Best New Year's Resolution--Ever!

Best New Year's Resolution--Ever!

Just 15-20 minutes a day! (The best resolution you will ever make—I guarantee.)

A REVERSE SCAVENGER HUNT and Maximum Flexibility!

A REVERSE SCAVENGER HUNT and Maximum Flexibility!

So, how can we top the SCAVENGER HUNT and get-together again for Christmas as an extended family? We-e-ell, how about a REVERSE SCAVENGER HUNT?

SAGE DRESSING.

This is the one we always had at Thanksgiving at my mother’s table. However, I’m pretty sure she did not have a written recipe.

I start with:
--One-half recipe of Oklahoma Farmhouse Cornbread (minus the yummy side crusts. Eat those with butter while still hot from the oven.) Since I make two kinds of cornbread dressings, I use the                           other half for Fiesta Cornbread Dressing and half for Sage Dressing.)

--Butter an 8x10x3-inch deep Casserole Dish.

--Crumble the cornbread, rather finely into the casserole dish. (Please, no big pieces like in some packaged dressings for which I saw a commercial this week of a Thanksgiving guest who had a fit that he did not get his preferred packaged dressing. I thought it was a sad commentary on society.)

--Add one medium onion, chopped.
--One cup chopped celery.
--One heaping teaspoon Rubbed Sage.
--1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
--2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, if you are feeling gourmet-ish.
--2 cups chicken broth. Start with that much. If it is not moist enough to be a thick “batter,” add more broth, a little at a time, until it has the consistency of a thick batter.

--At this point decide about salt: The cornbread has salt. Is your broth salted? Taste your mixture. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt OR omit.

--2 large eggs. Whisk. Add to dressing. Mix.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 min. Top should be firm, beginning to brown.

Serve hot. With lots of Turkey Gravy!    And ENJOY!

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Thanksgiving Recipes Are BA-ACK!

Oklahoma Farmhouse Cornbread

·         Posted by Peggy Consolver

·   It was August when I was about 8 years old. Mama was sewing on our back-to-school outfits. (3 girls x 5 days a week?)

It was time to start supper, but she did not want to quit just yet. “Peggy, go make cornbread.”

Back and forth I went from her sewing area to the kitchen getting one simple instruction at a time.

2 cups cornmeal,
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2-3 cups milk–enough to make it like thick gravy

I doubt she ever measured quite so precisely. She was guesstimating for it all, but the recipe has stuck in my head for, lo these many years.

I learned another trick from Aunt Betty when I stayed overnight with her one time. “Heat a black iron skillet on the burner with shortening while mixing the batter. Pour batter into skillet and hear the sizzle make yummy crust.” Then put in oven at 375 degrees. 30-40 min. (Remove from oven and turn upside down onto a plate immediately to let it breathe so the crust will stay crisp.

And then the ultimate find at a garage sale in Tucson AZ with my sister: a well-aged, well-seasoned square iron skillet, $5. A little heavy in my carry-on, but worth the trouble.
Anyone notice there’s no sugar in my recipe? Nope.

I have a theory. I’ve been querying my northern friends since I married a Kansas Jayhawker.

Do you put sugar in your pinto beans? North and east of Oklahoma, they generally do not. But, they put sugar in their cornbread.

Where I come from, we put sugar in our pinto beans; therefore, no sugar in cornbread, please.

My daddy loved leftover cornbread crumbled in a tall glass of milk. Adding salt.

And without sugar in it, it is perfect for cornbread dressing to accompany the Thanksgiving turkey!

So, eat the crust with your tortilla soup (or milk) and freeze the rest for dressing.

 

 



SURELY MY HAIR DOTH GROW LONGER: PONDERINGS OF A PANDEMIC

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“Vanity, vanity—all is vanity.”

Talking to my daughter, she quoted a friend: “We’re about two weeks out from knowing everybody’s real hair color!”

Perhaps our real character will also show through.

I left a message for my hairdresser of over twenty years—to chat.

As we wound up the conversation, she said, “I thought you were going to give me a word from God.”

