The topic of hospitality has been popping up in different and unexpected ways all around me lately. I have always loved hospitality, whether it’s hosting a fun dinner party, helping run an event, bringing a plant or loaf of bread to a neighbor, or just popping a bowl of popcorn for the boys as we cuddle in for a movie night. I not only enjoy it, I feel a conviction about it. Scripture commands hospitality. It is core. Fundamental to the way the Body of Christ loves one another.
To be honest, I didn’t really think that there was necessarily more I needed to learn about hospitality. Perhaps a better way to say it is that I wasn’t looking for new ways to be hospitable or feeling the need to dig deeper. Then little conversations, or even quiet words, began popping up around me.
My mother-in-law was visiting, and we were talking about the importance of sharing food in our homes—how it’s important to always have enough and always have something to offer, even to the unexpected or last-minute guest. She even told me that she began to think differently about her budget when it came to food. That, while being wise and even as frugal as possible, instead of food being the budget line item that took the biggest hit, she would rather sacrifice in another area of life and spend well on food. Notice I said well, not necessarily a lot or unnecessarily, but rather that she wasn’t afraid to pick something off the shelf if she thought it would be a blessing to others.
Shortly after this conversation, I found myself in another talk with a young wife asking how to run her home. I’ve had quite a few of these conversations, and while I truly love them, I kept thinking that I was missing something in how I was explaining hospitality. Or perhaps they were missing what I was saying because they had never been taught hospitality clearly.
The sweetest hospitality is so natural—such an overflow of the heart—that it seems completely organic and without thought. The truth is far from that. Hospitality takes a lot of intentionality, planning, organization, a desire to engage in self-sacrifice, and a commitment to never forget your “why.” True, once it becomes an overflow of your heart, it does happen more and more organically and without stress at all. But as with all things, practice makes perfect.
More on the heart of it all—the *why*—later. Also, as a side note, my son’s headmaster used to say, “Practice makes permanent.” Isn’t that the truth? All too often we do not plan, organize, or practice self-denial and then want to show up as the perfect host. That’s not what you spent your time practicing!
Then two things happened back to back. I was at a friend’s home, teaching her how to make bread. She was sharing her heart with me about how she wanted to transition to an “ingredient home,” wanting to host well, but most importantly wanting to focus on the hospitality of the home—meaning her family members first.
That same day, I saw a recommendation for the book Unreasonable Hospitality. I’m almost done with it, and I would highly recommend it! It’s more of a business book, but it’s applicable to all areas of life.
Ok, that’s the background. What’s the point? I want to be more intentionally hospitable, and I want to write about it here. I do so much better getting my thoughts out this way. I want to organize my thoughts in a way that can hopefully be a blessing to others in the future. Most importantly, I want to notice that the Lord has brought these things to mind, and I want to steward them well.
Step 1: The Why…
Thompson House 