The results of the 2021 elections

 So, I meant to post this blog last week, but I couldn't... because the results are still inconclusive. 

As of right now, there is no clear winner of Israel's 4th election in 2 years. In order for seated Prime Minister Netanyahu's party to win, he needs a majority of 61 out of 120 seats in Parliament. Right now, he's only at 52. All votes have been counted, and at this point, if he can't convince 9 more seats to come over to join him, there is no winner. Which means... Israel could have another election in August 2021. 

On a Telegram message on March 24, Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati said something interesting: 

What do you think about the result of Israel's 2021 elections? What do you think will happen? It will be interesting to watch!

*article from I24 news

Another election?

Israel will have its 4th election in 2 years next week. 

Just 12 months after the elections in 2020, after which a unity government was formed, Israel is heading back to the polls. After personally living through a presidential election in Argentina in 2019, then the 2020 election (and January 5 GA run-off) in the States, the word "election" makes me tired. And maybe triggers some PTSD. I can only imagine what it's like to head back earlier than planned—multiple times! 

Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be re-elected? Or will his rival, Benny Gantz, win? Or someone else entirely?

We'll be watching to see what happens on Tuesday, March 23! Check back next week for more details on who won and what that means for Israel!

Shocking news from Israel!

Yesterday, I saw 3 SHOCKING stories come from Israel. Are you ready for this?

WOW! 

I'm still in shock over the 4 that happened, and there might be 4 more peace deals between Israel and Arab nations on the way! Based on this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, I'm going to guess: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Mauritania. WOW! WOW! And I don't think these will be brokered by another nation, which is even more astounding! I am definitely going to stay tuned for this!

Here's the 2nd story that caught my attention. Because I LOVE archeology, I definitely dorked out over it:

In the "Cave of Horror" in the Judean Desert, which earned that name because the only way to enter is by repelling 80 meters down (263 feet!) from a cliff into it, they found 2000-year-old Biblical texts (the first since finding the Dead Sea Scrolls!), a basket dating back 10,000 years, coins also almost 2,000 years old, and the skeleton a child dating back 6,000 years. 

• Of the scroll fragments, the article states: "The scroll was written in Greek, but God’s name appears in paleo-Hebrew. It contains passages from the Minor Prophets, including Nahum." This is the first find since the Dead Sea Scrolls!
• Of the basket, it says, this is said to be "a 10,000-year-old exceptionally well-preserved basket which experts say might be the earliest item of this kind ever uncovered." I don't quite understand this, as the earth is only about 6,000 years old. But the dating of the coins and scroll fragments is unmistakeable.
• The coins date back to the Bar Kochba Revolt in 70 AD.
• Of the mummy, he or she was so well preserved because of the desert conditions but also by his or her wrapping and burial. To me, this is evidence of how loved he or she was. And while it is heartbreaking to read and imagine, that is comforting.

And for the 3rd story... this isn't so much shocking as good news, it looks like Israel might be the first nation to emerge into a post-Covid world. They are even talking of opening up tourism in April!

What do you think of these 3 amazing stories from Israel? Let me know in the comments below!

From Nominal Muslim to Christian Author

 Last week, I heard an interview by Susie Larson of author Tessa Afshar, and wanted to share it with you.

The interview was about Tessa's book, Daughter of Rome, my favorite of hers, and the incredible couple of Aquila and Priscilla. I spoke more about them in this blog on July 27, 2020. It again really brought their story alive to me to understand with better context what was really going on in the lives of this couple in the Early Church.

But for the last 10 minutes of the podcast, Tessa spoke more about her story, being raised in Iran, moving to England, and then the US, and what it was like coming to Christ from a nominal Muslim context. How incredible! Her story is so good that I wanted to share it with you here. It was blown away by the goodness of God and the power of her testimony of this woman who now writes Biblical fiction. I think it will bless you too! You can listen here on Apple podcasts and here on Google Podcasts. 

Let me know what you think below in the comments!

2000-year-old tree bears fruit—for the first time!

Remember this story?

Well, Methuselah's story isn't over!

According to this February 27, article from Behold Israel, Methuselah, who was in fact a 'male' tree and cannot produce fruit. However, 6 more seeds were painstakingly revived and were given the names Adam, Jonah, Uriel, Boaz, Judith, and Hannah. Then, Methuselah was used to cross-germinate Hannah, and the result was...

111 dates!

Which means, that these dates are as close as we can get to tasting what a 1st century person did when eating from a date palm. It's still different because of so many factors, like soil quality, air quality, etc. But still, can you imagine? This is what Jesus and the disciples would have tasted in the desert.

WOW! 

The stories that seed could tell...

The Lesson of Masada

Remember the story of Masada?

