I’m not quite ready to share what they are, but I will say that I am purchasing Rain’s Peace Treaty book in order to address these issues and tell them goodbye.

When you’re calm and quite, you hear what your spirit needs to heal itself. God can speak to you when you clear your mind from all of the brain clutter and open your heart.

You must learn to face your personal demons and send them packing. One by one,as they appear, they must be dealt with and then kicked to the curb. Whenever one of them tries to rear their ugly little head, you take a deep breath and remind it “I kicked you out. You have no power over me.”

A great visual exercise is to write down your vise/problem on paper, say a prayer to release yourself/forgive yourself (God already has), overa plate or sink burn the paper.

It may be a daily struggle until you beat the habit but you will beat it.

After finding my happy place, I was led to do things for others. Some were for my own family, while others were for complete strangers.

All we have to do is open our hearts and minds to letting God use us to bless others. Then we must execute the action(s) that He calls us to do.

I admit this in an effort to let go of my past mistakes and move forward from where I am. We cannot change the past, therefore dwelling on it will only hinder the future.

In the movie, Finding Nemo, there is a little girl that terrorizes a group of  fish inside the fish tank by tapping on the glass. A certain pink starfish, attached to the side of that tank starts reciting “Find a happy place, find a happy place.”

Last week I discovered that the first step in finding the real you is to take the bad moments one at a time. When you feel yourself getting angry and frustrated, you need to stop, take a deep breath and find your happy place.

Now that you’ve removed yourself from the situation, think. How should you react to solve the problem you’ve been given? Is screaming  going to help or hurt? Is this a situation you can fix or is it beyond your control?  If it is something you can fix, then do so calmly and quietly. If it’s something like a traffic jam then sit back and relax. Being anxious and frustrated is unproductive and only makes you miserable. You’ll still be sitting in the traffic jam no matter how you feel.

I find myself merely existing when I know that there is excitement and joy to be found. So here is where my journey starts.

I’m a stay at home mom, housewife and ambitious author, looking to find the strong, vibrant woman I know is underneath the frumpy one I see in the mirror. Only reconnecting with the real/true me will allow me to find the happiness within. The kind of happiness that  exists despite life’s ups and downs, despite how my family treats me, despite how the world may view me. I anxiously await the journey.