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Day 6 cont. Israel 2018

After another generous buffet breakfast we headed out – me with a runny nose and beginnings of a cold. That’s when it’s good to be traveling with Savannah, who has tinctures and remedies! Double dosed on elderberry tincture and lozenges.

We left the Sea of Galilee behind and headed to the River Jordan. Several people in our group of 35 decided to get baptized. As our fearless leader Yonathon is Jewish he found a pastor from one of the many groups and he did the dunking. A majority were catholic so I think they have never had an immersion. Next to us was a group of Brazilians who were very vocal and singing and shouting with each of their baptisms. It was quite a joyous occasion. The river was a beautiful emerald green and quite beautiful.

This is not the same place where John baptized Jesus. The river in that area is more like a ditch and full of sediment so the place we stopped is an organized place where there is a place to rent a white robe and towel and they issue certificates. Savannah and I washed our feet in the river.

At a gift shop I got honey for Nicki and date palm syrup for me and a bag of coffee for my hubby.

After this was all finished we headed to an area with Roman ruins dating back to BC. It was only uncovered in the 1980s and has the public bath house, amphitheater and bathrooms.

It was really hot today- up around 90. The air is dry and it gets quite difficult for some of our older travelers to walk around. But they are hanging in there!

We then traveled south along the border with Jordan and into the West Bank. You cross checkpoints going out but not coming in. We were waved through without any issues. We stopped in a place where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. We watched a brief film and went out to see the caves where they were first found by a 14 year old boy.

We continued south and the change in terrain became stunning. Huge, massive piles of rock mountains that look like they could crumble with just a sneeze. Miles and miles along the Dead Sea with the only real vegetation being acres of date palms. We saw the mount of temptation where Jesus was tested by Satan. We saw the caves in the mountains where David and Saul hid from one another.

We finally arrived at Herrods resort right on the Dead Sea. Just in time to get to our spa service we had ordered. Mine was a full body salt scrub and Massage followed by a jacuzzi tub soak. It was amazing. Savannah had a mud wrap and Massage.

It got too late to go float in the sea so we will arise at 5 tomorrow and go straight down to the beach before we take off for Jerusalem at 8.

Now we have eaten from another stunning buffet dinner with a huge population from Ukraine and Europe staying here as well. Our hotel is beautiful and luxurious and now I’m so sleepy I can’t say any more today!

I can’t add pics as WiFi is slow but trust me // it’s all amazing!!

©Belindabotzong2018

Day 6- Israel 2018

It’s morning on the Sea of Galilee

We kept the door open all night to have that gentle breeze wafting over our room. It’s warm and there are so many birds singing it sounds like a symphony with the ripples on the lake playing in the background.

I woke up suddenly at 2:30am from a dream I don’t remember but the reality of my mom being gone from this earth shook my soul. Though I know she is in the presence of the savior, who spent his life in the surrounding hills and water, I can’t fathom that I cannot tell her about this trip we are on.

I sat out on the balcony under that bright shiny moon and twinkling stars looking down in this famous body of water, trying to imagine Jesus going from this very spot. He preached, selected his disciples and lived his earthly life right here. Right where I am. It’s powerful.

I read half the book of Matthew while I was feeling restless. Seeing those ancient writings with this perspective is powerful.

Today we are heading to the Dead Sea. We are booked for Massage services later in the day. Some in our group are going to be baptized in the River Jordan today. That will be powerful stuff too! And of course I plan to float in the Dead Sea and experience the refreshing minerals.

Tomorrow we leave for Jerusalem. We found a shofar in Caperneum but decided to wait for Jerusalem to buy one!

©Belindabotzong2018

Day 5- Israel 2018

Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee started our day. The waters so peaceful and the breeze so refreshing. We are staying at the Leonardo hotel which has perfect views from our deck.

After a huge buffet breakfast we took the bus to the opposite side of the lake and went on board a wooden fishing boat. We were welcomed aboard with The Star Spangled Banner as the hung the American flag beside the Israeli flag. Then they played some contemporary Christian music as we were steered around the lake. It’s beauty is so much like Lake Roosevelt in Eastern Washington that I had to remind myself where we are! This is the place where Jesus walked in water. Where he called his disciples and where he spent so much of his earthly life. It was warm and sunny and pretty much perfect!

