BST's Blog

I realize some people have their sensitivities with Halloween...and maybe rightly so. Some have "Harvest parties" some just choose to shut their doors and protest the day all together. It's true that, historically speaking, it's been a night when all kinds of evil has been celebrated. So, redeeming such a holiday is admittedly a challenge. It's with that in mind that I would like to throw out some thoughts.

For folks who prefer to take the Ban Halloween approach....I wonder if you're missing an opportunity. No matter what you call the thing--Halloween, Harvest-time, or the Hokey Pokey, one fact remains. There is really no other time of the year when most of our neighbors come and knock on OUR door. I wonder, instead of putting up stop signs, shouldn't we be making huge welcome signs?

Weeks ago, Maddie's piano teacher (who lives in our neighborhood) and I had a discussion about our neighbors and wanting to reach out. We discussed having a big pumpkin carving contest at the end of our street and inviting all the neighborhood (we only have 20 houses in our subdivision). Her teacher ended up running with it and invited the neighbors over for an open house with all kinds of fall soups and pumpkins for the kids. It was a huge success!

Our neighbors to the right of us are former music biz people with a daughter around Sam's age. We've been really getting to know them this year. Somewhere along the way, they were burned by church. The scars remain...but they are so amazing. We've loved getting to know them. They came over and walked the neighborhood with us last night. Because the ice had been broken and friendships had been started through neighborhood events, there were many long visits at different houses.

Our neighbors from India who live directly across the street (they own 16 Subway restaurants) are around our age and don't have kids, even though they really WANT kids. They've always been so kind to us. When Manisha asked Sheryl if we were coming by that night, they set up a time to make sure they would be home. How nice is that? So, eventually we makde our way to their house. They were both home and invited us in to their beautiful house filled with amazing artwork and artifacts. In the middle of their living room is an intricately etched and painted wooden swing...a traditional piece in India. So nice! As it turns out, Hemanchu and Manisha had prepared snacks and drinks for us. We spent about an hour sitting and laughing with Rick and Stacey (our next door neighbors), and Hemanchu and Manisha. It was an unlikely trio of couples. But we had such a great time and made plans to get together again.

I am convinced we are called to love our neighbors. I think one of the only ways we can truly do that in today's world is to be a real friend. We should open ourselves to sincere friendship with people we might not have much in common with. Maybe you'll find out you have more in common than you think!

We are discovering the beauty of our neighborhood. There are some nice houses, some well kept yards and flower beds, and some nice decorations...but the real beauty of our neighborhood is in our neighbors. We are grateful for the relationships that are deepening there! Thank you, God!

On a lighter note--here are some pictures from the school parties yesterday. Because all three are in school this year, we had to divide and conquer...thanks to my mom. I was with Ella...

Ella and Ansley Brown (daughter of Taft and Kristen Cottier Brown)

Sam and his class came through trick-or-treating. He was so proud of himself!

Yum!!! Frosted cookies are my favorite! I know you're not supposed to take candy out of a baby's hands, but does the same apply for frosted cookies???

Ella's class with her teacher, Miss Amanda