Projectile Poop

Check it out at our new blog site...its pretty funny.

www.thestonefamilyblog.wordpress.com

Grandma Beverly Visist

Check it out at our new blog site on wordpress.

http://thestonefamilyblog.wordpress.com

Julia has arrived!

  

  

It was a normal day. We had errands to run and ministry to get completed after our doctors visit for Julia. However, much to our surprise the doctors were concerned about extra amniotic fluid, her small size measuring two weeks behind, and her low activity in the womb. We went to the hospital for further tests and were told Julia would need to be delivered by emergency c-section that day. WOW! We were in shock as we were concerced for Julia, needing to contact family, and make plans to be in the hospital for 4 days. Julia Grace was born Dec. 31, 2009 at 5:28pm, weighed 5 lbs 7oz, measured 18.5 inches, and spent the first 4 days of life in the NICU. Those were hard days since she was measuring 35 weeks, had problems breathing, could not hold her temperature, could not eat, we could not hold her the first day, and not knowing how long she would be there or how serious her health was. Although many babies spend time in the ICU we took it pretty hard. The hospital was great though. The nurses were very attentive to both Holly and Julia and took great care of us. The blessing was her quick recovery and we got to leave the hospital as a family. Now, she is home, healthy, and strong. We feel blessed to have baby Jules with us.

It has been a month now and we are adjusting well. It is great to be parents and I am jealous that Holly gets to be home with here all the time. We hope to start blogging weekly and Holly has promised to start writing and posting pictures!

Julia with her proud Grandparents.

 

     

Hollyisms

We are just weeks away from Julia Grace being born so we are preparing to blog! Holly is geared up (very ready) to deliver Julia and I am getting her ready for the blog. As you can tell its still a work in process. We are learning how to set it all up and get it looking right. But for now, here it is.

Hollyisms:

1. I am about to explode!

2. Do I look fat?

3. I have nothing to wear.

4. Do you smell natural gas?

5. Can you rub my feet?

6. When are we going to finish Julia's room?

7. Can you pick that up for me?

8. My arms hurt!

9. Where is the bathroom?

10. Can you get me just a little bit of chocolate?

11. Can you clean the base boards soon? (along with the ceiling fans, carpets, bathrooms, etc)

In the future we will be posting Juliaisms!

Israel Day Seven- Living Set Apart to God

Megiddo

Our first stop was Megiddo. This was another tough place to visit due to the pagan Ba’al worship that was practiced here. Throughout the scripture Megiddo is mentioned several times. 

Joseph defeated the king of Megiddo during his conquest (Joshua 12:7, 21). During the time of the Judges God allotted this city to the tribe of Manasseh, who failed to drive out all the Canaanites (No.33:52; Judges 1:27).  Solomon fortified this city as a place of defense (1 Kings 9:15, 10:26). Probably the most popular thing Megiddo is known for is the battle of Armageddon. This is when last great gathering of armies (good vs evil) will take place at the end of the tribulation, just before Christ returns to establish His kingdom (Rev. 16:13-16). In Hebrew, Har Megiddo, often translated Armageddon, means the “Hill of Megiddo.”

When we visited we focused on the Canaanite practice of Ba’al worship which revolved around the cycles of nature necessary for survival and prosperity, namely, growing crops, raising livestock, and the growth of human populations. There are so many gross practices of this pagan worship that I can’t recount them all there. Some of the worst parts are the practice were unnatural orgies and infant sacrifice, both led by the priests and priestesses. 

Ba’al had a mistress named Ashora, in Greek she is called Ischtar, and in English she is called Easter. She was considered the goddess of fertility and her ancient symbol was a rabbit and an egg.  Makes you think twice about the Easter egg hunt, especially if you have been there and realize its origins. It is perhaps one more way we as Christians could be set apart (sanctified) from one of the seemingly innocent practices of the world. We should celebrate the true reason for the season, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We learned that Easter day would be better referred to as Resurrection Day! Amen?

Mount Carmel

Interestingly, our next step of Mount Carmel, which was considered Ba’al country and the place associated with its practice in Israel. We climbed to the top and saton the cliff and studied how when Ahab was king over Israel he had no problem dishonoring God and even strived to provoke Him to anger (1 Kings 16:29-33). He even went as far as to marry a foreign woman named Jezebel and allow her to worship her pagan god Ba’al (this is the exact reason God forbid Jews marrying foreign women). Ahab even set up an alter and a Temple to Ba’al and Easter (aka. Ashora or Ischtar) in Samaria.

The greatest thing about our visit here is when God proved Himself as true and Baal as false. This is where the prophet Elijah called down fire from heaven when the prophects of Ba’al could not. I would encourage you to read the biblical account in 1 Kings 18:16-45, esp. vs. 39 where the people fall prostrate and cried out the Lord of Elijah, “the Lord-he is God’” referring to the God of Israel as the true God! Read and celebrate God’s victory over pagan worship and pagan practice. Then think about how we can bring the light of Christ to a dark world. Not by imitating them in ignorance but showing how the One we worship is the only true being worthy of worship and how we celebrate Him alone. How has God called me to reflect the truth of Christ in a dark world of paganism?

