We came home from China last week to this little note in our mail. I’m convinced that the stamp cost more money than the sliver of paper the anonymous someone printed this note on to send us.
At first I was kinda rattled. Because um….”Move your picnic table” and “Clean up yard” and “IT COULD BE VERY PRETTY.”
I guess there was a storm while we were gone, so there were some big sticks and branches in the yard. Maybe I should have made my kids pull out the “fort” that they made from poking sticks directly into the ground before we left. And I’ll be honest and say that the bush my giant dog has peed on and killed has probably bothered me for a bit too. So I’ll give you those few things. Our yard isn’t exactly perfect.
BUT STILL!
Who does that? Who types a note on a tiny sliver of paper and MAILS it and doesn’t even sign it?
For the love people!!! Sweet Fancy Moses, can I please get an amen on this?! Who does that?
And therein lies the entire reason that I have a turquoise picnic table in my front yard.
God created people to be relational. We have minds and voices and capacity to communicate, and somewhere along the way, we have forfeited real relationship for a sliver of paper with an opinion in 140 characters or less.
I basically just got mailed a mean tweet.
Maybe you’ve had one on Facebook, or Instagram, or twitter yourself? Perhaps someone has split you open anonymously or unconnected to you in just a few words tossed out without relationship.
Listen, I’ve got NO problem if my yard is a disaster and a neighbor comes by and says, “Hey, what’s been going on in your life, seems like maybe you’re feeling a little overwhelmed. Can I help you pick up the sticks in your yard this afternoon?”
America…WE HAVE GOT A PROBLEM, and it starts with the fences around our yards. No you know what…it starts with the fences around our hearts.
Since when have we become so insulated that we can’t picnic in the front yard, or talk to a person if there is an issue? I remember growing up and no one had a fence. But then a few years ago we lived in a neighborhood where every single house had a teeny tiny front yard and a fenced-in back yard. If we had allowed it, we could have lived our whole lives inside that fence in the back. We could have avoided the neighbors and stayed in our insulated little fenced bubble.
But life is better when we share it with other people.
I remember a few years ago there was a big storm when we lived in our old house. The neighbor across the street had just had heart surgery and her husband was helping take care of her when she was recovering. A huge pine tree fell across their driveway and we noticed it before they did. So my kids grabbed their gloves and my husband grabbed his chainsaw and our family had removed 3/4 of that tree before they even knew we were there. I have never been thanked more profusely or for such a length of time as from that one act of kindness. Truly years later, she still has written about that on holiday cards.
Listen, I’m not always that neighbor…and my current ones would tell you that while they for sure have access to my pantry (Kimberly makes use of that access most often), I’m not always outside making friends or picking up sticks elsewhere. But can’t we all try better to actually care about the PEOPLE who live around us more than we care about 140 characters of mailed criticism to someone who is out of the country at a wedding in China the week they have a book launch? Can’t we try to get to know one another a bit so perhaps we will cut each other some slack or have a glass of wine on the porch when we know we’re all overwhelmed? Let’s not just be better neighbors…let’s try to be more graceful people.
So to the mailed tweeter…here’s what I have to say to you:
I’m sorry my yard was somehow offensive to you. But what I’m even sorrier about is that you haven’t had a glass of lemonade with me at the picnic table I intentionally leave in my front yard and have ZERO plans of moving to the back. I’m sorry you felt that you couldn’t make friends with us, or maybe you’re afraid of my giant dog and didn’t want to walk up the lawn because you thought he might eat you. He won’t. But next time dear neighbor, will you just let me know if there’s a problem in person? Will you offer to help us if it seems perhaps things look out of hand in our yard? Will you ease a burden for the overwhelmed instead of creating a new one? And will you tell me your name? Will you be a real person for me and remember that I am a real person too? If we can try this, you know what I think…I think IT COULD BE VERY PRETTY!
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.” – Psalm 23:5
So, because my cup overflows, and in honor of my neighbor who doesn’t understand me, but who I truly do hope will come have lemonade with me at the Turquoise Table in my front yard, I’m going to give away a turquoise table for one lucky reader! Because by the way, that table in my front yard, it isn’t just my table, it’s part of an entire movement of Turquoise Tables started by my dear friend Kristen Schell who says, ““The Turquoise Table has led to a movement of Front Yard People — a movement of people, just like you and me, who want to create community right where they live.”
There are Turquoise Tables in over 27 states and 3 countries and Kristin reminds us that “People are longing for a place to belong–a place to be welcome at the table and the turquoise table provides a simple place to love those God has placed right in front of us.”
Let’s be people who build community, instead of send tweets in the mail or online that tear one another down? FOR CRYING OUT LOUD…lets make lemonade with the lemons…and then sit in a front yard and share it together.
TO enter to win your Turquoise Table (a $120 value), let me know how you think a sense of community could improve your neighborhood, and how you could use a table in your front yard to help! ONE winner will be selected for the table, and THREE lucky winners will receive a copy of the Turquoise Table watercolor print pictured above! Extra entries will be granted for social media shares of the contest! Winners will be randomly selected.
**CONGRATULATIONS to Christy Cannon who won the Turquoise Table! And to Laura Gazzaway, Janice Nisly, and Caroline Teselle who all won copies of the Romans 12:13 Turquoise Table Art Print!