Surprised, I replied, “Do you need a word from God?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then, yes, I have a word from God: ‘Don’t be afraid. We don’t know what is happening, but God does. And the main thing God wants out of this pandemic is for us to realize we cannot deal with all this alone, and we finally come to the point where we humbly ask God to help us.

“And He will.”

“Thanks.”

“You are very welcome.”

VERSE OF INSIGHT: “No one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. … Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:13-17

((Who are the self-employed small business owners who help you on a weekly/monthly basis?

Pray for them. Talk to them.))

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Little Robots, Wheels Spinning: PONDERINGS DURING A PANDEMIC:

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Suddenly we are brought to a time of self-isolation.

What a strange sight to see teeming city streets changed overnight to stark emptiness.

And at home we are little ‘self-contained’ robots with wheels continually turning.

Through this pestilence, You have lifted us—breaking contact with our self-determined tasks and goals and aspirations.

Lord, we look to You to redirect our focus. May we see You in Your power and glory as true ruler of this world without borders.

You alone are worthy of our praise. Help us see You at work in our lives in a new way during this unusual time.

Meditating today on 2 Chronicles 20:15 and Hebrews 13:15-16.

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A RIDDLE OF TIME: PONDERINGS OF THE PANDEMIC:

IN THIS TOGETHER!

IN THIS TOGETHER!

WHAT ARE WE MOSTLY OBLIVIOUS OF? AND IT INCREASES WITH AGE!

We write lists to remind ourselves of lots of things:

1.       TO DO list for today.                                              

2.       TO DO list for this week.

3.       TO DO list for next week … next month … year …

4.       TO DO list for “When I get around TO IT.”

Have you ever received a “wooden nickel” that said “TO IT”? Well, I have.

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With all that’s being said about the coronavirus we are reminded of our age.

We were most aware of our age before we turned 21—as in “When I’m 5, I can go to Kindergarten!”

Or “When I’m 12, I can ride the roller coaster at the theme park!”

And “When I’m 16, I can drive.”

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“When I’m 18 (nowadays), I can vote.”                                  

And a new, kinda scary one is “When I’m 26, I can’t continue on my parents’ insurance policy.”

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Adults don’t really notice another birthday much—unless you’re turning over the calendar to a number with a BIG ZERO in it. Coming up on 30, there were all those suggestions that we were not young anymore. “Over the Hill” party décor for your unkind family and friends to laughingly feature in the celebration.

Being both practical and positive, I chose to come up with my own refrain for my approaching Thirtieth. “Yea! I won’t be doing everything for the first time any more!” These are three of the fearsome firsts that come to mind: buying a car, buying a house, dealing with a car mechanic.

The comedian Jack Benny avoided being 40 for several decades by sheer denial. I chose to embrace 40 with this denial: “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better!” I was at least better at dealing with car mechanics.

When the 50th rolled around, it became more difficult to claim youth, but my motto became “I’m not just getting older; I’m getting wiser.”

At 60, a whole new era of possibilities opened up. With fewer responsibilities tying me in one place, my motto became “I’m older with so . many . new . opportunities!”

So, what’s happening with the pandemic?

They’re reminding me I’m not as young as I used to be.

They’re reminding me I am not as young as I think I am.

They’re reminding me, I am in the ‘at risk’ category.

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But I still say, “When I grow up, I want to be just like my 91-year-old friend!

And for now, I’m putting my feet up and reading a book.

Check out my books here for yourself. And enjoy!

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ENTANGLED BY AN IDEA?

My granddaughter, at seven years old, told me she had just read her first chapter book. She bounced up and down as she said, “I want to write books when I grow up!”

I thought to myself, “I thought the same thing when I was her age.”

Since I had just had a brush with breast cancer, my next thought was “If I’m going to do that, I’d better get started.” And I did.

WHY DID I WRITE ABOUT THE GIBEONITES OF JOSHUA 9 & 10?

