The City of Peace -- Jerusalem!! Shalom!!

Early yesterday morning, we bade farewell to the awe-inspiring region of Galilee -- where our Lord spent so much time in His ministry. Honestly, my mind can hardly take it in that our Lord and His followers walked everywhere or took a boat across the sea, or, in the case of Mary and Joseph, walked and rode a donkey. BTW -- our tour guide, who has lived in Israel all his life, knows just about everything there is to know about this country, and then some. We know he knows the truth and real facts about every holy place. He says "It's like your family. You pass family traditions down from one generation to the next. So it is from Jesus' day." He said it probably took 11 or more days for Mary and Joseph to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem (and that was in her final weeks of her pregnancy)!

Ladies, do you remember what it was like when you were expecting -- the swollen feet, indigestion, tummies so big we couldn't see over them to see our feet, and, more importantly, we didn't travel anywhere in our final weeks of pregnancy, because we needed the comfort and safety of our obstetrician and the hospital., But, Mary and Joseph took to the dry, dusty roads and paths to Bethlehem -- and, Lord have mercy -- on a donkey! And, here we were -- riding a luxury, air conditioned, with plush seats, motorcoach and our 2 hour drive to Jerusalem, feeling a little cramped. Lord, have mercy! (That's what our tour guide says often! LOL!)

Our first stop today was the town of Cana, the birthplace of Jesus' first miracle -- turning the water into wine at a wedding in Cana. Here's the story that came to life for us yesterday, from John 2: "On the third day, there was a wedding. It took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to Him "They have no more wine." "Dear woman, why do you bring Me into this?" Jesus replied. "My time is not yet come". His mother said to the servants, "Do what He tells you." Our tour guide said "Jesus said "My time is not yet come" because He knew the sword would soon pierce His mother's heart once His official ministry began. That made so much sense. But this was the place of His first miracle.

We went into the chapel where all the couples on this pilgrimage were able to renew their wedding vows. It was so beautiful.

I was so happy for them. Fr Paul said, "What have you done lately for your marriage? The sacrament of marriage is your icon to the faithfulness of God and each other. Jesus laid down His life for you, and so you should for each other. He said, "Greater love has no one than this that you lay down your lives for one another." John 15:13

From that sweet time watching these precious couples say "I do" once again, we made our way to Nazareth, the place of the annunciation to Mary in her hometown and then the Holy Family's hometown and home.

The Basilica of the Annunciation that was built over the cave/stone building and home where, after the angel appeared, Mary said "I am the handmaid of the Lord, Be it unto me according to your word." It was a blessing to hear our tour guide also give credit to Joseph for his yeses. He said, "yes" to the angel when he was told to marry Marry, even if he wasn't responsible for her pregnancy. He said "yes" to going to Bethlehem, He said, "yes" to going to Egypt to hide his new baby boy and he said "yes" to raising his son and teaching him his trade and how to care for his mother. Now, God's annunciation is directed at us. Mary was given free will. She submitted to God's will.

She was willing to give herself fully to God. The Messenger, Gabriel, gave the message to Mary and she gave birth to THE MESSENGER! Now, we carry THE MESSENGER inside us and He asks us to be His MESSENGERS. The answer for our world is Jesus. The holy family's home remains are also in Nazareth. It is amazing to place our feet on this holy ground.

Then we drove through the Valley of Jezreel to Mount Tabor, (aka The Mount of Transfiguration) where in Luke 9:35, it is told that God said to the disciples from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." Sounds like the same words that Mary said to the servers at the wedding "Do whatever He tells you to do!" I'll end my post for today to say, "Perhaps we should heed Mary's words and God's words for ultimate success and ultimate pleasing our Father...let's listen to Him and His words Indeed, we are standing on holy ground and His presence is here with us all around.

We

drove for two hours to Jerusalem where we'll stay until we go home on Saturday, When I walked into my room, I saw these word is on the decorative pillows on my bed. It says "Jerusalem Dream". How befitting, because Jerusalem has been in my dreams for a very long time and I am LIVING THE DREAM!

Tomorrow is Christmas Day in all our hearts as we head to Bethlehem. Merry Christmas from Jerusalem!

Pilgrimage Day 6 -- Rome to Israel

I woke yesterday morning, with tears starting to flow. We were flying to Israel. This long awaited day was finally coming to pass -- a day that my husband and I dreamed of. On the way to the airport, our fellow pilgrims sang "Jerusalem, Our Destiny!"
"I have fixed my eyes on your hills,
Jerusalem, my Destiny!
Though I cannot see the end for me,
I cannot turn away.
We have set our hearts for the way;
this journey is our destiny.
Let no one walk alone.
The journey makes us one."

We were all anticipating this special day when we would set our feet on the grounds that our Savior walked, healed, touch, restored, spoke to the winds to be still, turned water into wine, opened blind eyes and so much more that John 21:25 says "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."

Once we arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, we soon boarded our bus and our very knowledgeable guide (has been doing this for 35 years) began to talk about where we were headed. Again, I began to weep at the sheer thought that what I had read about for so many years and memorized the scriptures and invited this Jesus to be my Lord and Savior -- I was going to be where He was on this earth. It was overwhelming to say the least.

Our journey this day would take us to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. Just the thought of being where Jesus performed so many miracles, again, made my emotions and excitement run high. Along the way, we came to Samaria, then Joffa where Jesus asked Zaccheus to come down from that Sycamore Tree (BTW -- there are so many sycamore trees here) because he was going to his house that day and his entire family came to know Christ as Lord. We came to Caesarea where St. Paul departed from to travel to Rome.

I was especially touched when we arrived at Mount Carmel at Haifa. Mt Carmel is where Elijah indelibly associated with the mountain. In the Books of Kings, Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a contest at the altar on Mount Carmel to determine whose God was genuinely in control of the Kingdom of Israel. According to 1 Kings 18, the challenge was to see which God could light a sacrifice by fire. After the prophets of Baal had failed to achieve this, Elijah had water poured on his sacrifice to saturate the altar and then he prayed; fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, soil, and water which prompted the Israelite witnesses to proclaim, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!". In the account, Elijah announced the end to a long drought; clouds gathered, the sky turned black, and it rained heavily. With the incredible manifestation of Elijah's God being our God to those prophets, still Elijah ran when word had it that Jezebel was after him to kill him. He ran to a cave at Mt. Carmel fo hide. A beautiful shrine is at Mt Carmel that commemorates the life and miracles of God through Elijah's faith (pictured below).. We enjoyed a beautiful mass and communion at a Carmelite chapel.

When we passed a sign that told how many miles to Nazareth, tears fell again. (BTW -- I won't be wearing eye make-up anymore on this journey. There's just no sense because I expect to be overwhelmed with love for my Savior so much I can't contain all that is welling up inside of me. I tend to think it's those "springs of living water" that I know will never run dry)..

We traveled by Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle of turning the water into wine at a marriage feast, then by Cyprus where his dad, Joseph, came to work. And in this region, Jesus learned his father's trade and worked alongside him.

Finally, at the end of the day, we arrived at our hotel right at the Sea of Galilee. Oh how my heart burns within me. No words can be offered that could explain my heartfelt gratitude that I know this Man personally. He walked here and He walks with me today. He's as close as the mention of His name. How thankful I am to be on this pilgrimage of faith that confirms this journey of faith that I've been on for so many years is worth it all.

This morning, we'll board a boat that takes us across the Sea of Galilee. I plan to envision Him walking on the water toward me and I'll say "My Lord, my Savior and my God! And, He'll say back to me...."Donna, peace be still" and I know all that is within me that often seems out of control.....will be still with the command of His words to my soul!"