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.

Poem - Mother of the Bride

Today I would just like to say Happy Mother's Day to all the moms.


Years ago I went to the wedding of the daughter of one of my best friends. I stood and watched my friend cry as her daughter left in the car with her new husband. I went home and wrote this poem and I would like to share it with you today.


I hope you enjoy it.

Mother of the Bride

 

Yesterday my infant lay upon my arm and slept.

Today I realized she was gone, and silently I wept.

 

Yesterday she drooled and cooed as she crawled ‘round the floor.

Today I knew that I would never see that anymore.

 

Yesterday she laughed and played with children on our street.

Today, her place at the table bare, I couldn’t even eat.

 

Yesterday her piano playing drove me up the wall.

Today the silence deafened me so, I couldn’t hear at all.

 

Yesterday when she was sick, I tired playing nurse.

Today I cannot play that role, and I feel so much worse.

 

Yesterday I worried as she went out on her first date.

Today I’d love to sit and watch for her to come home late.

 

Yesterday she graduated high school with straight “A”s.

Today I browsed her yearbook, and my mind was in a haze.

 

Yesterday she said she’d met the boy of her dreams.

Today I can’t believe how very long ago that seems.

 

Yesterday she showed her ring, and said that she would marry.

Today the thought of losing her is oh so sad and scary.

 

Today her father walked her down the aisle, and gave her away.

I lost my child as she became a lovely woman today.

 

Janice Austin Bates

 

Millions of Pictures

My nephew Chris and his wife Torri go to a really wonderful church here in our town. They have four great children, Amy, little Torri, Trent and Jackie. One of the things I love about their church is that they have a ministry to the deaf. Watching the interpreters signing the whole service to the deaf is a very beautiful thing.

Amy, little Torri, Trent and Jackie are home schooled. One day a week a large group of home schooled children in our town all meet at a local church where the home schooling moms teach classes like at a regular school. Almost all of these home schooled children are scholastically ahead of the children in the public schools. It is an awesome way of learning.

At their church, the lady in charge of the deaf ministry, Obie, decided to teach a class in American Sign Language (ASL) to any of the church members who wanted to learn.  Obie is a very intense teacher, wanting her students to really learn a lot. Having a great desire to learn ASL, Amy and little Torri took the class and worked at it very hard. Amy even started teaching ASL to at the once a week home schooling sessions they attend. The students love it.

Last week the people who took the ASL class at church had their graduation ceremony. My sister, Diane, and I were able to go to it. We watched as each of the graduating students got up one by one and performed. They each had to interpret The Lord’s Prayer, one chapter of their choice from the book of Psalms in the Bible, and two songs that are sung at their church. We found out that to be a good interpreter you must also have a very expressive face. Every wave of the hand or facial expression has to actually set a mood. Each movement literally paints a picture of the word. It all makes sense when you know the meaning of the moves. As they interpreted, another student read out loud so the audience could follow the sign language. By the end of the ceremony, my sister and I were amazed how many ASL words we had learned. 

This experience got me to thinking about writing. As writers we are not just telling stories, we are painting pictures. There is an expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. I suppose that is true, but on the other hand, words can be worth millions of pictures. You might be asking yourself what in the world does she mean by that. Well, let me explain.

Think about this. As you were reading about the graduation ceremony I just described, did you imagine the ceremony in your mind? I dare say you did. Granted there aren’t a million people reading my blog, but many of you are writers and have people reading your words. Most of us won’t have a million readers following our work, but together we could have many millions of readers.

One of the great things, and perhaps the best thing, about reading is that as the writer’s words unfold you are forming a picture, actually a sort of movie, in your mind.

If you and I were to read the same writing, we would probably form similar pictures in our minds. However, since our surroundings and experiences in life are different, the pictures we formed would be slightly different also.  

Think about that for a moment. If one hundred of you wrote and published a book, and each of you had ten thousand people read it, between you, you would have painted one million pictures. How many artists who paint their pictures with oils, acrylics, or pencils can say that?

The power of the pen is far greater than any other type of creativity, in my opinion. Like no other medium, when you write not only do you get to be creative, but you help and allow your readers to be creative also.

How cool is that? So, what are you waiting for? Get to writing and start the creative juices flowing in minds all over the world.

If you are interested in finding out about my book, “The Adventures of Little Chrisamee – Creation”, a story about creation through the eyes of a little angel, please feel free to contact me. My email address is jbates@littlechrisamee.com.

That Olympic Drive

So, here I sit, watching the Olympics like so many other people. These athletes are pushing themselves beyond what seems humanly possible. How do they do it? Where did they get that drive to become the best in the world? Why haven’t I done that?

Seeing what they do makes me very proud, and, more than that, it keeps me humble.

If I had the kind of determination and dedication that I am seeing at the Olympics, I would have an entire library of published books. Everyone would know my name, and I would probably be a multi-millionaire.

On the other hand, I don’t want to be too hard on myself. After all, I have written quite a few poems, published a book, I am working on my second book, and have several other books in my head. When I was growing up, I had no idea I would do what I have done.

I picture my books being made into movies like the veggie tales. Little Chrisamee, the little angel in my stories, would be so cute running around in heaven, so excited about the things she sees through her window. She would have her talks with Father God where He explains why things happen the way they do. Maybe someday.

In the meantime, I belong to a writers group now called Quills of Faith. It is made up of Christian writers. Some of them have not published or even finished a book yet. Some have lots of books out there, selling like crazy. One has ghost written a few books for famous people. That must be difficult to write a book and have it be published with some celebrity’s name on it as the author, and get all the credit for what you wrote. But, that is part of the game.

I look at the other members of our group and see that they are just people like you and me. The successful ones have taken the initiative to learn to do what is needed to become successful authors.

I am trying to glean knowledge from them. They are such giving people, so ready to share all they know with the rest of us, whether we are proven authors, or just starting out.

One of the successful lady authors makes entire binders full of information on every book she ever writes. She actually has pictures of what her characters look like. She writes complete descriptions of them, their personalities, families, histories, where they live, and so on. The binder also explains what part they play in the story, what they are going to do, and why. From what I hear, these binders are really something to behold. At the meeting last night I asked her if she would bring a binder to the next meeting for us to see. She said she would be happy to. I can’t wait to see it.

Several of our authors have stories in the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. They also have articles in widely published magazines. These people are really quite amazing.

When I think about the Quills of Faith meetings I realize that this is sort of like our own Olympics training, except we are striving for published books and articles rather than medals.

So, I guess the principle is the same. Whoever works the hardest is the most successful. Of course talent also plays an important part in the race, but I truly believe that hard work and dedication will make us winners.

Now I have to ask myself, do I have what it takes to be a champion? Where do I spend most of my time, in front of the television, or in front of the computer working on my book? Do I want it badly enough? Do I have that Olympic drive?

I hope so.