City Walls

 

I'm afraid I don't really have time this week to write about everything, so for now I'll just post a few pictures. Last Sunday four of us walked around a section of the Old City walls.

 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

 

 



Sooo Full!

 

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."

J.E.

 

 

 

 

The other day we were talking about how my 3 months is half over. Bob looked up at me bewildered and asked, "Why are you leaving? Are you going to come back?"

The only answer I can give him is hopefully. Because honestly....I don't have a clue.

 

Thinking about time and the future that is full of unknowns has changed my focus a little bit. Living in the here and now is often spoken about in a bad way. I think living in the here and now can be a good thing. In fact I know I need to do more of it in my life. That's where my mind has been lately. Focusing on the here and now. Squeezing as much joy out of the present moment, and not wasting time looking forward to the 'next thing'. Because I'm in the here and now. Because today is a gift, that will soon be gone, and will be no more then a memory. I waste so much of my time looking forward to the future, that when I get there I either am still looking forward to the next best thing, or I'm looking back wishing I was still in the past. I don't want to live in the past or the future, I want to live fully in the here and now. I want to 'be all here', and 'live to the hilt'. I don't want to look back at this season in life and wish that I had enjoyed it more. I don't want to look back with regret.

 

 

 

 

For some people the countdown has begun.

Every time I talk with Rach she reminds me how many more days till her birthday. Because I'll get to celebrate with her!!!!!

Time. It's such a funny thing. At times moments and hours can feel like they will last for eternity, but days and weeks seem to fly by.

 

 

 

"Can we sing 'Running Over" cause that's the song that Princess sings funny, cause she says '...sooo sooo full!" Bob asked Sunday night, as we sat in a circle with friends. Every one laughed and then we proceeded to sing 'Running Over'.

Walking home that night...that's how I felt. So, so full. The breeze was cool and refreshing, almost cold. And the city was still awake, with buses and taxi's still working. Palm and Olive trees rustled in the wind, and the kids chased each other down the sidewalk.

Depending where your focus is, life can be dull, ordinary, and full of flaws. But there's also a flipside. Depending where your focus is, you can find excitement in the dull, joy in the ordinary, and beauty in the flaws. Because for everything I've had to give up, it's been replaced by something just as good...if not better.

The last week I've felt full. Sooo, sooo full. There is so much to enjoy and experience right now, if your willing to look for it. You can find joy in a crowded Shuk with people yelling out prices in Hebrew. The smell of spices and fresh pita bread. Walking through the city at night when it's all lit up, and a cool breeze plays with your skirt. Coffee Friday mornings with a good friend. Little kids learning the Alphabet for the first time. And running down three flights of stairs pain free!
This afternoon I went walking for the first time since arriving here. Not because I had a destination....just because I could! And it felt so good! I wanted to break into a run, but I decided I'd rather not damage the knee right away. Hopefully I can work up to that. If your determined to find joy in the ordinary....you probably will.

Jacks view on life in Israel

(Below are a few questions I asked Jack about his life in Israel and what he thinks of it. All opinions are below are his...not mine!)

How long have you been in Israel?  I don't know, but it feels like a long time.

Did you enjoy flying? I loved flying! The best part about flying was watching a little animal running around getting beat up. (I think it was Ice Age. And we here about 'the movie on the plane' almost daily!)

What is your favorite thing to do? Playing in our cardboard house is a lot of fun. Not as much fun as playing in the hut with Cara and Caden in Pennsylvania, but it's still fun.

What are some foods that you like here that you don't have at home? Couscous is the best! And I like Pita Bread too.

What foods do you miss? Hotdogs

Do you like living in the city better or the country? That's what I don't know!
I like living in an apartment building up high...it's almost like a tree house. But I don't like walking so much. I'd rather hop in our van back home to go places.

Would you rather go to the grocery store back home or the market here?
Well probably rather go to the grocery store in Pennsylvania. Cause it's not as busy and not so many people.

What do you do during the day? School, and play with Jediah, and Breanna, and make things out of cardboard.

 

That's all for now folks!

All things yummy....

