Tomorrow's the day, folks!
Christin will drop me off at the airport on her way to work, and I'll head to New Jersey at 10:30 to catch a direct connection to Tel Aviv. I'm packed, I'm pumped, I'm ready "to rock and roll" (as my dad likes to put it).
Looking forward to my adventure, I jotted down a couple of hopes/goals for my time in Israel. Sometimes, when I feel like I'm on the brink of something big or am about to start something new, I like to make these 'lists of potential'. I've found that looking back on such a list at the end of such an experience is a helpful way to evaluate what I've learned and how I've learned it.
Anyway, I should warn you, they're deliberately vague:
1. Trip over inspiration
2. Discover something new
3. Initiate or catalyze growth
4. Whet an appetite for the world and the people who live in it
5. Collect some cool stories
6. "Keep in step with the Spirit", as I am led to new panoramas (Gal 5:25)
Ideally, by the end of this adventure, I'll have something to say about each of these hopes. And even if I do not...well, that's okay. These hopes are vague because I am inviting God to surprise me by what He wants to show me. If my hopes were too narrow, then I think that they would change from being 'hopes' into 'expectations'. Anyways, all this to say: I leave for Israel tomorrow with an eager, excited, curious spirit that will leave the details firmly buckled in steady hands.
And by the way, here's the link to the dig's website in case you were hoping for more info:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/ashkelon_dig.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi sweetheart...I am so excited for you as you step out on this big adventure! My hope and prayer is that God will grow you in amazing ways as you experience new and exciting things. I will pray for you every day. Fly safe, reach high, love well, be safe and come home to tell me all about it...I am so proud of you and I love you so much...dad.
ReplyDeleteHi Jess...I am so excited for you...Can't wait to read about your adventure on this blog.....I will definitely keep you in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
(Aunt) Kathy
Jess!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo thrilled for you!
You can count on me to be praying for you. i love your sense of adventure with our Lord Jesus...Oh if we all could have that same love relationship of total trust in the Almighty we call daddy...I know, that I know, you are going to have one, incredible, wild ride with Him at the wheel of this awesome opportunity! I am thrilled for you, so incredibly proud of you...Enjoy the "wind" in your hair as you journey with Him.
i love you jess and promise to lift you up!
ox
terese
Fletch!! (they do indeed call you that... ;) )
ReplyDeleteWow! I am sooo excited for you and your grand adventure! You are such an enjoyable writer and I will definitely be following you this summer! May all of your huge crazy vague hopes be realized in abundance!
Grace and Peace.
:) Erica
Hi Jessie!
ReplyDeleteJust want you to know that we love you and miss you at Phonathon. Praying for you on your trip, specifically for your nonspecific wonderful hopes. It made me smile reading them because they are so you. I hope you meet someone awesome today and tell someone sweet about them. :)
Miss you Jessie! Looking forward to your updates! :)
Brandon