Monday, March 17, 2014

Caesarea

Day 1 
Caesarea


At all national parks this little goat was there... Amanda and myself found a new friend :)

You know, there are no words to describe Sonie! She is just an amazingly fun woman! So glad she was part of our team!!

Acts 25:13 starts the scene for this Colosseum. Paul would have been down where Johnny is, talking to thousands about Christ while he was imprisoned. Praying I can have his boldness!

The colloseum was enormous! The amazing thing is that you could hear every word the person at the bottom was saying while you stood at the top.

I constantly had to stop and remind myself where I was and who had been here before me. It may have been thousands of years before me, but no less amazing! Paul was an amazing man sitting in the Colosseum listening to Tom read the scene play out in the bible was very emotional for me as I looked towards the bottom and imagined the scene play out.


The staircase leads down to where they say Paul was held.


The jail cells...  obviously there are some modern additions!



Couldn't believe these shells all over!

Next to the colosseum was Herod's palace.
Herod had an amazing view from this palace. It said it was ONE of his palaces... Ponchos Pilot had stayed in it as well.

Can you imagine waking up to this view?! That is part of the ruins from the palace that you aren't able to walk to jetting out over the sea.

So this palace was right next to the Colosseum and then next to it was a chariot racing amphitheater. It was all very close together!


Johnny climbed EVERYTHING. This was the back of the stadium.


Coming out from the back where they would have kept animals.

Just imagine these seats filled with people. I bet it was a lot more entertaining than spending $10 to watch a movie!

Pus you got the amazing view!

This was on the top of the stadium... I think it looked like where the rich people would have got to hang out during the races!

Now back behind the stadium you have some of the public bath areas.... there are so many!

The Romans really loved public bathing...  hmmmm

all part of the bathing area!


Love how you can see how much time has passed. 

The end of the arena.

Through the entire trip I was in awe at the artistry of the time. If someone were to ask for a floor like this in their home the creator would go design it on a computer. This is all tiny little tiles laid out by hand to make this beautiful piece of art work! Was so in love with the floors. CAN NOT believe how well they are preserved after all this time!
      




Delicious frozen lemonade with mint on the Mediterranean!




I pray for the boldness of Paul. I feel like this trip has really helped me to grow in this weakness of mine. Being able to speak up when I feel God speaking to me and not worrying about what others may think. Because no matter what people think, He is the only one that matters.

“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
Acts 26:4-7


This is only the first part of day 1!!! I still have 2 more sights to upload for the first day! Stay tuned! 

Friday, March 14, 2014

there and back again!

So I have spent the last few days trying to figure out how  I would share what I saw, felt, tasted, smelled and fell in love with... I still haven;t figured that out but thought I'd just start and hopefully you will get a tiny taste of it. So I'm gonna start at the beginning and work my way through day by day.

I can honestly tell you that leaving my family on that Friday night was one of the HARDEST things I have EVER done!! The whole day I was a mess! Too many tears to count! The drop off... what can I even say?! I gave all my hugs and kisses and we had a family prayer at home so that when we got to the church office we wouldn't have to do it in front of everyone. I decided that I would just get out hug the kids and let Jon take them home so they didn't have to see me leave. The whole car was crying!  Jon carried my bags up while I got in the back seat and hugged and kissed my babies again before I left.  I cried when I hugged them and after they pulled away. I walked into the office and they had some of the church family there to pray us off... so I just kept on crying!!  Once we got in the van to head out I had a peace come over me that stayed with me the entire trip. God really held me close so I didn't have any breakdowns the whole trip. It was quite amazing considering the state I was in when I left.
I took a one hour nap before we headed to the airport at 3:30AM and started our journey.

So I thought I would share this first little bit of my journal before we headed out.

Laying on the seats in the airport going between ecstatic and frantic.
I have left behind my heart and feel a little empty.
I so often forget what its like caring for myself and not worrying about someone else's needs.
Going to fill that emptiness with Him. Dig in. Study Him. Love Him. Breathe Him. Walk in His footsteps, and be His hands and feet.
I pray for a whole transformation of the heart, mind and spirit. A feeling of rejuvenation. I want to be His fully.
I pray you open my eyes to your wonders. Reveal yourself to me in ways I can't even imagine.
Be with my family, keep your loving arms around them. Give them comfort and peace as I am gone.

And then we were off! Headed on the most amazing journey with Him guiding our path!