Wednesday 21 February 2018

Israel - Nazareth and Galilee | TRAVEL

Just as day one had began, day two started bright and early overlooking the ocean from our hotel. Today our tour was the Biblical Highlights of Galilee! Once we had picked up everyone in the small bus we began the drive towards our first stop; Nazareth. Nazareth is know in the bible as the town where Jesus grew up. Just as Jerusalem is, Nazareth is situated on top of hill about 320 metres above sea level. While here we visited 2 churches; The Church of Annunciation and St Joseph's Church. The Church of Annunciation is the largest Catholic church in the Middle East and is believed to be built on the home of Mary. It is also where the angel Gabriel appeared to her to tell her she was going to have a baby named Jesus - The Son of God. The front door of the church shows and tells of major events in Jesus' life. Inside it is simple but decorated with beautiful stained glass windows. Downstairs is the grotto of the Annunciation. This contains the remains of a house believed to be Marys childhood home. The walls of the upper level are covered with mosaics of many different countries depictions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. There are also mosaics in the courtyard of the church. St Joseph's Church is only a short walk away and is significantly smaller but just as admirable.











We continued on to our next stop of the day; Capharnaum. Capharnaum was a fishing village along the Sea of Galilee. It is known for being the hometown of Simon Peter, one of Jesus' Disciples. It is also the town in the bible where Jesus performed a great deal of miracles that are noted throughout the gospels, such as, healing the man with an unclean spirit (Luke 4:31-36), healing a servant close to death (Luke 7:1-10), healing Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15) where Jesus calmed the winds and sea after the disciples were scared (Matthew 8:23-26), where Jesus heals a paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8) and where Jesus raised from the dead a young girl (Matthew 9:18-26). Today it is full of ruins from the ancient civilisation. Excavation has revealed a late 4th century AD synagogue which they have named the 'White Synagogue" after the white stones used for its construction. It is among one of the oldest synagogues in the world. The building consists of four parts: the praying hall, the western patio, a southern balustrade and a small room at the northwest of the building. The praying hall faces towards Jerusalem which is how it had been identified as a synagogue. One of the ruins in Capharnaum is concluded to be the house of Peter. Two memorial churches have been built over the ruins as preservation. 







Before lunch we stopped in Tabgha, another seaside village along the Sea of Galilee. Tabgha once again is another significant town in the bible; it is the site where Jesus fed the 5000 (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44). Other biblical events that took place in Tabgha include; the calling of the first apostles (Mark 1:16-20), the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:1), healing of the leper (Matthew 8:1-4) Jesus walking on water (Mark 6:45-52), meeting with Peter and his companions after the resurrection (John 21:1), the last appearance of Jesus in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20).




After we had our lunch we hit the road again for our final stop of the day; Yardenjt - The Jordan River.
'At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, He was Heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from Heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased."' Mark 1:9-11.
The Jordan River is a site visited by Christians all over the world, many of whom wish to be baptized in the same location as Jesus. The river runs from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea in Palestine and is the longest river in Israel. With such a spiritual significance I feel so lucky to have been able to visit such a beautiful location.






We arrived back into Tel Aviv early so we decided to have dinner on the beach watching the sunset. A peaceful end to a wonderful day.




To be continued...

Thank you for reading!

God Bless,
Amber x

Tuesday 6 February 2018

Israel - Jerusalem and Bethlehem | TRAVEL

Israel is a country I have always had an interest to visit but due to the conflict in and surrounding Israel I never imagined I would ever go. When the opportunity arose for us to go, Aaron and I took the chance of a lifetime, jumped on the plane and went! I could tell this trip was going to be a special one.

We arrived into Tel Aviv late Sunday evening and went straight to bed in preparation of our first excursion to Jerusalem and Bethlehem the following day.

We woke up bright and early and went for breakfast in the hotel. We sat outside in the morning sun overlooking the sunrise on the beach. Today was going to be a great day! We hopped on the bus bright and early in pursuit of Jerusalem.


