Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story. I wrote this poem ten years before I started sharing my poetry with the world. It was while I was living a very simple lifestyle, travelling around Australia in a motorhome (I lived in a motorhome for four years). I had a supply of writing paper to compose poems on, my old guitar to strum while I quietly sang my favourite songs in the cool of the evening, and my camera with which to capture new places I had discovered, including many quiet, country and bush camping spots alongside creeks and rivers.

When I started to share my poems with the world, I was self-conscious of my style of poetry. It seemed different to other poetry styles that I read. I felt the same way about my singing voice which was soft and gentle, not powerful and loud like so many female singers. But I was encouraged to find a few poets and singers that wrote and sang in a similar style to myself. I soon learnt to just relax and be me and simply share my style of poetry, and those who like it will connect with me and those who don't, won't connect with me and that's ok. Beverley Joy

Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry. Welcome to my new series titled Simply Create To Share, which will consist of weekly articles where I will be sharing the journey of my creativity, which is writing poetry. This year I am venturing into non-fiction writing in which I will be covering topics like what books, songs and creative people motivated and directed my progress from being too shy and uneducated to share my poetry with anyone, to share them with the world whilst enjoying the journey. I'm not famous or wealthy with money, but I am wealthy with a passion for writing poetry, and that passion drove me to learn how to overcome my shyness and self-doubt to share my creativity and encourage others to do the same. 

Last week I kick-started the year by encouraging you to take the time NOW to start doing your creative 'something'. Whether it be for the first time ever, or whether you plan to continue your creative 'something' during this new year. Whether it be writing, painting, craftwork, photography, or like myself - poetry, whatever is on your heart to create, as Paul McCartney sings about in his song, DO IT NOW!

Two weeks ago I started my creativity, for the new year, by scribbling out a rough plan for the next 6 months, which is to have two novels published, that is based on my life story and written by Kate Kelsen. I will be publishing the many poems that relate to both stories during the first half of this year, 2022. Next week I will share with you how I put together my 'rough plan'. I use this method every January and whenever I start a new project.

This week I want to share with you a book that I read that changed my attitude toward my creativity. In September 2019, my daughter suggested I read Big Magic Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, which became a major motion movie (by the way it is one of my favourite movies). I didn’t like the title. It sounded mystical and new age, but I was attracted to the subtitle. My daughter insisted that I would like it.

My main takeaway from the book was the author’s encouragement to start creating something and keep creating. Don't stop at one book, one poem, one painting. Continue to create for the pure love and joy of creating. Share your creation with the world, however small or large that might be, and then start another creation and repeat the process.

The book inspired me to create the formula: Create - Share - Repeat:

Elizabeth Gilbert encourages us to create because you love to create, share it because you love to share. If it develops into a paying profession, great if it doesn’t, great. Follow your creative curiosity. Let the gift you have been given bubble up and out from your heart. Dig deep and enjoy discovering new depths and areas to your gift. She advises us to appreciate the value of our own joy in the creative process. 

I felt scared. I needed time to build up the courage to share my poetry with anyone let alone the world, which was my ultimate goal. I needed the courage to face rejection and criticism of my work....

To read the full article, go to Simply Story Poetry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and at simplystorypoetry.com

Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry. I started writing poetry in 2011 while travelling around Australia in a motorhome. I wrote this poem while travelling through Western Australia, reflecting on my struggle to accept the gift I had of writing poetry. Back then, I thought it was an interesting but frivolous gift. What good could become of it? when I told people that I write poetry, they would look at me strangely. Why couldn't I have the gift of writing stories or painting? Despite how I felt about my gift, it kept pouring out of me. I didn't share my poetry with anyone outside of close family members. I was too shy and sensitive to potential criticism.

At that time in my life, I was a mature aged woman, I had no higher education past high school, I had been a full-time mother for over a decade with limited work experience outside of motherhood. My two daughters were now adults living independently. I was at a turning point in my life. Who was I now without children at home? What was my profession? Who was I as a poet? Was poetry just a hobby for me or would it become something more than just a pastime? I had no idea. I had no plan for it because I knew nothing about what to do with my poetry other than letting it pour out of me onto paper. I had no idea back then how fulfilling sharing my poetry would become for me.

