Work Incident #2 and #3

Many customers at Ikeda's do not want a bag for their groceries if the items are small. In this case, I still always ask the customer if they want/need a bag. Tuesday was no exception. Looking at the man's small jar I asked,
"Do you need a bag for your honey?"
I started to smile, thinking that that sounded like I was asking if he needed a bag for his wife. The guy didn't notice my grin, which soon widened as I laughed to myself,
"Wow, is she really so ugly that she needs a bag?!?"

While completing my closing duties on Wednesday, I happened upon a small boy standing near a table full of produce. As I passed the little guy, I could see his big eyes staring at the green artichokes piled high on the table. Shocked at what he what he was seeing, he exclaimed,
"Pinecones!?!?!"

Merry Christmas!

Work Incident #1

Here begins a series on funny/interesting/entertaining things that happen at work. Some of them happen at Ikeda's and some of them happen in the ibex office.
I worked at Ikeda's last summer (2006), and I am working there again over break (with a raise)! Ikeda's is a little family-owned indoor fruit stand/market, located right next to the freeway. Ikeda's is most well-known for peaches and pies. Mmmmmmm...

On Thursday, I left my cash register for a moment to check on the price of a chocolate-covered frozen banana. Walking to the freezer, I noticed a huge puddle of coffee forming on the cement floor.
**Why is there coffee all over the floor???**
Looking up at the coffee pot, I realized that someone had started the coffee, but never put the pot underneath to catch it! The coffee had flooded the counter and washed onto the floor! Wow...The funny thing is is that the mess was not made by a new employee, but by the owner of the store: "Oh wow, I think I did that!"
Yes, you did...... : )

You know you're in NorCal when...

*you can see more than two stars at midnight...
*every third person either is a redneck or looks like a redneck...
*the visibility is "bad" because of trees, not smog...
*people actually let you merge on the freeway...
*a car going 75 mph is passing all the others...
*bumper stickers say, "My other car is a John Deere"...
*the favorite team is the Kings, not the Lakers...
*you have to swerve because of deer as opposed to litter...
*fences are used to keep animals in, not so much to keep people out...
*you get to know the people at the grocery store...
*the main roads seem like back roads...
*people claim you live "in the middle of nowhere"...

Finally...haha

Finals are over! Yes! All I need to do now is spend some time catching up on work in my office and finish my DS over the break!
After my final final was turned in, I headed to the Intramural Field for 2 1/2 hours of Ultimate Frisbee! I think my team lost every time, and that was with switching people every time, too! Oh well, I still had fun...
Had a fun time at Katharyn's, as always. Tonight we had stew, garlic bread, and potatoes. Of course, the night was not complete without homemade apple crisp and apple cider! Paul decided that we should watch a movie, so this time we watched The Sword and the Rose. It was okay. I don't think I'll watch it again, just 'cuz I wasn't that impressed with it. Later Lester, Katharyn, Paul, and James Dunn (just returned from ibex) played Christmas carols on their recorders. Before you think, "how annoying!", let me tell you that three of them are music major and that they had bass, tenor, alto, and soprano recorders. It sounded pretty good, though the resonation was affecting my ears (and my music major friends will probably tell me that I am using the wrong term!). Elizabeth fell asleep on the floor, and my eyes wanted me to fall asleep, but I didn't. Shane wandered in and out of the apartment. Lindy came for the first time, but she had to leave early in order to get ready to go home to Willits, off the 101! Shane took her back to school, but we didn't think that he didn't have a cell phone! After a few of us wondered what had happened to him, it suddenly dawned on me that he probably didn't have a way to contact us! Poor guy was sitting outside the gate for 15 minutes!
Tomorrow I will work in my office, load up my car, and wait for Garret, Kaydee, and Taryn to arrive. We will be carpooling home to NorCal on Saturday! Garret is my younger brother, Kaydee is his girlfriend, and Taryn is their friend and Kaydee's roommate. Yes, almost home!
On the way home I am planning on stopping in at my work to see when I am scheduled. I am so thankful for what God did in that situation. I called up my manager, asked him if I would be able to work for the month that I was home, and he said yes, they would love to have me! Wow, just like that! So cool!
Well, my eyes are extremely tired, and I know that I am going to have to use them a lot tomorrow, so I am going to bed! Adios! Lila tov!

That boy in my life...

