I Read Too Much

Well, it has been 10 days since I came back from my trip and I am just now getting to the photos.  I have realized in the past half hour that I am not a photographer.  Now, don't misunderstand me, I have taken some amazing photos, BUT not of the things that I can still see in my minds eye.  There is so much I want to show and to share, and sadly I don't have the pictures to do so.  Therefore, I am going to show you a compilation of those that I did take as well as those that were taken by my fellow travelers and some that I had to regretfully copy from the Internet.  I think that the best part of these photos is that there is a story to tell.  This is a view of the hotel from the main road that runs behind it.   This was taken by Brad S.  These are random photos from outside the the hotel back.  You can't see this from the road that the first picture was taken from, but this is where the pool is located.  Since it is 'w...

Have you ever felt that life isn't fair?  Sure, we all have.  I think that is one of the first things a child learns; well at least growing up in my family it was.  It is funny how quickly we learn the truth about those who have and those who have not.  The life isn't fair "pill" is not easy to swallow as a child, but our parents and loved ones shoved it down our throats in such rapid succession that it became just another piece of candy.  Then you grow up.  Oh boy, you thought life wasn't fair as a child?!  I mean little Jane had the better Barbie doll, her bedspread had ruffles, they got to go on vacations, their car didn't have rust on it, etc, etc.  As an adult the have and have not in life takes on an entirely different dimension of epic proportions, but what do you do?  Simple - you buy it!   After all Jane is a Jones, and you have to keep up with her.  However, now it isn't a stupi...

They say that the road of life is paved with good intentions; which, in retrospect, accounts for all the potholes.  Here is about 2:30 on a Monday morning, and I'm just now getting back to this blog.  I have so much to share about the trip to Israel and yet, I haven't begun to explain it all.  My devotions this year have been focusing on "My Decade of Destiny"; this being the decade where I put God and His plans first in my life, that of course is after I recognize and accept what they are.  The truth of the matter is that I don't know.  Well, maybe I do and maybe I don't.  The easy and obvious goals are the same for everyone, it is the not so easy/obvious ones that I struggle with.  Yet the Lord has told us to bring it to Him; "Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." -Malachi 3:10 However, it is this omi...

NOTE: THIS POST WILL ONLY BE ABOUT THE JOURNEY NOT THE DESTINATION!!! Nothing amazes me more than the realization of distance.  This can be applied to almost anything; however, in this case I am speaking geographically. For instance, I am staying in Nazareth, where we all know, Jesus lived His boyhood years.  Today we took a tour to Jerusalem, this was nearly two hours from Nazareth by bus and we even took Route 6 which is Israel's equivalent to the autobahn. Think about this, in modern time this took us two hours, I cannot even begin to understand the amount of time that it took in Biblical times.  Nevertheless, here is the journey: A random sign along the way to Jerusalem. The trip started out about 815am.  For those who don't know; the country of Israel is divided.  There are places that are controlled by the Jews, the Arabs and the Palestinians. In order to get to Jerusalem we had to drive through a military check point in Samaria; as this is an ar...

Today I trained so much I thought I was going to loose my voice and my mind.  I do not think that my mind has ever been so thoroughly picked.  Now granted, this is the whole reason I am here, but I must admit it is not at all exactly what I was thinking.  This is NOT  a bad thing.  In fact, I had this immense fear that I was going to be sitting alone a bored senseless during the times that I was not training as I am not a programmer.  I am not one of those people who fix and/or create the applications, rather just teach the folks how to use them.  However, my miss conceptions have been greatly disproved.  I love this!  I have had the opportunity to help brainstorm new concepts with the developers, I have had the opportunity to test out and new features and also help people get to a place where they can actually begin to own and manage their processes because the systems they are receiving will afford them the ability to.  Now work has co...

There isn't much time this morning before the work day begins; a humble reminder to the reason in which I am here.  However, I can't help but to marvel at the beauty outside my hotel room.  It may not seem like much.  A road; some construction; homes; people going on about their daily lives; yet I think in all of that is the beauty.  How often do you wake up to think man what a day, I have this to do, or that to do, and the single focus is in the  completion of the tasks at hand?  But here I am, finished with my tasks and out there are those finished with theirs, and through all the differences I see the similarities.  We are all a people.  We are all wonderfully made.  We were/are all made for a purpose.  Not a single task driven person, was created without the expressed want of a God that loves.  Oh, there are times when humanness wins out, but at this moment, it all comes into a greater degree of focus.  Don't get me wrong, ...

Ok, so maybe this is day 2, but seriously the first one doesn't count.  After all, it consisted of flying in, checking in, getting a rental, driving 1hr 30min to the hotel, checking in, unpacking, showering, grabbing some real food, and going to bed.  But, I doubt that really matters.  Here's the good stuff! Note:  when setting your alarm clock for a work week in the middle east: 1) be conscious of the time change as the phone does not automatically adjust itself.  2) make sure you include Sunday, as work is not Monday - Friday, but rather Sunday - Thursday (with fingers crossed!). 3) you set the tone to be something so annoying that despite jet lag you still wake up with more than 15 minutes to go until you need to leave for breakfast. I woke up late today.  Yes, this happens, but all was well, we just arrived at the plant, umm, fashionably late.  Really, I don't know if the time is hard set, but I loathe tardiness - mom, don't choke reading this ...

This post is a day late in the making as I was simply too tired to do much of anything but plug this computer in and call home last night when we finally landed and arrived at the hotel.  This trip began at 130pm Friday 02.04.11 and ended roughly 24 hours later; add to that the 7 time zone changes and nearly 7000 miles of land covered, relatively speaking that is.  Anyway... I don't know how many of you reading this have ever flown before, but there is QUITE a difference between flying domestically and internationally, and I am not talking about the aircraft!  The main thing is the time.  Seriously, 12 hours sitting with the seat "reclined" (yes, this term is applied loosely as there isn't a scant bit of difference between it and the "full upright position"), with nary a bit of legroom, not only gives you a numb butt, but also, tingly toes. Follows is a chronology of sorts, compliments of my in flight travel guide! Ft. Wayne to Detroit - this was a 25 m...

Ok, so this is my version of the story, not Charles Dickens, though he did write a good book by the same title!  In six short hours I will be at the airport anxiously awaiting the first of my flights to a distant land.  A distant, far away land...ok, so I'm letting story books get me carried away.  To be truthful, this is like a dream come true.  I mean, would an opportunity like this ever really come my way, ever, on its own?  I don't know.  All I know is that I love the fact that my company gave me this opportunity and all I had to do was love what I do and do it with all that I am.  I have a wonderful job.  I love what I do.  I love making a difference.  Who would have thought that me; a spare parts loving, excel spreadsheet making, database junkie would get this chance!  But, here I am in awe and reveling in this surreal moment. But, this ever decreasing six short hours will go by fast, because I have yet to pack....