Birthday Breakfast

I'm so grateful that 36 years ago today, God brought a very special man into this world!  God knew, even then, that he would be the one for me and I wasn't even born yet!  I love how God's plans are always perfect. So today, I want to wish the love of my life a Happy Birthday!

This past weekend was very busy with two performances of our Easter Musical and I didn't plan very well for his birthday celebration so Claire and Levi sprang into action to make their daddy's birthday breakfast one to remember!  Levi suggested we make pancakes and put a candle in them, but there wasn't enough time before they had to leave for school.  He then came up with the genius idea to put one in a piece of bread.  His daddy was gonna have a candle by all means!!  We whipped up his instant grits (and added some cheese to make them special) and we put that candle in a piece of bread.  The kids ushered him in for the Birthday song and wish. It might not have been a grand breakfast but the love that was put into it will always be remembered.

      

He's a character!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Trip of a LIfetime - Day 4

We woke up to another rainy day but were excited to spend the day where Jesus had lived in Nazareth!  On our way to Nazareth we passed through the Arabic town of Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle of turning the water to wine (John 2:1-11).  

Nazareth
 

Nazareth was the home of Mary and Joseph and the boyhood home of Jesus (Luke 2:4, 51; Matthew 2:23).

Once we arrived in Nazareth, we visited Nazareth Village. This is a recreation of a Galilean village as it was 2,000 years ago.  Stories of Jesus' childhood, ministry and teaching are retold with elements of everyday life re-enacted.  We know that on the occasion of Jesus beginning His ministry, He preached in the synagogue at Nazareth.  He unrolled the Old Testament Scroll and read from Isaiah 61.  After this is when Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in His hometown." Luke 4:24 

As Jesus continued to preach to them about their unbelief, they were filled with anger and threatened to throw Jesus over the cliff. (Luke 4:28-29)  We visited this cliff called Mt. Precipice which has an amazing view of the valley below.

 

Mt. Tabor -Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera from this mount (Judges 4)

Hills of Moreh from which Gideon defeated the Midianites (Judges 6). Jezreel and Valley of Jezreel, location of Naboth's Vineyard and site of demise of Ahab & Jezebel (1 Kings 21; 2 Kings 9).

Jezreel Valley and Village of Nain (Luke 7:11) in distance.

Valley of Armageddon

Valley of Armageddon with Meggido in the distance

Our second stop was St. Gabriel's Church for a visit to Mary's Well.  Mary's Well is a free flowing spring and is undoubtedly an authentic site.  This spring was the only water source at the time of Jesus. Mary would have come to this well daily to draw water and the little boy Jesus would have most certainly been at her side.  

Front of St. Gabriel's Church

Walking into St. Gabriel's Church

Mosaic leading to Mary's Well

Tourists visiting Mary's Well

Mary's Well

We also visited the Synagogue Church, a Crusader church built on top of the remains of the Synagogue where Jesus grew up and then preached upon his return to Nazareth during His ministry.

 

The Church of the Annunciation was our next stop.  This is the traditional location of the home of Mary and Joseph and where they believe the Archangel Gabriel spoke to Mary.

The door behind the table is what is believed to be the house of Mary and Joseph.

We ended our day at one of my favorite places, the Jordan River.  I had determined that I would be re-baptized in the same river my Lord was baptized in by my sweet husband.  At the age of seven, I realized I was a sinner and in need of a Savior.  My daddy was my pastor and I confessed my need to him and my mother and we knelt by their bed and I prayed to ask Jesus to come into my heart.  My daddy baptized me at Hebron Baptist Church as I proclaimed to everyone that I was following Jesus for the rest of my life.  At the Jordan River, I was proclaiming that I will continue to follow Jesus as long as I live!  I will always remember both of these important events in my life and am blessed that my daddy and my husband played a part!  

