A Gift from Grandpa

By James J. Brown

A Gift from Grandpa is a book of poetry reflecting the blessings of family, the beauty and challenge of daily life, and the hope of eternity. His poems tell the story through personal experiences, observations, and humorous anecdotes. They are written as a remembrance for his family, and as an encouragement to all families traveling this journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973680352

James J. Brown

James J. Brown is a former member of the United States Marine Corps. He recently retired after more than forty years as a Child & Family Counselor in Northern Illinois. He and his wife, Patty, have five children and fourteen grandchildren. They live, happily, in Tupelo, Mississippi.

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Copyright © 2019 James J. Brown.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8034-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8036-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8035-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019919593

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/05/2019

Contents

Family

10/1/77

Newborn

Jim

Annie

Jenny

Becky

Carrie

Dave

Donnie

Candise

Andrew

Joe

Madeline at 14

Taylor at 13

Tait at 13

Caedon at 12

Andrew at 11

Laila at 11

Carrie Ann at 9

Makenna at 9

Greyson at 7

Everley at 5

Zachery at 5

Vienna at 3

Donovan at 2

Hannah Jane

Grandma

Sisters

Puddles

Love Bug

Little Things

Daddy’s Home

Daddy’s Arms

Dance

Rainy day

Summer Child

Today

The Magic of Ordinary Days

Cancer

Our Children

Patty

Nurse Jenny

Celebration

A Prayer for Becky & Joe

Cookies

Cake

Bird Watching

Cardinals

Mockingbirds

Bubbles

Stroller Run

Gary

Weekend

⁴th of July

Everley Haven

Vienna Mae

Donovan’s Journey

Our Foster Family

What Child

The Children

Sleep Little One

Remember

Balloon Man

Umbrella

Cheese

Bows

It’s a Boy

The First

Baby Tooth

Pumpkin Patch

Aquarium

Valentine’s Day

Big Apple

Bed

Mmmm

Fun

The Bonnet

Bomb

Spider

Washington, DC

Celebrate

Grand and Great

Preacher Boy at 9

Guest Pastor

Ollie

On A Roll

Pumpkins

Boom

Duck, Duck, Goose

Air Freshener

A Winter Day

Snow Day

Evy’s Winter Wonderland

The Perfect Tree

Elf

Moment

Kenna’s Day

Hat Trick

On Fire

Taylor’s Game (age 13)

Born to Run

Madeline is 14

Olympians

Tait’s Game (age 13)

Caedon’s Game (age 12)

Andrew’s Game (age 11)

Red Cabin

Ghost Lake

Mexico Beach

My Island

A Child’s Eyes

Ocean

The Beach

OBX

OBX Guys

OBX Cousins

Duck’s Cottage

On Growing Older

Loser

Fools

Paradise Lost

The Dreamer

Reverie

You

Swiftly

Shelter

Loneliness

The Rain

Echoes

Victory Garden

The Attic

Pride

Local Church

The Bible

Recipe

Victory

The Only One

Baptism

Unplanned

Life Group

My Song

Home Before Dark

Hope

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Dedication

To Patty, the love of my life, and my best friend,

whose love of Jesus is reflected in all she is and does.

To our children and their spouses, whose desire to follow Him, fills us with joy.

To our grandchildren, who enrich our days, with happiness, laughter, and life.

And to all our future family, until the day He returns.

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Family

Family is a place where love can be found,

Where comfort and peace gracefully abound.

Where hopes and dreams safely reside,

Where laughter and tears exist side by side.

Where stories are written and legends are grown,

Where the seeds of enduring affection are sown.

Family is a place where love can be found,

Where comfort and peace gracefully abound.

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10/1/77

October first nineteen seventy-seven,

The day our lives were joined in heaven.

From the first day that we met,

Our life’s journey God had set.

Together through the days and years,

Through our laughter and our tears.

Through the birth of our wonderful son,

And four beautiful daughters so full of fun.

Each, and every day together shared,

The love and life lessons that the Lord prepared.

His grace, mercy and forgiveness were expressed,

And because of Jesus, our life has been blessed.

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Newborn

Love shared by two

Touches life

And grows

A gift of God

Invisible miracle

Breath of life

Is born

And love

Is now

A family

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Jim

Our son Jim is a husband, father, brother, and a friend,

A man who loves Jesus and on Him he does depend.

He is a man of character and wise beyond his years,

And is sought after for advice and counsel by his peers.

As a husband, his desire is to love his wife exceedingly well,

And as a father, the love of Christ is the story he wants to tell.

As a brother, he encourages, cares for, defends, and supports,

And as