Part of my heart and a topic we explore in my new book, Curious Faith, is how our Tiny Yeses of obedience can change the world around us. Start with a table in the front yard…or maybe even as small as sending 140 characters that makes someone’s day instead of messes with it.
I’d love to invite you into the journey of how a Curious Faith can not only change our perspective on today, but it can open possibility for tomorrow! Available at booksellers everywhere! And to view the Curious Faith Study Guide videos hop over HERE!
CLICK ON YOUR FAVORITE TO BUY IT NOW AT THE FOLLOWING RETAILERS!
I am truly blessed that I live in a wonderful community where neighbors still visit and help each other out. We live in the country, and these families have lived in these houses for generations. The beautiful picnic table would be a welcome addition to our neighborhood. I LOVE the print!
I bet your neighbors did barn raisings back in the day! Love it!
I love your heart & love for your community! Our house sits on a corner & when the hibernation of winter is over, we are outside all the time. I would love to use a turquoise table as an extra invitation for the neighbors that are walking by our house to have a place to gather; a lemonade stand for my kids; a place to watch the sunset; a bowl of water by the table for all the dog walkers…I could keep going:) Thanks again for the inspiration!
Ok…I TOTALLY love the idea of putting water out for dog walkers! We have SO MANY of those!
Logan I had to comment, not for the contest but to share my friends experience. She came home one day and in her mailbox was a penny and note that said, “Maybe this will help you clean up the mess out here.” She was devastated as she had just gone through a crisis. She is the person that brings soup, muffins, etc to her neighbors and that was her reward. IF I win? I’m giving her the turquoise table!!! 😉
Love it Susan!!!!
I have been wanting a table for the front yard for some time, but it hasn’t been possible financially. We live on a corner lot right at the bus stop. I envision a place for kids to sit and wait for the bus and for families to gather in the evenings. I am so excited about this and can’t wait to get started developing more relationships.
YES! For the bus stop!!! So awesome!
Now that we are Stateside and not in Canada at this time, I would love to have a table in my yard because I can actually SEE my yard and invite people to it….instead of waiting most of the year for mounds of snow to melt and for it to be warm enough to sit outside. This would be the best of culture shock….sitting outside with people, at a turquoise table. 🙂
oh mercy…I guess our Canadian friends need to also win a gift card for an outdoor heater huh?
My story: I have never lived in a neighborhood until 11 months ago when we sold our home that our children were raised in. We moved into a newly developed neighborhood. I went from living on 6 acres to .25 acres. Our house is a stone throw from the houses next door to us. I literally have a 75ft x 25 ft background with a fence!! I stand on my back porch and can see every backyard down my street. So I have had a tough time adjusting. But after reading your post this morning, it has finally dawned on me why God has placed me here. I now have the opportunity to get to know a whole new set of people. Old, young with new families and people from all walks of life. People I normally may not take the effort to reach out to and get to know. I have gotten to know the older couple next door to us. He has been fun to talk to and I chuckle that most of our conversations are held as we are talking through the fence. I would love to have the turquoise table in my yard so I could invite him and his wife over for a glass of southern sweet tea! Thank you for opening my eyes to these new possibilities!
I love this so much! Yes…your close by neighbors I’ll be are just waiting for an invitation to visit!
I love your response to your neighborhood “tweeter.” I hope he or she comes around and enjoys some lemonade with you. My neighborhood is very friendly, but I would love to do more to really get to *know* those around me, rather than just wave and say hi when we pass by on the street.
just know that a wave is a first step!!!
We have been wanting to get a picnic table for a few months…this is great. And I think I found a new blog thanks
yay! Welcome!
What a great reminder! We moved back to the small town I grew up in about 7 years ago and have discovered that many yards have fences and few people spend time outdoors in the evenings and on the weekends. A turquoise table parked in my front yard would be a visual reminder to myself to show my neighbors Jesus’ love with a simple glass of sun tea and sweet conversation. I would also hope it would be a beacon to my weary neighbors that my home is a place they can find the love and peace of Christ…and some fun along the way.
Amen…that’s what we pray often…that our home will be a beacon of light!
Right now he community we live in is hopelessly divided over a school funding referendum. My husband is a United Methodist pastor, so we were appointed here (we didn’t choose this town). It’s so hard to watch. And weighing in had been hard–but we have–because people accuse my husband and I of using our influence in a negative way. So we’re struggling to build understanding and dialogue, and I wonder if this Turquoise Table idea might help.
I think that so often we get so caught up in issues even and forget that there is so much life happening outside of the issues. When we come together over a meal or a table and just do life together…then how we handle the issues will totally change too!
What a great response. Here’s my favorite part of your post “America…WE HAVE GOT A PROBLEM, and it starts with the fences around our yards. No you know what…it starts with the fences around our hearts.”
What a beautiful way to make lemonade from sour lemons!
I would love to have a turquoise table in our yard. We live on a corner lot. Right next to a large company whose employees walk during their lunch hour past our house everyday. We also have many neighbors who walk a lot in the evenings. We wave, they wave back. We know their names, their dogs names & that’s about it. It would be nice to have an inviting spot they can come to sit & visit with us & each other.
I love the turquoise table idea and I’m hoping to get one soon. A few families in our neighborhood are in community but the majority stay very much in their own space. How wonderful it woul be to have a “common space” to hang out and form friendships. Thanks for sharing your story.
Getting to know the neighbors takes effort, We have found it worth it every time! Taking goodies to the neighbors is a great way to get to know them.
