But I've gotten tired of it over the past few years. So I'm going to try working with wordpress.com. Their layouts are better and the editing dashboard is much easier to use...find me at:
http://adventuresinchrist.wordpress.com/
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the Shepard's Cave. We were driving along the highway and stopped on the side of the road near a field where our guide knew a shepherd 's cave was in the field.
A shepherd 's cave is a natural cave with rocks from the area that are used to build a protective wall around the cave with only a small doorway/opening left for the shepherd to sleep in and protect his flock.
Protect.
You see because anything that tries to come over the wall must be an enemy seeking to steal and destroy the sheep....otherwise they would go to the shepherd. Never mind the fact that the cave/wall area is looked after by the shepherd who knows every one and name of his sheep and keeps an eye out for intruders.
So much does a sheperd protect his sheep that he would lay down his life to protect them. They are valuable, not just monetarily, but in that they are his. His sheep. Don't mess with his sheep.
This is real and true. These sheperd caves are still used today. Sheperds in Christ's time used them and they are used in present day.
Jesus was not speaking metaphorically about things. When he said the fig tree did this, or the sheep did that, or the light on a hill...he was speaking and looking at real, touchable, tangable things.
1
7So Jesus again said to them,
I'm feeling a little bit reflective today. Oddly, the People Finder tool on Facebook does that sometimes. Every so often I'll use it to check against my email and school dates to see if anyone new from either has joined Facebook. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
What amazes me is going through the list with everyone's picture and the memories that come back. Some good, some sad. Most bittersweet.
Facebook I think both connects us with current friends, reconnects us with old friends, and cures our curiosity of what happened to who.
That said I look at there faces and am in awe of God and how he puts us each in professions, places, and families where His plan for our lives, etc is perfect in His will.
I have the priveldge as well to walk down the halls of my old high school once a week where David and I go to listen in and encourage a Bible Study there. The same Bible Study organization that a little over 10 years ago introduced me to Christ. Now I don't and never intend to impose my past upon today's present. But walking through there often does encourage my memory to remember.
To remember people that I wish I had told about Christ, remember people who did accept Him.
To remember past hurts and how God helped me move past them and how He even used them to shape my life.
I do have a compulsion sometimes to wish I could tell these people today how God used them in my life. I think of a song in which part of the lyrics are, "I wish I could show you how I'm not who I was."
But instead God has lead me over the years to something much more simple and effective. Prayer.
On the morning's when we go to the Bible study, sometimes someone's name will pop into my head as I remember a class I took here or there or remember talking to someone in a specific spot. Sometimes over the years, there's been no reason at all for a name to come into my head...just walking through a store and there it was. And each and every time I follow the Holy Spirit and pray for that person, their family, and their walk with the Lord.
So I'm not sure why I'm writing this exactly. It was just something the Lord lead me to years ago. I don't even care if I ever see fruits from it or not. But perhaps as an encouragement...that even when time, distance, and experiences separate us...that prayer is something needed by everyone everywhere.
So if a name comes to your mind today....why not take a minute to pray for them? The Lord is always listening.
It definitly was a trip of a lifetime and it was amazing. We were both in awe each day of what God revealed to us through His Word, His land, and His people. If I can keep with it, I'll try to blog about the pictures we took and what we learned.
The first thing I learned was something I already knew but easily gets remembered. That is the name of the game when it comes to airports is the "hurry up and wait" game. This picture above is us waiting for our connecting flight to Amsterdam in the Detroit airport.
Waiting always seems so boring to us. Actually, waiting to me is frustrating. It's the frustrating part of a morning traffic jam because I'm having to wait when I could be somewhere faster. It's the period in life sometimes when we want jump into things, but God would rather us wait.
Because waiting to Him isn't boring. It's an opportunity to mold us to who He needs us to be.
Can you imagine roaming around in the wilderness for 40 years? The above picture is just that. The Wilderness of Zin where Israel wondered for 40 years. 40 years till they were who God needed them to be.
Trusting the Lord sometimes means trusting Him when it makes no sense to us. For instance, this picture was taken half way during a hike in a wadi (river area in the middle of the Wilderness). When our guide first explained the level of difficulty and such for the hike, I was rather skeptical. Small steps, muddy, rain, if you don't stay on the path or be cautious "you shall surely die". That became more of a running joke to some extent because he described each hike in such detail that you weren't sure you wanted to try it. Which in a way was good, because we were prepared for what was on each hike. But like this one, I simply had to trust that David knew my hiking abilities and what I could handle. And I'm glad I trusted him. Though my common sense and impulses rested more in staying alive and intact, if I had stayed behind I would have missed beautiful and wonderful moments. My knowledge said I wasn't sure; he's knowledge said yes you can. 
Today is a good day, a great day....even an awesome day. Two years ago today I married the most wonderful guy ever :)
It was a fun day and I loved being surrounded by so many friends and family. I remember all the buttons that seemed to take forever on my dress. The rush to get the flowers we almost forgot to pick up. The fun of breakfast and getting hair done with my best friends. The laughter of my husband because I apparently put his ring on the wrong hand in the ceremony. That's ok :) We both blew out the unity candle together :)
Two years...wow.
I remember I cried to during the ceremony. Poor David was concerned if I was ok. And I was ok. (though slightly mad at myself for crying in front of everyone). It was partially tears of joy.....and more so humbleness of being in the presence of an awesome God.
For seven years I prayed for David. Seven years. Though I didn't know his name. Seven years I prayed for him. Seven years of God molding me into who David needed. Seven years of joys and sorrows and ending my prayers always the same, "May he be a man after your heart Lord."
Standing there beside David in front of the church, I cried because I knew how big God was. Standing before me was answered prayer.
O where shall we put thee?
We can not fit you where you went
in later years those corners filled."
Mom and I have the same discussion going this am. Where to put our Christmas trees.
I at last figured out a corner of the living room and have already rearranged furniature for the grand ol' tree.
Mom's still working on hers. Primarily because the only corner she had for it is now giving its residency to a new wood stove.
I love putting the tree up. Christmas music on the radio, organizing the tree limbs (artificial tree), sipping coffee. Bunches of fun :) And usually the weekend after Thanksgiving :)
In humor of having now three cats, I found this website which is a cats version of decorating for Christmas.
That's right. We've been adopted by a very cute, loveable, calico kitty.
We live out in the woods. So we're used to stray cats and other animals. Most stray cats will just run off and live in the woods, but this weekend we had a kitty decide that we were going to be her new home.
Right now she's living on our back porch as we don't want to mix her with our other two cats till we've gotten her to the vet to be checked out. (Which won't be until next Saturday). So for a couple of weeks, our back porch is her new home. She doesn't seem to mind though, just happy for a warm place to sleep, plenty of food, and these humans that keep coming and petting her.
I'll get a picture of her up when I can. :) Right now we're calling her "Precious".
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