Along with many towns and cities in Israel, Jerusalem is situated on a hill with outstanding views of the valleys beneath. I was amazed at how the new and old architecture came together in such a way that gave the city an incredible atmosphere.


Our first stop for the day was the Old City which is surrounded by a 5000 year old wall within the modern city of Jerusalem. The Old City is divided into Quarters; the Jewish Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Muslim Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. Our tour began in the Christian Quarter where we followed the Via Dolorosa up to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Via Dolorosa is believed to be the path in which Jesus walked with the cross on his way to his crucifixion. There are 9 stations within the Via Dolorosa where a significant event happened during Jesus' walk to Calvary. The remaining 5 are within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.




The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is arguably one of the holiest sites in the Christian faith and is believed to be built upon Golgotha/Calvary; the location in which Jesus was crucified. The Church itself is not an extravagant work of art like others such as St Paul's Cathedral in London or the La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but it holds a spiritual significance which can be seen and felt throughout the building. Just inside the entrance is the Stone of Anointing which many believe is the rock where Jesus' body was washed and prepared for burial. To the right of the entrance is a stairway that leads to Calvary. This has been transformed into an Alter that is covered in gold and extravagantly decorated. Jesus' Tomb is also within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and is located in and to the left, but unfortunately we did not have time to queue for an hour or so to see that. Walking through the Church I felt a such a rush of emotions that could not be explained and the presence of God was so apparent. It is an experience I will never forget.




We continued through the aromatic markets of the Muslim Quarter to the Western Wall in the Jewish Quarter.





The Western Wall is the only wall still remaining from the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple and is the holiest site in which Jews are permitted to pray. The Second Temple replaced Solomon's Temple after it was destroyed and is said to have housed the 10 Commandments. What an amazing place to be able to experience another culture and religion in such a holy setting.



After lunch we continued our day onto Bethlehem. As many know in the Christian faith (or from Christmas carols), Bethlehem is the town where Jesus was born. Today it is a Palestinian city located in the West Bank of Palestine with the population consisting of 90% Arabic and 10% Christian. Our little time in Bethlehem was spent going through the biblical sites such as the Nativity Church and the Church of St Catherine. As the Nativity Church was under construction we couldn't see much due to the scaffolding so we didn't stay long. That meant our last stop of the day was Sanctae Catharinae (translated to the Church of St Catherine) which is a more modern church with a beautiful courtyard to the front of the building. The perfect way to end such a special and memorable first day in Israel.





To be continued...

Thank you for reading!

God Bless,
Amber x

Notes:
All photos taken with an iPhone 6s.
Dress: Boohoo

Thursday 1 February 2018

Liebster Award | Q & A

I have been nominated for a Liebster Award by Tiffany from Red Wine and Blue Mom!! It is such an honor to be nominated for something as sweet and kind as this and what a fun way to connect and develop friendships within the blogging community!


The Liebster Award was created by The Global Aussie and 'is an award given to bloggers by other bloggers. In German, Liebster means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.' It was created to connect and support the blogging community.

Firstly I would like to thank the lovely Tiffany from Red Wine and Blue Mom for kindly nominating me! Her blog is all about motherhood, cooking, inspirational posts and everything in between. On top of all this she is an exceptional blogger and writer! Don't just take my word for it, click here to find out for yourself!

The way the Liebster Award works is:
  • Another blogger nominates you.
  • They answer questions posted to them by their nominator and at the end of their post they ask you a series of questions to answer.
  • You then nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserves the award.
  • Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog.
  • Head over the The Global Aussie for more rules and don't forget to post your blog in the comments for others to read!


Let's get to the questions!!!

