Dream Trip to Israel Part 9 (and other IMPORTANT stuff)

I’ve been back in the states for a little over a week now but I still reflect daily on my experiences in Israel. I taught at Frontline last Sunday night, taught the next night at the Frontline Arlington preview event, and then flew to San Antonio to teach at a young singles event called The Bridge. Without exception, I was bombarded by memories of the places we visited in Israel. Every time I read from a passage I saw in my mind’s eye the very places where these passages were fleshed out in reality.

My wife and I posted seven blogs about our experiences in Israel, but what you may not know is that for every site we included in our blog there were two more sites that we didn’t record! Here’s a list of the sites that we didn’t mention:
- Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee
- Baptisms of many on the trip in the Jordan River where Jesus Himself was baptized
- Mt. Carmel where the prophet Elijah had a showdown with the prophets of the false god, Baal
- A view of the city of Jerusalem form the famous Mount of Olives
- Springs of Gideon (Judges 7)
- Wailing Wall
- Visit to a museum to see the dead Sea Scrolls

I will say it again – GO! Save your money and take the trip! Have this holy experience while you’re young. I’m praying about the possibility of joining the trip next year. If I go again, will you join me?

I need to catch all of my loyal readers up on a few things:

1. I’ve created a monster - one that you all seem to love! Who knew? It all started simply enough. I was exhausted one evening in Israel and asked my wife to post the blog for the day. She, as always, was more than willing to help. Then it happened. The messages began to pour in…”More Julie!” and “Let her write the rest of the blogs!” and “What are the odds of two writers in the family?” So, I’ve asked Julie to pray about writing her own blog and she has agreed to do it! Your prayers have been answered and your demands have been heard . To subscribe to Julie’s blog just click on the following link – Julie’s blog - and enjoy! (If you have any trouble with the hyperlink, just cut and paste the following link into your web browser - blog.myspace.com/ipreacherwife.
2. I’m asking for prayer for a book project I’m working on with LifeWay Publishing. The book is a Bible Study written from the series I did a year ago called “The Least of These.” The due date for the final draft is December 7th and LifeWay will release the book in the spring. The title is “Get Uncomfortable: Serve the Poor. Stop Injustice. Change the World In Jesus’ Name.” My prayer is that this study will compel thousands of young adult to make a difference in their world for Christ. I’ll update you as things develop.
3. Lon Solomon, our senior pastor at McLean Bible Church, is coming to Frontline the first three Sundays in December to teach a three-week series on God’s Will. I’ve heard these messages and believe this will be a very powerful time of learning for all of us. So, keep Frontline on your calendar in December – I promise it will be worth it!

That’s it for now. Remember: save for Israel, sign up for Julie’s blog, pray for my new book project (please), and commit to attending Frontline the entire month of December! That shouldn’t be too hard!

Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net