They say, "You have to start somewhere"

They say, "You have to start somewhere." I guess, THIS is my somewhere. On an icy day, I am writing down all "my turn around" plans to share them with you.

​Here is where my turn around began...

I HAD built up my friend's list on my socials with wonderful authors, long time school friends, new friends, family and acquaintances. Those were built up over decades of interactions. I was proud of all the authors I had on my "friends" list and that followed me and I followed back. That was ALL wiped away on every platform a few weeks ago by who knows who or what. It is what it is. I could, and did for a few days, get upset and live in the misery of all I had "lost". 

On the third or fourth day, it came to me that I could make this a beginning, instead of an ending. A fresh start. A chance to do things the way I wanted and needed to do them for the purposes and visions I have. When I did that, it was like a switch flipped in my mind. Everything became clear and I began reconstructing my thinking and my pages, including my website. I began narrowing down what I wanted to do at this point in my life. I turned 60 this year and that is a GREAT time to re-evaluate one's life, don't you think? 

Looking back, one thing has always been a HUGE part of my life; books. When I was little, my grandmother taught me how special books are. I have memories of her reading certain stories to me. Those memories are filled with the sense that it wasn't a one-time read. I saw her reading all the time, too. She modeled what she felt was important by her actions. The ONE book she read more than any other was her Bible. I have two of her Bibles in my possession, filled with her hand-written notes. My Bible is my most prized book. I have many copies, even many different versions. It is what I use as my ultimate how-to guide for life. All other books are secondary to it. 

I believe my love for books is the reason I get the greatest joy when I teach a child to read. When another child learns to read, I know I have given them what I call the "keys to the world". They are able to learn anything if they can read. They can go on fantastical adventures and travel the world in a book. They can also learn about any subject they have a desire to know more about, learn a new skill and even create their own works of art with the written word. What an honor it is to be a part of that.

Two decades ago, I started meeting authors and became a part of writer's groups in hopes of becoming a writer. While I didn't go farther in my writing career than doing book reviews and blog posts, I met some of the most amazing authors and future authors. I am so blessed and thankful for that. I have some long-time friendships with many of them. I get the honor of reading their books and sharing them with others. That has always been something I felt I was called to do; share with others the well written Christian fiction books on the market. At the time, it was more or less a NEW thing. It isn't anymore, thankfully. There is an abundance of wonderful books with content that touch the heart in so many ways. I still want to share those with everyone I am able. People need to know they can read fiction that isn't filled with worldly "garbage" and still have the adventure, the love and all the feels. 

Then we come to the writing part of this journey. I still feel that I am supposed to write. Not just blogs posts and reviews, but actual books. I have come up with ideas for children's books, chapter books for kids, young adult and adult women's fiction. When my youngest daughter was little, I would make up stories for her at night. I dreamed of making those into a book to share with others. That dream quickly was forgotten as I went through some years of struggles. As a teacher and homeschool mom, I saw how fun it could be to create books for kids in upper elementary and jr. high. My heart always wanted to write women's fiction. I started many times but that was in the midst of my struggling years, and they quickly fell by the wayside, as well. Looking back, I think now, they could have been an answer to my need for an outlet. We can't go backwards, only forwards so, here I go! 

I want to write fiction, but I keep having these flashes of telling my actual "story" in the sense of what I've learned and how I've grown. I just might have to work on that one a little here and there in the middle of writing some fun fictional stories. That book may end up being just for me and my kids for them to pass down to theirs. I won't know until it's finished. 

Leaving a legacy for my children and grandchildren is important but above all else, I want them to remember and share my faith in Christ. When they remember me, I want them to think of His love that I shared through my love for them. One of the things I want to give them is a quilt that will be a comfort and will bring a smile to their faces when they see and use it. Quilting is another thing that I learned and loved doing and got put on the back burner years ago. Like books, I could not walk into a fabric store without wanting to buy more fabric. I finally forbade myself from going into the stores unless I had a specific purpose. I can't say that I didn't buy MORE fabric on some of those occasions. I never finished the really large quilts I started and never started the ones I gathered material for. One reason was I felt it would be impossible to do the quilting on the entire thing with the machine I have and without a large quilting frame. I did make a few large quilts and some baby quilts but not my huge quilts for queen size beds with all the detailed quilting. I have my eye on a new quilting machine and frame with a goal of starting those quilts in 2026. If I am successful at getting those and starting that quilting journey, you will see the fruit of that labor on this blog and on my social media pages. 

I have been on a journey of cooking healthier for decades and I have slowly but surely changed many of my cooking habits. Recently, I purchased a grain mill to make my own flour from the wheat berries. It has been a learning curve, to be sure. The fresh milled flour "acts" differently than the stripped flour we buy in the stores. It took me three tries before I made a loaf of bread that I didn't want to throw in the trash. It was well worth the effort it took to find a recipe and a person who could instruct me on the process and art. My goal is to change out everything we eat that uses flour to something I make myself. I will be sharing that on this page and all the resources I have found beneficial. 

I began my running journey in 2015 with the Couch to 5K guide. I also enjoy lifting because I know that is key especially at my age, to a healthy life. I have let my busy life and stresses get in the way of putting it as a TOP Priority of my life but that is where it should be. If it isn't, I won't be here to do all the other things I want to do. I know full well it HELPS with the stresses I deal with, and yet, I'm as easily tricked into thinking it doesn't matter and won't help anyway. Those lies we believe have a way of taking our goals and dreams and trashing them, if we let it. Time for a "turn around" in this area, too. I have a 10K race in just 2 weeks! YIKES! It may not be my fastest race, but it will be something I accomplish, and it will get me out there again and give me the desire to sign up for more. 

I hope you have at least enjoyed something about this glimpse into my "turn around" plans for 2026. If something resonated with you, please feel free to share it with me in the comment section. I'd LOVE to hear more. Turn arounds aren't always easy but they CAN be an adventure IF you let them. It is really all about how you set your mind. God can use our experiences to bring Him glory even when we feel like it is too much of a mess up to matter. You matter to Him! 

As always, 

~A Simple Texas Girl living life on the Jesus Way!