GP Inspirational Journeys ISRAEL by Douglas Snyder

Discover the Holy Land, Deepen Your Faith

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

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Inspirational Journeys

click here for editor’s message ON THE COVER “I’ll Never Be the Same” p. 4 by Amy Molinero, Vice President and Publisher

Pilgrimage p. 6 Rediscovering her faith in the Holy Land by Stephanie Thompson, Edmond, Oklahoma

Into the Judean Wilderness p. 10 He followed in Jesus’ footsteps by Gary Sloan, New York, NY

Where Every Stone Tells a Story p. 14 A Guideposts editor’s journey by Adam Hunter, Editor

in every issue Foods from the Bible p. 18 A taste of Israel at your dinner table Hidden Gems of the Holy Land p. 20 Sights worth seeing

A note from our publisher

“I’ll never be the same” By Amy Molinero, Guideposts Vice President and Publisher

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

his past year I took a trip that changed my life. I went to Israel, a land that I had always dreamed of visiting. It turned out to be even more wonderful than my dreams. I discovered so much there—a rich ancient culture, a vibrant people and the very roots of the Christian tradition I was raised in.

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AMY AT THE The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem A short drive away andXer iliquiscing etum zzriureet adipsum augait laorem iriureet veliscidunt nim vel dolenim inim zzriusci erilisi. Luptat. Obor sequipit lobore

I was asked to write a blog for Guideposts.org chronicling my trip. I was nervous at first. I’m a publisher, not a writer. Yet what I experienced in the Holy Land was so inspiring, the words just came. I saw the ruins at Caesarea, the Garden of Gethsemane, the tomb of Maimonides. I woke up early enough one morning to catch an amazing sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. I visited an ancient Jewish village, where I milked goats, cross church A short drive away and er iliquiscing etum zzriureet adipsum au. made my own pita bread and rode a donkey. I floated in the Dead Sea. And let’s not forget the food, the incredible dishes of the Middle East, recipes handed down through hundreds of generations. When we travel we bring home with us a part of the world, and Israel lives in my heart. I can’t promise a trip to the Holy Land will change your life but I can promise you will never be quite the same. 2 5

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

I went to the Holy Land expecting to see the sights. I discovered so much more

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Pilgrimage

SACRED SITES Stephanie rides a camel at the Mount of Olives; the Wailing Wall; and on the banks of the Jordan River

By STEPHANIE THOMPSON, EDMOND, OKLAHOMA

ake the trip or lose the deposit. That was my choice. I’d signed my husband and me up for our church’s tour of the Holy Land secretly hoping it would save our marriage. I thought going together to see places that were so rich with meaning would renew the meaning—and the romance—in our relationship. But we didn’t get that far. A few months before the trip we got divorced.

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

TWOSOME Stephanie, with Kelly at Hebrew University (left) and at the Garden Tomb (below). The Dead Sea (above)

Could I really afford a sightseeing junket now? Did I want to travel with a busload of people I hardly even knew? The others were mostly older, longmarried couples, and being with them would only make me feel more alone. But our pastor and his wife practically insisted that I come. “I’d have to have a roommate,” I told them one Sunday, “someone who could share expenses with me.” “We know just the right person,” the pastor’s wife said. They introduced me to Kelly Bass, a petite blonde in her late thirties, just a couple of years older than me. Kelly’s husband had to stay home to run their business, so she was glad to room together. “This

trip sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?” she said. Kelly and I sat together on the plane. She had her Bible with her and had done lots of reading about what we would be seeing: Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Dead Sea, the Wailing Wall, the Sea of Galilee. I envied her faith, but more than that I envied the way her life had come together. She saw the trip as a pilgrimage, a kind of spiritual preparation for her next adventure, starting a family. “I want to use this time to really grow in my faith,” she said. I didn’t tell her that my dreams for the trip had already been dashed. Someone so happy with her marriage, so excited about

her future, couldn’t possibly understand how hopeless I felt. Our first stop was Jerusalem. Our guide took us to the marketplace downtown. Walking the narrow cobblestone streets, looking at the old buildings awash in the bright Mediterranean sun, I kept thinking about how this was where Jesus and his disciples had walked. A hundred Sunday school lessons seemed to come alive. Was it in a house like that that Jesus had hosted the meal where he broke bread and blessed the wine? Was it down this street that people had waved palms and spread their cloaks before the Messiah? Kelly and I went into a jewelry store

Guideposts Inspiration Vacations Come with Us to the Holy Lands! Guideposts, in partnership with Travel with Spirit, invites you to join us on an 11-night cruise to the Holy Lands, October 1728, 2011. Our editor-in-chief, Edward Grinnan, will be the host for this remarkable journey. You’ll travel round-trip from Istanbul, Turkey, to Israel, Egypt and Greece, visiting some of the most sacred biblical sights. To register or for more information call (888) 518-7571 or (714) 442-9931, or visit travelwithspirit.com/guideposts.

