Hello, my friends. It’s been a while since I’ve had the energy and time to really sit and write. After the Girls of Grace Ministries’ mom/tween daughter retreat–which was AMAZING–I jumped head first into preparing for our family trip to Israel. Of course, April and May are notoriously slow months—said no mom with school-age children ever. In spite of the craziness, I wouldn’t trade one second of what we experienced on our trip.
Words simply can not describe all we saw and did. Over and over, I wanted to pinch myself as we literally walked where Jesus walked. We spent 13 days exploring one of the most beautiful places on earth. And the people. The people of Israel are beautiful, too.
We kept an insane schedule–going from place to place–packing days full of amazing sites, people and experiences. There wasn’t much time for processing and reflection while we were in the moment. Now, we’re home. The jet lag has finally worn off, and today I sat with my Bible and pictures from Israel and just marveled. I.Was.There.
It’s surreal to visit a place you’ve literally studied and read about your entire life. One of my favorite moments–and there were many–was floating in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. I brought my Bible with me almost everywhere we went, because I wanted to visualize exactly where Jesus was and what he did. I took this picture while our family and friends were worshipping, and I sat marveling how beautiful it all was.
We were so blessed so have our entire family on this trip, and I can’t tell you how it warmed my heart to see my daughters connecting with Bible stories they’ve heard right along side their dad and me. My oldest darling climbed into our car after school yesterday with a big smile on her face. We typically talk about everyone’s day, what our favorite part was, least favorite, etc. Yesterday, my heart melted at the words my daughter said next.
She said her class read the resurrection accounts in the Bible. As they read each account, she said, “Mama, I could picture where it all happened in my head. How cool is that? I know what it looks like now. The Bible is real.” No words. Simply no words.
I’m planning a Holy Land blog series in June, so please check back for additional reflections and devotionals. I can’t wait to share more with you!
