2/5 2000 Year Old Boat

The picture of this boat is amazing....... In 1987, two lifelong residents of the Galilee area found what two very ancient nails in the mud of th4e bank of the sea of Galilee. Instantly, they knew that they had found something of great importance. After skillful archeological extraction, they discovered the remains of an old boat, which, after carbon dating, placed the boat in existence over 2000 years ago.....during the time of Christ!!!

2/5 Peter's House

We traveled to Capernaum along the NW shore of the sea of Galilee. It lies along the great trade route from Damascus to the Mediterranean coast and Egypt. Tolls were collected by the Roman government on this traffic route and it was along this trade route that Jesus called matthew levi to be his disciple.

This is called "Christ's own city" as most of his miracles were performed here than any other city. Jesus was thrown out of his hometown of Nazareth, so this trulybecame his home afterwards.

It is here that the woman with the blood disorder touched the hem of his garment and was healed....the daughter of the ruler was raised from the dead, the paralitic was healed, and many other miracles were performed.

This is also the location of Peter's house. We actaully saw the ruins of this dwelling. Christ stayed with Peter on many occasions. A church has been erected directly over the house of Peter. It is a Catholic Church and the significance of Peter, the stone on which the church was built, is obvious.

2/5 Tabga (Fish & Loaves)

Tabga is the location where Jesus asked the disciples of collect whatever food they could from the crowd of 5,000. They returned with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. Jesus blessed the fish and bread and then told the disciples to pass the food out to the crowd. This miracle turned the 2 fish and 5 loaves into enough to feed everyone and even have leftovers!!!

The picture above is in a church built over the site of the rock where Jesus blessed the fish and loaves. The alter table is actually directly over the rock, which you can see below the table. A beautiful mosaic floor surrounds the rock.

2/5 Mount of Beatitudes

Today we started at the Mount of Beatitudes and it was very special. This is where jesus spoke all those wonderful principles of the blessed life and the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus also borrowed Peter's boat and spoke to a multitude from this area as well.

Governor Huckabee spoke to the group and it was so inspiring.....He talked about how the meek (Blessed are the meek) doesn't mean weak or a wallflower. He says that meek (in Hebrew or Greek, I can't remember) means strength under control. Strength with out control is useless. Meekness is like putting a bridle on a horse and being able to come into your spiritual fulfillment. He also discussed the difference between "peaceful" and "peacemakers" which was profound to me as well. Peacemakers are in constant and ACTIVE pursuit of peace, just like our men and women in the service.....peaceful (or in favor of peace) doesn't equal "peacemaker!" Food for thought......

2/2 DEAD SEA

The Dead Sea is so salty that you float naturally!! Here our friend Sarah demonstrates how she reads the paper while floating in the dead Sea.....it was a really cold day and although the water wasn't THAT cold, we opted not to get in. It was hilarious though...everyone was slathering on the famous dead Sea mud all over their bodies (and it's such a dark green that it almost looks black!)

The mud has incredible healing properties for the skin and other ailments. I'm bringing some of the most famous Dead Sea products (AHAVA) back with me!!! :)

2/4 Qumran

From the Garden Tomb we traveled out of Jerusalem to Qumran, which is on the NW corner of the Dead Sea. This is the greatest archeological find of the 20th century. In 1947 a young goat herder was looking for one of his lost goats and was tossing stones into caves. He was startled to hear a crash. Upon investigating, he found a number of pottery jars containing rolled up scrolls of leather.

our guide told us that this was the ONLY place on the planet that could have kept those scrolls preserved.....The Dead Sea is the LOWEST place on earth. The area has about 10% more oxygen, gets less than 1 inch of rain annually and is extremely arid. An additional tidbit that I found fascinating is that the scrolls were purchased for Israel on the very same day that the country was granted "statehood" on May 14, 1948. The very foundation of the Jewish faith came to Israel the same day.....coincidence? I think NOT!

February 4, 2010

We started off the day at the Garden Tomb.....talk about an emotional visit. It is located a short distance from Golgotha, and is set amidst an ancient orchard. The tomb is hewn into the rock and is relatively small (5 feet high and 2'4" wide, so only a few people can be inside at one time. Rex and I were able to go in together, which was very special. The second picture is actually of the spot where they would have placed the body of Jesus, with a stone for the head and a small niche cut into the wall for the feet.

There is a sign on the door stating "HE IS NOT HERE: FOR HE IS RISEN!" Although our hearts were heavy contemplating the price He paid for our salvation, what joy to know that His sacrifice is our righteousness! This was the highlight of the tour for me....

BTW.....it HAILED while we were in the Garden Tomb and our tour guide (an Israeli citizen and also a Messianic Jew) said she can't remember the last time it hailed in Jerusalem!!! A small signal from God???? Perhaps! :) Everyone was laughing and screaming out loud with joy! What FUN!