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

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Into the Judean Wilderness I was going to follow Jesus â&#x20AC;&#x201C; alone

By Gary Sloan, New York, New York

he protests of an angry donkey pulled me from sleep and reminded me how far I was from home. Slipping past my sleeping roommates to the hotel window, I caught my breath. A dozen brilliant hues of gold and orange spilled from the rising sun to give a crowning halo to the city of Jerusalem below. In a few moments the golden Dome of the Rock was ablaze with reflected light.

As Clyde and David stretched and yawned behind me, the city was also coming to life. This was a dream come true. I was here, in the exact spot where centuries of drama have unfolded. This is the city King David called home; here his son Solomon built a splendid temple. Jesus made his final earthly journey to this city. Now, looking to the stark magnificence of the Judean desert stretching far into the distance, I knew that I too had a journey to take.

my own final earthly journey. I only knew that somehow it was something I must do. Actually, the journey I was planning for this day had begun years before, back in New Castle, Indiana, where I grew up. It started with the first moments in my life when I sensed that there was an all-powerful and allloving God.

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ur family was a close one and my mother was a very godly woman. Early on she taught the four of us boys to turn to God when we were in trouble. One of my earliest and strongest childhood memories was of seeing my adored brother, eight years older than I, kneeling by his bedside at night to pray. Prayer for me became a reality when I was seven years old and experienced the first real crisis of my young life. My cat Penny had disappeared. We searched everywhere for the scruffy white kitten with the black ears and shiny green eyes. After three days it seemed hopeless. I tried not to show my brothers that my heart was breaking. Alone in the dark-ness of my

parents’ bedroom, I remembered my mother’s words: “Never forget, Gary, God answers prayer.” Right then and there, I fell to my knees. “Help us,” I blurted out to God. “We can’t find Penny. You see everything and you know where she is. You can send her back. Please do.” That done, I relaxed. Now I’m going to look out the window, I said to myself, because I know God answers prayer I looked out the window and there, in the backyard, was Penny. I opened the white-framed window and she came running. As I felt the glossy fur against my cheek, my gratitude to God was as great as my confidence in him. By the time I reached high school, however, that simple faith had faded. If someone had asked me, I probably would have said I was a Christian, but after a while I wasn’t sure what that meant. Eventually I went to Wheaton, a Christian college in Illinois. I liked my studies, and I quickly got involved in swimming and band, and college politics as well. “Hi, I’m Gary Sloan, and I’m running for freshman class president,” I said, going from door to door in my dorm. “I think it’s really important for our class to emphasize

the spiritual side of our lives.” I meant what I said, but somehow “the spiritual side” no longer had the clear-cut meaning for me that I’d known as a child. That was the price one paid for growing up and living in a complicated world. Inside, I yearned for greater understanding. Things went well. I won the election. I dropped band to concentrate on swimming. I was hoping for the Olympics. On the surface things went well in my spiritual life too. Everyone on campus knew me as a leader of prayer meetings. Then I heard about a summer quarter in the Holy Land. And here I was, unbelievably, having finished the course work, overlooking Jerusalem! “Hey, brother! Good morning! Praise the Lord!” Clyde beamed. My roommates were up now, showering and going for break-fast. Clyde and David were upperclassmen, and I liked both of them. Clyde, the oldest, seemed perfect. Tall, blond and tanned, he came from California and had a smile for everyone. Halfway through this trip, I’d begun to feel that I was not only in the academic Olympics, but in the spiritual Olympics as well. We all searched the

Where Every

Stone Tells a Story I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

click here for more

A GUIDEPOSTS editor’s journey through the Holy Land By ADAM HUNTER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

nazareth It’s an awesome feeling to be in Israel, a place where it’s hard to walk anywhere a prophet, savior or other biblical hero hasn’t walked before. Like the city of Nazareth, where I found myself on the first day of my weeklong tour through the Christian religious and historical sites of the Holy Land, hosted by the Israel Min-

istry of Tourism. It was my third time to Israel—I first went when I was 14 with my family—but every time offers new and enriching experiences. This trip would be no exception. I’d imagined Nazareth would look like it did in the movie The Nativity Story, which we featured in GUIDEPOSTS a few Christmases ago. But