 

 

As things start to settle more and more (as in us getting settled not the political situation), every day and it's schedule is becoming more 'normal'. Roughly my mornings are filled with coloring, entertaining, and teaching. A huge part of my time is also spent in the kitchen, and on my computer looking for creativity. Thank You Pinterest!!!

 

I guess you could say in the morning I'm teaching others and in the afternoons I'm trying to teach myself. The kitchen has been my grounds for experimentation, and trial and error. At home I'm no stranger to the kitchen. Mother instituted the H.I.T. program in our home at a young age. For those of you that are wondering, H.I.T stood for Homemaker In Training. Don't I have such a witty mom :)! Anyway the 'program' meant those mother thought old enough (mainly me!), were responsible for planning and preparing supper one night a week. This of course did not exclude you from helping in the kitchen the rest of the week. But the difference was you had the 'privilege' of coming up with the menu for that evening. And learning the age old lesson of trial and error.
As a young girl I was the child that thrived on a scheduled life! I remember when August came around I was sooo excited the first day of school! Not necessarily because of the school part. But more so because we had a brand new schedule that would tell me what to do all day every day for the next number of months. So when the HIT program started, I had a little note book that I planned out meals and the different things I wanted to make or try. My mother has always been a little different! And I'm so glad she is!!!! I never understood how she could on a whim decide what to make for supper at 4:00! That may work for her BUT, when I have a house of my own I shall always have a menu planned a week out. Or so I thought. Hm! How's that working out for you now Sarah?! 
Thanks to my flexible mother, and all the unexpected twists in life that have happened in the past 2 years...today I'm able to take life as it comes a little more. And no I have no idea what I making tomorrow! Even though my 12 year old self would shake her head at my 'go with the flow' attitude today, I'm so thankful for the way that mom would spring supper on me late afternoon without warning.

 Despite graduating from the HIT program, it's a bit of a learning curve when everything your used to making, either you can't find half the ingredients or there are too many highly priced items. So it's basically starting over at square one. I can count on my one hand the times that I've actually followed a recipe 100% since we've arrived. I've done a lot of improvising, and a lot of random dumping (with fingers crossed behind my back). They say the best chefs don't use recipes...right?

 

So what do we eat? Produce is very inexpensive, so a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Rice, lentils and other grains have become staples. Meat is stretched, and Dairy is also used sparingly. I did make rice at home...but not very often. So I've had to go digging for different ways to use and incorporate it into a meal. And lentils...completely foreign ingredient that never stepped foot in the Hess kitchen! What do you do with them? And you could stretch chicken in a casserole dish...but what about when all the casserole dishes your familiar with call for Cream of (fill in the blank) Soup, and it doesn't exist. And cheese! Every recipe calls for cheese in some shape or form. It's amazing how as soon as you realize you don't have something, every recipe you look at calls for that one ingredient!

 

  

 

Challah Bread used on Shabbat

This was one of those naïve purchases. I guess you could call it a golden loaf of bread. I paid close to 12 shekels for it at a super market the first week. The other day I got a loaf at the market for almost half that. You live and you learn :)!

This is Israeli Salad

We eat a lot of cucumbers and tomatoes. And I threw in black olives cause we had some....and you can't go wrong with olives. I love olives! When Dads making pizza I can easily eat half the can before any gets on the pizza. And at EBI, one of my roommates loved them as much as I did. So it was not uncommon for us to eat a can of black olives in the evenings. But after living here...I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat olives out of a can again! These are incredible! They are full of strong flavor, and firm. I really want to bring some home with me. So maybe if you are really nice till then I'll let you try some :)!

Dried fruits at the market

One of the olive stands. Oh and you buy everything by the kilo (1 kilo. = little over 2 lbs.).

So 24 shekels per kilo would be approx. 6 US Dollars, which would be a little less then 3 Dollars a pound.

Going to the market your not only converting Shekels to Dollars in your head your also then taking that price and converting the kilo. price to the price per pound. It is definitely getting easier though. And there is less and less head work, as you begin to learn what the going rate for different things are.

  This is Lentil Soup! I've made it a couple times already! It's best when its accompanied by fresh Pita Bread and Humus!

