Inside the New Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, there’s this restaurant,…well it’s kinda restaurant, but not exactly.
Foto Friday: Kinda, But Not Exactly
May 18, 2007 by 1 Comment
Foto Friday: The Ad I’m Waiting For
May 11, 2007 by 1 Comment
Egged, the largest public transportation company in Israel has started to increase their revenue stream by expanding their on-bus advertising. I wonder if it has expanded enough to include the Yeshua website. Even if their policy theoretically allowed advertisements like the one above, I doubt they could afford to actually allow it, as I’m certain those particular buses would be vandalized at a cost far greater than the income such an advertisement would generate.
Below, are some of the current advertising campaigns moving about town on Egged buses.
Giving Thanks
May 2, 2007 by Leave a Comment
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” – I Thessalonians 5:18
During our recent stay in the States, Grace had many opportunities to develop a taste for spicy Tex-Mex food. I was surprised at how she was attracted to chips and salsa, but she didn’t shy away from it, even when it burned her taste buds. A love for the taste of Tex-Mex was born, which thankfully, isn’t impossible to satisfy here in Israel.
Since it had been over a month since we had Tex-Mex, Colleen decided to prepare soft-tacos for dinner. There are a couple of companies that import flour tortillas and hot sauce and the rest of the ingredients are readily available, which makes it a fairly easy effort to enjoy a familiar taste from Texas.
After we had anxiously taken our places to partake of such a fine treat, I asked Grace if she wanted to give thanks for our meal. She quickly agreed and said, “Jesus, thank you for the food. Thank you for the meat and lettuce. Thank you for chips, and for sauce I don’t like.”
Colleen and I could barely keep our laughter behind our big smiles, but we did. It sounded so funny: “…thank you for sauce I don’t like.” Now that I’ve had some time to get past the funny part of what she prayed, I realize that she modeled something for me: to be thankful for what the Lord provides for me, even when I don’t like it.
The Lord works in our lives in many ways to make us more like Jesus. And, as Colleen had provided particular food items for Grace’s nourishment, the Lord sometimes provides hardships or other things we don’t like for our benefit. The question is: Do we say, “Jesus, thank you for the hardships that I don’t like?”
Memorial Day 2007 in Israel
April 23, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Memorial Day in Israel is an unusual experience. As one who has studied modern Israeli history, I’m fully aware of the human cost that has been absorbed by this small nation in her effort to survive in this neighborhood. And the traditional observance here, seems to keep that cost in the forefront of the minds of Israel’s citizens.
Since the first moments of her existence she has been in a battle for survival. Actually, that battle for survival started well before David Ben Gurion announced the independent statehood of the modern state of Israel on May 14, 1948. Since that monumental announcement, Israel has been engaged against her enemies with a formal war in each decade: 1948, War of Independence; 1956, The Sinai Campaign; 1967, The Six Day War; 1973, The Day of Atonement War; 1982 The [First] Lebanon War; 1990, The [First] Gulf War*; and 2006, The [Second] Lebanon War.
Though objective “experts” generally suggest that Israel was the victor in all these wars, except perhaps the 2006 Lebanon War, the cost in human life has been heavy. And Memorial Day is dedicated to the memory of those who gave their lives in military service to this country.
It is observed differently, and I think more personally in Israel, than I have noticed in the United States. All across the nation, during Memorial Day, the air raid sirens will sound twice in an unbroken, somber wail: One minute at 8:00 in the evening and then for two minutes the next morning at 11:00.** Everything comes to a halt when the siren begins. Cars stop (even on the highway) and the occupants generally get out and stand at attention. Those on the streets, stop in their tracks and stand at attention. It is actually quite moving to see this in action.
In addition to the observance of a moment of personal silence during the sirens, throughout the day, there are memorial services in every community, as well as at every military cemetery. Places of entertainment are also closed and the radio stations play reflective, nationalistic songs, which help keep the public’s thoughts sober and contemplative, and perhaps appreciative of the sacrifice of so many.
Another important way that Memorial Day is different in Israel than in the United States is that it is directly connected to Independence Day, which is the next day. So, as Memorial Day closes out at sunset, Independence Day, opens in all its splendor. It’s as if the calendar testifies, “without sacrifice, there is no celebration.” I like this better than the month long separation between the two days in the American calendar.
*At the request of President George H.W. Bush, Israel didn’t actively participate in the 1990 Gulf War, though they did receive “retaliatory” scud missiles from Iraq.
** The Jewish day starts in the evening, the the first sound at 20:00 and the second at 11:00.
The New Generation
Leane Reyes, 16, a senior at Fresno (CA) High School explained why Cinthia Covarrubias has her vote for prom king.
A girl is being selected as prom king? Possibly. In an effort to avoid litigation, the school’s lawyers recommended that the administrators of Fresno High School reverse their decision to allow Cinthia to be considered only for prom queen and not king. They did. And she is now in the running for prom king.
Is this representative of what we have to look forward to from the new generation?
The whole story is here.
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