My dodaddy is the coolest.

I want to introduce you to my dodaddy.  Some know him as Lew, to others he is dad, all of my cousins call him granddaddy, but he was my dodaddy.  I’m not sure where I came up with that name, and I’m sure it was just as weird for him to be called that as it was for me to call him that, but he returned the favor by calling me Patty Poo and neither of us ever cared that it was strange at all (and for the record he is the ONLY person that has ever been and will ever be allowed to call me that, so as long as we are clear on that, we can move on).  So, if you care to listen, I'm going to tell you about him.

He played cribbage.  And I don't care how many dollars he lost to my dad, I would always root for him.  It didn't matter how bad he was losing, I was always sure he would pull through and win.  And I was always insistent that he was a better cribbage player than my dad, much to my dad’s dismay.  Dad, let's be serious, he was a kick butt cribbage player, and it was your butt he was kicking. And you loved every second of it.

He ate ketchup on everything.  And I mean EVERYTHING.  I don't really know why he bothered taking time to pick out his meals, because they probably all just tasted like ketchup.  This used to make me crazy, but eventually it was just funny.  At least he knew what he liked.

Sometimes, he would burst into song.  I never knew what the heck he was singing, but I found it hilarious.  It's just one of those awesome quirky things that old people do sometimes because they've lived long enough to know that it really and truly doesn't matter what other people think of you.  It's pretty funny when you are in a crowded elevator and your grandfather just starts singing—not quietly—and everyone glances around at each other wondering what the heck is going on.  It's hilarious.  Maybe I'll try it sometime.

He loved Disney world.  I don't know why this always astounded me so much.  Maybe it's because he never did too much there, he would just sit and wait for people to get off of the rides he didn't want to ride.  I never understood why he would think that it was so fun, until I grew up and became a little more like him.  I've actually spent time thinking about this, because it really did baffle me so much, so here are the theories I have come up with as to why he loved Disney world as much as he did.

1. He enjoyed watching other people have fun.  Whether it was a small child running around pretending to be Mickey Mouse, or his own children laughing over the dinner table, he found his joy and pleasure in other people’s joy and pleasure.  I think this is a hard thing to find in people these days, and I admire him so much for that quality.  This is essentially the definition of living for others instead of for yourself, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

2. He enjoyed his family.  I think he was proud of the people he raised.  He was proud of his family and he loved being with us.  He knew that being surrounded by people he loved and loved him was far better than riding a thrill ride, and he was happy to know that he would be waiting for us when we got done.

3. It made him feel like a kid.  This doesn't need much explaining, everyone feels like a kid within a few minutes of being in Disney.  And let's not lie, it's pretty excellent.

4. The love of his life loved Disney.  This is probably the biggest reason he loved it too.  That said, let me tell you the most important thing about my dodaddy.

He was married to my memomma (seriously I have no idea where I got these names).  And these past two weeks as I have been remembering him, it struck me how much I have also been remembering her.  At first that seemed odd, shouldn't my thoughts be focused on him right now?  Shouldn't he be the one I am missing and remembering and mourning?  Then it occurred to me that it makes total sense that my thoughts of him would lead me directly to thoughts of her.  So much of who he was, even in these past years since she has been gone, is wrapped up in her.  The two of them were a team.  They built a family out of a love that I envy, the kind of love I hope to experience in all of its richness one day (however I have a feeling it's pretty rare).  One thing that I have been overwhelmed with lately is how grateful I am to be a product of that love.  I owe a great deal of who I am to the two of them.  They chose to love unconditionally the people in their life, and they were darn good at it.  Without them, I wouldn't exist.  Without them, I wouldn't have the loving family that's do.  Without them, I might know a great deal less about what love really looks like.

