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Hello, Reader.

One week into 2026, and I've already spoiled several success streaks on my new year's resolutions. How about you?

Nevertheless, being an eternal optimist at heart, I'm not letting those missed days deter me from pursuing better habits in the new year. And I'd encourage you to get right back to it, as well!

We still have 3½ more weeks of January ahead of us. That's lots of time for making progress toward our goals, and also for celebrating milestones along the way. This week's link list includes six of this month's holidays that deserve a little more attention.

Free resources for you this week:

• Jan. 7 - National Old Rock Day – check out my rock-craft roundup for a fun project for this day
• Jan. 9 - National Word Nerd Day – try your hand at my New Year's Word Scramble​
• Jan. 12 - National Hot Tea Day – take our Tea Time Trivia Test while your tea cools a bit
• Jan. 19 - MLK Day – we offer lots of free printable resources for MLK Day​
• Jan. 21 - Squirrel Appreciation Day – color a squirrel & see a cute video of the 2 we raised
• Jan. 29 - National Corn Chip Day – try the world’s best pico de gallo on corn or tortilla chips

What I'm reading this week:

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​Faith That Does Not Falter by Elisabeth Elliot ​Faith That Does Not Falter was an Audible recommendation based on my listening history, and they didn't steer me wrong! It was a quick listen -- less than 2 hours -- but filled with biblical wisdom and Elisabeth Elliot's straight-shooting encouragement on such universal topics as dealing with a broken heart, overcoming fear, battling doubts, surrendering fully to God's plan for your life. ​

What we're eating this week:

One of my sons has been making a big batch of tomato soup almost weekly. It's so yummy!

This week's reader request:

A reader named Nelli was looking for some hard Bible questions and riddles, and I had lots of fun coming up with about two dozen of them. How many can you answer off the top of your head?

On the podcast this week:

I never got around to recording a new episode this week, so here's another from the archives...

Loving Life at Home: Episode 71 ​THE POWER OF PRAYER​ There's great power in prayer, and Christians should take care to never neglect this amazing privilege and vital discipline. That’s why God commands us to “pray without ceasing.” What’s more, God will always answer our prayers — though not necessarily in the manner we hope or expect.... Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Chalk it up to New Year's motivation, but I went over and above most my goals last week: I ✅ wrote three 12 thank you notes, ✅ took down two Christmas trees, ✅ put away (the majority of) my other holiday decor, ✅ started back to homeschool lessons, ✅ assembled three six snack bags for the homeless, ✅ made three 16 freezer meals, ✅ dropped off a box of donations at Goodwill, ✅ pared inbox down to <90 messages, and even ✅ gave 11 haircuts to my kids and grandkids,

The only things left undone? I ❌ didn't write any product reviews and ❌ didn't complete all three new Christmas stockings (though I ✅ did finish one).

Personal goals for this week:

• finish stitching last two stockings
• make sausage balls (hubby's favorite)
• frame fillet crochet name for gift
• switch out remaining Christmas for Valentine decor
• host a bridal shower for friends
• make flower arrangement and corsages
• record new podcast​
• quote Bible memory passage to friend
• send new memory passage to kids and grandkids
• make sample for craft class
• start back to our homeschool co-op

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

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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. 😊