 Meet Israeli Couscous! This is a dish that has become a favorite! It's couscous, peas, and chicken chunks, in a creamy sauce with a slight lemon-ey taste. Couscous is kind of like rice, except it's not thin and long. Although I have never eaten a fish egg....the consistency reminds me of what I would imagine a fish egg to be like! Or if that totally grosses you out, you could describe it as a grain version of tapioca.

One other fun little fact. For Pancakes we don't use Pancake syrup....we use Date Syrup :)! And Figs just started their season, so we are enjoying them as well!

Enjoy your brand new week!

Oh one other thing! Dad said this weekend there were a lot people asking about my knee. Thanks for your concern it means a lot! It's been three weeks since the pain started so I guess I was starting to just get used to putting up with the annoyance. Last night without thinking I bounded down the steps, got to the bottom and realized what I had just done. Wait! I just ran down the steps! There was no pain, and it felt good to not have to 'crawl' down the three stories. On the way home I was showing Jack how to skip, and was able to run up the stairs when we got to the apartment. It's a small thing but it felt so good. And the whole time my walking was pain free! PTL! So hopefully I'm out of the woods, and it won't flare up again like it did last Friday.
Thanks again for you concern and encouragement! It really does make a big difference!

A Plane kind of Day

Today seemed to be a plane kind of day. I was not in the same room as the children, and realized how quiet it was...and then I heard the boys laughing. Oh boy what are they getting into!

I walked out and Bob came running up to me.

"Sarah! Princess says she's flying to Pennsylvania and that's Grandmas house (pointing to their room), and she's talking to Grandma!"

 

 

 



 

So Bob and Princess fly and 'visit family', while Jack builds an airplane out of Lego's. And they laugh and chatter about their home in Pennsylvania, and tell me about Grandma & Grandpa, and about their friends Keira, Hallie, Cara, and Chase. And Brielle (baby doll) is commonly heard around the house as Princess carries her around and takes care of her.

He's just the same...

....really He is. Time won't change Him, and a different continent won't either. He is just the same.

 

You know how when your little you have all these expectations or ways you think things work. But then you eventually get out of your box and realize that they were all wrong. And you continue walking on, a little wiser, vowing to never let yourself sink into believing that something is one way, when you know its another. Yeah, I always thought that true growth could only happen away from the ordinary. Like a conference, retreat, or maybe a soul searching weekend with your best friends. But definitely never at home. No, at home life was just....normal. Home was where you hit the snooze button 10 times before dragging yourself out of bed. And while you may have had good intentions of starting your day off right the night before, well something else catches your eye. And you soon find yourself catching up on the latest news, surfing the web, or standing in the kitchen retelling the events of your evening last night. Home was where your social calendar was always staring back at you full to bursting. Work, Work, Work, a couple different things on the weekend, and Sunday to catch your breath. Home was where there was never enough time to dedicate to the important things in life. But away from home! Those mountain top experiences...that's what life was supposed to be like. The reason the life inside me was suffering...was because He was more real somewhere else...or so I thought.

 

I remember a few years ago, when for the first time I was away from home for more then a week. I went with HIGH expectations. I was going to come back a totally different person. So much deeper and wiser then when I had left. And my family was going to be amazed at my maturity, because I was going to experience Him there. Right now your probably either laughing at my ignorance, or quietly smiling to yourself cause you've experienced the same lofty expectations. While I definitely learned some things, and got to experience something different, I went home dissatisfied and frustrated. Because life was still the same. I still had to drag myself out of bed every morning, and there were still other things clamoring for my attention. And unfortunately I was often easily distracted. There was a war going on inside me that I couldn't identify or put my finger on. I wanted results without work. I wanted growth to come merely through experiencing life in a different place, without any effort required on my part. But it doesn't quite work like that. Life is work, growth takes work...it takes living intentionally, which can be down right exhausting. And no place on earth is a 'hot spot' for growth. He is everywhere.

