Today Karen is sharing her thoughts on the heart of hospitality. Really good stuff, friends. Read on…

An area in which I doubt I will ever claim to master, yet I long to improve, is hospitality. Something special happens when we open our homes, our kitchens, and our tables to others. I can have my mom over for breakfast or a crowd of 50 for a Christmas party, and when they leave, life seems right. Life away from screens and media and facebook friends and likes and instagram comments, replaced with face to face interaction, laughs, voice inflections, and body language. I desire for hospitality to be the hub of my home, but I make excuses or view it through wrong eyes.

• We’re too busy.
• Who should we invite?
• My house isn’t big enough, nice enough, secluded enough, and on and on and on.
• It costs money.
• Why don’t people ever invite us to their houses?
• I won’t know what to cook or I don’t feel like cooking.
• It’s too much work.
• Their kids will wreck our house.

 But when I consider the definition of hospitality:

the friendly and generous reception and treatment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

 I realize my thinking in this area is amiss. I should be friendly and generously receiving guests, visitors, and, when appropriate, strangers into my home. The time spent together is about them, not me. I can find joy in generously serving them, not in fretting over my food or home décor. When we are friendly and generous people, we will be friendly and generous hosts. We cannot force hospitality; hospitality must naturally flow from us as our way of life.  Won’t you join me on this journey of well-weathered kitchen tables and hearts a little larger than they are today?

 On October 28^th, we will be learning from the owners of Ma(i)son about this very topic. Join us as we learn together how to be more gracious hosts. Registration will open next week…stay tuned.