For those of you who know me, this is not like me at all...I think I hid it pretty well, but here it is, out in the open...
So there is a boy in my life...His name is Sutter (I know, interesting name). I've known him for a--bout a year? 10 months? Something like that...It was very sad, because right after I met him, I had to leave for ibex and he wasn't able to come on the Friends and Family Trip...
He is so sweet : ) He has brown eyes and blonde hair. You probably haven't met him or heard much about him 'cuz he lives in my hometown, back in NorCal. His parents raised him well, so Sutter's a good kid. My family likes him a lot and hopes he'll stay for a long time (which I wouldn't mind ;) )...
He always listens to me when I talk to him, and he's always there for me. Sometimes he comes over and we sit on my porch, or we go on walks (yes, the proverbial romantic walks, but not on the beach). Our relationship is a unique one, but we're okay with that. I thought I'd include a picture of him, and I hope you'll grow to love him just as I have.....
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Oh, did I mention he's a dog?

I hope nobody thinks differently of me because of this...Oh well, you only live once...Might as well spend it with man's best friend... : )
(This all came from a conversation between Randy, Shane, and me...This is a sad attempt at humor on my part...hehe)

My Week...is almost over

What have I done???? (This week, that is)...This week seemed sooo short!

Monday we had a birthday party for Elizabeth! Oh happy day!! Paul and I proceeded to make a huge mess in the kitchen. Katharyn went to class. Shane and Emily were entertained by strange TV commercials. Lester and Elizabeth wandered in and out, grating cheese, eating cheese, eating chicken...Katharyn came back. We ate. Heather and Naomi came later.We had a ton of food, and there was enough left over so that Katharyn wouldn't starve during the next week! We continued the fun times with much laughing, cocoa, tea, cider, and birthday cake!

The cake was interesting, as you can tell...Poor Katharyn ran out of room, so Elizabeth became Elizabe-th...hehe...Emily gave Elizabeth an interesting fish, which Elizabeth is holding on her lap...The strangest noises come from that thing... ; ) We later watched "Kidnapped"...It was pretty good! I love old movies...Elizabeth fell asleep on the floor, and Katharyn was quite entertaining with all her reactions to the movie...
Tuesday I had dinner with most of these people, I think (?)...Hmmmmm, sometimes it all runs together. I finished my final for Language and Language Acquistion. That class is done!!!!!! Yes!
Wednesday I went to chapel and wing dinner...Nothing too exciting...
Thursday Shane hung out in my office and helped me stuff envelopes and kept me entertained. It was the last day for Philosophies of Education! Yea!!!!!!! And the final doesn't look too hard, either. We waited a while for Paul to be done so we could go to dinner...Watched Paul be entertaining for the last few minutes of class. Went to dinner, had fun...Went to a Christmas party for Bible study. I got a Master's College portfolio as my white elephant gift. What am I going to do with that? Maybe I can give it to my brother Ross...Stayed up too late studying for a math test and other stuff...
Friday was crazy! Class, chapel, test, lunch, work, ibex meeting, work, babysitting, talking on the phone, going to bed!
Today I did NOT want to get up and play Frisbee, and I think my friends could tell...Sorry! I was very tired. But I went and played, and I did very well today, if I do say so myself...The rest of the day was distraction, more phone calls, studying, eating, and caroling! Oh yeah, and Paul let me drive his Suburban! That was fun! I don't see how he can drive that thing...There are too many switches and nobs and stuff...Good thing Lester was there to tell me where everything was! Caroling was fun. I had never done it before. About 20 of us got together and caroled through a neighborhood! It was a lot of fun...Now it is raining, and I am excited to drive my friends through the splashers to church tomorrow! yea!!!!

New (and improved????)

So I got a new blog layout...I'm not sure if I like it yet...Supposedly it is new and improved, no longer blogger but beta blogger! Whatever that means : )
I will have to get my little text box back somehow...I don't think I like this as much...hmmmmm...
I just remembered that it is the first day of December...
Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!!!!!
ibex students return soon...
Todd has a good post about being a strong woman...
I keep forgetting that I have a Directed Studies to finish...whoops
I got to see Mish tonight!

