I am home now, after having spent a whirlwind 16 days in the Holy Land, first in Jordan, then in Israel and Palestine.

My house looks, as my dear friend Denise Bossert so artfully put it on her Facebook page, like my suitcase vomited all over it.

I sit in front of my computer, sacred art surrounding me and the rosary I brought to the Holy Land–which touched the stone at Gethsemane and the stone on which Jesus’ dead body was placed in the tomb–is around my neck.

I swear, I can smell roses.

Thoughts and stories flood my mind. Where do I begin? How can I share what I’ve experienced?

I hope you all enjoyed following along on my social media pages.

Soon, I will upload my photos.

Soon, I will blog more stories.

Soon, I will share what is in my heart, not just what I saw with my eyes.

For now, I encourage you to read the stories my fellow Jordanian travelers have written. They have some amazing stories to tell, as well, and they show what we all want to show–that travel to the Holy Land, be it Jordan or Israel or Palestine–is SAFE. That these people need our tourism dollars to survive. And that all of our lives will be enriched by the experience.

Please be sure to read the blogs of

Denise Bossert

Frank Weathers

Deacon Greg Kandra

Marge Fenelon

Anna Carroll

Benjamin Corey

Mark Pattison

David Rupert

And of course, my blog is here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thefaithfultraveler/

And be sure to check out the amazing videos created by Connor Eberhart, a wonderful person as well as an amazing videographer and editor.