What is the inspiration behind
writing “Baby Come Home”?
When I hear
of taste or see something good, I have to let others know. The same rings true
for a good story. “Baby Come Home” was inspired by a true-life story that
proved to be a good life lesson. My daughter was in the rebellious teen years
when every rule was viewed as a hindrance to her growing up and enjoying life.
She would often tell me I was caging her and stopping her from experiencing the
world.
At that
time, we had a beautiful bird named “Baby”. He belonged to my son, Sam. He was
an unusually friendly bird that seemed to enjoy exploring our home from the
perch of someone’s shoulder. Often we would take Baby outside, but kept him in
the confinement of his cage. My daughter seemed to have transposed her feelings
of entrapment onto Baby and decided one day he didn’t need a cage outside. She
defiantly placed him on her shoulder and preceded to head outside, thinking the
bird loved her too much to fly away. He took off within 30 seconds. Baby was
gone and not coming back; no matter how many hours we spent calling and looking
for him. We knew our region was not indigenous to his breed and our area could
not offer the type of food or climate he needed. Baby would be easy prey for
the hawk that took up residence in our neighborhood. Our hearts were
broken.
Needless to
say, a very hard life lesson was learned that day.
Not wanting
to rub the truth in my daughters face, I suppressed the story for several
years. Now she is older and much wiser, and I needed to express it so others
could benefit from the lesson.
It is my
prayer through the story of a young inexperienced bird, children can see rules
are a form of protection and if obeyed, allow us a safe place to grow until we
are mature enough to survive on our own.
“Baby Come
Home” also offers another lesson. When the rules are broken and rebellion is
chosen, we call out to God; His love for us will bring us home with warm and
welcoming arms. By the way, you don’t have to be a rebellious teen. You could
be a stubborn mom who foolishly thinks she has it all together (myself
implied).
“Baby Come
Home” has also given me a forum to shout out about something else that is VERY
good. Welcome The Children is a non-profit organization that supplies needs for
the body, mind and soul of severely impoverished children around the world. All
proceeds from this book and future books will assist children who would
otherwise have little hope of a desirable future.
The World of Ink Network will be
touring author Elizabeth Arnita’s Children’s Christian Picture book, BABY COME HOME published by Halo
Publishing Int. throughout January 2013.
About the Book:
“Baby
Come Home” is a story
of the young bird, “Baby”, who learns the value of unconditional love and
acceptance after he decides to break free from the confinement of his cage and
those who love him most. The story gives children a different perspective on
rules and why we need to obey them while also offering a teaching on the
unconditional love our perfect God has for His imperfect people.
ISBN:
978-1-61244-087-3
Genre of Book:
Children’s Christian Picture Book
Copyright 2013
Places available for sale:
Internet/Online, Church Book Store
About the Author:
Born and raised
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Arnita is the youngest of 12 children. She
learned early in life about family dynamics and the concept of sharing. After
graduating in 1983, with a degree in Psychology from the University of
Pittsburgh, Elizabeth married Shadi and they have been blessed with four
fabulous children. Her love for the Lord has opened her eyes to a world in need
and ignited her compassion for those who are less fortunate. She and her
husband founded and continue to manage Welcome The Children; a non-profit
organization that funds and supports children who are experiencing the reality
of poverty. Elizabeth Arnita has designated all of the proceeds from her book
sales to support WTC.
You can find out more about Elizabeth Arnita, her books and
World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/ayhg69o