Growing Softly Stronger in the Cracked Places: A Time of Challenges and Miracles (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780615472102)

Matthew C. Cox grew up the only child of a conservative family in the foothills of Virginia. He was raised under the watchful and protective eyes of loving Christian parents. He was encouraged to pursue work in the ministry. He graduated from East Carolina University, in North Carolina, with a degree in Music Education and quickly determined he had no interest in working for the public school system so he used his education to teach private music lessons. Shortly after graduation from college, Matthew attended a seminar where he discovered his Life Purpose: fifty people in three generations to make a positive impact in the world, ultimately to help bring world peace. Within a few months of reaching this understanding, he met the woman he would marry. Together, they started their family and soon moved to the mountains of New Mexico. They noticed life was a different in New Mexico than in North Carolina. They attended seminars and read a wide variety books in an attempt to learn why. During this search, Matthew began to question everything he had been taught. He recognized that his religion, which claimed to give Peace of Mind, didn't do that. After eight years of questioning and searching, he developed a belief system that was different from what he learned as a child. In fact, he was afraid to share it because it was so different from anything he had ever heard before. At that time, a friend gave him a stack of books that included Neal Donald Walsch's Conversations with God. These writings confirmed the conclusions Matthew had made during his journey and gave him the courage to begin his own writing. He documented his journey to Peace of Mind in his first book, Living the Southwest Lifestyle. While practicing this lifestyle, Matthew, his wife, their children, and their children's partners and children worked together, played together, and lived within a few miles of each other. Matthew had found a belief system that worked for him and he worked towards becoming recognized worldwide as an expert on Peace of Mind. Of course, having Peace of Mind in peaceful circumstances is easy. An expert must know that Peace of Mind is possible in every circumstance, including the loss of family, home, business, reputation, and the fulfillment of one's Life Purpose. Growing Softly Stronger in the Cracked Places is Matthew's story of how he discovered whether his belief system would bring Peace of Mind in some of life's direst circumstances.