“I am the bread of life” was declared by Jesus here. Wow. This synagogue is built on the remains of the synagogue where Jesus taught in Capernaum.
He’s back.
Safe, sound, and scruffy.
As he held me close and my head leaned into his big, hard familiar chest I heard him whisper, “Hi, mommy.”
His eyes lit up as he saw the girls. I thought they might scream or run to him, but they waited with huge smiles for him to walk down the “Do Not Enter” corridor and then hugged him and watched him with their ever-adoring eyes.
I teared up when I first saw him coming. He’s here; he’s really here; God brought him back safely to me!
As we went to get his bags and the car, I was so, so, so, so happy to not be the only adult in charge anymore; to have another pair of eyes to watch the girls with, to have a friend to smile at, to know that he would be with me now.
He showered us with presents. If I can get good pictures of them, I’ll share them in a couple of weeks.
Even though he was exhausted, he stayed up to talk to the girls while I made lunch. We ate together and then he went to sleep… for fifteen hours.
But I didn’t care; the backpack in the middle of the living room, the maps and books and pictures everywhere, the zonked out body in the bed, the mountain of laundry waiting to be done, the smiles on the girlies faces, all said one thing: Daddy was back.
And for now, that was enough to be completely happy.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Beit She’an; this city is important because it illustrates the Romanization of the Jews at the time of Jesus. Seen here the “Cardo” or main street.Remains from the earthquake at Beit She’anTheater at Beit She’anViewing the old city of Beit She’an; Saul’s body was hung in disgrace on this hill.
(Hello and thanks so much for reading these reposts of the Israel series. If you’re new, I hope you’ve been enjoying them; and if you’re not so new, then we can all look forward to new content coming!)
It’s been awhile since I’ve really been able to buy Paul presents.
Gone are the days of being in love, single, employed, and able to buy things for the man you love. Not that I’d trade a big warm body to cuddle up to at night, no siree! But I do miss giving him special gifts.
Let’s see, last year I had this great idea to make homemade butter and other gifts to sell at our apartment office in hopes of making enough money to buy him a really great present. After covering the costs of materials I had about sixteen dollars left which I used to buy him The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough which he really liked, but it was not the kind of present I had hoped for.
But this year would be different! I still didn’t have any money, but because he was gone I made some executive decisions about how the money given to us by family would be used. (Haha! rubbing hands together gleefully) Of course, the girls would get their presents, but they already have so much and the things they wanted weren’t going to cost that much anyways. So the girls and I discussed it, and we made a plan to go shopping for Daddy!
Bottom line: it was a blast.
I won’t bore you with the nitty-gritty details, but here’s what we came away with. A laptop table from World Market, Hebrews from the New American Commentary series, a dress shirt and coordinating tie (picked out so lovingly and adorably by Hope and Sophia), and a stud finder (we are permanently and irreversibly diy/home improvement challenged). Yay for presents!
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After a great day of shopping for daddy, I noticed that I was really feeling anxious about him flying home. So much for my unshakable trust in the sovereignty of God that allowed me to not worry at all when he was flying over there.
Basically, I think that knowing he was so close to coming back just made me really want to know that nothing would keep us apart any longer. Everything had gone so well; it was nerve-wracking to think about what would transpire if there were any major calamities now, on our end or on his end. My solution? A night of crafting.
I am not a crafter whatsoever, but I had heard that felt flowers were really easy to make and I wanted to actually make something to give the girls for Christmas. After putting it off for two weeks, I decided that I might not get any sleep that night anyways, so I would do something to occupy my mind.
Unbelievably, they turned out in such a way that you could recognize them! It was tons of fun and I will hopefully do more in the future. I confess one that was supposed to look like a rose ended up looking like a really bad outie belly button, but other than that, I was happy with them.
Now to go to sleep, and wake up, and hear that he’s in the states.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Viewing the Sea of Galilee from Mount ArbelIn view here are the regions where Jesus did most of His miracles
(Thanks so much for your patience as we rerun this Israel series. It’s almost over…)
Since life is still clipping along at an ordinary pace and there is not much to report from the day, I thought I would talk a little bit about one of my goals for this time.
