I can write poetry all day long, but when it comes to writing about myself, that's a different situation entirely!
The best way I can do this is by doing it once, the following is some of my "history" to be found in the back of the book. I wrote the poems (some of which are included on this site), did the illustrations and cover (with a large amount of computer help!) and it was published by 1st Books Library®.

   James Elkins II was born in Hamlin, WV in 1961. He lived for six years in New York
and then spent twenty-three years in north-central Ohio where he attended Cloverleaf
schools. He returned to Huntington, WV in 1992 where he currently resides.
   Jim was raised in a Baptist family, his mother, Audrey, being one of his first Sunday
school teachers. Contrary to his upbringing, Jim turned his back on the church and consequently, on God, in late 1979 when he began working as an investigator specializing in narcotics trafficking and large scale theft.
   By 2002, he had a track record of one failed marriage, several failed relationships, seven years as a single father, and a list of dead-end jobs stemming from leaving investigations to devote more time to raising his son, James III. Not to mention financial struggles and a three-year bout with alcohol addiction.
   In May of 2002, Jim had reached the end of his endurance. After over twenty-two years he cried out to God to put an end to his pain, one way or the other. He quickly discovered that while he had turned his back on God, God had never turned His back on him. Mother's Day morning he attended services at a nearby church where he felt he had been called. That evening he returned to the same church, and before the service ended, was kneeling at the alter, giving his life to Christ.
   After making a birthday card for a friend, Jim received such a favorable response to the poem that he began trying his hand at inspirational poetry. That is where God's blessing became apparent. All of the poems in this book were written between early September 2002 and mid-January 2003. Many have found a home in area churches where they are being used as sermon subjects and teaching material.
   Jim was recently honored by the International Society of Poets, being selected as "International Poet of Merit - 2002" at the ISP annual convention and symposium in Hollywood, CA.

   Now, how did this all come about? On May 11, 2002, I had reached the end of my endurance. I was still in debt, even though I had a good job everything was going to pay the bills accumulated over more than twenty years. I often told others that my idea of wealth would be to go into a grocery store, buy what I wanted to eat, and still pay the utilities. That was no joke. Many times I had gone to bed after a "supper" of some plain crackers or a peanut butter sandwich, or searched the furniture for enough change to buy a gallon of milk.
   But the worst thing was this, I was totally alone. I hated myself, so how could I possibly care about anyone else? In my eyes I was a failure, so how could I care about someone else's accomplishments? This self-appointed exile if you will, was my way of punishing myself for my failings!
   Finally on that Saturday morning in May, I wanted an end to it all one way or the other. An end to the poverty, an end to the hunger, an end to the hate, and an end to the loneliness. That was when I asked, "If there is a just and loving God, how can You allow this to go on?!"
    This was a question I had asked many times in spite and in hatred. The fact that I didn't hear a reply was reason for me to continue living in disbelief. That morning for the first time, I asked without any expectation of a response, but with an open heart. The only way I can describe that experience is like this, it felt as if my entire being was flooded with a knowing or knowledge. I had heard many times that just before death, a person's entire life flashes before their eyes, in only a few minutes I had relived all those time in my life where I had made the wrong decisions and understood for the first time that my current state was by my own hand! All of my miseries had been brought about by me, no one else was to blame. Then came the "knowledge" of the answer to my question, if God was not just and loving, He would never trust in us to do right. We would simply be like rats in a maze, forced to travel a specific path without the freedom or right to make choices or decisions.
   That experience was so intense, and the guidance toward a specific local church so strong, that I already had my clothes laid out to wear for Sunday morning by Saturday afternoon! The church that I felt I was to attend was just around the corner, I didn't know the denomination or anything about it, only that I was to go there. I did think a few times that I would probably hear a sermon dealing with motherhood since the 12th was Mother's Day.
   Imagine my surprise when I found that the sermon that morning dealt with people who wait too long to be saved! Through the sermon and the alter call, I refused to release the back of the pew in front of me. After leaving the church that morning, I walked around the side and saw the sign, 18th Street United Baptist. I had been raised in a Baptist family if you recall. That evening I was back again. When everyone stood up during the alter call, I was holding on to the back of the pew in front of me one second and the next thing I knew I was kneeling at the alter! I have no memory whatsoever of even letting go of the pew, let alone going up the aisle!
   I never believed before that Saturday in the Holy Ghost, or being "filled with the Holy Spirit". But I'm here to say that I do believe now!!! It was at that point when I no longer had any belief in myself at all, that I found He still believed in me. When anyone refers to me "finding God" I always point out the fact that God was never lost, I was! He knew right where to find me!
   Shortly after that in August 2002, I made a birthday card for a good friend with a little poem I had written. The poem received so many compliments that I entered it into a contest, the results are given above. Since then I have written over one hundred poems, mostly inspirational, some such as "Shattered Dreams" for a national anti-drunk driving organization. I hope that in some way, all are inspirational.
   Another testimony to the blessings of God I would like to add is this. I never asked in my prayers that I be given a better job or more money, only that God make me a better steward of the finances He had already blessed me with. As of September 2002, four months after I gave my life to Christ, I payed off the last of those old debts.
   In closing let me say this, if God can bring about the changes He has in my life with what He had to work with, never doubt that He can change your's for the better too!!

May God's Blessings be with you!
Jim Elkins II