Janet Morris Grimes, Author/Speaker

Janet Morris Grimes – Writing and Speaking for the Pursuit of Sappiness

Posts Tagged Michigan

For a Season

Feb 15

Posted by Janet Morris Grimes in Essay | No Comments

It’s bitterly cold here in Michigan, the kind of cold that makes your toenails ache the second you walk out the door. I think the wind chill today was -15. At moments likes this, the hope of Spring seems next to impossible. It would be easy to think that life will stay like this for the rest of our lives. Ugh!

But seasons change, thankfully, and it takes one to appreciate the other.

I’ve always thought of Winter as a time for digging in deeper, getting real, staying home and getting ready to go out into the world, when the time is right.

I believe that is exactly what is happening with my writing. People ask me often, “How’s it going?” and my first response is usually “Slow.” I mean, some days I’m not sure if it is going anywhere at all. But still, I write. I finish one project and move on to another, none of which have been released into the world. I have yet to find an agent or publisher for my own stuff, but the ideas keep coming and my visions grow deeper and stronger, even during the cold spells when it seems like nothing is happening. Somehow, I still feel as if I’m on the right track, even if that track runs much slower than I would like.

My biggest goal for this year, outside of the above mentioned ‘finding and agent and publisher,’ is to launch my career as a motivational and inspirational speaker. Writing and speaking go hand in hand, and in order to find that publisher, I must prove my ability to reach my own audience.

I took a big step toward this goal last night. I competed in my first ever Speech Competition with Toastmasters. It went better than I expected, and I believe I was helped greatly by a couple of others going over on time limits, I won first place. This speech is something I envisioned giving over a year ago, and to finally deliver it and it be so well-received reinforced my desire to speak. In no way am I perfect, and I still have much to learn, but one step seems to lead to another.

In other news, the Spring is filling up with what looks like “Author Events,” and for this beginning author, I find that very exciting.

March 10 – Area Toastmaster Speech Competition
March 18 – Speak at A Day of Renewal Women’s Conference
April 2 – Present my book at a Local Author Fair at the Plymouth Library

The other day, I heard the birds singing outside my window. The sun shone brightly, blinding me with the reflection off the foot of snow that still taunts us from last week. But seasons change, and even the birds know there will be warmer days ahead.

I plan to be ready, when the time is right.

Thanks so much for joining me on this journey.

Janet

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Becoming a Member

Feb 6

Posted by Janet Morris Grimes in Essay | No Comments

It’s odd, really, to step 600 miles outside of the box that has been your life and realize it can move on just fine without you. The Grimes Family of five was so accustomed to being in the middle of everything that it was difficult to keep up with the pace back in Nashville. Difficult, yet lovely at the same time. Each weekend was filled with fourteen simultaneous activities – all of equal importance and therefore, all attainable if we split up and went separate directions. Weekends were bursting with so much fun that it would have been nice to have a secret, undetected day between Sunday and Monday just to get our bearings again before the week began. The craziness of Saturday finally yielded to the togetherness of Sunday, where our extended family filled an entire pew at church and then raced all the other pew-filling families to the nearest restaurant.

So much has changed in the past year.

We signed a new lease on our apartment today. A year ago it seemed surreal, a twenty page document that confirmed that we weren’t in Kansas anymore. It was not so much a beginning of a new life because our apartment was filled with an inflatable mattress and a couple of folding chairs. I had to return to Nashville the following week, to an empty house that still held our furniture, as if holding it’s breath until we all came home.

But we never did.

The house is now rented, furniture dispersed and what would fit in our little apartment was transported one van load at a time to Michigan. The Grimes Family of three finds itself at home on a Saturday night, another Michigan chilly night, catching the herky jerky Vandy game online and not really caring if the neighboring apartments hear us cheering.  My minivan that used to travel 150 miles over a weekend now sits for several days at a time with no place to go.

Yes, much has changed in the past year, but it has not been all bad. Our lifestyle is much more simple. We live within our means. My family is not neglected, and can rest in the fact that they are my focus. Malloree has adapted well in school, and her grades are higher than ever. She makes new friends daily who seem to be charmed by her ability to just be Malloree. When Tommy gets home from work each evening, we eat at home, together, which is something that rarely happened before. And I finally surrendered to my dreams of writing, something that I doubted could ever become a reality. But here I am, working on my first book and knocking on new doors every day.

And tomorrow, we get introduced at Lifechurch as new members. Lifechurch is a great place to be, filled with God-loving people who have found a way to focus on Jesus and helping the unchurched feel welcome. We sure needed a piece of that.

