Last week, while Amber was here visiting, we decided to spend a day in New York City. We made time for a couple of things while we were there, and the 9/11 Museum and Memorial was at the top of our lists. It did not disappoint.

Take the subway to the One World Trade Center stop, and it puts you out in this fantastic white building. It looks sort of like an ice-skating rink, but it’s just a subway stop. It felt so up high and overwhelming in there, I had a short-lived panic attack getting onto the escalator. Amber was all, “Oooo, let’s get on the glass elevator!”

“No,” I staunchly refused to get onto that elevator, which isn’t like me. I was all sorts of clammed up. New York City stresses me out anyway, plus I don’t love heights. I was frantically looking all around for quick exits, but there were none. All I knew was there was no way I was getting on a glass elevator. This place made me feel like I was falling, and I have no logical explanation for it, other than to say it was just an odd panic moment.

We arrived to the museum around 4pm, but that was okay because it is open until 8pm on weeknights and 9 pm on Friday and Saturday night. We were there on Saturday evening and hardly even had to wait in line.

Also, it’s worth mentioning, since many of my readers are military, that admission is free for active duty and retired U.S. military members, Of course, several 9/11 related groups such as 9/11 rescue workers and 9/11 family members also get free admission.

If you go on Tuesday evening, after 4 pm, EVERYONE is free.

Otherwise, general adult admission is $26, and it is worth it.

No plans to ever make it to New York City? No worries. I’m going to show you most of it right here.

When you first go in, you go through metal detectors and bag checks and proceed into a large hall with stairs and some steel remains of the twin towers. You immediately pass through a dark hallway with photo displays of people’s faces reacting to the scene of 9/11 taken on that day.

Most areas of the museum allow you to take pictures, but the most emotional, personal part of the museum does not. This is the section that has photographs of every single victim of that terrible day, and it has audio recordings of people talking about the victims as well as slideshows of some of their stories.

According to this CNN article, written in November 2019, 2,753 people died at the World Trade Center site in New York City on September 11, 2001. That is remarkable considering that this sign in the photo above reports that 50,000 people worked in the towers everyday. Those rescue workers, 403 of whom were part of the numbered casualties, did an incredible job of saving lives.

Victims ranged from age 2 to 85 years.

Every single one of us has a 9/11 story. It changed America. We all know exactly where we were when we first heard the news.

If you know me personally, or have read the blog long, you know Alan served in the War on Terrorism for 3 tours of duty overseas. One thing that burned me up the most was when Alan brought home a silver lighter the souvenir stands in Iraq were selling back in 2003 to celebrate what had happened to the U.S. on September 11. The lighter had a picture of the twin towers with a picture of the airplane on the flip-lid. When you flipped the lid, the towers lit up like they were on fire. Oh, and Osama bin Laden’s photo was on the box. Seeing this display glorying over what happened on that day was infuriating.

I couldn’t help but think about things like that and memories related to 9/11 as we toured the museum. It’s amazing how much you kind of forget.

You pass by this large wall with the blue tiles and the haunting quote several times, and you don’t think too much of it, and then boom. There’s this plaque that reads:

Wow. That took us by surprise. Suddenly, you look at the wall completely differently, in a whole new light of deep respect and awe.

Our Best People

What struck me most watching the ladder truck videos and seeing the walls of photos of the victims was just how many of them were rescue workers. So many of the people in the photos had on a fireman hat or a police uniform. They didn’t take just anyone from us. No, they took some of our very best people.

At the end of the museum, you walk through the area with these timelines on the wall and the final column mentioned in the photos above. The timeline doesn’t seem like an emotional thing to gaze at. That seems safe, but by this point in the tour you’ve already faced all of your memories of the event, all the victim stories, their photographs, and the firefighter video, and this was the tipping point for me.

