preparation

I have been a bad blogger this week. And it isn't like my brain wasn't overflowing, it was but I couldn't seem to capture all of the conversations and adventures into words but this week included shopping for clif bars and conversations about everything from real food to real issues. However, all of it rolled together made for a pretty decent week so here I am again.

And now my house is being taken over by piles and stacks of camelbaks and hiking shorts and passports. Crazy. I cannot believe that 5 days from now we will be boarding that plane and Israel bound. I feel pretty ready, as ready as one can be for an adventure of this kind because unlike a regular vacation, the shopping has been with purpose rather and whimsy and the training to get physically prepared rather than just to look good in my bathing suit. I think all of those things have helped me feel prepared though because much of this spring has flown by but the preparation weaved throughout it makes me feel like it is time.

I found out this past week that there will be 12 of us (13 including our leader) and am looking forward to getting to know them as well. But as social as I am, this trip is about me. Sound narcissitic don't I? What I mean is, it is about my personal faith and my deeper understanding of the text and the context of it. I don't view my faith as simple becuase life makes it complex but I also have not historically been academic about it either. My biggest hope for this journey is to come away with a deeper understanding of God's Word and mental landscape as to how that story unfolded in the places that Jesus walked. More to come. Still have to work a few days before then, do the last few loads of laundry and climb a few more stairs.