October 28: Sea of Galilee

Rewind a bit to when Jesus feeds the five thousand men (don't forget that the women and children present were not even counted in this number). Everyone is reclining on the grass, satisfied by this feast of two fish and five loaves. Jesus tells the disciples to get in the boat and go before him on the other side so that he could dismiss this massive crowd. The crowd leaves and Jesus decides to walk up on the mountain to pray by himself. He's by himself when evening comes and sees that the boat is long-gone by now. 

And what does Jesus do?

He decides to do a little more walking... only, this time, Jesus is going to walk on water. Or rather, the Sea of Galilee.

The scene is quite different from the photos above. It's nighttime, the "wind was against [the disciples]" and the boat is beaten by the waves. Have no fear! Jesus is here. That's right. JD and I love reading this story. We can just imagine Jesus walking along the nasty, crashing waves that could take a boat down in an instant - and then Jesus faces the water with an attitude of: "Hey, guys. Ain't no thing but a chicken wing. (Deep South Translation)"

Seriously though. After being scared pants-less, Jesus tries to calm the disciples, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." He invites Peter to join him after Peter challenges Jesus by saying, "If it's really you, command me to come to you on the water."

Of course, Jesus does just that. "Come." Peter steps out of the boat, even walks on the raging sea and then... "Oh no!! The wind." Jesus has conquered the wind, the water, the waves. Because of his faith in Jesus, Peter even conquers the water and the waves, but the wind... That's where the doubt set in.

John Ortberg wrote a book entitled If You Want to Walk On Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. How true that title fits to our lives! People often criticize Peter for losing faith when he sees the wind, but he was the only disciple to actually get out of the boat, trusting that Jesus would keep his feet on top of the sea. How often is it that we don't even trust Jesus enough to take us out of the boat? Moreover, how often is it that we lose sight of Christ and BOOM. We collapse into the water because we shift our focus off Christ and onto the wind, or the obstacles in life.

Fear overcomes our faith. 

My favorite part of this story is that after Peter loses faith, he falls into the sea crying for Jesus to save him. Jesus reaches his hand out to Peter, saving him from the brutal waters and says, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Is that not one of the most beautiful portrayals of Jesus? He's showing compassion, grace, redemption, salvation, and mercy to a regular guy that just lost his focus for a bit. Praise God that He desires to save us and redeem us regardless of the countless times we doubt in our God of Salvation! 

The wind ceases and every man in that boat begins crying out in worship, "Truly you are the Son of God!!"


There are so many other wonderful stories about the Sea of Galilee. If you want to check it out, the passages about Jesus walking on water can be found in Matthew 14, verses 22-33. We realize that our posts are excruciatingly long so we're trying to render that. However, we want to lead you to some other passages that took place at the Sea of Galilee. You can check them out here:

• Jesus speaks to the multitude from Peter's boat (Mark 3:7-12, Luke 5:1-3)
• Jesus calms the storm (Matthew 8:23-27)
• Jesus appears here after the resurrection (Mark 14:28, John 21:1-23)

And a little quick fact about the Sea of Galilee... This fresh water lake has many names. However, the Israelites call the sea "Lake Kinneret", which means harp, because of its harp-shaped shoreline. Anyone else think it kind of looks like Africa too?... Or is that too far of a stretch?

He Gets Me.

Date: Thursday, April 19
Time: approx. 7 p.m.
Place: Publix Grocery Store

As we're strolling through the produce aisle, JD looks over and says, "Whit, I know you love having fresh flowers sitting out when we have house guests. Pick out a few bouquets. Theresa and Brandon will love it."

And there it was. My heart melted. Affirmation that, yes, my husband gets me. For the most part, he understands me and he is intentional about satisfying my wants when the opportunity knocks. We both realize that we will always have more to learn about one another and that we will never fully know one another.

But that's the journey of marriage.

The sweet journey can be heart-wrenching, in both a great and a terrible way. It's a journey of patience, understanding and surprises. We're constantly learning to love and to be intentional with one another.

Intentionality says, "Hey. I get you when nobody else does. I brought you these bouquets of assorted flowers - but not roses because I know you think they are too cliche."

Intentionality says, "I'll put these dishes up for her while she's not looking. It's my way of serving her and loving her even if she doesn't notice." (I always notice though... haha)

There are so many ways to simply love each other - date nights, chasing each other around the kitchen, leaving notes for each other in special places.