I looked at the timeline, which stretched on to the present day, and I thought, “Yes. Yes. It DOES stretch on to the present day.” On September 11th, 2001, it never occurred to me that I would be directly impacted by the events of that day, other than the same fears everyone else felt back then of, “What will happen next? Where will they attack us next time?”

In 2001, I didn’t realize that a year later I’d be married to an Army lieutenant who was actively training to go join the war effort, a war that was precipitated by this day in history. Standing before this 9/11 timeline, I thought of all the deployments, of the soldiers who never came back, of the day my child ran to the wrong man at the airport because it’d been 15 months since he’d seen his daddy and he didn’t know which one he was.

There was no power to hold back the tears. I stood there and cried. Amber was dealing with these same emotions, I’m sure. Her husband also served overseas in this war. She came over and put an arm around me. And yet, I didn’t leave angry. I mean, yes, I was angry for a few minutes, but that’s not the overriding lesson or feeling of all of this. It isn’t, “Get mad. Look what these people did.”

The lesson is, “Look at how each world event shapes each one of us. How are you going to respond?”

It was sad. I cried at this museum, big ugly tears of dealing with a past I try not to think about. It must be 100 billion times harder for the families who lost loved ones.

But let us not forget why the sacrifices we made. We fought so that this would never happen again, and I am ever so proud of the small part that we got to play in supporting Alan in the War on Terrorism.

They could take away our buildings and even some of our best people, but they couldn’t take away who we are, a nation of good, God-fearing people. Do you remember the way we all pulled together in those days? All those prayer circles we had? I remember standing around Denny Chimes on the University of Alabama campus praying with people, many of whom had probably rarely prayed before, some Christians, some Jews, some just searching, but we all felt the same on that day. We were uncertain as all get out, but we were a determined and united people, and we turned to God for help.

America needed that capture, and I was thankful we didn’t have to drag through any court proceedings because he was dead on the spot, how it should’ve been, if you ask me. I also thought it was fitting they put this display at the end of the museum. We didn’t defeat all of the terrorists. Is that even possible? But we caught many, and we got the mastermind behind 9/11 that day when our special forces took down Osama bin Laden.

By the time we were through with the museum, Amber would probably agree, we were both emotionally, mentally, and physically shot. Also we were hungry. It was nearing 7, so a pretzel from a street vendor would just have to do because we had a bus to catch.

It had been an urgent matter to me to see the 9/11 Memorial (as in the fountains, not just the museum) earlier that day, but by the time we finished the museum I had totally forgotten about the memorial. We walked out the doors of the museum. Amber said, “Hmm, I wonder where the memorial part is though,” and I saw it, half of it. I was in front of Amber, and it was so close I almost could’ve tripped right into it. There was a ginormous water fountain with reflection pool, in a perfect square. The names of the victims are engraved around the fountain.

We gazed into the first fountain for a few minutes before realizing that actually there are two, one for each tower. They give the impression of two giant square holes, standing where the towers once stood. They aren’t as large as the towers, but they are in the exact locations.

I don’t know why staring into water is soothing, but this was yet another awe-inspiring reminder of that day, and it felt like a perfect way to close out our tour. It is all definitely worth visiting when you are in New York City.

I hope this answered many of your questions about the museum and memorial. A list below provides my sources of information for this article, in addition to the tour itself. You can click on those links to learn more.

September 11 Fast Facts, CNN.com, November 13, 2019, CNN editorial research

Memorial Pools Will Not Quite Fill Twin Footprints, NYTimes.com, December, 2005, David Dunlap

One World Trade Center, en.wikipedia.org

911 Memorial and Mususem, 911memorial.org

The post What to Expect at the 9/11 Museum and Memorial appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Saddam was captured on the outskirts of Ad Dawr, where most of Saddam’s family lived. You will see Ad Dawr spelled different ways in different places.

*****This post is part of the Real Army Wives of Fort Hood series. A new chapter is published each Monday. (Well, I aim for Monday..) Click here to read last week’s chapter: The Only One Without Mid-Tour Leave*****

On the morning of December 13th, 2003,

I was awakened by a phone call from Alan’s parents. Remember, they watched the news constantly, while I only tuned in occasionally.

