Green thumb... or zucchini

Well, if you haven't noticed lately, there haven't been many pictures on our blog. This is because our little sweetie dropped our camera a while back so it doesn't work anymore. However, for blog purposes, I have figured out how to take photos with our web cam, so these will have to do for our updates until we get a new camera.

The latest? Well, I can't show you a photo of our fun vegetable garden (on account of our web cam being built into our iMac and not being able to carry the computer outside to take a photo), but I can show you some of the products of our little gardening experiment.

I started this experiment with the hopes that it would be a fun venture, and we would maybe get something out of it too. With a lot of work, Lowe's gift cards, and lots of weed-pulling and watering, I wasn't sure if it would be worth all the money and effort. I mean, $60 of materials better mean that we're getting at least $60 of vegetables back, right? I have hopes for what the little garden will produce, but keep telling myself I'll be happy with anything small now, and we'll improve and learn for next season.

Anyway, at long last, we have a little something to show for it. Probably one of the biggest zucchinis I've seen in a long time. Success! And the plant is huge - the leaves are probably 12" in diameter. The radishes - a little small, but I attribute this to the fact that I planted them too close together, so most of them are growing as long skinny veggies rather than round. Lesson #1 for next time, so still a success. (sorry, straight out of the garden, dirty fingers and all)

I know that these 3 veggies are not actually worth $60, several hours, a slightly higher water bill and the extra time out in the sun, but hey, I didn't get into gardening for that reason alone. I think it's neat to put hard work into something and see the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor. :-) I guess it's more of a hobby, and you happen to get food out of it too! So, where I could spend $60 going to the movies a few times or going bowling or buying/reading a new book, this is one of my hobbies now.

I am a gardener. Not the best, we don't have the largest "field," but it sure is fun. I think I'll try it again next season. My goal? I wanna take one of those photos like in Little House on the Prairie where they go to the garden and come back with a basketful of fresh colorful produce. Maybe if the timing is right I can do that soon.

So far, I figure I've made back about $2. :-)

In the meantime, fried zucchini anyone?

Hospitality

Can I take just a moment to brag about how wonderful my neighborhood is (in particular, the neighbors on either side of us), and how much I love living where I do? I'll walk you through the last month or so, so you can get a good picture of it. Granted, all of us happen to work at the same ministry, so we would expect to be friendly with one another... but check this out.

March 12th - We go to Israel for 12 days. Our neighbors on the left take care of our dog for 7 of those days - and just about any other time we need it. And our dogs play together in the yard on a regular basis.

March 25th - Our neighbors on the left have a difficult season in their lives, so I take dinner over and put flowers in their kitchen while they're out of town so they don't have to cook when they get back.

April 3rd - One of the neighbors on our right side (in our rent house) comes over for dinner. I don't have any sugar for sweet tea, so she brings some.

April 4th - Several of the girls from the rent house come over for a potluck dinner.

April 5th - I go over to the girls' house to watch TV with them.

April 6th - Matt and I both go over to the girls' house to watch LOST together because we don't get ABC on our TV.

April 9th - Our neighbor on the left comes over to do maintenance on our riding lawnmower to prepare it for summer. He borrows it to mow his lawn, and in return keeps it in tip-top shape for us and shares the cost.

April 10th-11th - We go out of town, so one of the girls watches our dog for us... again.

April 12th - Heidi and I go outside in the front yard. The girls are having a picnic dinner on the lawn, so we stop in for a moment. Our other neighbor texts to see if she can borrow some vegetable oil. Sure. I tell the picnic girls to come over when they're done and we'll watch a movie. I want to make banana bread, but don't have any sugar. They'll bring some, no problem. (update - and some extra flour)

We have learned about hospitality on our trips to Israel - how you can't survive in the desert alone, how accustomed they are to serving one another out of necessity, how a woman and her family (daughters, grandkids) will make homemade bread and sweet tea (syrup!) for 50 people in a matter of minutes, because it's what they DO. They just do. No questions asked.