My eyes were filled with tears at the thought that my mom died two weeks ago and she would have loved knowing we were experiencing history live!

No photos to share due to super slow internet.

Sunny and high 70s

When we returned to shore we rode up to Caesarea Philippi where we could see ancient ruins of caves dedicated to the different Greek Gods. This is also the place where Peter and Jesus spoke about building the church.

We traveled along the Lebanese border to the Golan Heights and stopped in Tabgha at the site where Jesus fed 5000

After lunch consisting of falafel and salad we went to Capernaum which is the town of Jesus-/ where his ministry is centered.

We went to a museum with a fishing boat in display that dates to the first century.

We headed to the Mount of Beatitudes where a beautiful church has been erected. Our guide. Yonathan has done a good job keeping the scriptures relevant to what we are seeing.

And our final stop was Magdala – the city of Mary Magdalene. This was really touching to see first century ruins and a brand new church that has amazing paintings depicting several moments — the woman who touched jesus’ robe and was healed. Jesus walking on Water.

It has been a long day with lots of stops and starts. So absolutely beautiful

©Belindabotzong2018

Day 4 – Israel 2018

Sunny and high 70s

After a huge buffet breakfast we took the bus along the Mediterranean coastline north to Caesaria – considered the center of early Christianity. From there we went to Mt Carmel where Elijah challenged the false prophets. We had lunch nearby –falafel pita, which we ate outside on picnic tables.

From Mt Carmel we could see the Megiddo Valley where Armageddon will take place. We walked through old ruins that date back 30 generations. Beautiful sandstone and pillars.

Above/ Caesaria

Above-/ ruins on Mt Carmel

There were black millipedes up in the ruins that creeped me out. Otherwise we haven’t seen any wildlife except dozens of stray cats wherever we stop. And as my traveling partner is a crazy cat lady, Savannah makes a new friend wherever we stop.

From Mt Carmel we drove to Nazareth! Seems so surreal that we could do that. I imagined it to be quite rural but actually it’s built up on a hill in a mostly Arab area.

We went up to the large church which is built over the home of Mary, mother of Jesus. The home where she was when Gabriel came to tell her if God’s plan for a savior.

Inside that church we could get up close to her home and it was quite touching to feel that presence there.

The church and surrounding courtyards are filled with paintings or art depicting Mary. Each work is donated by a different country. It is a Franciscan Catholic Church. I saw the Mary from Italy, Brazil, USA and many other countries. Beautiful art in oils and stained glass and mosaics.

This was the first place we had to pay to use the bathroom. Two sheckles and NO toilet paper!

From there we walked back to our bus. I must say a word about our bus driver here. It seems he’s a magician as he maneuvers that huge bus up and down mountains, through narrow streets designed for a Donkey cart, and around roundabouts without blinking. He surely has some power that makes the bus stretch thin as people zip in and out and all around him!

Our final stop was to be the church at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast. We were dropped off and started walking down the alleyway of cobbled stones and were met by another group who said we missed the site– the church closed already. We were just going to read the story from the Bible when one of the ladies in our group stumbled. An ambulance had to be called and the police had to come get a report from our guide.

Finally we headed toward Tiberius to the Sea of Galilee and checked into the Leonardo Hotel. Its after sundown so we can’t see the lake yet but our balcony on the 9th floor overlooks the lake and the pool. Tomorrow we get to go sailing out there!

We just had a delicious buffet dinner/- oh my goodness so much food available. I can’t eat a lot of it but what I can eat is delicious.

Our tour guide has been awesome. He’s Jewish and about 40 years old. He’s extremely knowledgeable about scripture and history. He makes sure we read accounts in the old and new testaments to authenticate our experience.

I have to keep reminding myself we are really here, to pay attention and commit it to memory…and that I can’t tell my mom all about it when we get home.

©Belindabotzong2018

Day 3 — Israel 2018

We slept so good last night! No jet lag. No fuzzy brain!

Went to an amazing breakfast buffet in our hotel. Piles and piles of food. Beautiful healthy food.

