Guess who is 9 X 7 - 3 ???

Today just happens to be the BIRTHDAY

of the man I love.

His  60th Birthday!

Can . You . Believe . It .

 I . Can . Not

I thought I loved him when we married

all those years ago ... 

and in many ways, I did.

But our love has changed and grown.

Hard times, job changes, 

disappointment in people,

children, homeschooling,

dad dying, teenagers, vehicles,

weddings, grandchildren ... 

all these life experiences 

mold us and make us into who we become!

I am so thankful to the LORD 

that He brought Myron and I together.

My prayer is that we will continue to 

serve Him together all of our lives.

Some people call this stage in life ~~ Empty Nest.

It sounds like such a sad time of life.

Thankfully, our nest is not yet empty ...

we are so happy to still have Jeshanah at home.

 I like to think of this time of life as 

"Prime Time" 

and I'm going to live it to its fullest,

glorifying the LORD, 

with the man I love !!

We recently returned from a very

exciting trip to Israel so I'm

posting pictures of Myron and I 

from the trip.

Most of them are from our 

amazing 'trip photographer' ~  Allison Rockhold!
Love all the pictures, Allison.  Thanks! 

In these two pictures

we are walking from the 

Mount of Olives to

Gethsemane.

Our days were full of visiting

many sights and hearing teaching

relevant to each sight from the Word.

John Heller and Steve Price

did the teaching.

We visited Nazareth Village

which is a working community set up to be like the

village of Nazareth was when the LORD Jesus

lived there.

Here "Yosef" is showing Myron how

to drill a hole ... long before Makita

or Craftsman were invented.

 

 We spent quite a bit of time around the

Sea of Galilee area.

This is close to the place where the

LORD Jesus called the disciples 

to leave their nets and follow Him.

We went on a very peaceful

boat ride on the Sea.

I can see how it would be a 

favorite place for the LORD

Jesus to be.  The first day we were there

it was so clam and still.

We were able to view it several days

later when it was windy and there were 

pretty big waves on it.

This is the Jordan River.

We enjoyed a good challenge

from the Word of God here.

 Masada was one of Myron's 

favorite places ...

can you tell by his smile ???

I can....

I'm still digesting all the

historical information we learned here.

If you wanna know more  about this

place watch the movie "Masada"

It's on our 'to do' list.

 This is near the Mediterranean Sea.

In Israel there is lush green fields

and dry, dusty dessert.

 What a thrill it was

to view Old Jerusalem.

One day our LORD will

set His feet there again.

I can't wait!!

Had to put a 'bus' picture in.

We spent a lot of time on the bus

and it was fun getting to 

know new friends.

Our driver was good ~~

sometimes a bit scary!

Myron noticed this man working
inside a 'cave' as we walked along.
He didn't know ANY English but was
proud to have his picture taken.
Can you tell what he was making in
his wood shop?  Caskets!

Hard to believe that Israel would

have an entire Restaurant devoted

to this American 'idol'.  

It was a very busy place but had

the cheapest hot chocolate!

Hot Chocolate  -  $3.00

Mug  -  FREE !!

This is a sunrise

over the Sea of Galilee.

I think Allison got up real early 

to get that shot.

We don't know what the year 

ahead holds for us ...

but as I have told you before

in the words 


of 

                                 Winnie the Pooh ......

“If you live to be a hundred, 

I want to live to be a hundred minus one day 

so I never have to live without you.” 

Of course I know that our times are in His hands ....

and I am very thankful for that.

I LOVE YOU, MYRON,  WITH ALL MY HEART !!!

Gramma Camp ~~ Israel

We did "Gramma Camp" again last week.

We had a great time together studying God's favorite land --

 the land of Israel!

This time I'm doing it in two groups because Jared and Jill's kiddos

were up visiting their other Gramma and Grampa in Baudette.

We made Lap Books.

We talked about the geography, the people, the events

and the future of Israel.


All the kids got
their own 
"shekels" which is
the currency in Israel
as well as a 
genuine, hand picked
rock from the 
Valley of Elah
where David fought Goliath!

Between all our book work,



Sam and Cody played some


hockey games.

And Sam surprised us by getting


quite a lot of noise out of 


Grampa's shofar.

Briann and Chloe 


practiced and practiced 


some songs on the recorders.

