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Hello Reader,

First, I want to give a shout out to all the new subscribers who found me via the God-Centered Homeschool Summit this week. I hope you'll come to view this weekly newsletter like a note of encouragement from one friend to another, for that's the spirit in which it is written.

As always, I deeply appreciate your giving me a place in your inbox. 📥 Thank you for being a friend. I hope you'll enjoy this week's link list on the topic of friendship.

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Famous Friends Matching Game - how many of these BFFs can you correctly pair?
• ​A Friend Loveth at All Times - a hand-drawn coloring page based on Proverbs 17:17
• ​Friendship Conversation Starters - discussion prompts to get your family & friends talking
• ​Praying for Your Friends - a free printable prayer guide for interceding for your friends
• ​In Search of an Encouraging Mentor - for those who don't know where to find faithful friends
• ​More Friendship Printables - a word study on friendship, an acrostic poem template, & more
• ​Fostering Friendship with Your Spouse - nurturing one of your most important friendships

What I'm reading this week:

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My husband and I recently finished Will Guidara's Unreasonable Hospitality, a recommendation from our daughter, Bethany. Written by the extremely innovative and engaging former owner of Eleven Madison Park (which, under his management, received 3 Michelin stars and was named #1 restaurant in the world), this New York Times best seller offers a rare peek into the inner workings of a wildly successful restauranteur and the guiding principles that inspired him. If you aren't careful, Guidara will have you rethinking your approach to everything from marriage to child-rearing and from copywriting to customer relations, as the ideals that drive him have parallels in countless different industries and undertakings.

This week's reader request:

One of my readers helps teach a ladies Bible study at her church and will be teaching on Ephesians 5 next week. She wanted to know whether we'd allow her to print our lists to share with attendees: 25 Ways to Communicate Respect to Your Husband and 25 Ways to Show Love to Your Wife.

Of course, I was happy for her to do so, but it meant making a printable copy of my husband's original post to match the one I'd already created for my own. I sent her links to every rendition, including his FREE 30-Day Love Challenge and my FREE 30-Day Respect Challenge, and also to our books by the same name.

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On the podcast this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 63 ​SAY HELLO TO STESS-FREE HOLIDAYS​ Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. Does getting ready for the holidays feel burdensome or overwhelming to you? Listen in to discover how to steer clear of stress, side-step the hustle-bustle, and enjoy a merry, meaningful, and blissfully peaceful advent season. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I had surprisingly few unexpected interruptions last week and was therefore able to mark everything off my to-do list. Hooray! That means I ✅ finished three more days of family camp, ✅ participated in a fun, relaxing trades day, ✅ completed a couple of crafts with my grandkids, ✅ crocheted several cute little acorns & pinecones for my fall tree, and ✅ ordered my Christmas cards (currently 75% off at Snapfish with an extra 4% back through Rakuten).

Balancing perspective: I'm a ⏰ day late publishing this newsletter, was ⏰ 2½ weeks late publishing my most recent podcast, am ⏰ a week behind on my One-Year Bible plan, and 🧺 my closet's an absolute wreck right now.

Personal goals for this week:

• make 5 more freezer meals
• write first draft of my family Christmas letter (through October)
• attend my 40-year high school class reunion
• book flights to visit our kids who are living abroad
• catch up on Bible reading
• clean my closet

Pssst! If you plan to do any online Christmas shopping this year, be sure to sign up for a FREE Rakuten account before you start to earn cash back on nearly every purchase.

What's more, if you'll install the Rakuten browser button, you will be automatically alerted anytime cash back is available, which makes saving money almost effortless!