How To Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird

"I want to love my neighbor, but I don't know how." Most of us feel guilty about Christ's command to love our neighbor, but let's be honest--we don't even know most of the people living around us. How can we love people we don't even know? Besides, doesn't it count as "loving our neighbor" when we send money to missionaries and put out yard signs for our church? Are we supposed to just knock on our neighbors' doors and tell them about Jesus? "They'll think I'm weird." How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird helps you overcome fears about getting to know your neighbors and sharing your faith. You'll learn simple, practical ways to get to know your neighbors, using your God-given personality. As you venture out of the comfort of your living room and into the lives of your neighbors, you'll form authentic friendships, create a safer community, and find fulfillment in obeying Christ's #2 command. Loving your neighbor isn't a random command; it's God's perfect plan. "A very timely book for a very isolated culture. Amy Lively offers practical help and guidance in the neglected practice of hospitality."--Dr. Dennis Rainey, president, FamilyLife "This ministry is changing lives. Amy has followed God's leading into an untapped area of people that need Jesus. What a simple idea of reaching out to your neighborhood--the area that God placed you in for His purposes. Amy's ideas and excellent resources have offered a no-excuse zone for this ministry. The Lord said, 'Love me and love your neighbor.' He chose Amy to show us the way. Thank you for this amazing resource!"--Chrissy Dunham, director of women's ministry at Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas "Amy knows God has given each of us a corner of the world to share the love of Jesus and the hope found in His Word. Her book equips women, spiritually and practically, to answer this call and open their hearts and homes to friends and neighbors."--Wendy Blight, Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker and author "Amy's brilliant approach to engaging our neighbors is natural, fun, and life-changing! She provides every single thing you will need, including courage. This book and practice is a must for everyone desiring to honor and obey the Lord."--Debbie Stuart, church and leadership development director, Women of Faith " Amy gives us the keys to really connect with those who live around us--not with an agenda, but with a heart toward real relationships. A must-read for anyone who believes that 'Love thy neighbor' really starts at your front door."--Kathi Lipp, coauthor of The Cure for the Perfect Life and author of The Husband Project "With hundreds of friends on social media, why are we so lonely? In her amazing book, Amy Lively identifies the heart-need for deep connection that's not being met through a screen and offers a simple solution: Actually meet the people who live near you. Amy's openness to share her successes and failures at reaching out will inspire you to try it yourself.'"--Glynnis Whitwer, author of Everyday Confetti; executive director of communications, Proverbs 31 Ministries "Amy shows us, step-by-step, how to conquer our fears, connect with our neighbors, and have fun too! Highly recommend!"--Cindy Bultema, speaker, Bible teacher, and author of Red Hot Faith "What does 'love your neighbor as yourself' really mean? In this book, Amy Lively will give you the tips, tools, and techniques you need to love your neighbor in your own unique way."--Jennifer Rothschild, author of Lessons I Learned in the Dark; founder of Fresh Grounded Faith events and womensministry.net

What happens when you ask God, “What do you want me to do today?” This is not a success story. And it’s not one of those stories that has a beginning, a middle, and then a perfectly tidy hind end either. It’s really just a beginning. For thirty days Kendra Broekhuis prayed “to maintain the joy of being wife and mommy amid the daily grind. To see the world through God’s eyes. To live intentionally. To build relationships and share Christ’s love with our neighbors. To learn what it really means to give. To collide ‘motherhood’ with ‘mission.’” This became her motto, her credo, her personal mission statement. Some days it led to actions the Lord gently nudged her to take. Other days it led to reflections the Lord gently whispered into her heart. Every day it led to a single word, one underlying theme that ties all thirty days – all thirty chapters – and their wide variety of topics together: giving. These thirty days found Kendra and her husband and daughter in a strange time of transition. They had just moved back to the United States after teaching for three years in the beautiful country of Guatemala. They were in a new city, working a new job, living in a new apartment building, in search of a new church. And they wanted to put it all together: all of their experiences, all of the things they had just seen and learned and read and discussed. It wasn’t a clean slate but rather a chance to live intentionally. When Kendra and her husband sought advice about the transition from fellow missionary friends, the advice was, “Get to know your neighbors.” It might sound like strange advice, but it made sense. Jesus tells us to “Love God and love your neighbor.” Many times the word neighbor is meant to be vague, but it shouldn’t always be. Part of being mission-minded, no matter where you live or work, is being willing to love the people closest to you, people we often overlook. Kendra’s neighbors—as in the people who live in the other eleven apartments in her building—are whom she often found the Lord’s generosity overflowing to and from during these thirty days.