 

A kind hearted lady gave me a hug, and blessed me with her kind words. Telling me how wonderful of an opportunity lay before me. She exclaimed about all the wonderful things I would experience. How things I read would come alive because of living across the world. And how life changing this next step would be. Everything she said was with the attitude of, You can't help but grow in such a place!

But the sad truth is you can go to such a place, and come back the same person. Oh yes you will definitely gain knowledge about a different culture and land. You can't help but pick that up unless you lock yourself in a bomb shelter the whole time. But deep, deep down, you can stay the same. A different location isn't going to magically make your carnal flesh disappear. That takes work. Intentional living. It looks good on paper. Hard work in real life.

Life is definitely different, but its a lot the same too. There's something called Self that follows you were ever you go. Whether you move to the next neighborhood, the next state, or across the world, it's still there, and He is too. The signs on passing busses are different, the spoken language, the daily schedule. But it's a lot the same too. I still have to drag myself out of bed in the morning, and there are still other things that catch my attention, and replace things. Caught up in a new daily grind I quickly lose my focus, and my eyes turn inward, instead of staying outward.
If we continually think that we will start 'growing' once we get to a certain age, or arrive at a particular milestone, or move to a different part of the globe, we are sadly mistaken. And we are only wasting time. Life is a constant battle, and a daily struggle....no matter where you live. And He's just the same.

 

"....life is very much like climbing a hill of ice. You cannot slide up. You have to cut every step with an axe. Only with incessant labor in cutting an chipping can you make any progress. If you want to know how to backslide, leave off going forward. Cease going upward and you will go downward of necessity. You can never stand still." C.S.

The Iron Dome

 

 

They call it the Iron Dome. Supposedly technology that can intercept and destroy rockets that are headed for populated areas. It was created in 2011 and while 90% of rockets never do the damage they were meant to, the system is not 100% bullet proof.

You may be thinking "So what? I didn't ask for a history lesson."

 

 

It was 9:30pm (2:30 back home) , and I was tired. It had been a good long day and tomorrow would be here before too long. I had been waiting all evening for the sun to go down so I could crawl in bed. And I knew the traffic noises, from down on the street would soon lull me to sleep.

 

Traffic down on the street started to dwindle, and the night was peaceful...and normal. I was in that in between state of sleep. Not fully awake but not quite sleeping either. DeLora had just turned the light out. And then a siren went. I layed still for a little bit waiting for the siren to fade into the distance as the 'ambulance' drove down the street. And then I jolted awake. Wide awake! This wasn't your normal siren. No this was the Air Raid siren.

DeLora and I looked at each other. What are we supposed to do?!

Wayne and Marie came into the Living Room and confirmed what was already going through our heads. Wayne had got an alert on his phone. Rockets were being shot from Gaza and were headed our way. Not knowing what to do, we stood and watched out the window. The siren blared for what felt like forever. Although it was probably only 5 minutes. After the siren stopped was when we the real excitement started. In the dark, quiet of the night we saw the Iron Dome in action. We silently watched as one rocket after another was intercepted, and a boom was heard as it exploded mid air.

Public bomb shelters were opened in Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. We saw 10+ rockets intercepted over what was probably Tel Aviv. This morning in the news it said two rockets had landed outside of Jerusalem. Thankfully that's as close as it got.

But watching the rockets last night really brought all the unrest close to home. First it was the 3 Jewish teens that had been kidnapped and murdered. Then the Palestinian teen was murdered in what's been called a revenge killing. Their have been riots every since Friday when the funeral for the Palestinian took place. And Monday over 100 rockets were launched from Gaza but never got close to Jerusalem...at least not close enough to put off the siren. And then last night were more rockets.

"So this is what 'unrest' in the Middle East is like." I thought to myself as we watched out the window. After it stopped DeLora looked at me and said, "I've never been in the middle of a war zone!!!"

I stood there last night confidently, and at peace as I watched. What I was watching was totally and fully out of my control...but not out of His. And I felt safe. I felt safer then I have at home sometimes. Why? Because nothing has ever taken Him by surprise...and nothing ever will. And because the safest place to be is in the center of His will.

Life continues to go on. And life is a gift. And it's also exciting...if your living in Jerusalem.