You can read the story behind each poem - what inspired me to write it, why I chose the feature image (which you cannot see well on a podcast image), references to what I read and studied to write the poem's content. I attach links to songs when I find a song that matches the theme of the poem. You can read all this at Simply Story Poetry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and at simplystorypoetry.com.

Thank you for reading my poem and for your support.

Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry. It is summertime here in Australia, hot and humid in my hometime of Brisbane Queensland. I have been off the air for a month as I spent the week before Christmas Day packing up and moving to a new address, then I made a snap decision to travel north to Yeppoon in Central Queensland for two weeks of casual work and to catch up with close family members for whom I wrote the poem Far Away For Christmas. Today I am back sitting at my new computer desk ready for an exciting year of sharing my poetic writing.

I hope you enjoyed listening to my poems throughout 2021 as much as I have enjoyed publishing them. Most of the poems I published in 2021, were poems that I had written over the past 10 years. I have published most of my Christian poems and all of my old general poems except for two collections, which I have been holding back for two special reasons!

I am very excited to announce that the second collection of poems I will be sharing with you, during 2022, are the many poems I wrote about falling in and out of love and getting back up again. These poems will accompany my own adult life story around motherhood, marriage, divorce, travel etc.  It is titled "Wilted No More,' written by Kate Kelsen, and is in the final editing and cover design stage and will be available later in 2022.

But first, to kick start 2022, I want to encourage those of you who are thinking about creating your 'something' - be it writing, poetry, painting or craftwork etc. to take that first step now, today. If you have already started creating your 'something' but are questioning whether you will continue with it this year, I want to encourage you to keep going. START TODAY. The first thing I do is write out a plan for the year or for a new project, which I will share in more detail at another time.

But, for you today, I want you to do something. Take a few minutes to sit still and write down what you would like to create. Write as much detail as you can about the 'something' you want to create e.g. "I've always wanted to write and publish a book, a song, or a poem." "I've always wanted to make/create______" "I've always wanted to paint, draw, photograph." Don't wait any longer. I procrastinated for decades because of fear and self-doubt. Please don't wait any longer. START TODAY. As Paul McCartney sings - DO IT NOW! 

I did not realize when I started this creative venture in April 2021, that it would be so creatively satisfying in so many different ways. Each Monday I will continue writing My Poetry Story as encouraging short articles, and share in more detail what steps I took toward fulfilling my creative goal, last year, 2021, being the first year of my poetry publishing journey.

Every Wednesday I will continue to publish, both written and in audio, a Christian Faith poem and every Friday a General poem. So, connect with me and enjoy this year's creative and poetic journey.

Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry. As we soon will be entering into the Christmas time of giving, I have re-recorded this poem which was one of the first poems I published on my new podcast back in April 2021. I recorded it at the beginning of the Covid 19 lockdown in my home town of Australia when hugs were not permitted. It was sad to publish it at that time, as I feared that the world would fall out of the habit of giving hugs. But now that life is getting back to normal, well in Australia at least, I wanted to record it again fresh. It is good to see that we have not lost the desire to give hugs to each other. I hope and pray that this will be the case in the countries that are facing another winter of Covid breakouts because hugs that are given by someone who loves and cares for us, are priceless and important for our health both physically and emotionally. 

Thank you to my regular listeners who have supported me, from my humble beginning. I hope you enjoy this poem. You may also like my poem titled 'Friendship' and 'A True Friend in Time of Need.'

You can read my poems at Simply Story Poetry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin and at simplystorypoetry.com.

Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry. I wrote the last verse in 2018 for my brother and his wife's 35 wedding anniversary. They live in the beautiful seaside town of Yeppoon, where the sun is scorching hot in the Queensland summer. It was while I was walking along the beach that I was inspired by the theme of this poem. I added two verses to explain the inspiration of the poem. These are the family members that I wrote about in my poem titled 'Distant Family and Friends.

You can read my poems at Simply Story Poetry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin and at simplystorypoetry.com.

Thank you for listening to my poem. Enjoy.

