sanity day

so I took today off. I'm not really sick or anything; I just needed a day. a day to rest. a day to "de-crabbify", as Matt would say. I've been really crabby all week, and it was in the opinion of both Matt & I that I needed some time to myself. yes, it's true - even extroverts need introvert days. very rarely, but it does happen.
so here I am. I've been reading the last in a series of 5 amazing books and watching too many episodes of "The Office". oh, and eating chocolate. mmmm..... chocolate...

I should talk a little about the books I'm reading. my favorite genre by far is historical fiction, and that's what these are. they were written in the 1980's by Bodie Thoene. they're called the Zion Chronicles. they're written about the time in Jerusalem between World War II and statehood for Israel. and they're incredible! the first book took my about 250 pages to get into, but what do expect from a series of 5 books that are about 400 pages each? I did get into it, and I haven't been able to put it down since.

I think one of my favorite themes through the whole books deals with Jew finding their Messiah in Yeshua. I never realized how much hatred their ones in the hearts of Jews towards Christians and towards those who claim Jesus as Messiah. I also never understood why. these books are helping me to realize their justification in the way they feel, and why it is so difficult for a Jew to accept Jesus as Messiah. so many horrible things have been done in His name. evidently, even the Nazis did much of what they did to the Jews, calling them "Christ-killers". what people from the church have done to the Jewish people is horrible to look at. and it grieves my heart.
these books look at the lives of several Jewish people, from peasants to scholars to military leaders, who see past all of that and find their Messiah. it's really quite powerful. I think in another year or so, I'll be reading these books again! I now understand why these are my sister's favorite books, and why she's read through them all 5 times.

another happy thing about these books is that it doesn't end here. Bodie Thoene wrote several sets of 5 books set around different time in Jewish history. I've just hit the tip of the iceberg, and I'm excited to dive deeper!