june: offering Hospitality
The Bible is full of stories of hospitality and commands to practice hospitality. It’s there in the Levitical laws to welcome the stranger and foreigner. Hospitality saves the day when Nabal angers David, and his wife Abigail throws a banquet to pacify David and save Nabal’s life. Jesus practices and accepts hospitality, from the last supper to Mary and Martha to Zacchaes to the post-resurrection Emmaus road story. Hospitality plays a large role in the spread of the gospel in the early church, with new believers opening their homes and breaking bread together. Hospitality lives out the great commandment to love God and love others.
Hospitality is an attitude, a way of being in the world, that we learn. And so letting our children be a part of that practice is really, really important for their faith development. Hospitality doesn’t mean throwing a perfect party - it means opening our lives to others. It can happen in our homes, or it can happen at a park, a church, a conversation along the way. It can be an intimidating thing to start doing, because there’s vulnerability involved in putting ourselves out there and opening ourselves up. But once we start, it gets easier. And as we begin to emerge from a pandemic, it’s something many of us find ourselves needing to re-learn. How will your family build a culture of hospitality in your home?
Hospitality is an attitude, a way of being in the world, that we learn. And so letting our children be a part of that practice is really, really important for their faith development. Hospitality doesn’t mean throwing a perfect party - it means opening our lives to others. It can happen in our homes, or it can happen at a park, a church, a conversation along the way. It can be an intimidating thing to start doing, because there’s vulnerability involved in putting ourselves out there and opening ourselves up. But once we start, it gets easier. And as we begin to emerge from a pandemic, it’s something many of us find ourselves needing to re-learn. How will your family build a culture of hospitality in your home?
Read It I Peter 4: 8-9
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Pray It
God, you welcome everyone into your family. Help us do the same. Amen
God, you welcome everyone into your family. Help us do the same. Amen
Do It
Here are several ideas of places to practice hospitality. Maybe you want to make one of them a new habit - something you do every week or every month. Or maybe you want to think of them as hospitality challenges, trying each of them and deciding which you want to carry into the future of your life together. Note: Please exercise safety in the way you try these ideas. If you are still in the midst of a pandemic, take mitigating measures, like being outdoors or wearing masks.
* Preparing for and welcoming guests: Invite people to your space. Invite people you don’t know well (Grandma and Grandpa don’t count, in other words!). Involve the whole family in preparing the space to be a welcoming one and hosting your guests. It may be easier and faster to complete all the preparations yourself. However, it is more meaningful for everyone when you involve the young ones in tasks.
* Around the table: Take the pressure off for it to be perfect - you’re opening your space so that relationships can be formed. Pull your 1-year-old’s high chair right up to the table, have the 3-year-old take drink orders, and let the 5-year-old clear plates...you get the picture.
* Feed the hungry, welcome the stranger and the lonely: Think of someone you know who is in need of food, friendship, and companionship. Invite that person to your space or a common space (like a park) for a meal (or for lemonade and conversation, if that meets their needs more). Again, think of your child(ren) as a partner in this hospitality, not a hindrance. We learned when our children were young that they were fantastic ice-breakers, and that they were often exactly the tonic our elderly friends craved!
* Peace Meal: Abigail used hospitality to turn an enemy into a friend (1 Samuel 25). Who is someone your child is struggling with? Invite them for a playdate at a common space or your home.
* Open your holiday feast: When I was a child, I thought this was just what people did. Every holiday, from Thanksgiving to Christmas to Father’s Day, my parents would look around, pinpoint people who were far from family or without family, and invite them to our table. Holidays were a time for extending family. Often, our guests would bring along a dish or a tradition from their culture or story, and our world expanded a little.
Here are several ideas of places to practice hospitality. Maybe you want to make one of them a new habit - something you do every week or every month. Or maybe you want to think of them as hospitality challenges, trying each of them and deciding which you want to carry into the future of your life together. Note: Please exercise safety in the way you try these ideas. If you are still in the midst of a pandemic, take mitigating measures, like being outdoors or wearing masks.
* Preparing for and welcoming guests: Invite people to your space. Invite people you don’t know well (Grandma and Grandpa don’t count, in other words!). Involve the whole family in preparing the space to be a welcoming one and hosting your guests. It may be easier and faster to complete all the preparations yourself. However, it is more meaningful for everyone when you involve the young ones in tasks.
* Around the table: Take the pressure off for it to be perfect - you’re opening your space so that relationships can be formed. Pull your 1-year-old’s high chair right up to the table, have the 3-year-old take drink orders, and let the 5-year-old clear plates...you get the picture.
* Feed the hungry, welcome the stranger and the lonely: Think of someone you know who is in need of food, friendship, and companionship. Invite that person to your space or a common space (like a park) for a meal (or for lemonade and conversation, if that meets their needs more). Again, think of your child(ren) as a partner in this hospitality, not a hindrance. We learned when our children were young that they were fantastic ice-breakers, and that they were often exactly the tonic our elderly friends craved!
* Peace Meal: Abigail used hospitality to turn an enemy into a friend (1 Samuel 25). Who is someone your child is struggling with? Invite them for a playdate at a common space or your home.
* Open your holiday feast: When I was a child, I thought this was just what people did. Every holiday, from Thanksgiving to Christmas to Father’s Day, my parents would look around, pinpoint people who were far from family or without family, and invite them to our table. Holidays were a time for extending family. Often, our guests would bring along a dish or a tradition from their culture or story, and our world expanded a little.
Explore it: A Note from Tami
I have some beautiful dishes that belonged to my mother. I occasionally use them when we have guests... But I only do so when I believe that the guests will appreciate them and take care with them. Thinking about this practice when my daughters were young made me realize that I wanted to respect their concerns and allow them to do the same with their prized possessions. It truly is OK for children to set aside things when someone comes to our homes. The key is that the items must stay off-limits to everyone, including your children, when they are not available to the guests.
Find more insights and ideas on these two blogs from mothers who are deep in the trenches of parenting.
1. Ways Children Can Help With Hospitality
2. Children and Hospitality
Sometimes ads for various things show up on links. We are not promoting these items. However, we’ve chosen to include these websites and blogs simply because finding sites without any links is difficult and the sites we select do have valuable content. Feel free to ignore the ads!
I have some beautiful dishes that belonged to my mother. I occasionally use them when we have guests... But I only do so when I believe that the guests will appreciate them and take care with them. Thinking about this practice when my daughters were young made me realize that I wanted to respect their concerns and allow them to do the same with their prized possessions. It truly is OK for children to set aside things when someone comes to our homes. The key is that the items must stay off-limits to everyone, including your children, when they are not available to the guests.
Find more insights and ideas on these two blogs from mothers who are deep in the trenches of parenting.
1. Ways Children Can Help With Hospitality
2. Children and Hospitality
Sometimes ads for various things show up on links. We are not promoting these items. However, we’ve chosen to include these websites and blogs simply because finding sites without any links is difficult and the sites we select do have valuable content. Feel free to ignore the ads!