What are ways that you and your love act intentionally towards one another? 
How do you leave a mark of unpredictability in your relationship?


**We are super excited about Brandon and Theresa coming to visit this weekend!!! This will be their first time to see our home. Theresa is JD's sister and one of my best friends. Brandon is her husband, one of JD's college roommates and one of his best friends as well. Great families... that is a blessing. ;) 

October 28: Mount of Beatitudes

Simply amazing.

This place was much more beautiful than we thought it would be.

Bountiful gardens surround the church. We stood where Jesus preached about the Beatitudes, also known as the Sermon on the Mount. (See Matthew 5:1-12)

How cool is that? There is also a Roman Catholic Franciscan church that we got to enter. I felt a little weird because I was wearing my hiking shorts and there were signs that said guests could not enter the church if they have no sleeves, exercise attire or short shorts. I hadn't brought a change of clothes after our strenuous walking and hiking around the Bet She'an.

Note to Self: Pack a knee-length cotton skirt just in case you go to another site like this. 

The guys said it would be fine, so I trusted them and went in anyways. I'm pretty sure God cleared out the nuns for a few minutes so that nobody would deny my entrance.

It was quite peaceful in the church. JD and I sat on a pew and prayed together. We love praying as husband and wife. This church is a true place of reverence.

Stones lined the sidewalks with the beatitudes posted on each one. Out of all the stones that could have been missing a letter, this stone just had to be it. We couldn't believe it. With the heavy reverence of the site, this stone gave us a little comic relief. 

Aren't these gardens just stunning? Oh - what's that body of water peeking from below the surface?

Why that's the Sea of Galilee!

More on that next Tuesday.

Have we American-ized "Blessings"?

As a lead-in to our Mt. of Beatitudes post, we wanted to share you some real-time life ponderings in the world of Jitney...

I (Whitney) confess that until lately, have been terribly guilty of considering material things as blessings. Yes, I blame it, in part, on the American culture and even a little on the Southern culture. "Why, bless your little heart!" ;)

My sweet husband approached me the other day with a simple thought: Why do we consider a nice house or a hefty sum of money in the bank a blessing? What about people in Africa who have no shelter to sleep under but still praise Jesus for their blessings?

We ran to Matthew 5 - the documentation of Jesus teaching the multitudes about the Beatitudes.

Side Note: I always pronounced "Beatitudes" as "Beautitudes" until I was about 20 years old. It made sense that these teachings made one beautiful, right? Please tell me you've made that mistake too...

Basically, Jesus is saying that those who give of themselves for His glory, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, who are persecuted for His sake, who are pure in heart - those people are blessed. And what are they blessed with? The kingdom of heaven, comfort, satisfaction, mercy, the honor of being called the sons of God... a great reward in heaven. We don't see God promising a massive house, a super nice car, or even clothes (unless it's clothing of righteousness).

You are probably thinking: Well, what would you call my house? Or clean water? Or an overflowing bank account?

We're not sure. In fact, that's where we're at a standstill.

I personally think they are merely things that God has entrusted us with so that we may use those gifts in order to bring Him glory and declare His name. For example: If you have a house with lots of rooms, host a DNow weekend, adopt children to fill the rooms or serve as foster parents.

JD feels a little differently about it but our disagreements lead to some incredibly healthy arguments, so we're OK with that.

However, I was sharing our hearts with my friend and mentor Barbara here in Huntsville. She pondered on it for a couple of days and this is where God led her. It's a question / answer session with Billy Graham and we all agree that he hits the nail on the head with the ideas of "blessings"...

Question: My neighbor claims that God wants to bless us, and therefore if we just have enough faith He'll make us wealthy. Is this what the Bible teaches? If so, I must not have much faith. -- Mrs. H.G.

Answer: God certainly does want to bless us -- but the blessings He promises us aren't material, but spiritual. Nowhere in the Bible does He promise to make us wealthy if we'll just have enough faith. Remember: Jesus Himself was poor, and so were His first disciples. 

What are the blessings He promises us? The first is the blessing of forgiveness. Because of our sins we are separated from God and deserve only His judgment. We also live under a burden of guilt, because down inside we know we haven't lived the way we should. But when we come to Christ and trust Him as our Savior and Lord, God blesses us by taking away our sins and our guilt. The Bible says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). 

