Tag Archives: community

Building Your Own Community

When I wrote earlier today about how our friends and support systems can change and evolve as we move through the challenges and journey of parenting, it inspired me to think about the process of building an evolving support system for our families. Most of us have heard how important it is to have a support system and to have a good, supportive community around our families, but many of us have no idea how to go about creating that. We might think that we should be able to walk out the door, find a “community” and settle in for … Continue reading →

Finding a Frugal Community

When it comes to living a frugal lifestyle, it is nice to have someone in your corner. Like-minded people can help each other out with support and shared resources. It is wonderful when a friend of yours can get excited about a thrift store find and offer you new ways of saving money. Without that support, your frugal living could be sabotaged. Sometimes you get lucky and move into an area that is made up of frugal people, and sometimes it is just the opposite. In our extended neighborhood, the first impression is that no one is very frugal. Moms … Continue reading →

Home means Community too

How involved are you and your family in your community? Are you aware of the attributes in area and do you utilize the resources or amenities that are available? Many people don’t realize how much even the smallest community has to offer. It may be as simple as a great family owned restaurant that features home cooking and Mom’s secret recipe dessert, or it may be something historic such as landmark buildings or a museum. We should also ask ourselves what we have to offer our communities. Can we volunteer our time or donate items to a good cause? Many … Continue reading →

Are You Being a Mushroom?

We just picked our first home grown mushrooms. It fascinates me the way they grow in the dark. People aren’t meant to be like mushrooms and kept in the dark. Yet often that’s what some of us try and do with our Christian faith. Nicodemus tried to do this at first too, which is why this Pharisee came to Jesus by night. Although he recognized Jesus had come from God and that God was with Jesus, which was more than some of the other Pharisees did, Nicodemus still didn’t want anyone else to know he came to see Jesus, John … Continue reading →

All About Jesus and Life

Recently at church our minister started off by telling of a Sunday school teacher who decided to try a different approach to open her lesson. She gave some clues and asked the class to guess the answer. Her first clue was, ‘I am grey and furry.’ The class looked at her blankly No-one raised their hand. ‘I have a large black nose.’ Still no answer. Puzzled the teacher scratched kept adding clues. ‘I live in gum trees.’ No child answered. ‘I eat eucalyptus leaves.’ Finally one child tentatively put up her hand and said, ‘I know the answer should be … Continue reading →

Marriage is Bad for the Community? Really?

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Marriage is a sacred institution and it’s about deepening family ties whether you are a European princeling making a power match with an Austrian duchess or an Irish-American dentist marrying an Italian-American schoolteacher and integrating their extended families. We build communities around this sense of nuclear family and by extension the rest of the family on both sides. Marrying broadens your local community, incorporating a whole new support network and more. But according to sociologists Natalia Sarkisian and Nami Gerstel – not so much anymore. In fact, it seems that modern marriage is more about people setting themselves apart. They … Continue reading →

Single Parents, Summer and Community

Kori touched on something in “Summer and the Single Parent” that I think needs to have more information added to it. She of course mentioned tapping you support system in the summer, which I completely agree with. She also mentioned community. Community to me is important, though it isn’t important for everyone in my community, nor is it important to a lot of communities now a days. Communities are growing further and further apart for a lot of reasons, but I digress. Most, if not all, communities offer activities for their community members to be a part of. There are … Continue reading →

Is Your Family Considered a Good Neighbor?

Have you ever wondered what people in the neighborhood might be saying about your family and the activities and adventures that go on at your house? Is yours the house in the neighborhood where there are always extra kids, bikes in the driveway, and skates on the sidewalk; or the one where loud music is usually blaring from the upstairs windows? While it might not be an issue for many, there are ways you can evaluate and consider whether your family is considered a desirable neighbor…or not… Of course, the type of neighborhood you live in can make a big … Continue reading →

A Light in the Window – Jan Karon

Following on the heels of “At Home in Mitford,” the ground-breaking first novel in the “Mitford” series is “A Light in the Window.” Health problems caused our main character, Episcopalian minister Father Tim, to take a long vacation abroad. Returning home to his beloved Mitford after a long absence, he finds that everything is the same, and yet everything is different. His own perceptions have changed after his near brush with death, and nature does have its way of creating change over time. Puny, his housekeeper, is engaged and will soon be married. Dooley, the rough-edged boy he took in, … Continue reading →

Teaching Kids to Be Neighborly

Being neighborly seems to be a lost art—a part of our heritage and social behavior that is fast disappearing in our modern world where we often don’t even know who our neighbors are! While some of us are blessed to live in established neighborhoods where we come to know and cherish our neighbors, others of us live in more transient areas or are so busy that we may live in a home for months or years before ever crossing paths with our neighbors! There are little things we can do, however, to give our children a taste of those neighborly … Continue reading →