“Turn on the news, April!” Nonna urged.

I sat up in bed and turned on the little 19 inch that I kept in my room to watch Lifetime shows at night.

I found a news show, and there it was. The news was on every network and cable news channel there was. “Saddam captured by US forces!”

“That’s where Alan is!!” Nonna explained excitedly, “Ad Dwar!! He gets to be there for this!!”

“Oh, wow, you’re right. That’s a small town, so that’s EXACTLY where Alan is!!”

Everyone was so excited, especially since no one had had much hope. After all, it’d been 2 years since 9/11, and they had yet to find Osama bin Laden. If they couldn’t find bin Laden, maybe Saddam would prove just as difficult.

Thankfully, that proved to not be the case. Do you remember watching all of this on t.v.? Well, special forces soldiers came in and found and extricated the ex-king, but Alan’s unit, 4-42 Field Artillery was there to support them, so Cloe’s husband and Kayla’s husband were involved too. And really this victory belonged to all of 4th Infantry Division. This provided some much needed excitement and encouragement!!

Alan and other members of his unit went over to the hole and took photos the next day.

Saddam Hussein was discovered on December 13th, and for you youngsters, Saddam Hussein was the President of Iraq from 1979-2003. He was a notorious figure due to his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and genocide of groups of Kurds and Shiites.

editor’s note–Tikrit not Tikrmt. That was an autocorrect error as I retyped this letter since Alan’s actual letter was too faded to photograph.

These photos were all taken on December 15, 2003.

However, our camera was off a month, so the time stamp says 1/14/2004. But in 2004, the hole was cemented over to prevent it from becoming a monument.

Alan, standing by the air pipe to the Saddam hole

Saddam was hiding in a rural area, close to the Tigris River. He was living in a hut, with a trail that led through an orange grove to the river. The hole that we all saw on the news was his hiding hole. How much of the time he spent in the hole vs. the hut, I do not know.

Entry way to where Saddam hid out

The famous styrofoam covering. The rug that had covered the styrofoam is removed.

It was a very thick styrofoam lid.

We ran this photo in several publications in the U.S. following the capture.

Let’s take a tour of the famous hole and hut, shall we?

Going in

As you can see, the hole had an L type shape to it.

You can see the air pipe.

The hole was walled in concrete.

Doesn’t it seem like this bed shelf beside the hole would be a giveaway? But I suppose Saddam had many many friends and family members covering for him and taking care of him here.

The bedroom…..not very presidential, eh?

Not the ritziest part of town…a far cry from his palaces..

You can see where Alan labeled his bedroom and kitchen in Saddam’s hut.

a peek into the presidential hide-out kitchen, complete with bug spray and dusty shelves..

Note: This is how it looked AFTER being ransacked by American soldiers for intelligence gathering.

pathway through the orange orchard to the river

I asked Alan a few burning questions:

“How many times do you think you walked super close to the notorious Saddam Hussein and never even knew it?”

Maybe once.

“Did you ever go to that orange grove before?”

We’d been within 20 feet of it, but only once, and only a week before that. I’d never been to the back of the grove.

“Had you ever seen that shack?”

I had never noticed it.

path to Saddam

Looks like a beautiful pathway, doesn’t it?

!

Locals Protested.

This is Saddam’s hometown, so yeah, of course they came out to protest this event. This was the whole crowd. Alan said he went into his base, and saw soldiers gathering around the t.v.

“They are making this look like a huge protest of 100s of people on t.v., when really it’s like 50 people.”

The soldiers often became disenchanted with American media coverage of this war.