The members at Lifechurch may not want to hear it, but I wish I could tell them that half of us is missing – that we are really a family of five and Crystal and Andrew are always with us, even if they can’t see them. I wish I could tell them that we aren’t sure why we were sent to Michigan, but we are trying. I wish I could tell them that placing membership is still difficult, like cheating on the only church we have ever known.

I think what I will say, instead is this: Church has always been a huge part of our lives, and we honestly look forward to being here each week. And that is something I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to say again. I will also say that they are teaching us many things that we didn’t realize we still needed to learn, and that is a true mark of a great church. Isn’t that what Jesus did on a daily basis?

It turns out that becoming a new member isn’t as easy as I thought it would be, and that home doesn’t really mean much until you see  see it from a distance. Still, I’m thankful for a place to worship, because it is now much more about Jesus and less about friends and family. One thing is certain- worship is more meaningful now than ever before.

Maybe that was the point all along.

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Captured by a dream…

Oct 15

Posted by Janet Morris Grimes in family | No Comments

A funny thing happened on the way to Michigan…
 
It’s interesting how God takes you down a path, rather up a path in this case, for reasons you never even suspect. 
 
From the time we first heard rumors of Tommy’s job transfer, now almost three years ago, the only plans I ever had were to move wherever he ended up and get some sort of job.  My resume’ is unique, and if I’ve been able to prove anything through the years, it would be that I’m a hard worker and willing to learn whatever is needed. I would soon realize, however, that these skills don’t convert easily into job interviews in Detroit, Michigan.
 
For the first time since I was fifteen years old, I found myself without a job. This unexpected time off allowed me to go on a mission trip with my youngest daughter, Malloree.  It provided time for me to be still long enough to answer the question as to what I really wanted to do with my life.  At the same time, the moving process forced me to sort through boxes of stuff I would not touch for any other reason. 
 
And it was there that I found my answers – in the keepsakes packed in forgotten boxes, in the stillness, in my heart – I still want to be a writer.  That is all I ever hoped to be, but was afraid to admit it.
 
This is not news to those who know me best, but I suppose it was a dream that deep down, I found several excuses not to pursue.  During all those years of making a living, I could dabble in it without being held accountable for any accomplishments.  I could dream about it without anyone asking how I was progressing.
 
I attended my first Writer’s Conference back in June, and have been on fire ever since.  I realized that in order for the writing world to take me seriously, I must first do so myself.  This is no longer just a hobby.  
 
So, the reason for this e-mail is to announce some exciting news that will propel me further down my chosen path:
 
1) My new website- www.janetmorrisgrimes.com – This will be a great place keep up with my progress.  It also includes links to just about everything I’ve ever written and/or had published to this point, and a share button to share any article on Facebook or other social networks.  Now any comments made on Facebook about any of my notes will be pulled over the website as well.
2) I have a new e mail address linked to this website:  janet@janetmorrisgrimes.com. 
3) My first article has been published in the digital magazine – Crossroad Magazine.  There is a tab on my website that will show those links, and they have asked me to contribute to additional issues as an Editorial Contributor.
4) I’ve been accepted as a Book Reviewer for Thomas Nelson Books.  There is a tab set up on my website that will show these as well, and there will eventually be a link to my website from theirs to show these reviews. (still waiting on my first book to arrive so I can begin.)
5) A Fan Page has been set up on Facebook for me as an author.  It seems odd to be a fan of books that don’t exist just yet, but I’m working on my first two books as well as a series of childrens stories, and publishers like to see that authors will take part in their own marketing when the time comes. A link to this is on my new website as well.
 
Most importantly, I ask for your prayers that doors will open as I continue to improve my writing.  There are no shortcuts in this business, and it will require   thousands of hard-working hours to meet my goals.  This will be the hardest “job” I’ve ever had, but I’m no longer afraid to write. 
 
I’m more afraid now of what happens if I don’t.
 
The journey starts with this announcement to those that mean the most to me.  I am a writer, and am willing to go wherever that takes me. 
 
So Lord, give me your words to touch your world…
 
Janet Morris Grimes

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Michigan, in a nutshell. . .

Mar 3

Posted by Janet Morris Grimes in family | No Comments

To quote a famous actor (Tommy Grimes, actually) “I could tell you all that happened in a nutshell, but it’s gonna take awhile.”

So, to summarize and shorten my reports from Michigan, I squeezed them all into one blog and removed all unnecessary words. Our story begins with me, Malloree and Crystal (who was in Nashville to celebrate her birthday) loading up our van in the middle of the night, in search of a life in Michigan.