Then we started walking. We walked a lot. It’s our only free day til the ending. We walked through Tel Aviv to the mall then stopped for smoothies st a juice bar. Savannah had a green drink and I had the most delicious açaí bowl ever made!

We continued along to find the outdoor market. It was absolutely awesome! Like Pike Place only way more stuff. Fruits and veggies galore. Passion fruit. Dragon fruit. Figs. Nuts. Pastries. Candies. Spices. Olives. Big blocks of tahini with any number of flavors. Pomegranates as big as a child’s head. Shofars! Yes indeed I can buy one here! I’ll Wait to get to Jerusalem though.

People. Lots. People speaking Hebrew, English, German. People are very young here.

We walked along the promenade back toward the hotel and watched people from a bench. There is exercise equipment along the beach. People in Tel Aviv are very beautiful and very fit. So many runners and bikers. Motor scooters and motorized skate boards.

I bout a pita from the outdoor market and we headed back to our room

We changed into beach clothes and picked up towels at the pool and a chair and headed to that beautiful sand. The water was warm as I dipped my toes into the Mediterranean once again!

Savannah went off in search of falafel and I stopped in the gift shop and bought a bracelet of crystal with Hebrew blessing that says Listen, Israel! There were lnany choices. The eye. The Hebrew letter. The hand. All symbols of blessing for Israel.

When we returned to our room I took a long nap. Ah so refreshing!

We went to the buffet for dinner and feasted on all kinds of roast vegetables, salads, beef, chicken, and olives. And of course there were desserts galore.

After dinner there was a group meeting for all who are going on the tour. Our guide is Yonthen –

Very knowledgeable and kind. We took a bus up to Jaffa – there is a mosque, Catholic Church, and the Jaffa gate. Jaffa is where Jonah and the whale took place. And were the apostle Peter stayed with Simon the tanner in Acts.

And now for a good six hours of sleep before we hit the road for our next stop– Cana where Jesus did his first miracle and Megiddo where he will do his last miracle.

©Belindabotzong2018

Day 1 and 2- Israel Trip

The first two days are merged into a blurry singular long and exhausting trip!

I left Bellingham at 6am on the shuttle. My seasick patch had not quite engaged apparently — I got fairly queasy but managed to make it without creating a memory that involves me puking at some point. Most of my travel memories are punctuated with puke stories.

I checked my bag and headed to the gate to wait for Savannah to arrive. I ate a bit of breakfast and we met up, then soon realized our gate had been moved to the opposite end — so back we went.

We tried multiple charging stations before successfully recharging all our devices. And off we flew. Five and a half hours to New York. Pretty uneventful. I watched a couple movies and relaxed.

Upon arrival at JFK we ate at the Five Burroughs Hall. Greek Mediterranean was my choice – tuning up for Israel! Hummus. Babaganush. Pita. Yum!!

Before we knew it we were getting a second X-ray screening and boarding the ten hour flight to Tel Aviv.

It was the longest ten hours of my life. I felt fidgety- like restless legs — could not get comfortable enough. Watched a movie called Lion. So well done! I appreciate true stories. And subtitles.

We could watch the flight progress around the globe at a snails pace! We got up. We sat down. We tried to eat but it was not good food. We got up some more. We stretched. We nearly cried. It was super hard to get anywhere near comfortable and falling asleep seemed impossible.

Finally finally we were in Israeli airspace. At that point NO ONE can be out of their seat. For any reason. So the final bathroom call was a line down either side awaiting their final flush. Then as we were landing a lady got sick and got up and people were yelling at her to sit down.

Once we landed we met our travel company rep in baggage claim. A thirty minute bus ride took us to our first destination- Herods in Tel Aviv. A beautiful old resort hotel right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. The cool breezes and smells of sunshine filled us up with joy at having made it!

We attended a delicious buffet dinner then walked in the post sunset sandy beach. Picked up shells. Admired the amenities. And now – having been awake over 24 hours it’s time to crash. For this is not meant to be a relaxing vacation but a spiritual experience and an historical treasure of activity and learning and experiencing the Holy Land!

Preparations- Israel 2018

Today was final preparation day. After taking care of upcoming art projects I had several errands for the trip tomorrow.

Stopped at Wells Fargo to get the foreign money I had ordered – so pretty!

