Quotes on Christian Hospitality

The End of Hospitality Week

Have you enjoyed this week

as much as I have?

Here are some quotes to remind you how great it is to have people in your home.

Do it.

Invite someone for something this Week!

Let your walls ring with laughter.

Warm another's heart.

Romans 12:9-14--"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. "

We dare not trust our wit for making our house pleasant to our friend, so we buy ice cream.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(My new motto:)

Aloneness can lead to loneliness. God's preventative for loneliness is intimacy - meaningful, open, sharing relationships with one another. In Christ we have the capacity for the fulfilling sense of belonging which comes from intimate fellowship with God and with other believers.   Neil T. Anderson

Hospitality should have no other nature than love.  Henrietta Mears(?)

Staying with people consists in your not having your own way, and their not having theirs.  ~Maarten Maartens

The ornaments of your house will be the guests who frequent it. 

~Author Unknown

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall,

the genial flame of charity in the heart.

Washington Irving

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Ephesians 4:32

And above all things

have fervent charity among yourselves:

for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 

Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

1 Peter 4:8-9

Hospitality Week Food Friday: Special, Yet Easy Recipes!

Because this is such a SPECIAL WEEK, I thought I'd do something totally different for Food Friday!  There are times when you want to serve something SPECIAL, food-wise, and yet you don't want it to be so difficult and time-consuming that it takes you away from what's important:  spending time with your guests!  So, I went on a search, and want to share with you these AMAZING RECIPES from across the Blogosphere and internet, via links and photos. When you try these, please comment here and let us all know how great they were, and any little tips for making them, ok?
I love the color in this first one, an appetizer, and at this time of year, you can't go wrong with turkey and cranberries.

From Blogger's Recipes

HappyMama has this awesome appetizer,
Cranberry Turkey Crostini

From A Pocket Full of Buttons:

Stuffing Frittata

This recipe just makes my mouth water, every time I think about it! Wow!

This guy has come up with a really warm, inviting soup!
This would be a great soup to serve to friends
at a casual Sunday night informal supper
and absolutely perfect this time of year for using all that pumpkin you have.
From Closet Cooking:

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

No photo, but being Swedish,

I couldn't help including this recipe:)

From Scandinavian Cooking

Swedish Meatballs 

I love Rob Barrett's cooking videos, and it's not just because he lives in my city!  I have posted a bunch of Rob's recipes before, but this one is just perfect if you want to plan a really special Christmas meal, but true to form, Rob shows us how to make this soooo simple!

From Cooking for Dads (not just for dads, but for everyone who likes Easy, Delicious Food!)

Rob Barrett shows us how to make a special meal for Christmas: Prime Rib!

I can think of so many ways you could do this, for example, a quiet get-together with another couple or two (feed the kids early and put them to bed:) or a family Christmas tradition--you could even go to your church's candlelight service and when you get home your Prime Rib will be done!

And I saved the Best for last:  Dessert!

Did you know you can invite people over just for Dessert?
Of Course you can.
Or Dessert and a Night of Table Games
~Super Simple~
From
Ready Set Create:

Chocolate Candy Cane

From Joy of Desserts and More: 

Decadent Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I hope you'll enjoy checking out these sites and recipes!  It was really fun to find them, and I hope you like them as well.  Now, go call up someone and invite them over!

Hospitality Week: The Ultimate Example of Hospitality

It's Hospitality Week here at Faith's Firm Foundation and it's also Thankful Thursday! To participate and/or read other thankful posts, visit Iris at Grace Alone (Thank you, Iris, for hosting this month!)

This has been an amazing week so far!  After posting about the super cute Pies in a Jar (from Our Best Bites), my friend Phyllis Sather posted on them and linked back and then her friend, Molly, from Econobusters posted with a link back after that.....and the number of you who've visited since then has been so amazing and I hope you've all felt a WARM WELCOME and read a few posts while you were here and have been inspired, challenged and encouraged!

