The Need to Be Gentle with Myself ~ Books, Puzzles, Diamond Art, and Outdoor Time (March Recap)

Hello friends. I wanted to share the books I read in March! I log my books I read on Goodreads. You can follow along with me... look at my sidebar!!! 

Hang to the end and read about how I am shifting some things because I need to for my mind and body.

Here are my March 2026 reads and ratings....

Ratings for each book are 1-5

1- Terrible 

2-I could have spent my time better 

3- Survived the read. Not bad and not great. 

4- Good 

5- AWESOME

Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail by Paul V. Stutzman ~ Rating 5

I like to read a few books on hiking or nature in the springtime during my hiking season. This was by far the best book I have read on a personal journey on hiking. I loved this book. I started reading it toward the end of February but finished it the first week of March. If you like memoirs, hiking, true and raw honesty of hiking thru stories, and you are a Christian and how that fit in one's life on the trail then you would appreciate this book.

I give more in depth review on Goodreads.

Prayer by Courtney Reissing ~ Rating ~ 5

This was reading for a ministry class I was taking. It was a simple short read with some new refreshing ideas. Great for a person learning how to pray or needing some fresh perspective. I will be using this book as a tool to teach new Christians about prayer. 

Force of Nature: Three Women Tackle The John Muir Trail ~ Rating 3 more like 2!

All I have to say is I gave a very in-depth review on Goodreads. Feel free to check my sidebar for my review or to follow me. THIS book. I just can't even get into all of it again. It is a memoir about a lady and her experience hiking The John Muir Trail with some "friends" and please notice the quotations. I will say that I am so very thankful the author was not my hiking partner. The author comes off snobbish, entitled, and rude to her hiking partners. I felt bad for them. She even wrote so negative in the book about them and in doing so I felt so bad for them because she was truly the issue. It was a hard book to read. I wanted to finish it in hopes she changed. She did a little toward the end of the trail but then became arrogant. It was a real mess. LOL! The book itself was written well just the memoir was sad in the fact it was all about her and not the experience of the trail. Maybe I need to change the rating to 2. LOL!

Murder at the Mousetrap (Bunburry #1) by Helena Marchmont ~ Rating 4

This is a cozy clean murder mystery in the Cotswolds'. If you want a simple, cheesy but cozy and interesting easy murder mystery that is clean and fun to figure out with little twists and surprises this is a good one. I like to read one or two books a month that are just fun, cozy, simple and quick reads. I read a lot of Bible study material and deep books and sometimes it is nice just to have a book to relax and giggle with. 

A Murderous Ride (Bunberry #2) by Helena Marchmont ~ Rating 4

I loved book one so much I read book 2 and now I am currently moving on to book 3. Read the above review for the previous book. This is a part of a series. This series of books build on each book about the main characters lives. 

Looks like I have been averaging to complete 5 books a month. Now, I actually do have more books going on that I am not done reading. 

So, I actually read more but I will not share those books until I am finished. I am currently doing a hefty study on the Book of Isaiah and a Bible Study on Contentment called, Is He Enough? and I am reading through a 90 Day book on Prodigal Prayers. 

In March I completed three puzzles. I enjoyed doing them. I find them helpful in dealing with some anxiety I have been dealing with. It is a nice calm way to close out the day. 

This last puzzle I finished Saturday night and unfortunately, I was cleaning the table off Sunday for lunch and decided to take it apart and forgot to snap the final picture. It was pretty. It was missing a piece. I got it from a free swap, so it happens. :) 

Next up... I did two simple diamond art projects in March

I am still working on my national park coasters. Got two done so far.

Did a diamond art rubber duck. I have a few of these. I am working on them all throughout the year to hide on our planned cruise in November. Yes, for those that do not know... hiding ducks and finding ducks is a big cruise thing. :) It is a lot of clean fun. 

I didn't do anything else really creative this month, but I did get 5 hikes in as you all know. I did take a lot of pretty (to me) nature photos on my hikes, and I did get one kayaking trip in the books. No waterfalls yet though. Sadly! Maybe this month I will. Oh, and I did a swamp boat tour. So, a lot of nature this month. 

