Joyful Wednesday!

Good Morning! Today is the day I sit before the Lord for the whole morning, simply basking in His love and hungering for more of Him! O how I long for the Lord!

I had the pleasure of sitting for a while, meditating on Psalm 84. The Lord uses the process of memorizing His Word for me to soak in the Truth and that's when He causes it to permeate to my heart, all the way to the tips of my toes.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Psalm 84:10 (I think)

I have been weekly going back through and walking through the Word, my memory, and with the Spirit my time in Israel, but today, I just couldn't leave Psalm 84.

O the PRESENCE of the LORD God Almighty!

Julianne was in the hospital last week and went through a plethora of tests to determine some health things going on in her body and was so thankful for the real presence of my King and my God! The Lord's love enveloped my whole being. I experienced His continual Presence and Power. I didn't have to journey to Jerusalem to get close to Him. He is in me! The veil was torn! Praise You, Jesus! I have His presence every second of the day!

My long slow paced time with the Lord on Wednesdays has been shortened today because Julianne called and her face is swelling again, so my encouragement to us as we journey together to know the LORD, our Covenant Making and Covenant Keeping God, is to remember and include Him in every moment of the day...He is present, right here, right now. We don't have to enter the Holy of Holies to find Him. He dwells, lives, resides in us as believers!

Retracing My Steps in Israel: A Pilgrimage of the Heart~Part 8

Continuing Day 2-near Gath, a shepherd's cave

I am mesmerized by this picture, by hidden beauty that I see with my heart, beyond the dirt, cave, and weeds. Tears well in my eyes as I remember what was shared in this shepherd's cave on the side of the hill. This cave is near Gath (where Goliath is from), but that has nothing to do with the reason Rich brought us to this place.

Now in the cave, smell of sheep scat, smoke from fires past infiltrated our nostrils. Low ceilings, dirt, and messes from the sheep who had found shelter here surrounded our boots. We stood and soaked in our surroundings, looking at every detail. Sure it was shelter, but not one luxurious thing about it.

Rich began to share that Jesus Christ, our King of Kings and Lord of Lords was most likely born in a cave similar to this. This hole in a hill reeked of humility.

Jesus, my Redeemer, the One who has given me abundance of life,

made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

I have no words..just wanting to sit in it...sometimes words aren't needed. When is the last time I sat in absolute silence with the Lord and didn't rush a moment with Him, fixing my mind with intentionality, for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, even an hour, on Jesus Christ and His humility and the magnitude of the implications this has on me...on the world. Philippians 2 is beckoning me to feast on the Lord, my Bread of Life.

With Jeremiah I say:

When your words came,

I ate them;

they were my joy and my hearts delight,

for I bear your name,

O LORD God Almighty.

Jeremiah 15:16

Retracing My Steps in Israel: A Pilgrimage of the Heart~Part 7

Good Morning! Today I am posting some pictures of places God used to spiritually impact me the most while hiking in the Land! I will take time to explain them in the future. As I walk in the Spirit and sense His direction on what to do with my morning, the Lord has me spending time taking care of Ashlyn, who severely sprained her ankle when she slipped on our wood floor while in green tights. (She was dressed up as Peter Pan). Also, I will go visit Grandpa, who I haven't gotten to see in the last couple of weeks.

I got to enjoy quiet with the Lord early this morning as I meditating on Ezekiel 36 and what the Lord has removed and given us, as recipients of the new covenant!

Masada-2000ft. elevation climb in 45 minutes! God used a dear friend of my to show me Christ and teach me much about who He is during this hike! I call her Mickey the Goat, with great affection.

This is the Jordan River, the same river Jesus was baptized in! How in awe of the Lord I was, as I sat and watched those in our group identify themselves with Jesus Christ. I don't know if there was a dry eye among us. One thing I love about this photo is the boat with Jewish gals in the top of the picture. There were quite a few boats of girls passing by, on a field trip, most of them never paddled a boat before. What a joyful experience- real life happening all around us!

The Wilderness of Zin-the Israelites were in this desert, a place that is not survivable without God. The God of the desert. The God of just enough. This was our first crazy climb-no rails, but we did have ladders.

So much to share-I am about to burst with joy as I think back and take time to remember the Lord and what He taught me in these places and what I still have yet to learn! Show us your glory!

Retracing My Steps in Israel: A Pilgrimage of the Heart~Part 6

Continuing Day 2...Onto Azekah, which is south of our last site-Beth Shemesh.

