The Ireland Trip

For several years my husband Ray and I have been wanting to take a trip to Ireland. That is the land of my heritage. I love anything Irish. Movies, music, stories, books, anything, as long as it is Irish.

 

In 2005 my sister Diane and her husband Harold and I went to England, Scotland and Wales. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time to get to Ireland. The trip was phenomenal. London was so interesting. Edinburgh (which, by the way, is pronounced Edinburra) was amazing. The old part of the city is from medieval times and is made of stone. Wales has lots of quaint little villages. All of the businesses have swinging signs out front with a picture of a very mean looking bull and the name “The Angry Bull” painted on the front of the building, or maybe it is a laughing woman, or a dancing pig. You never see a business named John’s Pub, or Anderson’s Mercantile. That is because many years ago very few people could read, so businesses needed to have a name that could be depicted in a picture they could paint on a sign hanging out front. Isn’t that interesting?

 

I have been wanting to go back to Great Britain ever since 2005 and include Ireland in the trip. Now Ray wants to go as much as I do. Last week Ray asked me to plan our trip, so I went to Barnes and Noble and bought a book to help accomplish the task. I picked up a copy of Fodor’s Travel Ireland 2015. It is a 687 page book telling everything you need to know to plan the perfect trip. Fodor’s has a book for almost any country you want to travel to. Whatever you are interested in, whether it be music, pubs, castles, museums, hiking, the coastline, shopping for antiques, or kissing the Blarney stone, this book will tell you where to go and when. It will also tell you how to save money. Quite the deal, huh?

 

Since this could be the only time I get to go to Ireland (I hope not), this needs to be the best trip in the whole world. How do I make that happen? Research and planning, of course. I will be reading every page of my new book, and picking out all the places we want to go. Then I will take a map of Ireland and plan exactly how to get to all these incredible places in order, so we can fit it all into the trip.

 

Once I have planned the perfect trip, then I will go to one of my new favorite websites. It is called Airbnb.com. You can pick out cities all over the world and find wonderful unique bed and breakfasts at fantastic prices. No hotels for us. We want to stay in these cool bed and breakfasts and meet the interesting wonderful people who own them. By the time we get home, we will not only have awesome memories of everything we saw and did in Ireland, but we will have new friends too.

 

Since I am a writer, I see writing a book as being similar to planning the perfect trip. The more you research your subject and understand it, the more interesting the book will be. You also need to put everything together in order so it fits and flows.

 

It is very tempting to forego the research and planning and jump right into the story with both feet. However, if you want to make sure everything in your story is correct, research and planning is the way to go.

 

Believe me, if readers start telling you what is wrong with the details in your book, you will wish you had taken the time to get it right. Your readers are wonderful, but they will not hesitate to let you know when you make a mistake.  Better safe than sorry.

Déjà vu All Over Again

Our church organization, Four Square, owns a big camp called Old Oak Ranch, way up in the mountains above Sonora, CA. It is beautiful there. Snuggled in the woods, the cabins, dorms, barracks, tabernacle, dining hall, swimming pool, etc. are a wonderful place to spend time. Youth camps, retreats, and conferences all held there all spring, summer and fall.

 

Last week the pastors of northern California had a pastor’s conference there. The pastor of our church and his wife attended, as did my nephew Chris. They all arrived at Old Oak Ranch on Monday.

 

On Tuesday a forest fire started somewhere in the area. They thought the fire was far enough away that they were okay. However, some firemen showed up at the camp and told them that the fire had absolutely exploded and had almost completely surrounded the camp. They were told that they had to leave as fast as they could. There was not even time to grab their suitcases or anything else. They simply had to run as fast as they could to their cars and drive for their lives. The biggest problem was that the road that came up the mountain to the camp was completely engulfed in the forest fire. The only way out was a little dirt road that went out the back of the camp, over the mountain and would come out at a highway. The fire had almost reached the dirt road also, which was why they had to leave so fast.

