Gail-Friends: Sea of Galilee

Showing posts with label Sea of Galilee. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Israel Trip - The Jesus Boat

After the trip across the Sea of Galilee, our boat docked on the shore of the Jesus Boat Museum. The view from the land was beautiful even though the sky was overcast. I felt at home with all the palm tress, since I'm a Florida girl.

In 1986, a boat was discovered in the deep mud along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a few miles north of Tiberius. The story of this boat is fascinating, and I was excited to see it because I did not see it on my previous trip to Israel.

Two fishermen discovered the boat and contacted Israeli archaeological authorities to have it retrieved. The wood, while preserved very well by the silt, was extremely fragile. Great time and care were taken to remove it and keep the boat intact so that it could be moved. You can read more about this and see videos of the methods used at this link: Jesus Boat

While there is no evidence Yeshua actually used this boat, the dating of the artifact places it during the period of his ministry 2000 years ago. Study shows it to be the type of boat used either as a ferry or a fishing boat.

I enjoyed imagining Yeshua and disciples going through a storm in a boat like this, although all of them certainly could not have been on this boat. It made the whole story more vivid since I could see the boat, as well as the fact that I'd just endured a stormy crossing of the Sea of Galilee myself. (you can read about it Here )

There were a few exhibits of some small items found in the boat.

We watched the movie about the discovery and moving of the boat, looked at the artifacts found during the excavation, and then toured the gift shop. I bought some yarmulkes for the synagogue and some lily of the valley anointing oil for myself. This was one of the best gift shops we saw on our trip, and I regret not buying more while there. I made the mistake of thinking I would find better prices later, but that was not the case. The good thing is they have a website and I highly recommend them for purchasing Judaica items. http://www.jesusboat.com/

Our next stop was the beautiful town of Capernaum where Yeshua began His ministry. I'll tell you all about it in next week's post.

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I'm linking up today with:
Spiritual Sunday
The Gathering Place Link-Up

Modest Mom Monday Link-up

Growing Homemakers Link-Up

Titus 2 Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up
Wordless Wednesdays

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds
Whole Hearted Wednesday
Wake Up Wednesday
Whimsical Wednesday

Hearts for Home
Favorite Things

Fab Creative Friday
Friendship Friday
Freedom Friday

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Israel Trip #7 - Sailing on the Galilee

Remember the story of the disciples fishing on the Sea of Galilee when a storm came up? The storm raged, but Yeshua slept through it. The disciples woke Him up and said, "Master, don't you care that we are about to die?"(See Mark 4:37-40) I had a similar experience when we took our boat trip.

The day dawned a cloudy, heavy grey. When we arrived at the boat dock, the winds were around thirty miles per hour, and the water was quite choppy.

This is our crew. The sign says "worship boats". I don't remember any worship or singing, but I do remember the captain assuring us that we would make it to the other side.

That's Shelby, with her arms raised. She's comparing it to a ride on a roller coaster. Up....down....wheeeeeee!!! She's a brave girl, compared to me:

Yes, I am hanging on for dear life.

I don't remember much about the ride across, except praying we wouldn't die and that I wouldn't throw up.

What stands out in my mind is when we reached the other side. Imagine the boat rising and falling in the waves. We'd go up about three feet, and down about three feet. Now imagine this when you have to step off the boat and onto the dock. The crew had to help each person and give directions about when to jump....at just the right moment, so you wouldn't get smashed between the boat and the dock. I was scared, mostly because I have a hip replacement, and have to be very careful not to make certain moves.

I prayed and felt Abba's assurance that He was with me, just as He'd been with the frightened disciples. With His help, and the assistance of the crew, I was able to jump off at just the right time, and didn't throw anything out of place. (big sigh of relief)

As we left the boat, we were met by a large group of Nigerians headed toward the dock. How do I know they were from Nigeria? Because Rose, one of our tour group members was from Nigeria, and immediately recognized the signs of her fellow country men and women. The group was laughing, dancing, singing about Jesus, and high-fiving us as we passed. What a joyful end to our stressful boat ride.

My next post will be about the Jesus Boat, an archeological find uncovered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
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I'm linking up today with:
Spiritual Sunday
Let's Get Social Sunday

All Things Bright and Beautiful Link-Up

Modest Mom Monday Link-up

Growing Homemakers Link-Up

Titus 2 Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up
Wordless Wednesdays

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds
Whole Hearted Wednesday
Wake Up Wednesday
Whimsical Wednesday

Hearts for Home
Favorite Things

Fab Creative Friday
Friendship Friday
Freedom Friday

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Israel Trip - The Galilee

We arrived at our hotel in Tiberius in the late afternoon. I enjoyed seeing the Chanukah menorahs lit in the lobby. The prayers for the lighting were provided for us, too. What a joy to be in Israel for this wonderful holiday. As you can see from the menorah, we arrived on the fifth day of Chanukah.

I always notice art work and loved these two pieces on the wall behind the menorahs

The hotel restaurant had avery nice horseshoe-shaped patio with a beautiful view the Sea of Galilee, aka Lake Kineret. As the sun set over the water and colored the sky with hues of pink and lavender, I rejoiced to be in the place where Yeshua did much of His ministry. Shelby and looked forward to the next day when we would take a boat ride across the lake.

The patio area was planted with beautiful flowering plants and citrus trees. (It gave me ideas for my back yard) The lemons, oranges, grapefruit and kumquats were huge, and we indulged in a delicious orange picked from one of the loaded branches. The fruit in Israel is gorgeous and abundant.

We ate a fabulous dinner at the restaurant buffet. Once again, the food was outstanding, especially the fresh vegetables and fruit. We went to bed early, and slept well.

The next morning dawned foggy, windy and cold. (Very different from the last time I visited the Galilee.) Below are a few photos of what the streets and shops look like in this waterfront town. I enjoyed trying to read the Hebrew signs, but was not too good at it.

Many of the buildings and streets in Tiberius are built or decorated with black stones called basalt. You'll see more of this in my next post.

When we arrived at the dock for our boat trip, we were met with wind and choppy waves. (Not good.)

Here is our tour group. Can you tell this is not good weather for sailing?

And here comes our boat!

My next post will be about our boat trip. I learned a whole new appreciation of the disciples when they went through a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

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I'm sharing this post at:
Spiritual Sunday
Let's Get Social Sunday