I kind of expected shekels to still be in silver coin and come in a little bag like bible stories! But of course that would be silly!

Next stop was my moms gravesite. My son Mark and I stopped to put some bling on her grave from my daughter. I wanted to tell her goodbye before we make this big trip that is actually for her.

For years she kept telling me she wished I could go to Israel. She, who never left the United States, watched televangelists religiously (pun?) and while she hated traveling herself she loved the idea of me going there. And then there was the shofar incident.

There is one ministry that offers a shofar for a big donation. For months all she talked about was wanting to donate so she could get that rams horn. I ignored all such requests from her thinking she would lose interest. It was just a phase. Why did a white Christian elderly lady want a shofar? She couldn’t explain so I continued to ignore until she finally wore me down. I made the donation ONLY after making the lady on the phone verify that a shofar was in their possession and that it was guaranteed authentic. She verified. I donated (my mom donated– I just did the transaction). I’m telling you — I know it seems crazy but at that point I figured what the heck. Give her anything she wants– she sits at home alone all day and night. She would do it for me. She is obviously touched by this item and life is short.

So we waited. And waited. And weeks went by. No shofar. I called. Shofars are in customs. Just give them time to process. We wait. She worries. I call. No shofar.

Finally I call and tell them their ministry reputation is now tainted. They lied when they said they were immediately available. I demanded they refund the shofar money and stop lying to little old ladies who had nothing better to do. And I told my mom I would just go to Israel and get her one!

That was a year ago. She called me every time there was an announcement that another tour was being planned. I checked into several ministries who do tours but they were so expensive I couldn’t do it. For months she waited for me to go but I struggled with finding a legitimate and affordable tour and I didn’t want to go alone. Usually I would want to travel alone but not for this. So I invited my niece Savannah, my moms first grandchild, to go along too.

I got the flights and found America Israel Tours out of California it has good reviews so I emailed and got a response from a lady named Pauline Pancake. Seriously. Well that sounded legit, right?? So I read more reviews and talked to someone other than Ms. Pancake- I would seriously change my name!

My mom was ecstatic. Multiple times she made me promise to get a shofar. I promised. But then she said she wanted a big one! Like how big? BIG! She said. Like four feet long! I told her that won’t fit in my suitcase. She didn’t care about the trivia if that. A big one. I told her one foot. She said big. I didn’t answer.

I gave her the itinerary two weeks ago so she could follow along and know which sites we would visit each day. She was really interested in us going to swim in the Dead Sea and going to the spa.

When she suddenly had a heart attack October 13 people asked if I was going to cancel. I said heck no – the woman wants her shofar and I’m going for her so no cancelling. I sat next to her bed and held her hand on October 15. I told her I wasn’t cancelling. Well for one thing I had flight insurance but had skipped the trip insurance. She didn’t really say much.

The next day I brought her home from the hospital. And she died. And now I have a journey to take and I imagine her with Jesus, the ultimate Israel tour guide, following our journey.

And her shofar will be integrated into her headstone when we return. It won’t be four feet long but it will be beautiful. And she will be glad.

Follow us as we travel 💕

©Belindabotzong2018

The Original

One of a kind

Larger than life

Hilarious

Recurring descriptions on sympathy cards covered in flowery words

Kindnesses and thoughts from those left behind

She was an original

She wasn’t allowed to drive due to seizures

But she bought a tiny yellow Smart Car 🚗 for me to drive her around in and named it Buttercup

Her numerous doctors appointments were filled with her bragging about her Buttercup. She would get doctors and techs to come outside to see her Buttercup. The eyelashes my uncle put on drew all manner of attention. She, who otherwise was a more solitary being, loved and delighted in the attention Buttercup drew. People waved, stared, smiled and honked. People waved us over to ask about Buttercup. At the gas station, without fail, everyone wanted to know gas mileage and factoids.

She loved Buttercup and was always praising her for her looks and charm while I was cursing the horrible engineering that jarred my kidneys over every small bump. Not to mention the railroad tracks, bridge transitions, and potholes. French people should stick to making wine and cheese I would tell her. She would defend that Buttercup like a mother cub and hated my insults. Last month she made me get a license plate that said “BTTRKUP”- I had just installed it on our last scenic.

