Next Door As It Is In Heaven – Neighborhood Family Fun Day
The sun was bright, the burgers were tasty, the snow cones refreshing, kids were splashing in the pool as neighbors were laughing and catching up. That was the vibe at Sunday’s 4th Annual Family Fun Day at our RockBrook Townhome Community kicking off Summer 2018.
We love our neighbors! For us it’s a little heaven on earth as we experience the beauty of a richly diverse group of neighbors doing life together. Our community of 153 townhomes is a small slice of the goodness that can be America. We are young and old, fluent in several languages, vary in skin colors, immigrated from multiple countries, employed in many career fields, and have differ in our ideas about God.
And yet somehow at the core of our eclectic five block middle class townhome community is a growing value of being good neighbors. And it’s not just a “one and done” family fun day,
Our neighborhood is blessed with many neighborhood advocates. Bryan is our neighborhood greeter who welcomes newcomers. Maudie is an avid walker who invites others to join her. Audrey plans ladies gatherings to support good causes. Carolyn is our event planner, always putting parties together. James is our HOA Board member who gives residents a sense of belonging. Jamie and Brian help homeowners jump through the hoops of property improvements. Vanessa our property manager helps guide us. And Sharon and I help neighbors engage in volunteering and provide space for spiritual and life conversations. It really does take a village!
This collection of goodness on display reminds me of Jesus focus on “loving our neighbors” and the ancient Bible prophet Jeremiah’s axiom that when we “seek the good of others, in that we find our own good”.
Now we’re not perfect! We still have barking dogs, and people who don’t pick up after pets, and roll through stop signs without stopping. But I love it when Officer Joel Baker our Lewisville Police Neighbor Resource Officer brags on our neighborhood for our togetherness and sense of community (which by the way lowers crime and boosts property values).
So do you want to learn how you too can become a neighborhood advocate? On May 19th nationally known author and speaker Lance Ford will be in Dallas for a one day event, in which he will be sharing the “why” of good neighboring and the “what” of practical best practices to becoming the neighbor every neighbor wishes they had.
For more information or to sign up for this fun and impactful one day event (cost $39 and includes book) click on this registration link: Neighboring One Day Event
Live Humbly and Kind,
Jim Mustain
Neighborhood Advocate & Community Pastor
www.loving-community.net www.good-neighbor.org www.forgedallas.org www.nextdoorbook.com