I love this movement! I admit that most of the time we are fenced in backyard people…7 kids + 2 big dogs…I have been afraid of irritating others with our busy-ness and activity. But I am beginning to see that we have neglected our neighborly duty by shutting ourselves off to others. A big beautiful turquoise table out front would be a great starting point … sharing some tea or snacks and conversation with neighbors. In the mean time, I’m going to move our bench from the back to the front to establish a little sitting area in hopes of inviting someone to stop by and visit.
One of my 2016 goals is to have my dad help me build a free little library for in front of our house to help foster this same kind of community. We live in a little ranch in a community where no one has front porches and everyone has back decks, but we all walk our dogs and kids around the neighborhood on nice evenings. I’m chronically ill so often standing and chatting for very long isn’t possible. A turquoise table would be perfect. I’m half way through Curious Faith and plan to write a blog post and will post reviews on Amazon, etc too. My faith is waking up with the crocus and daffodils and your word art. Thank you. LOVE.
In just one month we are moving to a new house on a cul-de-sac (And I love Emily Freeman, so you know what I think about benches and cul-de-sacs!) and the thing I’m most looking forward to and also terrified of at the same time is getting to know our new neighbors. I am a serious introvert and, if left unchecked, could probably live my life with our three young kids and my gregarious husband in a neighborhood with fenced back yards. But you know what? God has gotten a hold of me and I’m more ‘curious’ about what serious faith-in-action looks like than I am willing to let my tendency to keep to myself steal away potential relationship building moments. I’ve said for a long time that life is all about relationships and I can’t wait to have a teaching ground to prove that on! God has worked all kinds of miracles to get us into this house and I’m not about to squander the opportunity for building community and, as Lori Harris says, “intentional neighboring”. That turquoise table could be a catalyst for even more miracles! Love your heart Logan!!
Sharing on insta and facebook too…tagging you and Kristin.
The note wasn’t rude. The picnic table in your front yard is just tacky. Of course if there isn’t a homeowners association rule or municipal ordinance against it then it’s your right to be tacky… but your neighbor also has the right to voice her opinion on it.
Fred, it appears that you and I might not agree on this point of my table, and I really am ok if people think that the table is tacky. We actually do take care to maintain our yard and even the table, and it is certainly within our right to have it in the yard. I also absolutely grant my neighbor the full right to an opinion on it, I simply would ask that there would be a face to face interaction or at a minimum a name with the note so that we would be able to apologize for the offense even though we choose to maintain the table’s presence. My point here more than anything is that I would love to see neighbors be neighborly again and to engage community more than anonymously criticize one another.
I love community! The Turquoise Table movement is absolutely wonderful because we so desperately need to do life together with the people around us. We’re better together. When we can have real conversations and talk face to face, barriers are broken down and we begin to have compassion and understanding. It’s wonderful! We would love to sport a beautiful Turquoise Table in our yard for all to gather around! 🙂
I remember hearing you speak about this at Allume 2 years ago and LOVED it. Hospitality has been a struggle for me because I get all stressed out whenever I have people over. But your idea about the turquoise table challenged me to try something new and out of the box. We just moved into a new neighborhood 3 weeks ago, 500 miles away from where we used to live. We live in a cul-de-sac and I have the perfect place for this table in my front side-yard. I have not gotten to know our neighbors yet but would love to use this table to invite them over for some sweet tea and cookies. I love that you are taking your cranky neighbor situation and choosing to make something good out of it!! Maybe you can send invites to all of your neighbors inviting them over one afternoon for some cookies; for sure he/she will get the invite and maybe have a “lightbulb moment” 😉
Oh friend… I have been waiting for this post! LOL! I have wondered almost every day since you got that note how you would respond –mostly because, hello Anonymous!
Our favorite place to hang out from Spring through Fall is our front patio area and we set up chairs and a coffee table (oh – but I would make room for a lovely turquoise table too!) and we invited the neighbors for BBQs (Grilling) or just a cup of coffee… we actually have small talk and play with each others kids and pets and just last year the Lord put it on our hearts to be more intentional about inviting the neighbors who can’t just happen upon us. (We live on a dead end street in a little private cul de sac area – but the rest of our dead end street can’t really see us! So this year we already have plans of hosting a street/neighborhood BBQ and/or Ice Cream Social… I miss the 70s – when everyone new everyone and the kids all ran around and the adults kept a (super low key) eye on them! LOL!
Oh – and pee bush… and yes – your gigantic dog may scare me off at first, but I’m pretty sure I would notice that his size and destroying mail abilities are the only scary things about him! 😉
This is the first time I’m hearing of this idea and all I can say is… love. God has been impressing on me my need to reach out to those who are my neighbors this year and to put a table in my front yard would be an amazing addition to the things I will be doing. I actually have goose bumps at the thought of what God can do – will do – as He guides me to step out & love my neighbors. I’d love to win the table (because winning it would mean I don’t have to buy it and my husband would not be thrilled with my idea of buying a picnic table for our front yard… he’s not coming along on this love your neighbor ride quite as readily) and display it proudly out front. I already have visions of picnics with the numerous homeless men & women who have made their way into our area, in addition to those neighbors who remain faceless inside their SUV’s. Praying…
Applause! For the grace and love you demonstrated. The big picture is so hard for those who see the world without a heart change. You are a world changer….one cup of lemonade at a time.
