Petra: More Than Just A Pretty {Rock} Face

I didn't really anticipate waking up in a luxury hotel in Jordan on this fifth day of our trip--but that we did.
We had breakfast extraordinaire and loaded up to go to Petra!
I had googled Petra, so I knew this was going to be a big day!

(Thank you, Lord, that as I related HERE I didn't know just how big.)

Petra is entered through a siq--a passageway which is as narrow as 10 feet at some points with rock faces on each side as high as a 4 story building, and about a mile in length. 
You can read in that previous post about the l-o-n-g mile
in the donkey cart!

 Getting close!

And here it is!  Called "The Treasury"

Smithsonian Magazine chose this as one of 28 places in the
world to see before you die!
The book l,000 Places to see Before You Die,
 calls this 
"a magical sight!"

Although it dates back to 56 B.C., Petra was actually lost for centuries until it was "rediscovered"
in 1812!  (That's not so long ago!)
There is more than just "The Treasury"

This amphitheatre is hewn in the rock and seats 3000.

I could tell you much more about Petra and its place
in history, but I don't want your eyes to glaze over and your
head to nod.  It is mentioned in the Bible (sometimes by
the name Sela), and Indiana Jones was here!




All of a sudden I spotted this camel, and I just felt determined
to ride it.  (That's my giddy look!)

So I asked how much it would be just to ride back up to the Treasury.  We were at the amphitheatre at the time.
The young man said $15.  Now I am not a bargainer.
If he had said $50, I probably would have said "okay."
But Gary overheard our conversation, and he is a bargainer.
 He offered the guy $10. I panicked and said, "But, Gary, 
I really want to ride!  
Poor Gary just rolled his eyes and figuratively threw up his
hands!  But he did get me and about 8 others a ride--
for $10 each!
I thought I'd tell you this before he gets a chance to
make a sermon out of me!
 
Riding that camel was another highlight of my trip!

Good night, Jordan.  Good night, Dead Sea.
It's been a marvelous, 
exhausting, blessed, totally unforgettable day.
Thank you, God, for watching over me.
Every step of the way. 

Oh, my.  When I typed that, I remembered
THIS.
It wouldn't do a bit of good for anyone to try to tell
me that God doesn't answer prayers.
I didn't even have any idea how He was going to
need to take care of me....

We Journey to Jordan

I knew very little about visiting the Holy Land before I went.

I had heard stories from previous trips about leaving Israel and having to change

driver, guide and bus.  That sounded scary.

I did not think we were doing that this year.

We were, but I'm glad I did not know.  
It was interesting,
 rather complicated, curious, certainly different from 
anything I have ever done, but not really scary.

The country we were crossing into from Israel 

was Jordan.

As we approached the crossing point, the fence separating the two countries was pointed out to us.  It ran right beside the road

on which we were traveling.  The land looked the same

on both sides, but one would not think of trying to cross! 
I don't know if you can see the masses of barbed wire. 

(I hope you are clicking on my pictures and making them larger!
Some have hidden details!) 

Our crossing point was the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge.
Here we are approaching:

And a bus leaving on the other side.

We were spending two nights in Jordan, so after having our passports checked, all our luggage was placed on another bus.
We sadly bid adieu to Yuval and Elie for a couple of days. 
Since they are Jewish, they could not go with us into Jordan.

Our first stop in Jordan was Mount Nebo.
Moses stood here and viewed the Promised Land.
He had disobeyed God and was not allowed to enter, but
God made it supernaturally possible for him to view 
the land from one end to the other from right here!

 

A replica of the bronze serpent pole 

constructed by Moses as related in Numbers 21:5-9

Then we headed for our hotel for the next two nights. Wow!  Were we in for a big surprise!
It's called the Dead Sea Marriott, and
It was swanky!  Here's the lobby!

And the pool area which leads to the shore of the Dead Sea!

Here I am floating in the Dead Sea with Virginia and Jason!

I couldn't have done this without Virginia, who helped me in, and Melanie and Cliff, who helped me out!

I'm afraid of water--even water you can't sink in!