Alan said that just the day before he’d talked to this boy in front and given them school supplies. Now here was the boy protesting. Alan looked at the boy like, “What??” And he said the boy just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

All the school books were riddled with pictures of Saddam Hussein; he was a little less than humble! In hindsight, Alan said there were some older males in back that were putting the school teachers and students up to the trouble by tearing out pictures of him and just causing a raucous to just see how the Americans would handle it.  The armed guards in front of Alan were of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. These were newly trained males by allied forces such as Alan’s unit, to handle general security tasks alongside our troops and the new Iraqi government.

The timing of this capture was perfect. It gave us all a sense of progress and victory and hope going into Christmas, for everyone involved.

It was such a surreal thing to be closely involved in an event of international importance like this. I remember being very aware of the enormity of it all.

And what became of Saddam Hussein?

Well, he was tried by 5 Iraqi judges as part of a special tribunal. He was found guilty of the 1982 Dujail massacre, and he was sentenced to hanging. The hanging was carried out in December 2006, 3 years after his capture.

For more information on Saddam Hussein’s history and capture, you can read these articles which were also my sources.

Saddam Hussein Trial Fast Facts–CNN

Seeking Justice in Dujail–BBC

The post Inside the Saddam Hole, December 2003 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Going to Israel this year was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me. Yes, I know it’s a big statement to make. I like to make my statements GRANDE!!!

Other than my wedding day and the births of my children, this was the BEST!!!!!

I wrote, and wrote, and wrote about it, but I have yet to put all of that information into one source, so that’s what I am announcing today.

All of the articles I wrote about Israel bring more people to my website than any of my motherhood, humor, recipes, or military wife posts put together.

It was not my plan to release this book in the middle of the Coronavirus madness and my kids having no school for at least two weeks, but life is funny like that…

Now onto Israel!!!

I am beyond excited to Introduce my new ebook: Tour Israel in Pictures & Stories!

Every single article I ever wrote about our trip to Israel is put together in this ebook. It has tons of beautiful, full color photos and stories from every city and Holy Land site that we visited.

Jump at the chance to go see Israel from your sofa. Tour the backdrop of the Bible. Visit Jerusalem, Capernaum, Tel Aviv, Joppa, Tabgha, Sea of Galilea, Mediterranean Sea, Nazareth, and more. See where Jesus performed miracles, was baptized, walked on the water, and was crucified and buried. I will take you along on the trip of a lifetime with over 275 photos, so you will feel like you are actually traveling right along with the group.

Click here to take a peek at Amazon.com!

Don’t have time for all that? Want to just see our 10 favorite photos and maybe one story?

We got ya covered. 10 of our Faves (Okay..14…):

Looking over the ancient ruins of Capernaum to the Sea of Galilee.

The black stone wall on bottom is from the sanctuary that Jesus taught in. The white stone sanctuary on top of it was built in the 400s.

I just thought this was beautiful.

We went in June, and these flowers were blooming everywhere. I wanted to pack one of those plants in my suitcase!

Because photos of people sleeping in cars are funny…they just are..

House of Simon the Tanner….because you have no idea how many times Julie and I walked around Old Jaffa looking for this!

We walked the 3 mile beach-side route from Tel Aviv to Jaffa. THIS was our view.

Because everyone should have good traveling buddies!

The famous dome, right behind the Western Wall. Photos aren’t allowed past security, so I failed to get a good Wall pic.

Golgotha. That window is showing just a segment of the earthquake damage from the earthquake mentioned in the Bible that took place when Jesus died on the cross. You can actually look way down and see the split rock going deep down, when you’re there in person.

This enormous church stands on top of the place where Jesus was crucified as well as where he was buried and rose again.

King David’s Tomb!

Jerusalem, as seen standing on the Mount of Olives

Mount of Olives

So many stories from this amazing trip!

Click here to find this book on Amazon.

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The post ALL the Israel Posts PLUS Our Best 10 Israel Photos appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Sea of Galilee

Before we dive in to see the Jordan River, I found a few more beautiful photos of the Sea of Galilee on Alan’s camera!! I am including those here because these showed the lake better than the ones I took!

Panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee

Jet ski riders, Sea of Galilee

After leaving the Sea of Galilee, it was finally time for lunch. Let me tell ya, I was STARVING. It was a good thing because lunch was fish caught in the Sea of Galilee, locally known at “St. Peter’s fish”.

And it looked like this……

The struggle was real. I had never eaten fish prepared this way before.

One thing that was exciting about eating out in Israel is that the restaurants bring you several salads while you wait for your food. These aren’t salads like our little side salads. These are mixtures of different vegetables, dips, tuna salad, hummus with pita bread, all sorts of things! The “salad” phase of the meal was actually my favorite.

“Do any of you speak English?”

Our tour group was over 1/2 Americans and UK people and a little less than 1/2 French. That’s because our tour guide spoke French, English, Arabic, and Hebrew. Impressive, eh?

The English-speaking half all filled up a table before we could get to it at lunch, which left us at the French table. Alan asked if anyone spoke English. They did not. We all attempted to communicate through our broken Spanish and English, as Alan and I have no French words whatsoever. It was futile. Mostly they talked, and we ate.

Our tour group, gathering to tour the Jordan River

The Bible verses describing the baptism of Jesus were written out in many different languages.

Technically, this isn’t the exact spot where Jesus was baptized, but that particular site is not solidly in Israeli territory anymore, so we do our best.

The Jordan River is not clean and beautiful like the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). In fact I was hesitant to even put my feet in.

Alan put his feet in too.

The water was FULL of GINORMOUS fish. You could see them coming close to you and swimming around. There were also plenty of ducks. I guess it’s too dirty to drink but not too dirty for wildlife to survive in. Extremely green though–it was that green, if not more so, in person. *gag*

The ducks seem unbothered.

Was it a spiritual experience?

It was. You could look down river and see other people in white robes being baptized. That was a blessing to see, and you could picture where you were standing as holy ground. Plus, there’s always that sense of, “Wow, we are in the land of the Bible. This is where Jesus walked. The Israelites fought hard for this land, over and over again they fought for it. Still they are fighting for it.

I felt a deep sympathy here for the Israelite people. I want them to have their land in peace and see the temple be rebuilt.

Their land is beautiful, and the air is dry (except in Tel Aviv where the Mediterranean Sea did bring out my frizz). I loved being in Israel, where the patriarchs walked and where the Jews returned, full of hope.

Our Jordan River tour was our last tour day.

We knew we were flying out at 10pm that night, so that made this day extra special. Alan and I hung on to it as long as we could, soaking up our surreal visit to the Holy Land.

I still cannot believe we got to do this!! It was strange to leave my children for ten straight days and travel so extremely far from them, but to experience this it was worth it. Besides, I knew they were in excellent hands.

Thank you to all four grandparents for making this possible!!!

“It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

[Deuteronomy 9:5]

“… you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.”                            [Joshua 1:11]

For a map to better understand the location and for more information about the Jordan River, click here to visit the National Geographic website article and Map.

Alan and I bought most of our souvenirs that last day at the Jordan River gift shop. Then we headed home…..a 10 or 11 hour flight across the Atlantic. By the way, it is about impossible to sleep on an airplane.

View of New Jersey from the airplane window

I chuckled when I realized how tall Alan is in the airplane seats. Poor fella. He was practically resting his head on the ceiling.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our Israel photos and stories.

If anyone were to ask me to choose anywhere to travel in the whole world, I believe I would pick Israel again. It was impossible to see it all in a week, after all, and there are no other places this meaningful.

Shalom!

The post Israel Trip Photoblog: The Jordan River appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Alan and me in Capernaum

After we left Nazareth, we hopped back on our bus and rode through the ever-so-bumpy streets of Cana. Maybe you have heard of Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine? We didn’t actually stop in Cana. Another destination was on our minds: Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee!!!! Eeeeeee!!!! So excited!!!