FIRST STOP Poppie fields caption to come

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

LOCAL FARE Dinner in Tiberias

that Nazareth was nowhere to be seen among the apartment buildings topped with satellite dishes. Then we drove up a hill overlooking the city, and arrived at Nazareth Village, a firstcentury hamlet recreated by biblical scholars. Here, a woman dressed in a Roman-era tunic—fittingly named Mary—cooked us a traditional lunch over an open fire: pita bread and lentil soup, with salads, apples, dates and honey—fruits of the area’s farms. Our guide to the village demonstrated an olive-oil press, explaining how the first few drops of oil produced are called extra virgin. To Jews of the first century, our guide said, it was holy. Sweeter than the rest of the oil, it was reserved for anointing the high priests. It didn’t smoke when burned, so it was used to power the eternal

flame kept lit in the temple. I’m Jewish, and I never knew that. Sitting in the synagogue, recreated to the last detail, including a roof built of mud and straw, I imagined myself back in time. My fellow tourists, listening to our guide, became the people of Nazareth, learning from our “rabbi.” The modern city faded away. galilee I woke up the next day in a haze. Overnight, a white cloud had settled over Tiberias—a city on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee and our base for exploring the area. The region’s gorgeous views were obscured. But as we sailed around the Sea of Galilee in our charter boat, one member of our group, Bonnie, gave a devotional reading that put things in perspective. “Even though

PRAYER POWER at the Wailing Wall

UNSINKABLE Floating in the Dead Sea

the sun is out of view, it is still there,” she said. “And so it is with God.” The crew raised an American flag alongside an Israeli one to welcome us. Then the music started. The captain and his first mate sang traditional Jewish folk songs and led us in a spirited hora, a circle dance not normally performed on rocking boats. I know the hora well: It’s the typical dance at Jewish weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs (a Jewish rite of passage). But sharing it with people who had never danced it before gave me a thrill. Back on the road again, I could finally see the beauty of this region. I gazed out the bus window at the lush green valleys and rolling hills, the date palms and mango trees, greenhouses and grazing cows. On top of the Mount of the Beatitudes, where

Jesus gave his famous sermon, we sat in a garden filled with chirping birds and colorful flowers, listening to our group organizer recite Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” The hazy sky made it easier to block out anything modern in the valley and imagine it as it was so many centuries ago. the dead sea We drove down south the next morning through the Jordan Valley toward the Dead Sea. I watched the farms and greenhouses slowly disappear, the green hills become rocky, barren cliffs. To the east, in the distance, the large salty sea sparkled, teasing thirsty travelers with undrinkable water. Today, spas line its shores. We stopped at one to see what makes this barren spot of desert such

Foods from the Bible A taste of Israel at your dinner table Tabboule Salad

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

1/2 cup fine bulgur 1 cup boiling-hot water 2 cups finely chopped parsley 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint 2 medium tomatoes 1/2 seedless cucumber 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice salt & pepper

Directions Stir together bulgur and 1 tablespoon oil in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over, then cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.

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Grilled St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fish

up for at least 20 minutes or so. Season the fish well with salt and pepper or your desired dry seasonings. Place fish on a piece of foil, cut up vegetables and place on top of fish. Add white wine, thyme, and butter.

6 small tilapia salt 1 tbsp. white wine Dash of thyme 1 pat of butter Directions Light your grill and set it at its highest heat setting. Let it heat

Looking for a unique experience? These natural wonders, historical treasures and spiritual sites are a little off the beaten pathâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and well worth a visit

Hidden Gems I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

of the

Holy Land

blue-washed doorway Duisl ex er sisi. Olortie tem inis nos dolumsa ndiat.Ut la feuip ea feuis num del do odolenim deleseq uatincil dit ad dolutat loreet, secte faccum quisci blan exeriusto deliquat alit volorperci enim velit, sequatio corper ad tisi blaortinit inim zzrilit full of natural wonders, 30 kilometers north of On the shores of the sea

I n s p i ra t i o n a l Jo u r n e y s

natural wonders, 30 kilometers north of Eilat. When we travel we bring home with us a part of the world, and Israel lives in my heart. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t promise a trip to the Holy Land will change your life but I can promise you will never be quite the same. Ut la feuip ea feuis num del do odolenim deleseq uatincil dit ad do. a typical blue-washed doorway