I broke the law

You all know the laws regarding driving.  Keep both hands on the wheel.  Look straight ahead.  Don't be distracted.

Well the other day I was on my way to meet my friends Chris and Denise Averil for breakfast at Dennys.  I was driving south on I-95 and I noticed the sun off to my left.  At first I probably noticed it because it was in my eyes and I instinctively wanted to put down my visor.  But as I looked at it, I noticed the pasture, the palm trees, the fog, the clouds.  I noticed the beauty.

I decided to break the law.  I picked up my phone and opened it.  I rolled down my window.  I held the steering wheel with my knees.  I took the picture below.  

WOW!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Holy Land Trip leaving January 20, 2020  $2998 from New York
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/HL20A-2.pdf

no words

Our Western version of Christianity is full of words.  Yes what we practice is not the only version of Christianity, but one of several versions, and our version is full of words.  Preaching, teaching, and doctrine all pounded into our brains so that we can be close to God or right with God.

This is not the only way.

Once upon a time a teacher sat down with his students for the morning lesson.  To begin, they prayed

in silence as was their custom.  Generally the teacher would end the prayer time by saying Amen.  But today he said nothing.  The students became uncomfortable with the length of the prayer time [we have all been there] one by one the students lifted up their heads, and opened their eyes.  What they saw was the teacher, sitting quietly, holding a beautiful flower.  The teacher said nothing.  After a while the students became uncomfortable with the silence and began to complain that there was no lesson for today.  No words.  One student that did not complain, instead smiled and commented on the beauty of the flower.  The teacher finally spoke.  He handed the flower to the smiling student and told the rest of the group that there are some lessons that do not need words.  There are some lessons that are in fact, ruined by words.  Some times the lessons are simply to look and see what is.

What if we set 30 minutes aside for God.  No words, no reading, no listening to a preacher.  What if we just looked at the beauty around us and let it speak to us of the amazingness of God.  What do you see, what do you hear?

what do you see?  what do you hear?

what do you see?  what do you hear?

what do you see?  what do you hear?

Can you hear the birds sing?  What are they telling you about the beauty of God?  Sometimes, no words are needed.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Holy Land Trip leaving January 20, 2020  $2998 from New York
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/HL20A-2.pdf

beat up

Every church I have ever been a part of, had ministries to help the marginalized.  In the past, at each church, we would leave our comfortable part of town and go to where the marginalized lived.  The church I am working at in Ft. Pierce is in the old part of downtown.  The members decided years ago to stay and not flee to the suburbs. [good for them!!!]  Consequently, this is the first church that I have ever been a part of that is right in the middle of where homeless and marginalized people live.  We go to church service together and I have had the chance to get to know some of them a little bit.

Every Sunday I go into the fellowship hall where four or five of the guys are hanging out.  One just finished his shower, one was making a plate of food.  All glad to be inside a safe air conditioned place.

Last Sunday, I walked into the hall and shook their hands as always.  That is when I noticed... one of them had been beaten up.  I would guess this fellow to be about 50 years old, it is hard to tell.  Someone just beat him to a pulp.  Face swollen, bruised, and cut up.  I felt very very sad.

I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to embarrass him.  [the picture here is not him, but you get the idea.]

Here is the point of this blog...  what ever we think about marginalized people, it is not an easy life.  Showering once a week at church, scrounging through the church pantry for something to eat, and then just to add insult to injury, someone beats you up.

May we pray for those who are marginalized.  May we have compassion for the broken.  May we appreciate all that we have.  May we share more with those in need.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Close to God part 5

So for the past few days I have written about what being close to God is not.
to recap:

• Relationships change.  They ebb and flow.  They feel differently over time.
• It is not about being a sinner.  We are all sinners all the time.
• Reading the bible may or may not help.
• Ultimately it is not about how we feel.

If those are the things that are not what being close is about, what is being close to God?  How can a person know if they are on the right track?

Over and over again the bible tells us to love God and love others.  Jesus answers the question of the greatest commandment.... love God and love others.  On this hangs all the law and the prophets.  In other words, all of religion, all of our doctrine, everything, everything is subordinated to the love of God and the love of others.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

So don't be polluted by the world...  the world is arrogant, the world is self-righteous, the world is pompous.  Flee all of that.  Be normal, be loving, shun arrogance and selfishness.   Love God and love others.  The widows, the orphans, the broken.