That bus ride was so bumpy that my Fitbit credited me with climbing about 200 flights of stairs. Yeah. I earned so many badges. Hahaha! I tried to make it stop. The Fitbit would not listen.

Have you ever gone somewhere so incredible that you don’t even know how to begin to tell people about it?

This experience was surreal. What we saw there filled me with awe and affirmation of faith. Not only do you get to see where Bible events took place in Capernaum. You actually see the ancient stone ruins of the buildings. Suddenly you realize that you are truly walking in the footsteps of Jesus. You are in the territory of faith and miracles. The synagogue and the houses are still there, and you can see them! Such a powerful sight to behold!

Do you like my dress? That is a Lula Roe Carly dress, perfect for touring Israel in the summer. I’m all about Lula Roe. No, I don’t sell it. April doesn’t sell things. I only wear and write things. 😉

Where Jesus preached the gospel, healed the sick, and walked on the water.

I love that we went from Nazareth to Capernaum because guess who else traveled directly from Nazareth to Capernaum, around 2,000 years ago?

where the houses stood

Looking over the ruins towards the Greek Orthodox Church of the Seven Apostles.

Side note: we did not get to go over and visit the Greek Orthodox Church, but if you have a chance, go see it. The art in the domes is stunning. You can see pictures of that here.  According to the Jewish Virtual Library, it is called the Church of the Seven Apostles because this is where Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples on the sea.

This is the synagogue built in the fourth century AD.

Our tour guide explained many things, yet I cannot remember much of what he said. I was all in a nerd tizzy about these ruins. I wanted to stand and stare at them. Then I wanted to climb the guard rail and touch and study every single wall. Hmmm… I seem to have a little Caleb in me (my adventurous son who MUST touch everything). I am not even kidding that I was silently forcing myself to stay with the group.

There are even artifacts, like jugs!!

How is ancient Capernaum in tact and abandoned while Jerusalem is completely built up?

History can be a mysterious thing, but I believe God did this on purpose. Here was a place where we could get a glimpse into history, much more so than you could do in Jerusalem because Jerusalem is heavily populated and has been conquered so many times.

Capernaum is shockingly well preserved. In fact, even the little house they believe was Peter’s had “Peter’s house” written in the walls, which they found when they dug it up.

According to Israel Tours, one reason why Capernaum did not get attacked was that they did not take part in the Jewish revolts against Rome. No one knows why the town was rebuilt in another area, leaving these homes abandoned. However, they do know that there was an earthquake on Jan. 18, 749 A.D.

I can’t tell where one house stopped and another began. Can you?

²³And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.   ^{Matthew 11:23-24}

Hmmmm…maybe that’s why Capernaum was abandoned…

I could not help but wonder if Jesus sat in some of these tiny rooms. Did people sit around their tables here and talk about the miracles? Yes, of course they did.

⁵And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, ⁶And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. ⁷And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.  Matthew 8:5-7

The Synagogue

²¹And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. ²²And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark 1:21-22

This black stone wall at the bottom is THE synagogue!!

Jesus healed people in this very synagogue.

You see the white stones? Those are 4th century.

You see the black stones at the bottom? That’s the original Jesus-era synagogue!!!! The oldest ruins are all in black stone because that is the color of the local rocks.

Wow!!!

I mean even the top layer is ancient, but the fact that you can lay eyes on the synagogue Jesus taught in about had us speechless.

In Jerusalem, everything has a giant Crusader-built monument on top of it. The only place I truly felt like I was seeing something from ancient times was at the Western Wall. But Capernaum does not disappoint. This place inspires. It is a breath of fresh air, which is just another reminder of how the Lord can take something forgotten and abandoned and turn it around to be a thing of utmost beauty and inspiration.

Notice all the beautiful columns.

The octagonal St. Peter’s Church, designed in the shape of a boat. This church has a glass bottom feature of St. Peter’s house.

