Leland Life

I love our neighborhood. It's filled with an eclectic array of older and newer homes, varying cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and tree-lined streets that lead to a town square. There's always something happening on the square.

And I love our house...it's cute red door, huge backyard, and fun hardwood floors. I even love it's quirky elements...our foundation shifts constantly, so doors and cabinets won't close just right, our floors creak and move (which is actually a fairly good security system), and our water pressure is pretty sensitive (you cannot run the dishwasher/washing machine if you want to take a shower or vice versa). It most definitely has some character...and we're enjoying every minute of it! :)

This house has been such a blessing to us. It was an incredible gift of provision, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to live here, on this street, at this time. We don't believe in coincidences and can say confidently that the Lord gave us this house for His purposes. Our hearts' desire is to be good stewards of what the Lord provides, so from the start we have humbly prayed that the Lord use this little home to proclaim His truth to the people around us. And even in the few short months we have been here, He has answered faithfully! Whether it's hosting parties with friends, hangouts for co-workers or playing games with the neighborhood kids, the Lord has been faithful to provide opportunities to open our home to old and new friends alike. I am excited to see how He chooses to use our time here on Leland...

I loved this post by my sweet husband...

As I hear them ringing the doorbell and tromping through the newly cleaned house by my beautiful wife, I thank God that He has already allowed our home to be a place of fun and refuge for the kids in our neighborhood. May dirty footprints on our floors mark the path the these young boys becoming godly men soon.

While it didn't keep me from letting them come in and hang out, I have to confess that my sinful heart was a tad frustrated when these sweet boys tracked mud through my newly swept/steamed floors. I'm pretty sure I even asked them to take their shoes off at one point haha. I know you mothers out there are shaking your head and probably laughing at me, because you know that I have so much to learn...and you're right. This Type-A planner does :) But praise God for His grace in slowly teaching me in small instances like these. When I saw Mike's post, I was instantly humbled and reminded of why we're here. And my heart's prayer is that our home is always a place of refuge for neighborhood kids and parents alike.

Another big answer to prayer came this weekend when we hosted our first Neighborhood Christmas Party. We wanted an opportunity to meet some more of our neighbors and begin building relationships with the people who live around us. And what better way to do that than to invite people over for some homemade hot chocolate and good ol' fashioned cookie-decorating? :)

A couple of weeks ago, Mike walked the neighborhood and hand-delivered 80 invitations. Since then, we have been praying for the families who might venture to our house for an afternoon of get-to-know-your-neighbors. While we didn't quite have the numbers we had planned for (let's just say we had a mass quantity of leftover cookies), we had the exact turnout we were supposed to. As Mike said, it was a good thing I wasn't making cookies for our neighbors and instead making cookies for Jesus :) And I wouldn't change any part of it. We were able to spend some really good time with the few families that did come. We were even able to extend invitations for the Bible study that we're hosting starting in January. And not an awkward, please come to talk about Jesus...please? But a genuine invitation born out of Holy Spirit-led conversations. God is good.

Please pray for us as we continue to reach out to our neighbors. I get a little excited ball in the pit of my stomach when I walk down our street and think of the people God will call to Himself. But there's also that little nervousness ball that likes to try to take over and convince me that I am inadequate or that they'll think we're crazy. So our prayers are for humility and the wisdom to know how to just love our neighbors. Because the Lord is the one who stirs in our hearts and whispers our names. We just want to be faithful and obedient to what He has called us to. I look forward to seeing God's Spirit move down this street...