Ellsworth Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving I didn't go home. Instead I spent the long weekend with the nutty people pictured below. Here are some the of the quotes that came out of this interesting time...
Bethany Ellsworth, Bran Ellsworth, Dany Brodzinski, Lindy Smith, me, Shane Topolinski, Paul Ellsworth, Kai Akagi

Paul: I think I missed something inappropriate...
Bran: I think that's written in Woodstock.
Paul: It's kind of funny having a laugh-track in the back seat!

Paul: That's my Swedish leg...
Bran: A cow potato?!
Paul: You have an armpit, too! (to Bran, after Bran suggested that Lindy use Paul's armpit to keep her feet warm...)
Bethany: I don't get it, but I'm still laughing!
Bran: These were without the bzzzt-bzzzt, more of a hmmmm-hmmmm... (talking about goads as compared to cattle prods)
Bran: Ladies and gentlemen, I will soon turn off the seatbelt sign. Feel free to move about the cabin. No lavatory lines near the front...
Shane: Anyone want some cheese?
Dany: What format is the cheese in?

What's your name?!

So I realize that I may be opening myself up to some teasing, but here are some of my nicknames, old and new:

*Leigh-Leigh
Leigh is my middle name. Leigh-Leigh quickly switched to...
*Loui
My dad has a ton of Lou's, Loui's, Louises in his family (from Maine).
*Jenkie, Jenks, Jenkie-Lou, Jenkie-Binks
My mom, and sometimes my brothers Ross and Garret, call me these. Hmmmm...
*Jenny
My former next-door neighbors, Sam and Ali, used to call me this.
*Jenniker
This came from my grampa.
*Jen
This came from my friends. For some reason they always apologized after using it...
*Jen-Jen
This came from my Awana friends. We each had a nickname for the back of our t-shirts.
*Jenn-Jenn
This came from my ibex friends, after they knew that I was Jen-Jen.
*Jeh-neee-ker
This came from my roommate, Katharyn.
*Ayelet
This came from Bill, my ibex prof. Ayelet is Hebrew for gazelle, because I would run down, jump over, and climb up everything in Israel.
*The Voice of Reason
I got this in ibex, too (thank you, Nate). Needless to say, I did not appreciate this one, but what can you do? : )
*Yennica
This came from my newer friend Shane.
*Japanese Currency
This too came from Shane (see above).
*Jennifer, Jenna
This comes from all those people on the phone who do not catch that my name ends with an ica, not an ifer.
*Jessica
This comes from professors in their e-mails, when they visual ss instead of nn.

Hmmmm...

This is from the blog of Miriam Blankenship. I don't really know Miriam, but I know that she goes to Master's and that she is the girlfriend of a friend of mine. I read this on her blog and thought that it was very profound. If you want to read more of her profound thoughts, I hope she doesn't mind that I'm giving her link here:
http://www.godadmirer.blogspot.com/

So...I'm not going to stop doing the small, insufficient things that I can just because they're not the big, huge, ideal things that I wish they were.

Ahava

Ahava is Hebrew for love, and that is what I feel for Israel. Why am I here in the States?
The strangest things remind me of my time in that land. There is the hummus in the caf. There are the Tevas that my friends still wear. There is the Star of David around my friend's neck. There is the phone call from my old roommate. There are the pictures posted outside my door. There is "From the ends of the earth" in chapel. There is a note from Bill, calling me Ayelet. There is the Hebrew ring on my finger...
Even last night, I was walking between dorms. I had my jeans on with my slippers, and it was just cold enough that I could walk to the next dorm without getting chilled, but if I stayed out much longer I would get cold. It was dark and the wind was blowing. I was taken back to my time in Israel, walking in my slippers up the white stone steps, past the dining hall, the assembly hall, the reception, down the steep wooden steps to our little library.
Another day I looked across our athletic field and saw a little blonde boy being carried by his dad, and I thought of Eitan.
Are these just selfish longings, or will I be able to return to the land? I hope it is the latter...

Hey Look, It's...

The beach!
Caleb, Dad Costanzo, and Daisy!
The beach!
Dad Costanzo, James, and 3P (or Triple P Maximus)!
Katrin and I!
Dany, my German-International-Student-Friend!

Me!