14When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve them.… Matthew 8:14-15

Ah….And there’s a breath-taking glimpse of the Sea of Galilee

You can read these Bible accounts of Jesus and his disciples over and over, the stories of fishing in the Galilee and of Jesus walking on the water, and not realize just how close together it all is.

Our guide did a great job of pointing out all of the details in the columns and what they mean.

Do you see the ark of the covenant carving?

The Sea of Galilee is a glorious sight to behold. It is one of those true-blue lakes.

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20At once they left their nets and followed him.

21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Heals the Sick

23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,^g Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.”

Matthew 4:18-25

Inside this church is a giant glass bottom covering the site of Peter’s house. I loved the quiet, lake-side atmosphere here.

This ancient part of Capernaum is taken care of by the Franciscan monks who have a monastery here. They are also the ones who discovered the rich archaeological finds in Capernaum, when they purchased the land in the late 1800s.

Peter’s house wasn’t discovered until 1968!!!

St. Peter’s house!!!

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ² And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. ³ And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”                               Mark 2:1-5

Even the gates of Hades will not overcome Christ’s church.

15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,^b and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^c will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^d bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^e loosed in heaven.” 20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.     Matthew 16:15-20

This has run long, so I will save my store of beautiful Sea of Galilee photos for the next Israel post. So many important things happened here!!

Want to see MORE Israel? Here are a few of my other posts in this series:

Nazareth

John the Baptist’s Birthplace

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The post Why Capernaum was Our Favorite City to Visit in Israel appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Look closely to see the olives!

After Nazareth, and before Capernaum, we headed over to Tabgha, to see where Jesus called his first disciples and later performed the miracle of feeding the multitudes with the one basket of bread and fish.

If only these flowers would fit in my suitcase…

Tabgha

This sign below provides a nice overview of what happened here:

I love the historical value here! They had these sites marked from as far back as the days of Jesus, and the mosaics I will show you today were created around 480 AD!!! Y’all! Wow! That’s so long ago!

History and the Bible

People often want to compare Christianity with science, which is baffling because Christianity is not science. Those are two different fields. I mean, yes, I believe God created the world because I look at creation, and I don’t think amazing things like life on earth just happen on their own. I guess in that way it’s related to science.

However, the actual study of the Bible and what happened in it is not a scientific topic. That is history. It is a historical account, and there is so much evidence to back up the existence of Jesus that whether or not he lived is not even debatable.

In fact, when you consider the humongous cloud of witnesses around the time that the Old and the New Testaments were written, it is nothing but strengthening to your faith.

Now whether or not Jesus was the son of God, that’s a matter of faith, so we could debate that,  but whether or not he walked among us, that is well documented history.

For more on that topic, see this post.

I regret not stopping longer to soak in just how much happened in this place! That’s the thing about touring. It is always a hustle to stay with the group, and having lost my group one time already (back in Jerusalem), I wasn’t in a hurry to lose them again.

an olive tree

The list of things that happened here is astounding. Holy ground.

This was our last day in Israel. I didn’t want to leave!!!

Below the altar is the rock where Jesus divided the loaves.

site of the miracle of the loaves and fish–Look at the mosaics in front of the rock. You see the fish? These were created in 480 AD!!

I don’t recall if that front right part of the tile that is colored differently was damaged or if that was a mosaic map. I think it’s a map.

As you can see, only portions of this amazing floor survived the test of time.

Some of it has been repaired and restored over the years, but you would not believe how much of this is ORIGINAL!

My mouth hung wide open when he was telling us about this!

From the letters and the types of birds, archaeologists determined that Egyptians created them.

Do you know what this is!!??? Squeeeeaaaaal!!!

That is the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on the water, where Jesus taught from a boat, where the disciples fished!

On my next Israel post, I will show you more of the Sea of Galilee and we’ll go into Capernaum. It was our favorite part of the whole trip. I cannot wait to share it with you.

