Hello, Reader.

September is upon us, bringing with it plenty of reasons to celebrate -- including all the lesser-known holidays on this week's link list (below). Our family is doubly excited, because two of our kids who've been abroad will be making their way back to Texas over Labor Day weekend. 🎉

One son will be escorting his 34-week pregnant wife and their four young children home from South Korea while she's still allowed to travel. They'll arrive on Friday and have lunch with us on Saturday before he must turn right back around and fly (15 hours!) back to Korea on Sunday to tie up loose ends with the army.

Then a daughter who spent four weeks treating Ebola patients in Africa and three more completing a quarantine should finally make it home on Monday, just two days before her birthday. We can hardly wait to hug her neck, too!

Free resources for celebrating September holidays:

• Sept 6: Grandparents Day - a day to honor grandparents or connect with grandkids​
• Sept 11: Remember Freedom Day - try this For Freedom Christ Set Us Free coloring page
• Sept 15: National Caregivers Day – track caregiving tasks w/our home healthcare checklist
• Sept 18: National Respect Day – are you a wife? try our free 30-Day Respect Challenge​
• Sept 21: World Gratitude Day – voice your appreciation for those around you
• Sept 27: Crush a Can Day – or use cans to create with these savvy tin-can recycling projects​
• Sept 28 - National Good Neighbor Day – read our tips on 25 Ways to Be a Good Neighbor​

What I'm reading this week:

A friend recommended Hannah Coulter to me as a book that would make me cry, and she was right! But it may just be our current stage of life that makes the story seem so deeply resonant. Hannah shares details about the places, routines, and people that have made up her life, and about how so much of that changes when children grow up and leave home and loved ones pass away. Yet her perspective is filled with gratitude for her past blessings rather than resentment over present losses. September seems an especially fitting time for reading this tale, as older kids head off to college and nests that were once bustling with activity stand empty for much of the day.

On the podcast this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 116 ​STAY ON YOUR KNEES/ PRAY W/O CEASING​ This week, I’m posting part 2 of my 3-part series on Christian discipleship (Stay in the Book. Stay on Your Knees. And Stay after Souls). It’s all about the topic and practice of prayer and its important place in the life of every believer who desires a closer, more vibrant walk with Christ. Listen

Progress on last week's goals:

I bit off a little bit more than I could chew with the to-do list I posted last week. While I did manage to ✅ give haircuts to kids/grandkids who wanted them, ✅ finish repairing a broken bird, ✅ review four Fun Squared games, ✅ send Messi magazine to grandson, ✅ mend son's pillow sham, ✅ finish another Christmas stocking, ✅ make a sample hairbrush for my co-op craft class, ✅ enjoy a lake day with my family, ✅ go to my daughter's volleyball games, ✅ attend our church potluck, ✅ record another podcast, ✅ make a FLANDERS pennant per my daughter-in-law's request, and ✅ catch up on grading math homework, I did not ❌ touch up any car paint, ❌ edit any audiobook chapters, or ❌ back up any computer files. So I'm carrying those tasks over for another week.

Personal goals for this week:

• touch up car paint
• back up computer files
• record two new podcasts (here's a link to the one I recorded with M is for Mama this summer)
• host cheese pizza/ karaoke night
• drive to Dallas to see son
• attend kick-off for homeschool support group
• drive to Dallas (again) to pick up daughter
• prepare craft supplies for next two co-op classes
• host another family potluck (this month's theme: French Cuisine)
• clean out Evernote files
• send new Bible memory passage to kids/grandkids

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 🙏
2. Invite a friend to subscribe to this newsletter 📭
3. Subscribe to my podcast on your favorite platform 🎧
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5. Buy & review one of my books 📚

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, hit reply and let me know. 😊