beer, boats and best friends...

this is what i love about summer time! to me, being on or near water with my best friends laughing, having good talks, admiring God's creation (especially the sunsets), and making fun memories together...add some live music, and well, it just doesn't get much better than that! jesus feels the same way, you know. i am convinced of this after spending a couple weeks in israel a few months ago on a jesus tour; we "walked where jesus walked." (that's another blog for another time) anyway, one of the most unexpected of my experiences came when i visited the sea of galilee, more specifically capernaum. to sum it up and not give it due justice, capernaum is a fishing village, home of at least 5 of the 12 disciples and the base of jesus' ministry. ok, so, i am in a town where jesus performed many miracles, was standing at the steps of peter's house (where jesus stayed when he was in town) and as our tour guide is explaining all of this along with tons of other historical facts, i look to my right and can see the beautiful shoreline of the sea. all the noise and busyness and talking around me faded and all i could think was, "wow, i love the water as much as jesus must've for him to have spent so much time here. this place is awesome!" jesus and i had a very intimate connection at that moment. it wasn't spiritual, it was personal. i could see him and his best friends sitting on the steps laughing and playing around. i could see him on the boat with his friends turning the sails to hit the wind just right and riding the waves (the waves can get up to 5-7 ft!). i could see one of them flipping out of the boat and all of them laughing so hard their stomach hurt! i could see them hanging out on the outside patios at the seaside restaurants having some cold drinks (ok, maybe not beer as we know it!), but telling stories and watching the sunset together admiring the beauty of it all. i could see a very real, fun side of jesus that i will never forget. i could see jesus in ME!