I love the idea of the Turquoise table!
This is God’s timing as well! This past Sunday my pastor asked if anyone could help with a grill and a picnic table or two for a small trailer neighborhood we are reaching out to.
A member of our church lives there and she has been working to bring the Lord to her neighbors diligently.
I am considering my entry in her name as I don’t have a yard to put a table in.
I’m thinking turquoise paint for any table we may build now too 🙂 I’m excited to show this to my pastor!
I seriously love this. First, YOU GOT A TWEET IN THE MAIL! Can’t stop giggling about that.
I’ve been wanting to get a turquoise table for our yard for awhile. People are constantly walking by our house and, yes, some aren’t very friendly. Our hedges aren’t trimmed or the sidewalk isn’t power washed, or my husband needs to edge. There’s always something that gets pointed out. But we are outside people and we love to be together as a family out there. Would I like a prettier yard? Sure. But I’m more grateful to have a husband who wants to play soccer with hai kids more than he wants to trim the hedges, so we go with it just a little sloppy. But maybe lemonade and fresh baked cookies would help build community-change perspectives so we could enjoy one another as friends and neighbor’s, and not for our curb appeal alone.
I have been longing to connect more with my neighbor’s. It seems we all stick to our routines and within our walls. My neighborhood is a very nice neighborhood with an unusually large amount of culturally diverse people. It seems to keep everyone separate but I’d love to find more ways to bring us all together as human hearts in need of connection.
I live in a small town in Nebraska where we struggle with drugs and juvenile delinquency. A sense of community in this town could do wonders for keeping our younger generation engaged and out of trouble. Something as simple as neighbors engaging in conversations with neighborhood teens regarding how they’re doing in school and showing interest in their hobbies would make a huge difference. It seems that people here can sometimes be so obsessed with their privacy that their forget that our town is struggling, and kids are getting in to trouble because they lack strong mentors and parental guidance. A cool turquoise table in my front yard would mean a place for me to drink my coffee and be one of those pesky neighbors that shows interest in my neighbors and the youth of our community by engaging in topics that are of interest to them.
I just saw this Turquoise Table post and loved it! My neighborhood is a mix of retirees getting ready to move out of their houses and young families moving in. I am neither, lol. We still have ten years to go in our house before my kids graduate high school, so I would love to see the different generations mix it up and learn from each other. I would host brown bag lunches and cocktail hours at the turquoise table in my front yard, or firefly nights in the summer. I’ve done dessert nights and invited everyone I could see from my front and back steps and had a blast, but it’s been a few years. Working full-time has cramped my style a bit, :), but I’m not the only one who feels like that, I’m sure.
I have been wanting one of these turquoise tables since there was one at Allume a few years ago. I think about buying one from Lowe’s and painting it. Currently, we are hoping to move and I am worried the new place will not allow front yard tables. I think we in general stay in our homes more than we should, and we need to know our neighbors better. I know that is one thing I truly enjoy is building relationships with my neighbors. It could be the revolution we need for revival and change.
In South Florida, we are a very transient area. People are constantly moving in and out of our neighborhoods, and this isn’t just “renters”. Homeowners often move. The house next to us has been bought and sold three times in the last 10 years… yet this is a great neighborhood. You see this all over South Florida, it’s just common place.
But, because of this transient nature… we tend to not invest in our neighbors. We don’t get to know them, or build special relationships with them… because we know they are going to move one day. We don’t send over a welcome to the community basket, or drop by with a nice cake… because we’d be in the kitchen all day. It’s so bad… you don’t even know your neighbor’s names!
This last year, we made a decision that it wasn’t okay to us. On New Year’s Eve… for example, we had a bunch of left over food. As we went outside to light off some fireworks we saw our neighbor and asked if they wanted to come by for a plate of food. Then a bit later they were sharing their fireworks with our kids. We noticed a family new to the neighborhood sitting on the porch watching the neighborhood fireworks, but they didn’t have any for their own kids. My girls walked over a few boxes of sparklers and a box of matches and we watched those little tykes giggling as they twirled in sparkler heaven.
We really need a movement like this in our area… where we are inviting people back into our lives to fellowship together. We need to be okay with knowing it may be a short term investment. But I can’t help but wonder, maybe if we were building community in our neighborhoods people wouldn’t be moving so often. Maybe they leave because they don’t feel apart of the community, moving from time to time looking for that places that feels like home?
Perhaps we can start that movement here, in our little neighborhood?
I would love a table this color for my front yard. I have always wanted a place for our family and neighbors to gather. I want to meet more of our neighbors and get to know them. I think this table says welcome in a very nice way . I am disabled and basically, home bound and don’t have a lot of friends or know many people. This would be a great way to meet some neighbors ! I enjoyed reading this post. Thank you for sharing.
We have just purchased a small parcel of land in a river community. It is our desire to have a “front porch” mindset there do we can visit with neighbors and our family ……only problem….No front porch, yet! But a turquoise table would give us a place to bond with our new neighbors! Love this giveaway! And I did enjoy your post…it made me smile!
We are moving all the time with the military, so it’s quite the task trying to make new friends and meet new neighbors every few years. We just moved to Missouri, and I’d love to meet my new neighbors and cultivate relationships and community with them. We move again in just 4 months, so that picnic table would get to travel all over!