Do you wish to be close to God?  Your feelings about this will come and go, but your actions can be consistent.  Love all.  Care for all.  Reach for all.  Those who live such a life are indeed the saints in this world, even thought they don't always feel it.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Close to God part 4

Feelings are fickle.  Feelings about God are fickle. 
How you feel about God, how you feel about anything will ebb and flow.  That's just how it is.
A person cannot judge their "closeness to God" by feelings.

I have known many people in my life who sing and praise God on Sunday morning and feel close to God.  Then they go out into the week and live a self centered life.  In my opinion, they may feel close to God, but that behavior is not close to God.

Mother Teresa once wrote about a time of doubt in her life....
"The silence and the emptiness is so great--that I look and do not see,--Listen and do not hear."

Even the saints have times when they do not feel it.
Barry Manilow was up, down, trying to get the feeling. 
We humans base way too much on feelings.

So what do we do if we are not feeling it?
Understand that this is normal.  But do something... Get out there and invest in others. Find ways to share the love whether you feel it or not.

The feelings will come back. And they will go, and they will come back.
Being close to God is much more than a feeling.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Close to God part 3

Get ready for this sentence....
Reading the bible may not make you feel closer to God.

I have a friend who told me some time back that they felt away from God so they needed to read their bible.  Now I am all for bible reading, but if you have ever tried to be close to God simply by reading the bible, you know that sometimes we read and read and nothing changes.  Then at the end of it all, we feel guilty for not reading and then guilty later for reading to no avail.

Here are some suggestions.
First if you want to read the bible, good.  Start with the words of Jesus.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Second, read strategically.  Stay away from books like Leviticus.  All books of the bible are not equal when it comes to providing inspiration.  Understand that much of what Paul  wrote in the new testament was written to a certain church for a certain purpose and cannot be drawn into our situation today.  For example, women should not speak in church, or the acceptance of slavery.
Third, don't just read by yourself.  You have a perspective, a world view, and if all you do is read the bible in your own brain, your perspective will never change.  Get an outside opinion on the bible.  Don't just read the bible, read what Richard Rohr writes about it.  Read Rob Bell's book The Velvet Elvis.  Read the book, Unexpected News: Reading the Bible through Third World eyes by Robert Brown.  Read some Anthony de Mello, my favorite is Walking on Water.  My point here is that you can grow in your faith and your walk with God as you take in info from other Christians, especially those who come at faith from another direction.

If you want to purchase any of the mentioned books, a good source that I use is Dealoz.com it is a great and affordable site for used books.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Closer to God part 2

Sometimes we feel far away from God because we feel guilty.  Guilty because we skipped church.  Guilty because we slept in church.  Guilty because of our sin.  Guilty because of we aren't reading the bible.

Please remember... Abraham was a sinner.  Abraham did not have a bible, he was most likely completely illiterate.  Abraham had no church, he had no pastor.  Yet he was known as a friend of God.    No church, no pastor, no bible, yet a friend of God.

Let me be clear... God does not deal in guilt.  Guilt is a function of our repressive upbringings.  If you want to make a change in your life and go to church or read the bible then do so, but not because of guilt.  Those who are stricken with guilt will still be stricken with guilt no matter what they are doing.  Believe me, I know the struggle.

Here is the point of this post... if you feel far from God because you feel guilty, then no matter what you do, you will likely feel guilt about something.  Learn to make choices based on what is good for you, not in response to guilt.  Work on releasing yourself from guilt by simply believing that God loves you.

He knows that you are a sinner.  He knows we are not perfect.  He still loves us.  Don't let your self, don't let the way that your brain works cause you to feel away from God.  He loves you.  Whether you believe it or not, God loves you, just the way you are.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Closer to God Part 1

Someone asked about being closer to God.  Maybe they are feeling farther away than they used to feel. 

There is an old saying, "If you are feeling farther away from God, guess who moved."  I categorically reject this old saying.  It does nothing but instill guilt in people.  The fact is, there are many reasons why a person might feel farther away from God.

