Harvey Travel Arts

Let's talk about this tree. From our hallway in St. Lucia, my husband and I could see this majestic creation. The roots have taken hold, deeply plunged into the soil. Over time, water and wind have eroded part of the ground, but the roots remain firm. This tree isn't going anywwhere. As new life springs up around it, the tree remains strong in its resolve. What about you, my friend? Have you planted roots in good soil? Is your life where it should be? When the rain of life comes swooping down, eroding away at your comfortable surroundings, will you remain strong in your convictions? Strong in your faith? Putting faith in Christ will allow your roots to take hold. Those roots will grow stronger as you develop a relationship with Him. Troubles are still approaching. Why not take the first step to keep yourself from falling?

Rain happens in beautiful places. Just let that statement sit in the air, while you think about the lush grass and colorful flora. The rain that trickles down from the sky, even in the hottest of climates, cools the air just a bit. Brings a new freshness to the grass. Makes beautiful landscapes like the one above. If rain creates all that beauty, then why do we complain about it? Sure, it slows us down on the roads. But we're probably traveling too fast to begin with. What about the rain in our lives? The difficult times that we experience, where things aren't as cheery as they could be? Think about it. Perhaps the challenges we face are there to make us grow. We can, with God's help, overcome the rain in our lives. We can live another day to see the beauty He has created.

On a recent trip to St. Lucia, Brian and I arrived to the usual warm welcome from the Sandals staff. This welcome included two t-shirts, cookies, coupons, and all the information we needed for our stay. We were glad to be there. The day long trip took us through three airports and a car ride. The car ride is the most telling part of the trip. You see the world as the locals see it; from the large banana trees shrouded in blue netting to the cars left by the side of the road. Once on the resort, it looks something like the picture below. This picture was taken the morning after our arrival. Sometimes it rains. We didn't mind. It kept the temperatures in the 80s, which was just perfect. Not too hot so that our energy was taken out of us, but warm enough to enjoy the pool, sand, and fresh air. This is the view we had from our balcony. We really were spoiled with the upgrades. If you travel to Sandals, I recommend signing up with their Signature Guest Program. It's...

I am a voracious reader. I read before bed, travel with a stack of books for the plane, and have a an abnormal fear of running out of reading material. Reading is a hobby that I chose at an early age; a lack of siblings and hours at the school library provided me with an encouraging environment for seeking solitary entertainment. I found myself researching the Kindle a year ago. The more I read, the more I fell in awe of the concept. I would be able to fly across the Atlantic, spend a few days traipsing through Paris or London, and return home all with one device as my downtime entertainment. No more lugging 4 paperbacks and 3 or 4 thick magazines around in a heavy carry on. Fast forward to my birthday this March; I opened up the mail to discover a lovely surprise from Brian. The Kindle was easy to start; instructions were clear. I plugged it into the wall, but was delighted to discover that it already came charged enough for me to use it right away. Downloading the books was s...

Recently, I talked with a friend about the places I've been. She and I have a shared experience in moving, traveling, and exploring our world. We also have a shared faith, which led to the pictures seen here. We were talking about our past travels to London, and she asked if I had been to the British Museum. "Oh, yes," I said. "I loved it...the Rosetta Stone was incredible," I continued. Unfortunately, I had only gotten the glossed over tourist view of the grand museum. "The next time you visit London," she said, "let me know and I'll give you some papers that I have from a visit we took." Those papers were a guide of sorts, tracing Biblical history via selected artifacts at the British Museum and the National Library. Just a short time afterward, my husband surprised me with a trip to London. I got the Biblical history guide from my friend, and Brian and I saw the museum from an entirely new perspective. Instead of going through the har...

I have but one photograph to show you today, my friend. These men were sharing the gospel of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the middle of London. It was very refreshing as a Christian to see other Christians while on vacation. I was delighted and amazed that they are still allowed to do so. I fear it may not be the same in the future. Brian and I went over to talk to them and they invited us to service. We would have gone but had a conflicting appointment regarding our return trip that we needed to keep. Perhaps the next time we are over there, we'll be in a posititon to go. Sadly, not many people appeared to be actively listening. There were a few protesters, which I don't understand. The men were preaching the salvation message, they had no political agenda. Why do people feel the need to speak out against it? Disrupt? I encourage you to pray for others who are out there, boldly proclaiming Christ's love.

Brian took me to London for Valentine's Day, and the highlight of our trip was going back to the Rubens for afternoon tea. The Rubens is a lovely hotel across from Buckingham Palace where the people of the court used to stay. The hotel itself is amazing! A few years ago, we had the privilege to stay there. These days, we just enjoy the tea. It all started with the chocolate drizzled strawberries, above. Those were accompanied by champagne. Well, Brian doesn't like champagne, so he opted for beer. We relaxed and enjoyed the view. By the way, the best view in the house is the chaise lounge in front of the window. People watching is an exciting sport. They have a new pastry chef there, which explained the lack of petit fours. In their place were these mildly sweet yet delicious desserts. The merengue swan was my favorite. Scones and clotted cream were tasty as usual. And of course, the starter tea sandwiches were simple yet provided a little bit of something savory that we needed....