Love Your Neighbor (Literally)

For months, I felt the Lord gently pressing something onto my heart: start a neighborhood supper club.

Not a Bible study. Not a formal ministry. Just a table. A meal. An invitation. He even gave me the name almost immediately: The Palm Aire Ladies Supper Club.

And yet, even though I’ve been involved in ministry for years, I hesitated. There was something about doing ministry in my own neighborhood that felt more vulnerable. Our ministry or church feels different somehow. We meet or gather monthly, or we serve together. 

At church, we gather once a week, and then everyone goes home.  But neighbors? Neighbors see your real life. They see you carrying in groceries. They hear your dogs bark. You wave while taking out the trash. You watch their children grow up and they are watching yours.

There’s a closeness to neighboring that can feel both beautiful and exposing. Ironically, my neighborhood is actually very friendly. But I still found myself wondering: When would I do it? Would anyone come? Would it become too much of a commitment?

Julia Gibbs is a freelance writer, who holds degrees in Philosophy and Psychology with a M.S. in Counseling Psychology. She travels to speak for conferences and events teaching and sharing her stories. She has been teaching the Bible for more than twenty years. First, as a daughter and then as a spouse of a soldier, Julia has moved 24 times nationally and internationally. She is the author of the Oaks Remain Series; an allegorical, Biblical, fantasy-fiction series which seeks to examine and comprehend Scripture through the life of Veralee Harper. Recently Julia released her latest book: “The Prophecy of Ruth”. It’s the inspiration for this episode: Ruth – More Than A Love Story.

Please pick up Julia’s book, ‘The Prophecy Of Ruth’, on Amazon. It has 5 stars! And visit her YouTube Channel: Julia J. Gibbs.