Church

This semester I changed churches, and I now go to Grace Community! The funny thing is I did not want to go to this huge church because it was so...huge! My mom told me I might as well try it out, and here I am! I am totally blessed to go there, and here are some reasons why:

1. Fellowship. Every Sunday I go to church with a group of friends. We sit together in church and in Crossroads, the college-age church service. I love being with them! They are a big encouragement to me and help to make a huge church a little smaller.
2. Teaching. Dr. MacArthur is a great teacher, and so is Rick Holland. They both preach the Word and challenge me to examine my actions and my heart attitude.
3. Discovery Club. I get to serve in the church on Sunday nights by co-leading a group of 4th-6th grade girls. We play the games, listen to and discuss the lesson, and worship.
4. Theological discussions. Every Sunday on the way back from Discovery my friends and I discuss some theological issue. I am a little surprised at how often we agree on things!
5. Worship. I love singing the hymns in the main service and the worship songs in Crossroads. It is great!
6. Thinking. I like going to a church that challenges me to think about the most important things in life, namely glorifying God.
7. Fireside. I also go to a Bible study through Crossroads. I have never been in a Bible study like this, where everyone is so friendly and willing to help and to listen. It is one of the highlights of my week!
I'm sure there are more things, and I am excited to see how God is going to bless me in the future through this church!

"Quotes"

I'm gonna Job your family!
-James, Bible study leader, talking about what he would do to sinners if he were God

But college is little more than a push for momentum so that you can spring into life’s activities.
-Richard Halliburton

Better to love an enemy than to snub a friend.
-Laney

Little things affect little minds.
-Benjamin Disraeli

Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living.
-Jim Elliot

Ahh, summer

My summer started as soon as I stepped off the plane at LAX...Here is my oldest brother Ross graduating from Master's!! Good job, bro!
IBEX friends, Josh Zeichik and Michelle Dueck...Yea, love you guys...
Roommate! Katharyn Shriner!
Later that summer Megan came to NorCal to go to Justin Brown's wedding and to visit friends, including me! Michelle got to come up, too, before running off to various weddings!
I took them to the Green Bridge, the tallest bridge in California...Also the site of the filming of some of the movie XXX, which I've never seen...(wow, I can't believe I originally wrote "sight" instead of "site")
I got a nice haircut...Notice the shirt and the necklace... =)
Then my older brother Scott graduated from the police academy! He is now a police officer in Placer County! Way to go!

Ahh, summer, continued

Near the beginning of summer, I got to visit my best friend Irene in her hometown of Tahoe City, California. I managed to get a really bad sunburn on the back of my legs...Ouch...
We went to Obexer's Market...Kinda like IBEX...but not...I had the best tamale of my life there...actually I had two...
I got to see my little sister Brenda a lot...She loves frogs and bugs...One day she caught 8 frogs in her little bug catcher, just from peeking in our plants...
Some of the frogs in their little prison...She let them go later...
For my birthday, Irene took me to Denny's...I then went home and had a birthday lunch with my family and some of their friends...
Later that summer Irene and I picked enough blackberries for about 4 pies! They were very good...

I really like my puppy, so I took some pictures with him before I left...
Sutter puppy!!
Coming back to school, it was Shane's 21st birthday! Happy birthday, buddy! He was very excited about the Israeli flag toothpicks, brought all the way from Ben Yehudah Street, Jerusalem

Ha Tikvah

Ha Tikvah is Hebrew for The Hope. Ha Tikvah is the national anthem of Israel. For me, the phrase ha tikvah means the hope that one day I will be able to return to Eretz Israel, which I love so much.

Ashkelon Beach

The Sea of Galilee

Caesarea Maritime

Yerushalayim

Torah

Wheat in Benjamin

The Dead Sea

The Hill Country of Judah

The Ultimate Weekend

So how did you spend your Labor Day weekend? My weekend started out with an IBEX reunion dinner! It was so much fun to have 23 of us from my semester there to eat some good food and to visit with a ton of fun people. Later that night I got to go hottubbing and hang out with Heather Zorichak and friends at her apartment.
Saturday, the day started out with none other than ULTIMATE FRISBEE! So I'm not that good, but I still love the game. Laney proceeded to cut open his forehead and Marisa decided to dislocate her pinky finger; other than that we had a great time (Laney and Marisa are fine)! Later my old roommate Katharyn and I bought peaches and had a great time hanging out. My new roommate Adrienne and I went swimming that night.
On Sunday, I went to Grace Community. This was fun, until we got lost. The funny thing is, one of my passengers has attended Grace for 3 years! Oh well...After church I played soccer. That was fun, but I was so tired I fell asleep during night church! Better luck next time...
Monday started out late. I played more Frisbee at 10:00 with a bunch of cool folks. On the way down to lunch, we decided to hop in the pool and cool off with a few rounds of Marco Polo. Later that evening, a bunch of us made taco salad and watched a movie, The Court Jester with Danny Kaye.
All in all, it was a great weekend. I had a wonderful time running, jumping, swimming, kicking, eating, hanging out, and everything else!
Please excuse my lack of eloquence on this post.

wHat thE RAndOm?!

