The Neighborhood Challenge

Take a second.  Think.  Can you name the first names of the 8 houses surrounding you?  Or the 8 neighbors who live on your apartment floor nearest to you?  Or the names of those folks in the townhouse community you currently live in?  Folks who literally wake up, raise their families, eat their meals, talk about their "life stuff", and fall asleep within feet of you.  No?  Then you are like me, getting smacked HARD by the Neighborhood Challenge.



My church just wrapped up a four week series called "Like A Good Neighborhood" that sought to take the great commandment seriously.  Love God, love your neighbor.  Your literal neighbor.  And loving your neighbor begins with learning their name.  

That's where this handy neighborhood block comes in.  How many neighbors do you know?  Could you fill in the boxes in this block with ease?

  
If you are anything like me when I started this series, I knew the names of two houses near me and vague ideas about the folks nearest to us ("He drives a Ford,"  "They have a young child.").  What would it be like if you took the time to ask your neighbor their name?  What if you came inside and wrote it down on this block and began retaining it?  Suddenly your neighbor becomes your acquaintance, and maybe a relationship in your life. 

So your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is print off the neighborhood grid, or make your own, place it on your fridge, and house by house, identify and retain your neighbors names.  Take the first steps in getting to know their unique story. 

Want to learn more about the Art of Neighboring: click here.