Singing Along the Journey

Travel

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over, Pt. 3: The Letting Go in the Moving On

I am sitting here in a warm, comfortable condo in Telluride, Colorado, watching the snow fall for the second day in a row.  Out my window, I can see birch trees and clean white powder, chair lifts drifting upwards to freshly groomed mountain ski trails, and the sun as it begins to peak through the snow flakes in this destination resort that claims 300 + days of sunshine each year.  In this week when the people of our nation turn their hearts and minds to the idea of thanksgiving, I am sitting here feeling the deepest of thanks as I embrace the beauty of nature all around me, a brief moment of…
Read More

The Storm is Passing Over Part 2…the Meaning of Recovery

I am sitting here at my favorite outdoor table on our last morning in Mexico, writing -- I know I won't be able to post this until days after we get back, definitely after Pentecost.  I've simply been too lazy to take my computer laptop out of its bag and tussle with the wireless network connection.  But I'm enjoying my last bits of tropical trade winds for a while, and the reality that today is the day of Pentecost, well, I just needed to sit and write for just a moment. Pentecost is such an important day in the life of our faith -- it signifies the day when humanity…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty…
Read More

The bus will always be a part of me…

Saturday morning began our long journey from the Holy Land back to the places where we all began this journey, and, true to the spirit of the trip, we made use of every available moment that remained to us before we boarded our flight to the U.S.  We began the day  by visiting the Herodium, the tomb Herod built for himself on his self-made mountain, then saw the model version of Jerusalem and had a too-short visit to the amazing Israeli Museum,  a stop at the Garden Tomb and a closing communion service, followed by a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, a walk along the Mediterranean at…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

I hear music in the air…

Today we have continued our journey with the most amazing places:  first, the Western Wall tunnels, then a walk down the Palm Sunday Road from the Mount of Olives to the Church at Gethsemane, followed by a visit with our colleagues in faith at the Bethlehem Bible College, and then a visit to the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Cave.  And all day long, at each and every place, there was music -- in my head. As we walked through the tunnels dug by Rabbis seeking access to the Western Wall when none was available, as we stared at the gigantic stones that are the foundation of that wall…
Read More

And it was all good…

The past couple of days on our Israel journey have been spent in the desert:  Jericho, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea...and En Gedi (or more correctly, Ein Gedi -- the spring of the goats).  If you are a Hebrew Bible geek like myself, the name En Gedi conjures pictures of an oasis amid the desert, where vineyards grow (as in Song of Songs 1:14) , where warriors rest (1 Samuel 24), and where battles are fought (Genesis 14:7, 2 Chronicles 20:2, and Joshua 15:62).  Today, En Gedi is surrounded by barren desert and forests of date palms, but the waterfalls still flow and the craggy rocks are climbed by tourists and…
Read More

Let your light shine…

The opportunity to commemorate the day of Pentecost in Israel was an opportunity beyond my imagining.  Why?  Well, because I am one of those people who, if I could only attend church one day a year, would choose Pentecost over Easter and Christmas or almost any other day in the liturgical calendar.  So the chance to stand on the land of the peoples who gave birth to my faith, a faith that in many ways was really born this day -- well, that was a great gift.  And if you want to read about the events of the day, no one can tell you that story better than my friend…
Read More

It’s all about the water…

It’s all about the water… It is late at night after a second full day of visiting Israel with the Bible Study Tour from Campbell University.  What a great experience so far – and how much I have learned. You see, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about Israel and this region in a lot of different ways – historically, culturally, politically, and theologically.  And when you have devoted so much of your attention to a place, you really think that you know something about it, right?  In a short 48 hours, most of what I thought that I “knew” about this region has been swept aside with…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More