanukah

It's always a challenge trying to find age-appropriate ways to ignite a passion in our small children for the feasts and Holidays that remind us of God. It's a further challenge to remember that we (as Messianic believers) do not do these activities out of religion causing them to be practiced begrudgingly, but we do it out of excitement and love for Yeshua our Messiah. For the feasts and holidays emulate His life and His second coming.

So again, back to the challenge of expressing that to small children who don't want to hear Momma preach!

This year, we took the approach of keeping it simple and making it fun.


As part of our fun, (and I must admit, I snagged this idea from another Mom) I wrapped Hanukah/Christmas books and put them in a basket.


Each night, after speaking the blessings and lighting the candles, the kids get to pick a "present". They unwrap the book and we sit and read followed by a kid-inspired family night.

And, here is where the mishap takes place.

Last night, we deemed it movie night. In our haste, we ran from lighting the candles and reading to the TV room to watch our movie. Well, guess what Mommy forgot to do.





Yep, I forgot to blow out the candles. Here are some better pics since the above pic doesn't do the mess justice.

When we discovered it, the candles were clear pools of wax down in the cups of the candlesticks with barely glowing wicks in the middle.

So, guess what I'll be doing today in order to light the candles tonight! I'm hoping a hair dryer on low heat and a butter knife will do the trick. But....I'm open to suggestions.

On another note....this is the season of miracles. Wether you celebrate Hanukah, Christmas or both, we are all celebrating miracles.

It is my prayer that we will invite the Lord to work His miracles in our lives. It is my challenge to give the Lord free reign in my life to work the miracles He wants to give and not the ones I expect. Surprise us, oh Lord, that we would be blessed in ways our minds cannot forsee.

Have a wonderful week.

Shalom!

Poor Neglected Blog, I'm Back....Again!

Kislev 20, 5770

Hello again Bloggy friends. I’m so sorry for being gone for so long. I’ve missed reading everyone’s blogs and will spend some time catching up this week.

The reason I haven’t posted in so long?? I’m glad you asked. :-)

We have just returned from Israel!!

We went as part of Sid Roth’s (from the show It’s Supernatural) tour group to the Holy Land.

Sid is a Messianic believer and a dual citizen of Israel and the United States. For me, there was no better way to experience Israel for the first time than through the eyes of another Messianic believer. It was a life changing experience and one I intend to share over the next few weeks.

For now, here are a few photos.

My husband (who is holding the camera, hence his weird facial expression!) took this picture of us sitting on the bus. We are in the Tel Aviv airport parking lot and had been traveling for 36 hours w/no sleep.

Our first day of touring and our first panoramic glimpse of Jerusalem. We were standing on the Mount of Olives looking towards the old city.

David's tower at night.

Due to some impending writing assignments, I will have to cut back posting to every Monday. But, I’ll be here on Mondays sharing what the Lord has put on my heart and more photos of the trip.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and I can’t wait to catch up. By the Way, this Friday is the first day of Hanukkah so……Happy Hanukkah!!

Shalom!

While Away the Toys will Play

"For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalm 84:10

I interrupt the regularly scheduled Jewish Project for a story of another kind.

Each October, my family treks down to Orlando to spend time in the most Magical Place on Earth: Disney World.

This is a big to-do in our house and we start gearing up for it months in advance. Having made this trip for many years, we have come to expect a certain level of Disney magic that makes all vacations perfect and grand. However, this trip was much different. We had to fight for each moment of happiness.

For example, here’s what happened this past Saturday.

Obstacle number 1)….we spent the day at Hollywood Studios. Most of the attractions at this theme park are shows, so we had to schedule our day in regards to show times. This set us up for a very long day with two preschoolers…..but we were aware of this and had a pre-established grace flowing.

Obstacle 2) My husband and I had made reservations to have lunch at Mama Melrose’s inside the park. A restaurant I love. However, since we switched to a gluten-free diet this past summer, we had to order gluten-free food, which this restaurant does have available. And so my family dined on Tapioca rolls and gluten-free flatbread pizzas. Really….do I have to explain? Yep. I wanted a do-over.

Obstacle 3) The night before was our son’s birthday and all his unwrapped but unopened gifts were back in our cabin. Let’s see…you’re six and you can either walk around in a park all day or go back and play with your brand new toys. Uh-huh.

Obstacle 4) Finally, after a long day in the park, we took Disney transportation back to the “hub” of our resort – Fort Wilderness. Since it was late, we decided to get take out from the restaurant that was there. We ordered and waited….and waited…..and waited…..and waited. They forgot our food. But, we finally got it and off we went to catch the bus that would take us to the “sleeve” of where our cabin was located.

And, Obstacle 5) We boarded the bus that said “Settlement Orange”….the bus we needed. However, as we boarded the bus, the driver changed the sign to Wilderness Lodge. Yeah….we got on the wrong bus! But, in true Disney fashion, the driver was extremely nice and took a detour to take us home.

So, here we are. Off the bus and walking down the road towards our cabin, so very ready to sit down and relax. As we walked up our steps, we noticed that we forgot to put out the “do not disturb” sign.

