Following the Word

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One of the many things that touched my heart both when I purchased it in Israel and in the time that has passed since my trips to Israel is a silver hand pointing the way on the end of a short silver rod.

My daughter and I were shopping in a tiny, little shop in the Old City (Jerusalem) called The Silver Pointer. Esther is the wonderful lady who owns the shop.

I didn’t know why anyone would want something like this “hand.” Esther explained that the Word of God is too sacred to be touched by human hands. Therefore, a hand on a rod like this one was used to follow along the page, Word by Word, when reading the Bible. This is especially important so the reader does not lose his place when reading out loud.

To someone who writes and draws in her Bible, it seems strange to say not to touch the Word of God, yet I find it comforting to keep it on my desk where I read and study the Bible.

It is a constant reminder of a gift God gave us so we could get to know him better and better each day.

My Book Overview

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This picture from Unsplash.com portrays how I feel as I research.

Work continues on my book, Jesus Gets Hand-Me-Downs. So today, I’m sharing the plan for this “book.”

Jesus Gets Hand-Me-Downs has become too long for a book aimed at young readers. Therefore, I’m reinventing the chapters and making them small books that are easy to hold and within the attention span of younger readers while it is interesting to older readers. I’m planning on at least fourteen of these little books.

The first book, subtitled At the Well, is close to completion. It is approximately 3,000 words. The general theme is sharing, sharing our possessions, sharing our history, and sharing our faith.

In addition to the story, features in the book include:

Common Hebrew and Aramaic words with their meaning and pronunciation.

Information about the culture at the time of Christ’s birth.

The story of the founding of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Family structure.

Biblical history.

My biggest challenge is learning the skills necessary to put the book into a format where potential publishers and beta readers will see my vision for the books. I’m also being challenged by all the rabbit trails the research takes me on.

I’m looking forward to sharing the results with you.

Israel Food Memory

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This month rather than post a recipe for the food I loved in
Israel, I chose to post a fun memory about food. Now, I’m fairly sure this is
not traditional Israeli food, but thanks to my grandsons, I’ll always connect
it to Israel.

When our oldest grandson was thirteen, we took him on a trip to Israel. He
quickly made friends with another thirteen-year-old boy on the trip.

When they went downstairs to breakfast at the hotel the first morning, they
discovered a favorite breakfast. Pancakes with chocolate syrup. Maple syrup was
available, but it was promptly ignored in favor of chocolate.

These two teenage boys went back for helping after helping. Sometimes it was
hard to see the pancake drowning in the syrup. In fact, they didn’t eat
pancakes with chocolate syrup, they ate chocolate syrup with pancakes.

A few years later, we took our second grandson to Israel. His favorite
breakfast — pancakes with chocolate syrup.

To both boys’ disappointment, when they got back home, Mom did not serve pancakes with chocolate syrup.

    Impressions of Israel – God is Great

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    One of my favorite things about travel in Israel is how it increases my understanding of the Bible, God’s Word.

    While in Caesarea, our guide taught us about the custom of cutting the hands and heads off statues belonging to a conquered people to symbolize “our god is bigger and stronger than your god.”

    Statues in Caesarea

    That evening, I read 1 Samuel 5 about what happened when the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and put it in the temple of their god, Dagon. When the people entered the temple the following day, the statue of Dagon was lying face down in front of the ark. The people picked up their god and stood him back in his proper place of honor.

    When the Philistines arrived at the temple the following morning, Dagon lay on the floor, before the ark, with his hands and head were broken off.

    The ultimate “our God is bigger and stronger than your god.”

    When I’m struggling and fearful, this memory reminds me there is no reason to fear because my God is greater and stronger than any other god.

    Impressions of Israel – A Symbol of Interest

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    Grafted In Symbol

    During one tour, we peeked through a locked grate to see a little bit of the catacombs below Jerusalem. A few hard-to-see symbols were on the wall.

    When we asked why this entrance was locked, we were told there were a lot of symbols in this portion of the catacombs. Neither the Catholic Church (which owns a lot of property in Jerusalem) or the Jewish authorities wanted to see these symbols.

    This “Grafted In” symbol dates back to the first century A.D.

    Romans 11:17 says “If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,”

    The top of the symbol is the menorah used in the Jewish Temple representing the Torah, the Light of Judaism.

    The middle is the Star of David, representing the Messiah (Yeshua). Yeshua is the son of David who will rule over the Kingdom of David.

    On the bottom is the fish (ICHTHUS) recognizing the followers of Christ (the Christians).

    Note the base of the menorah and the tail of the fish join to form the Star of David. This means Yeshua (Jesus) grafted his followers into the faith and promises God gave to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

    I wear this pendant most of the time as a reminder to myself that everything God promised to His followers is also promised to me.

    There are many, many places in the United States where this can be purchased. The one I know the best is Jerusalem of God in Greeley, Colorado.