Amman, Jordan

Amman, Jordan...what is significant about this place? Well, this would have been the place that one of David's mighty men was killed....Uriah...have you heard of him? The Ammonites were from this region. Petra is here....and Pella, the city where the christians fled following Stephen's persecution. Do you remember the story of Naboth's vineyard from I kings 21? Yep, that occurred in Jordan as well! Obviously, a lot of history occurred here and I'm sure we barely scratched the surface!

We flew into Amman and spent the first night at this hotel...


...we had breakfast at the hotel...here are Liz, Melanie, me, Andrew, Anna, Richelle and Anne-Marie


We had a two hour drive to the border...I don't have many pictures since my main goal was to keep my breakfast down.

Later we stopped at this tomb along the roadside. This tomb, with rolling stone, is similar to what the Lord's tomb would have been like...more pictures of that to come in a later post!



Here is a picture of the Jewish villages we saw...the villages were beautiful, sitting along the hillsides!! The country is just gorgeous! Sadly pictures don't capture it but hopefully this will do!



Next stop....Mt Carmel....one of my favorite places we visited!

Israel--Departure

The classic pre-departure shot at KCI...



Anne-Marie and I left from KC early on March 11th. We were saving money on our plane ticket by arriving to Chicago early. Our flight left for Istanbul, Turkey at 9:30 pm and we arrived in Chicago around 3:30 pm. We had brilliant plans for those hours...go shopping...get a pedicure...get a cup of joe in chicago somewhere...and then we arrived....and realized we couldn't check our bags in at Turkish Airlines until 6:30 pm. So much for our great plans! So, we sat outside the international terminal for a little bit...there was this great array of flags from all around the world....I had to snap a few pics....



I look tired....and the trip hasn't even started yet! Good thing I had a 10 hour flight to look forward to...all that time to sleep sooo comfortably (note sarcasm regarding the comfort of sleeping on a plane!)



Anne-Marie...catching up on calls before we leave the country.....suitcases can do more than hold your clothes...they make great seats, too! :-)


Our group members trickled in throughout the afternoon and evening. We all eventually met up at the gate, got our name badges (that became a permanent fixture around our necks for the remainder of the trip), and enjoyed one another's company until departure. The flight was long but we made it to Turkey and then had a short lay over before flying to Amman, Jordan.



Anne-Marie and Liz at the Istanbul airport, waiting for our flight to Amman.




Alison and Thomas (and a little of Michael, too)...killing time, waiting for the next flight!


We stayed in Amman overnight and then took a bus across the border into Israel the next morning...I didn't fare that bus ride so well....nearly lost my breakfast right in the middle of Steve talking about the Jordan River. Thankfully, our bus driver in Israel was much much better!!

Israel

I am definitely guilty of blog negligence since I haven't posted since September! I certainly had my reasons. Life gets busy, other things take precedence, and it just seemed like the things the Lord was teaching me were too personal to be placed out in the blog-o-sphere for all to see. But for now, I'm back for a short stint.



I can't think of a better way for me to record my trip to Israel than my blog...to savor the moments and enjoy putting the pictures and the history together, side by side. I never anticipated that I would enjoy Israel as much as I did. In fact, I was emphatic that I wasn't going. But, I'm so thankful that I did. So thankful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the places the Lord Jesus Christ may have walked and to see scripture come alive before my very eyes. And, I want to record it in such a way that I can go back and enjoy it for years to come and perhaps you can enjoy it, too! So, come! Walk with me through Israel...at least the parts of Israel that I got to see! :-)

The Lord is my Provider

I've been reading through Exodus and came across the portion where the Egyptians had been thrown into the sea and the Israelites were delivered from bondage and slavery. They were saved! The next chapter begins to talk about God's provisions for the children of Israel. He provides water for their thirst at Marah, He provides manna for their hunger. They had the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night for guidance. He gives them what they need to fully satisfy them, right?