 

Everyone took off running for their cars as fast as they could. They quickly realized that fire embers were dropping all around them as they ran. They were terrified to say the least.

 

As they drove up the side of the mountain on the little dirt road, they came to another fireman standing in the middle of the dirt road, and they had to stop. The fireman told them that it was too late. The fire had engulfed the dirt road and they were totally surrounded by the fire. He said there was no way out. The fireman instructed them to leave their cars and run back down the hill to the camp. They were all to get inside the tabernacle and the fire fighters would have bombers come over and drop fire retardant on the tabernacle and try to protect them. Now all of the pastors and wives attending the conference, the workers, and the firemen were trapped in the middle of the inferno.

 

Everyone got out of their cars and started running down the mountain. However, some of the pastors and their wives were retired, and quite old. They were not able to run down the mountain so some of the pastors stayed behind to help them down. Others were standing in the road with their hands outstretched toward the fire and calling on the name of Jesus to save them.

 

Everyone made it back to camp and into the tabernacle. I am quite sure that one of the world’s greatest prayer meetings was going on in that tabernacle. When God’s people call on His name, the power God sends is amazing.

 

All of a sudden, the firemen came back into the tabernacle and told them that the wind had changed. Evidently the wind must have blown right down the dirt road, because all of the fire had blown off the road and was far enough away from the road that they could drive through.

 

They were instructed to run as fast as they could, back up to their cars and drive out the dirt road. Of course, running up the mountain was much harder than running down it, so some of the pastors were almost carrying the elderly people to their cars. People were crying and praying as embers dropped all around them while they were trying to reach their vehicles. Everyone attending the conference, the workers, and the firemen all got out safely.

 

If you know anything about fire, you know that it doesn’t act like that. Fire does not start burning an area and then just pull back out. There is no question that God saved them. There is power in the name of Jesus.

 

Does this story remind you of anything? Let’s think about this. A group of God’s people have death approaching them from behind and an unpassable barrier in front of them. Then, God blows His breath on the barrier and makes a path through it, allowing His people to reach safety. Oh yes, it kind of sounds like when the children of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry land to escape Pharaoh’s army.

 

WOW! Talk about Déjà vu all over again.

 

Your comments on this posting are welcome. I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

If you would like to hear about my book about creation as seen through the eyes of a little angel, please feel free to contact me at austinlass1966@yahoo.com.  

Easter Poem - Two Trees

Happy Easter everyone. I thought you might enjoy an Easter poem I wrote several years ago. If you like it, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Two Trees

The thirty silver pieces were placed within his palm

He grabbed them and he walked away appearing to be calm

But a voice cried out within his heart, “You fool, what have you done?”

“You placed the kiss of death upon the cheek of God’s own Son.

“I followed Him for years”, said Judas, trying to ease his mind.

“I watched Him heal the sick and give new eyesight to the blind?”

“He raised the dead, changed water to wine and made the demons flee.”

“But, in all the years I walked with Him, what did He do for me?”

“No silver or gold, no cattle or land, or any kind of pay.”

He only taught me how to live and love, and how to pray.
“I owe Him nothing more than this, He deserved just what He got.”

Poor Judas never truly heard the things that Jesus taught.

As Jesus’ hands were bound and He was cruelly dragged away

He knew He’d been betrayed by one who’d supped with Him that day.

A voice cried out within His heart, “My child, what did you do?”

“But I’ll give the gift of life to you, if you’ll allow Me to.”

“You followed me for years, and witnessed miracles galore.”

“I healed your soul and showed you things you’d never seen before.”

“I built a home with streets of gold I want to share with you.”

“The cattle on the hills are mine, which means they are yours too.”

“No money did I give to you, but your sinful debt I’ll pay.”

“I bear no grudge, I will forgive. Don’t turn your heart away.”

But Judas clutched his silver coins and tucked them in his purse,

While Jesus walked to Pilot’s hall, to face sin’s awful curse.