Especially this water, actually, cause it does terrible things to your 

mouth and eyes if you get it splashed there!

Just ask Jason!
I know I look like I'm sitting on the bottom, but I'm not!
I'm floating!
This was an experience of a lifetime.
I was unable to force my legs down through the water!




One more thing we did today.  We shopped.  We love to shop.
We stopped here:

They are expert craftsmen in the art of mosaics.
We had seen several beautifully preserved mosaics as we traveled through Israel and Jordan.

This young lady was demonstrating the intricate technique
of cutting and placing the stones.

I bought my best souvenir at Nebo.
It is an ostrich egg, covered with crushed pieces of mosaic.
Instead of discarding the pieces of mosaic which are 
too small to use, they are crushed and the fragments 
applied to the egg with a needle!
There are actually six scenes on my egg.  
As I remember, it took about 3 months to complete.

Now, guess what my problem is?
Where do I display my beautiful, very breakable egg?

By the way, Nebo's Pearl shipped my egg home for me.
It was expertly packed and arrived in perfect shape.
Let's hope I can keep it that way!

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. 
And the Lord showed Him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan.
Deuteronomy 34:1

And on May 31, 2013, Linda Jane Lynn Stovall was there.  Unbelievable. 

My First Favorite Day in Israel

This is my first morning to wake up in Israel--the Holy Land.
I never even dreamed throughout most of

my life of being able to be here.
It seemed impossible.
And yet, here I am.  Looking out of my window on the
Sea of Galilee.

Did you know that Jesus spent approximately 70% of His 

earthly ministry in this area?
  I didn't.

Our first activity for the day was one I had greatly anticipated.

We took this wooden boat across the "sea," which is known as 
Lake Kenneret to the Israeli people.

Something unforgettable happened after we were all aboard.
A beautiful rendition of The Star Spangled Banner
was played as the American flag was slowly raised to fly
beside the flag of Israel.
I thought my heart would burst.

 My friend Jan McMinn and I sailing on calm water.
Later in the day something interesting will happen to that calm!

We were blessed to have three of our pastors on this trip!
In addition to Gary and Sandy Smith,
 we had Jason and Virginia Paredes
and Mike Satterfield!
  Each and every one was a tremendous
blessing to me, and it was such a privilege to get to 
know all of them better. 

We were looking forward to "St. Peter's fish" for lunch.
When we ordered, we had to state whether we wanted the head
of the fish removed or left on.
I'm no sissy.  I ordered "with the head!"
Oh, yeah. I moved way up the coolness scale (no pun intended)
with that.

It was delicious!  

After lunch we noticed that the Sea of Galilee had become 
very choppy.  Yuval had told us that this could happen, 
but that he doesn't see it often.  We felt blessed to get to see
 this, but after our sailing.
Yes, this is the same body of water that was smooth
as glass this morning!

I can't show you everything we saw, but I must show you this:
This Catholic church is built on a rock which is half inside and
half outside the building.

It is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

There is very good evidence that this is where the 
"Reinstatement of Peter" took place.
The story is found in John 21, starting with Verse 4.
This rock is likely where Jesus cooked fish on a charcoal fire
for the disciples.
Exciting beyond description.

Standing in this part of the Sea of Galilee was very
memorable and important to me.
However, this is the day my camera was missing!
Here is a picture of precious Kelly, who was the first to generously
share her pictures with me.

You'll just have to take my word for it.
I stood there, too!
It was one of those moments that took my breath away. 
I could look out on the water and picture the events of
John 21. 
(I hate to be pushy, (not really) but READ THIS!)


As we headed for the baptismal sight, we passed this
gathering of Israeli tanks beneath the Golan Heights.

As I told you HERE this was not frightening to me.

And here is our wonderful bus driver, Eleazar, after giving the
young guard bottles of ice water from our bus.
It was so spontaneous and touching.

Now the event about which I talked more than any other
before the trip.
Baptism in the Jordan River.
 

