Seeing the world is inspiring. Seeing the world is prodigious. Other cultures and communities are enlightening in every way. Being emersed in other cultures where you can see, smell, taste, touch, and hear it, changes you. Experience impacts you, forever. Many say that the person is developed through university and taught a well-rounded mind, but I challenge that with the idea that a person is truly developed when they have seen the globe in its fullness and each person as unique and blessed. Each culture and place have its own rhythm, its own dance. We learn to look at ourselves and our stories when we are challenged with the thoughts and ideas from those around us. We determine who we are and what we believe through challenge, and through experience. Often, we only view the world with our one singular lens, our position within the world.

I clearly remember a time in my twenties that I went to Asia and encountered a Christianity much different than my own.  I witnessed Christians truly hiding their faith in the midst of danger and fear.  I witnessed Christians speaking boldly the truth to the lost in ways I never dreamed of.  Coming home from that trip, my heart and my mind were challenged with what I always believed to be true.

Not long after that trip, I was able to see Jerusalem.  The place where the three major religions of the world collide – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.  I have been blessed to see this place many times and count down the days for when I might be able to return here.  During this trip, once again, I could see the Creator of the Universe come to life.  Isn’t it interesting that the three main religions of the world have the One True God as the foundation.  Coincidence?  I think not.  In this most beautiful place, we see so much with every turn – the traditional Jewish men in the streets to the Christian churches and the Muslims bowing for prayer.  The cultures are so loud – literally and physically.  You can feel the intersection and how it all blends.

I often say that places are not real until you have seen them and experienced them – all the books, pictures, paintings in the world cannot compare to the views through your own eyes and memories lasting in your own mind. Travel is important for many reasons. It breaks down the barriers that stereotypes and borders can create. It opens our eyes to how other people live and what it looks like outside of the places we’ve grown up.

Our family loves seeing new places and experiencing new things. I dare say I was given this desire genetically from my own grandfather, Floyd aka my Papaw Arnold, and then of course through my own father who made plans for trips every year. Both inspirational men captured every moment with the lens they had – and made it an adventure. Now the first day of travel was always the most stressful, my dad would always be mad and feisty – I dare say he gave that to me too. They always made it a priority to have fun as a family and to make memories. Even the time my dad had to go to Toronto for a work trip and decided to make it a family vacation too – we drove from Knoxville, Tennessee to Toronto, Canada with me and my brother crammed in the backseat of a Toyota Camry. This was a long journey, but I still remember the baseball game, the small cans of coke and of course, my mother not letting me get on the boat to see Niagara Falls for fear that I would fall overboard and drown.

Thankfully, I married a man who might love travel just as much or more than me, and we are definitely raising some children that love the thrill of the adventure! I hope that by seeing the world early, they are not afraid of it. I hope that by embracing people different than them and learning cultures around the world, they are built with a strong foundation tempered with wisdom and love. At every turn, I am praying that my children are grounded and rooted deep in their beliefs and convictions. We put action to this in many ways – too many to label in this short blog, but the one I am focusing on here is through our intentionality in travel with the intent to see God in every place we traverse, with the goal of sharing hope and love to the people we cross paths with.  I will say, we fail quite a lot too – so do not put anyone on any pedestals here. We are flawed humans trying to raise up other flawed, little humans – with the power of the Presence of God and His Word as our guide.

As a family, we make travel a priority. Being that Clif and myself both travel for work, it has made it a bit easier. We have been able to do and see places that many only ever dream of. I traveled on my first overseas trip at the age of 15. This journey was to Dundee, Scotland, to do mission work with the inner-city children – a place I went back to more than eight times. This place will always hold a special piece in my heart and my journey. Since then, we have seen Israel, Indonesia, Jamaica, Romania, Nicaragua, Hungary, Singapore, Shanghai, Japan, England, France not to mention 42 or so of the 50 states and I am sure there are more places that I am forgetting as I type these words. Everything in life will slip by if you are not intentional. We don’t have many hobbies – but travel is definitely one of them. I write these words to encourage you to live – truly live. Make the time to live – whatever that looks like for you, your calling and your purpose in life. One of ours, is travel.

Now, I have been very blessed with a career that has on many occasions put me on the road.  In my initial professional role, I managed sales and client relations for 25 states over six years, which allowed me to discover the unique qualities of our glorious United States. Then for a season I came off the road – even though I increased my own personal travel adventures. Now, for the last eight years, I have traveled 2-3 times per month, nearly every month. Through these different positions, I have learned a few tricks and hope to share those over time. However, I may have become a travel snob in knowing what I like, my routine and which airports I choose to never step foot in again.

As I attempt to share some of my wisdom and fun tricks – please know I will always include anything I have learned and any inspiration in making your traveling experience a family affair. Now, I’m convinced my kids just love the TVs in the airport seats, Delta Sky Clubs and swimming pools at every Hilton hotel, especially Home2Suites, according to Joel. Now, I will not hide my own personal bias – I love Delta. I love Hilton. I love Hertz. They are my brands that I am loyal to. However, I do have experience with others, but if you know me, you know these are my favorites. They love loyalty. And I love that they love loyalty. I love presents, points, and travelling for free.

I am asked a lot about my travels and adventures and how we take our kids to so many places. And to that I say, “why not?” In my most recent years I have learned that time is short. We must make our memories today and stop living for the tomorrow that may never come. Instead, live for the today – make today happen. In some years, we are very formal about our plans. In recent years, we have been more sporadic. Now, you may ask – how can you afford all this travel? And to that, I say, “loyalty points!” Sign up for the credit cards (paying them off each month) that reward you with free travel! And then stick with your brand and they will pay your way! Delta is incredible with their loyalty points, especially with their American Express credit cards. I will work to share more trips and tips, but this short blog was to inspire you to consider where you might like to go and make plans today to GO! We Haley’s LOVE TO GO!

Check out some of our most fun moments on the road of adventure!

Mine and Georgia’s first adventure trip – NYC at Christmas 2016.

PS. please don’t view this post as bragging or boasting. That is not the intention of my heart at all. I have learned the art of saying what you want to say before you cannot say it any longer. Seizing the day and sharing your heart is very important to me. Please view this with that in mind. I know I am blessed, but I also know you can make certain things a priority and watch it happen! Oh, and I would be a bad wife if I didn’t say – feel free to check out many of the photographs my sweet husband has taken along the way on his ETSY page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CliftonHaleyPhoto?ref=shop_sugg_market