Israel • Nazareth

From NazarethVillage.com:  ”Nazareth Village offers a unique synthesis of historical, archaeological, and ethno-archaeological science applied towards reconstructing a First Century Village upon some of the last natural landscape in Nazareth.”

This fancy description aside, I found Nazareth Village to be a very charming look into what life was like where Jesus grew up.  I thoroughly enjoyed the “townspeople” as they went about caring for their goats, weaving yarn & carving wood with their tools.

There is an authentic wine press hewn out of the bedrock onsite, but most everything else has been re-created with the help of many experts.

Enjoy a walk through Nazareth Village…

A view of modern Nazareth

Close up of the grass in Nazareth Village.  I couldn’t resist the way the sun was shining through the blades.

That cool shepherd dude again.  Doesn’t he look authentic?

This is what the tombs were like in the 1st century.

The guide describes the oil press.

The scroll and oil lamps in the synagogue.

A father and son, acting as tektons (builders).  Jesus was referred to as a “tekton” in Mark.  He would have had to have been a more generalized builder than just wood work as most buildings were made out of stone.

I just loved this woman.  She had such a great spirit and she was great fun to watch as she demonstrated spinning and weaving.  So gracious.

This isn’t the last time I’ll talk about how amazing the “old timey people” were when it came to getting water.  You can see here one way they used to get water to their homes was to build a trough that led to their home.  The larger square hole at the bottom of the image is where the water would land.  The silt would sink to the bottom and the open at the top left would then send water into the house.  In future entries, I will talk more about cisterns and water systems (especially in connection with Qumran and Masada).

These are replicas of 1st century oil lamps.  We were given one as we left the tour of Nazareth Village.  I burned mine this morning, using olive oil.  Very cool.

Jordan • Petra (one image)

I will be sharing about our visit in Petra soon, but I just had to share this one image because I love it so much.  I will also share (in the future) about our friend, Ray, who is in this shot.  What a wonderful man.  Enjoy!

Israel • Caesarea by the Sea

Over the next few weeks I will continue to share from our trip to Israel.  I made about 2,500 images.  I hope you enjoy theses images as much as I enjoyed capturing them.

Caesarea by the Sea was one of our first stops.  Apart from the beauty of the Mediterranean coastline at this site, it is also notable that Paul the Apostle was there (as seen in Acts 25).  Enjoy a few images…

Entering the theater.

Our group learning about the site.

An old mosaic near the pool.

The floor of the “Place of Hearing.”

The Mediterranean.

The hippodrome.

Part of a 9 mile aqueduct.

 

 

Still Life • Two Minute Break

Let’s pause for a few moments…right here…right now.

A word to think about:  REFLECTION

Take two minutes and think about this word.  Use the image below if it helps.  What thoughts emerge?  Emotions?  Memories?  God is with you.  He is here.

The Car Game

This is a journal entry from a couple of months ago.  I was sitting in the back yard of an estate on the Back Bay in Newport Beach…gorgeous day for an extended time with God.

The sun is out, the sky is blue and there is a chill in the air. It is quiet except for the slight rustling of the trees as the wind gently blows. Every few minutes an airplane takes off from nearby John Wayne Airport. The loud engine noise breaks into the quiet.

I watch an airplane fly into the horizon and make a right.  I stare at it for many minutes until it fades away into a small dot.  I wonder where it is going.

My mind wanders back to my home up the Washougal River in Washington. When I was a child, I would play the “car game” with my parents. We would sit on the front porch, which was situated about an acre away from the river road. Cars would pass by here and there and we would take turns claiming cars as our own.

“That one is mine.”

“Here comes yours.”

“Ooooooh, that’s a good one!”

“I wanted that one!”

You definitely wouldn’t want to get the old clunker truck.  I was always waiting for a red Corvette to pass by.  Once in a while one did.

Leisure…time…slowness.  I had an abundance of it when I was a kid.  We had enough spare time that we would spend it watching cars go by. I miss that pace.

I wish I had easy answers for how to return to that, but we are in a different era.  This year I’d like to work on revving at a slower pace. This is a challenge in the OC, but I am going to try.

Israel • Thursday through Saturday

What we saw March 22, 23 & 24:  Old City of Jerusalem, Dung Gate (yes, we walked through the entrance where they used to carry out the poop), Robinson’s Arch, Tyrophioan (sp?) street (where Jesus walked to Temple), Temple Steps, Huldic Gates, Precipice of Jesus’ temptation, Rabbi’s Tunnel, City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Pool of Siloam, Pool of Bethesda, Via Dolorosa, St. Anne’s Church, St. Stephen’s Gate, Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Garden Tomb, Pilates judgment steps, Church of Holy Sepulchre, Caiaphas’ house, Dead Sea Scrolls, Valley of Elah…m…o…u…s…e….

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Inviso • Cotton

Inviso is the latin term for “look at.”  It is a newer practice I’ve been sharing at The Journey.  Let’s look at an image and just see if there is anything in it for us from God.

As you look at this image for about a minute or so…

Ponder the forms, figures, colors, lines, textures, and shapes. What do you find yourself drawn to?  Does the image remind you of anything?  What do you like and not like?  What feelings are evoked?

Israel • Monday through Wednesday

What we saw March 19, 20 & 21:  Galilee Boat, Caesarea Philippi (Temple of Zeus & Pan, Headwaters of the Jordan), Mt. Hermon, Ancient Gamla (Masada of the North), Bethsaida (home of five disciples), Jordan River, Beth Sha-en (Ancient Roman Pompeii-like ruins), Bethlehem (Jesus birth place and shepherd’s fields), Masada, Dead Sea, Qumran, Bedouin encampment (camel)!

Again, more stories when I get home and have time to wax eloquent.  Here are just a few representative images.  Enjoy!

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Adults Can Play Too!

Last Fall, my son, Christopher, and I went to the Long Beach Aquarium for a school field trip.  We were walking up to the building from the driveway and he noticed that the walkway was a collection of bricks in a pattern.  Everyone once in a while there was a 12×12 inch square brick amidst the other smaller bricks.  Chris said that what you should do is walk on the large bricks only and he began to do just that.

A spiritual mentor of mine had recently suggested that I learn to play more, so I decided to do what Chris was doing.  Without a care, I walked only on the 12×12 bricks.  It was awkward because there was only a little bit of a pattern…some of them were close together and others were far apart.  I’m sure I looked neither feminine nor lady-like.  But I didn’t care.  It was fun.

We arrived at the main entrance to the building when Chris said, “Why are you doing it?  Adults aren’t supposed to do stuff like this!”  I retorted, “Why not?  Adults can play too!”

If you can, find a way to play in the next few days.  My “walk on the large bricks” only took 2 minutes and it changed my attitude for the rest of the day.  If nothing else, it can bring a smile to your own heart.

For further inspiration, here is me playing in Hawaii in 2003:

Israel • The First Two Days

Here is a smattering of images.  Pastor Bob, our guide, said that this is the greenest he has ever seen it here.  Beautiful spring flowers are in bloom.  It is gorgeous weather, much like Southern California.  Having a wonderful time encountering Jesus in various places (even in the bus).

Day 1:  Caesarea by the Sea, Mount Carmel, Nazareth Village

Day 2:  Capernaum, Sermon on the Mount site, Boat ride on Galilee, Tel Megiddo, Baptism in the Jordan River

Eight full days to go.  Much more to see.  I will tell the stories in full after we return home.

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