January 22, 2009 – 2:00 a.m.

“Weren’t we supposed to leave 8 hours ago?” Can’t see out the back window. Windshield wipers not working. Bummer. Where’s Bobo? Frozen rivers. 65 mph in Ohio. Surprise – it’s Crystal! Baskin Robbins mannequins. Shivering ice sculptures. “I need backs to my shoes.” “We have to rent a motel room for our dog, but people can stay there too.” Cleaning lady takes dog. Bobo can’t figure out how to go in the snow. This could be bad.

First day at Rochester Church. Patrick Mead. Pick your verb. Do something. I like that. Long drive. Perhaps driving is my verb. Chris Lindsey. A familiar face. Josh Graves. Cute little pregnant wife Kara. Steckel. For some reason, this feels like home. But not to Malloree. Pray for her. Restaurants hiding behind snow mountains. Smoky Bowling. We stink.

School appointment. Admission test. No school uniforms. Swimming pools. Salem Rocks? 60 school buses in 4 rows – make sure you get on the right one. 6 inches of snow on the first day. Quit honking at me – I can’t see the lanes. Left turn = turn right then make a U-turn. OK. I think I’m getting it. Bumpy roads give you more traction.

To the airport. Crystal’s gone. School starts at 7: 13, Really? Not as bad as I expected, but not good either. I don’t have an accent. You do. Frozen curls – extra crispy. Locker won’t open. “Do they think I’m poor?” Ice bruise on the knee. Lonely lunches.

3 people. One king size bed. Mmm. Just a few more days. Apartment lease for one year. Is this really happening? Yikes! No furniture. Inflatable mattresses with holes. Snow covered poop garden on the patio. Oh well, at least he figured it out. Cable guy? You want cable hooked up to a 13 inch TV? It’s a long story. No Papa Johns? Cursing DJ’s. Where’s some clean music?

Back to work for a week. “Say goodbye to Mama.” Tears won’t stop. Can’t see out the windshield. No wait, my eyes are swollen shut. Driving anyway. God, you’ve got me still. Speak to me, please? Ohio again. Ugh. There’s Big Jesus at MM 29 on I75. He’s 62′ tall and coming out of the water, but I can’t decide if he makes me feel better or worse. Tired of being strong.

Lonely in Nashville. House full of furniture, but it’s no longer home. No cable or internet. What am I supposed to do? Think? How about if I play the same Michael W. Smith CD over and over again. If you dance when you are alone, is it really dancing? God this is your house. Send your buyer. Work. Work. Work. Sleep. Take out seats. Don’t get tired until all the work is done. Yeah, right. Load up again. Is this the plan?

Michigan is flat. Back to apartment, but is this home? Reunited. Time to go. On the road, 50 mph winds. Tornodo watches? Could this help me get home faster? How am I supposed to text and drive like this? Hey Truckers. It’s me again. I hope I smell better than you do.

Winter Break from School. To Gatlinburg for Winterfest. Yay! Overnight in Lexington. Why don’t they sell any Vanderbilt stuff up here? Oh well, at least they understand us. Bobo, you are going to Knoxville. 6000 teens never sounded so good. You can’t worry and worship at the same time, so worshipping is great. These are my people. Secret Fudge Club. I drove 9 hours for this fudge, and Winterfest too, I guess. Jeff Walling. Love God. Love People. Even in Michigan. OK.

Tommy to the Airport. Knoxville Airport is in Maryville. Who knew? “Smallest plane I’ve ever been on. Get me off of this thing.” To Chicago. Then Michigan. Alone. Again.

Mal on Antioch Bus with her peeps. Don’t forget Bobo. He survived. Beautiful drive. The mountains add a lot. Cookeville Walmart. Back to Nashville. Home early. Memorial Reception for Cousin Doug Wyatt. So sad, but great to be with family. Aunt Jan is coming. Good, I get to go see people.

Minor surgery for Mom. Everything OK. Feel better soon. Thankful for Aunt Jan.

Work. Work. Work. TSSAA Tournament. My favorite event. 8500 people in 4 days. There’s Tim McGraw & Faith Hill. All in a day’s work. Feet hurt. No sleep. Heart attack man is OK. Great media coverage. Whew! Power outage. Mallee making the rounds with her friends in Nashville. Winter break was perfect for her.

