​

Hello Reader,

God has given me lots of great neighbors during the course of my life. They've swapped news, eaten meals, celebrated holidays, and shared homegrown vegetables with me. They've brought me cookies, loaned me books, given me seeds and sourdough starter, and collected my mail when I've traveled.

And I've done my best to reciprocate by hosting block parties, sharing recipes, staying alert for prowlers, taking a genuine interest in their lives, and praying for their wellbeing.

So with National Good Neighbor Day rapidly approaching (it's Saturday, Sept. 28), I thought neighboring would be a good theme for this week's link list. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​25 Ways to be a Good Neighbor - because Jesus expects us to love our neighbors
• ​Love Your Neighbor Coloring Page - a hand-drawn version of Mark 12:31 for you to color
• ​Neighborhood Bingo Scavenger Hunt - an fun excuse to walk around the block & say hello
• ​Good Neighbor Conversation Starters - discussion prompts to help you be a better neighbor
• ​On Loving Your Neighbor - after all, doing this is the second greatest commandment
• ​Better is a Neighbor Who Is Near - a coloring page that features Proverbs 27:10

What I'm reading this week:

​

​A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park Tree-ear is an orphan who observes and admires the work of a master potter from afar. When the potter is away, he creeps closer for a better look at the intricate greenware. The potter returns unexpectedly and startles Tree-ear, who drops the piece he was examining, shattering it at his feet. The boy volunteers to work off the debt, and his life takes a series of turns he could have never anticipated. I finished reading this wonderful tale aloud to my kids and grandkids this morning, although I was crying so hard by the end of it, I had to pause several times to regain my composure. 😭 Such a sweet story!

Progress on last week's goals:

I didn't finish everything on last week's to-do list, but made good progress: ✅ celebrating my daughter's birthday, ✅ cheering her on in the Tour de Fleurs at the Dallas Arboretum, ✅ attending a 50th anniversary party/reunion for a youth pastor I hadn't seen in 43 years, and ✅ shopping/working the CCC Sale (until 12 AM this morning!)

I also ✅ reupholstered three (but ❌ not ten) dining chairs, ✅ watched most of the course-creating webinar and ✅ began (but ❌ haven't completed) viewing those the election day training videos. Whew! It was a productive week, although I missed posting another podcast episode. Something had to give, and this week, it was recording my podcast (again). 🎤

Personal goals for this week:

• plan homeschool lessons for next six weeks
• attend meeting for graduating seniors
• finish watching election videos
• re-cover seats of at least three more dining chairs
• go to the Texas State Fair with family
• have dinner with son's family before they move to South Korea for two years
• pick up daughter's artwork from the ETSF competition​
• complete registration for Family Camp
• make a shopping list for gifts I still need to make/purchase before Christmas