Overall, not bad in the hobby department in March. I enjoyed it all. It is a little different. For some this may seem like nothing. Then to some it may seem like a lot. We are all in different seasons. Compared to last year my hiking and waterfall exploring is WAY down. By this point last year, I had hiked a lot more and seen 10 waterfalls. So, the outdoor department is not as much as normal. To be honest, I do not have the energy and THAT is okay. Hiking can be very tiring and elevation gain is not for the faint of heart even mild gain has been hard for me with my energy levels being so low. 

(Image from Pinterest)

I am deciding that this month I will get back to my normal slow paced daily walks to help keep me moving and build my endurance. I simply feel depleted. I still have to move though for my health needs that. I will be starting to share my daily walks occasionally here. I used to post on FB (I NO LONGER do FB) my daily steps and walks. It held me accountable. I walked 180 straight days. Never missed a day no matter rain, snow, ice, or heat. It was very rewarding. 

(Image from Pinterest)

I am not going to be doing anything like that because right now without going into too much personal detail.... I NEED GENTLE!!! I need to be gentle on my body and mind.

(Image from Pinterest)

I am going to embrace this need for GENTLE and go with it. So, I may or may not be climbing rocks and chasing waterfalls. I may or may not be doing hard or long trails this month. I may just walk some nature center paths and find slower easier trails or nice parks. I may sight see waterfalls besides using ropes to climb down to them. I am just going to embrace this season. It isn't easy. I may be reading more about nature and doing puzzles with waterfalls then exploring in person. It will be okay. With the Lord's guiding I will rebuild my strength. :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Until Next, 

Chrissy T

Favorite Pins and Inspiration

I have shared many posts and many ideas from Pinterest on my blog. I love Pinterest and it truly is a wonderful place to find ideas, recipes and inspiration. I use a lot of ideas and recipes from Pinterest. 

Here are some things I have pinned recently and either I have done this past month, or I am inspired to do so.

I have shared this a few times, but it is a pinned favorite at our home. It is easy and good.

THIS IS NOT MY IMAGE. I pinned this and I am sharing the website about porch planter ideas. This is INSPO for me. Check out the inspiration here. 

Some more inspiration for our backyard below.... (Not my image! This is from Pinterest)

I copied this outfit below EXCEPT I put a black skirt with it, leopard flats and tucked the denim top in. But everything else was the same as far as colors and the general idea. 

Not me above... Obviously. :) Image from Pinterest. 

I love finding ideas off Pinterest and then trying to recreate them with things I already have. 

It is a great tool to spruce up your wardrobe and give you some new ideas to take clothes you already have and give them life again. 

I also copied this idea with a navy dress and denim jacket I have and put on leopard sandals. It was cute. I even pulled out a brown purse I hardly use.

Not me in the image. This is the Pinterest inspiration. 

Here are a couple of quotes I saved and spoke to my heart this past month. 

I got a giggle out of this because yes.... this is me now AND I would not have it any other way!!

 A couple of more fun ones...

I was inspired by this to have a lady in our church to do a banner for our backdrop on the platform at church. She is making the banner. I will create a floral swag to compliment it. 

This is not our image... THIS IS an inspiration picture from Pinterest. 

These lanyards inspired me and so I am working on making some for our church and I just received things yesterday to get them made. The badge holder and lanyards came in yesterday and now I will make the insert.  (NOT MY IMAGE- PINTEREST INSPIRATION)

Here is some tablescape inspiration I have been thinking about and planning to pull off in a more simplified way one day.

                                                            (Source- Pinterest) 

I love this idea of Spring Bingo!!!

I volunteer at a Pregnancy Center and this is such a great idea. We often have churches or groups wanting to know how to help or what to donate and this is so neat.

Our church is currently collecting baby wipes in a neat box we designated for collection. I will take them all this Thursday.