Crystal and Andrew – time to come home, Your year is up in Orlando. Rental truck. Tow dolly pulling Andrew’s car. Caravan = Andrew in truck, then Hayley, then Crystal. Raining. Hydroplaning. Georgia. Ugh. Almost wrecking with 15 other cars. Very scary. God wants them alive. Still. He has a plan for these people he created. Told you so. I love him for that. Thank you.

Drive all night. No sleep for them. Wonder where they got that? Home safely, but is this home? Unload the truck. Thanks Tuper and Kyle. Andrew sleeping in the floor. Been awake for over 30 hours. Put stuff in garage. This year in Florida has been great for them. They are adults, and beautiful ones at that. They have taken care of each other. I envy them. What happens next? Just don’t stop dreaming.

Antioch Church. These are our people. Alison’s baptism. Amazing. Hugs and tears all around. Lunch at Logans, even though we don’t have time. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Thanks for coming Tuper, Brittan, Sherry. We know you want to be a Grimes. Sorry. Hugs. Goodbye again. 2 Grimes in Nashville. 3 headed back to Michigan. Is this the plan?

Load up the truck. Should I take my bike? Why? On to Michigan. Weren’t we supposed to leave 8 hours ago? Bobo – time to go. It doesn’t matter where. Finally, some furniture. 4:30 in the morning? It’s freezing, and so windy, but no snow. Malloree, you can miss swimming today and go in a little later. Colds for everyone. Ugh.

The couch makes a big difference. A few pictures on the wall. I love these people. We need some friends. What day is it? I haven’t slept enough for it to be Tuesday already. I can go out looking horrible and no one up here knows it. Or do they? A pot of chili. Girl Scout cookies. Do they have Girl Scouts in Michigan? Maybe this will help it feel like home.

A few more days. Two weeks this time? Hard to leave. Back to Nashville. Wrapping up a job I will miss. Making time for friends and family I was too busy for before. Renting out our house. Please? Massive moving sale. I get to do that in my free time? Seriously?

Getting tired. Trusting God to work out futures for Crystal and Andrew, so of course I’d better trust him to work ours out as well. If God waits for us to act before he reveals his plan, then here we are “acting” all over the country. Hello?

Busier than ever. Need time to write my story. It’s all in my head, but it will matter, I promise. Waiting to fulfull my purpose. But in the meantime, I need to hit the road again. 85 hours of driving so far. Really? Maybe it’s the only way to keep me still for 10 hours at a time. Is this the plan?

If so, then thank you. And I’ll see you again soon. Can’t wait to see what you have in store.

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thankful for the clouds. . .

Nov 9

Posted by Janet Morris Grimes in Essay | No Comments

I was driving home alone from Michigan a couple of weeks ago, after spending the weekend with Tommy.  Spending 10 or so hours on the road always gives me plenty of time to sort through my thoughts, although I tend to discover more questions than answers, it seems. 

On this particular trip, it was a sunny day, But was extremely windy.  Maybe this is typical for Michigan and Ohio; who knows?  But with the wind, came the clouds, moving briskly across the sky in an effort to keep pace with all the other clouds. 
So, on this day, my thoughts turned to the clouds.
Clouds.  I guess they are as unique as we are.  Fat clouds. Skinny clouds. Intimidating clouds. Fluffy pillow clouds. Transparent clouds. Angelic clouds. Eclipsing clouds.  Shy clouds. Steamroller clouds that don’t care who they run over.  Clouds with a purpose. Clouds that like to wander.  Clouds that follow the crowd. Popular clouds. Loner clouds. Clouds that try to go the wrong way.  Clouds that stay too long. Hopeful clouds. Threatening clouds. Triumphant clouds. Peaceful clouds.  Peek-a-boo clouds.  Goodnight clouds. Clouds that hint at trouble ahead. 
My favorite would be the Told You So Clouds -  the ones that serve as a curtain on a stage to introduce the power of the sun behind them.  To me, these clouds prove that God was in control all along, even when we couldn’t see what he was doing.
Clouds.  I guess their purpose is to beckon us to look up every once in awhile.
It dawned on me (in about my fifth hour of isolation in the car), that the sky is a good representation of our lives.  We pray for it to be perfect and without trouble.  But, occasionally our horizon is filled with clouds.  During these times, it’s difficult to see things clearly, and we long to go back to the time before the clouds arrived. 
After all, don’t we all want ‘nothin’ but blue skies?’
But when all is said and done, and trouble has come and gone, we realize that the clouds served as the perfect way to reflect the sunlight. 
And that makes me oh so thankful for the clouds, and the reminder to look up every once in awhile.  For it is there that I will truly find my answers.
Triumph clouds

Told you so clouds

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