Northern Israel, Day 2

We started today with a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes, the traditional site where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.  Samuel was very well behaved here, quiet in the church and then attentive, or at least still, during our little devotional on the grounds.  I read the beatitudes and other passages from Matthew 5-7 and we talked some about what the verses meant to us.  We then sang "More Holiness Give Me" and "Father in Heaven."  Samuel softly blew on my pitch pipe a bit as we sang.

Samuel playing my pitch pipe as we sang during our devotional

A good grin from our boy

Sweet Rachel

 

We then drove to the far north of Israel, into part of the occupied Golan Heights actually, to visit the site of Caesarea Philippi, now known as Baneas (see part way through my earlier Upper Galilee post).  After getting a few pictures of us by the Hermon River, one of the headwaters of the Jordan River which starts here, we sat down in the shade and read Matthew 16 and talked about it together before visiting the archaeological remains.

What Caesarea Phililppi looked like in the late first century

 

The water from Banias then flows a short distance before it cascades down into spectacular water falls.

Banias used to be on the front lines with Syria

 

 

There was a pretty heavy mist around the falls

As the water on my camera lens testifies!

Happy to have my boy with me today!

And my girl . . . we could not  decide which treat to get, so we got three!

Including an Angry Birds popsicle?

 After a quick lunch in Qiryat Shemona, we drove all the way to Nazareth, where we miraculously found a parking place right next to the Basilica of the Annunciation. After visiting the traditional places of Gabriel's visit to Mary and then the church that commemorates St. Joseph, we made the long drive back to Jerusalem, ending our quick day swing through northern Israel.

There are madonnas from all over the world here.  This one from Thailand reminded me of my mission!

The modern church is built over Byzantine and Crusader ruins