Annually, I’d been using the chronological read-through-the-Bible plan provided by Dr. Charles C. Ryrie in his Ryrie Study Bible, Moody Publishers, for several years. Every year, I kept stopping and saying to myself there is so much more to the story of the Gibeonites of Joshua 9 and 10.

Their words are quoted, but they have no names. As a people group, they are mentioned only one other time—four hundred years later in the time of David. Who were they? What motivated them to approach Joshua not knowing if they would live or die? What is their story?

And now the sequel and “the rest of the story:”

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A Jewish young man suggested a Hebrew word for what I did with the story of the Gibeonites: midrash. He says I filled in the gaps where God’s word is silent. I do not claim it’s inspired, and calling my story midrash would probably be quite presumptuous of me, but God surely enabled me in finding great source material and getting to go to Israel and the Palestinian West Bank to stand on the hill where the Gibeonites stood.

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View from Gibeon

Jerusalem on the horizon

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS OF THE WARMEST KIND! “RE-MARK FROM NEW ZEALAND”

Mark Patterson, International Director of CNL, “translating from English and broadcasting” to Russia and Ukrainian Christian Television.

Mark Patterson, International Director of CNL, “translating from English and broadcasting” to Russia and Ukrainian Christian Television.

My favorite encounter at my book signing happened when hubby George met Mark from New Zealand in the aisle near Autograph Station B at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention this week in Nashville. He gave him my new business card.

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Mark turned the card over and saw the name of my first book Shepherd, Potter, Spy—and the Star Namer. He exclaimed “She wrote that book? I loved that book, and I never read fiction! She has another one?”

As I signed The Star Namer and the Unchosen, he said he began to read SPSSN over his wife’s shoulder when he had nothing of his own to read. And he was hooked.

It’s the writer’s delight to write ‘as unto the Lord.’ The cherry on top is to hear of the reader’s delight.

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HELLO FROM TENNESSEE!

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Well, hello from Tennessee—Davy Crockett country, hero of the Texas Alamo. Thank you, Tennessee!

We are enjoying the hospitality at Nashville’s Gaylord/Opryland for the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.

There’s a book signing for The Star Namer and the Unchosen and appointments for interviews already scheduled this week to talk to folks in the industry--thanks to Joni Sullivan-Baker, my favorite publicist.

The working title of my newest book was “The Archer,” and an archer is pictured on the cover. I’m signing with my motto for this year: “Aim Higher!”

More later as things develop and time permits.

Have a blessed day and give God the glory!

"When the tyrant king marches to miraculous defeat, his sadistic son grabs power until a band of unlikely heroes led by the seventeen-year-old son of the master potter rescues the good people of pre-Israelite Jerusalem."

"When the tyrant king marches to miraculous defeat, his sadistic son grabs power until a band of unlikely heroes led by the seventeen-year-old son of the master potter rescues the good people of pre-Israelite Jerusalem."

The Lizard Got There First

·         First posted by Peggy Consolver in 2017

OUR TRIP TO ISRAEL 2017: Tel Dan and Tel Hazor, Tues June 20

Our touring group of archaeologists and volunteers from the dig at Shiloh (directed by Dr. Scott Stripling) journeyed north to Tel Dan.

Our touring group of archaeologists and volunteers from the dig at Shiloh (directed by Dr. Scott Stripling) journeyed north to Tel Dan.

We were greeted by a resident at . . .

We were greeted by a resident at . . .

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Tel Dan is beautiful for its lush forest at the foot of Mt. Hermon—the fabled old man mountain who always wears a capelet of snow.

Snow melt from Mt. Hermon is the major source of water for the Jordan River.

Snow melt from Mt. Hermon is the major source of water for the Jordan River.

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A welcome sight as we trek up the trail …

A welcome sight as we trek up the trail …

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after days of landscape consisting mostly of dust, dirt, pebbles, rocks, stones and more rocks. All associated with the ancient stone buildings and its tall hills and medium mountains.  There is no lack of building material there.

