October Heat Wave in Jerusalem?

We just THOUGHT we were through the dog days of summer.  This week has been record-setting for Jerusalem.  It’s been SO hot!  We are suffocating at night.  Normally, even in the summer, the nights cool off in Jerusalem.  Well, for the last few days, it’s even been hot at night.  The winds are coming from the southeast, from the desert, and with the winds come the dust.  We clean our tables every day and you can still write your name on the table with your finger.  We can feel the dust in our eyes. There is a coating of it on everything.

Today I walked to the Old City to do some shopping for a few people back home (namely my seven precious grandchildren).  I had every intention of walking back, but when I walked out of the Jaffa Gate, I decided that there was no way I was going to walk all the way back in the heat with my packages.  I flagged an Israeli taxi (haven’t braved the bus system yet) and on the way home he was telling me how unusual this heat is.  He said he has never seen it so hot in October.  Everyone is a amazed by it actually.  We even had to get our super duper little A/C out to cool our living room.  We thought we were finished with that thing over a month ago. We are drinking water like crazy and have fans blowing directly on us any time we sit down.

We love Jerusalem. There’s no better place to live, but please, Lord, remember that it’s October!

Back to Normal….Well, sort of

Now that the Biblical high holy days in Israel are over, life is getting back to normal.  Well, I guess it depends on what you consider normal.

Normal for me:

Waking up at 6:00 sharp every morning, because it starts getting light at 5. (I can not sleep when it starts getting light. I’m afraid I’m going to miss something!)

Walking down the mountain and across a busy street to the grocery store every two or three days. (My mother would cringe if she knew how I get across the street.)

Walking to the prayer room daily to either lead or attend prayer watches. This is my joy.

Trying to tune out Muslim calls to prayer that are broadcast over the city five times every day.

Mopping my dusty floors, because our windows are always open and we are a stone’s throw from the desert.

Praying with a short-term volunteer to be released from the typical oppression that comes when you first move here. (It’s always tough, but especially tough when you first get here.)

Trying to figure out why the internet is soooo slow.

Looking at the mountains of Moab from my living room window.

Hanging my wet laundry on a drying rack on my patio because the teeny dryer takes way too long to dry (and is way too expensive).

Pinching myself to make sure I actually live in Israel.

Using my very limited Hebrew with store clerks. (Is zero “tesha” or “efes”?)

Eating fresh pita, turkey, hummus and Israeli salad for lunch (the yoozsh). (That’s for you, Rach.)

Studying the book of Revelation and realizing it’s all going to take place in my neck of the woods!

Having an open door for twenty-somethings to come practice worship leading on our keyboard or to come just to hang out and talk.

Taking a shower in the afternoon because the water is warmer from the solar heater on the roof.

Walking to the Old City and bargaining with the Arab vendors. (“Thirty shekels?! For that?!!”)

Being overwhelmed with gratefulness that I am privileged to experience all this and more.

This is my normal.  And I love it.

Mountains of Moab

Simchat Torah! (Rejoicing in the Torah)

Today, Simchat Torah, marks the end of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings which are read in synagogues all over the world. On this day every year, the last portion of Deuteronomy is read along with the beginning verses of Genesis reminding us that Torah is a circle that never ends.  It is a time of great celebration, processions and dancing.

We were privileged last night to be a part of the rejoicing in Jerusalem.  Even with all the unrest and tension in Jerusalem right now, the mood was festive with lots of laughing and dancing. On the main stage, rabbis from the nations were introduced along with their newly-purchased Torah scrolls. Many rabbis make annual trips to Israel at this time to get their scrolls for the new cycle of Torah reading. The platform was packed with rabbis showing off their new scrolls for their synagogues!

Line dances and circle dances were taking place all around me. This one is great because it’s teenagers and twenty-somethings having a blast. It’s only 73 seconds long. Be sure and watch to the end because one guy has a fun time in the center of the circle!

As believers in Yeshua, we celebrate the Living Torah written on our hearts.  He is the Word of God sent by God to reveal God to the world.  We rejoice in the Truth of His Word. We rejoice, because He loved us enough to send Yeshua to the world so that we might know Him. And we can really know the Creator of the universe because of Yeshua’s sacrificial death on the cross.  That should make you want to dance a little jig!

All small children were on the shoulders of their fathers. The kids wave special flags for Simchat Torah. We even saw kids eating cotton candy!  What a fun night!

We rejoice in YOU, Lord!!!!  Pray that His chosen people will come to a revelation of Yeshua as the Living Torah written on their hearts.

Images of Sukkot

From the time Sukkot began last Friday night, I’ve been taking random pictures of the temporary booths that are in our neighborhood (Lev. 23:42-43). Each sukkah is different and unique to the builder. I love this time of year!

Sukkot on Ben Yehuda

Our neighbors downstairs were repairing their sukkah roof and I got this picture of the table inside it.

Taken from our living room window

Flowers from my hubby!

I just couldn’t end this post without showing you the flowers Gary got for me yesterday. These were at the little 24/7 convenience store close to our house. On Thursday and Friday, flowers are sold everywhere in Israel, because it’s very traditional to have cut flowers on a shabbat table.  Isn’t it amazing how flowers make you smile and brighten your day?!

When I grow up…..

When I grow up I want to be just like this precious lady.  She knows who she belongs to.  What peace!  She’s living for the eternal not the present.  That’s where I long to live.

“You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!”  Isa. 26:3-4