Opening the door to our cabin we found this:

And this


(If you look close, Ferb is holding the TV remote and the TV which was right in front of him was turned on to the Disney channel)


And this


(This was Squeaker's bottom bunk where she found her brand new Simba plush toy nice and tucked in.)

And this

(Bug's upper bunk where Phineas is hanging out with Piglet)

And this

(Now this picture was taken in the bathroom and the elephant towels were hanging above the toilet. The irony of the scene was lost on the kids however, I'm very much aware that elephants are heffalumps in Disney's Pooh bear series and Pooh is very afraid of Heffalumps.)

And this

(Teddy sitting on the table coloring)

We laughed so hard we cried. All day long we fought for happiness, intent that we would not let little distractions or setbacks destroy our family vacation. In the end, we discovered the Lord had a surprise for us. A personalized comedy show right in our own room.

After finding puppy playing in the trash, we grabbed the camera and went on a treasure hunt to find out what the rest of the toys were doing while we were gone. Each “scene” was met with uproarious laughter that healed a portion of our day.

In the end, my husband and I had tears in our eyes as the scripture listed above came to life in both our hearts.

Why? Because a woman, who does not hold a glamorous job by any means, performed her work as if she was holding the “door open in the house of the Lord”.

The next day, we were checking out of the resort and uncharisterically decided to hang out in the cabin for the last few hours instead of going to another park. Because of this, we were in the cabin when the cleaning lady came to call.

So grateful to meet her, we took the time to thank her for the wonderful scenes she had left in our room and how much joy it brought us.

You will never guess her response….

She explained to us that she likes to create one scene per day in all the rooms she cleans. However, since we had the “do not disturb” on the day before, she didn’t get to make one for us and therefore decided to make up for lost time. Then, she reached in her bag and pulled out two more gifts. She handed our princess a tube of princess bubbles, and our little prince a toy airplane.

She did not expect to meet us. She did not expect gratitude. And yet, in a random moment of her tedious day, she was prepared to be a gift-giver.

Isn’t that all The Lord asks of us?

Shalom!

The Mezuzah and the Lightning

The Jewish Project




Tishrei 26, 5770





(On Monday, my post reflected the story of how the Lord instructed us to mark our house with a Mezuzah. Here is our testimony of what happened afterwards.)





It was raining.

Upstairs, we could hear the thud of footsteps as the kids ran back and forth playing tag. We sat at the table talking and picking at the crumbs left on our dinner plates.

Outside, the storm raged. Staring through the back window, I remember being amazed by the amount of lightning this particular storm had when a bolt hit the top of our house. The noise was so loud that my simultaneous scream could not be heard. The kids flew down the steps and were standing next to us before I stopped screaming. Half the house was dark while the other half was life as usual.

Checking the breaker box, my husband found half the circuits flipped. He turned them back on and the house hummed.

In the after math, our cable modem was fried and our security system panel sputtered and spat until it choked and died. The only electronic item not on a surge protector was a lone DVD player and it also met its maker, but other than that, the house was intact. We could find no other damage.

The storms continued throughout the week and two days after the lightning strike, I found a wet spot on the upstairs ceiling. Certain this was from the strike; I called the insurance company and filed a claim. But, that evening, we determined the wet spot was due to the horizontal rain earlier that day that had blown into the roof vent. And so, I closed the claim.

Five days after the lightning strike, the rain paused long enough for us to do some yard work. Within minutes of each other, I found a shingle in the back yard while my husband found one in the front. The next morning, I reopened the claim.

Seven days after the strike, a roofer came to give us an estimate. After climbing on the roof and inspecting the damage, he knocked on my door and said, “Ma’am, are you sure you don’t have any damage inside?”

“No.” I said.

“Well ma’am, are you sure there isn’t water upstairs or ceiling falling down up there?”

Again I replied “No” all the while thinking I would know if my roof was caving in so why do you keep asking.

Then, the roofer literally scratched his head and said, “Well, I don’t understand it, but you shouldn’t have a ceiling inside and in fact, I’m not sure why your house didn’t burn down.”

The next day, the roofer came with his team and fixed the roof. Once again, he rang the doorbell. This time he had two pieces of plywood in his hand.

“Ma’am” he said, “This is where the lightning entered the house.”




“This is where it exited.”





“I still don’t understand why you have a house.” Then this roofer, who is not a Christian, said this, “The only way I can explain it is G-d”

To which I replied, “Yes sir, G-d’s favor, prayer and His blood. Our house is marked for Him”


The logistics of the hit: there were two large holes in the top of the roof. The house did not catch fire. Not only that, but it rained for six days after the holes were there. No rain came through our roof (except for the roof vent which caused no damage). The roofer even crawled into the attic space and inspected the insulation. Nothing was wet.

On a major road near our home, on the same night our house was hit by lightning, two businesses were also hit. Both of them burned to the ground.

G-d instructed me to mark our house with His word. He led me to the discovery of the Mezuzah. We obeyed and He honored His covenant with us.

Until next time…Shalom!