"Amy is a gifted teacher and her words are just the right mix of clever, funny, and profound." --Peggy Bodde, founder of Sacred Work When the pain and problems of life barge in, hopes and dreams run out. In these uncertain seasons of personal crisis, national chaos, and global catastrophe, it's easy to wonder if life will ever be anything but sorrow and despair. The apostle Peter knows exactly what it's like when hope is gone. He watched as the Messiah was arrested, crucified, and buried. And Peter himself failed almost every test of his faith, even with Christ right in front of him. But he also knows that God is faithful and true, carrying us through our harshest suffering and redeeming our heaviest regrets. Bible teacher, author, and speaker Amy Lively dives into Peter's first epistle, a short letter with a lot of power, to light the way for today's struggling Christian. In this daily Bible study, she guides readers through the beautiful story of Peter and shows how he embodies the way to set our hope fully in Christ alone. With gentle honesty and a touch of helpful humor, Amy helps readers understand that when it feels like the end of the world to them, it's just the beginning of the power of Jesus. "A beautiful, honest, and in-depth journey into 1 Peter. . . . You'll come away a little more humble, a little more thoughtful and introspective, and best of all, a whole lot more able to set your hope fully on Christ." --Jennifer Hayes Yates, author of Just Like Us and Seeking Truth

Love is easy to give when you are getting it back. Are we still called to God’s plan of how to love when we are getting none in return? Shauna Shanks’s brave journey through obedience reveals the outcome of when we dare to follow God’s ludicrous outline for love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. Wrecked with news of her husband’s affair and his request for a divorce, Shauna finds herself urgently faced with a decision. Does she give up and divorce her husband and move on, or does she try to fight for her marriage? The former choice seems to contradict God’s plan for how to love, such as “love never gives up,” “love is patient,” and “love is kind.” Taking God at His word and assuming the love chapter was really meant to be followed literally word by word, she not only finds herself falling in love with her spouse again, but also falling in love with Jesus, which changes everything. First Corinthians 13 presents an audacious, illogical, and irrational context of how to love, meant to be applied to every marital context not just the fairytale marriage. If God’s instructions seem illogical and audacious, you might just expect the same kind of results in return! This book is not air-brushed. It was written in the midst of the author’s deepest trauma, and she purposefully did not edit out her mistakes and failures during that season. This book will resonate with women who do not feel like the picture-perfect Christian woman with the fairytale life and marriage. A Fierce Love is the story of a train wreck and reaching out to God not in the calm but in the chaos and finding hope for the future.

Home is a place of belonging, a place of eternal meaning, and it represents a taste of the new home, waiting for those who have been bought with a price. Until then, we have been commissioned to reach the world, starting with the particular geography where God has planted us. I love Tricias emphasis on using our homes, millions of his embassies around the world, to welcome others to taste the love of God. Its a reflection of the many interactions Jesus had in homes. I hope this book will give women a vision for home-based God-expectant influence in their neighborhoods and communities (Barbara Rainey, FamilyLife & Ever Thine Home). Sometimes the most intimidating place to take the gospel is across the streetto your family, friends, and neighbors. In this book, Tricia shares the simple and practical tools she uses to invite those living in her Jerusalem into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Make disciples of all nationsincluding your ownbecomes less daunting using the advice Tricia offers in the pages of Simple Parties, Significant Impact (Kurt Nelson, president and CEO of East-West Ministries International). Jesus said, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). Did you know this can be done in the comfort of your own home? The whole creation will come right to your doorstep if you ask them. Learn how to host a simple party with a significant impact. You will be glad you did!

Once upon a time, people knew their neighbors. They talked to them, had cook-outs with them, and went to church with them. In our time of unprecedented mobility and increasing isolationism, it's hard to make lasting connections with those who live right outside our front door. We have hundreds of "friends" through online social networking, but we often don't even know the full name of the person who lives right next door. This unique and inspiring book asks the question: What is the most loving thing I can do for the people who live on my street or in my apartment building? Through compelling true stories of lives impacted, the authors show readers how to create genuine friendships with the people who live in closest proximity to them. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book perfect for small groups or individual study.

Are you lonely? Do you struggle to find the real friends you long for? Here is your invitation to build lasting friendship through meaningful and intentional practices that anyone can do. The older we get, the less we find ourselves spending time in the company of good friends. Organic friendship becomes nearly impossible—after all, there are all sorts of obligations tugging at our attention. Or we find ourselves getting frustrated with shallow, draining conversations. Or, most painful of all, we feel like no one wants us—and who wants to be rejected? If you have found yourself desperately wanting connection but confused about why you are not experiencing it, you are not alone. And you don’t have to stay there. As Christian women, our faith calls us to support one another on the path of growing as a follower of Jesus—a call that will connect us, create a solid foundation for trust, and bind us together in Jesus’ love, no matter what struggles we face on the road of friendship. Together Is a Beautiful Place offers practical habits that are sustainable, deep, and valuable. You will identify what makes a godly, lasting friendship; tackle lies and false expectations about what it takes to build lasting friendship; and learn to tackle the barriers to friendship and invite healthy friendship rhythms. You will find that it is possible to grow healthy friendships, starting now.

Proverbs 31 Author Calls Women to a Revolutionary Faith What if there was a real-life invitation to a lifetime of unexpected destinations and adventure? What if your faith was the key? In her warm, conversational way, Proverbs 31 author Suzie Eller shows how your faith is just that. How when you take a step away from the uncertainty, the to-do list, the busy life, the worries and excuses, you take a step toward the One who promises to delight and surprise. Who brings you deeper than you ever thought possible. Two thousand years ago, 12 men answered the call to follow a man they hardly knew--and they were changed in ways they never imagined. Today that same invitation echoes across history, beckoning you to an adventure that will spill into every aspect of your faith and life. Come with Me. Will you say yes?