It reminded me that it is the same way for me. I have been saved from the bondage and slavery of sin and the Lord is the Provider for my every need...hunger, thirst...whatever I need He has provided all that I need for my complete satisfaction and contentment. But, too often, I lean toward the tendencies of the children of Israel and I focus on what I do NOT have and I begin to complain. I look for my satisfaction in all the wrong places and it breeds a discontented heart and a loss of joy.

So, tonight, I am thankful for a Savior who fully satisifies and provides for me...for salvation, for my daily needs, all things for life and Godliness. Oh, what a glorious God we choose to serve!

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore, the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are ABUNDANTLY SATISFIED with the fullness of Your house."
Psalm 36:7-8

"What we proclaim is not ourselves...

...we proclaim the holy name of Jesus." In light of my last post, I thought I would continue the idea of the glory of the Lord by posting another song from the Glory Revealed II cd. I just keep thinking about the glory of the Lord and can't get the idea out of my head. So, I share this song with you today...enjoy!

What We Proclaim

We have this treasure in jars of clay,
To show that the power comes from God.
We are afflicted in every way, but we're not crushed.
We are perplexed but not driven to despair.
Persecuted but not forsaken.
We are struck down but not destroyed,
struck down but not destroyed.

What we proclaim is not ourselves,
What we proclaim is not ourselves.
Oh we proclaim the holy name of Jesus.

Not to us, Oh Lord.
Not to us, Oh Lord.
But to Your name be the glory.

*from Glory Revealed II

To You be the glory...forever and ever...

I recently bought the Glory Revealed II cd and have been enjoying it so much. I keep thinking about the song, "To You be the Glory". I've been thinking about how deserving the Lord Jesus Christ is of all the glory. He died on the cross for my sins. He cares for me, He loves me. He protects me and provides for me. He is all in all and deserves all the glory. But how often do we seek glory for ourselves instead of giving it all to Him? I've enjoyed the words of this song and I hope you do, too. Let us reflect hour by hour about how we might honor the Savior's name with our lives and give Him the glory He so rightly deserves!

To You be the Glory

Who could hold the wealth of God? Such treasure found in Him.
Who could comprehend His heart and mind? His wisdom has no end.
For from Him, through Him, to Him are all things.

To You be the glory forever, to You be the glory, Lord, amen.

Who has known the mind of God? Who has counseled Him?
Who has given gifts to God, that He might be repaid?
For from Him, through Him, to Him are all things.

To You be the glory forever, to You be the glory, Lord, amen.

In dark and light, In death and life, When hard times enter in.
In all thing, we will worship You.
With You there is no end, there is no end.
From Him, through Him, to Him are all things.

To You be the glory forever, to You be the glory, Lord, amen.

**from Glory Revealed II

Dublin: Day 2--Ha Penny Bridge and Christ Church Cathedral

Second day out sight seeing in Dublin....well, at least I think it is the second day! It's all beginning to blur just a little...oh wait, I think that's why I tried to journal this year...so I would remember what we did. One flaw in the plan...where is there time to journal when on a trip? :-)

The Ha (pronounced "hay") Penny Bridge

Anne-Marie and I on the bridge

Melissa and Anne-Marie

As we walked to our next destination, we saw some beautiful buildings...I just love the stone buildings there so forgive me for the many, many more random pictures of stone buildings over the next several posts! :-)



Everywhere we went in Dublin, we walked. Why use public transportation when you can walk all over the entire city!!? Actually, it was more fun to walk because we got to see so much more that way!

Our next destination was...Christ Church Cathedral, a beautiful church founded in 1030. It was beautiful!

Christ Church Cathedral

The building needed a little help standing so Anne-Marie
and Melissa did what they could to help out!

A beautiful door
(don't mind the shadow..we were so thankful for a sunny day!)

Inside the Cathedral

The tile floors were beautiful!

Anne-Marie, Melissa and I

Beautiful Pipe Organ

Door to the "basement"..more like catacombs!

They got punished for too much fun on a holiday :-)

Where should we go next?!

It was time for lunch so we headed across the way to a famous and incredibly yummy fish and chips place. It was sooo good!

I'll write more soon to bring you the afternoon portion of Day 2 in Dublin!