In December, Behold Israel posted a teaching straight from this incredible place. I was mesmerized watching it, so I wanted to share it here!

If you have half an hour, it's worth every second. Amir Tsarfati did an amazing job telling the story and making it relevant to our lives in 2020.

Click here to watch (and please let me know what you think)!

Newest Archaeological Finds in Israel

Have you heard about these new incredible discoveries?

A 1500-year-old inscription of 'Christ, born of Mary' was uncovered in Northern Israel in the doorway of what was a Byzantine church! Christianity Today says that while the stone and building were 1500-years-old, the doorway itself dates to the 5th Century B.C—proving again the practice of re-using existing materials and building around them. How cool!

If that wasn't amazing enough, here's another one:

WHOA- A royal seal was found that can be linked to King Hezekiah, who lived over 2,700 years ago! Click here or on the image below to watch the video about it. Amazing! Being such a history dork that I am, this kind of news makes me SOOOOOOOOOOO excited!

But, that's not all!

Recently in Timna, Israel, purple fibers were found dating to King David's reign! (Approx. 1000 B.C.) As this is an extremely rare find, this is really exciting!

What do you think of these amazing new discoveries? Let me know in the comments below!

The Marcus Ryker Series by Joel C. Rosenberg

Speaking of peace treaties between Israel and Muslim nations, have you read the Marcus Ryker Series by American-Israeli author, Joel C. Rosenberg?

I just discovered this author in January, so reading these books were a lot of fun! Actually, I only read the first 3 because The Beirut Protocol does not release until March 9 (and I really hope that is the last book in the series, because I want to know what happens!).

It's been incredible to read, however, because it's like seeing the pages of current events and recent history come to life, but in a different way, as Rosenberg clearly states in author's notes that these are works of fiction. However, throughout the novels are references (and events related to) the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, a real-life event. Book 2, The Persian Gamble , talks about a close relationship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (this was written and published in 2019, well before the real-life August 2020 peace treaty). And then, Book 3, The Jerusalem Assassin, not only is set mostly in Israel, but deals with the topic of a possibly peace treaty between.... get this.... Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

Written long before its publication date, the author had no way of knowing officially of all the peace deals that have happened since August 2020. However, I would say that the most shocking of all would be one with Saudi Arabia, and Rosenberg totally went for it in this series. I am so here for this! And now I have to wait for Book 4, which seems cruel, haha. 

If you love political and military action fiction set in real-time, then this series might be for you! You can find all of Joel C. Rosenberg's books here on Amazon... needless to say, I'm going to be reading a lot more of his novels!

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and Kosovo!

 Did you see this?

Kosovo, in what was predicted in 2020, is now officially normalizing ties with Israel! However, this is especially significant, because Kosovo is a Muslim state that will put their embassy in Jerusalem (effectively recognizing Jerusalem as the capital), while the countries who normalized relations with Israel in 2020 put their embassies in Tel Aviv (still a big deal!). 

In fact, Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel says this of this historic news: Although it is officially a secular state, the population is 96% Sunni Muslim. Thus, this is another example of a Jewish and an Islamic nation coming together in peace.

 
As a result of normalizing their relationship, Israel and Kosovo anticipate swapping embassies in the near future. This is where a double miracle is revealed. First, when the Kosovo embassy opens, it will be in Jerusalem. Imagine that – a Muslim country placing its embassy in the holy city of Jerusalem. Bahrain and the UAE have established embassies, but theirs are in Tel Aviv. Kosovo, however, is recognizing Jerusalem as the true capital of the Jewish nation. The second miracle is the fact that Kosovo, as a European country, has chosen Jerusalem for their embassy. This goes firmly against the stand of the European Union (EU). Kosovo is taking a major risk by making this move. They have been approved as one of six Western Balkan countries to potentially achieve accession to EU membership in 2025. Placing their embassy in Jerusalem could put this placement in jeopardy.

Wow!

I honestly wondered if the normalizing of relationships between Israel and Muslim States would end after January 20, 2021, because these were brokered by President Trump, and President Biden's agenda for the Middle East is different. I'm thankful this one continued on!

What do you think of this latest news? Please let me know in the comments below!

In Memory of My Oma

Last Sunday, we got the call no one wants to hear: “Oma isn’t doing well. It would be good if you came soon.” She battled for 2 more days, and this morning, joined her husband, parents, brothers, and beloved dog, Heidi, when she went home to be with Jesus at 90 years young.

Oma was a warrior, a woman of both the Word and prayer. Born in Germany in 1930, she survived WWII and then met the love of her life, our Opa, from Puerto Rico, while he was serving in the Allied forces occupying Germany post-war.

After they married, she emigrated to a new country, while her husband continued to serve. In all, through more international and cross-country moves, she raised 4 children, who gave her 8 grandchildren and, so far, 5 great-grandchildren.

