As the weather has been warming, our neighbors have been coming out of their homes.  They’ve been gardening, mowing lawns and taking long walks down the street. I must admit…I have only met two of our neighbors.  But, my goal this spring is to take some kind of goodie and make the rounds to introduce our family.

By nature, I’m not a very outgoing person, so meeting new people can be hard for me.  But, as I’m growing in my relationship with the Lord, I’m realizing that my life isn’t all about me! I’m asking Him for ways to serve Him and those around me…and He sure is showing me some ways to do that!

Why is it important to meet the neighbors?

1. You never know when you’ll need to borrow something.  (Ask me how I know!)

2. When you smile and wave at them, they won’t think you’re crazy.

3. You can actually say their name when shouting, “Good morning!”.

4. You can tell them about the Lord.

I’ve saved the best for last. We should have a heart to reach the lost and be the hands of Jesus to everyone we meet, but especially our neighbors.  Each of us probably have someone living nearby.

Did you ever stop to think that the Lord may have guided you to the house where you live as a missionary assignment?

Isn’t it amazing that a connection that started with a plate of cookies or a basket of fruit could end up with you being able to share the salvation that our gracious God has offered?

Sandy at Reluctant Entertainer always has great ideas for easy, friendly entertaining. Her post on The Blessing of Hospitality gives a wonderful example of how easy it can be to connect with your neighbors.

(You can read it here.)

Do you know your neighbors?  Do you have any tips for meeting them?  What would you take as welcome gift?

Lindsay has written such an encouraging post about Communing Daily with the Lord as a Mother. Go here to read it. It has been so encouraging to me. I believe it will be to you as well.

“ . . . I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it.”  –George Mueller, Delighted in God

We’ve been having some beautiful weather in the high 70′s this week in middle Tennessee.  It’s been lovely!

The trees and flowers are busting into bloom…but, unfortunately that’s not all that’s busting out.

Somehow the warm weather makes some women forget that parts of their bodies are to be kept to themselves!

So.. I’m reminding myself to make sure that what I wear reflects honor I want to give to the Lord.

(Thank you Sarah for sending this to me!)

“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works”

1 Timothy 2:9 & 10

photo credit: Stephanie Bryant

Stephanie Bryant has written a wonderful post about hope in Uganda. Look at all the wonderful things that the Lord is doing there…though people just like you!

Lord, help us to never compromise. Thank You for Your grace to keep our eyes off ourselves and keep them on You and the prize that awaits.

So the question is this: Where do we go from here?

After the Lord opens your eyes, things are never the same.  And that’s a good thing!

My husband and I really started taking stock of our lives. Everything was on the table, ready to be questioned. One thing that kept coming up was our house.

We have both lived in the same middle Tennessee town for over 20 years. It’s near our parents, siblings, friends and church.

But, there’s only one problem…my husband works over an hour away. So, for over 10 years he has been commuting for over 2 hours a day.  Day in year out. He never complained..just got more  and more tired as the years rolled by.  His busy schedule plus the drive time was meaning just a few minutes a day with the children and lots of tears when they found out that Daddy couldn’t make it home in time for supper…again.

And that’s not how we parent! We are involved and love to be together as a family. So, we kept living for the weekend.  And that’s no way to live; struggling through five days a week just to celebrate for two.

It was time to focus on what was really important…to weed out the time and life stealers growing like a parasitic vine on our tree of life….to end the strangle hold of the enemy.

So we made one of the BIGGEST decisions of our lives.

And moved. Away.

We are selling our big dream house and 5 acres of woods. We left the county where all our family lives and moved to the town where my husband works. We moved into a rental house that’s about half the size of that we left behind.

And do you know what?  We are the happiest we’ve ever been. Trading his 2 hour plus drive for a 10 minute one…well, it’s wonderful.

(For example: He had a lot of work to do today, but was able to come home, eat supper and then go back to the office to finish up while the kids go to bed.)

We have finally come to the end.  And yet it is just the beginning. I’d love for you to come on this journey with me.

What things are you willing to let the Lord talk to you about changing?

Words from the heart are so much harder to write down.  It’s easy for me to share a recipe, tell you about something fun we’ve done in our homeschool or link to one of the wonderful projects in blogland.

But to open my heart and let the words slip out? Not so easy.

On to part 2…

Selfish.

How could that word fit me?  I help out a lot at our church, I homeschool our two children, I work hard at making a great home for my family…

Notice a theme?

Yeah, me too.

It’s the BIG I.

It’s all about me and my little family and my little world and my little dreams and my little comfortable world…{sigh}

Had enough?

Sound a little like you?

I was trying to live for my Savior and was actually living for myself.

Why would I say that? Let’s ask Him…

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15

“A religion that is pure and stainless according to God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows who are suffering, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:27

It’s about more than having a nice life:

Part 3 coming soon….

Have you ever experienced such a profound change in your life that you don’t recognize who you used to be?

Well it’s happened to me.

That’s why it’s taken so long to tell you.  These thoughts have been swirling around in my head and its been hard to grasp their wispy bodies and pen them down.

In some ways I feel like Kristin of We Are That Family after she went to Kenya and the veil of “that’s not my problem” was ripped from her eyes.

It all started with reaching the top of the hill, in the climb to success, and surveying all that I had.

I have a wonderful Christian husband, two precious children, loving family living near by, a wonderful church family, large home and so many things that should I live for 100 years I could not use them all.

And yet, the question kept rising in my heart….

I am living in my dream. So why do I keep asking myself, is this all there is?

Slowly the veil was being removed: one question at a time-one answer at a time.

The Lifter Of Our Heads was showing me my selfishness.

And it was painful.

(to be continued….)

“The aim and final reason of music should be nothing else but the glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit.”

J. S. Bach

He’s alive!

“…I am the resurrection, and the life…”

John 11:25