Part 13: Glossary of Terms

Our stay in Jerusalem was led by Dr. Carl Rasmussen. Carl has his own "terms" which not all people would be familiar with.  So if you head to Jerusalem or ever talk with Carl here are some of his Carlisms and their meanings:

(1)Bye-bye-buddy check:  look around and make sure no one is missing cause we're taking off.

(2)Culture on the right/left: look in the appropriate direction and you will see wildlife or people.

(3) hanky-panky: usually implying some sort of shinanagins.

(4)Hello-hello-hello: stop what you're doing and pay attention.

(5)Push the pause button: you should push the button above you and pause your conversation.

(6) People-im: this usually refers to the whole team/group.

(7) Schlep: V. to carry or pull or haul items (usually lunch)  Schlepers: N. the people doing the schlepping. 

(8) Sippy-poo: coffee.

(9) No Slouch: this refers to archaeologists and scholars who know what they're talking about.

(10)Snacky-poo: that favorite time of the day between 3pm-4:47pm where we get to have a snack.

(11) Sports Fans: this usually refers to the team when we are tired.

Anyway, just a little taste of the language we've had to get used to here in the land of Israel.  Shalom

Part 12: Super Sweet Spectacular Stunning Samaria

So I just finished this post and then lost it.  LAME! VERY LAME!!

Samaria was perhaps one of the greatest highlights of the trip.  Simply because it hasn't been safe to travel there in the last decade.  In other words, we are a small minority of people who got to build our "library of impressions" as Carl would say.

The two major highlights of the day for me:

Jacob's well, I'm guessing more well known for the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) where Jesus asks for a drink of water and then offers her living water.  Its a small well and within the last five years they built a church around it (that's what they do here over holy sites).  You can still draw water up out of the well and so that is what we did. We all got to touch the water and some of us even licked a little off our hands :) This site I would place in the "I was really looking forward to it and it didn't disappoint" category.

Shiloh.  One thing I have recently learned is the more significant the place is to me, the more knowledge I have about it, and the deeper my theological understanding creates a perfect formula that equals a increased "likability" of the site for me. Shiloh is known for its role in the story of Samuel.  I have come to like this story for a few reasons:
(1) We learn that God doesn't give up on people even when they are directly disobeying
(2) We learn that God listens to his children--Hannah prayed
(3) We learn that God speaks to his children
But all of these requires some risk on our part...may we respond as Samuel did..."Speak Lord, I'm listening"

Well team...I'll write a little more in a bit...