Thin Places

I am sure that I picked this up from someone, somewhere, along the way but I don't know who it was. It is the notion of "thin places." They are those moments in our life when God seems so close to us that we can feel him. The separation between us and God seems so thin that we are just overcome by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Today, began in a thin place. I started my day by walking down to the sea of Galilee before the sun came up. As I walked along the seashore and the sun came up I was just overcome with the Spirit. I knew that the place that I was standing was a special place. I could feel, in a very real way, the presence of God. It was so powerful. I began to cry and I could not stop myself.. Those of you who know me know that this happens when I feel the Spirit. Those of you who don't know me probably think I am a "big sissy." That is OK! It was awesome. As I cried, I was just overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude and thanks for the blessing of my life. I have won the lottery. Great friends. Great family. I get to tell people about Jesus for a living. I get to serve God by loving his people and building up the body of Christ. It was at this moment, as I stood crying, all alone, on the shore of this sea where so many miracles have happened, that I found a note in my pocket that my lovely wife Nicole had put there when my bag was being packed. It was just a note to say that she loved me.

A thin place. With God. With Nicole. On the Sea of Galilee. Now shared with all of you.

This was how the day began. We then went north of and west of the sea to the Golan Heights above the sea and visit some Old Testament sights (Dan & Hazor) as well as two of the three sources that feed the Jordan River. We saw a water fall the flows to the Jordan and we stopped at the place where Peter confessed Jesus as his Lord and as the Christ. We also visited an Israeli military bunker on the top of a volcano. It was a blessed day.

At Nicole's request the pictures this time have us in them!

Love today.

In Christ's love and mine,

Doug