So, picture me standing at my blog's Front Door with arms open wide, a big smile on my face, and saying, "Come on in!!  I'm sooooo glad you stopped by.  Please make yourself at home, let's be friends. Stay as long as you can, and when you have to leave,

don't stay away long!"

And that leads me perfectly into this Thankful Thursday post because I'm so thankful for God's opening His Home in heaven to you and me. He even made it possible for us to come! He gave The Gift:  Salvation through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son.  Talk about sparing no expense! He doesn't wait for us to come to Him.  He invites.  He pursues with relentless love!  He prepares everything so it's perfect, and gives and gives and gives.


Jesus' life on earth was the Ultimate Example of Hospitality, remarkable and challenging, demonstrating His Father's heart.  I was thinking about that and the ways Jesus showed a heart of hospitality while on earth, and it led me to ask some questions:

• Is there someone I know who others have shunned, and maybe God is leading me to reach out to them?  (Jesus was not afraid to touch a leper, Matthew 8:1-3, or talk to a Samaritan woman, John 4.)

• Is there someone whose past life and sin makes them think it is impossible for Jesus to forgive them, much less love them?  Could you be the one God wants to use to tell them of His love and forgiveness?  (Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn thee--Go, and sin no more," to the adulterous woman. John 8:1-11)

• Is there a child, or children, who God would have you lift up on your knee to share the joy that "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so"?  (Jesus' example was, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not:  for of such is the kingdom of God." Mark 10:13-16)

Jesus never sacrificed truth (He said, I am the Truth*), but no price was too great for Him to pay, either in His life or in His death, to invite us to share all that He is and has. He is the Ultimate Example of Hospitality. "Come eat and drink"--Come enjoy my Home with unbroken fellowship with Me......forever.


John 14:6--"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Christian Hospitality: Links to Amazing Articles All About Hospitality

Ahhh, Hospitality.  FAQ.  "What is the difference between entertaining and hospitality?"  "I'm too busy, my house is a mess and I'm a terrible cook!  How am I supposed to do hospitality?"  "People will break my stuff or spill on my carpet!  I don't want people handling my stuff!  What am I supposed to do if someone breaks my antique vase which was a wedding gift from my Aunt Freda?"  Everyone who shows hospitality will have to deal with the issue of something they cared about being broken or ruined.  So, what's to be our attitude toward "our things"?  These and other FAQs about Hospitality, which I have affectionately called, "Everything you wanted to know about Christian Hospitality, but were afraid to ask" are answered (well, maybe not Everything) in the following Five Fantastic Finds (posts or articles) which I've linked to, and you're going to really enjoy reading them.  Please tell them you were there! Enjoy!


Fantastic Article which includes "10 Ways to Host instead of Entertain: Mastering the Art of Christian Hospitality" by Craig Ford (yes, written by a guy!)


For an honest, but insightful, article which deals with my "holding on to my things" and the reality of Who owns everything, read this article, "To Have and Not To Hold!" by Martha Bastke.


Encouragement, with some Scripture thrown in, including this quote which I really liked, "Many people choose to focus on what they don’t have instead of focusing on sharing the blessings of God."  You'll be encouraged by reading this article entitled simply, "Christian Hospitality," by Kathy Sharp.


In Apples of Gold, a 6-week Nurturing Program for Women, by Betty Huizenga, in the chapter on Hospitality, she has an exercise which I think is very helpful.  From an assorted list of descriptive words, such as Warm, Friendly, Spontaneous, Fragrant, Sad, Sterile, Angry, we are to circle the words which best describe our home.  She then offers this encouragement, "Regardless of how it is now, with God's help, your home can become a home of hospitality."  This is a Bible Study that you can purchase, and so only a sample is included online, however, even if you don't purchase the study, you will find value from reading the insightful questions which are shown, and thinking through what your answers might be.


