Come And See

It's not often that we have a significant snow event in southern Iowa in October. Let alone twice. We had measurable snow both Monday and again on Wednesday evening. This picture was taken by Emily in the field with Kurt and their boys while she brought supper to the combining crew.

The guys started the week as soon as Sunday was over harvesting Bill and Andy's corn near Deep River. Thanks for the picture Alex.

 BJ and Cassia's 8th grade grandson John stayed home from school and helped Grandpa combine smaller fields closer to home.

Well, by Thursday morning there was enough snowfall to stop harvest progress so the guys went to tiling so Mike could finish our terrace project across the road from the shop. The ground conditions were muddy and our dozer was needed to pull the trencher.

No matter what your occupation is or was, it's always good to see the positives in what we do. I'm also thankful for the opportunities we were able to take advantage of this fall to get as much completed as we have.

Karl and Kristin had an anniversary this week. I don't remember to mention all our families special dates however I remember 10/30/10. We were finished with harvest and caught up on their wedding day. Remember to see the blessings you've been given in your family. Thanks for the picture Jan. 

Several months ago we signed up and have been looking forward to a trip to Israel with the Family Leader. TFL is an organization that is working toward keeping values in our culture and freedoms in our country. It also encourages the church to be engaged. Our tour is called, Come and See/2019.

Well up until Thursday morning I was looking forward to leaving and telling myself and others I was just fine. However the morning we left there was a small relapse as I had early coffee with the gang. Our kids and the help assured me they would be just fine as they continued with harvest and adjusted to the weather. And believe me, they will. I like the line that says, "don't measure a person by how much they're needed. Measure them by how well things go when they're gone". We've often been told by folks older than us not to miss experiences and dare to see opportunities.

 

After flying to Minneapolis and New York we got on a large body Airbus 300 for an eleven hour overnight flight to Tel Aviv. As many of you know that's a long sit. One thing that surprised me was how many of our flight attendants were middle aged or older. Several looked beyond retirement age. We arrived in Israel on Friday afternoon.

 I had been praying that God would use this trip to help me see not only what things were like when Jesus was on earth 2000 years ago but also that it would help me today grow as a child of God, a husband, a father, and as a friend. I was impressed as we landed how large and modern Tel Aviv was.

Much of the Middle East is rocks and dessert. Yet in the Bible story God promised His people, the Israelites, a land  flowing with milk and honey. And as you can see they have the ability to make the dessert green with olives, grapes. figs, barley, wheat, dates, and pomagrams.

We started our visit in the town of Capernaum, This town was one of the larger cities along the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus spent a year and a half of his ministry. He stayed at the home of Peter. Below is the foundation of Peter's house which has been excavated by archaeological students over time. This is where the Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant and where Jesus healed Peter's mother. It's close to the lake and close to the synagogue.

The Jews worshiped in the temple in Jeruselum. If that walk was too far they would build a synagogue closer to home. This structure has been destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times.

The darker stone foundation was built during or before Jesus time. It is volcanic stone and is available in the territory. The square limestone was rebuilt about 500 years after Christ and hauled in from a neighboring community.

Remember the song about Zacchaeus being a wee little man. Well we sat in the shade of sycamore trees and listened while Del reminded us of Bible stories in this area.

For lunch we stopped at a local restaurant where they served what they called a "Peter fish", caught out of the Sea of Galilee. I took a picture of Jan's as I was not very brave and ordered a fish fillet.

Next we drove to where Jesus fed the 5000 with 5 loaves and two fish. Actually it was probably closer to 15000 if you count women and children. It's amazing how all these places come together and are not all that far apart when you experience them in person.

After going to the mountain where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount we went down to a museum and saw this boat which was found during a drought year in the sea. It was used at the time of the disciples.

The highlight of the day was a boat ride on an older boat on the sea of Galilee. We took the same route as Jesus's disciples did when they were traveling to Capernaum and a storm came up and Jesus walked on the water and calmed the sea. You can't see it very well because of the sunny day but the city on the mountain in front of the boat was Tiberius, where we ate supper.

Remember when Jesus said it would be better if a millstone be put around someone's neck and thrown into the sea rather than cause a little child to stumble. Well this is a millstone. This visit makes Bible stories come to life. Jesus used everyday examples in His stories that folks could understand and relate to. Bob reminded us of something Nathaniel said when his brother Phillip asked him to follow him to someone who could heal and do miracles. Nathaniel said, "Can anything good come out of Nazerath?" Phillip said, "Come and see". God used ordinary folks in ordinary places to do extraordinary things 2000 years ago. He does the same today. We just have to "Come and See" what He has purposed for us to do. Thanks for taking the time to visit. Have a great week.