Lets start with the fact that relationships change over time.  Consider dating.... oh, the initial excitement, oh the passion, oh the looking forward to being together.  Then little by little, over time, there is a getting used to, a normalization of, a savoring of.  Things change.  We probably won't always feel the ecstasy that we once did.  That is ok.

Let me ask you this... do you believe in God?  Are you sincere?  Then maybe things are ok after all.  Wake up and thank God for the day.  Live a life of love.  You are not always going to feel the way you felt in the beginning.  It's ok to be in a normal, ongoing, common friendship with God.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Jen Hatmaker

Several of us know Jen Hatmaker from her book Interrupted - When Jesus wrecks your comfortable Christianity. My friend Michael Scott posted to his facebook account a quote from Jen Hatmaker's new book. I asked him where he found the quote, he said, "on her facebook account!" I am silly. Anyway I loved the quote. Here it is...

"My beliefs were challenged because they were the byproduct of an obviously corrupt system, historically dead last to the table of confession and repentance. My beliefs were challenged because the same people were always in charge and they hung pictures of White Jesus in my Sunday School rooms. My beliefs were challenged because while promising life abundant, they broke hearts and trust and bodies and families with a clear conscience. My beliefs were challenged because, had I held to them as dictated, I would have no ministry, no authority, no agency over my own God-given gifts. My beliefs were challenged because the missionary culture I grew up in turned out to be colonization. My beliefs were challenged because they shamed girls and victims but protected men and abusers. My beliefs were challenged because they sentenced LGBTQ people to traumatic conversion therapy, forced celibacy, public humiliation, and ultimately suicide at seven times the normal rate. My beliefs were challenged because they weren’t producing many disciples, mostly just gatekeepers and defectors."

And so I ask... what has our faith journey produced?  Maybe it is time to change some of our beliefs.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Lost and needing direction

From my friend Pat.....

Years ago a good friend and I hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. After the first day, we made a wrong turn in the woods and found ourselves running out of trail, which clearly meant we’d gone astray. As we turned and retraced our steps, we found even more options: one bad decision had given us the opportunity to make more of them. The wrong trail had many side trails.

After several hours of bumbling around, cussing one another as friends do(guys get this), a complete stranger who looked the part of the consummate outdoor guy crossed our path. You know the guy: worn backpack, gnarly three week beard, wiry build, and all kinds of stuff hanging from his backpack. Most importantly, he had the look of knowing exactly where he was, and more importantly to us, where we were.

Now we were both tempted to act like we knew what we were doing but we only had food for a week and neither of us cared to start digging up roots to eat. After some casual conversation, we grudgingly admitted our confusion about where we were and how to get back on the trail. He pointed us the right way, took a minute to pull out a pad and paper(who knows what else he was carrying in that backpack) and drew a simple map. After appropriate thanks, we quickly moved on as we had demonstrated our ineptitude at hiking, and he clearly had it all together, and we really didn’t deserve his company.

Suffice to say we made it out of the woods and home safely. But it could have been otherwise had we not stumbled on him and gotten some corrective direction. I’ve often wondered since what he was doing out there, off the trail. We were clearly lost. He however knew right where he was. And we were either lucky or blessed, depending on your perspective.

It’s a true story, but it’s a metaphor for anyone’s religious journey. Think about it.

My comments.... I think that most of us have felt lost on the road of life. I hope that you have found someone to help you along the way. We all need help from time to time. Never be afraid to ask for pointers along the way. 

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

God is lying in the streets

There is a man lying on the side of the road.  Is he drunk?  Is he hurt?  There is something about this man, this person.... this is different.... I can't walk away.... I am compelled to help.

I step forward.  I kneel down.  I talk to the person.  He is wounded.  And OH MY!  It is God.

God.  Wounded alongside of the road.

In the story of the Good Samaritan we never find out who the person on the side of the road is.  The religious people walk by.  A Samaritan, an outcast, stops to help.

Let's say for conversation's sake that the person on the side of the road is God.  Broken, beaten, bleeding.

Will we walk by?  Will we stop and help?

Remember Jesus words in Mt. 25 "whatever you did to the least of these, you did it unto me."

