Streams in the Desert

Waterfall at Ein Gedi...an oasis in the desert

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. -Isaiah 43:18

Can you believe that this stream is actually in the desert? It is in the beautiful oasis of Ein Gedi. This is the place that David hid from Saul. (1 Samuel 24). It is pretty easy to understand why he chose this place! And it is also pretty easy to understand how he could possibly chose not to kill Saul when he finally arrived.  The peace and evidence of God’s presence in this place is overwhelming. I suspect David was prepared for Saul’s arrival, with a close communion with God and peace in his soul. It’s amazing what a little vacation can do!

We visited another oasis in the Tsin Valley, near where Moses would have traversed through the wilderness.  There was desert wilderness as far as you could see and then we walked into this deep valley with amazing water pools and waterfalls. We were reminded of the story where the people were complaining and grumbling because they were tired and hot and hungry and thirsty and Moses went to seek God’s help. God told him to strike a rock and water gushed forth. 

Seeing a spot like this, for myself, I couldn’t help but wonder if the miracle was Moses striking the rock and water gushing forth or if the actual miracle was Moses simply being close enough to God to see what God had already provided.  I hear people say today that “God doesn’t perform miracles anymore.”  Perhaps what is more likely is that we are moving so fast that we can’t see the provision God has already made for us.  Miracles are happening everyday. We may just be missing them!

Thanks for your prayers.  Another blog will follow shortly. Somehow I didn’t get this one posted last night! We are in Jerusalem today….more to come!

Sharon

Sunset over the Judean Hills

All the bags arrived with us!We arrived in TelAviv more than an hour early. Relatively easy flight, not much sleep as I was on the row with a mother. aunt and 6 week old baby. The baby was really great and it brought back memories of travel by car or plane with little ones. I gave thanks for my children and gave thanks they were now old enough to carry their own bags! I hope to bring them all to Israel with me one day.  We are staying tonight, just outside of Jerusalem. 

You may know that one of my favorite things to do at home is to watch the sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains. I can do that from our house each evening.  And tonight, there has been a beautiful sunset over the Judean Hills. You can see the picture below.  It is an overcast day but the sun broke through the clouds, just as I began to write to you.  What a gift, right outside my bedroom window. 

When I am sitting at home, watching the sunet I often remember the verse from Psalms 121, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”   I am reminded of that verse and promise here. Perhaps I am sitting near where David penned those words.  I can just imagine his thinking that as he might have looked on a similar scene, thousands of years ago. 

Amazing! Read Psalm 121 with me today, with the reminder that whether the hills are in Judea or North Carolina or who knows where, our help does come from the Lord and it is He that “will watch over our coming and going both now and forevermore.”  Amen. 

Sunset on the Judean Hills

Israel or Bust!!

Eva, Cheri and Larry at JFK…last minute work and we are off!

We are waiting in the Delta Sky Club at JFK for our evening flight to Tel Aviv. We are all here except for Ellie, who is joining us from California shortly. The only one I know of the group is Eva, the connector for us all. I had met Larry and Cheri at the Blue Ridge Writers’ Conference a couple of years ago but look forward to knowing them more and to getting to know Robbie and Ellie. They are all writers, I mean REAL writers. I am just a novice. So not only will I learn more about Israel in this trip, I will learn a great deal more about writing.  I can’t believe we are really on our way. We’ve been planning for a long time and finally it is here.  Whisper a prayer for our safety and for Bob and my children too!  I am always a little anxious when traveling but I am reminded of that beautiful passage in Isaiah 43

Robbie is working on her blog too

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”  I am His and He is in control.  Pull out your Bible and read Isaiah 43: 1-7.  The passage was written for you too!This is a passage I read often in meditation. How thankful I am for this opportunity to visit once again, The Holy Land.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you. 

In His love and grace, Sharon

The Shack

Is this Papa with Wm. Paul Young? Ramona , Weezy, Bob and I had the joy of hearing Young speak today at Gardner Webb University. What a great event! Ramona had the opportunity to introduce her and of course, did a marvelous job!

Pam, Ramona and I have great memories of interviewing Paul on The Satisfied Life last year and it was just as exciting to hear and see him in person.  What a wonderful message about God’s amazing grace and love! Thank you Paul Young for  “The Shack”.  To all my readers, if you haven’t read it, please do so and tell me what you think! Sharon

It’s Sunday morning and Rob and I are headed to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden for our first live event for TSL. It is exciting and terrifying all at once.. What is no one shows up?  We’ve been talking and planning about this for months and here is it. I wasn’t this nervous for my own wedding! And I was pretty nervous.

My mind is racing. Do I have the right tablecloths? Tickets? Chairs? Food?  But the reality is, at this point, it really won’t matter. We’re just going to show up and have a great time. 

 The day is going to be perfect. Cool temperature, clear skies. The gardens, the butterflies, the show. I will pray. That’s it.

 The day started gloriously. A sunrise that was amazing…pink and purple and orange and yellow.  And a moon set, over the mountains as I looked to the west, that took my breath away.  And God was there and apparent and real and God is here, now, too.  Peace at last.

6pm

It worked! Our listeners showed up and it was great! Thank you. Thank you. There was a standing room only crowd, laughter, great food, free prizes, great music.  Well, it was just great! Thanks to all who made it happen….my sister, Susan who did so much of the work on the front end of the event. My husband Bob, son Rob, daughters Emily and Abby and niece Marie. Once again, the family got the job done.  Thanks,too, to my friend Michael  who is like family, and jumped right in to take care of business. 

 To those who had to stand. I’m sorry! We’ll order more chairs next time! 

 I love Pam and Ramona and all that goes along with being their partner.  God blessed me when he brought us together.  I really do value their friendship.  I think you hear our love for each other on the show and for those of you who were there, I hope you could feel it in person.  Our  hearts are bound in a common purpose and for that I am thankful. 

 Overwhelmingly, those who came said they would like to do it again.  So, stay tuned. We’ll start working on that soon!!!  But before that, I need a nap and I have to finish an exam! 

 In all things, give thanks. That was the point of the Weekly Word LIVE today. And that’s my point now. ……..Thanks God for a great day. It was joyfully wonderful!!

Breakfast with friends

My sister Susan, son Rob and I had breakfast this morning with friends. They are hosting guests from Colombia, South America and their guests made us a Colombian breakfast…..a great egg dish, arepas (fried corn bread )and fabulous coffee.  The food was great but better yet was the fellowship. Fun stories, laughter, conversation.  There is nothing better, even when we don’t all share the same language.  Somehow the communication works.

As we lingered with our meal for a couple of hours, I was reminded that most days, I am moving way too fast for conversation. From one quick exchange to the next, I move quickly and efficiently.  That skill was valued in my corprate life.  But I am finding in my life today, I want more of the lingering exchanges where more than words are exchanged.  It’s the stories that allow us to see inside people’s hearts and minds.  The exchange of ideas, experiences and stories somehow opens my mind and heart and in the process, I seem to enjoy the journey a little more. 

Today, I am thankful for the simple chance to linger a little longer and to share in good food and enjoyable conversation.  We all need to make the time for lingering……..more often.

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Blogging is hard when you are old!

OK, I have finally done it. I have started a blog.Just choosing a title has nearly given me a migraine. But here I am, happy with the title, having learned alot about blogging and aware that there is still much to learn.  I promise to visit here regularly with observations, ideas, inspiration for living well, even on ordinary days.