I believe it is a common theme among young mothers who claim to be followers of Christ that finding time to devote yourself to Him in prayer and Bible study can be at best elusive and often downright frustrating. I definitely have to confess that this has been a struggle for me.
I have also realized that simple devotional reading (i.e. go to a passage, read, think: what does this mean to me?) does not suffice for learning the Bible and therefore learning of Christ.
If I can copy off of my husband and some of his professors, you must determine first of all, “What does the passage mean?”, before you can ever make a conclusion regarding what it means to you.
This requires the skill of diligent Bible study.
This past semester my husband was required to read The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study by Oletta Wald. His praise for it caught my attention. “This is the best book I have ever read on teaching someone how to study the Bible!” My ears perked up; one, because he is extremely careful about how people teach/interpret the Bible and rarely speaks so well of a book; two, because I noticed the book was very short – maybe I could work through it! And finally build a foundation for how to study the Bible.
Well, in case you haven’t guessed already, one of my goals for this time alone was to begin reading and working through that book.
This book really is wonderful. I’ve actually only gotten through the first chapter and practice exercise, but it has been so helpful. It’s really teaching me how to dig through a passage, not to find something that no one has heard of before, but to understand the true meaning of the text.
In all honesty, I’m ashamed at how little I have studied the Bible, especially through these last five years of childbearing.
Is it difficult to find the time? Yes; but it’s also difficult to live day in and day out without that all-satisfying water of the Word. Believe me, I know.
Lord-willing, I’ll keep you updated on my progress as I continue to work through this little book. Interested in checking it out? Here’s an amazon link: The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Inside the caves in ArbelCaves in ArbelRock climbing up Arbel; I want to do this!
(Repost)
A few things have surprised me during this time of taking care of the girls alone. First that it’s been… relatively easy. At least a lot easier than I thought. Second, that Gracie seems to be missing Paul the most out of all the girls. Lastly, I’m beginning to be exhausted. The thought of that possibility never occurred to me.
Apparently there’s been a physical and emotional drain that I haven’t noticed because everything seemed to be so normal. I thought I was doing well going to bed and resting all night. But it’s not good for woman to be alone; or least this woman.
Come to think of it, this is how I felt the first week Paul returned to work and seminary after the summer. I had gotten so used to him being around, to sharing the load of work, and (most importantly for me) to feeling the emotional support of not being alone, that back-to-schooltime was a shock.
Again, I cannot help but think of single moms or parents who do this every day, all year.
Our pace is definitely slowing down during the day because of me, but we’re still trying to keep up the “fun.” So far it’s working minus Gracie being a little off.
Counting the days ’til he gets home? Not yet; I don’t think I could stand it.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Mckayla? Happy as long as she has her food, her mama, and a chance to run around the house and play.
I must say the answered surprised me.
Ever since Saturday night, Gracie has been asking for Paul. Not whining, not crying, just asking, “Where’s Daddy?”
She doesn’t know where Israel is. She doesn’t understand a study trip. She just knows Daddy’s not at the dinner table. And she’s getting tired of it!
I’ve noticed a change in her behavior. Like I said, asking for Paul; also becoming super clingy to me. How many times can one girl come in the kitchen and ask me to hold her? So far there haven’t been any meltdowns, but we still have several days to go.
Hang in there, Gracie; Daddy will be home soon.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Inside the main gate of Caesarea Maritima, built during the crusader era
(Repost)
There I was, Sunday afternoon, with a decision to make.
Eat with friends? or eat by ourselves?
Sounds simple, but for me it’s not.
The afternoon before I had texted my friend E to see if she had plans for after church. Her text back was not what I was looking for: D is actually off work tomorrow and we’re eating with N and K since we haven’t seen them since before Thanksgiving, but you’re welcome to come!
Not a fan of being the third wheel. Especially when said third wheel is a mom with four kids eating with two other couples and only one of them have a (singular) sweet little baby.
