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My mom and mother-in-law preparing a meal |
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Joel hanging out in our living room |
It is with deep respect that I call my grandmother a "domestic artist." She turns her home into a parade of delights from her handmade center pieces on the dinning table, vases of flowers, to the handmade bowls and platters that her meals are displayed on. Even the dishes she cooks are full of colors and sprigs of edible flowers or herbs that please the eye as well as the mouth. My family has always valued hospitality.
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Friends hanging out in the living room |
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A Family gathering at our apartment |
I believe that through the loving embrace of hospitality, I have experienced God. The fullness of welcome touches the body, mind and spirit. This gift is holy.
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Celebrating our friends engagement |
Throughout scripture there are accounts of God blessing those who bless others with hospitality. It seems that God even comes in disguise to test mankind with this gift like when he sent angels to visit Abraham.
God seemed delighted to discover ol' Abe was ready to cook up some food, offer his sleeping mat, and hangout all day with perfect strangers. According to the Torah, hospitality is a law. Jesus reminds us that when we shelter someone, feed someone, clothe someone, we are doing it for Him. Whether you are a follower of Christ or not, this practice has got to hit a chord of truth in you somewhere.
Hospitality is one of humanity's most ancient practices. Entire cultures have killed each other over hospitality being absent in daily interactions. There is transformational power in the gift of hospitality and I believe we are called to live into it with reverence and gratitude.It offers us peace.
God's gifts become life-giving when they are shared.
Here are some the things Joel and I value sharing with visitors in our home:
- Food- we love making meals that are healthy, from scratch to share with friends and visitors.
- Artwork- all of the artwork in our house was either made by us, purchased on a journey we have taken, or given to us by artist friends or family. It all has a story that we love to share.
feeding our friends - Smells- we love to have cookies ready, dinner cooking, or scented candles lit so that those comforting smells dance around our home.
- Light- Joel loves mood lights. They make us feel at ease, relaxed and open to the moment, so we hope they do the same thing for our guests.
flowers from The Grands in a cool vase - Candles- Candles are a luxury in life when you don't need them for light but if you can afford them they really do bring a warmth and life-giving energy to a room.
- Flowers and plants- I like to keep potted plants and vases of flowers around our apartment. They freshen the air, bring beauty to a room, and connect us to nature.
- Wine- we enjoy keeping our wine rack ready with vino to share with friends. Ecclesiastes tells us to drink wine with gladness! We share wine in times of celebration and time with guests and friends is something to celebrate. Jesus asks us to remember him with this cup and we do.
Joel jamming with a friend - Music- we love to have music playing in our apartment, share music and create music together with guests. We have been known to start a jam session or drum circle out of the blue.
A dear friend with me in our kitchen
How have you been transformed by hospitality?