I can’t wait to come sit at your table in your yard with stick forts! I think it would be glorious if you and this stinker become great friends!
What a great place for coffee and Bible study, a place for neighbors to hang out and talk.
We had a young girl in our neighborhood who was on heroine a year and a half ago. One night her and her boyfriend shot up and he died. Some of our neighbors wanted to pretty much crucify her and wanted that “trash” out of our neighborhood.
Another neighbor and I had a yard sale a year later and she came and found an outfit of my daughters that she adored. This girl and I had never met but I knew who she was. She asked me if I would tell her if we still had the outfit at the end of the sale pointing to which house she lived in. I prayed about the only face to face meeting I just had with her. At the end of the day I packed up that outfit and a bag full of other clothes that would fit her. I walked over and told her I actually knew who she was and that my small group and I had been praying for her for approximately a year and that God loved her and that I wanted her to have the clothes. She broke down and sobbed. That is how community needs to be. Not judging but loving! If we could all do this communities could change along with the lives involved!
this made me cry hot, fat tears. Beautiful
I love the idea of the turquoise table. I live in a little “compound” we call it.. it’s two quadraplexes and we would love to have a table to gather at. Two of my neighbors have accepted Christ and started going to church with me when my roommate invited them. It’s been awesome to watch their lives radically change. Here’s to more around the table!
I would LOVE to put a turquoise table in my front yard! So many people have moved in and out of our neighborhood and I admit that I don’t know many of my neighbors now. I have no contact with my neighbors except for the quick wave while I am walking in my neighborhood and even then I have some that don’t wave back.
I’d love to see our neighborhood come together and take care of the vacant lot directly across from our house that’s in utter derelict. I dreams…no, really, I have really nighttime dreams of that space being a small playground, housing a “Little Free Library”, being a gathering spot for moms and dads, for the neighbors that keep shut up tight in their homes – you know the ones – they pull into their garage and out of their garage careful not to set foot on the front porch and only check the mail late at night when no one is there to say hello…those neighbors. I long for it to be a catalyst for conversations about the hard things, to be a jumping point for Jesus, for that space to be colorful and real life art, instead of the blank canvas as it sits right now. And ya know what? I’d start by planting that turquoise table right in the middle and watching my friends grow around it.
Logan, I love your rhythm of pressing on. You inspire. You teach me to Live Curious.
Always His,
Your Favorite “Nabor”
The Frontyard People movement is lovely! I think winning a table would open up our neighborhood to a different type of block party! I wouldn’t have to reverse lookup someone’s name via their address…
My 1 year old LOVES outside! We have a little sensory table and slide out front, but the table would let families know that we want them to sit and stay for a while. I think it would be fun to create a habit of it–maybe then we would have our own little potluck at the table!
Wow, just wow! We recently moved, but our newest neighbors at our old house were kinda like that. The first summer was great, with our kids always playing together. Then the 2nd summer, their kids would make snide remarks to our kids because our yard wasn’t up to par. We’d be heading to church, and their kids would be our working on their yard 🙁 Priorities, I guess. Now we’ve moved a whole mile out of town and have been greeted kindly by new neighbors 🙂 I think a turquoise table (which I would love and hubby would not) would be a great attention getter. We have an old building across the road that’s now an apartment complex and haven’t met any neighbors there!
Growing up I remember our neighborhood always being full of kids running from one house to another playing all day. Unfortunately my kids haven’t experienced that until just a few weeks ago. My daughter has new friends in our neighborhood. As soon as she gets home from school she is jumping on her bike & riding to their house with them doing the same. I love that my daughter wants to go outside & play rather than sit inside watching tv. I would love to have a turquoise table for the kids to sit around eating snacks and play like kids are suppose to be playing.
My neighborhood could use a little lesson in opening doors to diversity. We are one of the only Caucasian families on this side of town, the others are much older people who have probably lived here since the town’s founding. We often get strange looks (from the older folks AND invitees) when we offer to have people over for a cup of tea or to host dinner to a variety of people who don’t look just like us. It isn’t a race issue, it isn’t a heart issue, it’s a societal issue created by a combination of those things, and it’s sad. I hope that we can change that even in some small way.
I long for community! I also, am on the shy side and sometimes need a giant push to put myself out there. What better way than having a beautiful turquoise table in my front yard to be that push. A place for parents to sit and chat while our kids run around. A place for neighbors to come, sit and chat about their latest happenings. An outstretched hand saying come!
You never know what someone else is going through without communicating. I have talked to my husband about placing a turquoise table under the spreading oak tree in our front yard. He agreed that it is a good idea so he has already moved the barbecue grill out there. A lovely picnic table and barbecue grilling. I think that might be a way to fellowship with the neighbors.
I live on an Air Force Base and have people all around me. Our desire is to have a home open for our neighbor’s to come, break bread, and hear about Jesus’s love. I would love to have a turquoise table in my front yard to encourage families to come and visit while our children play together. For the many picnics I would love to have with family and friends.
We are about to have a brand new set of neighbors AND a brand new adopted child from Thailand in our home. I would love nothing more than a reason to invite the neighbors to our home and share our unique life & the gospel with them. Even without the turquoise table, thanks for sharing this post. It’s an excellent reminder to foster a sense of community in the place you live.
First, I love turquoise, so that helps. Not that it goes with my weird salmon colored trim on my 1924 house! But the idea, I love. I have been thinking for awhile of hosting a Friday Happy Hour Sangria Gathering in my neighborhood in the summers. Wouldn’t a table be just the thing?
