Today I abandoned ship, er, tour bus, and decided to stay at the Ein Gev resort rather than go to Nazareth. I know, right?!? Who in their right mind skips out on Nazareth?

Generally speaking, I try to make my decisions by comparing the advantages of each thing. It helps me cut through the nonsense and focus on the positive. But this morning I woke up and had the realization that if I didn’t have some quiet time alone by the Sea of Galilee, I would regret it more than I would regret missing out on anything else. Plus, I’m tired of being told what to do. If the only way to get a half-day of peace is to take a whole one, I’ll do it.

We’ve seen so many remarkable things here on this Holy Lands tour, I need some time for my brain to process it all. I woke up this morning coughing, with sore ears and no voice. This has become an important indicator to me of my need to manage my stress levels.

So here I am as I write, sitting on the beach, listening to the water and the birds and the sounds of happy families playing in the water. I’ve been in to swim a little. It’s not as fun alone, but it feels so good and there are no demands on my voice or my ears. It’s 9:30 AM and life is so good.

In the meantime, the rest of my group is visiting (hiking to) the source waters of the Jordan River, going to a re-creation of an ancient Nazarite village, seeing some more churches – magnificent, I’m sure, and paying the bus driver a dollar for a bottle of water that they will be desperate for halfway through the hikes they go on. They will have a great day with no regrets, and so will I.

Shalom, I’m going back out to the water.