My favorite Hiking Quote this month

I also liked this idea to do at the beginning of each new month for my calendar.

Two recipes I would like to try this upcoming month...

I know this was a random post, but I love to share things on here that I am liking on Pinterest because I utilize it so much and it helps have a nice place to share to easy find, but I hope something will inspire you as well. 

With Love, 

Chrissy T

A Bird Escapade! Communion and REST

 Yeah... I know this post title is a little bit random. Hello everyone! Hope you all had a nice weekend. 

My weekend pretty slow. I rested a lot on Saturday and finished my third puzzle for the month. I haven't been feeling the best lately. We did have Prayer all day at the church on Saturday in honor of Palm Sunday. You could come and go between 6 am and 7 pm. I went at 6-7 pm and then after I prayed, I practiced my solo I was singing for Palm Sunday which went good. 

ONE THING THAT WAS EXCITING.....

I had a little visitor. LOL! It was actually quite a lot of chaos. My husband had run some errands for me and was bringing things into the home and a bird that tries to keep building nests in our garage flew into our home. It made quite a mess. LITERALLY! SHOT MESS on my floor, on my door and cabinets. It flew into every single room as we tried to get it to go back out the door. 

Eventually, it flew back out! Thank the Lord.

My husband preached a beautiful message for Palm Sunday. The word BEHOLD is the word we are focusing on as a church this year.  I hand painted and made the letters back in December and did the flower arrangements for spring last week.

 Remember we are a "growing" church plant, so we have to be creative. :)  I did my best with what I have. :) 

 

Our Assistant Pastor conducted our communion, and it was beautiful. We have a lot of new Christians in our church, so he did a short teaching after the preaching before we served communion to explain what it was and the importance of it. It was excellent and beautiful. This was probably one of the most beautiful Palm Sundays we have had a in a long time. They are all special but for some reason this felt extra special. 

It was lovely. Afterwards, I had chicken alfredo in the oven waiting for us. We had lunch with some of our adult kiddos. Our youngest son was working on the river so was not able to be home. He is a deckhand on a boat. 

After that..... I did nothing. I have just not been feeling up to par. I did go to the doctor today and had some tests ran. My iron is really really low. So, that is contributing to the fatigue, and we are waiting on a couple of other things. 

We had some leftovers tonight and my husband and I tried to pull up some azaleas that died during our freeze two weeks ago. We didn't get as far as we liked but at least it was a start. 

That is it for now....

Until next time, 

Chrissy T

Scripture and a Snapshot~ Hosanna! #8

 

"So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

~ John 12:13 (ESV)

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."   ~Zechariah 9:9

Happy Palm Sunday! Oh, Lord, our precious Lord, Hosanna in the Highest, thank you for all you are! Thank you for your love, mercy, grace, and sacrifice. Be the KING OF MY HEART!! YOU ARE GOOD! 

A SONG I want to share... King of My Heart

Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh, He is my song

Cause You are good, You're good, mm-mm
You are good, You're good, mm-mm

Let the King of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
Oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Oh, He is my song

'Cause You are good, You're good, oh-oh
You are good, You're good, oh-oh
You are good, You're good, oh-oh
You are good, You're good, oh-oh

Blessings today! Please go check out other Scripture and a Snapshots at Kym's blog, A Fresh Cup of Coffee. 

With lots of love, 

Chrissy T

Just a Little Rambling.......

 

Isn't he cute? Oh, I do declare! I think he is!!!

Well, Hello! I took Friday off from blogging. I have posted every single day since February I "believe" or close to it. So, I decided to just visit my blog list and just give this little space some rest for a day. 

Oh, Mr. Bunny is a new little sweet member added to our abode. I purchased him at Walgreens Drug Store for $2.75. Yes... yes... I did. I think he is precious. I do not decorate for Easter. I will do a nice tablescape for Easter Dinner but that is it. BUT this year.... I saw Mr. Bunny and I thought he was too cute to pass up for $2.75 so he hopped in my cart. :) 

This is one of my favorite candle scents. I am picky with fragrance, candles & wax melts, air fresheners and such. I used to be less picky but after I had "Covid" my smell and taste was messed up very bad. I used to dislike beach coconut smells, but I enjoy them now after the virus. WEIRD!