1. What inspired you to start your blog?

I started my blog in early 2016 and previous to that I had never been much of a writer - in fact English was my worst subject in school! I had just moved to London from a small town in New Zealand, and wanted to keep my friends and family up to date with our adventures on the other side of the world. I fell in love with blogging early on and even spent the little time I had on my evenings and weekends writing and taking photos. I found out quickly that it is very time consuming and almost a full time job, so the blog got put on the back burner for a bit. Since moving back to New Zealand, I have had the time to invest into making this website the best it can be (I still have a long way to go!) and have rediscovered my love for blogging again!

2. What has been your proudest blog moment so far?

To be honest, my blog is pretty small and doesn't get a lot of traffic, which is fine because it is a hobby and not a job - but I have to say being nominated for a Liebster Award is pretty exciting! To think someone thought of me and has visited my blog makes me very happy!

3. Where do you go when you need a little material inspiration?

I go to other blogs, pinterest, instagram, youtube etc for inspiration. There are so many talented bloggers out there who create beautiful content, and I find that is the best place to get inspiration. Plus its important to support each other as it is such a tough business to break in to. I also love going to YouTube for inspiration. Even though I am too shy to post videos, I love to be able to incorporate those ideas into my blog posts.

4. Do you have a routine you have to do before or during your writing time?

Not really. I usually write the blog post first and then sort out the photography later. I love having loads of photos on the blog because that is what I like seeing on others.

5. What do you hope to accomplish by the end of the year?

Personally, I would like to become less dependant on other people's approval and accomplish some of my fitness and health goals.
In my blog, I would love to grow my audience, get better at blog photography and stick to a schedule of posting throughout the year. We will see how that goes!

6. Which blogger would you love to colab with?

This is a tough question as I don't know too many. I would say Niomi Smart would be one of the bigger YouTuber/Bloggers I have always admired and I love her content. I also love InTheFrow and her fashion posts. She is killing the game!! To be fair I would be open to colabing with anyone who shares the same interests - travel, fashion, beauty, fitness or God. Hit me up if you would like!

7. What do you love to do when you aren't busy blogging?

I love to travel and explore new places. That is something I always hope to do. I like fitness and enjoy running (OK maybe 'enjoy' is too strong of a word...). I have also found a new love of cooking recently so creating new dishes is something else I love to do!

8. Post 10 random facts about me (from The Global Aussie)

  • I am a Christian
  • I have travelled to 22 different countries (some more than once)
  • My nickname is Bam 
  • My favourite movie is The Holiday
  • I have 2 tattoos and 5 piercings
  • I am terrified of the ocean and I find beaches in no way relaxing
  • I do not like coffee or tea
  • My personality type is INFJ
  • I LOVE sleeping
  • My favourite TV show is Friends

9. What makes you passionate about blog posting? (question from The Global Aussie)

Blogging has created an environment for me to share my experiences, be creative, and write about the things I love. I hope to use this platform to inspire others and I pray that whoever reads my posts can walk away with a smile and a bit of encouragement. The world can be a negative place - especially with social media - and the blogging community is such a positive and supportive place to share and discover new products, travel stories, find inspiration and everything in between.


My nominations are:
1. candidlykristina.com
2. pricelesslifememories.wordpress.com
3. phillipdeanblog.wordpress.com
4. lazygirl.us
5. moretoexplore.co
6. todaytomorrowforeverella.wordpress.com
7. thetustingirl.com
8. forevermotivated.blog

My questions are:
1. What or who inspired you to start your blog?
2. Where is your dream travel destination and why?
3. Do you have goals for your blog? If so, what are they?
4. What is the last compliment you got?
5. What are your hobbies outside of blogging?
6. If you could live anywhere in the world (fiction or not), where would it be?
7. What is something that most people don't know about you?
8. Do you have pets? If so, post a photo of them here!

I hope you enjoyed reading this and thank you again to Tiffany for my nomination!! I can't wait to read your responses! Leave your blog links in the comments - I would love to support you!
Don't forget to be kind and lift each other up!

Thanks for reading!

God Bless,
Amber x


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