Her hair was a huge disappointment to her. As it thinned from over-processing and with age she was in constant distress over her “bald spot”. Every outing started with coaxing those remaining strands of hair into an illusion of lusciousness. Only my sister, a hairdresser, could pull off that magic trick. Then I would have to spray VO5 until I was gasping for air. It is the smell of my childhood – hairspray and Coty Wild Musk.

She loved loved loved bling and coordinated outfits. The collection of earrings we gathered from around the world was astounding. Funky. Dangling. Shiny. Butterflies. Ladybugs. Feathers. Tacky. Holiday themes. Nothing was too snazzy for her.

She had shoes in every color to match her outfits and loved to put little tiny clippies all over in her perfectly coiffed hairdo.

Rhinestones and ripped jeans. V-neck T-shirt’s in every color – Plus tie dye.

No one was their own name. We were all interchangeable in our real names but nicknames were all our own. Melissa. Pete. Oodie. Bunny. Gina. Booboo.

Shopaholic in those catalogs in the mail. Collections. Oriental trading. Piles and piles of amazing things that everyone needs and apparently didn’t even know you wanted– the possibility of owning a gun shaped toilet plunger should delight any redneck in the family. And if she knew you liked a certain thing it became her mission to purchase any possible item in that category. I like strawberries and have had that theme in mind for my kitchen since I was 12. She bought fairy strawberries. Twice. She bought a knife holder strawberry. Salt and pepper strawberries. Everything strawberries. She collected chickens. 25 years ago she worked in a hatchery and thus began the quest to own any item with a chicken motif. Years and years friend and relations poured their hearts into chickens. My aunt has a horse. My mom was set on the idea that this translates to wanting anything with a horse design. My aunt would disagree and this befuddled my mom’s way of thinking. She bought Superman socks for one of my coworkers because he was so sweet and he kinda looked like Superman. And Batman socks with capes on them for another who runs marathons because she thought that would inspire him to run better. Not.

She was humiliating – telling all her doctors that I was so smart and then arguing if I tried to interpret her rants and round about stories filled with all her nonsense words for them. She called out to strangers thinking they were someone she knew. So many times. It was embarrassing. She loved sayings that were inappropriate or off the wall. “Colder than a witches hoohoo” – bring just the tip of an iceberg. Saying words incorrectly on purpose brought her great joy. Brefkast. Really?

She could peel a ten pound bag of potatoes in minutes and was in a constant search for the ultimate spud peeling knife. Absolutely refused a vegetable peeler. And she diced those spuds into perfect cubes and fried them up for everyone.

Potato salad and baked beans. Pasta salad and macaroni and cheese. The staples of every bbq or feast. Cookies cakes and pies. Yum!

She got into certain “kicks” with food. I was in charge of groceries and she would go for weeks at a time wanting specific cereal or bread or whatever. The most recent was Raisin Bran with bananas. Before that it was frosted mini wheats tiny bites Only!! Groceries were a subject of contention with us. I celebrate instacart and click list as if they were nobel prize material. She despised that she couldn’t go pick out her own groceries. Constantly complaining about the size -flavor -color -quality -brand of everything.

She suffered with pain, seizures, arthritis, uncontrolled hypertension and poor nutrition choices. She fought the doctors and nurses. She adored the receptionist at the nephrologist. She could be rude or take them in like family. No matter what she was in charge.

One of a kind original. Gooie. My mom.

©Belindabotzong2018

And then what happened?

Normal returns

A solid week of grieving

Clinging to ideal memories

Visualizing complete and perfect healing

Sharing words of comfort, wisdom, hopes, and fears

Laughing and crying til there are no more tears

A shiny pink casket

A brilliant sunny day highlighted in gold, red, and orange Autumn leaves

A song, a speech, a memory poured out between sobs. Exhortation to believe in Jesus and heaven and forgiveness.

Staring then cleaning. Phone calls and emails. Conversations filled with her voice as we reminisce and remember

Together and apart so much to do

Then Monday comes. The house is empty. The trash cans full to overflowing. The shredding and burning complete. The photos sorted and memories shared. The echoes of a life hard fought.

And our “new normal” begins with an empty spot where there are no more phone calls missed. No more voice mails that start out “Hey…”. No more doctors appointments, lunches, scenics.