This next little tidbit is probably my favorite, though it must be noted that it used to be my very least favorite thing about my dodaddy.  Without hesitation, he tried to set me up with every eligible male within an acceptable age range.  And I am really not exaggerating on this one.  My older cousins can attest to this (and let me tell you they were very happy when they finally got married and the torch was passed on to me, thanks for the solidarity ladies...).  From the next door neighbor, to the waiters at the restaurants we would go to, to the grandsons of his friends, he tried to set me up with them all.  Now, up until recently this was extremely annoying and slightly stressful.  However, these past couple weeks I realized something that I had never quite thought about before.  My dodaddy had a wonderful, long, committed, and loving marriage.  I really am not lying about their relationship just so I can say nice beautiful things now that they are gone.  They really and truly did have something rare and beautiful.  So it makes sense that he would want his precious granddaughters to experience the same love that comes from a relationship like he did.  So in his own way, it's like he was telling us just how valuable and wonderful he thought we were and just how much he wanted good and beautiful things for us.  In that light, I look back on all those awkward moments where my dodaddy asked waiters if they were single then pointed across the table at me, and I can remember them and smile, knowing how much I meant to him.  I only hope he knows how much he meant to me too, and something tells me he knew.  Because I am fairly certain he knew me pretty well.

He really was a good, strong, loving man.  And I'm not just saying that because it's what you do when you remember people and try to honor them.  I'll miss him, just like I miss her, but I can remember them with joy, knowing the lord made me a part of their family for a reason, knowing I am different because I am theirs, knowing that they knew how to love deeply, and knowing they left a lot of that love behind.

Is my home in Kansas, or in Oz?

Dorothy said it herself, “There’s no place like home”. While I understand the idea behind that—that nothing feels quite as comforting as being home—I think she used the wrong words. You see, home is not about a place. Home is about where your heart is being pulled. If you recall, at the end of the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy has a hard time saying goodbye to her new friends. I don’t know that I would have been surprised if she had made a last minute decision to stay in Oz, abandoning her goal of returning to Kansas. She had made bonds with her new group of misfit friends. She loved them. And it was that love that tied her to them; it was that love that made them a home. Maybe that famous line should have read, “There’s no feeling like home”.

Right now I am a bit of a nomad. When people ask me where I am from I never know quite how to answer. I grew up in one place, but then my dad lives in another. Then I went to school somewhere else. Now I live in a new place that’s not really all that new. I find myself using phrases like “I’m heading home to my mom’s” or “I am going home to my dad’s” or “I have to get back to my home in PA”. I have to clarify where I am going when I say the word home because it could mean so many different things. All of these places were home at one point, and most of them are still home, but not because of the locations. The other day I was back in Newark with a friend and I said, “It’s strange to be back in Newark because I think it should feel like being back home since it was my home for four years, but it doesn’t feel like that at all”. After I thought about that for a while, I realized it was because almost all of the people that had made Delaware feel like home aren’t there anymore. It was never about being at UD, it was always about the people that were at UD with me.

So what is home? You have a home with the people in your life that you love. It doesn’t matter where you are, but who you are with and the love that is between you. I am going to tell you a little bit about all of my different homes. And when I say a little, I mean I am about to tell you a TON.

My mom will always be a home for me. We’re a team, her and I. For so many years it was just us, walking through life together. Her being the wonderful, patient, graceful woman that she is and me being the goofy awkward kid that eventually became a moody teenager and somehow turned into the less awkward, less goofy, less moody person I am today. She let me rant for hours about my bad days while she quietly cooked dinner and put up with my constant failure to do any chores. She laughs with me and cries with me and when I call her just to say hi and we talk for all of 10 seconds, it’s never weird. Our house is not really my home anymore, but she is.

Then there’s my dad. My dad has never hung up the phone without telling me that he’ll always love me no matter what (except that one time, but then he called back just to say it). I remember nights where we would sit in front of the tiny tv eating soup and watching star wars. Then we would play basketball in with a nerf ball that definitely wasn’t a real basketball and a laundry basket on a pole that definitely wasn’t a real basketball hoop. None of the places he has ever lived has been home, but he has always been home. It was never about the place, but being with him is always like being home.