 

Olive Grove

At the bottom of Mt. Carmel is one of the oldest working olive groves in Israel. In Romans 11 Paul used the olive tree as an illustrative picture of the union between the two people’s of God, Israel and the Church (Romans 11:17-24). Basically, the nation of Israel is the root of our faith and the Church is an olive shoot that has been grafted in due to Israel’s unfaithfulness. However, we must never forget God’s original chosen people and the promises He has made to them. He has not forgotten the nation of Israel! We honor the nation of Israel as we participate in some of the blessings promised to her as a result of being grafted in as the new chosen people of God, the Church. The Bible Knowledge Commentary and the Nelson’s Commentary have great explanations of this passage.

Caesarea by the Sea

We traveled to the Mediterranean Sea and visited the ancient city of Caesarea. This city was founded by Harod the Great in 22_BC and was the place of Roman government for over five hundred years. Caesarea was the home of Roman procurators, included Pontius Pilate. It  was really cool to visit because half the book of Acts takes place here. Philip took the gospel here (Acts 8:40), Peter took the gospel to Cornelius and the Gentiles (Acts 10), Paul sailed to Tarsus from here after his conversion (Acts 9:30) and all of Paul’s missionary journeys either began or ended here. Paul stopped here while traveling from Ephesus to Jerusalem (Acts 18:22), he was taken here by soldiers when the Jews sought to kill him (Acts 23:23-33), he was imprisoned in the palace here for about two years (Acts 23:35), and Paul’s three defenses were made here, before Felix (Acts 24), before Festus (Acts 25:1-12), and before King Agrippa (Acts 26).

This was a great place to visit and soak in the place where so much New Testament history happened as the church was being established.

Israel Day Six- Dedication

Day Six - Dedication

We started day six climbing Mt. Gilboa, an extended ridge on the southeast side of the Jezreel Valley. This was a strategic site for Israel as the Valley was a route from Galilee to the north and Samaria to the south. This also made it a place of many battles.  Amongst other things, this is where Hosea prophesied great blessing on Israel (Hosea 1:10-11), where the Philistines killed Saul and his sons (1 Sam. 28:4-5; 31:1-5), and Judges 7 records that Gideon camped and chose his 300 men at the spring of En Harod, which sits at the base of Mt. Gilboa (also called Mt. Gilead). It was interesting to learn some of how Gidean chose his men. He looked for men who were alert, cautious, and aware of their surroundings. The men who drank from the spring by lapping water with their hands and keeping their heads up and eyes on their surroundings make up the 300 men he chose. Fighting with just 300 men ensured God would be glorified through their impossible victory over the Midianites because it becomes unexplainable. Gideon trusted God and often lived an unexplainable life, expect for the power of God. We were challenged to live unexplainable lives for God. Trusting Him to provide, give victory, and get glory through obeying not only what He has called us to but also the way He called us to do it.

Our next stop was Beth She’an, the capitol of the Decapolis, the region occupied by the Pagans and practice of Hellenism. As we came over the hill, possibly where the Garden of Eden might have been located, it was impressive to look down on the remains at Beth She’an. Although God allotted this area to the tribe of Manasseh they could not drive out the Canannites and before the time of Christ the city was renamed Scythopolis and occupied by the Greeks.

It was interesting to learn the 5 key elements of Hellenistic society:

1.     Gymnasium- the development of body and mind

2.     Theater- the center of drama and entertainment

3.     Arena- the place of sport and entertainment

4.     Agora- the practice of upscale shopping

5.     Temples- the worship of many different so-called Gods

In Hellenism the Heroes are athletes, entertainers, thinkers, and the wealthy. Humans are the focus and “I am a God and I want it all” is the motto they live by. It was not hard to see the parallel with our own culture. An earthquake destroyed this city in 7 seconds. We reflected on loving God and not the world knowing that the things of this world will soon pass away (1 Jn. 2:15-17). How can we influence a place like this to see the true God? What is it that we have that they don’t? Our story. We must tell our story. Many people know about Christ but not many realize what it means to their life to walk in a relationship with Him. Let us show and tell with our lives and words.

 

We then traveled to Susita, another city in the Decapolis and a great example to telling of what God has done in a place of Hellenism. This is where Jesus cast out the “legion” of demons from a man, cast them into about 2000 swine, then they jumped into the Sea of Galilee and drowned (Mark 5:1-20).  

Afterwards the man who was possessed wanted to follow Jesus but Jesus did not let him go along and told him to“Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” The man went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed’ (Mark 5:19-20).