But God also promises us the blessing of new life -- new life right now, and eternal life in heaven. When we come to Christ, God Himself comes to live within us by His Holy Spirit, and He promises to begin changing us from within as we submit our lives to Him. Even when hard times come, we know He is with us and wants to help us. That is good news! 

Have you asked Christ to come into your life? If not, do so today. Then thank Him that He is with you every day, and that no matter what problems come your way, you can turn to Him for the wisdom and strength you'll need to meet them.

What are your thoughts on blessings? 

And, honestly, have you ever thought beatitudes was pronounced "beautitudes?" Please say yes. :)

"He is like a Tree Planted by Water..."

My absolute favorite part of last week was gardening with my parents... 

or rather, learning how to garden. They have this extraordinary fairy garden in their backyard. The base of the garden is an old iron cast bathtub from my grandparent's lakehouse at Lake Rabun in North Georgia. Isn't the entire garden just magical??

Here are a few close-ups of the fairies. Little kids LOVE playing in this garden, especially our little niece / cousin Emma Kate. Just precious. :)

This is Gnomeo and Juliet. JD and I really liked this movie but mom and dad had no idea who these little figurines were until we told them. :) Don't you love the little door? My parents are going to attach matching windows going up the tree to act like a castle.

Fast forward to this week and we end up at a nice little quiet time I spent with the Lord while waiting on the maintenance man to come hang up my new art project on the wall...

Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

First of all, did you catch that line where it says we are blessed if we not only trust in the Lord but actually transform our trust to be Jesus? I hadn't ever thought of it that way until reading this verse. It's a challenging thing, but so much more rewarding. When Jesus is our trust, we have absolutely nothing to be anxious about. For He is good. He is enough.

Secondly, I fear that I wouldn't have truly grasped verse eight if I had not spent the week gardening. God really knows when to place things in front of our eyes, huh? Dad taught me a lot about deeply planting the roots - especially tomato roots because they spread quickly with enough water. 

Think about that with a tree. 

If we are deeply rooted and planted beside the Living Water, we are going to grow in mighty ways through Christ's power alone. Better yet, fear will begin to disperse because we will have faith in knowing that our roots are deeply planted, spread widely and quenched by the Living Water of our Savior. 

We are so thankful for this Truth today. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

And here is our garden at the apartment!! :) 

{sigh}

I LOVE using fresh herbs and practically punch myself in the kneecap when I have to buy herbs at the grocery store. We left the herb garden (in the strawberry planter) at the bungalow when we moved, so we're thrilled to have it back home with us. Finally, fresh herbs without the cost! 

We're growing rosemary, chives, parsley, thyme, mint and basil. 

The box on the wooden pedestal is our tiny fairy garden. It's quite sweet.

And here's one more photo of mom for ya... 

The John Deere has always been an Adams Family staple. I can't remember a summer when she wasn't on this thing. And if she wasn't riding around the yard, picking up tree branches or rocks before my dad plowed through on the much bigger tractor, well... you would probably find me chugging along on it. 

Hope you're having a wonderful week!! 

Special Finds at The Cotton Depot

Is it in you?? The desire to find the hottest deals at the lowest prices... with the most history behind it? 

Here are the hottest things I found when antique-ing in Monroe, GA, at The Cotton Depot with my mom the week before Easter...

There is just something classic about an old rotary phone, no? This screams retro and America. Don't you love it? I had to part ways with it after snapping this photo because I have a lovely yellow one just like it (oh, but it would fit in so wonderfully with my light blue and red kitchen appliances!!). 

Old filing cabinet. 

Oh yes. I've been searching for something like this for a while. I just never expected it to be so perfect. This purchased jewel will be stored in my shabby chic office when we buy a new home. 

These pieces were created using photo frames and candlestick holders. Fantastic way to create a tiered look to those photos, word art creations or scrapbook paper accents!

This lady's booth is one of my favorites. She has such a beautiful way of organizing her products. Old suitcases such as the one above simply make my heart melt. Did I mention that my mom had a tiny tan one waiting for me (with a few inches of fabric for me to play with tucked inside) when I went to visit her and dad the week before Easter? She knows me so well. :)

{sigh} 

An old sewing machine head. This baby was only $22 but will probably never be able to work again without the sewing table and presser foot. I don't care. It's beautiful. 

One day, JD and I will buy an old typewriter to put in our home. We just have to find the perfect one. This one was close to it, but I had already maxed out the budget for my trip. How so? 

