I'm Back!!

I am back in the Holy Land at last!!! It is Winter here and everyone is cold. I should also note that is 64 degrees outside and sunny. I don't get it either. There is even fruit on the trees here, oranges, grapefruit; strawberries are in season as well! I went to the Shook or market this morning in a sweater and by the time I got home, it was already getting too warm to wear it. It was only 8am. Winter here is not what I expected, but then again, most things in Israel are not what I expect, and that's why I love this place so!
      This trip, I am to be maid of honor in my good friends upcoming wedding in January.  It just so happens that this puts me in the Holy Land at one of the most holiest times of the year, Christmas and Hannukah or "Channukah" as some of my friends here call it. I am rested, un-jetlagged, and ready to celebrate the start of Shabbat tonight with my Israeli family! Shabot in Israel is like our Sunday in America; except most of the country here honors it by actually doing what God tells us to do on the Sabbath; rest. The buses and trains don't run, most stores are closed, and you don't see very many people driving. In the Jewish calendar, the days are counted from the sunset of oen day until sunset the following day; therefore, Shabbat starts at sundown on Friday and goes to sundown on Saturday. Families eat together and celebrate the greatness of God, and, for Messianic Jews, Kahila or 'congregation' is in the morning (much like church). Ultra-Orthodox Jews keep to the Shabot by refraining from driving, cooking, even using electricity! Friday is a half day and you can see people scurrying about in the afternoon, grabbing last minute supplies for Shabbat dinner like Challa, a special Jewish braided bread eaten on Sabbath and holidays, and trying to get back home to their families before sundown.

    Keeping the Sabbath holy was one of the things I wished to honor when I returned from my last trip, but sadly, I swung back into the norm of using all 7 days for either work or school or the procrastination of those things.  It is hard to keep to Shabbat when it's not a norm in your society. Resting is seen as laziness in a society where every day you wake up and are already late or behind on something. But it is good for the soul to rest! Obviously, God made us and knows us better than anything or anyone, and He tells us to rest. It must be pretty important, because not only does He tell us to rest, but He created a WHOLE additional day just for us to do so.
      If for anything else, Shabbat is a way to honor God and thank Him for the gift of family, freinds, and relaxation.  I pray that your next Shabat is filled with rest and family! No matter how hard it is to stop moving in a constantly moving society, you will sure feel the blessings of shabbot if you just give yourself permission to relax.......God has!  So Shabbat Shalom everyone!

Pictures from the market this morning: http://s747.beta.photobucket.com/user/beckerh20/library/Shook%20There%20It%20Is