Shalom from Israel! =) It's hard to believe I've only been here a few days...I've already seen and experienced, thought and felt so much! What a beautiful, overwhelmingly rich and complex place Jerusalem is!
That's why, as I just posted on my facebook status, blogging my time in Israel is already starting to feel like a daunting task. I've just spent the past hour and a half working on an "impression report" for a tour of Old City Jerusalem that I took with one of my classes yesterday. I have a page and a half, single-spaced, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface for even that event!
While I continue to work on that, I just wanted to provide you a few snapshots of my trip so far as I have time.
The first will be from my flight over. When I sat down on the plane departing from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv, I found myself surrounded Hebrew-speaking people. My first taste of Israel! Next to me, I could hear the Hebrew conversation between a man and his son the whole way there.
While I know almost no Hebrew, I did recognize one word used frequently by the little boy: Abba.
It instantly reminded me of Romans 8:15: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but a Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" This was sortof a theme verse of my pre-trip time, and it was so impactful to watch the pair beside me as a living reminder of my own Abba.
I think that's how my semester is going to be. While not everything I see here has been earth-shattering (as I'll explain more in the next post hopefully), it already has made some of the verses like this hit home in a new way. I'm excited to see what's next. =)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Taking My Pilgrimage to Zion
As most of you know, I'm leaving for Israel tomorrow (I have a mini freakout inside myself everytime I say that!). I was thinking of starting a new blog for that, but then I re-read my first "Behind the Title" post and decided otherwise.
In that post, I describe how I got the title of this blog from Psalm 84:5-7: "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage...They go from strength to strength, til each appears before God in Zion."
I see my life with God as a pilgrimage. Journeying through life and sometimes Valleys of Baca-"weeping"-that God continuously transforms into "places of springs" as I encounter His radical grace and mercy in new and deeper ways. Moving ever closer to that glorious day when I will "appear before God in Zion."
Although this verse can apply to all of life in this more metaphorical way, it is becoming more literal in my life this semester. I'm going to Mount Zion. Seriously, it's in the address: "P.O. Box 1276, Mt. Zion." Whoaa...how crazy is that?!
My desire and prayer for my semester on Mt. Zion is that it really will be a pilgrimage, seeking and encountering God in new and deeper ways. Being transformed by that. Being used through it.
So, while I originally created this blog to write about some of my thoughts and experiences in my pilgrimage of life, I think it's fitting to use it to share about this new pilgrimage of mine to Mount Zion.
As I've been reading through some of the Psalms and other passages that talk about Mt. Zion, it's struck me what a deep and rich legacy I am following. So many hearts have cried out for God on Mount Zion, looked towards this place for hope. So many glorious promises, intense pain, and miraculous transformations have occurred here.
It gives me the chills.
How wonderful that this pilgrimage of life (and now, to Jerusalem)that I'm on is not something I'm just creating for myself...it's a small part of something huge and great and glorious that God has been doing for hundred and thousands of years. I can't even wrap my mind around it.
As usual, there are many more scattered thoughts in my mind that I could follow in this post, but that will have to wait for another day. I'm sitting on my bedroom floor surrounded by piles (and I mean PILES) of clothes, bags, and books that have to somehow make it into a less-than-fifty-pound suitcase and carry-on before tomorrow at one. For today, my pilgrimage will look like laundry and packing and re-packing...and all that last second, pre-trip chaos. ;)
Before I sign off, though. I want to thank all my family and friends so much for all your love, support, prayers, and encouragement. It's overwhelming. I'm so, so blessed by all of you.
If you think of it, here are some things you can be praying for:
1. That I will keep my priorities straight and my focus on God this semester, that He would reveal Himself to me in new and deeper ways. I want to have fun but not lose sight of this as a pilgrimage.
2. That I will have wisdom in how to spend my last twenty-four hours here, that I would be able to tie together all that I need to in time.
3. That God will guard my heart and mind with His peace.
4. That God will guide me as I make some decisions on classes (have decided three, but need to figure out the fourth), ministry opportunities, etc.
5. That the trip and especially arrival over there will go smoothly (that I'll get on the right taxi to the right place!).
Let me know if there's anything I can be praying for all of you about too. Although I won't be able to use my phone in Israel, I will have internet access to check facebook and my gmail address (message me if you want it). I'd love to hear from you!
Well, that's all for now! Stay tuned for next blog post...in Israel (ahh!!).
Shalom,
Elizabeth
In that post, I describe how I got the title of this blog from Psalm 84:5-7: "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage...They go from strength to strength, til each appears before God in Zion."
I see my life with God as a pilgrimage. Journeying through life and sometimes Valleys of Baca-"weeping"-that God continuously transforms into "places of springs" as I encounter His radical grace and mercy in new and deeper ways. Moving ever closer to that glorious day when I will "appear before God in Zion."
Although this verse can apply to all of life in this more metaphorical way, it is becoming more literal in my life this semester. I'm going to Mount Zion. Seriously, it's in the address: "P.O. Box 1276, Mt. Zion." Whoaa...how crazy is that?!
My desire and prayer for my semester on Mt. Zion is that it really will be a pilgrimage, seeking and encountering God in new and deeper ways. Being transformed by that. Being used through it.
So, while I originally created this blog to write about some of my thoughts and experiences in my pilgrimage of life, I think it's fitting to use it to share about this new pilgrimage of mine to Mount Zion.
As I've been reading through some of the Psalms and other passages that talk about Mt. Zion, it's struck me what a deep and rich legacy I am following. So many hearts have cried out for God on Mount Zion, looked towards this place for hope. So many glorious promises, intense pain, and miraculous transformations have occurred here.
It gives me the chills.
How wonderful that this pilgrimage of life (and now, to Jerusalem)that I'm on is not something I'm just creating for myself...it's a small part of something huge and great and glorious that God has been doing for hundred and thousands of years. I can't even wrap my mind around it.
As usual, there are many more scattered thoughts in my mind that I could follow in this post, but that will have to wait for another day. I'm sitting on my bedroom floor surrounded by piles (and I mean PILES) of clothes, bags, and books that have to somehow make it into a less-than-fifty-pound suitcase and carry-on before tomorrow at one. For today, my pilgrimage will look like laundry and packing and re-packing...and all that last second, pre-trip chaos. ;)
Before I sign off, though. I want to thank all my family and friends so much for all your love, support, prayers, and encouragement. It's overwhelming. I'm so, so blessed by all of you.
If you think of it, here are some things you can be praying for:
1. That I will keep my priorities straight and my focus on God this semester, that He would reveal Himself to me in new and deeper ways. I want to have fun but not lose sight of this as a pilgrimage.
2. That I will have wisdom in how to spend my last twenty-four hours here, that I would be able to tie together all that I need to in time.
3. That God will guard my heart and mind with His peace.
4. That God will guide me as I make some decisions on classes (have decided three, but need to figure out the fourth), ministry opportunities, etc.
5. That the trip and especially arrival over there will go smoothly (that I'll get on the right taxi to the right place!).
Let me know if there's anything I can be praying for all of you about too. Although I won't be able to use my phone in Israel, I will have internet access to check facebook and my gmail address (message me if you want it). I'd love to hear from you!
Well, that's all for now! Stay tuned for next blog post...in Israel (ahh!!).
Shalom,
Elizabeth
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