And Sydney, Lydia and Elly

played dress up!

 We took an early evening drive

to a nearby park where 

the kids played until dark and

 ran off a lot of energy!

We had 

popcorn with M and M's 

(everybody's favorite)

while we watched a movie

and then we all went to sleep.

I offered a prize to the one who

went to sleep first and 

CODY

was the winner of that.

Next time I will add to that prize a 

prize to the one who sleeps the

latest in the morning !!

We looked up and called ourselves

by our Hebrew names.

So let me  introduce to you .....

AMIRA

CARMELA

ALMA

CHAGIT

SHMUEL

ELIMELECH

MEIRA

The kids did a great job 
on their lap books. 

 I hope they learned a lot about Israel.  

They each got a packet of

pictures we took in Israel

of many of the places mentioned

in the Bible.  We talked

about what happened

at each place.

And the kids all wanted to be

sure that I took an "Old Fashioned" picture.

"Old Fashioned Picture" on my blog.

When I asked them what "old fashioned" meant ... 

they said it means a picture where everybody is NOT smiling !!!  Hmmmm..

So here they are in their Old Fashioned Picture ... 

Those guys in the back ... they look like they're up to something ?!?!?

HE is not here . . . HE has risen !!

The cave in Israel thought to be the tomb of Jesus

"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn

 of the first day of the week,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary 

went to see the tomb.

... the angel said to the women,

"Do not be afraid,  

for I know that you seek Jesus 

who was crucified.

He is not here, for he has risen, 

as he said.  

Come, see the place where the LORD lay. 

Then go quickly and tell his disciples

that he has risen from the dead ...""

Door to the tomb in Israel
claimed to be that of Jesus

CHRIST AROSE

~Robert Lowry

Low in the grave He lay 

Jesus my Savior!

Waiting the coming day

Jesus my LORD!

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever 

with His saints to reign.

He arose!  He arose!

Hallelujah!  Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed

Jesus my Savior!

Vainly they seal the dead

Jesus my LORD!

Inside the tomb - where they laid the body

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever 

with His saints to reign.

He arose!  He arose!

Hallelujah!  Christ arose!

Death cannot keep his prey,

Jesus my Savior!

He tore the bars away

Jesus my LORD!

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;

He arose a victor from the dark  domain,

And He lives forever with His saints to reign.

He arose!  He arose!  

Hallelujah! Christ arose!  

Mercy Seat ... No Mercy

Today is the day the world calls "Good Friday".

Good ? really?

Bittersweet ....  

The day my Savior suffered and died for me.

When we were in Israel we visited a place

called Nazareth Village

It is a very interesting and educational village created to be like the village of Nazareth

when the LORD Jesus was a boy living there.

One of the displays is this cross.

I noticed how short the cross was and asked why.

The guide told us that the crosses that were

uncovered in archaeological digs from the dates of the 

crucifixion  of the LORD Jesus were of this size.

The Romans, in their cruelty, wanted people to

be able to look right in the eyes of the 'criminals'.

You will also notice the middle 'cross bar'.  The guide called this

the 'mercy seat'.  He explained it was a mockery invented by the Romans. It

was meant to prolong the life of the one being crucified. It would give them just

a little bit of a 'chair' to rest themselves on when they lifted up their body

from the foot cross bar in order to get some air into their lungs.

  Instead of being a 'mercy' thing it actually prolonged

the life of the one being crucified, thus being a very cruel thing.

This is not recorded in the Bible, but the guide said the crosses that

were unearthed from this time period had this "mercy seat".  

Did the cross the the LORD Jesus have this?  I don't know.

But I do know that He suffered on that cross for me.

As I have been thinking about this, I thought of the words of

a favorite song of mine ..... The Power of the Cross.

You can listen to a beautiful rendering of it here .  

 Kristyn Getty singing with some video

added in for special effects.  

THE POWER OF THE CROSS

--by Stewart Townend and Keith Getty, 
Thankyou Music, published by Kingsway.

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.

Tried by sinful men,

Torn and beaten, then

Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:

This, the pow'r of the cross:

Christ became sin for us;

Took the blame, bore the wrath—

We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow. 

Now the daylight flees;

Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry. 

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost! 
We stand forgiven at the cross