Finding Happy Starts With a Decision

Finding Happy: 10 Keys to Living an Extraordinary Life

Author: Chad Kneller

Publisher: Clovercroft Publishing

Publication Date: October 1, 2018

Length: 124 pages








About the Author
Chad Kneller is the founder and CEO of Made For More Inc; a company dedicated to bridge the gap between reality and possibilities for aspiring entrepreneurs. Mr. Kneller served as an Army officer after pursuing a music career in the rock and roll industry.

Resilience, Perseverance and Faith
Mr. Kneller has penned a book that is both memoir and motivational. He defines ten keys that will help you find happiness and live a rewarding and fulfilling life. 

The author tells how he went from failure in his early years to fortune by becoming a successful husband, father, businessman and leader. 

My Thoughts
I want to begin by thanking Mr. Kneller for his service to our country. He served two stints in the U.S. Army and completed the requirements to earn his college degree and become an Army officer. As a military mother, I have a great deal of respect for his hard work and dedication to our country.

The author is very transparent about the mistakes and bad choices he made as a young man. However, he was able to put these things behind him and work hard to achieve a better life for himself and his family.

Mr. Kneller boldly credits his Christian faith for giving him strength and guidance to become the man he is today. He shares passages from the Bible to support his quest for finding happiness and joy.

"Finding happy starts with a decision. It's deciding you are going to be happy and starting off each day with an attitude of gratitude...The key is deciding to be happy."

This book gives you motivation, inspiration, encouragement, and journaling prompts to help you reflect on what you read. "Finding Happy" is an excellent selection to get the new year off to a great start.

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Handmade Veterans Day Card

This Sunday, November 11, is Veterans Day. This is a day when citizens of the United States express gratitude to all the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces. I made this card to honor those who have served our country.

I will enter this card in Mo's Challenge #159 - Anything Goes. 

This is how I made the card;
(1.) I started with a blank kraft card that measures 5" by 7".
(2.) I removed a map of the Middle East from an old World Atlas and stitched it to the kraft card.
(3.) I used the digital image "Support The Troops" from Mo's Digital Pencil Shop. I colored the image with Copic Sketch Markers and cut it out.
(4.) I found the "United States Army Retired" decal from a thrift shop. I applied the decal to the center of the map.
(5.) I used foam squares to attach the colored digital image to the lower left corner of the card.
(6.) I embellished the card with a United States flag sticker and three small stars in the lower right corner.

Thank you for visiting me and taking a look at my latest card. I would love for you to FOLLOW this blog. You may use either the Google Friend Connect or the Networked Blog widget to show your support and encouragement.

The Soldier On Crutches by Edgar A Guest

I would like to wish you all a very happy 4th of July! Please remember those who are fighting for our freedom and their families. Freedom is not free.

I would like to honor Richard Thomas, my daughter's father-in-law. This is a picture of him receiving the Purple Heart in March, 1970. He lost both legs while serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.

The Soldier On Crutches
By Edgar A. Guest 

He came down the stairs on the laughter-filled grill
Where patriots were eating and drinking their fill,
The tap of his crutch on the marble of white
Caught my ear as I sat all alone there that night.
I turned—and a soldier my eyes fell upon,
He had fought for his country, and one leg was gone!

As he entered a silence fell over the place;
Every eye in the room was turned up to his face.
His head was up high and his eyes seemed aflame
With a wonderful light, and he laughed as he came.
He was young—not yet thirty—yet never he made
One sign of regret for the price he had paid.

One moment before this young soldier came in
I had caught bits of speech in the clatter and din
From the fine men about me in life's dress parade
Who were boasting the cash sacrifices they'd made;
And I'd thought of my own paltry service with pride,
When I turned and that hero of battle I spied.
I shall never forget the hot flushes of shame
That rushed to my cheeks as that young fellow came.
He was cheerful and smiling and clear-eyed and fine
And out of his face golden light seemed to shine.
And I thought as he passed me on crutches:"How small
Are the gifts that I make if I don't give my all."

Some day in the future in many a place
More soldiers just like him we'll all have to face.
We must sit with them, talk with them, laugh with them, too,
With the signs of their service forever in view
And this was my thought as I looked at him then—
Oh, God! make me worthy to stand with such men.

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Book Review: Mama Lives In My Hair

Four-year-old Celia Johnson is counting the days until her mother comes home from serving as an Army nurse in the Middle East. "Mama Lives in My Hair", by Merri Hiatt, is a 12-page short story that tells the poignant story of love and loss from a child's point-of-view.



About the Author
Merri Hiatt grew up in a small town near Shasta Valley in Northern California. Upon moving to the Pacific Northwest in Washington state, Merri fell in love with the mountains, ocean, rain and lush greenery.
Merri credits her high school creative writing teacher with giving her the nudge to pursue writing, and she's been writing ever since. She has written 11 books and they are all available in ebook format at Amazon.Com.

A Military Family
Lt. Mark Johnson is taking care of four-year-old Celia while his wife is serving as an Army nurse in the Middle East. The little girl marks a red X on the calendar for each day that brings her mother's homecoming a little closer.

Mark knew that his wife was in a dangerous area but he was looking forward to her return in less than two months. He was not prepared for the knock on his door and the presence of two Army officers with grim expressions on their faces. They told him that his wife had been killed and handed him a letter. The letter was from his wife and began, "If you're reading this letter, you know I am dead. Well, I'm not dead, my physical body is dead. You and I both know our spirit is what matters and my spirit is alive and well, whole and complete. I hope you can hold on to that fact."

Mark had the difficult task of telling Celia that her mother was dead and would not ever be coming home. He had been reading her the classic children's book "The Velveteen Rabbit" and Celia remembered the book said, "When you become real, you can't become unreal."

Celia knew that her Mommy was still real and with her. She realized that her mother's spirit was like the breeze and she lives in her hair. She knew that her mother's spirit would never leave her.

My Thoughts
This poignant short story is an excellent reminder of what military families have to deal with. The story brought tears to my eyes and is a very realistic account of the death and grieving experience. The author did a very good job writing about a difficult subject.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I ordered this ebook from Amazon.Com when it was offered as a free digital download. Please check the price before ordering.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

War

Today is Veteran's Day.  The picture above is a postcard that was issued during World War I.  This poem is dedicated to all who have served our country.

War

War is a performance staged by the "Angel of Sin"
When he opens his theater and invites everyone in;
The chief actors engaged are "Power" and "Greed"
Which have flourished for years on a poor people's need.

A great many characters must put on this play,
"Selfishness" first has a long prologue to say,
Then bold "Authority" rushes out to be shown
And "Hatred" springs up, by evil tongues sown.

In the tragedy, "Beauty" alone has no place,
And "Truth," despairing, stands hiding her face,
While "Hope," "Love" and "Charity" are striving, each one,
With the players to see that the "Right Thing" is done.

The scenery used is fair places laid waste,
Homes broken up in disaster and haste,
Children dying of hunger, mothers frantic with fears,
A background of sorrow, of blood and of tears.

The stage is the "World", and millions of men
Are engaged in the cast, and none can tell when
The performance will end, the curtain rung down
On the "Angel of Sin" with his reign overthrown.

Oh! May the time come and may it come soon,
That, the tragedy over, we are granted the boon
Of "Security" and "Peace" which "Victory" has won,
Then "Hope" will abide because "Justice" was done.

Poem by Lavina M. Bodley (Wandering And Wondering, 1932)