A big thanks to Mr. Thomas Laney Stroup for fixin' my computer...A big thanks to all my friends who have stopped by my office and listened to me worry about my job...A big thanks to Leslie Davis and Jen Holmes for allowing me to switch dorms...
So I'm back in SoCal...Who have I seen? Let me see...
Sherrie, Ashley, Laney, Adam, Michelle, Heather Z, Heather D, Heather E, Tad, Colin, Carolyn, Amos, Luke, Micah, Jess, Molly, Emily, Nate, Correll, Lexi...And the list goes on...I really wish I could see...
Michelle Dueck, Megan Thomas, Austin Surls, Emily Sheehy, Brittany Good, Rachel Borders, Todd Bolen, Bill Schlegel, Becky Bange, all the kids...
Thing I wish had happened this week: Been handed a full-ride scholarship for college
Thing I wish had NOT happened this week: Being stung by a bee and having to get antibiotics for my puffed-up ankle!
Cool thing that happened yesterday: Met a girl from Zambia; I went to Zambia 2 years ago!!
So often I focus on the bad things and forget about the good...I want to complain about my financial situation, my puffy ankle, my stressful job, my lack of funds for cool books, my lack of home-town friends, all that...So often I forget that I have been privileged to travel the world, attend a great school, visit different continents, live in a free country, have a lot of siblings, have a lot of school friends, have a great job, have a good car, have the ability to read, have the ability to walk, have the ability to climb and run and catch a Frisbee, been born into a Christian family, have a great best friend, have a good camera even, and the list goes on...
Lord, thank You for this unique time in my life...Help me to accept the changes, knowing that no matter what, You are always the same...Help me to really grasp what that means............

Already?!

WoW, is it August already?! Since I last blogged, I have been housesitting, turned 20, had fun at work, seen Pirates and Superman, worked things out with the return to school, taken a cat to the vet, watched too many movies, finished a book, started other books, made blackberry pies, listened to reports on Israel, taken a few pics, washed my puppy, smog-checked my car, etc. Not too exciting, huh? I cannot believe that I will be back in SoCal in two and a half weeks! I love TMC, but I am not too sure I am ready for the campus life again. Israel was so cool. Ahhh, well, we shall see. God is good all the time and all the time He is with me...

Obscure

Obscure things I miss about Eretz Yisrael...
Kippas
Magnum bars
Thinking, "I wonder if those are the Palestinians over in the West Bank"
Having Todd get side-tracked with fun stuff before Archaeology
"This is the Mossad..bye-bye!"
Getting lots of e-mails every week
Going on Masternet and seeing that it was "So-and-so's" birthday on Friday...and on Saturday
Trying to translate shekels into dollars and vice versa
Wearing shorts to class
Wearing rubber flip-flops to class
Riding through Telshe Stone on the way to Jeru
Seeing Elvis Inn and Gimel Gimel
Seeing all the profs' kids
Daniel and Ayelet and their cool family
Shabbat brunch
Visiting four different seas: Red, Dead, Galilee, Mediterranean
Climbing things
Ugiot
Camping out
Hiking
Oily tuna
Grainy hummus
Shaaban
All the different processions in Jeru: Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Coptic
The prayers stuffed into every crack in the Western Wall
Hearing Meno get all excited in his sermons
The Foremans
Seeing machine guns everywhere
Yotvata chocolate milk...from a bag, of course
Pottery and rocks
Shimon Gibson
Roommates
The Miklat
Fiddler on the Roof with everybody
All the weird specimens hanging in the Muslim Quarter
Half-shekel Pita at Damascus Gate
The bullet holes in Zion Gate
Singing in the churches
Finding a good bus buddy
Finding a good bus buddy with good snacks...and notes
Violent rain storms at the moshav
Lightning over the Judean Hill Country
Watching people kiss camels
Sheket!!
Climbing in holes, tombs, tunnels, caves, etc.
Digging in Warren's Shaft
Hezekiah's Tunnel
Dishes
Weird boiled-egg lasagne
Chicken balls
Jackals (?)
Travel/Study Break
Work days