I'm also reminded of how the first church functioned this way. They had all things in common and shared their possessions as if nothing were their own, but belonged to the group. I recently read an article in one of the (pretty liberally-minded) magazines that I subscribe to about doing this very thing - offering up your possessions and services to those around you. It really is a neat idea, but one that is ancient, Biblically-based and the way it's supposed to be.

I know that they way we live with our neighbors is just a taste of what the Bedouins in Israel or the first church in Acts experience(d) on a daily basis, but I'll say this: if we ever move to another house, city or state, I will want to find a community like this one.

Nothing says home like...

Chic fil a! We are safely back in Texas and stopped for lunch on the way home! Thanks for watching our trip! The End! :)

Almost Home!

We made the first leg to Newark with no problems! Now just one more flight and then we are home! We are so excited to see everyone!

Last Day in Israel!

Just a quick note to let you know that we had a fantastic last day in Israel today. We made it on to the Temple Mount first thing this morning! For those of you who were praying, thank you! It was an outside shot and we made it! After the Temple Mount we spent the rest of the morning in Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity and the Herodian. After some shopping at Johnny's, we walked the ramparts of the Old City one last time before heading back to the hotel to shower, change and head to dinner and then to the airport!

Next time you hear from us, we should be in the States! Please pray for our travel - we certainly would not like to have a repeat of our adventure over here. :)

Looking forward to seeing all of you very soon!

Shalom!

Marty teaching our group on the Temple Mount:

Jerusalem!

It was a BIG day today as we spent our entire day hiking through the Old City of Jerusalem. We began at the Mount of Olives and followed the chronology of Jesus' last week from there down to Gethsemene and then up into the city (with a quick stop at the pool of Bethesda), down the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus was crucified and buried. After a lunch of Jewish bagels, we studied on the Southern Steps of the Temple (beneath the Huldah gates) and then walked down into the City of David where we got to walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel and see the recently excavated Pool of Siloam. As if that wasn't big enough, we finished the day with a visit to the Western Wall before heading back for our last night here in Israel!

Such a BIG day it's hard to believe that we have one more left! We are all doing well and we are eager to see each of you. We had fun celebrating Michael's birthday today and look forward to celebrating Lindsey's tomorrow (how cool to have your birthday in Israel!).

This might be our last post until we hit the airport in Newark on Tuesday morning, but I hope to be able to post one more time before we leave tomorrow evening - we'll see. Until then...

Pictures:
1. Forgies on the Mount of Olives (Temple Mount in background) 2. Ross leading us in communion in Gethsemene 3. Marty teaching us on the Southern Steps (Mt. of Olives in the background) 4. Finishing our day at the Western Wall

Shalom!

Another BIG Day!

Shalom from Jerusalem! We've made it to "the House," as Marty likes to say. It's exciting to be here and we are looking forward to our time tomorrow.

We spent today making our way out of Galilee westward towards the Mediterranean, making some BIG stops along the way. First, we visited Megiddo - one of the world's most ancient and prominent cities. Next, we rode up to Mt. Carmel and re-lived the story of Elijah vs. the prophets of Baal - on the same mountain where it happened! Then a big hike down! We ended our day by visiting Caesarea. There we began to learn of Harod's audacity and what it means to build something that lasts.

We're now in Jerusalem where we'll finish out our trip. Everyone is feeling well and in good spirits - thanks for praying! Our hotel is right inside the Old City walls, and we are looking forward to another BIG DAY tomorrow as we explore the city - with the Text in hand - and see what God has for us.

Until tomorrow!

Photos:
1. At the pagan altar in Megiddo. 2. At the top of Mt. Carmel. 3. Forge girls on the way down from Carmel. 4. Mt. Carmel from the bottom - quite a hike! 5. Caesarea. 6. Whole group on the Mediterranean Sea at Caesarea. 7. All of us! 8. Forge guys atop the aqeuduct.