this is my happy thought today, an excerpt from Amber's blog: www.mintyfreshdesign.com/mintyblog (she has just returned from Israel):

It's kinda nice to be surrounded by observant Jews again, a strangely comforting presence. I like how they quietly gather at the back of the plane to pray. Devout lives are so unusual to see these days.

Our guide Zvika met us in Tel Aviv. It was so fun to see him again, he is amazingly upbeat and organized. I have a lot of respect for him, with so many first-time international travelers in the group, his job is like herding cats. We checked into our hotel and worked out in the gym (yay!) before meeting up Avi Mizrachi for dinner. We'll visit his coffee shop ministry tomorrow.

Too excited to sleep yet, Thomas and I went for a walk along the waterfront. Thomas said, "Do you realize this is our first day in Israel and we're going for a walk by the Mediterranean?" The waves rolling in were pale white in the darkness, and as we walked down to the beach, Thomas called the sand 'powdered sugar' because it was so fine. It was so beautiful to stand there in the moonglow and soak up the moment of living in answered prayers."