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