Travel to Israel: Experience THE BOOK, Pt. 3

Jill FloodFeatured Articles

distanceTo read about the beginning of our Experience THE BOOK Tour CLICK HERE. Or simply start with today’s post and catch up later!

I’m not very athletic. I remember in sixth grade, the first time my phys. ed. teacher made the class run all the way around the track—400 meters. I started seeing spots and heard a loud roar in my ears. She made me bend over and put my head between my knees. Did I mention I wasn’t very athletic?

I had tried to run a sprint when I needed to pace myself for a longer distance. 

In my newsletters, we’re slowing down our pace to run the full distance of our Experience “THE BOOK” Tour of Israel that’s coming March 6-17, 2020. It’s called “THE BOOK” tour—the best-selling Book of all time, the Bible—because everywhere we go, everything we do will help us experience God’s Word more deeply. Since I hope my books also help you experience “THE BOOK,” we’ll explore some of the locations in my books’ and observe the climate, soil, animals, birds, and trees in them. 

If you missed Part 1 & 2 of our journey, CLICK HERE to see the first post. Or just keep reading Part 3 of our journey and catch up later! 

Day 5 – Traveling South 

After three glorious overnights at the Ma’agan Eden Kibbutz, we’ll enjoy another yummy breakfast before traveling south through the Jordan Valley. We’ll wind our way through the Judean Wilderness—like several of my characters did—except we’ll see the harsh landscape of mountains, rocks, broom bush, and sandy soil from a climate-controlled luxury bus.  

Do you remember two little girls taken captive to Samaria, who were released to a family member—the prophet Micah—in Jericho?  

We’ll pass that ancient city, so rich in culture, on our way to another city that played a major role in one of my books—Tekoa. Do you remember the woman who married a prophet and traveled from northern Israel to the prophets’ camp in Tekoa?

New Testament Sites 

We’ll also see the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus was led by the Spirit after his baptism to be tempted…  

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” Matthew 4:1-4 

Until I saw all the rocks in the Judean Wilderness, I never realized just how tempting this would have been for Jesus! SEEING this Land truly makes Scripture come alive! 

A little out-of-order, our next stop is Qasr El Yahud, considered to be the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.  

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” Matthew 3:16-17 

Twenty years ago, my husband baptized both me and my sweet mama in the Jordan. I can’t even express what a precious moment that was. 

Everyone in our group can choose to be baptized in the Jordan—the third body of water in Israel that we’ll experience. 

From Galilee to the Dead Sea 

Our final destination for the day will be Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The story of the scrolls’ discovery is fascinating. After hearing it, I bet you’ll never toss a rock without thinking of Israel!  

With full hearts, we’ll drop off our luggage at the David Dead Sea Resort & Spa, where we’ll enjoy a scrumptious dinner and share what the Lord did in our hearts. We’ve only rounded the first turn of this long-distance run through God’s Promised Land, so it’s off to bed before we continue our marathon through Israel (and Petra)! 

Contemplate the Real Experience 

On September 6th, we’ll be six months away from our life-changing, bucket-list journey. Six months to make space in your budget, to rearrange your work schedule, to invite a friend to travel with you if you’re traveling single (though we can help you find a roommate if you’d like). After that six-month mark (9/6), we need to make some decisions on airline and hotel space. Our cap is forty travelers, and I’d love to fill it to the brim. However, we don’t want to pay non-refundable deposits on reservations we won’t use. 

One of our group members has been to Israel 3 times already, but she knows each trip is different because of the guide and the family she gains with every group she travels with! The majority of our group are first-timers, people who will make life-changing spiritual discoveries together and build lifelong relationships while doing it. Whether you’ve been to Israel before or are considering your first pilgrimage, would you consider joining our “Experience THE BOOK Tour” family? 

We can take registrations until January, but if you’re seriously considering it, please reserve your spot soon with a refundable (less a $200 administrative fee) $500 deposit. CLICK HERE for more information or contact our tour director, Bev Henry, with your questions: bhenry@luxetm.com, or by phone at 714-512-8167. 

Everyone Can Pray & Share! 

If a journey to Israel isn’t possible for you right now, please join me in prayer for those who are considering it. We’re asking the Lord to provide finances, time off work, babysitters for the kids—and that all logistics fall into place—for those He’s called to participate in this adventure of a lifetime. 

Would you be willing to share this newsletter/blog post with a friend? Maybe someone who might enjoy a trip to Israel or entering to win a free copy of Isaiah’s Daughter? If you received this message in my newsletter, just click the “Forward to a Friend” tab at the top and enter your friend’s email address. If you’d like to share the blog, just copy and past the url into an email. We would so appreciate it! 

Want to read Part 4 of our journey? CLICK HERE.

Tweet-Ables!