Getting Ready – Step #1 Read!

First of all, thanks for stopping by this little thing I’ve started. I’ve read so many well-wishes and words of advice for my trip to The Holy Land. Keep them coming!

One thing I’m hearing a lot is that your first trip to Israel can be overwhelming, so many sights and so much information that it’s hard to grasp it all. Many say they actually enjoy their second or third trips more.

While I certainly hope I’ll take more trips, I don’t know that for sure. So, I want to make this one count. This blog will help, I think, with keeping my thoughts together. But I also want to do my homework and be prepared.

So, my first thought, “Have I actually read ALL the gospels?” Sure, I went to Sunday School growing up and could tell you lots of stories and maybe even quote a few scriptures from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But have I actually read them, verse by verse, like a book? Probably not. So, that’s Step 1. Read the four books of The Bible that tell us the most about the historical life and death of Jesus. I am going to be walking the streets where these things happened very soon! I’m almost done with Matthew now.

Then, I headed where?…Barnes & Noble, of course, to ask the smart book people what I should read. The nice B&N man said “before we go to the travel section let me show you one thing.” It was “Walking The Bible”, a best-seller that looks at a visit to the Middle East from the perspective of the Old Testament, specifically the five books of Moses. With that one and a touristy Fodor’s Essential Israel, I’m out the door.

One more stop at a Christian book store for Kathie Lee Gifford’s “The Road, The Rock, and The Rabbi.” It was a suggestion from one of my travel group leaders. The book tells Gifford’s story of visiting many of the ancient sites I’ll see and what the Scripture tells us about them.

I’m a slow reader, so I’m glad I have almost a full-day of travel ahead of me! That’s probably what it will take to finish all of this. So, have you read any of these? And what would you suggest to prepare for a visit to The Holy Land? I’m listening and may have room for one more in my carry on.