With my dad comes my step-family. Now I know what you are thinking. You have this image of a Cinderella-type arrangement. Dad, step-mom, 2 step-sisters, and then me living in the basement or something. Now, while I do have a step-mom and 2 step-sisters, and I did live in a basement at one point, the parallel to Cinderella stops there. I am blessed to have my step-mom and step-sisters and I am fully confident that wherever we end up in life, no matter what, I will always have a home with each of them. They are beautiful, passionate, creative, unique women that love life and live it to the full. I have laughed and cried with Becca and spent many nights hiding under blankets watching scary movies until we are both too freaked out to walk back up the stairs to our rooms (I wonder if she knows she is literally the only person that is capable of convincing me to watch scary movies). We are extremely different people and we can still end up rolling on the floor in laughter over meaningless silly things. On the other hand, Ellie and I so similar it’s scary. I don’t know if she’s ever noticed that, but it seriously freaks me out sometimes. We both love to laugh. We share a love of books and good food. We ask a lot of questions, so much so that sometimes it makes my dad and step-mom crazy. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we laugh away our mistakes. We are goofy and silly and when I am with her I typically feel like I am 5 years old again. Then there is Joanne, the woman I am privileged to call my step-mom and friend. She has more joy and passion for life than anyone I have ever met. She is a miracle worker in the kitchen and has made some of the best food my mouth has ever tasted. She does everything with her entire heart and she loves me as if I was her own daughter. Every other Friday night, when I would visit my dad, I would get to the house and sit at the kitchen table while she put the finishing touches on dinner and we would talk. Sometimes it would be meaningless conversation and sometimes it would be a little deeper, but I looked forward to getting to the house just for those times (and for her mashed potatoes). We have grown to be good friends over these years and I treasure the times that we share meals or coffee or just a simple conversation across the counter in our kitchen. These three dynamic women give me a home because I truly love them and they truly love me.

Then there is the small group of friends that know me deeper than anyone else in this world. Naming them each and telling you how wonderful they are would take forever, so I’ll tell you about them collectively. Some of them are old friends, some are newer. They know me so deeply that I can’t hide anything from them. They know when I am lying about being fine and they aren’t afraid to call me out on it. They know my deepest struggles and failures and I have never felt more loved by them than in those moments of vulnerability where they loved me and cried with me and told me I wasn’t alone. I consistently let them down and they consistently love me. We’ve laughed together, cried together, been through heartbreaks and major life decisions, been sad together and been happy together. They are colorful and goofy and fun and beautiful. Our hearts have been bound together in deep friendship and each one of them shows me more and more of Christ the longer we live out this journey together. They are home.

Then there is my life where it is now. While all of these other people I am telling you about are still in my life, I don’t see any of them consistently anymore. They are still very much a part of my life, but I live away from them, in a house that isn’t mine with a family that isn’t mine in a town that isn’t mine. But somehow, though none of it is mine, it’s still home. I live with a family that shows me Christ every single day. They love me and care for me as if I really were a part of their family. I experience what it means to be a part of the body of Christ through this family. At a time where a lot of people tend to feel alone (twenty-somethings just out of college with a part time job in a new place with no friends), I am not alone. I am constantly surrounded by six incredible people that have embraced me as their own. It feels like home, not because of the place, but because they love me.

Along with this family, my life also consists of my current job. My job is unique in that the people that I work with are so wonderful. I am excited to go to work in the mornings because I enjoy being around the people that I work with. They are fun and enthusiastic and so willing to share their lives. There is a joy that I have at work that I love and as cheesy as it is, it kind of feels like a home there too.

Then there is younglife. Talk to any younglife leader and they will tell you how small of a world younglife can be. They are right. Everyone knows everyone and while it may seems like just a lot of acquaintances to the outside person, younglife people have a way of getting really deep really fast. So, we actually know each other really well and truly love each other. My fellow leaders that I interact with regularly are some of the best friends I have ever had. They give of themselves in ways that stretch them and challenge them. They are encouraging and full of life. They share their struggles and their joys and fight to make Christ known. It really is a big family, as cheesy as that sounds, and it’s kind of like being home when I am with them.

If you actually made it this far I am impressed. I just spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about myself. But I needed to make this point. Home is where we fit, where we experience the kind of love that only true family can provide. They are the people that know me. They know my joys and my longings and my faults and my mistakes. They know all of this and still love me, which is completely insane and completely incredible. But here’s the thing, none of this is based on a location. It doesn’t matter where we are, when I am with these beautiful people, I always feel like I am home. Home is not a house or a town or a school. Home is where you heart is being pulled. For me, it is with all of these people that make my life so full, because my heart is with them.

A home is somewhere that you can branch out from on your own and still be connected to. It’s a place you can leave physically, but not really and truly leave behind. Home is the place you can always return to and it seems like something has really changed, no matter how much distance and time has been between you. I have a lot of really excellent homes. Many, if not all, of them are messy and rough around the edges and come with baggage, but they are beautiful not only in spite of that, but because of that. Their joys are my joys and their struggles are my struggles and the other way around. So, it’s not really about where we are, but where our hearts are.