...Well, we'll show you that once we have it all settled and cozy in our home...

And finally, I couldn't resist sharing this absolutely striking photo of my mom walking her garden. 

Isn't she beautiful? 

We had the best time walking around their yard as mom pointed out each plant and the history behind it. Many of the plants have been pulled from her mother's and grandmother's yards, simply to be re-planted in my parent's yard. I look forward to the day my mom and Gingin pass down plants to us when JD and I move into our first house. 

Come back Thursday to see photos of my parent's yard and the magical little fairy garden they've created in an old rusty bathtub from my grandparent's lake house in North Georgia.

We Have No Choice but to Laugh in the Face of Unfortunate Events...

This week has been a super big week for us... not just because I went home to spend a few days with my family but mainly because JD and I were apart for four entire days and worse - three entire nights!! To some of you, this may not be a big deal - but it kind of shatters our hearts.

However, I was incredibly proud of my husband because every time we would chat via FaceTime (thank you Apple), a neatly made bed and clean apartment stood proudly behind him in the background. THAT is a good husband.

Ask us about our Google+ Hangout story the next time we see you (or you can email us). It went down in the Todd Family Book as the most embarrassing story yet. ;)

JD took me on a special date night to Landry's Seafood in Huntsville the night before I left for Atlanta. The prices there are pretty stinkin' ridiculous for the quality of food (not in the best way) but we were loving the Seafood Stuffed Jalapenos! 

I flew out of Huntsville and arrived in Atlanta Tuesday morning. 

Thank you, Delta SkyMiles.

Mom and I drove to Nordstrom Rack (oh yes!). 

I spent way too much money on clothes (oh no...).

I immediately sent a text to JD saying, "The charge was from Nordstrom. Fashion Show tonight via Google+. We'll decide what we need to take back." 

(If you haven't figured it out yet, this may or may not have a huge connection to our embarrassing moment...)

I must add here that we have bought maybe three or four articles of clothing since we've been married (celebrating our two years in May) so it would make sense to have a shopping spree... but we would rather distribute our money elsewhere. Nordstrom Rack just has such awesome deals though. Ugh. The battle. 

Side Note: I went today to take back some things. We cannot let our desires control us unless they are desires for good (clothes are definitely good, but not if we don't truly need them). Repeat. We cannot let our desires control us unless they are desires for good. Haha

Back to Tuesday's Pre-Catastrophic Events...

We had lunch with our precious friends Terri and Brittany Thurmond at O'Charleys.

I met dad at the mall for our daddy / daughter date. 

Yes. 

Going to see The Hunger Games (for a second time).

No. 

Twenty minutes into the movie, we feel our phones vibrating. 

Mom is calling. 

But she knows we're in the movie. 

Something must be wrong. 

Dad walks outside of the theater to call and check on her. She had gone to Publix, bought groceries, walked back to her car and it wouldn't start.

She's stranded.

 Nobody stopped to help her even though her hood was up and she was standing at her car. Two employees from Publix walk outside to help jump her car off but the manager told them they needed to go back to work. 

Customer Loyalty at its finest, I suppose. 

So dad and I jetted out of the movie and headed to Publix.

The sky went from cloudless to dark gray within minutes. 

Rain turned to hail and hail turned to loss of electricity in the stoplights. 

Mom's roast, eggs and milk will soon turn sour if we don't arrive soon. 

She leaves the car to get cold bags to store her food in. 

Forty-five minutes to an hour later, we arrive. 

No jumper cables. 

What? My dad is the absolute most prepared man I know. He taught me how to build a squirrel snare. He packed us a Go Bag in the case of disaster. No jumper cables? This is the most unusual day...

He drives to Target to get a new battery for mom's car. 

Oh. Target doesn't sell car batteries. 

He buys jumper cables instead. 

As it's charging, a man walks out of Publix and asks if we needed extra jumper cables. Why didn't he stop when he was walking into Publix when we didn't even have jumper cables attached... or jumper cables at all?

We finally jump off the car and drive to the house for the first time since I've been in Georgia.

That's where the photo on the bottom left of the montage above comes in... Dinner at the Japanese restaurant with my parents in Monroe. There was this awesome four-year-old little boy sitting at the hibachi table who entertained us more than the chef could even attempt. It was a special time that we adored. We hated JD couldn't be there with us.