As Judas pulled his coins out to view his rich reward,

He knew he was a poorer man for selling out his Lord.

He hid his eyes and ran away to find someplace to hide.

But shame and guilt exposed his soul, no matter how he tried.             

The foolish man had turned away from Christ, his only hope.

He took his thirty coins to town, and bought himself a rope.

Out on a hill he found a tree, and hung himself that day.

Despair made Judas think that death could be the only way.

 

But nearby, on another hill, on another rugged tree

The man he’d sold was hanging there, with love beyond degree.

In pain and suffering He still asked His Father to forgive.

He died that day so everyone could have a way to live.

So, Judas died in vain that day to pay for what he’d done.

But death had simply sealed his fate, with no place now to run.

He hung upon a tree that day, a sad and desperate man.

The gulf between his soul and God, a black and awful span

But, Jesus died in pain that day to pay for all our sin.

His death had sealed sin’s dreadful fate, true life could now begin.

The awful gulf of sin was spanned when Jesus died that day.

He paid the price and gave His life to take our sin away.

So, two men died upon two trees to pay for sin that day.

But only one death had the power to take that sin away.

It’s still the same, our debt was paid the day that Jesus died.

Now we can live eternally, in heaven by His side.

Janice Austin Bates

May 12, 1999

Poem - The Road He Traveled

Well, here we are again coming up on Christmas. I thought you might enjoy reading one of my poems.

 

If you look back on my blog you will see that I gave you another Christmas poem I wrote called The Fight Before Christmas. Both of these poems are among my favorites. Please feel free to leave a comment or share this with your friends.

 

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

 

The Road He Traveled

 

Three shepherds watched their flock out in a field one starlit night

When suddenly up in the sky there was a brilliant light.

An angel floated in the air and they were so afraid

Its voice fell lightly on their ears and this is what it said.

 

“Fear not, for God has come to man as a little baby boy,

And all who worship at His feet will have exceeding joy.

A virgin of the house of David gave birth to Him today.

This star so bright will lead to where He’s on a bed of hay.”

 

So, they left their flock and traveled east, following the star.

They searched and found the child that night, though it was very far.

And though they had no gifts that day they worshiped for a while

Then Jesus looked into their eyes, and gave a little smile.

 

The shepherds went back to the flock, their hearts were all aglow.

Joseph took Mary and the babe, ‘twas time for them to go.

They raised Him up along beside His sisters and His brothers

But knew He was the Son of God and nothing like the others.

 

And when the time was come for Him to do His Father’s plan

He left and walked from town to town and witnessed man to man.

He told the people of God’s love, so rich and full and free.

He turned water into wine, and even calmed an angry sea.

 

He preached upon the mountain top and fed five thousand men

With five loaves and two fishes, then He preached to them again.

A man was raised up from the dead, and demons driven out

This truly was the Son of God, of that there was no doubt.

 

But one day as He walked along the road, this Nazarene

He met a leper crying out, “Unclean, unclean, unclean.”

Then Jesus laid His hand on him and said, “My son, be well.”

His sores dropped off, he cried for joy and at Jesus feet he fell.

 

A blind man standing close could hear the man cry out with glee

And said, “Oh, Master, if You will, I know You can heal me.”

Jesus touched his eyes and gave him back his sight that day.

He turned to His disciples and began to walk away.

 

But a man with a withered arm said, “If You only will, my Lord,

You can heal my arm with Your touch or Your spoken word.”

Then Jesus said, “Take heart My son, your faith hath made you whole.”

With two good arms he hugged Christ and said, “Thank You with all my soul.”

 

Then the three healed men said, “You won’t recall, for You were too small to know,

But we knelt down at Your manger bed, many long years ago.

Our shepherd’s life has been unkind, and made our bodies this way.

But by chance You came along and healed all three of us today.”

 

“It was not by chance”, Jesus gently said, “that I came down this road.

For, long ago, when you knelt down, I felt your heavy load.

I looked into your eyes that day and saw what lay ahead.

I could have traveled another road, but came this way instead.”

 

“From the manger bed I set My path to meet with you today.

For I saw what life would do to you, and I couldn’t turn away.

I’ve searched for you for many years, just like you searched for Me.

Now live a full and healthy life, for you have been set free.”

 

Men must still seek the Son of God, and worship at His feet.

For there you’ll find exceeding joy, that makes your soul complete.

Yes, life can be cruel and bend you low, but God’s love, time can never erase.

For once you have knelt at the Jesus’ feet, He never forgets your face.

 

                                                                                    Janice Bates

                                                                                    December 13, 2003

                                                                                    1:51 AM

 

 

Don't Miss Out

So you want to be a writer. Yeah, me too. Oh, wait a minute, I am a writer. I have a published book and everything. Granted I am not John Grisham or Danielle Steel, but I am a writer.

 

Do you ever feel inadequate or unworthy? We all do. The trick is to not give in to those feelings, and that isn’t always easy. Don’t be afraid to call yourself a writer, or whatever it is that you do.

 

If you are lucky you will have people around you who will encourage you and help you to know that you can do whatever you set your mind to. On the other hand, if you are unlucky those people will not help you. They might even tear you down, telling you that you can’t do anything or that you don’t deserve to succeed. Don’t ever listen to that. Everyone deserves to succeed.

 

We will never know how many people could have done great things if they had only ignored the criticism. Many a name will never be known, picture never be painted or book never written because of negative feedback. That type of thing isn’t easy to get past.

 

I am a person who tends to buckle if someone tells me I can’t do something. That is how I think of myself, so it is easy to convince me that I am right. Thank goodness I have a husband who encourages me.

 

The book I published probably never would have happened if my husband hadn’t been here telling me that I could do it, and that I needed to do it. I would have missed out on so much. I have had so many children come up to me and tell me that they have my book, and how much they love it. They would have missed out too.

 

My little great nieces and nephew are characters in my book, angels actually. When they got their copies of the book they took it around and showed it to everyone they knew. They bragged about how much they loved the book and that they are in it. That is a great example of what someone else would have missed out on if I had given up. It also gave them the idea that they could publish a book too. How great would that be?

 

My book is about a little angel named Chrisamee who watches creation happen through a window in heaven. I felt like God inspired me to write the story so that lots of children would hear about creation and understand it. That is another thing that would have been missed.

 

Lately I have been finding out about people who are teaching children from my book. How cool is that?

 

I am so glad that I listened to the positive comments more that the negative ones.

 

So, how much will the world miss out on if you don’t follow through with your goal, your dream. Don’t let anything or anyone stop you. You have so much to offer. Unfulfilled talent is a loss to the whole world.

 

Make your contribution. The world will be richer for it.

Six Levels of People

Sometimes I get very discouraged, feeling like I will never get my book out there for the readers of the world. Maybe I never will. Who knows?  What I do know is that when I work at it, things happen.

Someone told me that the people who can help you are only six people away. In other words, if you talk about your project with the people you know, and in turn they talk to the people they know and so on, by the time it gets to the sixth level of people it will have reached the ears of someone who can really help you.

If you doubt this, try it.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with what I do, I write. I published a book about a little angel in heaven named Chrisamee. One day she finds a hole in the side of heaven. When she runs to the throne room and asks God what it is, He tells her it is a window where she can see what goes on outside of heaven. For the next six days she sits in the window and watches creation happen. At the end of each day she jumps from her window, runs to the throne room and talks to God about what she saw. She always has questions about things she doesn’t understand, and God explains everything to her. The idea is to tell children about creation and to help them to really understand it.