The next time someone is in need of forgiveness, the next time someone needs a hand, the next time someone needs...... something, anything.....


Think, it is God himself, in the ditch.  What will we do?


It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

nice

Nice is how it ought to be. Every day for every person.

I was nice to someone on the holy land trip. I gave them a bottle of wine.  They were honestly surprised that someone was nice.

We should not be surprised at this. We should all be nice all the time.
nice is good
nice is the best
nice is the only choice

If we aren't being nice, how are we being Christian?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.  Niceness.  It makes the world go round.  If it is in my power to make you happy, you know that I am going to do my best to make that happen.  How would all of our relationships improve is we were just simply nice.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

pivotal point

I have been thinking about this recently.  About the pivotal point in Christianity.

Not the birth.  Not the death.  Not the resurrection.

What then?

There is no resurrection........................ without the death.
There is no death...................... without the suffering.
There is no suffering................without the willingness to do so.

The pivotal moment may very well be the moment in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus said, not my will, but yours be done.

In that moment, he became willing to suffer, willing to die, and able to be resurrected.

Jesus entire life and ministry pivoted around his willingness to suffer for a greater cause.  Yet we Christians pray that God will bless Grandma and Grandpa and Mommy and Daddy and everything else that we want.  Its like we are saying, not your will but mine be done.

If you want to find the Holy Spirit at work in your life, if you want to find some power in your life, make your every day prayer this....

Not my will, but thine be done.  It was a pivotal point in Jesus life, it can be a pivotal point in ours as well.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

If your parents did not love you

For those of you, who like me, grew up with parents that did not love you, here is a thought.  We who for no fault of our own were ignored, set aside, shamed and beaten, well we have lived with the results of that upbringing for our entire lives.  It has not been easy.  We have worked hard to overcome what was imprinted upon us.  We have become better people because we insisted that we would not live our lives the way that they lived theirs.

So... I was watching a special on Jane Fonda.  I know that many in my generation and older are still upset with her for her Vietnam antics, but lets forgive that for a moment and let me make my point.

At the end of the documentary about her life, she said some profound things. Here we go...

Speaking of her parents, she said, Their incapacity to love is not based on your worthiness as to being loved. It’s based on the hurt and brokenness that they themselves received in their life and the lack of love that they grew up with. Someone must break the cycle. Someone must do differently.  Someone must love their children.  Someone must love all. At some point, our life stories have to stop being about how we were hurt and begin to be about how we can rise above the past and live a life of love.

Those words spoke to me.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

St Patrick's Day

Well what do you know. It is St. Patrick's day.

I cannot disappoint.

Today is the day that I always think of that famous Irishman who invented outdoor tables and chairs. Do you remember his name??

Dave and Paul.  It doesn't get any better than this.

The famous Irishman who invented outdoor tables and chairs, his name was.....

wait for it................

Paddy O'Furniture

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Holy Land Next Year

I am going to close up my picture album from this Holy Land trip today.

I had a wonderful talk with Noor an Arab Christian

at his family store in Bethlehem.

Spice shop in the old city.  The old city 

shops were very nice to see.

The wonderful ruins of Beit She'an.  Many of the items

in the Israel Museum were unearthed here.

Baptisms and Rededications in the Jordan River.

This has become a highlight of the trip each year.

Karen Yetzer rides the camel.  $5 to ride.

You can kiss it for free.  No takers this year.

The Dead Sea from Masada.  In the background is Jordan.

One of the most moving pictures imbedded in my memory 

is the old city from the Mount of Olives.

Amazing church architecture at the Church

of the Holy Seplechur.  The sight of this

church was selected by Constantine's 

mother, Helena in 325 AD.

Renee Scott at the garden tomb.  The opportunity

to step into the tomb was very touching.

I am wondering if any of you would be interested in this trip next year around January 20.  The cost is about $3200 from New York.  If there is enough interest, I will set it up.  Let me know.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Holy Land Day 8

Today is day one of my extension on the Holy Land trip.  No bus, no guide, no agenda.  I slept in a little bit and headed out for the Six Day War museum.  I rode the train around, which was pretty cool.  I met the other folks on the extension for lunch and then we went to the Davidson Center which is an archaeological dig on the south side of the old city.  I stopped at the open air market and then I went back to the room and crashed.