 But JD and I talked on Google+ an hour later. Thus enters our embarrassing moment in which I will refrain from sharing via blog post.

This may have been the oddest day I've experienced in quite some time... but it made for the memory of a lifetime. 

And finally, the photo on the bottom right. This is Emmy. She and I have been best friends since we were two years old. In our childhood years, we did everything together - took dance classes, devoured mint chocolate chip ice cream in the wee hours of the night (i.e. 7 pm), performed in musicals (both on stage and in front of our home mirrors), fought over which Hanson brother we wanted to date and had the sweetest little tea parties that any little girl would dream of. 

Have I mentioned that I am infinitely grateful that God sent JD for me and Brian for Emmy as husbands instead of a Hanson brother?

She's getting married in August to a guy she has been dating for seven years (high school sweethearts) and came to visit for some wedding planning fun!! Her mother (one of mom's closest friends) and her sister-in-law joined us as well. 

JD and I have been blessed with some amazing long-term friends. We couldn't be more thankful for the friends we've made and those we've kept up with throughout the years!!

Stay tuned next week for a glimpse into my trip with my parents. Antiquing Finds and a Magical Garden Adventure....

Reel Time Thursday

We figured it was time to share some happenings of Jitney in real time by busting out a few recent reels of photos (oh yeah - we just pulled out the play on words). 

We've had some pretty cool stuff going on, but no worries - we'll get back to posting about Israel again soon. Gosh, this time-sensitive info sharing is tough stuff.

On the day of pinching each other and singing ole' Irish songs (St. Patty's Day), we got to help build this awesome ramp for a family in Huntsville. We worked with an organization called CASA of Madison County. 

Mission Statement: Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound is a non-profit agency located in Huntsville, Alabama that provides services to individuals age 60 and older and to the homebound (wheelchair and bed bound) of all ages. Our programs are designed to enable the elderly and homebound to maintain their independence, dignity, health and safety by providing services that specifically address their special physical and emotional needs. 

JD was offered the opportunity through his job. Like most of the time, I tagged along. :) You just can't beat working for a group of people who want to serve the community!

PS: Can you believe this team built the spectacular ramp in only a few hours? 

OH! And if you're concerned that we didn't celebrate St. Patrick's Day... don't worry. I took some advice on a date night from The Dating Divas. Their site is the go-to place for all things dating!! And yes, we strongly advocate dating your spouse after the wedding day on a VERY consistent basis (we celebrate Date Night once a week). 

We realize it's a little late, but what did you do for St. Patrick's Day? Any luck of the Irish come your way?

October 28: Capernaum

We placed the map below to help you envision the country of Israel. The big star is Tel Aviv (our home base) and the little star is placed on Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee. 

We only drove through Capernaum so we didn't do much sightseeing. It was beautiful though. JD and I would like to go back and actually spend time there, reading different parts of scripture together and walking around.

Capernaum is a pretty epic place.

It was Jesus' next destination after leaving Nazareth. In fact, Capernaum was the central location of Jesus' ministry for the last 18-20 months of His life on earth. It was here that Jesus told Simon and Andrew, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." In other words, this is where Jesus gathered His group of disciples and called them to action (Matthew 4 and 9).

Jesus performed more miracles in Capernaum than any other location, including:

• Healing a man with an unclean demon in the synagogue (Luke 4:31-37)
  "Be silent and come out of him!" Jesus rebukes the man who is mocking Him. We love when Luke describes the witnesses by saying, "They were amazed and said to one another, 'What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!'" Luke says that Jesus' word astonished the crowd, for it possessed authority. Instantly, the grapevine started growing into every place in the surrounding region with people talking about what they had seen. That is Jesus. Our Savior with power and authority. Is your soul stirring yet?
  
• Healing Simon's mother-in-law, and then many (Luke 4:38-41)
  How beautiful is this story? It seems to be early morning ("and he arose") when Jesus walks into Simon's house and finds that Simon's mother-in-law has a high fever (Jesus probably knew about Simon's mother-in-law prior to walking into the house, since it's Jesus and all). Jesus heals her and "immediately she rose and began to serve them (vs. 39)". No recovery phase or anything like that. She just gets up and actually begins serving them, offering them some hot tea and crumpets (well, the latter part may not be 100% accurate). Then the sun is setting (a full day) and people began bringing sick and demon-possessed friends and family to the Son of God. And He touches and heals every one of them (vs. 40). That is Jesus. The ultimate Healer.
  