My front yard, full of dead bushes and holes where kids play, would welcome a Turquoise Table with open arms. I make a mean lemonade to share with any of my neighbors who’d like to wander across a patch of dead grass.
Our neighborhood has seen a lot of turnover during the past few years, & our little ‘hood community isn’t as connected as it once was. I’d LOVE a turquoise table to serve as a 3D, non-virtual gathering spot for neighbors, established & incoming, to connect face-to-face! ????
I love this! I would use it as I continue to be intentional in reaching out to my neighbors. Also, bicycling groups use our street constantly. I would love to be able to invite them with some water bottles and community!
My favorite color – would be an inviting spot for friends and neighbors. We are blessed with a small front porch, but I would LOVE a turquoise table!!!
I think the idea of a turquoise table is fabulous. It’s very disappointing that or society has gotten to the point that we can’t actually know and enjoy the company of our neighbors!
We are known as the somewhat kooky family in the neighborhood. We pretty much have a revolving door for kids, neighbors, and anyone else who happens to show. People stop by to play with our children, chickens, and goats, not necessarily in that order, and be fed at least a snack. We are truly blessed. A turquoise table in the front yard is a grand idea that encourages that sense of friendship and being engaged and involved even further.
I think our small community could benefit from this movement. Our small town is mostly Hispanic and my family is in the minority. There is much separation, and everyone goes about their own business with their own cultural group, mostly ignoring the other group. We recently moved to a trailer park where we are the only non-Hispanic family. I am working on improving my spanish, and would love to have a place where I could sit and talk with our neighbors, and the kids that come to play. What an awesome idea, I think I might just go build a table 🙂
My husband and I just moved to a new neighborhood, and we realized (with dismay) that we had not met as many neighbors in our previous area as we’d meant to. With Carey as a music minister in one of our town’s churches, we’d love to use a Turquoise Table to open conversations and initiate conversations with people in our current home.
Just having a place to practice hospitality would help everyone connect!
We live in a very unique space — our home is right on the main drag of the “old, cutesy” part of our city. Our front yard sits opposite from the local flower shop and we are surrounded by local small businesses and many individual homes — but we’ve lived here for 5 years and just started to get to know a handful of our neighbors this past autumn!
The layout of this part of town really allows people to ignore those around them and do their own thing without interacting at all. As an introvert, I’ve been okay with that for way too long! We just started attending a church just a few doors down from us and have found a community of people who are passionate about loving our community as Jesus does! That passion has been contagious and I’ve been praying and asking God to give me courage and boldness to start connecting with our neighbors and the local business owners around us. Having a turquoise table in our front yard would be a bold move, but one that I’ve been praying about for awhile!
I can just see a big bunch of flowers from our “flower girls” across the street on top with some fresh lemonade and warm cookies! I would definitely have us do some of our homeschooling out there and we’ve been tossing around the idea of hosting some “backyard sessions” (my husband and I are musicians) in the summer — maybe we could move those to the front yard instead!
I’d love a turqouise table! We sit out front often but don’t have any extra seating to offer passers-by a place to sit and stay for a while. Please pick me!
Honestly? Your post makes me feel inspired. We don’t have fences, and the back yards of five or six houses are open with kids running every which way – and I love it. But I’ve realized I don’t know anyone beyond those few houses. I live on a busy street and have a huge front yard that’s just been aching for a big veggie garden (in the works) and a picnic table for grabbing the kids, bikers, and neighbors who constantly traipse by. The idea of that – and a big ‘ol pitcher of iced tea awaiting them all – thrills my heart. Even if it makes somebody grumpy 😉
Hi Logan!
We have had a few of those types of things too. One time we were parked in our culdesac in a place where everyone parks and has been parking for YEARS. well, that day a police officer showed up and gave myself and a neighbor a ticket! Apparently it was technically illegal parking. The thing is, it was someone from the homeowners association board- they had a meeting THE NIGHT BEFORE and decided that they wanted to “clean up the neighborhood” and enforce certain rules (for the first time ever). That person would have then had to drive around the association and find all the cars wrongly parked and report them specifically to the police and ask the police to ticket them. And that’s what they did, less than 12 hours after that meeting! It sure would have been nice if they had told us first of their decision! $75 later….????????
We just moved and are in a new neighborhood (not because of the ticket, haha). It would be so awesome to win a turquoise table a) because it’s my favorite color and b) because I’m an introvert but determined to do “front yard living” this spring and summer!
Blessings friend!!
-Megan
I live in a very small, privately owned apartment complex with 2 buildings of just 4 apartments each. Between those two buildings lives an unsightly, underutilized-but-full-of-potential cement pad. I keep envisioning that space as a place to unite the tenants here, and create an actual community. Tensions are so high, as the younger generation moves in, crashing into the older generation that has lived here for years. Really, everyone has good intentions, but the hostility can be a lot to handle. I would be absolutely over the moon for a place where the college students, the young single adults, the budding families, and the widows can come together and begin to see each other as the humans we all are.
turquoise tables would be so awesome there!!!!
We own a home on a street where many rent. People are constantly moving in and out. We let our kids play out front specifically so we can get to know our neighbors better. We’d love a picnic table so we could offer them a seat and hear more of their stories. Just this week I learned that one of my neighbors was a refugee from Belarus. His family was improsoned for their Christian faith under Stalin! All of this information came to light during a conversation on our front lawn.