I love all things lemon, lavender, cinnamon fall scents, cookie dough/vanilla and occasionally the Bath and Body Works Strawberry Shortcake candle with limited burning time and beachy scents. 

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SMELL for candles and etc.?

I finished the puzzle this week that I wanted to finish in March that I posted about at the beginning of the month. It was just a 300 piece, but it was just enough for me during this season. It is so beautiful. I love the cat so much!!!

I also got the puzzle bug and then pulled out my puzzle I purchased at the Everglades National Park that I had not done yet. I picked it up this past October when we did our Florida Travel Tour. We had a great time touring parts of Florida and hope to do some more exploring in a couple of years. We visited Tallahassee, Edward Ball Wakulla Springs, St. Marks Preserve, Fort Lauderdale, then drove through and visited and toured the Everglades, visited Ochopee, FL to stop at the cypress national preserve, then stayed in Naples for a few days and then a quick stop in Gainesville. Neat trip. LONG THOUGH!!! Then headed back home to Mississippi. Oh, and we also went to the Bahamas during all that. IT WAS FUN BUT EXHAUSTING!!!

This is one of those mini puzzles (150 pc) BUT oh my word.... the puzzle pieces were TINY. It was actually a tricky little puzzle. I enjoyed it though. I am glad it is done now...lol!!

Friday, I woke up late because I am dealing with a bad case of Insomnia. I usually do this time of year and then again in the fall. It usually happens around time changes. It lasts a few weeks or a couple of months and then by the time it gets leveled out the time changes again. Sigh!!!

I also had to do the church books, pay a bill, and then I had a gift card for a massage from Christmas that I used. I had my hip worked on. My massage therapist did a painfully nice job. HA!

After that I got home around 5 and crashed. I slept for an hour. My husband and I had a counseling session with a young couple at 6:30 p.m. so we headed to do that at the church. Speaking of churches.... after Derrick and I went to have dinner and the counseling session. I walked out of the dinner place and saw this BEAUTIFUL CHURCH (our local Methodist Church) all lit up! The stained glass is breathtaking and beautiful. My picture doesn't do it justice. It looks so lovely!!!

I love stained glass. It tells a story to me and adds such beauty and character. We do not have stained glass at our church. Nor do we have a typical church building. We are a church plant that is 7 years old. We are now in our 2nd building since we started (we outgrew our first building) and we currently rent two new buildings. One for our sanctuary and one behind that building to have our educational area (Sunday school class, youth classes and children class) but one day we will have an actual church building if it is the Lord's will. We are so blessed to be 7 years old as a church. We still have lots of growing to do.  My husband was Pastor in Illinois before we moved to Mississippi and now have this church plant we launched in 2019! YES.... 2019!! It was a challenging year to launch a church as you can imagine. But with the Lord's help we did it!! We also assisted a pastor for 10 years before he became a full-time pastor in Illinois. We have been in some form of ministry for 25 years. Here in Mississippi my husband has to work a full-time job and be a full-time pastor. It is a lot. :) We also did some short term missionary work in the Solomon Islands (Pacific area) and we loved it so much. He also did a little work in Haiti, but I did not go due to having two babies at home. 

Just thought I would share a little bit about our ministry. I do not speak much about our lives in ministry on my blog but thought I would share a little background for those that have been curious. Moving on...

Anyway, today we have open church prayer all day available in preparation for Palm Sunday. Starting from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. anyone can come and pray throughout the day. We have people that have signed up for hour slots if they want. I do not know when I will go for sure. I also have to practice a song I am singing (Alabaster Box) for Sunday at some point. I need to also vacuum at some point today. Lots of little things need to be done. I will get them done I am sure at some point. 

What is on your agenda for the weekend?

Hoping you have a beautiful day!!!! Blessings!!!

With Love,

ChrissyT