The public transportation trains are very nice.

Less than $2 one way for as far as you want to go.

On the train I met this young soldier with gun.

He was very nice and helped me with directions.

The guns are not there because there are problems

the guns are there to make sure that problems don't happen.

That said, many Jews and Arabs live side by side with

no problem.  Here an Arab woman with red scarf waits to

exit the train next to a Jewish man. [note yarmulke on his head.]

Ammunition Hill museum tells the story of the Six Day War.

Lots of tears in this museum.

New recruits to the Army are brought to this museum to 

remember the story and make the commitment 

to fight for their homeland.

Actual bunkers and trenches from June 6, 1967 when

Israeli forces took Ammunition Hill from the Jordanians.

After an emotional visit to the museum, I went back to the 

old city to meet up with the others on the extension.

This is the Damascus Gate from the 1500s.  Very cool.

Southern wall excavations.  Susan Pantuso stands 

on the street where Jesus walked.

Pile of rubble in the back was left as found

after the Romans destroyed the temple in 70AD

Karen Yetzer, Miriam Van Tassle, Susan Pantuso and Carla King

in front of the temple mount foundation wall.  How did

they ever move and stack stones of this size?

Southern Wall of the Temple

Al-Aqsa Mosque on top.

Carla King on the teaching steps.  Uncovered in a dig in the

last 20 years, these are the steps that Jesus would have taught

at and that he would have climbed to enter the temple area.

Spice shop in the Moslem Quarter.

The pyramid is some kind of green spice.

Very interesting!

I stopped at the Jewish open air market on the way back

to the hotel.  Tomorrow I plan to take the bus to the 

Tank Museum in Latrun.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -
I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs


it's a

The Israel Museum

As you know I stayed a couple of extra days in Jerusalem.  I was going to go to the tank museum today but it was raining really hard.

I went to the Israel Museum.  Now I like museums and I have been to a bunch of them in my life.  This was absolutely amazing.  Israel has a couple of sources for museum pieces that most countries do not.  First of all, people have moved here from all over the world, some of them bringing some very nice museum grade pieces with them.  Secondly, Christians and Jews from all over the world love Israel.  It is not uncommon for a wealthy person to spend their life collecting things and then at their death, donate it all to the Israel museum.  Here is some of what I saw...

Excellent examples of ancient pots and columns

Model of an Egyptian boat 1500BC

Amazing carved stone pieces in excellent condition.

Stone, bone and ivory figurines

Life size Egyptian cat 

figurines of all types, from all countries

Excellent examples of Roman statues and busts

Stunning mosaic floors from 100AD

A wonderful section on the Aztecs and Incas

Donated by someone who collected these

things their entire life and then left it

all to the Israel Museum

I can't imagine the excitement that an archaeologist

feels when they unearth something like this.

There was a large section of items from Africa.

African shields

Amazing items from the orient.

Golden statues of Buddah

Samurai warrior armor.  1500AD

Who knows how to find this stuff?

The entire museum was filled with some of the best

museum pieces I have ever seen.

The Nazi's destroyed the synagogues during WW2

but the Jews saved everything that they could carry with them.

When Jews came to Israel from all over Europe after WW2

many of them brought the menorah's, torah scrolls, and 

items from the worship area.  It was an incredible collection.

The synagogue items were grouped by countries.  These

came from Poland, these from Germany, these from 

Bulgaria, These from Russia.  It was so touching.

Entire synagogues have been purchased and brought

back to the museum.

When all the Jews of this town moved to

Israel, someone bought the old synagogue, 

dismantled it and moved it to Jerusalem

and now here it is in the museum.  Amazing!!!

burial coffins

Burial ossuaries.  This one might have belonged to

someone who was known for being a nagger.

These Jewish students stopped me and interviewed

me for their field trip.

Amazing, highest quality statues and figurines

Bronze and Iron age.... carve the shape of an axe or an

arrow head into the limestone, then use it as a mold.  Wow!!!

Eight foot tall wall reliefs from several palaces.

This was a wonderful 4 hour visit to the Israel Museum.  Tomorrow I am going to try again to go to the tank museum.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
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I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs