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One of the down sides to being a Christian stay at home parent can be, unless we are purposeful about it, the lack of unbelievers who cross our paths on a daily basis. My spouse, working in a secular marketplace, undoubtedly has many more opportunities to build relationships with those who need Christ than I do, which is why I have to be more diligent about creating those opportunities for myself. I think sometimes it can be a tendency of us young moms {do I still qualify for this category??} to surround ourselves with Christian friends, while at the same time neglecting those who need to hear the Good News. After all, "it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." {Mark 2:17} Here are some opportunities that you can create for yourself to try and reach out in love to those around you:- Meet your neighbors! How many do you know? Make it a goal to meet one new neighbor a month {or every 6 months}.
- Talk to other parents at your child's sports practice/dance class/library story time.
- Myspace. It's there, let's use it. I've noticed quite a few of you joining lately. I purposely downloaded Myspace IM in hopes that I would reconnect with one of "my friends" who I know could really use a Godly influence in her life. Maybe after enough IMing I could invite her to a playdate or out to lunch. Use it for His Kingdom, instead of just for socializing.
- Connect with the parents of your child's school friends! Invite a couple kids & moms over for a playdate. I would totally be doing this if I had children in a public school. At dd's preschool I enjoyed talking with the moms & I think there would be a much bigger chance for relationship building when your child is attending with the same kids year after year. Seems like there is big opportunity here.
These are just a couple things that I have personally tried that I know God has blessed and are geared toward building relationships. Of course there are countless opportunities to reach out in love through random acts of kindness, but I was thinking more about long-term opportunities. Are you actively building relationships with those who need Him? Any other great ideas for creating opportunities for His glory?
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1 comment:
I would like to add under the "meet your neighbor" bullet that I think it's really important to pray before going outside in your neighborhood or whereever that God would open doors for you or bring someone new across your path. I have been amazed (I don't know why!!) since I have been doing this. I became really deliberate in doing this about two or three weeks ago (with the nicer weather and us being outside almost all day) and we have met a couple moms and their kids. It's neat to see those faces again at the neighborhood park and be able to ask how things have been and be able to use their names and kids' names when talking. Kaitlyn has enjoyed meeting new friends too. Just because we are Mom's doesn't mean we need to live in a bubble.
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