We’re looking for a new neighborhood to call home in the same city where Logan lives. It would be awesome to have a matching table in a different part of town…maybe they could get together and produce more tables…or at least produce more people willing to put a turquoise table in their front yard because they’ve seen the positive impact.
Wow. I think a front yard table IS pretty!
The idea of a front yard picnic table is a beautiful invitation to create community! We are moving into a new house which means a new neighborhood and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be apart of this street! The families and people that surround our new house already share this closeness with daily life and a cup of coffee. This will be new for me, a new season of life where God is giving me the opportunity to learn hospitality and an open door. A change that will grow my quiet introverted self to being relational and apart of people..because I am finally learning, yes..life is so much better with people! ..and a picnic table to say “hi, we’re the new neighbors, come tell us your story and we’ll share with you ours.” God has big plans when He brings lives together!
I’d like to win a turqoyise table because I told God I would have one if we moved into a house. We have lived in a town house for 7 years without a front yard. I have been wanting a turquoise table to fellowship with my neighbors ever since I met Kristen at a Allume two years ago, but without a front yard it just wasn’t possible. We recently moved across the country from California to Georgia, and now we have a rental house in a neighborhood with the front yard. I told God that if we had a house I would put a turquoise table in my front yard – I want to live up to my promises and I would love to win one.
Pardon all the typos I’m on my phone!
That happened to me too! The lower case letter I seems to be removed from several comments somehow.
God calls us into community. Because of the brokenness of sin we live in the tension between isolation and community. I live at the end of a corner of the block. It’s a place where the wind blows all the trash and leaves and where snow piles up. But it’s also a place where once a year on Halloween my neighbors come out and drink hot chocolate and hot cider. I wish my neighborhood gathered more. Maybe a turquoise table would help have a meeting place. I’d like to give it a try.
Sorry, it came out jumbled…
Here’s what it should read:
God calls us into community. Because of the brokenness of sin we live in the tension between solation and community. I live at the end of a corner of the block. It’s a place where the wind blows all the trash and leaves and where snow piles up. But it’s also a place where once a year, on Halloween, my neighbors come out and drink hot chocolate and hot cider. I wish my neighborhood gathered more. Maybe a turquoise table would help have a meeting place. I’d like to give it a try.
I’m glad your I found you book and blog! But thought I would offer another perspective. That note was typed because it’s written by a elderly person with possible arthritis you can tell by the envelope. Perhaps they are lonely and reaching out because your yard is the only thing they see. I would look around and see if you have neighbors that fit that mold. Maybe some cookies or flowers from your beautiful children would build a bridge to have them join you at your table (which is so cool by the way). Just a thought from someone whose been in the same boat ????. You are blessing the socks off of many! Have a great day!
Man, said neighbor really messed with the wrong gal and picked on the wrong table-she who will publish your nasty note and the table that was actually built as a movement to bring people together. The irony is killing me! Ok I’ll be honest, it was me-i wrote the note. Kidding! And I don’t think you’ll ever know sadly, because again, of all people, you’d be the first to forgive and make a great relationship.
I do promise to be a better neighbor and try not to be in a hurry all the time an make time for lemonade and pick up sticks!
Why is my comment missing all the vowels??????????
From the address on the envelope, I’d wager it is an elderly neighbor. Anybody fit the bill? I think a shared kitchen of lemonade would do them all well. This was the first I’d heard of the turquoise table project and I love the concept. We’ve lived here for 5 years and we only know 2 of our neighbors though the others have kids within the same age bracket. I’d love a visual extension to them that they are welcome to join us and be friends. They usually scurry inside when we go out and I’ve never made it around their fences to formally introduce myself. A standing neighborhood lemonade day at the picnic table sounds fabulous!
The world has become too busy! Quoting my pastor, we would reply “fine” when asked how we were doing. Now we answer “busy”. We can let it sweep us up and we finally miss the act of living and loving – loving ourselves, loving our families and especially loving our neighbors! My home has a bus stop directly across the street. The blessing for weary workers to sit down and share a glass of lemonade at the end of their day seems so beautiful! God intended us to be intentional in living and loving and building relationships in order to build His kingdom.
We’re coming up on one year in our house and it’s been a crazy season for us. We moved into our first home and had our first baby a month later. I wasn’t exactly I the “get to know your neighbors” mindset at first, but over the past year I have watched countless neighbors walk by our house regularly to get to the walking trails that start right across from our house and have thought how I’d love to be a front yard person where I literally could be in the path of these people’s lives. With or without a turquoise table we’re trying to get out and meet with our neighbors. We recently met a Jewish couple that was on the corner with their two young children and an immigrant couple across the street who just moved in with their one-year-old. I’m hoping that the Lord can use me the stay at home mom to reach these other mamas in our neighborhood.
Oh for goodness sake. Sad. But then again I live in a similar neighborhood. No one talks, no one borrows anything from anyone. A simple wave happens once every six months at most. All little islands. I’d love a turquoise table.