That said, it’s kind of encouraging that I don’t really feel like I have a place to call home. The more in love I fall with God, the less comfortable this world should feel. This world isn’t my home, it’s simply where I reside. One day, I think this all will change. There will actually be a place to call home, a place I belong, a place I was made for. But for now, on this earth, my home is with the people I love that love me, and I am incredibly blessed to have them.

You Meet With Me, Under a Sunset Painted Sky

“I’m here to meet with you, come and meet with me.

I’m here to find you, reveal yourself to me.”

-“Meet With Me” by Ten Shekel Shirt

Today was a beautiful day. At a wobbly table outside Starbucks while people were hustling in and out I sat alone, but I wasn’t really alone. Sitting by myself as the sky turned from blue to grey to orange I didn’t feel alone. Under that same sunset painted sky I walked unaccompanied through an almost deserted park at dusk with nothing around but a few runners and the creaking of a swing set. But I wasn’t alone at all. And I knew it. And I felt it. And, what is most astounding, I believed it.

“’Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

-Psalm 46:10-11

You met me there today at that table and in that park as the world continued to move around me like it always does. As the world was spinning we were changing, You and me. Or, rather, I was changing and You were with me. You don’t change, that’s the beauty about You. You don’t change and Your love that I’ve known for years never changes, You just keep giving me more. More and more, over and over, time and time again. Like today, at that table, in that park. But I change. By Your great mercy I am changed. It is impossible to encounter you and not be changed. Today You met me and changed me right there where I sat, where I walked, as I gazed upon the beauty of the clouds You draped in oranges and pinks and yellows just for me, or so it seemed.

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”

-Psalm 33:20-22

I set out to find You today and You revealed Yourself. Was it in the way you painted the sky? Was it in the warm air? Was it in the delicious cup of coffee I consumed? Was it in the words I read in that beautifully articulated love letter You wrote to me? Was it in the surprising feeling of love and contentment and peace that I felt rounding the turns of the path as I walked? Was it in the way I knew exactly what I wanted to say to You and ask of You and give to You? Was it in the way that I felt so clearly that You know me better than I could ever hope to know myself? Yes. To all of the above. I came to meet with You, and You met with me.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

-Psalm 103:1-8

Strong is His Love

“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.” (Psalm 62:11-12a)

Perfect love drives out fear. I am perfectly loved. This means I no longer have to fear failure. I no longer have to fear death. I no longer have to fear inadequacy. I no longer have to fear pain. I no longer have to fear loneliness. Perfect love means commitment. Perfect love means selflessness. Perfect love means being perfectly cared for. Perfectly protected. Perfectly romanced. Perfect love lasts forever. I don’t have to fear the end of perfect love because perfect love does not end. If I am perfectly loved, I need not have any fear. Perfect love frees. It sustains. It excites. It assures. I never have to wonder if it will soon be gone because it will always be here. He will always be here. Loving me. Perfectly.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18a)

It is this love—this beautiful love—that changes me. It changes everything I am about. Being loved so perfectly and so completely changes the heart of who you are. With this love, my very core is made up of love, peace, and strength.

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Nothing can truly break me because of this love. Death itself, the greatest human fear, has been conquered. If death cannot break me, what can?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35,37)

I am strong. Not because I am strong, but because His love is strong. I can withstand the suffering, pain, hardship, persecution, disappointment and heartbreak. Not because I am hardened, but just the opposite. I have been softened. Softened by His love. His perfect love that strengthens me.

“Two things you told me
That you are strong
And you love me
Yes, you love me”

-Jon Foreman, “Your Love is Strong”

Stop Trying

We go to school and worry about getting good enough grades. We go to work and worry about doing a good enough job to not get fired. We have friends and worry about being good enough to keep them. We worry about being pretty enough, successful enough, funny enough, happy enough, smart enough. But it occurred to me that this is the exact opposite of what God wants for us. He doesn't want us to worry about being good enough for Him, He just wants us to be His. We worry that we will mess things up and do things wrong and we are afraid, but God doesn't expect perfection.

