The Saturday Six

One.

This was a fun article I stumbled across this week. If you like to thrift and need a side job...seems like this lady has quite a nice little hustle going on!

Two.

There's a huge house a few miles from where I grew up, but it wasn't the big old house that fascinated me. It was the little old cabin in the yard beside it. I always thought it would make a fascinating writing studio. This isn't an exact match, but it's similar, and even though the designer uses it for her primary residence, I'd still turn it into the coziest library/studio ever! 

Three.

If you're an Indiana person looking for some new local places to try (specifically if you enjoy good root beer), here's a list! I've been to one of the eight. LOL. Guess I have some catching up to do!

Four.

I read on Facebook this week that it's been ten years since friends of mine from college began to walk an excruciating road. Their almost-five year old son lost part of his leg in a lawnmower accident. Ten years. I remember reading the news and praying with them for his physical and emotional healing. This week, they shared again the link to the blog they wrote back then. Quite an amazing journey. It's been a joy to see Bryson grow and thrive in this last decade!

Five.

When Ryan and I were on our "P" date over in Marion last week, we ran into a couple in the park who told us about some upcoming events that are free and open to the public. I wanted to share this one in case you're in the general vicinity and want to check it out! On Saturday, September 9, from 1-5 p.m. there's a Monarch Festival at Matter Park in Marion. They have some programs and demonstrations scheduled, monarch tagging (I didn't even know that was a thing, but it is! They tag monarchs and release them and then track their migratory route to see how many make it to Mexico!) and even an ice cream social. So if you're looking for some fun for your kids or yourself, there you go!


Six.

Source

I really branched out with my book reading this week! John A. Beck has just released a book called The Holy Land for Christian Travelers. Even though I am not personally planning a trip to Israel, I though this book looked intriguing, because I wanted to see what I could learn about the geography and customs of that area!

First, I thought the book was very easy to understand, and I appreciated that. It wasn't so academic that it ran over my head. Anytime he did explain something complex, he did so quite thoroughly. There are full-color photos throughout the book, and there are also many maps that help you get a better sense of distance and location.

John said something in the introduction to the book that really set the tone, I thought: "As you explore this land, you will quickly see that the Bible is at home here. And you will become more at home in your Bible as you travel the promised land." (p. 13). Even though I may never get to see this land in person, it does help me have a better sense of the area as I read and study Scripture on my own!

At the beginning of the book, the author explains that if you are traveling to Israel, the number of places you will get to see are (obviously) subject to the length of time you plan to stay. He offers three potential itineraries: three, five, and twelve days in length, to help you space out what you should see in the amount of time you have.

He provides addresses, hints on whether or not a particular site has fees associated with it, and a warning about dress code if you need to be careful what you wear to make sure you are respectful to the reverence of a particular area. Also, for travelers, he varies the amount of information he shares about each site depending on whether or not it's a "must-see" location or not, and how much on-site information is shared for visitors to read while there.

He then divides the book geographically, offering a section to Jerusalem itself, Jerusalem and beyond, the coastal plain, and the central mountains (divided by south, central, and north). This division choice helps you quickly find a location if you're there and needing to see more about your surroundings.

But even if you aren't there, this book is very helpful in tying in events from the Bible (he gives Scripture references to back everything) to modern day locations. He explains which locations are likely the actual place something happened in Bible times and which ones are just traditional celebrations of a Bible event, even if we don't know where it actually happened. While much of the writing is factual and explanatory, he does tie in some teaching, by urging you to reflect on certain portions of Scripture and what each place means to it.

I learned about locations that I hadn't even realized were significant, and I learned more about locations that I knew about, but maybe didn't fully know about.

I'm keeping this book on my shelf for study reference, and if I ever happen to make it to Israel, it would definitely be a guide to take with me!

** Baker books provided a copy of this book to me at no charge. All opinions are my own. **