All right, being honest here; I had agonized about it all Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. I didn’t want to go; but, I did. They were my friends. Not just my acquaintances, my friends. But without Paul, I’m all kinds of shy. The excuses my mind came up with were numerous: they could go somewhere more fun or closer to where they live if we didn’t go, maybe the girls would be misbehaved or I’d spend the whole time taking them to the bathroom and leaving the others at the table, and on and on.
It really was ridiculous.
But now I was walking down the nursery hallway from picking up the girls and they were all waiting for me. How could such a small, simple decision make an adult woman want to melt into the ground?
I went with them.
And I was super glad I did.
The girls were so good; and it felt so good to just be the person that needed some encouragement and support and to be okay with that.
Goodbye ever-lurking independence. Goodbye odious voice of insecurity. Goodbye you nasty monster pride. All of you, I will see again; but for today you were defeated.
Hello to the other side of friendship. Hello to being okay with the fact that you have four kids and your life doesn’t quite look like everyone else’s. Hello to letting others be there for you.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
I do remember praying before I went to bed the night before that God would somehow give me the strength and joy necessary to take of the girls the next day. Everything had been going so well, and then with the news of the shootings I felt all my physical and emotional stamina just caving in.
I woke up not feeling great, but determined to do my best regardless of my feelings. The girls all woke up early, except Hope, and they were pretty much ready by the time I heard my phone ring.
It was a long, weird number and I strongly suspected that Paul was on the other end.
I answered, smiling before I even heard his voice. But the smile after I heard his voice probably made the other smile look like one of Gracie’s scowls.
What he said hit me out of nowhere. After hearing the news about Connecticut, he said he needed to talk to us. He? needed? to talk to us? But you’re in Israel – the coolest place ever!
Why was I surprised? Of course I know how much he loves us. Of course I know how close he is to the girls. He would have had all the same thoughts and feelings that I had.
It was so good to talk to him. It was amazing to watch the girls excitement as they held the phone and talked to their beloved Daddy. It was so familiar to hear his excitement and love as he talked to them.
God could have answered my prayer in many ways. But He chose to give me strength and joy through my very favorite person, Paul. And once again, I was terribly excited for him that he was in Israel; and completely okay with taking care of the girlies alone.
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At dinner Gracie asked, “Where’s Daddy?”
“In Israel!” I replied.
“No,” she disagreed, “he’s at school.”
This was the first time that any of the girls had expressed concern over his whereabouts.
When thinking of how to best handle this time of them being away from him, I had thought about watching videos online of Israel or having some sort of countdown where we would eat candy out of a jar for every day he was gone and watch the amount dwindle. In the end, I did none of these things. The girls were handling it famously. They knew where he was and it felt best to just carry on and try to occupy ourselves with fun things.
It was interesting to me that Gracie had been the first to ask about him, sensing that it was weird that he was gone. Everything was fine, but I wondered what this second week would hold.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Driving by the plain of Bethsaida, near the sight of the feeding of the five thousandSynagogue at ChorazinNear to the place of the Sermon on the Mount
(Repost)
If you’ve been reading my posts about the other side of the Israel trip, then you know that yesterday’s shopping trip ended up to be sort of stressful.
However, determined to have all the fun that we could have, I scheduled another shopping trip with another friend to another favorite place of mine: Goodwill. (Love to look at high-end places; buy at less than high-end places.)
Well, this trip did present me with another episode of stress; but the ending was much happier.
My girlies went with me and we were all ready and excited. My plan was that I would have the youngest sit in the child seat of my shopping cart; and my friend (who is so awesome and loves my kids) could push my two-year old in her cart. The older two do really well staying with me and I knew that they would have fun looking through stuff with us.
Hello Goodwill: bye-bye shopping cart idea. Goodwill doesn’t have carts!! At least this one. Just one more reason why I like Salvation Army better.
Anyways, it was cumbersome to carry the baby around and look at the same time, but we were not dismayed.
I ended up with some really great finds which actually felt like really small steps towards some of my goals for my home. I so want to be able to decorate my house and make it beautiful without spending much. This was really the first time that I felt like I found stuff (even looked in the right places) to start accomplishing that.