We each spoke from our hearts before being baptized.
I said that I had been baptized as a child but didn't really remember
it. I felt like I really gave my life to Christ when I was 16 years 
old and had had a desire to be baptized again ever since.
I was being baptized to show everyone that
"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Philippians 1:21

We share such a bond of friendship in Christ Jesus!

What a day.
I walked today where Jesus walked, and felt His Presence there. 

Prepare for Takeoff--We're Going to Israel

Ladies and gents...

Fasten your seatbelts.  Put your tray tables up and turn off your cell phones!  I want to tell you about this marvelous

adventure--one day at a time.

After flying to New York,

we took off about 7:00 P.M. from JFK on this big dude.

I felt totally at ease on El Al--one of the world's safest airlines.

 

 My beloved pastor and trip leader, Gary Smith, and I wait with great anticipation and excitement to board, along with 20

 fellow pilgrims.  I think only 3 of the group had ever been to the Holy Land before.

After about 10 hours and 25 minutes of smooth flying, we stepped off the plane in

Tel Aviv, Israel.  Can you believe it?  I hardly can!  Amazing!!! 

That says Ben Gurion--the airport in Tel Aviv.

And I don't recognize any words here, just that little yellow
picture right in the center.  See?  It's a bag!
We're headed to baggage claim!
And every last one of our bags was there on the carousel!
Big blessing!

So...
 we were off!  We headed north in our lovely, air-conditioned
purple bus.  

As we leave the airport this sign makes me feel so welcome!
I know...I can't read it either, but I just know it says,
"Welcome to Israel, Linda!"

Soon we arrive at our first exciting stop:
 
Caesarea

 Herod the Great began building Caesarea in 22 B.C.
The apostle Paul visited and was later imprisoned here.
But it was most impressive to me because of the great harbor Herod built. 

That's it behind me.  
It was an architectural achievement, as it was protected from the waves by a massive breakwater which was built by letting down huge stones into the water, 20 fathoms deep.
It was the best in the world at that time.
There are still submerged remains of the breakwater.

By the way, the sea upon which Herod's port was built is the beautiful Mediterranean.

 And this is Yuval, our guide.  Yuval is a legend at Fielder Church, and I finally got to meet him!
I know that everyone thinks his or her guide is the best.  But if that guide is not Yuval, sorry, he or she is just mistaken!
Yuvall is a Jewish man who knew all about Jesus when Gary started having him as a guide twenty years ago.
Now Yuval is a man who IS all about Jesus.  He is a believer whose faith is infectious!
You'll be hearing and seeing much more of Yuval!

Back on the bus we head toward our destination for the night--
Tiberias, and the Leonardo Hotel on the Sea of Tiberias, 
also known as
The Sea of Galilee.
A gorgeous spread of food awaited us along with a very welcome night of rest in a real bed overlooking this beautiful sea.

Sleep well!
Tomorrow is a very exciting day!

 

This is So Unlike Me

I have been back from the trip of my lifetime for almost a month!

Where in the world are my pictures, I'm sure you are asking.

I know...you can hardly carry on your daily life for worrying about 

my pictures!

Well, here's what happened.

In my wisdom (?) I decided that I was not going to be determined to take pictures of everything, since I knew there would be

thousands taken by the group.

While this was true, it didn't take into account a couple of things.

First, how do I get all those pictures that others take?

Second, (and this one is rather embarrassing), (I guess I might as well just come out and say it), others' pictures might not

include moi!  Yes, as unbelievable as it might seem, those 21 other photographers did not want me in all their pictures.

Bummer.

O.K.  That's just problem #1 with my pictures.

When I got up after our first night in Israel, I couldn't find my camera.  I knew it had to be in that hotel.  We hadn't been
 anywhere else, for Pete's sake.  I remembered taking it down to

dinner, knowing that I probably shouldn't.

And remembered that I failed to take a single picture with it!

But no one had seen my camera.  Boo hoo.

So for our first full trip day, I had no camera.  Boo hoo hoo. Everyone knew and was so kind to take lots of pictures of me.

When we got back to the hotel, I thought of the one place I had not looked for my camera--the pocket of the jacket I had worn

to dinner the night before.  And there it was.

