Monthly Archives: October 2017

Love your Neighbor show Neighbors that they are really wanted

How did it change your perspective about people in your community after you meet them?

Love your neighbor show neighbors that they are really wantedOne of the great things Jesus did with his disciples was showing them that he really wanted them. Remember Peter and all his missteps? Jesus told him and showed him many times that he wanted him and that he was important. It was harder to believe for Peter but Jesus made it clear many times.

When you really want neighbors to become part of your life they can feel it. We don’t just invite them over, no we truly want them to come. If someone is missing it doesn’t feel the same. It is always wonderful when one of our friends comes, he changes the whole atmosphere around the table. So actually showing people that they are really wanted, changed everything for us. Our friendships and relationships deepened and got so much better.

The way to do it is to really mean it when you invite someone over. Show that you really want them to sit at your table or come over. It’s the words you say that do that, but also the action. Give them a hug when they come and sound excited. Show each one that they are so loved as soon as they enter your door!!

I think the last paragraph is a good encouragement for all of us for this week and all coming weeks. Especially also for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Its very basic, but the very basic is often the key to everything! So let’s have a true love for our neighbor!

Hey our friend

Jen and I both recovered!! Yay!!! That Cold hold on until Thursday but then we got better. So we were able to go to our Bay Area Council meeting on Friday as well have dinners we had on the schedule for a little bit. This coming week we are planning to have a Reformation Celebration with German food and the story of Luther and how he brought change into the church and also how he enabled each person to read the bible. I don’t know if you knew, but he translated the Bible into German and out of that need for bibles the book press was invented and through that the bible could be distributed. Before people hand copied the whole book which made it quite hard to get and also pretty expensive.

So where do you see things that need change and God calls you to be the answer? Also, don’t forget to show someone that they are really wanted!

Have a blessed week and be a blessing!

Markus and Jen

Love your Neighbor Each one is special

How are your invite lists going? Did you come up with some neighbors to invite? Trust us you will be blessed!!

Love your neighbor each one is specialRecently I watched this episode of little house on the prairie which was about a lady that moved into town and she was a bit strange. Many people right away stayed away from her. But 2 of the main character decided to befriend her. Through that friendship others started to accept her as well and that opened up the door for her to help people with giftings she had. But before she could help anyone she had to be accepted and be a friend. And also people first had to meet her before the opinions could change about her.

In all neighborhoods we have a person that is not as accepted or might look strange to us. But many times we judge just by what we see and not even knowing the person. The truth is we all have a first impression of people which often forms the way we look at them. It can either come from what someone said about them or it could come from something we observed. But if we don’t truly know them, we rob ourselves from the special things they have to give and we also rob them to not being able to be fully alive in what God made them to be. So it’s important to get to know everyone around us and be a friend to them, even if our first thinking is not to.

This week we want to challenge you to find that person in your community and start to get to know them. It makes a difference to them and to you. You might be the first one!!

Hey our friend

Fall season is on us and with that we had a big temperature drop in San Francisco. From one day to the next it dropped 30 degrees. That sadly let to me (Markus) first getting a pretty bad cold and then Jen started feeling it as well after a few days. Please pray for quick recovery for both of us. On Friday we had a special hike we planned with our encouragement for a long time and Jen was able to go. Everyone had a really good time and good conversation. It so wonderful to see how investment in relationships can be such a blessing and how true friendships come out of it.

So don’t forget to find the person in your community that’s different. Also another reminder to invite neighbors to thanksgiving and Christmas.

Have a blessed week and be a blessing!

Markus and Jen

Love your Neighbor Don’t wait till the last minute

We hope you were able to start using your in between times!

Love your neighbor dont wait till the last minuteOne thing we learned over the years is that we have to start early with invitations for holidays. Its 2 weeks before thanksgiving and Jen starts to hand out invitations to many of our neighborhood friends to our thanksgiving meal. After all the inviting we end up with a very full table and apartment. Everyone who came had a wonderful time together and many of them shared how it felt like family. Through early planning most people could come since they did not have plans yet.

I know we are still over 1 month away from thanksgiving, but as all of us know time flies. So why don’t you start making a list of neighbors you would love to have join you for thanksgiving. Then create an invite with an rsvp date and hand it out. Also with the invite ask your neighbors what side dish they would like to bring and to let you know as well with the RSVP. Jesus send his disciples ahead to plan the Passover meal so they were preparing things. He did not just show up, no He planned for the event. And let us all do that too!

So instead of just celebrating with your blood family Thanksgiving or Christmas, invite your neighbors to become family too. Set time aside this week to start planning and to get out invitations. Trust me you will be blessed!!

Hey our friend

We hope your week was great! We had a wonderful time traveling with family. It was really refreshing! After we got back we were invited to a really special birthday party of one of our neighbors with a theme of the 20s. So we all dressed up to look a bit like in that time. Jen of course did an amazing job with her outfit! I was also able to help friends from church to come up with a budget and create a business plan. Im excited to see how God will use those businesses to bring people closer to Him!

So last reminder set time aside this week to make invites for thanksgiving and start to invite your neighbors you know and also start planning a bit for it!

Have a blessed week and be a blessing!

Markus and Jen

Love your Neighbor use the in between time

We hope the small acts of kindness helped you to connect more!! Don’t forget the starfish !!

Love your neighbor use the in between timeThis weeks blog is another video blog with the topic use your in between time. We hope you feel encouraged!!

Hey our friend

We hope your week was great! We had a great neighbor brunch and also small group at our house. Its always nice to get together with other believers. Its also always really nice to see family from Germany. This coming week we will travel with them which will be a blast!

Try this week to coordinate with a neighbor to commute to work together!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Love your Neighbor or what does a starfish have to do with it?

We are praying that you felt the love that God has for you and that you are able to have a greater love for yourself!

Love your Neighbor or what does a starfish have to do with itThis weeks blog is a video blog and to find out what a starfish has to do with loving your neighbor you have to watch it!!

Hey our friend

We hope your week was fantastic! Having a dinner or other meal with someone makes such a huge difference and we saw it a few times again in the last week. It just connects you on a different level since everyone is more relaxed and can focus on the person right in front of them. We really love those moments. The only problem is that you should probably exercise a little bit after. But guess what, we do that too and it’s also a wonderful way to connect with other people in the community. We also had a lot of admin work going on this week. Please keep us in your prayers in this coming season to hear clearly from God what things to get done and what not. Thank you!

Don’t forget this week to start doing something small to make a difference!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen