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