If you are facing a move in the near future, or if you have just moved, or perhaps you have lived in your new town for years and yet still do not feel connected to it, this series can help. I share from my heart all the things that helped me make my new town my hometown much faster than I thought possible.
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Many years ago, my husband and I traveled from his hometown (which was a full-day trip from my hometown) to a small city in Indiana. A journey that took us thousands of miles away from both of our hometowns and everyone we knew.
My husband and I arrived in our new town, knowing just our newborn, our two-year-old, our 6-year-old, and each other. We knew no one else, and we had never even set foot in the town until the day we moved there.
Yet within months, I had budding relationships with people who quickly became close friends, who then grew to be the most intimate friends I have ever had in my life. I also rapidly began to feel at home in my community.
It all began with a stressful prayer to God “Help me; I am lonely; I need a friend.” This series is what He taught me about making friendships and building community – plus a few funny stories of things that happened along the way.
From New Town To Hometown: Building Friendships & Community After A Move
Introduction
Part One: Becoming Friend Worthy
1. It all begins with fellowship with God
2. The most important lesson in friendship building
5. Meet a need and make a friend
7. Not everyone is going to be your friend
Part Two: Places To Find Friends
6. Be the neighbor with the active porch swing
7. Breaking the ice and setting goals
Part Three: Creating Community
2.Visit your new local visitors center
5.Study the history of the area
6.Take part in all things local
7.Explore local state parks and playgrounds
We Interrupt This Series With a Silly Story
1. It is going to be a long trip
2. When you give a two year old a marker
3. I was a soap opera star for just one day
4. A sign that the long trip was about to end
5. What happens when your landmarks become cornfields
6. Before you invite a potential friend to a park make sure you know where it is
7. My emergency is bigger than anything at the ER
8. There is no national emergency it is just Black Friday
Conclusion
Dig Deep Into the Topic Of Making Great Friends With These Books
- Nobody’s Cuter than You: A Memoir About The Beauty Of Friendship
- Friendship: A Gift To Give
- The Friendships Of Women: The Beauty And Power Of God’s Plan For Us
Become A Snail Pacer
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Can’t wait to see the series!
Wonderful topic for the 31 Days! So true that we all need friendship & community. May we be wise in the way we seek it, form it & offer it.
Blessings,
Joanne
Ooooh, what a great topic! So many of us have gone through community-less times and could use help figuring out how to move past it! (And I love how you’ve got the whole thing planned out! Last year I didn’t plan ahead and didn’t love how my series turned out, so this year I have a much better plan for 31 posts!)
That is exactly why I spent so much time this year planning too. I went through my last year’s topic and when I reread it I found that it was all over the place not as well thought out as I thought it was as I was writing it…um..day by day as it was due!
Victoria,
Where I live we have a bunch of moms whose husbands are in the military and they are constantly being relocated. In addition, I’m a leader in a MOPS group and my readers are young moms with young kids and I think it’s the hardest time to build friendships – but SO important. If you have time, every Friday I host a link party with over 100 bloggers, 800+ readers and 700+ subscribers called Family Fun Friday. I’d love it if you’d share this post (or any post from this series).
http://www.happyandblessedhome.com/category/family-fun
Monica
Thanks I will do that.
I wrote about this just a few days ago for a one time post in 31 days, if you ‘d like to read it. Great idea for your series, so many lonely folks can learn from these tips