The trip back to Jerusalem was the longest trip of my life.  First everything was going well.  My grandparents and aunt (Tia in Spanish) were taking my family to the airport with 8 boxes, 7 carry-ons, a stroller, a booster seat and a car seat.   My backpack was one of the heaviest things I ever carried, because I had my Bible, extra clothes, snacks, bathroom supplies, books...and more!

We said our goodbyes and hopped on a tram that took us to the plane.  Then my family went in line through security.  We had to take all the liquids out of our bags and Mom and Dad had to take off their shoes.  Little Sophia had to be taken out of her stroller and I got to hold her.  

Next we got on the plane headed to New York!  In that airport I saw all kinds of different people; from Germany, Asia, Africa and India.  That was fascinating!  We had  to wait at gate B41 for 6hours before we could get on the plane going  to Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel.  

That flight was 9 1/2 hours long, that's almost 10 hours!  Which is 3 hours longer than a day at school!  Luckily, they TV and games on the plane.  I got to watch RIO 2 and the Lego Movie.  I also played games and ate delicious food they gave us.  The flight was so long that my legs started aching so I had to move around a bit to get comfortable.  It was so annoying.  

Then finally it was time to land the plane and I was ready to go, except I wanted to go back and grab somethings off the plane that I had forgotten.  Next when we were about to go through security, we lost our passports!  My Mom and I decided to pray that we would find the passports, and guess what?! ...I'll tell you about the passports, immigration, the rental car and humungous amount of waiting.  But it's 10pm here and I need to get some sleep to finally get over jetlag, even though I love it!  Stay tuned for my next post  where you'll find out what Simone says next.  Remember....stay tuned!

If you’ve ever had interacted with me then you know I love quotes!  I like how they take a deep and often challenging topic and make it plain and simple for everyone to understand.  One of my top three favorite quotes is by Dr. MLK:

Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.
--Martin Luther King Jr.

“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?'”  What are you afraid of?  What won’t you try because you think you will fail?  I know some people who don’t put forth their best effort so that if they aren’t successful, they can always say, “Well, I wasn’t trying my hardest.”  That’s asinine!  The only thing that beast a failure is a try!  If it’s not your best try, how can you expect your best result?

“Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?'”  In this instance, the word politic can best be translated: tactful; diplomatic.  Basically, will you do something just to please other people?  At first read that sounds good, even nice.  However, a closer examination shows that you are simply being a “people pleaser,” not a person of integrity.

Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?'”  If I do this, will it make me cool?  What will people say if I don’t?  If everybody else is doing it, it can’t be that bad, right?  WRONG!  You can always choose your sin, but you can never choose your consequences.
 

“But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?'”  Now that’s a great question, but I’d like to take it one step further to make it the best question ever.  Please know that I believe that wrong is wrong even if everyone else is for it, and right is right even if everyone else is against.  Although something may be right or permissible, is it necessarily right for you?  I think the question we should really be asking ourselves is “Is it wise?”  Based on our past experiences, current situation, and future hopes and dreams, the question we need to ask ourselves when faced with life’s unique situations is not whether something is safe, diplomatic, or popular--not even is it right.  The best question we could ever ask ourselves is, “Is it wise?”  In life, you always have a choice.  Choose wisely.