Comments on: Simple Living – Part 3: Hospitality

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:32:53 +0000

I just found this blog so I am commenting on a very old post, but I wanted to add something about hospitality. My husband and I always have people over to eat at our house, and at first he constantly had to tell me to sit down and stop being such a “Martha.” I finally understood why when we were at some friends’ house and the wife spent the whole time in the kitchen serving us. I just wanted her to sit down and join our coversation, and didn’t care that much about coffee anymore! So now when people are over, I try to spend as much time as possible entertaining and being with them, rather than serving. I try to have everything ready beforehand, so I can focus on our guests, not the food. I take coffee and dessert into the living room on a tray with cups, sugar, and cream, so I’m not hiding in the kitchen while I prepare everything.
Just some ideas!
And thanks for this blog! Like many from my generation, I didn’t grow up learning how to keep a house. Now I’m learning everything from scratch, and it helps to learn from others who are pursuing similar visions!

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 04:40:58 +0000

Great job, lizzykristine! I would love to be able to do that…but with a little one and other commitments we have purposed to have hospitality 2-3 times a month. That seems to work really well for us. But I commend you!

By: Jen@BigBinder

Jen@BigBinder — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:18:43 +0000

What a wonderful post! I never connected not wanting to serve the most nutritious food to my guests with Paul’s command to be hospitable although I have done a Bible study on Romans recently and totally should have Thanks for making that clear to me. I feel a little dense now; but grateful nonetheless.

By: Tia

Tia — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 10:03:00 +0000

Really, the only day we can entertain are Sundays. we both work, and it’s a lot to have company during the week. And we haven’t been convicted in our spirits about this, so we must be doing something right!

We never gave our guests anything we don’t eat ourselves. Our guests do know ahead of time we are vegetarians, and to expect something vegetarian. Altho I have been able to use Tofu before!

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 09:57:26 +0000

Thank you for this honest and informative post, Lindsay. There are so many opportunities in life to serve others and sometimes it is hard to recognize them!

By: lizzykristine

lizzykristine — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:24:51 +0000

We try to have people over 1-3 times a week, though it doesn’t always work out. One thing that has really helped us in this department is to make a crockpot of soup on Saturday, plug it in on Sunday morning, and we can bring guests home to eat immediately after church — no cooking and minimal prep.

I ordered the book by Rachel Crabb on hospitality just a couple days ago — I’m amused you mentioned it!

By: Mrs. Taft

Mrs. Taft — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:21:21 +0000

This is one reason we have chosen to live frugally as well! I want to pour out my life for others, not just my immediate family members, but whomever God calls me to bless I have found that God blesses a sincere and hospitable home. Even in times of dire financial straits (the market for my husband’s kind of work was very unstable for many years after the dotcom bust, so we’ve been through three periods of unemployment and two periods of barely scraping by), when we extended our homes and hands to others, somehow we not only had enough, but multiplied. It’s amazing how that works!

My mom and my little brothers attend Mars Hill; they really enjoy Mark Driscoll.