A major key to missional living for our homeschooling family of lots of littles is living OUTSIDE our home.
It could be super easy for our family to isolate ourselves by only attending the valley {our church plant} surrounding ourselves with Christians and then stay within the shelter of our home for the rest of the week, schooling, taking turns grocery shopping alone, pull in the garage and shut the door behind ourselves. BUT what fun would that be? We wouldn't be participating in the amazing adventure God has called us to be a part of. For us, being a visible presence in our neighborhood is a natural part of that adventure. But lets be honest...with four littles, if I don't set myself up for success, I'll never do it. Although spontaneous fun is usually best, sometimes just a few things could make the spontaneous a little more convenient. Here are some of the simple ways we've chosen to live missionally in our neighborhood:
Front Porch
We inherited a beautifully manicured lawn when we moved in 2 years ago. I immediately apologized to all the neighbor, explaining that I had a large family to feed and water and the plants wouldn't survive the neglect. As a result, I got friends to dig up nearly 1/2 of the front flowerbed and we extended our front porch for more optimal porch sitting {WITH neighbors}.
Furniture
As an addition to our amazing front porch, we've been slowly adding quality furniture as we found it wicked cheap. We would love to have optimal seating for who ever pops over.
Driveway
We want to keep everyone safe while they're playing outside so we always move our vehicles onto the road {sometimes blocking the driveway entrance} and that lets the kids have the entire driveway for chalk, riding toys, or just running. We keeps keys in a bowl so they're fast to find, kids know the routine so they stay near the house while we move them, and they know the boundaries.
Toys
We keep inexpensive toys specifically for outside readily available for the kids and their friends so hanging out with friends is quick and easy. We also have have multiple sizes of riding toys so we can share with friends.
Walks
Although we don't have a sidewalk on our side of the road, we do have an awesome sidewalk all the way up our road! Being out and about our neighborhood allows us to get to know neighbors even as simple as waving hi, getting to see who lives where, and letting them see and get to know us.
Cookouts
Having a spot set up with all the basics of a great cookout helps us be ready at the drop of the hat for a cook out with friends. We keep extra food in the deep freeze, cheap drinks in the mini fridge, picnic blanket ready, lawn chairs stacked in the corner, ice chest ready, and snacks in our hospitality desk.
Block Parties
Block parties are coming about a lot more natural these days. It was fun to hear that so many neighbors have been dreaming of doing "something Just like this for years" and God allowed us to start that for them. There are a thousand different themes you could do but just offering a potluck type dinner and a designated space is really all you need.
I hope this helps you think through living outside your home with a #missionalliving mentality! God has called us to love our neighbors and it doesn't have to be unnaturally hard.
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