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Hello, Reader.

Independence Day is behind us, but there are plenty of other fun holidays to celebrate during the month of July, starting with "Teddy Bear Picnic Day," which is tomorrow. So I've invited several of my younger grandkids over in the morning to read some teddy bear books and eat some teddy bear toast and make some teddy bear crafts and sing some teddy bear songs together. Doesn't that sound fun?

I'd intended to do a lot more of that sort of thing over summer break, but when I suddenly realized it's already July and I still haven't made it happen, I grabbed my calendar, consulted my daughters-in-law, and penciled a couple of dates on the calendar.

Do you have any projects, dreams, or special plans that'll need a little more attention before they can become a reality? There's no time like the present to get started! Set a date and do what you can. Even if things don't turn out exactly as you imagined, you'll be worlds ahead in the memory-making department if you give it a go, no matter how imperfect the outcome.

Free resources for you this week:

• July 10: Teddy Bear Picnic Day - make our Teddy Bear Toast for your Teddy Bear Picnic
• July 11: National Blueberry Muffin Day - try our healthful blueberry oat muffins. Yum!
• July 13: Gruntled Workers Day – try these tips to teach kids to do chores cheerfully​
• July 16: National Fresh Spinach Day – a good day for baking our delicious spinach quiche​
• July 19: Global Hug Your Kids Day - 10 good reasons to hug your kids today and every day
• July 22: Summer Leisure Day - kick your feet up and color this pretty Bible verse about rest
• July 26: Summer Brain Day – keep your brain sharp with these 10 tech-free activities​
• July 31: National Avocado Day - whip up a batch of homemade guacamole for the occasion

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What I'm reading this week:

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I've been attending a book club this summer with some women from my church. For the past six weeks, we've met every Tuesday night to discuss two more chapters of Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Lies Women Believe. This is a great discussion book, candidly pointing out commonly held deceptions/misconceptions, and countering each one with the liberating truth of God's Word. The ladies all finished the book this week, and we had our final meeting last night. I was happy to be able to add this classic work to my "books read" list, but I'm a little sad to see the wonderful discussions it fostered come to an end. ​

On the podcast this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 90 ​WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?​ We don’t have to wonder or make wild guesses about what Jesus would do — the Bible tells us clearly how He lived when He was here on earth, the kind of things He prioritized, and what He expects of anybody who makes the choice to follow Him. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Five of our single children have spent the past five days hiking national parks in California together, which means I've been home alone for a large portion of that time, which accounts for my being able to mark everything off my to-do list last week:

I ✅ inventoried what I've already bought for Christmas (so I know what I'll still need to get before December), ✅ sent a new memory passage to my kids & grandkids, ✅ finished selecting next year's verses (and nearly finished creating all the printables intended to help make memorizing easier), ✅ made National Parks Passports (for my kids to use in collecting park stamps this week), ✅ attended the final meeting of my summer book club (as mentioned above), ✅ recorded five ten chapters of my new audiobook, and ✅ started (but ❌ didn't completely finish) cleaning out my kids craft cabinet.

Personal goals for this week:

• host grandkids for craft/storytime
• lengthen sleeves of son's navy blazer
• alter blue stripped summer dress for me
• reduce emails in inbox to <150
• finish formatting volume 3 of A Grand Investment​
• drive to Dallas on Saturday
• replace blinds on Mom's kitchen window
• attend baptism of two of our grandkids
• record 5 more chapters of audiobook

If you enjoy this newsletter and would like to support my work, there are five ways for you to do that:

1. Pray for me & my family (a reader suggested this as another way to show support, & I love it!)
2. Forward this newsletter to a friend with an invitation to subscribe​
3. Follow me on Instagram
4. ​Buy one of my books
5. Hit reply and say hello 👋

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Thanks so much for all your help! I'll be back next week with more links, reviews, and resources. If you have any special requests, please let me know. 😊