Hello, Reader.

We made it home safely from our trip! It was a blast spending Independence Day in Washington, DC. And we've had fun celebrating other July holidays since we've been back, including gathering with the extended family for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A yesterday.

Today marks another little-known holiday: It's National Give Something Away Day! And that seems as good a theme as any for this week's link list. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​50 Things to Give Away - you could sell this stuff, but donation is the fastest way to clear it out
• ​Shaken Together and Running Over Coloring Page - "Give, and it will be given unto you..."
• ​Gospel Tracts - I printed dozens of these to give away while we were in DC last week
• ​Living a Yielded Life - a reminder that life is a gift, and one we should all use in service to Christ
• ​Generous Souls Prosper Coloring Page - because none of us can ever out-give God
• ​Free Book - get a FREE digital copy of my husband's novel The Prodigy Project (or $10 off anything else in our shop) with the code GIVE10 (one use per household; expires 7/31/26)

What I'm reading this week:

We listened to all three Austin Kleon books on our way home from DC: Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going. It was admittedly not as much fun as reading the paperback versions, since Kleon's work is so visual. But we enjoyed the opportunity to review the concepts presented and discuss them with family. Of the three, I find Show Your Work most personally persuasive. Maybe it's the mathematician in me! Or perhaps it's the fact I often forget to do that myself. I love watching other people work (artisan craftsmen, factory workers, YouTube tutorials) and want to get better about sharing the process by which I do the stuff I enjoy doing, as well.

What we're eating this week:

Now that we are back home, I'm able to eat my normal breakfast every morning, which usually includes a delicious Chocolate-Banana Cancer-Fighting Smoothie. Yum!

On the podcast this week:

I am (evidently) taking a summer break from podcasting, but here's another episode from the archives for you!

Loving Life at Home: Episode 33 ​RUN WITH ENDURANCE​ The Bible has a lot to say about running with endurance, whether "the race set before you" is dealing with a difficult marriage, facing intense persecution, coping with terminal illness, raising a child with special needs, or simply striving to stay true to Scripture in a society that scorns it. Today, I’m sharing lessons on perseverance of which I was recently reminded while completing a half-marathon with my family. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I finished almost everything on my to-do list last week: I ✅ enjoyed the last few days of our road trip, ✅ finished stitching a BELOVED banner for my bathroom, ✅ finished and framed my American flag sampler, ✅ washed and put away the colonial costumes we wore in Williamsburg, and ✅ edited the first three audiobook chapters of Glad Tidings.

The only thing left undone? I ❌ did NOT record a new episode of my Loving Life at Home Podcast, but I'm okay with that. I ended up getting several unexpected opportunities to connect with my adult children this week, which is way more important to me than generating online content. None of us can do it all! 😊 We can only pray God helps us use wisely what time we are given. (Psalm 90:12)

Personal goals for this week:

• reduce email inbox to under 100 (messages needing action built up again during our vacation)
• finish making new laundry basket for daughter's bathroom (getting close!)
• attend summer plant swap at our local library
• book hotels for daughter's volleyball tournaments
• record M Is for Mama podcast with my friend Abbie
• send my fall lesson plans to co-op directors
• prep notebooks/ craft supplies for co-op
• switch out holiday decor (goodbye red, white & blue; hello back-to-school)

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

1. Say a prayer for me & my family 🙏
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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. 😊