• Healing a centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13)
  In case you're wondering, a centurion is the commander of a century in the ancient Roman army. But seriously? Have you read this story lately? Here comes the centurion, asking Jesus to heal his servant who is laying in bad - paralyzed - and suffering terribly. And Jesus is like, "Sure. I'll come to your house." But no. The centurion says he is not worthy of Jesus entering his home. Instead, how about Jesus just say the word and his servant will be healed, with miles between them. Even Jesus is marveled by this man's faith and tells the centurion, "'Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.' And the servant was healed at that very moment. (vs. 13)" That is Jesus. The One who responds to our faith by being faithful. 

These are a few among many accounts of Jesus' miraculous healings. Here are a few more miracles that Jesus fulfilled in Capernaum in case you want to check them out:

• Matthew 9:18-26 - Jesus raises a woman from the dead
• Matthew 9:20-22 - Jesus heals the woman who suffers from a discharge of blood
• John 4:46-54 - Jesus heals an official's son

Thoughts...


In many of these stories, Jesus responds to believers by saying, "Take heart, your faith has made you well. (Matthew 9:22)" We are baffled and encouraged by these believers with such immovable faith.


Has Jesus ever responded to your prayers in this way? 


When you talk to Jesus and ask Him for healing (not just physically, but emotionally or spiritually), do you have absolute faith in Him that He will heal you? 


What's holding you back from surrendering completely to Him and trusting that He will be faithful to your needs? 

October 28: Bet She'an National Park

Whew! October 28th was an exciting but very long day. So long, in fact, that we will be breaking the day into four different posts.

(1) Bet She'an National Park
(2) Capernaum
(3) Mount of Beatitudes
(4) Sea of Galilee


We now welcome you to...

Bet She'an National Park is the site of over 400 archaeologically-excavated acres from the Byzantine period. The ruins include the ancient city of Bet She'an-Scythopolis and the imposing Tel Bet She'an. Excavations were first carried out in Bet She'an in the 1920s; yet archaeologists have only uncovered about one tenth of the city's area.


If you are planning on going to Bet She'an solo (not in a tour group), we must warn you that the actual ruins are difficult to find even after you walk through the park's entrance. You can either take the free route and walk down hidden paths, through bushes and trees - OR you can ride the tram for a small fee. We recommend the latter, seeing as we wasted quite a bit of time trying to find the place on our own.

This 7,000 seat Roman Theater was built in the 21st century. The Bet She'an theater is known as the best-preserved ancient theater in Israel. All plays occurred in daylight, when the metropolis was the busiest. Though the walls were built in order to block out distractions from the busy city outside of the theater, can you imagine how loud the actors had to speak in this massive theater? 

The lovely columns of Bet She'an.

The Western Bathhouses

1. The bathhouse toilets - the bathhouse provided public toilets. The toilets pictured here are the remains. Toilet "paper" was a soft leaf attached to a twig. A channel of running water under the seats afforded drainage. 
2. Outlook into Western Bathhouses
3. Entrance to Bathhouses - some of the facilities, such as this, faced an open courtyard paved with mosaic floors.
4. We're pretty sure this was the king's latrine quarters. Don't hold us to that.
5. Model of the Bathhouse - the bathhouse included a swimming pool, massage rooms, public toilets, and other conveniences.

1. The outlook over Bet She'an. We had to climb many steps to get to this point. Well worth it! This, of course, was at the end of the hike. 
2. Sigma - a semicircular concourse of the Byzantine period, referred to as the Sigma in an inscription found at the site, surrounded by rooms opening onto it.
3. Colored mosaics were displayed on the floors of the rooms. This one depicts Tyche, guardian goddess of the city, wearing a crown of city walls and holding a cornucopia.

We spent about three hours navigating the ruins. We made one last stop at the gift shop and ate schwarmas before we left for next destination: Capernaum. 

Shwarmas, by the way, are wrapped like the Greek gyros but only include lamb (no beef). The lamb is normally sliced from a 3-foot tower of racked meat. I ate a falafel schwarma (no meat). The falafel is basically a hushpuppy, except made out of chickpeas. They put hummus, coleslaw and tomatoes in the schwarma. 

What about you?

Do you think you could act on a stage like that... and be heard?

What fascinates you the most about past eras and excavated ruins? 

Have you ever had a version of a schwarma? What were your thoughts?