Walls. Fences. We all have them. But sometimes they just serve to keep out good things instead of protecting us from bad junk. Maybe your anonymous mailer will come around and needs our prayers. Who knows what’s piling up in their proverbial “yard.” 🙂
My husband and I recently moved to Haiti to work for a non profit. The people that were there before us, were Americans and not very hospitable. We are living in the same house, behind a big brick wall and metal gate. We have had to be intentional about hospitality and visiting. One thing I’ve found is that baking builds bridges. So does having consistent internet and coffee! “It was easier getting into the White House than visiting here. Things have changed a lot!” was the comment the president of the non profit said to me the other day. We just built a fire pit and taught young adults how to roast hot dogs and marshmallows the other night. What a blast! I would LOVE a blue picnic table. I’m not sure how in the world it could ever get here. But I did just move a table out to the front porch we have to encourage more hanging out. You are right. Anonymous notes and opinions are just another way we have of cutting ourselves off from each other. I don’t allow cell phones at my table for one…no way. Bu that’s another conversation! Blessings.
I have always believed in community. It’s why I put a halt on blogging or other adventures to connect with my real life people. I love that you’re doing this in response to what you were given.
I live in a wooded neighborhood, where people are spread further out, and that limits the time that I see my neighbors, especially in the winter months. Having a turquoise table in our front yardwould be an invitation to stop and visit with each other. I kept thinking that it wouldn’t work in our circumstances, but then I say, “Why not?” Maybe if we have it there for others to stop and invited to stay, they will come and visit. I’m not going to box God in! He can do all things!
We live in a city where people are thirsty for fellowship and longing for a friend. We have a growing neighbourhood where young moms and kids would love nothing more than to have a space to sit, relax and unwind. A place for dads and husbands to sit and enjoy each other’s company. A turquoise table would create a place to open our homes right in our front yard. A place where people feel safe. A place of rest. A place for the broken, the left out, the neighbour who just needs to be heard. I would love nothing more than to bring life to our neighbours through something as simple as a table. Jesus came eating and drinking, and I want the life he brings to be brought in the same way, around a table. Thank you for considering me and my family as we all continue to reach out. And even if I am not chosen, I urge everyone else to consider purchasing a table and bringing that life to your neighbourhood! God bless and thank you!
I live on a main road and people are constantly walking past my house carrying bags from the grocery store. It would be a great place for people to stop and rest on their way to the store or home from the store. I might even consider keeping a cooler of bottled water out there in the summer. Great opportunity to meet people.
My neighbor also sent me notes rude ones accept it was to keep my children quite while they played outside. We live in the country and she lives right next door but chose to send a letter through the mail rather then talk directly to me. I do not understand people sometimes. It would be wonderful if we could work it out but she is afraid of me and I am not sure why many times I have thought to invite them to church or invite them to be involved in a project to bring them to God and show his love but i am afraid. The table would be a symbol of the chance to make a difference for them and other in the community and invite them in and to show them God’s grace, love and mercy. What a wonderful opportunity for us to be the model instead of sitting on the side lines waiting for someone else to do what God has called us to do ourselves. Thank you for sharing you story and God bless.
Hooray for stick forts, and front-yard picnics!
This has happened to me. My husband is ill. He was in the hospital for a week. A branch came down in the yard and two days later the HOA sent us a letter saying it was an eyesore and we would be fine. I wanted to cry. If people only took time and spoke to orhers first, they would see real people with real things going on. I love your turquoise table. It is Pretty and welcoming.
Oh, I am so disappointed I missed this! We live in a university neighborhood. The homes are all mid-century, which bring to mind a time of children playing in the street and families gathered on the lawns. These days, we are mostly surrounded by university students who are likely far from home. There is one other family with children near us and the few remaining are home to retired couples. Most of the life on our street comes from the parties on either side of our house. We’ve even had a party bus parked in front of our driveway once! I would love to have a place to sit outside so that I could catch the eyes of a student on the way to class. How I’d love to share a plate of cookies and ask about his or her home. In truth, I don’t need a turquoise table to do this, but it would be a great conversation starter. So, I missed the deadline. Oh well, I did not miss the inspiration. Thank you!
I hate that I missed your contest! I’m just moving back to SC after many years in other places so maybe I’ll have to get myself a turquoise table. When I have to put mine up, it will be so the mosquitos don’t carry us away! I hope too that you meet your neighbor, but they owe you some homemade cookies!
What could possibly be “tacky” about a picnic table in the front yard? Ridiculous and intolerant; must be liberal extremists: Tolerant and accepting of everyone as long as YOU agree with THEM. Anything else is, well intolerable. My home and yard are beautiful and well tended, if I do say so myself. But we happen to have dogs in our fenced back yard, and do not wish to dine outside with the dogs, no matter how much we love them. So I moved it to the front, and with a fire pit, friends, neighbors and relatives, we have made great memories. Any “other” neighbor of mine so uptight and intolerant need not knock on my door to lecture me about what’s “tacky.” In my opinion, THEY are.
My neighbor just yesterday put a halfpainted turquoise picnic table ouside of her house but within the common area of our (owned) townhouse group. Our area is small and my side window looks directly onto that table. It looks terrible. I will speak directly with her about my objection to the table, but all please need to understand that objecting to one particular table does not mean that those of us who do are bad-tempered with no sense of community (or uptight or intolerant or many of the other adjectives enumerated above). I love my neighborhood and the people who live there. Visiting with those neighbors is a true pleasure. However, putting out something like that in a commonly owned and viewed area, without consulting with other homeowners who will be directly affected, IS tacky. So those who live in a small space with common areas: Please check first with your neighbors!