She’s on her final journey to somewhere even more beautiful than her beloved Sedro-Woolley where she was born, where she raised five children, and where she died in what she thought was heaven on earth.

Now she sees clearly His face, their faces, and she sees the spectacular home He and they have prepared for her. A mansion. No tears. No pain. Just love and joy and peace. Pure love and pure joy and pure peace.

Off to work we go. Loving you and others. The Lord. My mom.

©Belindabotzong2018

Lists

Where do you begin?

Where does it all end?

What does it all mean?

We stood there the day after

Looking at each other

Them looking at me to lead them

Asking what to do

Where to start

How do I know the answer?

What thought process do I go through to figure it all out

Minds covered in haze

Hearts filled with grief

Thoughts and decisions covered in sorrow

Heart aching with loss

We all dug in with both hands

Sorting and sorting and boxing and dumping and keeping and tossing and loading and donating and discussing.

Rule number one — tell me what item is important to you and put your name on it

Rule number two — make a box to fill

Questions arise

Pictures? — we will pile all the boxes of pictures to distribute later. We will have a ceremony after the burial where we go through them together. This morphs as hours go by

Documents? Shred? Burn? There are so many. Then so many more. Medical papers. Receipts. Piles and piles.

Another plan is made. We will have a bonfire. Burn all the documents and as we sit around the fire we will sort the photos. Each person will have a beautiful box to fill with theirs. This will allow us to reminisce and remember.

Greeting cards? There are hundreds. Letters. Notes. Notebooks. At least a hundred little spiral notebooks and notepads. Address labels? We are talking a thousand. Piles and piles. And piles.

The notepads are full of lists – bills, groceries, peoples names and addresses and phone numbers. Repetitive. Historical. Facts. Figures. Ideas.

Paper clips? Tools? Batteries. So many batteries. Tassels? That one got us laughing. What the heck?

Phone calls need to be made. There’s nothing like calling government agencies and their 1-800 numbers. Exasperating. Get through. Get on hold. Get disconnected. Redial. Re-enter. Remain sane. Reach one of the kindest people in the world who efficiently cancels the 38 year long pension in about 38 seconds. The VA is highly efficient and friendly as they end that monthly stipend with a “God bless you”. Another thing checked off the list. Meds by mail. Check. Cable. Check. Lawyer. Check. Bank. Check. Phone. Check. Check. Check. The list grows shorter then grows longer. So much to do. So much to think about.

Estate sale. Realtor. Lawyers. Meetings and appointments.

As the list changes everyone else is using the physical energy to load. And box and bag and load some more. Calls are made to donate medical equipment. Four walkers. A wheelchair. Crutches. Shower chair. Toilet raiser- bought just hours before she died. Piles of glucose monitors, blood pressure cuffs and all manner of joint stabilizers and ortho equipment.

Beds and chairs and dishes. Pots and pans and bowls and kitchen gadgets galore. Furniture and furnishings. Toothpaste and shampoo and bars of soap.

Donations to the humane society thrift store. Boxes of clothes. Loads to the dump. A garage filled with estate sale items. Boxes filled with canned and dried food donated to the food bank. Mementos kept and discovered and shared.

Bursts of tears. Bursts of laughter. People stopping by. Nieces. Cousins. Neighbors.

The mind can not comprehend the amount of physical labor, the depth of emotional storm, the ache that’s being covered by action. The knowledge that when the action stops the ache will increase and overwhelm.

Most of my Saturdays were spent with her, sometimes hours on end. Sometimes just a short visit. My calendar is filled with upcoming doctors appointments that will now be cancelled. Our trip to Israel stays on the books but she won’t hear from us about our great adventure. She was going to follow our itinerary daily to understand where we were that day. Nazareth. Galilee. Floating in the Dead Sea. Crying at the tomb of Jesus.

We all have to go through the loss of parents at some point. It’s enormous. As our often dysfunctional family goes through all these worldly goods that sustained her life and lifestyle I pray God’s grace as we patiently and tenderly grieve together, forgive one another, and move forward together.

Proverbs 31

“She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31:15-17, 20, 22, 25-26, 28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

©belindabotzong2018