Sometimes Jesus leaves us right were we are to influence the place we know best, even a sinful, rebellious, seemingly impossible place. Our calling is to tell those around us what great things the Lord has done and how He had mercy on us. The cool thing is Jesus returned to this place and over 4000 people followed Him around listening to His teaching (Mat. 15:32-38) and 300 years later the city became a Christian center. One of the authors of the Nicene Creed would come from here. Amazing what the faithful testimony about the great things and mercy of God can do. It’s almost unexplainable!

 

Our Last stop of the day was the Jordan River. This river connects the Dead Sea in the south to the Sea of Galilee in the North (70 mile distance but 110 miles of winding river). So many things happened along this river and in connection to it. A few things include God identified this as the eastern border of Israel (Num. 34:10-12; Ezk. 48:47:18), large bronze objects of Solomon’s temple were cast (2 Chron. 4:16-17), Elijah and Elisha crossed over the Jordan on dry ground (2 Kings 2:7-14), Joshua and the nation of Israel crossed over into Canaan on dry ground with the Ark of the Covenant (Josh 3:13-17), John the Baptist baptized here (Matthew 3:5-6; Mark 1:5; John 1:28), and this is where Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9).

We focused on Joshua and the fact that the Priest had to trust God to stop the river after they stepped in while carrying the Ark (Josh. 3:14-17). Since all of us had already been baptized (and the water was low with a strong current) we chose to honor the Jewish custom of Mikveh and dedicated our head, heart, hands, and feet to the Lord by sprinkling water in all those places.

Mikveh is a ceremonial bath where a person immerses himself in living water to become ritually clean according to Jewish law and was done before entering the Temple or Synagogue. It is the background to Christian Baptism. For us, it was a meaningful time with God as we rededicated our whole selves to God. We want His truth in our heads to penetrate our hearts and be lived out in our hands and feet. May everything we do be done to reveal the heart and actions of our great God! 

Israel Day Five- Jesus and the Pagans

We began our day at Gamla. The Zealots were stationed here during the time of Jesus. It was a beautiful mountain range and a great hike. The first things we noticed were the Eagles. In Hebrew the eagle is called, Nesherim, and we saw “the shadow of his wings” as the Griffen Voucher flew overhead. It was a beautiful picture of the protection of God.

The Zealots were religious Jews who were extreme in the practice of devotion to God. They could be considered terrorists as they used a curved knife to kill off their Roman enemies. Although Jesus was the most zealous person in all of history He was not a Zealot. He used love and personal sacrifice rather than a knife and torture to combat His enemies.  It was a great place to learn of the love of Christ and to be inspired to live extreme lives for God.

This was also a place we saw the remains of a first century ritual bath and synagogue. We are 99% sure Jesusread and taught in what remains today. We stood in the bath, the place one washed before reading from the day’s assigned text. We saw the Moses Seat, the place the reader of the day sat. We stood on the Bema Stone, the place where Jesus would have stood as He read the assigned reading from the text. 

It was incredible to be there, to stand where Jesus stood, the read what He possibly read in the same exact place He did. It was an experience you can only have in that spot in the world and God blessed us with the experience. It was incredible! 

We spent the rest of the day at incredibly sad sites. Places of Paganism and rebellion of God. Places of sin and torture. Places of sexual immorality of the worst kind. Places of sinful and unnecessary murder sacrifices. It was a sick feeling to be there, to see the place where these things took place. However, even this evil enhances the beauty of God, the truth of Christ, and the justice of our Father.

Caesarea Philippi was in the northern part of Israel and borders Syria and Lebanon. The Paganism practiced here is called Pan worship and this was the most pagan place in all of Israel. In was in the midst of this sin referred to as the “gates of Hades” by Christ that Jesus visited this city, stood with His disciples, as asked, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-20).

We are all faced with this question as we stand in the place of sin. As we live in the world we must continually ask ourselves, “Who do you say Jesus is?” Who He is to you will determine how you live your life. If it doesn’t I ask you the question, “Who do you say Jesus is?” My friends, He must be more than a good thought, He must be the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This should impact our lives because it us upon this confession that Christ is building His Church. Be a builder for Christ!Our last stop was Dan, practically speaking this is the northern most city in Israel. This city was also full of Paganism. Here is where the Tribe of Dan was not satisfied with their land and compromised by setting up altars of worship to others Gods (Judges 18). To be honest, after Caesarea Philippi it was hard to take more teaching on paganism.  It made me wonder how numb I am to subtle compromises to pagan thought in our culture, it’s probably more than I realize. It made me want to study the text more practically and examine my life. I love to study for doctrine and theology but never want to compromise the practical. We have to believe right to live right but sometimes I focus more on the former. I want the practice of my life to reflect the text.

It was a heavy day in northern Galilee. 

As I stand on the text in the face of secular pagan culture and say to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God and I will live as a builder of Your Church.” Amen?