No pic, but a broken stone wheel provided a stepping stone to cross a small stream. Imagine a bridge in the 23rd century across a small stream or river constructed of 20th century hubcaps and wheels.  😉

More pictures of Tel Dan from our 2010 visit there:

Lower portion of stacked stones is typical Canaanite walls. Upper portion was built later with cut stones. Notice the socket stone to the left of the opening below.

Lower portion of stacked stones is typical Canaanite walls. Upper portion was built later with cut stones. Notice the socket stone to the left of the opening below.

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Gates to these ancient cities are more than a door post set in a socket stone. As in the Book of Ruth, Boaz went to the city gate where there were places to sit with others where city business was transacted.

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Another picture from our trip in 2010 is of a derelict Syrian dirt mover. We were told it was abandoned in 1967 when they tried to divert the flow of water from Mt. Hermon to the Jordan River. Our guide told us few people know that the main reason for the start of the war of 1967 was to defend Israel’s rights to this water. 

Syrian dirt mover abandoned in 1967.

Syrian dirt mover abandoned in 1967.

The Israeli national park provided a delightful ice-cold wading pool and nearby a new gift shop.The frozen fruit bar was so excellent and excellently cold! Strawberry inside blackberry outside. Yum!

The Israeli national park provided a delightful ice-cold wading pool and nearby a new gift shop.

The frozen fruit bar was so excellent and excellently cold! Strawberry inside blackberry outside. Yum!

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One Moment of Clarity Can Change the Course of Your Life

Originally posted by Peggy Consolver in 2017.

It was 2009 when I turned to my husband and said, “If I really write this story [of the Gibeonites of        Joshua 9 and 10], maybe I should go there.”

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He made it happen, and that statement launched a whole new era in our lives— the biggest adventure of my life began.

 

Touring Israel with Associates for Biblical Research. The Sea of Galilee in the background

Touring Israel with Associates for Biblical Research. The Sea of Galilee in the background

Going to Israel with Associates for Biblical Research to participate in the 2010 dig at Khirbet el-Maqatir opened a whole new world in so many ways.

Climbing the hill to get to the dig site of Khirbet el Maqatir, 2010

Climbing the hill to get to the dig site of Khirbet el Maqatir, 2010

The site of Gibeon of Joshua 9 & 10 from a hillside across Aijalon Valley.

The site of Gibeon of Joshua 9 & 10 from a hillside across Aijalon Valley.

On a side trip, our personal Palestinian tour guide and a Palestinian cab driver took us to see Gibeon from across the valley and then to stand on its summit.

The view from the top of Gibeon’s hill. The northern outskirts of Jerusalem are in sight less than 9 miles away.

The view from the top of Gibeon’s hill. The northern outskirts of Jerusalem are in sight less than 9 miles away.

By going there, I could describe the setting of Gibeon and Aijalon Valley with authority in Shepherd, Potter, Spy—and the Star Namer.

An ancient olive tree on the top of Gibeon.

An ancient olive tree on the top of Gibeon.

It was on that dig at Khirbet el Maqatir we met Dr. Gene Merrill and his wife Dr. Janet Merrill. Dr. Gene endorsed my book before publication and an excerpt of his endorsement is on the back cover.

“With ‘the author’s colorful turn of phrase … experience solid learning interwoven with joyful, sanctified ‘filling of the gaps’ that make the ancient text alive…’  Eugene H. Merrill, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary” (2015)

Being a friend of ABR opened a whole series of new relationships as well. Dr. Bryant Wood, our Dig Director in 2010,

Dr. Bryant Wood in brown hat, Dig Director, 2010.

Dr. Bryant Wood in brown hat, Dig Director, 2010.

Dr. Wood has an amazing bio on the ABR website.  I am in awe of his fortitude and dedication  defending the Bible, its authority and its reliability as historical record. I am most pleased and humbled that he volunteered to endorse my book this year.  (2017)

    “Shepherd, Potter, Spy–and the Star Namer tells the story of the Hebrews’ arrival in Canaan from a new point of view. A young Gibeonite shepherd’s eyewitness account captures the tension in the ancient land of Canaan. Accurate descriptions of the terrain give the Bible student new insights into this historical event of the Late Bronze Age. The use of the archaeological artifact known as the Gezer Almanac adds credence to the timeline the author constructs. Bryant G. Wood, PhD, Director of Research, Associates for Biblical Research, Akron PA.”

