love thy neighbor- we're working on it:)

 A huge part of my story has been learning how to fully love and be intentional with the people that are considered my neighbors. Jesus tells us to love our neighbor- to serve them, grow with them, be in their lives. For how else do we love them if we don't even have relationships with them?

Kevin and I experienced the most incredible gift when we started becoming intentional about our neighbors. We had moved into a low income neighborhood in Southern California, and we started having families and kids over almost daily. We hosted a Vacation Bible School (VBS) on our porch one summer and saw reconciliation happen in front of our eyes (read here)…we played and cooked and sang with our two little neighbor boys that stopped by every day while their parents were at work, and we became God-parents and hosted baby showers and parties for almost every holiday. We invited all our neighbors to a thanksgiving feast at our house when we cooked our first Turkey, and we had a Christmas sing-a-long complete with a nativity play and Christmas goodies. Kevin and I felt our marriage was so blessed because we weren't just concerned about "us", we were on mission to make others feel loved and welcomed.

So fast forward a few years and we just moved to Northern California. God gifted us with a beautiful little house (which i'm trying to dub "the cottage"), and Kevin and I have had a lot of late-night talks about how we want to spend our time. How we spend our days is essentially how we spend our life, and we want ours to count. A huge priority for us is loving our neighbors and getting to know them on a deeper level. We want our home to be a light that shines with tender grace and loving kindness.

And all this relationship stuff takes intentionality and thoughtfulness, it doesn't just happen. Here are a few things we've tried to do in an effort to prayerfully enter into our neighbors lives in a deeper way…

1.  Chased after neighbors: i'm not kidding, i'm becoming the crazy lady that literally runs down the street when I see a neighbor walking to or from their car. haha, it's hilarious. But in all seriousness, it always makes it less awkward to try to introduce yourself and get to know your neighbors when you first move in. You get a bit of a green light when you can fall back on the excuse of "we just moved in and wanted to meet our neighbors". Last week I chased down my 15 year old neighbor while he was minding his own business and skate boarding. I think I freaked him out, but in no time we were laughing and chatting, and learning more about each other. I want people to know that i'm an open person and am always available to talk. We'll see if that works or not:)

2. Map my neighborhood: Last week I drew up a map of our neighborhood and entered everyone's name I knew so far into their house spot. My goal is to have met all our neighbors and write down each name of everyone who lives there. Names are so powerful, and I want to be able to know my neighbors names and love on them in their uniqueness. I am quite positive I have MUCH to learn from my neighbors, and can't wait to see what they will show and teach me from their life.

3. Invite them to dinner: Kevin and I made a promise that we'd have each of our neighbors over for dinner this year. Food is the BEST way to bring people together, and if all else fails, at least you can eat, right? Next Monday our first neighbor family is coming over and i'm so excited. We're going to eat and then play games. It was really cool because I had mentioned playing games to our 15 year old neighbor, and a few days later his mom told me that he's really excited to play with us. Score!

4. Pray: This is probably the most important one. I so believe that God's desire for us is to be bold in LOVE and courageous in sharing HIS love so that others can meet him and be transformed by his grace. So Kevin and I have set our alarms to go off at 10pm each night so we can pray for our neighbors. Sometimes we do, and sometimes we fall asleep, but we're trying! We pray that our neighbors might meet God in a powerful way. Life is hard, but God gives us hope and comfort and a place in eternity with Him. And so we pray that God will open doors and plant and grow the seeds:)

We are excited to see what God does. He does crazy things when his people pray, so we are expectant. We won't do everything right, but we'll try our hardest to do what God is calling us to:)

I'd love to hear your stories of how you've loved your neighbors:) What a privilege it is to live for a mission greater than ourselves!! Happy Tuesday!

Back to the basics, a new job and give-away winner!!

I've always been a magnet towards bright colorful patterned clothing. That yellow top with flowers on it…yes please! But amidst all my cheerful and chipper clothing, I somehow always found myself gravitating towards the same white shirt, grey sweater, and jeans. Even though patterns appeal to me, I feel most stylish when i'm wearing good neutrals and can accessorize with jewelry. 

I'm starting to put into practice something i've known for a while… that purchasing really good basics can go a long way in our wardrobe. I think that's kind of the idea of a capsule wardrobe, that you can have a small amount of good pieces and then mix and match. Have any of you done a capsule wardrobe? I'd love to hear how the process went! 

A few pieces i've found lately that I'm loving are this white sweater, this grey coat, and this gorgeous tan bag. 

 And, as some exciting news, I got a job. I am so excited to start working as a counselor again, and feel very grateful for this opportunity. Thanks for those of you who have been praying for me!!  

Andrea Rake, you won the give-away!! Email me your address and i'll get that box of 100% Pure goodies to you asap!!

Any fun plans this weekend? Happy Friday!! xoxo 

And of course all my jewelry comes from sweet Meredith's shop, seriously love Wildflower Roots! 

L'Abri- A retreat in the Swiss Alps

In 1972, my dad lived and studied at L'Abri. L'Abri is a Christian community that was founded in the Alps of Switzerland by Francis and Edith Shaeffer (Edith wrote one of my all-time favorite books called "The Hidden Art of Homemaking"). The purpose of the community was to be a refuge for those wanting to learn more about God. From it's inception in the 1950's until present day, many people have wandered through it's doors to question faith, study, and live in community.
My whole childhood, I heard my dad's stories of L'Abri. Of his time living in a cozy chalet, working with his hands in the gardens, listening to lectures at the feet of Francis Shaeffer, meeting others on the faith journey, and just soaking in the majesty of the Alps. L'Abri is where my dad made his faith his own, and for that I am am ever grateful.

On our European Christmas vacation, we realized that L'Abri was only 30 minutes from our Chalet. It soon found itself on our itinerary of places to visit. After an insane car ride filled with icy roads and scenic views, we made our way to Huemoz, a town so small we actually drove past it the first time and had to turn around. Whoops!

From the minute we arrived, the magical place that filled stories in my childhood materialized around us. We ducked into the library, a two story building that was a central place of study. The top floor was warmed by a wood stove, and was dressed in comfy chairs and breathtaking views out huge windows. The bottom floor was where you could check out books and audiotapes to listen to lectures on all sorts of subjects.

We then walked up the hill to visit the chalet's, and then just sauntered around the tiny town. Dad showed us the restaurants he used to frequent, and how one day a group of guys all played football in the churchyard. Lots of nostalgia was going on for all of us! haha!

I truly hope that sometime in my life I can spend more time at L'Abri. It is a life changing place for so many, and I would love to study and soak in God's word in such a scenic environment. Maybe one day…but for now, i'm glad I got to visit. If you need a bit of a spiritual retreat or are wanting to study more in depth and are interested in possibly staying at L'Abri, you can find more information here.