When Opa’s health started failing, I was in college and later moved away, eventually to spend 2 years in Argentina. From afar, I watched and heard of her faithful care of my grandfather as his health declined for more than 10 years. Her commitment to him was formidable; an example of what it means to care for someone else no matter what. When he passed in 2019, I was sad for myself, but even more for her, who had lost a spouse of almost 70 years. It still boggles my mind... I was in college when I realized that my grandparents had a biracial marriage in the 1950s- to me they were always just Oma and Opa, from Germany and Puerto Rico. They had a love that lasted through the ages, despite hardship and war, different languages, cultural differences, and everything in between- because it was grounded in their shared faith. And their story is extraordinary because of their awesome God.

We share a love of dogs, and, some of my favorite, most recent memories are of taking Annie over to see ‘her Oma’. I can quote so many of her German phrases, even though I have no idea what they mean, but the greatest legacy of all that she left everyone in our family is deep, great, unwavering faith.

I’m on Susie Larson’s “daily blessing” email list, and when I saw the one posted on my birthday but sent via email yesterday, I didn’t want to read it. Oma was still here, but we knew her time was short. Today, after hearing the news of her passing, I went to finally read it.

I can’t wait for the day when I am there with her, experiencing this- with our beloved dogs and family together again- in eternity with Jesus. She always called me “Angel”; I most definitely am not one, but one day we will sing with them together.

*first pic from Christmas 2011

Of Fire and Lions by Mesu Andrews

Of Fire and Lions, by Mesu Andrews, is a fictional depiction of what some of the Israelites could have experienced from the time of Babylon's first invasion of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. under King Nebuchadnezzar all the way to King Darius' allowance for a group to go rebuild the temple 70 years later.

But before we explore the book, can we talk about this GORGEOUS cover? #coverlove

Andrews chose a really interesting time period to explore in this book, focusing it around Daniel and his contemporaries, best known by their non-Jewish names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Told through the alternating view points of Daniel and a female character named Abigail/Belili, the reader travels with the first wave of Jewish captives from Jerusalem all the way to Babylon and beyond. 

For me, the best part is seeing the most well known stories of Daniel put into a narrative, from his friends being thrown into the fiery furnace, King Nebuchadnezzar's transformation into a beast, the lions' den, and the hand writing on the wall. Because this is the first novel I've read dealing specifically with this part of Israel's history, it was so fun to explore it all in story form. I found myself captivated by the story, looking forward to the events still to come as I turned each page. 

If you love Biblical fiction, I definitely recommend this book. Click here to find it on Amazon!

Chosen by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Last week, I re-read a beloved series from the 1990s, the Full Circle Series by Lisa Tawn Bergren. It's a fun series because each book is set in an incredibly picturesque (and adventurous!) location, and the main characters of each novel are loosely connected to each other (a relative, friend, or roommate of the heroine/hero of the previous book... hence, a full circle). 

Even though I've read this series many times, I'd forgotten the setting of book 5: Israel!

(it has a different cover on Amazon, but this is the cover I have)

Like I said, I'd completely forgotten about this book! But in addition to describing so many places I visited on my first trip to Israel, it reminded me of A Chosen People novels by Robert Whitlow and all I've been reading about the conflict and dynamics of Israel and Palestine. Like Hana in A Chosen People, the main character is a Christian Palestinian woman, and she has one of the most fascinating jobs (to me!) ever: a biblical archeologist!

For me, it's all so incredible to explore, but the dynamics of a Palastinian Christian biblical archeologist- WOW!

So if you've ever wanted to join to a dig (at the Temple Mount!) in the heart of Jerusalem (#goals), and have an incredible adventure, all while exploring the culture and issues and modern day Israel, this is definitely the book for you!

You can buy it here on Amazon (Oh, and while reading the whole series will give you the #fullcircleeffect, you don't necessarily have to read the other books in the series to read this one- although I do recommend them all... ESPECIALLY book 4. Don't get me started on that one!)!

The Scribe by Francine Rivers

The final book of Francine Rivers' Sons of Encouragement series, The Scribe, is probably my favorite.

The Scribe follows a person we really don't know that much about: Silas. The book itself follows his view of Paul's ministry from mid-end of Acts, and to me, it is fascinating. 

I loved the storytelling of this novella, as short as it is. My favorite part is her suggestion of Silas' possible other appearances in the Bible: as the rich young ruler who challenged Jesus, one of the two men walking the road to Emmaus after Jesus' crucifixion... maybe even the writer of Hebrews. Who knows? We don't... but God does. It'll be fun to figure out one day. As it is, it was fun to consider that possibility through this Biblical fiction.

If you love Francine Rivers, or anything having to do with the early church, this is a great read! Click here to find it on Amazon!