Dr. Scott Stripling was our square supervisor in 2010.

That’s me “draining the bathtub”—lowering the level of soil bit by bit in my area/locus. That’s Dr. Stripling documenting the finds in the whole 10x10 meter square called Square 20.

That’s me “draining the bathtub”—lowering the level of soil bit by bit in my area/locus. That’s Dr. Stripling documenting the finds in the whole 10x10 meter square called Square 20.

Subsequently, he became Dig Director for Khirbet el-Maqatir, which closed out after over twenty years of digging in 2016.  Scott is now director of ABR’s new excavations at Shiloh.

ABR’S Week 4 Dig Team at Shiloh, 2017

ABR’S Week 4 Dig Team at Shiloh, 2017

And we took our whole family, eleven of us: our kids, spouses, and five grandchildren ages 11-17 to dig at ABR’s first season at Shiloh.

That’s us in 2017. But this pic was taken at Jericho on our tour week with ABR.

That’s us in 2017. But this pic was taken at Jericho on our tour week with ABR.

Have you ever experienced a moment of clarity that changed the course of your life? Share when this happened in your life.

I’d love to hear from you.

NEW EVERY MORNING

OUR BUNCH, Jericho, 20117

OUR BUNCH, Jericho, 20117

. . . We have a new day, a new year, and new decade, and a still-new century barely begun.

          But is there really any . new . thing under the sun?

            We sometimes are tempted to think no one else as ever seen such a time as this. Is there any hope?

          Oh yeah, there is hope! Because the Lord’s great love and compassion never fails. We are renewed every morning (Lam. 3:23). It’s our faith in the One who is faithful that sustains us.

            For historical proof that there is nothing new under the sun and that God is in control, read an intriguing article about the times, the political situation, and the exploits of Nero, emperor of Rome, 54-68 A.D. The writer, Erich D. Schwartz, quips “Nero spent his life preparing himself a hot place in hell.”

            Published in the October 2019 Newsletter of Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) by our friends and favorite archaeologists, you will also find their reports of the Shiloh Dig we took our whole family to in 2017. Each year since, ABR has uncovered amazing finds there.

            Check out their reports and the dates and plans for the 2020 Shiloh Excavation.

            Consider going.

            You will be so glad you did.

Plants of the Holy Land: Familiar Texas Friends

Iris

Iris

I'm looking forward to being with Terrell Garden Club on Thursday to share my horticulture program on

"Plants of the Holy Land: Familiar Texas Friends."

I will feature my favorites that I grow and the attachment I have to them: Rosemary, Irises, Vitex, and Cyclamen.  

The information I share has all resulted from my research for my two books set in Canaan in the time of Joshua: Shepherd, Potter, Spy—and the Star Namer and the sequel just out Oct 1: The Star Namer and the Unchosen.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen

Rosemary

Rosemary

Vitex

Vitex

Oklahoma Farmhouse Cornbread


It was August when I was about 8 years old. Mama was sewing on our back-to-school outfits. (3 girls x 5 days a week?)

It was time to start supper, but she did not want to quit just yet. “Peggy, go make cornbread.”

Back and forth I went from her sewing area to the kitchen getting one simple instruction at a time.

2 cups cornmeal,
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2-3 cups milk–enough to make it like thick gravy

I doubt she ever measured quite so precisely. She was guesstimating for it all, but the recipe has stuck in my head for, lo these many years.

I learned another trick from Aunt Betty when I stayed overnight with her one time. “Heat a black iron skillet on the burner with shortening while mixing the batter. Pour batter into skillet and hear the sizzle make yummy crust.” Then put in oven at 375 degrees. 30-40 min. (Remove from oven and turn upside down onto a plate immediately to let it breathe so the crust will stay crisp.)