Here are a few more photos, and a few quotes from the famous Sermon on the Mount, preached near Tabgha.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons^[a] of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.         Matthew 5:1-11

It really was the trip of a lifetime! For more Israel photos/stories, see below! To read the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, go here.

Can’t get enough Israel? Click here to snag my book about the whole trip, with over 180 full color photos and stories.

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The post 22 Inspiring Photos of Ancient Tabgha, Where Jesus Performed Miracles appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Destination: Nazareth

These photos of Nazareth depict the shop where Joseph worked as a stone carver (carpenter). We also see the Church of the Annunciation, which features artworks of Mary and Jesus from all over the world.

This was one of the most exciting places to visit in Israel because we learned more about the family of Jesus and where they came from. I mean Nazareth is famous to all church-goers!

***Disclosure: All ads on this site are affiliate links, to help April buy nice things…***

We have 4 posts left in this Israel series: Nazareth, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, and What to Wear When Touring Israel.

Today let’s see the photos of Nazareth!!

Alan was able to join me for one last day of touring. We could not have been more excited to hop on that bus and head to Nazareth. This part of the town where the churches are located was a largely Muslim area. There is another part of Nazareth where the Jews live.

My day was off to an uplifting start.

Our first stop was a gift shop, where the store manager instructed his employee to give me a special discount for having such pretty blue eyes. Yes, flattery does work on me. I thoroughly enjoyed the compliment, but I didn’t actually buy anything.

I usually count my photos as my best souvenirs.

The Church of the Annunciation, also in Nazareth, had these beautiful murals of Mary with Jesus. Countries from all over the world each sent one.

from France

Why was Nazareth important?

Nazareth is where Jesus lived with his parents after they returned from hiding from King Herod in Egypt. It is also where Mary received the news that she would bear a son, the child of God, who would be called Emmanuel.

Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”       John 1:46

Did you know that Jesus visited Nazareth twice in his ministry, and was unwelcome both times?

In fact, once they tried to stone him there, but he got away.

“And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples followed him. 2And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. 4But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6And he marveled because of their unbelief.”          ~Mark 6:1-6

The importance of the church of the Annunciation is that it is where Gabriel visited Mary.

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,”              Luke 1:26

Y’all, this area is extremely hilly, mountainous, and most of all BUMPY!

My Fitbit gave me credit for like 200 flights of stairs. No, I didn’t climb anywhere near that many, but apparently if you ride on an extremely rough road at a slow enough speed, the Fitbit believes you are mountain climbing.

The Sermon on the Mount mountain was not actually in Nazareth. We saw it during the van ride.

You can imagine my dismay when my camera could not handle the strong Israeli outlets.

My real camera was my photography tool of choice. I was extra careful to charge it before we left the hotel. The powerful outlet charged it super-fast, but what it actually did was fry my battery.

My camera battery died as soon as we reached the churches at the top of the hill. This may sound overly dramatic, but I totally wanted to cry over the fact that the rest of these photos are iPhone 5 quality, indoors. Sad, sad, sadness!!!

More Nazareth Photos:

I do not recall much more to tell you about these, but this is what it looked like:

“And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

25And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. 28And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

Mark 1:23-28

The next place we went was Capernaum, and y’all, it was our FAVORITE.

The synagogue, referenced in the Bible, where Jesus taught and performed miracles, is still there. You can see it.

Yes, there’s a newer synagogue on top of it, which is so old, even it is from the 4th century AD, but they’ve excavated so that you can see the ruins of the entire town from the days of Jesus and his disciples.

Capernaum was the town that was the most spiritually moving to me, and I’m going to tell you all about it here.

Want to see more of my Israel trip? Here are a few of the other Israeli places I blogged about:

Jerusalem: Where Jesus was Crucified

Jaffa: One of the Oldest Seaports in the World

Or you can buy my whole ebook on the trip! I included full color photos and stories from every place we saw.

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The post 40 Photos of Nazareth: Where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus lived appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.