When you think Azekah, think David & Goliath!

This is the beginning of our climb to Azekah, an intense shorter but heart racing hike(if you weren't in the best shape, like me). This hill set the standard to how our following hikes were compared, such as, Masada is Azekah times 3 or something like that. I personally think Masada was Azekah times 10. (Stay tuned for Masada--that particular climb was the most significant for me spiritually while in Israel.) The picture does not paint the sweat and laborious breathing. Yvonne, drink your Gatorade and breath!

Made it! Mike Slayden (his back is seen in the picture as he teaches about the significance of this place. We are looking down at the Valley of Elah where David killed Goliath. I think Mike might be pointing to Bethlehem, where David, a boy of maybe 13 traveled from to bring food to his brothers and see how they were.)

This is a great view of the Valley of Elah. Picture the Philistines on the hill opposite the one we are on and the Israelites camping out on Azekah and in the Valley of Elah. Almost in the top center part of the picture, where the color is golden, is a creek bed where David may have retrieved his 5 smooth stones. It was surreal seeing the reality of the place. The story of David and Goliath that I learned 30 some years ago, wasn't just a story. It really happened! God's power is just as real!

1 Samuel 17 was wonderful to meditate on this morning-

Saul and the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

So much for a fearless leader.

Why do I become afraid?

Their fear was humanly legitimate-

Goliath was 9'9" tall

His armored weighed in at 124 lbs

The end of his spear was a whopping 15 lbs

(I can barely lift my 10lbs weights, let alone chuck it at someone.)

They had forgotten who their God was.

It was the Philistine god-Dagon.

He was and is Yahweh, our Covenant Making, Covenant Keeping God.

David-a boy

He came from Bethlehem to bring food to his brothers.

Fear is contagious and had infiltrated the Israelite camp.

Fresh on the scene, David's mind was fixed on God, not self.

The name of God and His renown was at the forefront of his mind.

Who defies the army of the Living God?

David tells Saul, "your servant will fight him (Goliath)."

Three times people say David can't do it...you are only a boy.

Didn't use traditional weapons for war, used what he was skilled with-

5 smooth stones

This shepherd had confidence in the power of God.

Do I have that type of confidence?

Do I know and believe and see this power of God?

So confident that he RAN toward Goliath to kill him.

David's experience as a shepherd, protecting his sheep and killing a lion and bear, had prepared him for this moment in time. He knew the Lord would use his skills and experience to bring victory! He didn't have to wear what all the other warriors did nor did he give into the pressure or honor of wearing Saul's armor.

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with the sward and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."

1 Samuel 17:45

Do I come against my enemy, Satan, the father of lies, in the name of the LORD Almighty?

Jehovah-saboath

The LORD of Hosts

The One who rules over all angelic hosts

His name brings deliverance

Victory

I am never alone in my battles

God is ruler over all the armies

Do I really believe God's -NAME- is powerful or doI live in such a way that it is just a name?

The fact that David ran toward his enemy was bolded in the text to me today. Do I run toward my enemy believing God has given me victory?

Retracing My Steps in Israel: A Pilgrimage of the Heart~Part 5

Good Morning Pilgrimagers (my name for those of us who are on a long journey with a purpose, all for the sake of seeing Jesus and worshipping Him)!

Today is going to be a little rest on the pilgrimage, a chance to "sit under an olive tree" and enjoy a few pictures in no particular order of my time in Israel.

I sense the Lord would have me go and be with a friend today and clean her house and cook with her, so I say, "Yes, Lord, I will follow You". As many of you know, I protect my Wednesday mornings with Jesus very carefully, but always want it to be led by Jesus Himself and today that means a diversion of my norm.

This picture was taken in honor of Melissa Danisi, who asked if I would snap a photo of an olive tree, because we are grafted in. Glory! As I sat under an olive tree and looked straight ahead of me on the Mt. of Olives, I had a perfect view of the Temple Mount! As I turned around and looked behind me, I captured this picture.

The above picture is me looking straight ahead from the tree I was sitting under, as I contemplated Jesus returning, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. O how I long for the Lord's return! Do you see the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount?

Day 2 of our trip, Jen, my precious friend and I were accidentally matchy matchy, so of course we needed a picture.

The Dead Sea-from our hotel room window watching the sunrise and sipping on french press coffee. Stacey, my roommate for the whole trip, made us coffee every morning. We were spoiled. This was a surreal moment when we sat there saying, "Can you believe we are really truly in Israel?"