After being home again for a couple of days, i find that i can now begin to try to process this trip. i have uploaded pictures onto my facebook page and have included some here as well.
i'm sure it will take many more weeks to begin to sort out all the things i was able to see and do while on this trip. memories that i will carry with me forever. already i am able to put some of my experiences to use, as i am preaching this weekend on Jesus' call to Peter, James and John to discipleship while they were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. How wonderful to be able to connect the story in scripture to my own experience of being on a boat in that very place! I find that I have developed a new appreciation of the challenge that being called to "come, and follow" meant to those individuals, and what it means to each of us today.
I'm sure it was hard for Peter, James and John to leave everything: the peace of the sea, the comfort of home, to follow him and become "fishers of people". As I have heard it said, if you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat! How challenging that sometimes is....
Lord, help me get out of the boat, and follow.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Home Again
I am home. 3 simple words that convey a myriad of feelings. this trip has been unbelievable, to be able to walk the soil where Jesus walked, to touch the stones, to hear the sounds, smell the smells, breathe the air, gaze into the faces, hear the stories....
i think that the journey i began on this trip will never end, in fact i have become a part of the journey, a player in the story that continues to unfold and spread forth from this land. i carry the sights and sounds with me as i move back into the routine that i call my daily life, and i will never be the same.
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message, a story that is timeless, for its beginning and its end are the same: the alpha and omega, the first and the last, He who was and who is and who is to come. We all carry that story out into the world to those we meet. how we choose to deliver the message and share the story is up to us, but we cannot avoid the call to "come and follow", and then to "go and tell". His truth is woven into the very fabric of our being, it is part of our dna, it makes us who we are. we, all of us, are the tselem, the image of God.
how blessed i have been to have had this opportunity, and how i look forward to sharing my experiences with you. i am planning to upload some pictures soon. for now, it is enough to simply be home, to sleep in my own bed, to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning with my husband, and to take time to absorb all that i have experienced.
oh yeah, and i have a sermon to write for this weekend too. back to work. :)
shalom,
jan
i think that the journey i began on this trip will never end, in fact i have become a part of the journey, a player in the story that continues to unfold and spread forth from this land. i carry the sights and sounds with me as i move back into the routine that i call my daily life, and i will never be the same.
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message, a story that is timeless, for its beginning and its end are the same: the alpha and omega, the first and the last, He who was and who is and who is to come. We all carry that story out into the world to those we meet. how we choose to deliver the message and share the story is up to us, but we cannot avoid the call to "come and follow", and then to "go and tell". His truth is woven into the very fabric of our being, it is part of our dna, it makes us who we are. we, all of us, are the tselem, the image of God.
how blessed i have been to have had this opportunity, and how i look forward to sharing my experiences with you. i am planning to upload some pictures soon. for now, it is enough to simply be home, to sleep in my own bed, to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning with my husband, and to take time to absorb all that i have experienced.
oh yeah, and i have a sermon to write for this weekend too. back to work. :)
shalom,
jan
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