And then the ultimate find at a garage sale in Tucson AZ with my sister: a well-aged, well-seasoned square iron skillet, $5. A little heavy in my carry-on, but worth the trouble.

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Anyone notice there’s no sugar in my recipe? Nope.

 

I have a theory. I’ve been querying my northern friends since I married a Kansas Jayhawker.

Do you put sugar in your pinto beans? North and east of Oklahoma, they generally do not. But, they put sugar in their cornbread.

Where I come from, we put sugar in our pinto beans; therefore, no sugar in cornbread, please.

My daddy loved leftover cornbread crumbled in a tall glass of milk. Adding salt.

And without sugar in it, it is perfect for cornbread dressing to accompany the Thanksgiving turkey!

 So, eat the crust with your tortilla soup (or milk) and freeze the rest for dressing.

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BEST HALLOWEEN TRADITION AT MY HOUSE? NOVEMBER 1!


Finally, finally the weather is cooler here.

And it's already getting to be late October. Pumpkins are all over.

 But Fall color is—not much.

October 22 in Plano. A month into Fall and still no color here. Nice and green though.

October 22 in Plano. A month into Fall and still no color here. Nice and green though.

Licoris radiata, or Spider Lily or Naked Lady is brilliant at this time.

Licoris radiata, or Spider Lily or Naked Lady is brilliant at this time.

Lots of folks are planning for Halloween. I'm planning for November 1.  

That's the day I cook my pumpkin for making my Thanksgiving pies and make a skillet of cornbread.

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We'll enjoy the hot, buttered crusts with homemade soup for supper. And I’ll freeze the rest of the cornbread to make my Oklahoma Farmhouse Cornbread Dressing on Thanksgiving morning.

I may make a pumpkin pie to use up the last of the frozen pumpkin in my freezer, if I have any.

Check my next post on Thursday for my recipe for Oklahoma Farmhouse Cornbread first posted in 2016.

CAUTION: One year when I was on a diet and weighing every morning, I showed a gain of 2 pounds on Nov. 2.  So glad Nov. 1 comes only once a year!

 

Baptisms and Mine Fields

Near the north end of the Dead Sea is a new site not available to us in 2010. (A re-post from 2017.)

Our family “floating” in the Dead Sea.

Our family “floating” in the Dead Sea.

In 2010 we visited a Jordan River baptism site at the point where the out-flow of the Sea of Galilee entered the Jordan River. At the time we were told this most northern point of the Jordan River was the only part accessible to tourists to Israel. The rest of the river all the way to the Dead Sea was in a military zone–and there was hardly any water in it due to agricultural use. The new baptism site we went to in June 2017 is near the Dead Sea.

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It seems evident to me that Israelis saw great value in building a tourist site available for Christian baptisms closer to the actual site of Jesus’ baptism in the gospels.

I do not know the process or negotiations that took place between the Palestinians, the Jordanians and themselves, but Israelis spent a great amount of money to provide this place and the accessibility at Bethabara. Scott Stripling, our tour guide and dig director at Shiloh, translated the name as “the house of crossing.,” It is on the western bank of the Jordan River. The country of Jordan is across the Jordan River to the east.

The western bank is in the territory of the Palestinians known, logically, as The West Bank.

Beside the road down to the baptism site of Bethabara.in the West Bank near Jericho.

Beside the road down to the baptism site of Bethabara.in the West Bank near Jericho.

In 2010, we were told the western bank of the Jordan River from the most southern point of the Sea of Galilee was a Palestinian military zone off-limits to Israelis and tourists. We saw this area labelled DANGER, MINES! beside the road in 2017.

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All this resulted in a continual flow of tourists coming to be baptized. And Israeli military personnel stood nearby to watch over us all.