A few months ago a man named David started attending our church. The Sunday before last I was talking to him and told him about my book. He asked if he could see it so I gave him a copy. He took it home and read it. The following Sunday he told me that he loved everything about my book. In talking to him I also learned that he is a third grade school teacher. At his school they have a club that meets after school hours for children who want to learn about God. They have thirty students who attend regularly. He is now trying to get my book to be included as part of their curriculum.  

Today at church I was talking to him again and asked if he would be interested reading what I have written so far in the manuscript of my new book. This book is about the fall of Lucifer and the fall of Adam and Eve, and about the nativity. Once again it is the same concept where little Chrisamee watches the fall of Lucifer right there in heaven, and then watches everything that happens on earth through her window in the side of heaven. I told him that as a school teacher I thought that perhaps he could help me think of questions that children have about these events. I am trying to answer as many questions for them as I can.

David told me that he has a good friend who is a professor at the local Bible College, and this is right up her alley. He said this would really be her field of expertise. He is now in the process of setting up a meeting between him, her, another lady in the same field, and me so we can brainstorm. I had no idea where my conversation with him was going to lead. And, guess what, I have only reached the second level. I spoke to David and he is in turn speaking to his friends who can really help me. Who knows where this could be by the time it reaches the sixth level. So much is being accomplished in just two levels. This is very exciting for me.

So, where does your journey to six levels start. It starts with you beginning to talk to everyone you know, and every new person you meet. You might not see any results right away, but keep talking to everyone. It will happen. You will be amazed to see how many people want to help you on your road to success. They get excited at the idea of being part of your journey. Many of them would like to be doing what you are doing, but they don’t feel like they have the skill. However, they do know how to help you. They can sort of live their dream through you.

So, there you go. By talking to people about what you are doing, not only are you furthering your journey, but you are also bringing pleasure to others by the fun they have being part of your journey.

I would love to hear from you about how this works for you. Please feel free to leave me a comment.

If you would like to find out more about my book, you can email me at jbates@littlechrisamee.com.

Treasures

For years I have wanted to collect souvenirs from places I traveled to, but I didn’t want a cupboard full of coffee mugs that no one would ever see. Too often your souvenirs just become clutter and dust collectors.

Then one day I discovered thimbles. If you read my post from 11-12-13 called Little Souvenirs, you will find out how I got started collecting them. Kind of a fun story.

They take up very little space and can be displayed for all of your friends and visitors to see.

I have brought them home from all over California, Oregon, Montana, England, Wales, and Scotland. People have brought them to me from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Hawaii, Paris, Amsterdam and Jamaica, to name a few. When people find out you collect them they tend to want to add to your collection. I believe it makes them feel like they are part of something fun.

Some of our close friends just came back from a cruise to Europe and they had six new thimbles for me. I now have added to my treasure trove thimbles from Berlin Russia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and a second thimble from Amsterdam. On their next cruise they will be going all over Asia. I will be getting thimbles from China, Japan and who knows where else. I can hardly wait.

Some people might see my thimbles as silly, but to me each one is a unique treasure. It represents a place, an experience and a friend who brought it back to me. There are no two alike, just like no two of the memories they represent are alike. I wish you all could see them.

As you probably know, I am a Christian children’s book author. I also write poetry. In fact, that is what I wrote first.

To me, every time I write something it is a treasure. It is exciting to create an experience that I am bringing to my friends. It is unique. No one else has written exactly what I just put into words.

Some people might not understand it. They might think it is silly, but others will love it. There is an expression, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. In other words, we are all different. Nothing pleases everyone, but everything pleases someone.

If you are a writer, don’t try to please everyone. You can’t do it. Write in a way that pleases you. If you do that I guaranty you that you please at least some people.

When I show my book to people some of them just look at it and give me a condescending smile, but others go crazy over it. I have had to learn to let it go when someone does no appreciate what I have done.

Whether you write, paint, do magic tricks, or dance, share your art with people who will see it for the treasure it is. Do not be discouraged by the ones who don’t get it.

Whatever you do it is a treasure, it is your treasure. Enjoy it and keep sharing it.