Think about it, I am sure there are people in your life that you care about in a way that there is nothing they could do that would be bad enough to make you stop caring about them. You care about them selflessly. Now, we are not perfect so we don't selflessly love anyone completely, but you get the idea. This is how God loves us. He wants to be a part of our struggles, He wants us to stop trying to be perfect and just let Him into our failures so He can walk through them with us. He wants our imperfection. He died for that imperfection. He wants to replace our broken imperfect selves with the perfect, whole, beautiful people we were designed to me. We simply have to let Him into the mess.

There's nothing we can do that will ever make Him not love us, because His love isn't based on how well we love Him, it's based on His desire to give perfect love to us. Our failures don't affect His love for us, He wants to be present in those failures, giving us life and hope and peace and strength and joy, never condemnation and shame. That's what the world gives us when we screw up, but God is radically different. He is counter cultural. He gives life where the world brings pain and sorrow. He gives love where the world gives hate and discouragement. He knows our condition. He knows of our imperfection.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

-Romans 5:8

Stop trying to not mess up. Stop worrying about being good enough, accept that you aren't and let God amaze you when He tells you that you are good enough for Him. You are human and you can't not mess up. He knows the brokenness and He wants in. Let Him enter into the disaster that is your life. Let Him into the very thing He died to save. That's selfless love. That's how He loves us.

High Five

So since I enjoyed writing this blog in Israel way more than I expected, I decided to keep updating it every once in a while with various thoughts and experiences! Some of you know that I spent 2 weeks in August at Rockbridge on young life summer staff. To avoid spending 10 hours writing about how great it was, I'll just leave you with this little nugget...

As a summer staffer assigned to the challenge course, one of the things we would do was belay kids on the "high five". Basically, the high five is a telephone pole that kids try to climb up and then jump off of. The goal is to jump out to a glove that's hanging in the air and high five it, hence the name. Sounds crazy, but it's actually pretty awesome. Some kids climb up like it's nobody's business without a care in the world, while other panic the whole way. One day I was belaying a girl that was really nervous about standing on the top of the pole. She climbed all the way up but just couldn't bring herself to let go of the steps and stand. So as an encouragement I said what I had said to so many kids before, "Go ahead and give it a try, whether you jump or fall, I've got you." In that instant, I couldn't help but think that that's exactly how God loves us. He calls us to go, do, serve, and stretch ourselves to the limit, knowing all the while that if we fall, He'll catch us. I couldn't tell this girl whether she would make it or not, and she was shaking like a bowl full of jello so she probably felt incredibly out of control of the the whole situation, but I just wanted her to try. And I knew I was going to catch her and she would be lowered safely to the ground. She had no idea what was going to happen, she just had to trust me.

God just wants us to be a part of the beautiful plan He has worked out for the world. he wants us to have great experiences, to live our lives like they were meant to be lived. He knows that He's going to catch us no matter what (and on that note, love us no matter what). When we trust that He's got us, our fears become obsolete. We can attempt anything, go anywhere, love anyone. We'll mess up for sure and we'll fall along the way but the beauty is that either way-jump or fall-the outcome is the same, He's got us. He's a God that loves us radically, calling us to go out and take risks for Him and rescuing us from how we screw it all up. Is that not awesome!? We go because of this love, this crazy love that is so freeing that we can't help but be compelled by it. We serve because we know He catches us every time and we just can't help but try to love Him back, as feeble our attempts might be. And meanwhile, like a belayer is ready for anything their climber does, God knows what we're going to do every step of the way and He is completely ready to catch us on the way down.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us."

1 John 4:18-19

Waves and Stars

We're finally back from our four-day trip in the Galilee area and let me just say, Galilee is so beautiful! I apologize in advance for the massively long post that's about to come your way...

Sunday 6/27:
Today was the beginning of our Galilee trip. We started out at Caesarea, right on the Mediterranean. It is truly amazing, all the place Herod built. Caesarea is yet another huge masterpiece constructed by him during his reign as King. Caesarea is where Paul was imprisoned and eventually appealed to Caesar for his release. We read this passage while at Caesarea and took time to think about all that Paul went through and the extreme faith it took him to get through it all. It's incredible that after Paul was unjustly imprisoned for two years, he was still able to testify in Rome. I think we are so quick to doubt God's goodness in times of trouble, but the reality is that God is always good, no matter how hard things get. It's simply that when we're in the midst of the storm, we can't see the good that God will bring from it. This is where we are called to cling to the truth that God is good, and Paul very clearly understood this. He was so sure of God's goodness that he was able to stay strong through his hard life. How much different we wound be if we truly believed that God is good!