The prophecy found in Isaiah chapter 9, l means 'God Is Salvation.' The book of Isaiah bears his name. He was a prophet during the reign of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah between 759-697 BC. He also warned the kings of impending doom unless they ruled faithfully for God. Isaiah was married with two sons. The Book of Isaiah is quoted many times in the New Testament following the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, confirming the fulfilment of these events.

I chose this Featured Image of binoculars looking toward the future (horizon). Can you see the cross that I inserted in the sunset? The writing on the binoculars reads 'turn to clear vision'. I thought, how appropriate! We turn toward Jesus, God's Son, and put our faith in what He has done for us, for Jesus is the light of the world, warming our hearts with hope. 

Throughout the last 2000+ years of history, Christians have had a clear vision of hope for the future, thanks to the privilege of having God's Word, the Bible, to read and understand. Many people still do not have the privilege of having the Bible in their mother tongue. Let us pray that with today's technology, this goal can soon be achieved.

This poem is Part 3 of 8 parts to the poetic script that follows the Christmas Story from the very beginning to the end. I will be publishing one of the  Christmas poems each week leading up to Christmas week. I wrote this Christmas script for a Christmas Service that we held at the local church, which I was attending at the time, in 2019. Between each poem, recited by a small group of children and adults, we sang Christmas songs as a group, and the whole congregation sang Christmas Carols relevant to that part of the story.

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Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry. Who was I to believe? How was I going to solve this dilemma? I loved both of them dearly. I wrote this poem, in 2011, at a time when I had two family members telling me two different stories of the same event, both sides vowing they were telling the truth. I had to be the judge and jury and decide who was telling me the truth. I couldn't believe that one of them was lying to me. 

The first three verses of this poem, reflect the confronting conversation between myself and the family member that I suspected of lying. Sometimes the guilty person is too proud to admit the truth and they insist on telling 'white' lies and thus fail to mend close relationships. This was, unfortunately, the devastating result of my experience which prompted me to write this poem. 

Verse four flashes to a medieval battle scene, then back to the living room of a modern family. I chose to take the high road and write about hope. After arguing and accusing, both sides stop fighting and realise that they must work at mending the damaged trust and help both sides to overcome and move forward, otherwise the price will be too high and the wounds too deep and painful. 

I have previously published two poems about forgiveness - Choose to Forgive (published 16th September 2021) and Forgiveness (published 9th June 2021). Also, in my poem Puzzling Pieces of Life (published 6th July 2021).

I chose this featured image for two reasons: First, I have written several poems about the puzzles of life, and second because this image reflects the confusion I was experiencing at the time of writing this poem. I have included a link to a song by Barbra Streisand 'Don't Lie to Me' at the end of the poem on www.simplystorypoetry/tellthetruthtoeachother.com

You can read my poems at Simply Story Poetry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the website. Thank you for staying and listening.

The story behind the poem titled Four Unusual Women - The Christmas Story Part 2.This Christian poem is Part 2 of my Christmas Story. It is based on Matthew 1:3-6, which mentions four women in the genealogy of Jesus. It is a brief overview of these women who had troubled or scandalous life stories. It seems unusual for God to have chosen them to be included in the ancestry of the future Saviour of the world.The second last verse of this poem refers to 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 'but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.' I was so pleased to find this image of a veiled woman as this poem's Featured Image. I didn't want a photograph of a particular Middle Eastern woman. I searched for an image that would represent all four women in the poem.I love the artist's choice of colours, which gives the image a modern appeal and, I feel, connects these ancient women with modern women, as both groups have experienced similar troubles or scandals in their lives.I love the sheer soft effect of the veil across her face. Her eyes are not weary or sad, brash or harsh; instead, they reflect composed victory, as each woman's story ends. Image link at the end of the poem on my website, Simply Story Poetry.This poem is Part 2 of 10 to the poetic script that follows the Christmas Story from the very beginning to the end. I wrote this Christmas script for a Christmas Service that we held at the local church I attended. Beverley Joy

Read or listen to my poems on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pinterest, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠simplystorypoetry.com⁠Thank you for listening.