Peace at home

A wise friend, Robbie, told me that a "MOM" controls the atmosphere of the house. This is so true. When I am all to pieces, my family is all to pieces. We have three boys. For Christmas we got our eleven year old a "puppy". Well oh course he is cute, BUT a lot of work. He is like a new baby- goes to the bathroom every hour. Well one day in particular,  I was at work- I received several phone calls from my husband about how much work the puppy was, and that he had went to the bathroom several times in the house- yuck!!! I couldn't wait to get home.HA HA .  It is funny, when I'm home, the puppy doesn't have accidents, but that is another story. Also this one day in particular, the boys were destroying the house. I rushed home, pulled my car into the garage and was trying to mentally get ready to meet every one's needs. Well I didn't pull my car far enough into the garage- the garage door came down on my car, usually goes back up when it meets resistance, but didn't this time. The door caught a hold of my expedition and tore the garage door opener completely off the door. So instead of me creating peace in my house that night, I added to the chaos.  My husband was DONE. Instead of praying through it, I told my husband to put the dog on eBay to sell, the kids too if that was possible. I was DONE too. So instead of creating a peaceful night, I went to bed. The next day I left for work and had to manually shut the garage door, I ended  up shutting my finger in the door and cried all the way to work. Later that day I talked to Robbie, she laughed and again told me that I could, with God's help, change the atmosphere of my house. I tried it, and it worked. I loved on the puppy, and my family. I lit candles, fixed dinner, and most of all- bit my tongue. I kept my mouth shut, Girls- this is war. We have to put on our armor before we get up in the morning- the armor of God. Read our bible and pray. God did not promise that life would be easy, but that he would not leave us.
So today, try to remain calm. Pray for Peace. Trust and Love God. We will make it to the finish line. One way or the other. We maybe crawling, but we'll make it.
Love in Christ.
Amy

Cap...part 2

Sea of Galilee in the Back......

The synagogue was built in the pattern common in Galilee with lateral aisles along three sides, with three entrances with the open side facing JERUSALEM..........

Between the synagogue and Peter's house, archaeologists have found the remains of many homes that give us a good idea of the way Peter's home would have looked. It probably consisted of one room,  perhaps even divided by pillars that separated the living area from a pantry type room.  These homes were clustered around courtyards, where baking ovens would have been located. Their were no roofs left on anything. But the stone steps leading to them are still in place today!!! We were told through archaeological findings that the roof would have been flat, made of packed dirt and straw that would be supported by wood or stone rafters.

Early Christians made it easy to identify Peter's house by the most exciting discovery for us Christians:   131 inscriptions scratched into its plaster walls by pilgrims in Greek, Aramaic, Latin, and the ancient Semitic Language Syriac.........Many of the inscriptions bless the name of Jesus and ask for God's Mercy! This realization may have been the first site of the first-house-churches......this would be HUGE for us Christians because it would be a the very first known church in the Christian world.....wow......

Grinding mills for wheat, found in Capernaum......

Me and Peter.............

Thanks to the archaeologists who excavated the ruins of Capernaum during the twentieth century, we can almost picture the scene of a bustling town where fisherman are hauling in their catch for the day..and the women would be hard at work grinding grain, baking bread, or making clothing for their families. 

CAPHARNAUM............................THE TOWN OF JESUS.......part 1

"The people of the country call it Capernaum." Capernaum was a fairly large settlement on the Northwestern edge of the Sea of Galilee.... Capernaum became the home town of Jesus after Nazareth, and from the synagogue there He launched his preaching mission.......

This is the center of Jesus' ministry.......Capernaum means, "village of Nahum," Nahum means, "comfort or consolation."  The meaning should remain us of the many miracles of healing that Jesus performed in this vicinity........

It was a busy fishing town that was located near an abundant spring and well-watered fertile plains........

Archaeological remains of Peter's house..........

The doorways of the Capernaum synagogue, frames the modern Memorial of St. Peter, built over the traditional house of Peter's mother-n-law.......

A reconstructed colonnade stands tall among the ruins of the synagogue of Capernaum.........

Grinding mills for wheat, found in Capernaum.....

Beneath the Memorial of St. Peter are remains of Peter's mother-n-law's house........

This was truly a city of miracles.....and teaching...A place where men were called and they followed. It is the town by the sea that Jesus himself called "HOME." It is where five of the disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew-lived and were called, and chose to follow......

