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.
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