From Caesarea we moved on to Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. Here onh Mount Carmel, Elijah asked the people to choose who their God was, instead of shallowly wavering between two. He goes on the challenge them by building an alter and having them do the same. Then, both Elijah and the prophets of Baal called on their respective God to set fire to their alter. Nothing happens to the alter of Baal, but Elijah's alter to God bursts into flames which proclaims God's glory. (this is all in 1 Kings 18) A woman on our trip, Bev, talked about how we are presented with Elijah's question every day. "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him." Do we choose God, or do we choose to follow our own ambitions and successes? God calls us to give up everything, our vaery selves, to follow Him completely. How often do we only give up half? How long will we waver between two opinions?

After this we stopped at a rolling tomb that looked similar to what Jesus' tomb would have looked like. Then we went on to Megiddo, where the final battle will take place at the end of days. For this trip we are staying at a hotel resort type place run by a kibbutz right on the Sea of Galilee. It is so amazing here! We went for a swim in the lake before dinner, ate AMAZING food, and watched the sunset over the lake. It's definitely different than what we are used to in Jerusalem!



Monday 6/28:
We started off today at Hazor, then stopped at Bar'am on our way to Tel Dan. Dan is mentioned numerous times in the Bible and is home to the Canaanite "Gate of the Three Arches" which is remarkably still intact, preserving it's full height of 7 meters. We moved on from Dan to Caesarea Philipi (Banias). Here we took a hike to some beautiful waterfalls where we got to relax a bit and take tons of pictures. Once back at the hotel, we went for a refreshing swim in the Sea of Galilee before eating another fantastic dinner.

In the evening I just spent time sitting on the beach watching the sunset and, eventually, watching the stars. The Sea of Galilee is basically gorgeous all the time. It was amazing to look across the lake at the huge city of Tiberias all lit up, but to be sitting alone on a quiet beach. I got to thinking about how huge the world really is and how small we each are. But the beauty is that even when we are in the midst of thousands of people and we seem so small and insignificant, God sees us just as clearly as if we were sitting alo0ne on a quiet beach. Out God is a personal God that knows us and loves us all so deeply. I am not simply part of the masses, I am this precious child that God knows and loves. (ps, psalm 139 is all about this...)

And this idea of being God's child is awesome in itself. A child is fully reliant on it's parents for everything. It doesn't know anything about the world and it doesn't have a clue what to expect. It simply grows up unknowing of all it is learning and all it is being prepared for. Yet it is constantly growing and being made ready to face the world. As God's children, we aren't supposed to know everything or be able to figure it all out, we are asked to simply follow and trust that God is preparing us for what is to come. How much rest this gives us! Children don't worry about their future and what steps to take next, they just go where their parents take them, and trust it is the right way to go. What a great relief it is to stop worrying and just follow!

Our God is so amazing! With faith like a child we can follow a beautifully good God that loves us and we can be certain that He is leading us, teaching us, and growing us every second of every day.















Tuesday 6/29:
Today we visited a bunch of churches that have biblical significance. First was Kursi, which commemorates the place where Jesus healed the demoniac, sending the demons into the swine that then ran into the sea. Then we went to Korazim, which isn't a church, but contains some amazing ruins of a synagogue built in the centuries after Christ. From here we went to the Church of the Beatitudes, where Jesus preached these words. We took some time here to read the passage and process it a bit before moving on to the Church of Heptapegon. This is where Jesus fed the 5000 with the bread and fish. Soon after, we went to the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, which commemorates when Jesus appeared to Peter after His resurrection. Our final stop was at Capernaum, where Peter lived and where Jesus spent a lot of His adult life. Jesus performed many miracles here, including healing the paralytic.


We ended the trip with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias over to the other side where we have been staying. It was awesome to see how big the lake actually is and get a feel for what it is like out there. At one point we stopped the boat and got to experience how still and calm it was on the lake. It was so quiet, it gives an amazing picture of what it would have been like after Jesus calmed the storm.



