Immanuel (עִמָּנוּאֵל) – “God is with us”

Phoenix Flight

“…he did those great miracles in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the people through whom we came.” – Joshua 24:17b

Today Kendall and I depart for Israel. I am actually typing this on the last leg of a long day, as we are nine hours and forty-three minutes from Tel-Aviv. God has been with us all day and we have had such a great time watching Him work and then giving Him all the glory.

To start with my heart was for this experience to be more than just a ten year old adventure with dad. My desire was for Kendall to experience God in a whole new way, getting a glimpse of just how much He loves her specifically. Our trip has been bathed in prayer and will continue so through it’s duration. Friends have signed up for individual days (at least one man to pray and one woman to encourage) as an opportunity to specially pray for Kendall and how God will be working in her life that day and throughout her lifetime. Many have also written a note of encouragement that she will be blessed with each day. These are the “mighty men” and “Proverbs 31 women” who are tangibly making a difference in Kendall’s life.

So, what are the results? Is God still with us, moving in visible ways? You bet He is with us and still at work. God let us know he would be at work even before we left, as our good friend, Jeff Grachus, called to let us know the verse God put on his heart for our trip (Joshua 24:17b). God is staying true to His word and working great miracles in our sight.

Our first God sighting of the day occurred in the security line. Kendall and I were put in a line that had the new full body image scanner. To me they are intrusive and possibly even a health hazard. Kendall was up and the scanner was ready for the next person. I prayed that God would intervene in a way Kendall would be able to bypass the scanner. As Kendall was walking forward in front of the machine, the security agent pointed at her to change lanes crossing line traffic to the older style detector. I followed her and once we were through security, let her know about my prayer and how God had immediately answered.

Kendall & Ms Deborah

Quality Time

Our next God sighting came when Deborah, our flight attendant on a connecting flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, saw we were reading Israel guidebooks. We talked for a bit and when she found out what we were doing and why, she was so excited. It turns out that her dad took her on a daddy/daughter adventure when she was young, to ISRAEL!!! They had so much fun and fell in love with Israel to the degree that they came home and took the whole family back the next year. Deborah was such a blessing and encouragement. She gave Kendall a tour of the flight attendant area with a full photo shoot. We were blessed with meals, loads of snacks, and water. What a great start to our trip!