Last, but certainly not least:  Oh, this is a must read, in a Printer-friendly transcript of a radio broadcast from 2002, but could have been written today, which was part of a series of broadcasts entitled, "Heart of Hospitality," by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  In this broadcast, called "Challenges to Hospitality" she deals head-on with the "costs" of showing hospitality, the sacrifices which must be made, and what are some reasons we give for not obeying God's command to practice hospitality, and what's really at the heart of the issue.  Practical, but very challenging.

Hospitality Week: Hospitality How To's From a Pro

Is there any other time of the year when more entertaining takes place??  Well, with that in mind, I thought I would dedicate this week to the theme of HOSPITALITY!

So, Today is Day 1 and

Welcome To Hospitality Week!

All this week I will share with you encouragement, ideas, interviews and timely tips that will help you hop in and feel at home showing hospitality, but also remind us of the eternal value of hospitality, from a Scriptural point of view.  Some of the ideas and posts will be reminders (but who doesn't need to be reminded?) and others will be completely new to you, but this will be a fun week, so keep on coming back, you won't want to miss anything!

Today, I want to encourage you!  And, if you are a mom of many, you'll especially want to "listen up" as I interview Lynn, mom to 11!  However, everyone will learn something about hospitality, because she is a "hospitality pro."  Since the time the Lord graciously brought her into my life 16 years ago, I have been learning from her, and I look forward to introducing her to you and allowing you to glean some wisdom from her on a topic near and dear to our hearts:  hospitality.  Let's begin:

Faith's Firm Foundation:  "Are there any verses in the Bible that have guided or influenced you in showing hospitality?"
Lynn:  "Romans 12:13--"Given to hospitality."  Romans 12 was one of my first chapters that I had memorized, so I was greatly influenced by its instructions."

Romans 12:9-13--"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (10) Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; (11) Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; (12) Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; (13) Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality."

FFF:  "What are the most important things you would tell someone about practicing hospitality?"
Lynn:  "Showing warmth and excitement about your guests being in your home is more important than your home's cleanliness or how fancy your food is.  Learn some quick and easy meals to serve.  Work to have an "In-Home" store so you have ingredients and supplies on hand.  Clean your home for yourself--not for company, necessarily.  Work at maintaining an orderly home where there is a schedule of cleaning throughout the week.  Then your home will always be in fairly good order.  Then you can be impromptu to invite people over or if they happen to stop by you can ask them to stay.  Last of all, regarding hospitality:  "Just do it."  The more you do it the more comfortable it becomes."

FFF:  "What do you think is the purpose of hospitality--why is it important?"
Lynn:  "The purpose of hospitality is to show the love of Christ.  With that, hospitality brings many more personal rewards.  One major reward is learning to think of others.  We are all naturally self-centered.  Hospitality forces you to become focused on others, which is a discipline to learn.  'Hospitality may come easy to you, but not me' is just an excuse.  You can learn and it is a command from the Lord.  View your home, possessions, time as things to be used up for others.  The scratch on the table is a reminder of your grandchild being with you.  The worn-out rugs mean many people have walked through your doors.  I'm desirous to have my home wear out because of use, which involves people--eternal souls God has brought into my life."

FFF:  "How do you/did you do it with a big family--make it affordable--work out where to put people, etc."
Lynn:  "We have 11 children, 10 boys and 1 girl.  The oldest is 29 years old and the youngest is 10 years old.  All our children help in the kitchen.  My daughter was 5th born so our sons had to help.  Our sons know what it takes to make a meal--therefore they can really appreciate efforts of others showing hospitality towards them.  Teach your children how to greet people, to offer a guest something to drink (water, coffee, tea).  Teach them how to make coffee, how to set a table, how to carry on a conversation.  Crowded is OK.  People will feel included, so don't worry about a small home.  Use simple menus."

FFF:  "You mentioned rewards earlier, but what are other rewards and blessings of being hospitable? What would you say to encourage others?"
Lynn:  "The rewards are:  meeting so many people and they leave our home as 'friends.'  We love to hear how our guests became Christians and about their walk with the Lord.  These testimonies encourage our own children in their faith."


Aren't you encouraged to practice hospitality? I am!
Edited and reprinted from an earlier post.