Reconstructed colonnade...............that stands tall in the ruins of the synagogue of Capernaum..........

Standing here in the shades of the old buildings...Our hearts cry out to want to know more.......more about our Jesus...Amy and I try to picture Jesus touching Peter's mother-n-law and commanding, "Be well," and in that very moment she was healed.......as the sun is beaming down upon us..we thought about the very words Jesus spoke here:   If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large mill-stone tied around the neck and be drowned in the sea......as we stood there if you listened closely enough you could hear the waves from the Sea of Galilee.....

This is also where the sick and desperate sought him out. It is also where those who were hungry in spirit came to feast on Jesus' words who was and who is the "Bread of Life." He spoke the most important word ever here that has been repeated throughout time....

"BELIEVE."

Also at Capernaum it is believed that this is where a demon-possessed man cried out, "Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us?"

Murex marine snail

The above pictures were taken of the Mediterranean Sea. The first two was taken at the bottom of Mt. Carmel. With the smoke above us traveling across the sky and over the Mediterranean Sea. I am not able to describe the site and all the colors I saw that day. I do know that with death comes life and Israel is "very alive" today.
One amazing thing we learned while in Caesarea was about the Murex marine snail. In Biblical times, they used  blue dye, from the Murex snail,  for their garments. There was a unique understanding that the fringe of a man's garment had a special significance. The blue coloring on the cord of their garment reminded the people of heaven. The "blue" coloring they used was from a hypobranchial gland of a Murex marine snail that ONLY lives in the deep water of the Mediterranean Sea. The "purple" was obtained from another variety of Murex snail that could be gathered in shallow coastal waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas."Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah" ( Exek. 27:7) " clothes of blue and embroidered work".  Recent findings in the Bar Kochba caves by the Dead Sea have explained to many Jewish scholars about the significance of the dyes used on certain types of cloths. The dyed woollen embroidery may be symbolic of the need for a divine infusion of holiness(blue) and royalty( purple) into the prosaic human stock of Israel.
Modern Research-
The production of blue yarn and cloth dyed in the traditional way ceased many centuries ago, when the supply of snails appeared to become extinct. Jews have never been able to accept any other kind of blue dye, so  to this day they have no blue cord in their fringes and tassels. A recent discovery about a year or so ago was that the Murex snail was not extinct after all and that it may be possible to resume production of the traditional blue dye. Some Jews have even gone so far as to see the revival of the heavenly blue as a sure sign of the advent of their Messiah.- All I can say folks is that Jesus is coming soon!!!!!
Blessings,
Amy

YESHUA BOAT........................

On a winter day in 1986, two Galilee Fisherman saw the outline of something odd while they were walking along the muddy banks of drought-plagued Sea of Galilee and called in experts. An ancient boat half-buried on the Northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee was discovered..................and it was quickly named the "The Jesus Boat" or in Hebrew; "The Yeshua Boat."

The boat was carefully removed from the silt and made it's first journey in 2,000 years, it floated once again on a canal from the Galilee to Kibbutz Ginosar where it was placed in a specially built conservation pool at the Yigal Allon Museum..........

Experts report after testing it they confirmed the boat was constructed and used between 100 BC and AD 70...........The boat was in an amazing state of preservation, thanks to being encased for 2,000 years in the mud....(wood-devouring bacteria could not breath in the mud...) It was completely waterlogged when found, and in order to keep it from crumbling into dust, it was immediately immersed in a giant tub.....Never before preservation's were attempted in order to preserve the boat and with great success the water-soluble wax bound the boat together perfectly........

The boat is about 24 feet long, 7 feet wide and a little less than 4 feet deep........It was built using the "shell first" technique, with mortise and tenon journey.....

A boat of this size would have had a crew of 5, and would have been able to carry about 15 additional people. It would have a working life of 20-30 years. Most of its planks were made of Labanon cedar and the frames were of oak.

Much of the wood had been recycled from older scrapped boats. It would have had a small deck in the bow and another one at the stern. It's fishing net would have been deployed from the stern deck.

Wood fragments were uncovered nearby, indicating that the boat was found in a place that had been a boatyard. This indeed is the type of boat that was used on the lake for fishing and for ferrying passengers when Jesus was preaching.........

