Blessed By Our Neighbors

Since joining the BLESS App in October with the hopes of launching it to the congregation in December, I have tried to be more mindful of not just my neighbors in our little cul-de-sac, but the larger neighborhood and the Church’s neighbors in Maumee. The BLESS App has really helped me remember to keep all my neighbors in mind and that we are all going through things and all of us have things to be grateful for.

Since my last blog posts about getting started with the BLESS App “Begin With Prayer” and “Praying For Our Neighbors,” our family has received such nice blessings from the neighbors across the street this season. About two days before Christmas Eve one of our neighbors came by to thank us for the cookies we made with a handwritten card for my son thanking him for the cookies we left them and a bag of Costco Ghirardelli chocolate. A few minutes, later he knocked on the door again and asked if my son would like a rocking horse that his grandsons had outgrown. I of course said yes and he said it would be much later that evening before he could bring it over, he knocked again about thirty minutes later with the rocking horse, and to my surprise and my husband’s delight, it was the same style rocking horse my husband had at our son’s age.

Our other neighbors also surprised us with a block of smoked pepper jack cheese and a bag of Snickers, Twix, and M&Ms for my son.

I have been so surprised by how my neighbors have responded to us reaching out to them and their genuine kindness in response to our little acts of reaching out. I feel truly blessed this Holiday season and hope to continue to be a blessing to our neighbors in the new year.  My New Year's goal is to invite these two lovely couples to dinner in the next couple of months and to continue to build stronger relationships with them.

We did not achieve our goal of walking around the neighborhood praying for our neighbors, but we did try a couple of times. It was just too cold, so I might try it again in the spring.

Since launching the BLESS App at the beginning of December, we have had 16 new users or lights who have linked to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and are actively praying for their neighbors and being lights in their neighborhoods. Thank you for downloading the App and creating an account so we can support your efforts as a church.

Join us for our Vision Meeting for 2025 on Thursday, January 9th at 5:30 pm for a light dinner with the meeting starting at 6:15 pm. Childcare will also be provided.

Please download the BLESS App or use this link to become a light and a blessing to your neighbors today!


If you would like to share a story, God sighting, or update us on your BLESS App progress please let me know. We would love to hear from you!