I told the group I wished I could come up with some exotic, 

mysterious tale of how the camera was found.

But, not having a vivid enough imagination, I just fessed up.

When I finally get my pictures posted, I'll tell you which day

that was.  You're not going to believe how much happened.

But, again, my fellow photographers had me covered!

There was actually a third camera catastrophe.

I have said that I was never afraid in Israel.

Much thought, however, did have to be given to going to

The Dome on the Rock, the Muslim shrine.

Almost every inch of skin had to be covered.

We knew we would be metal detected, etc.

For some kooky reason, I decided to carry nothing with me, just to be safe.  That meant no camera.  

Thank goodness, I was the only kook!

This was a VID!  A Very Important Day!!!

Our group got together last Wednesday night and shared pics.

That was really the first time I had any pictures of me.

I am now working on sharing these with you.
(Not JUST the ones of me, of course!)

But it's taking me forever.

I owe a huge THANK YOU to Kelly and Sandy who made flash

drives of their wonderful pictures and gave them to me.

And to all my other new best friends who shared pictures!

You were a wonderful group with which to travel.

Oh, and on top of everything else, I'm taking a little break

for July 4th.  So...

Please work on keeping your level of interest in my pictures up.  O.K.?

They're going to be sooo good!!!

Honest.  I promise.

The YMAWHSAH Syndrome

You've never heard of it?  Let me explain...

So you take a great trip and come home all excited to share 

your adventures and experiences.

Before you even get started good, your listener says,

"Did you see such and such?"

And, wouldn't you know.  It's the one thing you did NOT see.

Their reaction:

"You do not mean to tell me you traveled all that distance and
 didn't see such and such?"
Well,

"You Might As Well Have Stayed At Home."

"But wait.  We went here and saw this and did that, and it was just GREAT!"

"But...you didn't see such and such.

YMAWHSAH."


****************************

 

I originally wrote this in 2013 

after my trip to Israel.

I am reprising it because of something that

happened at bridge club recently.

 

 

 

One of our member made the mistake of saying,

"I have seen everything in Rome there is to see!"

(She has been there several if not many times.)

So...guess what someone else said?

You've got it.

"Have you seen the catacombs?"

Well, fine.

The one thing she hasn't seen!

 

 

So...please don't ask me about the catacombs.

I haven't seen them either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny On Father's Day 2013

Actually that should be "The Fatty On Father's Day 2013."

This is how it went.

Yesterday my friend Becky and I were at University Park Village.

Now Becky and I like to eat most anywhere and everywhere,

but...

we passed the Blue Mesa Grill and agreed that was one place

we just didn't like.

(I can't even remember eating there but once.)

So later I get a text from Susan saying that Rob has selected...

you guessed it...Blue Mesa Grill (the new one in Arlington)

for his Father's Day lunch.

I was a very good mother-in-law and said "Great!"

(But I'm not going to like it)

I was the first to arrive and found the wait to be 1 hour!

I thought surely that would discourage Rob.

It didn't.

We only waited about 35 minutes.

Then I found out why he wanted to eat there.

They had "Brunch."  Interpretation: Everything imaginable!

It was WONDERFUL!

Everything breakfast; everything Mexican; Belgian waffles with orange butter; flan and tres leches cake and lemon bars!

We ate til we could eat no more!

I can't wait to take Becky there!

After brunch I stopped by the cemetery, which is very close.

Every time I go my heart is warmed all over again.

I just love everything I chose for Jack's final resting place.

My father is buried here, too, but I couldn't find his grave.  

I had directions at home, so I came to get them and returned.

Here it is:

  

I took my personal bodyguard with me this time.

Here she is by the grave of someone she adored and who adored her.

See that intimidating look?  It says, "Don't mess with my 

Mimi!" (That's what she calls me.)

No kidding...you don't think she looks scary?

Well, she's actually not in the least.

 

I've been blessed to have wonderful fathers in my life.

My father...my children's father...my grandchildren's father.

But most of all...

My Heavenly Father.