Here are my finds: Gorgeous brown sheet, bright yellow table cloth, yellow fleece scarf, gray sheet and pillowcase with white stripes, and my very favorite a sunshine mirror! All this for fourteen dollars and change.
I’m not even going to begin to tell you what I hope I can do with these, but if I ever get around to it, I’m sure I’ll be proud as a peacock and let everybody know.
When I got home, I got a text from my neighbor saying that she was so heartbroken about what had happened in Connecticut. What happened in Connecticut? I got on my computer and found out.
How trivial my thrift store finds seemed now. How could I have enjoyed such a fun, carefree time with my friend and kids when parents just like me were having their hearts ripped out?
It wasn’t okay that Paul was gone anymore. I needed him, and I needed him now. Somehow I made it through the rest of the evening with the girls. After they went to sleep, I sat on the couch in a news-induced stupor wondering if something like that would ever happen to me.
It was late when my resistance gave in and I finally went to bed.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Sea of GalileeBonfire by the Sea of Galilee ~ I ask you, what is cooler than that?Jordan before flowing into GalileeJordan River
(Repost)
Have you ever had an opportunity to do something you really wanted to do, and then realized (after the fact) that you sorta squandered it?
A dear lady our family knows offered to watch the girls so I could go do something by myself. I knew just what I wanted to do: another young mom I know gets out a lot, but not often with another lady and without her kids. So she worked it out to have someone watch her kids and we went shopping at this fabulous consignment shop I had been to. (It really is fabulous! set up like a boutique; adorable, totally in style clothes; ah! I want to go back!)
Anyways, we had a great time at the shop. I am such a poky shopper. I just love to look and look and think and think and go back; then try stuff on; decide none of it will work, etc.
Seriously, anyone who will go shopping with me ought to get a Joan of Arc award.
Every now and then, though, I see something and know I want it. (That’s why I take forever all those other times, because it’s just so hard to push me over the edge to spend money on something that doesn’t wow me.)
This time, it was a yellow wool skirt. My favorite color is yellow, but this was a new shade for me; kind of like a winter yellow? Definitely with gray undertones. Mm…mmm. Big fabric-covered buttons on both sides of the waist. And it fit. And I knew I had Christmas money coming. Then I found a yellow rope necklace to go with it and the deal was done!
Well, that was the good part. I was happy. yay.
Then, we went a few other places and I realized that I didn’t have the number of the lady who was watching my kids. Was today the day she had to pick up her grandson at school? Was she upset with me for not being back sooner? My mind started to go ka-fluey. I tried to switch lanes and almost collided with a car in my blind spot. Arg.
I dropped the girl off and rushed home, worrying the entire time about whether I had stayed out too late. (small note: the lady had specifically said, “Stay as long as you want, I’m good.”) But did she mean this long? If only I had written down her number before I left. Lack of preparation: you trouble me again!
Of course, when I got home, everything was fine. She was completely reassuring that she didn’t have anywhere to be and just wanted me to have a good time. So then I went from having a good time, to worrying I had too good of a time, to wishing I had had a better time instead of worrying about yada, yada, yada.
End of story: I felt awful. Even seriously second guessed buying the yellow skirt.
Moral??? Um, if you get a chance to get out as a young mom, just remember that stress and trouble and yourself will go with you even when your children do not. Always have a phone number to call your babysitter; even if you think you’ve had it previously (I did) check again, your nerves will thank you. And try to have a good time.
Oh yes, I did try to recount this pitiful tale to my husband who was halfway across the world on the most exciting and engaging trip of his life…via email. He better like that yellow skirt. = )
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
Springs at Dan. This is where the Jordan begins.Spring at DanSo lovely. No wonder the Danites asked to settle in the north.Paul took this picture just because he knew I would like it. What a sweet husband.
(Repost)
It’s official. I’m lonely. And I miss Paul really bad.
How hard it must be to lose a loved one. As I sat at the table after the girls were in bed, the house was so quiet. But I could remember him walking here, sitting there, making noise; they were all just shadows of memories though, because he’s not here and won’t be for a while still. How would it feel knowing he would never come back?
Good to know I miss my husband.
Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.
small steps, big picture 