The creation of this publication was spearheaded by the pandemic and the decisions and reflections that have transformed my life over the last 15 months. Like so many people, I was left without a job and gifted with free time.

“Why does gratitude mater?”, “What are the benefits of being grateful?”, and “Ways to Maintain a Sense of Gratitude in Your Life”.

When‌ ‌I‌ ‌was‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌third‌ ‌grade,‌ ‌Sister‌ ‌Rosalie,‌ ‌as‌ ‌part‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌teaching‌ ‌syllabus,‌ ‌exposed‌ ‌our‌ ‌class‌ ‌of‌ ‌thirty-five to the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌poetry.‌ ‌She‌ ‌would‌ ‌read‌ ‌a‌ ‌poem‌ ‌aloud‌ ‌in‌ ‌class‌ ‌, and‌ ‌then‌ ‌for‌ ‌homework,‌ ‌we‌ ‌had‌ ‌to‌ ‌memorize‌ ‌that‌ ‌poem.‌ ‌The‌ ‌next‌ ‌day the ‌class‌ ‌would‌ ‌begin‌ ‌with‌ ‌each‌ ‌student‌ ‌being‌ ‌called‌ ‌to‌ ‌individually‌ ‌recite‌ ‌a‌ ‌stanza‌ ‌from‌ ‌our‌ ‌assignment.‌

There are times in our life when we experience a season of discontent. I am not talking about the feeling that can result from a bad day or a bad week. I am talking about an on-going sense of dissatisfaction and a haunting awareness that the life you are living is not meeting your emotional needs. Where a nagging question keeps pushing to the surface, “Is this all there is”?

As we move forward on this incredible journey called life, our Home plays a vital role in our daily existence. Home is the space we spend the most time in and is potentially one of the best places to sustain our spirit.

Fear is one of the biggest impediments in our lives. This emotion can be so pervasive that, if allowed, it can take over our thoughts, distorts our rationale, and causes us to become our own worst enemy.