Introduction (first attempt)

* I wrote this original Introduction or Preface on August 12, 2019. 

* Note from my husband and our 20-year-old son on September 2, 2019: Most people haven’t read the same books as you and you have a different voice than them anyway; don’t discount yourself and what you have to say or others will too.

           I don’t read as much as most people I know. I get hung up in the highlighting. I’m also a relatively late learner and slow adopter of habits. It takes me a long time to warm up to new things and especially new technology. I’m very grateful for the Gospel Library app and for books on Kindle. I still don’t read nearly as much as I wish I did, but highlighting is now less messy and more precise. It’s also much easier to find the notes I’ve made “in the margins”.

            Because I don’t read regularly, I have a feeling that most of the ideas I share in this book have already been thought of, spoken by, or written about by other people who think more deeply and live them more fully. I value what I do choose to read and acknowledge that my thinking and view of the world have been shaped by many of the ideas contained in those pages. Although there may be similarities, I hope that the experiences I share and the lessons I learned along the way will be a helpful combination and may add a different flavor to some of those ideas. 

            Many people who have heard “my story” or who have joined me along “my journey” have encouraged me to write a book about my experiences. When I walk with women, our conversations cover many topics and we seem to solve a lot of life’s problems while we are enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. I have found that it is often more difficult to apply the principles we’ve discussed and the answers we’ve discovered when we return to our homes and lives. I haven’t fully incorporated all the ideas I share, but I continue to improve as a result of them, and I hope they will have a positive impact on your life as well.

            In the acknowledgments, I thanked many of the people who have been influential in my life. Among those people is Hilary Weeks. Her music, and especially her lyrics, have been the driving force behind the progress on my journey. She is an incredibly talented singer and songwriter, whose songs focus on Christ and His grace. She also writes many songs about reaching our potential through perseverance and optimism. With her permission, I will be using her lyrics throughout this book as a type of soundtrack for my journey.