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An Eye Witness Account: Eskie & the Crossing

A peak over the Jordan River at Jericho. A possible spot for a spy’s perch. (2010, trip to Israel)

A peak over the Jordan River at Jericho. A possible spot for a spy’s perch. (2010, trip to Israel)

ESKIE, A LATE BRONZE AGE SPY: INTERVIEW OF THE MAIN CHARACTER OF The Star Namer and the Unchosen:

AUTHOR: Good Morning to "Digging Deeper into HIStory." We are here again with Eskie, third son of Ishtaba the master potter of Gibeon. Eskie, you had us on the edge of our seats yesterday describing how the Jordan River was out of its banks, at the height of its flood stage, and the Hebrews began to dismantle their camp and move toward the rushing waters of the river as if they intended to cross. What happened next?

ESKIE: As I said, I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. Every one of the Hebrew tents were loaded up and in orderly arrangement and ready to cross. And the large tent at the center of their camp was dismantled piece by piece until at last a piece of furnishing covered with a blue cloth was revealed. Two poles that flashed in the sunlight extended beyond the blue covering.

AUTHOR: You say the poles flashed in the sunlight?

ESKIE: Yes. We were convinced they were covered with gold.

AUTHOR: And what happened next?

ESKIE: Four men approached slowly, waited, and lifted the poles to their shoulders. The four men walked slowly, straight to the edge of the river. Without hesitation the first two stepped into the water, and the ground beneath me began to move.

AUTHOR: Wait. They took one step into the water, and you felt the ground move where you were? What happened next?

ESKIE: What happened next is I scrambled to get out of the way of a large boulder as big as the Ra-eef' guest house or be flattened as flat as my mother's flatbread.

AUTHOR: Well, what about the Hebrews? What happened there?

ESKIE: I do not know what happened. I can only tell you what I saw. As soon as I could stopped shaking from the horror of nearly being crushed to death, I elbow-crawled back to my well-worn slot. Beside me at that point was a gaping vacancy where the stone had been. And I gaped with mouth wide open. I could not believe my eyes.

AUTHOR: What?  

ESKIE: The four men and the conveyance they bore stood still on dry ground—in the middle of the riverbed.

AUTHOR: Dry ground?

ESKIE: Yes. And the Hebrews were crossing. By the time I got back in place, the first wave of heavily armed fighting men were halfway across the river. They ranged far out on either side of the four men and their conveyance and never coming closer than a wheat field to the furnishing carried with golden poles.

AUTHOR: Amazing. But, Eskie, where was the water that had been there? The flooding water?

ESKIE: Below the crossing, the waters rushed toward the Salt Sea as before leaving behind dry ground. Above the crossing toward Mt. Hermon, the waters piled up and glistened in the sunshine?

AUTHOR: Uh. What did you say?

ESKIE: I told you you would not believe it either. But the water stood up, piled up, built up at the village of Adam up the river. The flood just sat there, not moving, while the Hebrews crossed with their families, their flocks, herds, and wagons. I am lying there shaking my head. Not believing it. But I cannot deny what I saw.

AUTHOR: So, how did the day end?

ESKIE: All the Hebrews crossed and set up camp at Gilgal. When every last one had gone over, the four men in the middle of the river bearing the golden poles on their shoulders proceeded to finish crossing. As soon as they stepped out of the dry riverbed, the waters upriver rushed down with a roar and a fury behind them. The four men bore their burden straight forward into the entrance to the large tent that always stands in the middle of their camp. It was fully reassembled and ready.

AUTHOR: Amazing. Thank you, Eskie, for that eye-witness report of the day the Hebrews crossed the flooded Jordan River. Folks, thank you for coming back for the rest of the story. Coming soon we will have more interviews of our fictional characters who witnessed events of the Bible—from Numbers 20-Joshua 10. All these events are related to you in Shepherd, Potter, Spy—and the Star Namer and in The Star Namer and the Unchosen by Peggy Miracle Consolver. (Provide link to reviews.)

AUTHOR: Until next time, keep on 'digging deeper into HIStory!'

George and Peggy at the cut through 25 layers of civilization at the tell of ancient Jericho. (2010 trip to Israel)

George and Peggy at the cut through 25 layers of civilization at the tell of ancient Jericho. (2010 trip to Israel)