We finished the day with yet another phenomenal dinner and a great time swimming and goofing off (which included a chicken fight and an epic game of nighttime monkey in the middle). Our stay at Galilee has been incredible! I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Wednesday 6/30:
Today we packed up to go back to Jerusalem. We began the journey with a walk up to the Arbel Cliffs to overlook the Sea of Galilee (picture to the left). Then we moved on to Zippori, which was a major Jewish center following the destruction of the second temple. Along with some ruins, there is some incredible tile work that has been preserved here at Zippori which really shows the souls of the people that lived here long ago. Our final stop before our long drive home was at Beth Shean. I'll admit that I wasn't too excited due to the heat and the numerous other cities we have seen already, however, the city turned out to be very cool. It was huge and the structures would have been so remarkable back in their prime. It would have been a major hub of commotion as it sits right at a major crossroads (picture below).















After we got back, we topped off the day with an adventure to the German Colony in Jerusalem, which is basically just a hip area with restaurants and shops and whatnot. It was a nice walk despite the roundabout way we took to get there (which probably added a solid hour to our trip). All in all, today was long and tiring, but it feels good to be back at JUC. The trip as a whole was absolutely amazing and filled with so much incredible stuff.

The Lord Loves His Broken People

Today we saw the the Old Testament tell of Jericho (which is basically a place where city upon city has been built on top of each other for generations and formed a large hill). The site itself is a big hill that they have excavated to reveal some parts of the city. It is amazing how you can see right to the place where the Israelite camp would have been prior to the fall of Jericho, the people of the city would have been very aware of the Israelite army's approach (Joshua 2-6). But Joshua trusted the Lord, who promised him the he would give Jericho to them. It is fascinating that God chose to use Rahab to help his people. She was a prostitute in Jericho that hid the two Israelite spies so that the army could take the city. She then instructed them to go hide themselves in the hills for a few days to stay safe. The spies promised Rahab that her and her family would be safe and treated kindly when the Israelite army finally took control. After the 7 days of marching around the city, the walls finally fell and the Israelites rushed the city, killing everyone but keeping the promise made to Rahab. She stayed with the Israelites from then on. This is such an amazing example of how God uses the unexpected to do His work. He used this woman to protect His people and assured that she would become one of them in the end. Isn't this how God uses us? Before we even knew it and acknowledged God's work, He was preparing us and using us to bring about His will. There is never a moment where we are not guided by Him and not being used for His glory, whether we know it or not. He chooses to use His broken people to do incredible things. Rahabs life was changed forever because of how the Lord chose her to do His work. How are we being changed everyday?

Zacchaeus is another person drastically changed by God in Jericho, except this time, the Lord used Jesus to bring about the change (this would be in New Testament Jericho, where we had gone before Old testament Jericho and seen the remains of Herod's royal palace). Zacchaeus, a short man, climbed a sychamore tree so that he could see Jesus walking through Jericho. Then, for no explained reason, Jesus comes to the base of the tree and asks Zacchaeus to come down so that He could eat with him. This was unheard of because Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and was thus a sinner and declared unworthy to be in Jesus' prescence. This show of love towards Zacchaeus, dispite his position in the community, radically changes him, and his response is amazing. We see him immediately change his ways by giving half of everything He owned to the poor and paying back 4 times everything he had cheated from people. What a change! He is immediately a different person; he was once a theif and now he is a "son of Abraham" as Jesus declared (in Luke 19). And through this whole event, even as he was looking at Jesus from afar, God is using Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus had no idea that he was being used as an example of God's love that knows no boundaries and has no prejudices. He was likely one of the lowest people in that place at this time and yet he was chosen by God to show the people how radical love can change a person so drastically.

The place of Jericho is an amazing place to study how the Lord works in ways so opposite of how our world thinks. He is unique in all that He does and the results are unimaginable. Being in this place, knowing all the things that happened here, was awesome. We went to a few other sites too: an old crusader church that is now a mosque which overlooked Gibeon, the Michmash and Geba and the pass between where Jonathan moved his troops, the edge of the wilderness where Jesus would have wandered (which is a dessert, not the wilderness with dense forest like we would easily think), and Gezer. Overall, it was a good day studying the Benjamin area, even though it was brutally hot and exhausting.

Tomorrow we have a free day! I think we plan to explore the old city, do some shopping, and fianlly get some good authentic falafel!