Keep in mind that it was rainy and VERY cold as we were going to be baptized.  The Jordan River is fed from the snows of Mount Hermon and the water was freezing!  Matt was privileged to baptize 11 of our people who were on this journey with us.  His feet were numb when he left the water!  

 

Another beautiful rainbow as we were entering the baptismal site.

 

Tears were flowing at this moment.

Matt's brother, Paul, baptized him.

Another great day has come to an end and we are trying to soak up every moment of our time in the Holy Land!

Trip of a Lifetime - Day 3

After a decent night's rest (thanks to Ambien), we were eager to start our first day of touring!  Thankfully we had been instructed to bring a warm, all-weather coat because the forecast showed rain for the next three days with a chance of snow in the higher elevations!  The weather man was right but we didn't let the wet and cold stop us.

We began our day with a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes where Matt read the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5. 

Matt and Dr. Tolar

The Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes

We then traveled North to the foothills of Mount Hermon and Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  as recorded in Matthew 16:13.  Peter responds in verse 16, "You're the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"  And Jesus responds, "Right, you are Peter!  And on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!"  As we stood before this awesome rock, we got the full impact of what Jesus was saying. Jesus used this rock as an illustration of the solid foundation of faith in Peter's confession of Him as Christ, that stood against the pagan idols in the niches scattered all around in the hillside.

Caesarea Philippi,  today called Banyas

The beginning of the Jordan River at Caesarea Phillipi

Continuing to head North into the Golan Heights we stopped at a park overlooking the United Nations checkpoint leading into Syria.  It was at this point that it was VERY cold and snowing. 

United Nations Checkpoint

 

  After a brief picture stop, we began descending the mountain to a small Kibbutz (a Jewish community) called Ein Gev to eat St. Peter's Fish at a restaurant situated on the Eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  It is called St. Peter's fish because of a marked pouch under the mouth and refers to the fish with a coin in its mouth that Peter caught.  (Matthew 17:27)

St. Peter's Fish

Our fourth stop of the day was on the Northern shore of the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum, Jesus' hometown during his ministry (Matthew 9:1).  Capernaum was the operational center for the larger part of the Galilean ministry of our Lord. Here he performed many healing miracles:  the Roman centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13), one sick of the palsy, one sick of an unclean spirit, and Peter's mother-in-law healed of a fever (Matthew 8:14-15).  Jesus called Matthew to "Follow Me" (Matthew 9:9) in this town as well as a few other disciples (Matthew 4:18-20).

We saw many excavations in this town.  We stood in a synagogue (the White Synagogue-built with white limestone) that was built on top of the very synagogue (built with black basalt) where Jesus had taught.  We also saw an extensive excavation of first century houses as well as what is believed to be the house of Simon Peter where some early Christians met to worship after Christ's ascension.

Olive press

White Synagogue

Peter's Home (house-church)

We left Capernaum and traveled to Tabgha, another town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Since Byzantine times this has been identified as the site where the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the feeding of the five thousand took place (Matthew 14: 14-21).  A beautiful mosaic of two fish flanking a basket of loaves commemorates the biblical event inside a church built in 1982 on the foundations of the early church.

We drove past Magdala, home of Mary Magdalene, and stopped at the Kibbutz Ginosar to see the 1st century "Jesus Boat."  This boat from the New Testament period was discovered along the muddy shores of the Sea of Galilee during a drought in 1986.  It was in a boat such as this that Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea, faced the storms, and fished, and from which Jesus taught the crowd that gathered on the seashore.  The highlight of the day for me was when we boarded a modern day boat and headed to the middle of the Sea during a rain storm.  In the middle of the sea they shut the engine down and we read of Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8:23-27.  We sensed a moment of Peace as the rain stopped and a double rainbow appeared!  Jesus was surely with us!  I cry just thinking about that awesome moment.  As we rode back to shore, the song Worthy is the Lamb played and we worshiped the One True God!

I've got chills reliving these moments!! 

 I LOVE YOU, JESUS!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story...