Our Hospitality Conversation

We were delighted to have so many of you join our “conversation” on hospitality last week. Here’s a sampling of your comments to inspire all of us to consider how God would have us practice hospitality in our season of life:
 
More creative ideas for the wife of the hesitant husband…
 
She could show hospitality by inviting other moms out to the park for a play date with a brown bag lunch. She could take another (maybe an elderly) lady out for tea and prayer at Panera. She could minister to a new mom by bringing a meal and a few hours of company. She could visit a shut-in or resident of a nursing home. She could visit a halfway house or work release facility to do Bible study with female inmates. There are so many people who cannot easily come to our homes for hospitality, but we can seek them out and have a vibrant testimony of Christ's love by pursuing hospitality wherever it is needed!
 
Meg

A hospitable wife and a no-longer-hesitant husband…
 
My husband used to be hesitant regarding hospitality, but talking it through with him, I found that he was like this because when growing up, his parents never had anyone round to their house apart from the occasional immediate relative.  I was able (with his blessing) to invite people round while he was at work, offering them a snack lunch instead of a Sunday lunch. He has now got to the stage where he is happy for us to occasionally have people round for Sunday lunch (we are up to once a month).  He has a real servant heart, so he takes all the drink orders after the meal and makes and serves them.  He is getting to really enjoy having people round and feels that he has a part in it (which of course, he certainly does--a big part!!) and is seeing that showing hospitality is good for our young children too.
 
Caroline

Single girls show family-sized hospitality…
 
I wanted to give a suggestion for hospitality for singles. We did this over the summer and it worked really well.  It can be hard sometimes to invite families over for lunch due to limited space, lack of toys for children, and money.  So a few single ladies from my church decided to pool our resources and invite families over to my friend's condo (who has space, a large field at her complex and children's toys).  We kept it simple: grilled hotdogs and ice cream sundaes.  We each made a side dish to pass.  We invited several families over so that we could get to know them and they could meet other families as well.  It ended up being a big hit.  The kids loved the food and playing with one another and the parents got adult conversation and extra hands to help the little ones.  And they got to eat their food warm! We got meet new people, reconnect with old friends, take a step towards practicing hospitality and we didn't have to do it alone.
 
Amy