...we are healed

Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

~Isaiah 53:4-5

July 4th, 2004

I had forgotten how loud fireworks actually are, and how pretty they are, too. **Why is that? I wondered to myself...maybe because for the last few years you have only seen the fireworks from your porch or from a boat on the lake or from your uncle's yard...or maybe because two years ago you weren't even in the country! hmmm, good excuse...**
Actually I was in Zambia, Africa on a mission trip through Awana Club's MIT program, Missionaries In Training...My team and I traveled to orphanages, schools, churches, and even Victoria Falls! It was an awesome 2 weeks...
While we didn't have fireworks on the 4th of July, we did have fireworks on the 3rd of July...Our team had enough money left over to spend on a few things...One thing we bought was a bicycle for Joseph Mbange, the native missionary, to use...Some other things we bought were, of course, fireworks!!! Our American host missionaries, Matthew and Manda Payne, bought smaller versions of American fireworks and we had a show after our little going-away party from our new Zambian friends...It was really fun until some other Zambians showed up...They kindly asked that we stop out of respect for a funeral that was going on down the street!!!

That has to be my most memorable 4th yet!!

Victoria Falls, Zambia
Kamanga Compound, Zambia
One of the many orphanages in Lusaka, Zambia

Both mercy and grace

Ever since I read this on my friend Ry's blog, I haven't been able to get it out of my head, which is a good thing...

From Awana, I learned that mercy is "not getting what I deserve." Grace is "getting what I don't deserve." Thank God that He overflows with both mercy and grace.

Here's to you

So I have been working at an indoor fruit stand/market, and I have come to realize how much I miss the values of my Christian guy friends...Sure, my co-workers are nice and funny, but they definitely do not have the integrity of "my guys", especially "my" IBEXers...

Tim waiting for everyone else to go eat before he would eat
Ry and Nate insisting that the girls sit before they did
Austin bandaging Colin's feet on the Dead Sea Hike
Luke and Tad passing out encouragement
Ryan Moore treating Sarah with kindness and gentleness
Jer creating entertainment and being willing to help
Paul being willing to tutor half of IBEX
Correll helping organize things
Chris playing with all the kids
Laney being ready to answer any questions
And the list goes on..............

To all "my" IBEX guys and "my other guys" (Garret, Nic, Adam, Shane, Kaleb, Paul, etc.), thanks for your integrity, humor, kindness, and maturity...I'm sure at times it feels like no one cares or recognizes your hard work to be men of God, so this is simply a thank you...

A man's steps are of the LORD...
-Proverbs 20:24a
What is desired in a man is kindness...

-Proverbs 19:22a

The righteous man walks in his integrity...

-Proverbs 20:7a

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches...

-Proverbs 22:1a

The Return of Mr. Twain

So I've gone a little crazy on Mark Twain...He is a great writer, being not only entertaining but eloquent as well...I found more quotes in The Innocents Abroad that relate to IBEX, so bear with me as I repeat them here...

Jerusalem

To us, Jerusalem and to-day's experiences will be an enchanted memory a year hence - a memory which money could not buy from us.

We paused on the summit of a distant hill and took a final look and made a final farewell to the venerable city [Jerusalem] which had been such a good home to us.

The Moslems watch the Golden Gate with a jealous eye, and an anxious one, for they have an honored tradition that when it falls, Islamism will fall…

Travel

…I knew then what I had sometimes known before – that it is worth while to get tired out, because one so enjoys resting afterward.

One must travel, to learn. Every day, now, old Scriptural phrases that never possessed any significance for me before take to themselves a meaning.

Jericho

Ancient Jericho is not very picturesque as a ruin. When Joshua marched around it seven times, some three thousand years ago, and blew it down with his trumpet, he did the work so well and so completely that he hardly left enough of the city to cast a shadow.

Elah Valley

We crossed the brook which furnished David the stone that killed Goliath, and, no doubt, we looked upon the very ground whereon that noted battle was fought.

Aijalon Valley

This was the plain of which Joshua spoke when he said, "Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Aijalon."