2 More Days!!!

Here is proof that this is a beautiful morning. I just took this from my living room window.  The Judean hills are in the distant background. Anyway, I wanted SOMEONE to see what I see this morning.  No one else is up yet in my beit benyamin (Benjamin house).

Two more days!!!  Gary, Preston and I are beyond excited about what two days time will bring us.  (more…)

My Heart

I awoke this morning before the sun. Couldn’t sleep. Too much to think about. When I lay my head on my pillow tonight, everything has to be packed for our 7-week trip and the house cleaned and ready for our friends who will be staying here while we’re gone.

I grabbed my throw blanket and went out on the porch just as the light was peeking through the clouds. The morning was crisp and cool, such a refreshing respite from the heat wave this last week.  As one of our friends here says, the birds were “tweeting” and singing.   I could just barely see the mountains on the other side of the Jordan River.  Moses surveyed the promised land from the mountains that I look at every morning. John the Baptist hung out in the wilderness just before those mountains. Jeremiah probably climbed these hills closest to me. The view from my porch never gets old.  This morning was especially poignant, because after tomorrow I won’t see this sight again for seven whole weeks. Jerusalem has stolen my heart. If heart is where the home is, then I am home. I know I won’t always be here. Abba has so many things planned for our family. There are rivers to cross and battles to win. There are pockets of darkness in the earth that need the kingdom of God declared and spoken forth over them. But for right now I am relishing the fact that God has graced me to live in the city that He loves.  And I will miss her immensely.

“I am extremely jealous for Zion;  I am jealous for her with great wrath.” Zech. 8:3

“You who make mention of the Lord, do not give Him rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth.” Isa. 62:6-7

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