Although Cedar and Oak make up the most of the boats planks and frames, there were still 10 other kinds of wood used......the picture is a listing of all the different types of wood used.........

A bowl discovered in the boat, whose form alone dates it back to the first century CE.......

As I pulled from my notes everything I could about Yeshua's boat.... I couldn't help but wonder if God is revealing little treasures of His existence all over Israel in hopes that His people will wake up and call out to him

I know that boat was not found by accident....It was there for 2,000 years....... God's timing is so different from ours. It had to be ordained by God..........for two brothers who were walking by the shores of Galilee like it was an ordinary day..... only to find a discovery on the shores of Galilee that has marked history forever...... another piece of the puzzle which God is allowing us to see little bits at a time......

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. "Come follow me, " Jesus said, " and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him........

Matthew 4:18-22.....

What are we willing to leave behind to follow Jesus????

HAPPY NEW YEAR..........................................

In the relentless busyness of this thing we call "LIFE," we have lost the rhythm between work and rest.....As I sit here writing my mind is already racing to the next moment in my life.... God has been circling me with this thing called "REST," I am reading a book called Sabbath...Sometimes I want to just scream after reading it and after looking at other blogs!!! How do they find the time to be the perfect blogger? Perfect Mom? Perfect Wife? Perfect Teacher? Even there kids do not seem to be intoxicated by this thing called the "WORLD," where my kids are living in it and blending in with it.......  Maybe it is just ME! Maybe I am the failure in this thing called "LIFE".   Maybe it is my desire to accomplish so much in the little time I have and MAYBE its ME that has chose to spread myself so thin.....I have lost it, lost the spiritual rhythm of this thing called LIFE......and because.I have not slowed down to do what is the most important thing in my life..........,  I have lost my way.... My way to the most amazing relationship of all.... with our Lord and Savior...who so graciously waits.......WAITS...for me and WAITS for you to spend time with him......We miss the very quiet that would give us wisdom!!!! We are poisoned by this hypnotic belief that we can have it all and do it all..........all for what??? More success, more recognition, more satisfaction, more LOVE, more information, more possessions, more security......

How I pray this year will be different for us all.......

Wishing you and your family the Happiest New Year of all....... Praying that we all slow down and spend time with God himself....Make it your priority....I am going to try so hard to make it mine.....So much more to blog about on our amazing trip to Israel..... Hope to post more of Israel in the next couple of days... Working tomorrow New Years Day in Neuro Intensive Care Unit.... Praying to be used by God and to be a blessing to someone............

In His Grace,

Robbie

Tiberas/ Children's Home.......Israel

We were on a very tight schedule the whole 10 days in Israel. The hotels would want us back around 7pm for dinner. We were running late on this day and almost did not have time to stop. Also the kids at this Children's center go home at night. They were so excited to see us they waited late, knowing they would have to walk home in the dark and alone. The building in the first picture was one of many around the children's center. This area is very poor. As we walked through this neighborhood, I prayed for each person living here- for their safety and hope. And mostly that they would see Jesus through us and other Christians that visit the center. As we walked up the sidewalk to the center, we heard chanting. Once we were close enough to see the children, we could hear what they were saying. They were saying Tesha, Tesha, Tesha. The children surrounded Tesha, our guide, and loved all over her. Our group then walked into the building.  The center was simple, but full of love. Each room was filled with art work on the walls. Obviously efforts of love. The children were so excited to see us. Oh course Robbie and I were fighting back the tears. While there we heard some very sad stories. I know there are children's home all over the world, poor and needy children, but for some reason I was drawn to these kids. They performed for us- sang and danced. They lit the candles on the Menorah and involved us in the ceremony. At the end of our visit, we handed out gifts- simple ones. I did not hear one time- that she got more, or its not fair. The children's center experience was a breath of fresh air, and caused a need to help others to stir up inside of me and others in our group. It was hard leaving them. The kids were so happy that we were there, they were full of the moment, not even thinking about the future, or problems that tomorrow would bring- the innocence of a child. Most of the children do not have dads. I could see excitement in the boy's eyes when they were interacting with the men in our group. Several of the boys gave paper gifts they had made to the men. I'm sure they will cherish these gifts forever. Please take a few minutes after you read this, to pray for those children, and children everywhere- especially ones that do without. That are hurting, sad, or hungry. I pray that God will protect them and give them extra protection and comfort.

Amy